Can Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis find happiness outside the ropes of the U.S. Women's Open? Also weight shift drill

June 2009

Click here to listen.

After watching the struggles of both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson (among the other great golfers) at the 109th US Open, it can be said that this was the year of the initiate, not the veteran. Lucas Glover, who had only won once in his career on the PGA Tour astounded and amazed the crowd with his steely gaze, focus and lack of emotion while both Woods and Mickelson fell short of the basic skills needed to get the job done.

One can almost compare Glover to the lovely Natalie Gulbis who has also had a single victory but who, along with Michelle Wie, failed to qualify for this year's U.S. Women's Open and may be watching from the sidelines. Will either be offering Twitter commentary? Not likely!

What separates golfers who qualify from those who don't?

When John Daly missed qualifying for the U.S. Open, he remarked that his feet were tired and the greens over in Europe were much slower than those in the States adding, "talk about not even sniffing a putt!" Solid putting, therefore, is the single most important part of any player's golf game.

Glover, who had missed the cut in three previous Opens acknowledged that his lead "can be attributed to putting and patience" and is currently "ranked seventh in putts made from between 15-20 feet."

Now, considering why Michelle Wie, for example, did not qualify for the Women's U.S. Open, she revealed that she was swinging really well but "just couldn’t get anything going, and some of the putts didn’t drop."

Should the USGA bend the regulations to assist the LPGA (and NBC) retain a slipping fan base or are the rules the rules? Originally, the policies stated that the top thirty golfers would be admitted to the U.S. Women's Open but now only the top ten automatically qualify. Well, the USGA says that it is for the good of the game...

You certainly wouldn't need to bend the rules at the U.S. Open to accomodate Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson because of the excitement factor of the entire field but, for the U.S. Women's Open, it could be the difference between increased ratings and hearing crickets chirping in the distance.

Would it have mattered if Gulbis and Wie played in the U.S. Women's Open? Not likely as both missed the cut last year. Michelle's quintuple bogey on the ninth hole at Interlachen said it all.

Golf for Beginners also discusses a weight shift drill which will allow you to stop that 'reverse C' and point your club more directly at the target.




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Belhaven Medal Results

June 2009

Saturday saw the Clubs Qualifying Competition for the Belhaven Best Handicap Competition Full results are below:

CSS: 71

Placings

1st. R Tinker (Jnr) - Nett 66
2nd. Matt Bell - Nett 68
3rd. R Milligan - Nett 69
4th. I Scott - Nett 70

As Rory is a Jnr, he cannot be put forward as one of the pairing that will represent the Club, therefore, Matt and Rob will be the Club's nominated representatives.

2's

The following 2's were recorded during the course of this event:

6th - P Simpson and R Tinker (Jnr)
13th - K Taylor and G Martin (Jnr)

Handicaps

Reductions

The following players received a handicap reduction as a result of this competition:

Matt Bell - New Playing Handicap - 6
R Tinker - New Playing Handicap - 8
I Scott - New Playing Handicap - 9

Up-Revisions

The following players received a handicap up-revision as a result of this competition:

J Scott - New Playing Handicap - 8
A Aird - New Playing Handicap - 11
J McBain - New Playing Handicap - 17
J Torrie - New Playing Handicap - 27

The Week in Golf

June 2009

Kenny Perry won the PGA Travelers Championship by shooting a record total of 258, including a final round 63 to win his 14th career tour event. With the victory he takes home just over 1 million dollars and takes the lead in the Fed Ex Cup Race. He has now won five times in the past year, the most of anyone on tour.


Jiyai Shin won the LPGA Wegmans Championship by 7 strokes, giving her 5 career wins. She dedicated the win to her mother, who died in a car crash in 2004.


Lonnie Nielson won the Dick's Sporting Goods Senior Tour event by shooting a final round 63. He started his day by going birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie, and birdie. Ridiculous!


Nick Dougherty won on the European Tour at the BMW International Open in Germany. He shot a final round 64 to win by one shot over Rafa Echenique, who scored an albatross on the par five 18th hole. For those who don't know, an albatross is one of the rarest scores in golf, and it occurs when a player holes their second shot on a par 5.

Billboard in Manhattan

June 2009

GOLF RECORD BOOK RELEASED

June 2009

Throughout my own golf career, I always tracked my records in various notebooks. I decided to design a product that would allow golfers the opportunity to organize all the memorable records they have set during their golfing careers.

I came up with the "Golf Record Book" which is a classy hardcover book broken down into various sections for record keeping. The book features black and white golf photos to begin each section. For full details on this book click on the 20th hole.

For periodic excerpts and reviews of both the Golf Record Book and Stat Book and Log for Golfers, click here.

