Tee to Green Issue 915

TEE TO GREEN

Issue 915 www.tee2green.co.za

2013REVIEWISSUE

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Phil Mickelson PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Phil Mickelson PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Performance of the Year SA Player of the Year Newsmaker of the Year Divot of the Year Best Round of the Year Best Drive of the Year Best Putt of the Year & One addition to the Oxford Dictionary!

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GIVE A LITTLE GOLF THIS CHRISTMAS 15 TH NOVEMBER - 31ST DECEMBER 2013

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TEE TO GREEN www.tee2green.co.za

FORE WORD

A DAY I WILL REMEMBER

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dennis Bruyns bruyns@icon.co.za teetogreen@ballyhoomedia.co.za PUBLISHER Eric Bornman eric@ballyhoomedia.co.za CREATIVE DIRECTOR Steven Macbeth FINANCIAL MANAGER Morgan Lufumpa CONTRIBUTORS Theo Bezuidenhout, Dave Edwards, Wayne Westner PHOTOGRAPHY Getty Images/ Gallo Images, Sunshine Tour/Gallo Images, Supplied Cover photo: Getty Images Ballyhoo Media Company Reg No 2007/207595/23 14 6TH Street, Parkhurst, Johannesburg South Africa, 2193 PO Box 3125, Parklands, 2121 Tel: 086 111 4626 Fax: 086 6706429 Printed by Paarl Coldset Tee to Green is published monthly

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Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of either parties. No responsibility is accepted for errors as all information was believed to be correct at the time of print. Copyright subsists on all content within this publication. Any reproduction without consent is strictly prohibited and may constitute a criminal offence.

FOLLOW THROUGH Got something to get off your chest? Have something good (or bad) to say about the paper? Any feedback is welcome so go ahead and mail us on teetogreen@ ballyhoomedia.co.za. The winning letter will receive a pair of Tag Heuer sunglasses.

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December 2013 will always be remembered as the day the former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace-prize winner, Nelson Mandela, passed away.

It will be one of those days of which people will have instant recall, remembering where they were and what they were doing when they got the news of his passing.

I was at Sun City for the playing of the Nedbank Golf Challenge and, for the first time ever, the first round had to be suspended and completed the next day – Friday. Play was due to start at 7.30am and, for many of us, the news of Mandela’s passing was first received early that morning.

I went down to the Tournament Office to meet with the Sun City, European and Sunshine Tour officials to finalise our plans for the day. They were already discussing what we might do to show our respect and it was decided that at 7.30am all the players, officials and course personnel would observe a minute’s silence before starting play.

Somebody asked if there was any chance of obtaining some symbol for the players to wear, in order to acknowledge that the country was in mourning. Linda Pettersson,

Ernie Els observes a minutes silence after the death of Nelson Mandela.

tournament secretary for the European Tour, thought she might have just the thing among her accoutrements of tournament operation. She found a small plastic bag containing black ribbons that had been left over from a previous event. On counting the ribbons there were 30 exactly, just the number needed for every player in the field.

And so, at 7.30am, with all the players wearing a black ribbon, we paid our respects to the great man.

When fans see a winning score of 20-under-par, they tend to think that somehow the golf course was prepared and set up too easily. This was not the case at all. For years now we have had a formula for course set up with the pins being placed in the same positions every day and the

same relevant tee positions used. This is not unusual as even armchair viewers can predict the final day pin placements at tournaments like The Masters that is played at the same course, Augusta National, each year.

There is no doubt that this year the rough was less punishing than in the past, but this was solely due to the lack of rain in the weeks preceding the event. What a low winning score often indicates is that the course has been perfectly prepared. And this was the case at Gary Player Country Club. In this regard I commend the course superintendent, Craig Cholwill, on the wonderful effort he and his staff put in, both leading up to the event and during the week of the tournament. In fact, the courses for all three events this summer season have been outstanding.

So mention must also be made of Mike Burnard at Glendower for the South African Open and Derek Muggerridge of Leopard Creek for the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Thomas Björn played superbly all week and showed again that golfers can still produce the goods well into their 40s. But for me the round of the week was the second round 68 shot by Peter Senior. It is not easy for 50-something players to play the Gary Player course off the tips as we do it in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and for Peter, not the longest hitter even in his early years, to shoot four under was outstanding.

All in all, the decision to extend the field to 30 players was a huge success; expect the tournament to grow in stature over the next few years.

Dennis Bruyns Editor-in-Chief

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news

VolVo Golf Champions

Louis Oosthuizen will be back to defend his crown at the Durban Country Club PG

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Thomas Björn, WiTh This Win

Björn again Two eagles on back nine seals it for 40-something Björn

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homas Björn produced a stunning 65 to overcome a similarly Herculean effort from Sergio Garcia in the final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City.

The Dane played the back of the Gary Player County Club in four-under-par as two eagles stunned his rivals. As a result, he ended the tournament on 20-under to edge out Garcia – who also struck 65 – and Jamie Donaldson.

“This is right up there with the best days of my career,” said Björn.