Belhaven Medal Draw

June 2009

The Draw for the Belhaven Medal is as follows:

Morning Glory

0800 G Scrimgeour, A Jones
0807 I Stewart, R Milligan
0815 G Hunter, K Macleod, C Davidson
0822 P Crockart, M Melville, I Clark
0830 G McCluskey, Matt Bell, S Schofield
0837 C Fairweather, J MacBain, K Taylor
0845 G Bruce, R Miller, C Petrie
0852 R Howkins, A Docherty, B Simpson
0900 K Mitchell, J Ireland, P Simpson
0907 A Ramsay, T Bennet, D Fotheringham

Afternoon Delight

1230 M Scott, J Scott, J Torrie
1237 J Wood, E Gray, DM Alexander
1245 G Haynes, F Barber, D Robinson
1252 I Scott, A Aird, D Bell
1300 DJ Alexander, A Downs, F Martin
1307 S Thomson, C McDonald, G Martin (Jnr)
1315 D Grant, C McKenna, A Easton (Jnr)
1322 R Tinker (Jnr), D Douglas, D Thomson

This being a National Event qualifier, the top two Nett scores returned on the day will go forward to represent the Club at the Regional Final.

Tiger Sets Another Record

June 2009

Unofficially, Tiger Woods set another record this past week at the U.S. Open by cursing 742 times after missed putts. Unfortunately for Tiger, had he been able to make his usual amount of putts, he would have blown the field away for his 15th major.

U.S. Open Full of Surprises

June 2009

The 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black was full of intriguing story lines and an interesting mix of characters at the top of the leaderboard.


Lucas Glover played the steadiest all week, and was able to hold off several players to win the 109th U.S. Open. This automatically gives him a 10 year exemption into future U.S. Opens as well as a 5 year exemption to the Masters, British Open, PGA Championship, and the Players Championship.


Ricky Barnes came out of nowhere to lead the tournament, and at one point had his score to eleven under par with a six stroke lead. Unfortunately, the U.S. Open pressure got to him and he had a disastrous final round, shooting a six over par 76. Finishing in a tie for second is fantastic considering where he came from and gives him automatic exemption for the tournament next year at Pebble Beach.


The biggest surprise of the week had to be David Duval, who came to the tournament as the 882nd ranked player in the world. The ranking is quite misleading, however, as he was the number one player in the world a decade ago. He came back strong, and overcame a lot of bad breaks, including a ridiculous plugged lie under the lip of a bunker which lead to a triple bogey on his first hole of the final round. This was a great showing for Duval and hopefully he is back to stay.


Phil Mickelson made a great run but came up just short in the tournament that he wants the most. This was his 5th runner up finish in the U.S. Open and this would have been a great story had he been able to win for his wife Amy, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. There has been a huge amount of support for Phil and Amy and hopefully she will be recovered as soon as possible.

Norse Cup - Mixed Event

June 2009

Results of the above competition are as follows:

1st Margaret Young and Craig McKenna 42pts
2nd Jenny Groom and Ali Low 39pts
3rd Rhoda Fraser and Dave Grant 38pts

Well done all that took part.

June Monthly Medal

June 2009

An absolutely stunning day on Saturday saw some excellent returns for the June Monthly Medal with a field of over 60 taking part. Winners are as follows:

CSS: 71

Division One

1st. A Easton (Jnr) - Nett 67
2nd. L Duncan - Nett 69
3rd. L Bushby - Nett 71

Division Two

1st. J Grant - Nett 65
2nd. D Thomson - Nett 70
3rd. B McGowan - Nett 70

Division 3

1st. P Simpson - Nett 71
2nd. S Tosh - Nett 73
3rd. J McCowan (Jnr) - Nett 74

Congratulations to all our Medal Winners.

2's

2's were recorded at the Par 3's as follows:

4th. A Easton (Jnr) & S Bolderson
13th. M McGillvary & J McCowan (Jnr)


Handicaps

Reductions

As a result of this competition, the following players receive a Handicap Reduction:

A Easton - New Playing Handicap - 3
B McGowan - New Playing Handicap - 9
D Gordon - New Playing Handicap - 12
J Grant - New Playing Handicap - 14
J McBain - New Playing Handicap - 16

Up- Revisions

As a result of this competition, the following players receive a Handicap Up-Revision:

M Scott - New Playing Handicap - 5
S Thomson - New Playing Handicap - 7
M Tinker - New Playing Handicap - 9
A Jones - New Playing Handicap - 22

Well Done to all.

Next up is the Bellhaven Medal, this being a qualifying event for a National Competition. Sign up sheets in the Clubhouse.

Kinpurnie Cup

June 2009

Due to the abandonment of this recent Mixed event after 7 holes, it will be rescheduled for a later date.

Bagdad Community Golf Club

June 2009

Par: 27 (nine holes) Length: 2268 m
Green Fees: $8 ($2 for juniors)

So I had a day to myself so what better place to go than Bagdad I hear you ask.

Barnbougle, Royal Hobart, Ulverstone, Woodrising, Claremont, Elderslie, Riverside, Kingston, Mowbray .... but I digress.

The course:

I was a bit worried about travelling to a course unannounced on a Friday knowing that this is a common day for corporate golf events. I needn't have worried as I was the only person on the course and the last person to have paid the $8 green fees was about two weeks earlier. I filled out the relevant paperwork and headed off to find the first tee. Actually finding the next tee was something I struggled with throughout the day.

I did wonder at first why this was called Bagdad "Community" golf club, but it was quite straightforward really. I think the below picture best illustrates it:

Where else would you find a football field, soccer ground, cricket pitch & nets as well as a golf course in the same facility??

The course is a bit patchy with tight lies around the green making it hard to get up and down for par. I only managed two pars from 6 missed greens. I played the course on a wet winter's day and I'm sure it wasn't at its best.

Example of tight lies around the 4th green

This is the shortest golf course that I have played in both par and length and I would be surprised to find a contender for this title during the rest of my journey around Tasmania. The longest holes were the 170m par 3 fifth and the 162m par 3 ninth. The course is extremely flat and the only undulations I found were on the walk to the next tees.

I felt like Bagdad was a course that you could tear apart if you were having a good ball striking day, but if you weren't (as I wasn't) then it would be easy to be make bogies on most holes. It would be an excellent location for ambrose competitions because everyone would have a chance to make their shot count and low scores would be inevitable.

Given Bagdad's short length and easy walk, it would be a good golf course to take junior golfers to especially at only $2 a pop.

The round:

Date: 19 June 2009

Score: 31 (+4), Greens hit: 3/9, Putts: 16, Fairways hit: 0/0

I found it hard to pick the right club to start with because the course is so flat. I bogied three of the first five holes simply because I didn't hit the green. Picture my joy when I finally hit the 147m sixth hole (another par 3!) and three putted. Actually it wasn't all my fault, this llama (alpaca?) threw off my groove.

The "Emperor" next to the 6th hole

There is only one set of tees/greens for each hole so I didn't worry about playing 18 holes on this day.

The best shots:

My pitching wedge to the 7th (for birdie) was good especially given the poorly placed tree located at the front left of this short hole (111m).
Pending birdie on the 7th

The worst:

Not a bad shot as such, but try getting up and down on the 9th with this crap on your ball ...

Another course soon,

Patto

Berman Worst Golf Announcer Ever

June 2009

So far the U.S. Open has been very exciting with a lot of great stories forming and a great looking leaderboard. I hate to overshadow the tournament with something negative, but after listening to Chris Berman, I just can't help myself.

In my opinion, he is far and away, the most annoying golf announcer of all time. Here are the 5 most ridiculous quotes from Chris Berman so far.

I have one word of advice for Chris Berman.

Retire

Club Championship and Tankard Trophy Semi-Finals

June 2009

Friday Night saw the semi-finals of the 2009 Club Championship and Tankard Trophies take place with Scott Robertson playing Martin MacGillivary and Grant Martin playing Alan Easton in the semi-finals of the Club Championships. Craig McDonald faced up to Charlie Davidson, whilst Willie McGregot teed up against Colin Fairweather in the semi-finals of the Tankard Trophy. An enjoyable evening despite the early breeze.

Woods, Mickelson pairing at U.S. Open? Kodak golf shots worth $1 million, casting drill

June 2009

Click here to listen.

What do Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington and Angel Cabrera all have in common? Aside from major victories in 2008, all three will be grouped together during the first two rounds of the 109th U.S. Open.

This was a smart pairing by tournament officials as each has a story to tell.

Tiger Woods is not only the defending champion (holding off Rocco Mediate and a bum knee) but also held on to victory (and a score of par) in 2002 at Bethpage with Phil Mickelson on his tail. With fourteen majors under his belt, a fresh win at the Memorial and a great family behind him "I couldn’t be happier than where I am right now", Woods is ready to tackle Jack Nicklaus' record.

"It's five to pass him, four to tie him," Woods said. "I'm healthy enough where I think I can give it a go."

Harrington is one of the odds favorites this year (+2500 for a payout potential of US$2500 on every US$100 bet at SBG Global.) Paddy should be as he has won the past two British Open Championships as well as last year's PGA Championship. Sure, Padraig may be a bit stale coming out of the gate (his best finish this year on the PGA Tour is a tie for 11th) for but make no mistake; when the chips are down, Harrington goes into champion mode.

Cabrera has made five cuts this year on the PGA Tour but his crowning achievement for 2009 has to be victory at the Masters. Going for an Angel-slam, Cabrera should think back to his 2007 US Open win (his first in the U.S.) where he bombed drives and putted with aplomb in spite of hitting only five fairways in the final round to beat Woods and Furyk.

Where does Phil Mickelson fit into the U.S. Open fervor? Paired with golfers equally qualified to get the job done (Goosen and Els) he has taken second place in the Open four times, with three of those battles taking place at Bethpage. Always a bridesmaid? This could be the year for FIGJAM's vindication on the Black Course.

Will any of the golfers read the warning before stepping out onto the first tee? Will being a "highly skilled golfer" be enough this week to escape the treacherous conditions at Bethpage? Tiger Woods' belief that the Black is "as big as they come" and a course where "you have to hit the ball well all week." will certainly come in handy.

Tweeting from the golf course is not permitted however there should be plenty of fist pumps.

Golf for Beginners also discusses the odds of the only male contestant remaining on the Big Break and offers a golf drill from Rick Smith for those who fish better than they golf. We also wonder if Chris DiMarco can hold on to his lead at the $1 million Kodak Challenge?


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June Monthly Medal

June 2009

The draw for the June Monthly Medal has been made, and is as follows:

Breakfast Butty Anyone?

08:00 M Scott, I Butchart, A Easton (Jnr)
08:07 L Bushby, Matt Bell, K Taylor
08:15 L Duncan, GN Hunter, B McGowan
08:22 K Mitchell, M O'Toole, S Bolderson
08:30 R Milligan, A Docherty, R Howkins
08:37 B Jackson, A Low, Mike Bell
08:45 M Grieve, C Davidson, B Simpson
08:52 A Ramsay, I Stewart, I Clark
09:00 J Grant, M Melville, J McBain
09:07 S Schofield, D Fotheringham, C Fairweather
09:15 K Macleod, G Scrimgeour, G Hunter
09:22 P Simpson, A Jones, M Allan
09:30 J McCowan (Jnr), D McDonald, D Findlay

Lunchtime Snacks Available!

12:00 N Dyce, C McKenna, M MacGillivary
12:07 S Thomson, J Scott, M Tinker
12:15 G Martin (Jnr), A Aird, I Scott
12:22 R Tinker (Jnr), DJ Alexander, D Grant
12:30 WD Robb, DM Alexander, H McKelvie
12:37 F Martin, M Truswell, C Brand
12:45 A Hughes, D Thomson, S Tosh
12:52 K Ewan, D Bell, A Ross
13:00 J Torrie, C McDonald, D Gordon

Fairway Resort Golf Course (Nubeena)

June 2009

Par: 29 (nine holes) Length: 2462 m

The course:
Firstly, there is none. There was a golf course, but now it's gone. Apparently the new owners didn't place maintaining a golf course high on the agenda and let it get grown over. I didn't find this out until we booked our 2008 Easter holidays at Fairway Lodge intent on reliving my childhood memories of the place. I "borrowed" Johnsy's carry bag (yes, I'll give it back ... one day) and crammed it in the boot with all the family luggage (Renee doesn't pack light). On arrival I put my golf shoes on, threw the carry bag over my shoulder and headed out to the first tee/clothes lines - what? I quickly retreated to the room to hide my clubs and ventured back out onto the course (and I use the word "course" loosely).

The layout is still there and there were even a couple of flags on the "greens". You can't distinguish rough from fairway from green. I don't think there's any recovering the course from this poor state. My back lawn is in better nick and that's saying something.

The course was never long and consisted of seven par 3's and two par 4's from memory. They were all reachable for a mid to low handicapper. They also moved the numbering of the holes around over the years, but my recollection is with the first tee level with the pool. The par 3 2nd hole was very short and very difficult. It was only about 90 metres but the drop from tee to green was also about 90 metres. There was a creek before the green and an apple orchard over the back (out of bounds). It was really difficult to judge how hard/soft to hit your sand wedge here even when you were playing well.

It was never a good course, but it was good fun especially for families on holiday. It's a real pity this course has been left to ruin. I don't think they can justify calling it 'Fairway Resort' anymore, but 'Paddock Resort' doesn't have the same ring I guess. Actually resort is another word they throw around loosely down there.

Here's a couple of recent pictures ..... (not!). Love the golfing attire!



The best shots:
Two events spring to mind from this course. Firstly, this was the location of Mitch's first game of golf when he was 6. He could only hit the ball about 30 metres and after a couple of shots on the first he still had about 30 metres to go. He hit a full shot that carried near the green and rolled up and hit the metal flag. I looked at him in astonishment and he didn't see what all the fuss was. He said to me words along the line of "Isn't that what I'm meant to do?". Bloody kids!

The other memorable event was a pair of drives that Conno hit when we went down there in '89 or so. On the par four 6th at the bottom of the course, Justin hit a drive on the green and sank the eagle putt for some skins. He followed this with a drive up the uphill par four 7th that also finished on the green. He casually rolled this in for consecutive eagles that essentially finished off our match. Bloody Conno!

The worst:
Not a shot as such, but my golf bag throw from the 7th green to the 8th tee as a result of Justin's consecutive eagles was very poor form. I can't take it back, but at least I can now acknowledge that you can't get down on yourself when your opponent does something out of the ordinary.

GOLF IN VEGAS

June 2009

Last summer I played golf in Las Vegas at two very nice courses. I played a British Open style course called Royal Links as well as a course called Desert Pines. Both courses were unique, fun, and fairly challenging. They are run by Walters Golf Company which also runs the Bali Hali course in Vegas.

I will start with Royal Links. It was very cool to play a links style course that has renditions of many famous golf holes, such as “The Road Hole” and “Hell Bunker” from the old course at St. Andrews and “The Postage Stamp” from Royal Troon. Other courses included are Carnoustie, Turnberry, Royal Liverpool, Prestwick, Royal Lytham, Muirfield and Royal Birkdale. For a complete hole by hole tour, click here.

It was definitely challenging at first getting used to playing a different style golf course than usual. Wayward tees shots can end up in grass 2 feet high making it extremely difficult finding the ball, much less hitting a good shot out of it. Some of the tee shots are completely blind and dealing with pot bunkers are no fun. A shot into a fairway pot bunker will force you to hit the ball out sideways.

They now even have a new service involving these girls. They did not have this feature when I played and I’m guessing this would be a little distracting when trying to focus on golf. This certainly does not follow the traditions of St. Andrews and other old school courses but I guess it's par for the course in Vegas.

Desert Pines was designed by Pete Dye and this course provides a North Carolina golf experience featuring thousands of pine trees lining the fairways and white sand bunkers throughout. Water comes into play on 9 out of the 18 holes and the large undulating greens provide a good challenge.

Although playing these courses was great, I will give you the most important piece of advice about playing golf in Vegas in the middle of the day in summer. Don’t do it! We decided to play in the mid afternoon to take advantage of the lowest prices, however, it was not the smartest decision for overall health.

It was ridiculously hot, especially on the desert course, especially if you hit your ball right or left of the fairways, where a huge desert sand area will be waiting for you. I remember drinking about 4 gatorades, 8 waters, and dumping countless waters on my head to no avail. By the end I was about to pass out. So, although you may be up all night partying the previous night, you should try to play really early in the morning or late in the day when the weather is a little cooler. You will be glad you made this decision.

If you need a break from the casinos and parties the next time you're in Vegas, check out these golf courses. They both provide unique golfing experiences and are in excellent condition. Both courses are within a 20 minute drive from the strip and are fairly priced. I highly recommend playing both of these courses.

MJ GETS NERVOUS?

June 2009

Along with Justin Timberlake, Ben Roethlisberger, and a contest winner, Michael Jordan played Bethpage Black last Friday, the site of this weeks U.S. Open. Surprisingly, Jordan got a case of the nerves which proves golf can affect anyone.

"Man, I was so tight it was amazing," Jordan said. "I could not get loose to save my life." MJ started off by triple bogeying the first hole and double bogeying the second. Brutal. He went on however, to shoot a 39 on the back side for an overall 86. Not a bad score for an amateur at Bethpage.

"Under these conditions, you never really know," Jordan said. "The doubt creeps in there a lot more than on the basketball court. On the basketball court, I never think about 'what if.' On the golf course you find yourself thinking. What if you hit into the rough over there, can you get it out?"

For the full story, click here.

Brian Gay wins way into U.S. Open

June 2009

Brian Gay went wire to wire at the St. Judes Classic in Memphis to win by five strokes over David Toms and Bryce Molder. The win makes him exempt for this weeks U.S. Open at Bethpage Black because he has now won twice in the last calendar year.

Rookie Wins LPGA Championship

June 2009

Anna Nordqvist won the LPGA championship today at Bull Rock Golf Course in Maryland in her first major as a professional. She won by four strokes over Lindsey Wright to take home the $300,000.00 prize and second major of the year. Nordqvist, a swede who has patterned her game after Annika Sorenstam, was playing in just her fifth overall tournament as a professional.

Hall Of Fame Medal

June 2009

Super turnout from the chaps at the weekend with the entry fees raising £94 for Charity. The afternoon golfers faired a tad better than the morning brigade, and some may say, about time too! The results are as follows:

CSS: 71

Scores

1st Place. M Grieve - 39 pts (After CB)
2nd Place. C McDonald - 39 pts (After CB)
3rd Place. L Duncan - 39 pts (After CB)
4th Place. J Grant - 39 pts (After CB)

2's

The following 2's were recorded during this competition:

S Bolderson at the 13th
I Butchart at the 17th

Handicaps.

Reductions

The following players had their handicaps reduced as a result of this competition:

M Grieve - New Playing Handicap - 13
L Duncan - New Playing Handicap - 8
C McDonald - New Playing Handicap - 27

Up-Revisions

The following players suffered a handicap up-revision as a result of this Competition:

B Simpson - New Playing Handicap - 14
I McGowan - New Playing Handicap - 17
G Hunter - New Playing Handicap - 19

Congratulations to all the competitors and to M Grieve who will now represent the Club at the Regional Finals, details of which are in the Changing Room.

GOLF TO IMPRESS

June 2009

Check out Golf to Impress. This is a combination blog slash website with a lot of great information and deals on equipment. The site gives up to date information on golf current events with some entertaining stories and videos. There is also a lot of info on apparel and new equipment such as the black prototype wedges seen below.

Hall of Fame Medal

June 2009

The Hall of Fame Medal draw is shown below. Please note that this is a Charity Event, and as such the entry fee for ALL competitors is £2. The winner of this event will go forward to represent the Club in the Regional Finals, details of which are on the Notice Board in the changing room. As the Regional and National Finals are played in Stableford format, this qualifying event will be played in that format.

Batter's Up

0800 S Thomson & R Miller
0807 M MacGillvary & B Simpson
0815 Mike Bell, M Scott & GS Allan
0822 K Mitchell, C Davidson & D Gordon
0830 C Fairweather, S Schofield & B McGowan
0837 I McGowan, G Hunter & M Grieve
0845 GN Hunter, Matt Bell & I Stewart
0852 M Melville, L Duncan & A Downs (FH)
0900 D McDonald, P Simpson & D Findlay
0907 G Scrimgeour, R Milligan & M Allen
0915 K MacLeod, S Bolderson & A Ramsay
0922 D Fotheringham, A Docherty & J Grant

Shots Away

1200 G Haynes & J Scott
1207 A Easton (Jnr), N Dyce & DJ Alexander
1215 G Martin (Jnr), C McKenna & D Thomson
1222 C McDonald, F Martin & D Grant
1230 I Scott, A Hughes & D Robb
1237 K Ewan, R Michie & I Butchart

Good Luck everyone.

Mixed Event - Kinpurnie Cup, Sunday 14th June

June 2009

The draw for the above event will take place on Sunday. The first tee-time is at 1230hrs, therefore, could all those taking part be at the Clubhouse for 1200hrs.

Barnbougle Dunes

June 2009

The Course
Par 71, 6148 metres (Forrester Tees)
Green Fees - $98 per 18 holes ($65 for locals)

Firstly let me state that Barnbougle Dunes is no doubt (to me) the best golf course in Tasmania with a similar level of quality not available elsewhere in the state. It is, however a public golf course and with that comes the subsequent “characteristics” - numerous unfilled divots, footprints in bunkers, poorly placed rakes and a general lack of etiquette from fellow golfers. While this is at times distracting, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Divot on 1st (above), rake on 3rd (below)

The fairways are very wide, but hitting the fairway doesn’t guarantee a par. You have to choose your line to the hole carefully prior to teeing off as it is easy to get obstructed by undulations within the fairway that force you to lay-up with a shorter iron (see view from par four 8th hole from 200m out).

If you do stray off the fairways or miss greens by a significant amount then you will be faced with natural marram grass (as shown below) that you will be lucky to find your ball within, or in the event you do, you will do well to hack it back into play.

You’ll also be greeted by the local wildlife such as the many wallabies I saw on my journey (spot the wallabies in the below picture).

It’s definitely a course where local knowledge would be worth many shots.

The course offers four different tees on each hole named Forrester (for 0-4 handicaps), Boobyalla (5-17), Melaleuca (18-27) and Marram (27+). The Forrester markers are at times more than 100 metres behind the Melaleuca and Marram markers with the Boobyalla tees somewhere in the middle. I’m sure that these tee options provide the course with multiple personalities and I can vouch for the fact that the back markers are a tough test for low handicappers. Still, there are a couple of driveable par fours (4th, 12th) even from the back tees, but there is a significant risk in trying to reach these – especially the latter. To the other extreme, the par four 8th is near unreachable, especially with the variable fairway height throughout the hole. Many of the par 5’s play as definite three-shot holes and a priority should be placed on keeping ball in play over trying to overpower the golf course.

The greens are very large and undulating (no different to the rest of the course really). The greens aren’t necessarily that fast overall, although I had some of the quickest downhill, downwind putts that I have ever faced. It is important to leave your approach shots in the right spot – something you won’t be able to do until you get to know the course. The 188m, par three 13th is the most undulating green on the course. I drove to Barnbougle Dunes via the East Coast and as we went through Elephant’s Pass we discussed the whereabouts of the elephants that this location was named after. I discovered on the 13th at Barnbougle that at least two of these elephants (probably three) had made their way to the North East coast of Tasmania and died under this very green.

The wind will definitely be present when you play the course as it is directly on Bass Strait.

It is the most picturesque golf course I have ever seen and it does Tasmania proud. It is worth the trip to play this remote course, whether you are travelling from interstate, overseas or within Tasmania (where, for us locals, a 20 minute drive is considered excessive). Even though the course has been open for a few years now you should still expect a lot of people to be playing on any given day, with the majority being interstate visitors. Although I didn’t stay in them, I recommend the on-site accommodation in order to get the maximum golf you can fit into the day. Oh, and buy a course guide – and consider enlisting the services of a caddy.

The Round
Date: 6 June 2009
Score: 83 (Forrester tees), Greens Hit: 9/18, Putts: 36, Fairways Hit: 7/14

Even though I had read every piece of information that I could find about Barnbougle Dunes before I arrived there, I had no idea where to hit the ball on each hole. More importantly I didn’t know where to miss it. I opened with three soft bogies that would have been pars on a course more familiar to me. I drove the 271 metre par 4 fourth and calmly three-putted for my first par (see my drive just past the hole on the right?) ...

I have finally proven that it is possible to have a mildly unenjoyable round on a most enjoyable course. As Barnbougle is a links course, I was prepared for a bit of wind and rain. After the first four holes I thought I was going to be fortunate and play on a relatively calm day. Nu-uh. Everything changed on the picturesque walk along the coast to the 5th tee.

· Firstly, the wind came up on this hole and never abated.
· Secondly, it started to rain, but the wind made putting up an umbrella a fruitless exercise.
· Thirdly, I caught up to the slowest group in the world (see below).

I’m still not clear how many people were playing golf in front of me, or if indeed golf was the game they were playing, but there were 4 couples in two golf carts (I didn’t think carts were allowed at Barnbougle unless you had a medical certificate – I guess among eight, 80 year olds, you’re bound to have a valid excuse). All up my front nine took over three hours to complete even though I played the first 4 holes unimpeded. Granted, I took a little bit of extra time carving up a 6 on the short (112m), but ridiculously challenging, par three 7th hole.

The back nine was a much more enjoyable affair mainly because the group of eight that I was following stopped for skinny chai lattes and to buff their matching Audi’s™ at the turn.

I played the back Forrester (black) tees in order to obtain the full experience of Barnbougle Dunes. I can’t recall a time, apart from my junior days, where I have stood on par fours knowing that my two best shots wouldn’t be enough to get to the green. I assume reaching the 8th at Barnbougle, even with the prevailing tailwind, is not very common from the back tees. It was also obvious on a couple of the par 5’s that reaching them in two shots was not going to be an option, at least on this day.

The undulating greens and my lack of course experience resulted in 4 three putts and very few up and downs from next to missed greens. I had a couple of putts on the back-nine par 3’s where it wasn’t even possible to get the ball to finish near the hole. The pin at the 13th was at the back left and I needed to aim to the back fringe, with the ball dribbling back to about 6 feet (from about 25 feet). On the 16th, although I was only about 10 feet away, I had no hope of getting the ball to stop near the hole with a ridge surrounding each approach to the hole, but conveniently not one acting as a backstop.

I got my first birdie of the day at the par four 17th where I stiffed a nine iron to a foot and followed this up with a regulation par up the last in fading light. All up my round of 83 (44 out, 39 in) took around 5 hours. I get some satisfaction knowing that the group of eight that I passed through would have been stranded in the dark somewhere around the 14th as I packed my clubs in the boot of my car.

So all up it was a most enjoyable course, but not necessarily an enjoyable round - I guess I could have picked a better day to play than the Saturday of a long weekend. Still, I can’t wait to go back there where I'll draw upon the experiences I learned during this round.

The best:

I'd have to rate my drive onto the 4th green as a highlight along with my 9 iron to the 17th green. Yes the golf course got the better of me on most holes, but I showed it who was boss on at least these two.

The worst:

I was just going through my round and couldn't think of that many bad shots that I hit. I guess that shows that playing average golf isn't good enough on this course. I guess the fact my sand iron over the back of the 7th contributed to me having a 6 warrants it being adjudged one of my poorer shots. My 4 iron of a sidehill lie on the 9th to more than 50 metres right of the green can only be classified as a brain fade.

Another round soon,

Patto

Club Championship and Tankard Trophy Qualifiers

June 2009

After the Completion of both qualifying rounds the following members have qualified for the competition listed. The players are in seeded order. If any player is unavailable for any of the KO rounds, they are to contact the Competitions Secretary as soon as possible. The finalised draw will be posted in the Clubhouse on Saturday 13th June. Once the draw is posted, there will be no further amendment made.

Championship Contenders.

The KO stages of this competition will be held on Mon 15th June at tee-times between 1730 and 1830 hours with the Quarters held on Wed 17th June at tee-times between 1730 and 1800. The Semi-Finals will be held on Fri 19th June between 1730 and 1800. Tie Tee-times will be published on the finalised draw sheet.

1. SA Robertson
2. L Bushby
3. Matt Bell
4. M Macgillvary
5. C McKenna
6. A Easton
7. M Tinker
8. M Scott
9. S Thomson
10. G Martin
11. I Butchart
12. I Scott
13. D Douglas
14. K Mitchell
15. Mike Bell
16. R Milligan

Tankard Qualifiers

The KO stages of this competition will be held on Tue 16th June at tee-times between 1730 and 1830 hours with the Quarters held on Thu 18th June at tee-times between 1730 and 1800. The Semi-Finals will be held on Fri 19th June between 1730 and 1800. Tie Tee-times will be published on the finalised draw sheet.

1. D McDonald
2. M Grieve
3. C Fairweather
4. C Davidson
5. B Simpson
6. WD Robb
7. A Hughes
8. W McGregor
9. D Gordon
10. C McDonald
11. J Ireland

TIGER SHUTS THEM UP

June 2009

Man, Tiger really sucks now. He can't hit a fairway. He can't make any putts. He can't hit the ball as far as he used to. His knee is not healthy. He needs to fire his swing coach, Hank Haney. He can't come from behind to win. He doesn't have his "A" game when he needs it. He will never break Jack's record now.

This nonsense is all that has been written about Tiger Woods the past few months, despite him coming back after major surgery and winning one tournament and finishing with five top ten finishes. Talk about high expectations. Apparently he needed to win every tournament by ten strokes for the writers to shut up.

"I wish you'd all quit (ticking) him off," runner-up Jim Furyk said with a smile. "That's about all I have to say about that. Wish you'd just quit chapping him so much and make him come back and keep proving stuff. Tiger Woods is always Tiger Woods. He can't be 100 percent every week, but I'm sure he answered a lot of questions today."

Tiger put on a show this past week at The Memorial, and probably proved a lot to the media. "It was just a matter of time," the world's No. 1 player said. "It came together this week."

He shot a final round 65 on Sunday and hit 14 out of 14 fairways, bringing his total to 49 out of 56 fairways for the week.


This was his 20th come from behind victory, including second for this year. At Bay Hill he came from five behind and he started the final round at Memorial four behind. This also brings him to 4th place in the Fed Ex Cup standings and of course makes him the strong favorite to win the U.S. Open at Bethpage in two weeks.

As a side note, since the 2006 British Open, Woods has won 19 out of 35 tournaments for a 54.2% winning percentage.

I think for Tiger Woods, the perfect storm is brewing. He is almost fully back from the injury. His swing is coming into form again. He is coming closer and closer to breaking Jack's record.

The rest of this year could be really ugly for the other players.

Click here for the full transcript of Tiger's post tournament press conference.

John Daly interview. Also, an environmentally friendly mosquito repellent that works!

June 2009

Click here to listen.

John Daly says that he is finally done with the "drama" in his life, has signed an endorsement deal with both an energy drink company and Loudmouth Clothes and is returning to the PGA Tour at the St. Jude Championship next week courtesy of a sponsor's exemption. He will also attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open. Another major win? Daly maintains that his confidence, his fighting spirit and his "feel for the game" will direct him in a positive direction.

Daly has played solidly in Europe, honing his skills with the assistance of golf instructor Rick Smith and believes he is "ready to play" on the PGA Tour. After the BMW Championship, JD mentioned to the Associated Press, "I'm not going to be (half-trying) like I've done in the past. I know I may not play the tour if something good doesn't happen. It's making me work harder."

John enjoys connecting with his fans on a regular basis through social marketing websites, Facebook and Twitter, tweeting to keep them up-to-date on his life journey. In fact, that is precisely how I met Daly. His responsiveness is precisely why I decided to follow him on Twitter.

After communicating for some time, I asked him if I could email him a few sentences longer than 140 characters. Well, the Lion responded and here is the result of our email contact.


What are you and Coach Rick Smith working on?
Daly: Finish the backswing and shorten my putting stroke.

It seems almost every one on Tour these days pairs a mental coach alongside of swing coaches. Do you have a mental game coach and, if so, what kind of thoughts are you instilling?
Daly: I use my golf coach Rick Smith and we try to set goals and positive re-inforcement.

What charges you up during a tournament?
Daly: Having a good round prior to a tournament start.

How do get rid of negative thoughts during a round?
Daly: Make a birdie.

Are you afraid of anything?
Daly: Snakes, gators and ex-wives.

Golfers always played in funky clothes. Now that you're playing in Loudmouth Clothes, people are taking notice. Do you think its the clothes or that you are wearing them or both?
Daly: Both

Do you think it's becoming a necessity for sports celebrities to connect with their fans or are you just interested in what your fans are thinking?
Daly: I have always been interested in my fans.

Does Twitter fascinate you and why?
Daly: I like that I can send messages direct to my fans and it comes from me.

Do you use other social networking sites?
Daly: Facebook and JohnDaly.com Follow John Daly on Twitter.

A 66 at the Italia Open, good results all around on the European Tour with the BMW PGA Championship just around the corner. Do you feel the European Tour is affording you a way to hone your game for when you are reinstated into the PGA Tour?
Daly: The European Tour guys are just as great as the US PGA Tour guys.

Have you had any conversations with the powers that be on the PGA Tour regarding with which event you will be reinstated?
Daly: Yes, June 1st.

Do you think your suspension was fair and, agree or not, do you think the suspension helped you as a person?
Daly: No, I don't think it was fair at all, further mentioning to the AP, "I don't really feel I deserved to be suspended, but I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm going to turn it into a positive. I'm getting my life back in order and I'm more organized."

Does good golf mimic good life or is one of the qualities of being a successful pro the ability to overcome it (obstacles)?
Daly: Good Golf means a more confident life both personal and in my game.

Right now, if you could choose the Race to Dubai or FedEx Cup which one would you dedicate yourself to and why?
Daly: I would like to do both.

John Daly is currently focusing his efforts on the Race to Dubai where he has a shot at the $1.6 million dollar prize. Daly is ninety-fourth in the standings and only the top seventy competitors are eligible to compete in the season-ending Dubai World Championship. There is plenty of time left to make a move and, with Daly's commitment to his future growing day-by-day, we might just see the Lion roaring in the winner's circle!

Golf for Beginners show also includes a discussion about the new, environmentally friendly Bug Bam mosquito repellent.


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CRAZY STATS AT MEMORIAL

June 2009

Luke Donald has the lead after the first round of The Memorial after firing a first round 64 which included a streak of six consecutive birdies and just 20 putts.


Tiger Woods turned his weakness so far this season into his strength by hitting 13 out of 14 fairways. Obviously, he has been working very hard on accuracy off the tee with his coach, Hank Haney, and so far it has paid off. Tiger is five shots off the lead after shooting 69.




It is nice to see David Duval up on the leaderboard again after shooting a 1 under 71. Hopefully he can keep it up. It still amazes me that before Tiger, Duval was the #1 player in the world.



Jason Day keeps up the momentum from his fourth place finish last week to shoot five under and get his name into the spotlight. Only 21, he is one of the next expected young guns and has been showing a great game as of late.


The full leaderboard can be seen here.