“You never forget your first victory, and then my win against Tiger in Dubai when I went toe-to-toe with him for four days and came out top was special, but winning here in the way that I did, against a field of this quality, is right up there.”

But he certainly did not have it all his own way. Garcia, with some great iron play, had taken his score to 18-under and was tied for the lead when the Dane stood on the par-five 14th tee.

Until then, courtesy of an eagle at the 10th, Björn had held a comfortable lead. He now needed to pull something special out of the bag – and he did. After driving it safely down the fairway, he produced an impeccably hit rescue club to fifteen feet, made the putt for his second eagle in five holes and a two-shot lead. He then consolidated this with a birdie at 15 and it was all over.

With a three-shot lead going up 18, he had the comfort of a bogey five to win by two from Garcia and third round leader Jamie Donaldson.

The latter ended his week with a disappointing 70, a birdie on 17 representing his only one coming in.

• His 15th European Tour International Schedule victory in his 424th European Tour event.

• Moves to €795,338 in The Race to Dubai.

• His second European Tour victory in the calendar year of 2013. His first was the Omega European Masters and now the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the 2013/2014 season.

• The second Dane to win on the 2014 European Tour season, following Morten Ørum Madsen (South African

Open Championship hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni).

• Wins his fourth European Tour title since turning 40 in February 2011.

• Has now won an official European Tour event in 11 different nations. They are: Scotland, Australia, Spain, Germany, UAE, England, Ireland, Portugal, Qatar, Switzerland and South Africa.

• Moves to more than €18 million in European Tour official career earnings.

• Gains his 21st professional win worldwide.

Results POS

PLAYER

RD1

RD2

RD3

RD4

TOTAL

MONEY

1

Thomas Björn

67

70

66

65

268

12,875,000

2

Sergio Garcia

66

73

66

65

270

6,221,200

T2

Jamie Donaldson

67

66

67

70

270

6,221,200

4

Henrik Stenson

69

67

69

67

272

3,584,400

5

Brendon de Jongh

70

68

69

66

273

3,038,500

6

Charl Schwartzel

68

70

71

66

275

2,523,500

7

Justin Rose

73

67

69

67

276

1,905,500

T7

Ryan Moore

71

65

67

73

276

1,905,500

9

Thongchai Jaidee

69

70

66

72

277

1,668,600

10

Peter Uihlein

70

69

70

70

279

1,627,400

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"I love the course. It's fabulous, a throwback to tradition in the centre of one of the major cities of the world.

"It's one of the best I've ever played, ver y visual, really well bunkered and ex tremely well set up. We don't get to play on many traditional courses anymore and I was delighted. "I could see this as a real potential venue for a U.S. Open if it was in America. It's so reminiscent of the great courses in the United States, it would fit in ver y well," Paul McGinley, Ryder Cup Captain who played in the 2013 SA Open Championship.

DATE:

December 3, 2012

D&E DIRECTOR:

Meredith Silberg

LIVE:

8w” x 11.375h”

JOB NUMBER:

WO13BRD805

CREATIVE MGR.:

Josh Nelson

TRIM:

8.5w” x 11.875h”

CREATIVE

4 news on tour

horses for courses

Race to Dubai the 2014 race to dubai is off and running and first out of the blocks is a young dane by the name of Morten Ørum Madsen.

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ith just the one season and 28 European Tour events under his belt, Madsen captured his maiden title with a two stroke victory in the South African Open, hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni, to become only the third Continental European to lift the second oldest open championship in world golf.

“To have the SA Open as my first victory on the European Tour is extremely special,” he said. “If you look down the list of names that have won this tournament in the past, there are Major champions and really great champions all around, so it’s an honour.”

The home Sunshine Tour players dominated the co-sanctioned events last season, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson being the lone European winner during the last campaign when he too won the opening event of the season.

It has been a rapid rise through the ranks for the 25-year-old, who

was part of the Danish amateur team who finished second to France in the 2010 Eisenhower Trophy, before progressing through the Challenge Tour and then onto the European Tour.

Madsen’s rookie season on the European Tour included five top 20 finishes and a tied 28th place in his US Open championship debut as he finished the season in 81st place in The Race to Dubai, a commendable performance which in another year could well have made him a strong contender for the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year title. Instead, the award went to the Peter Uihlein, the player who denied Madsen his maiden title in Madeira a few months earlier.

Bring on a new season and Madsen is a European Tour champion. In beating the 2011 Masters Tournament Champion Charl Schwartzel, among others, Madsen has proven he can cut it with the best in the world.

Morten ØruM Madsen, With this Win • His first European Tour international schedule victory in his 28th European Tour event.

• Moves to inside the top 120 of the Official World Golf Ranking from 244th.

• This victory beats his previous best European Tour performance of tied second in the 2013 Madeira Islands Open.

• The first, first-time winner of the 2014 season.

• His third European Tour career Top 10 finish in events in South Africa. Prior to

this victory, was tied fourth in the 2013 Nelson Mandela Championship, presented by ISPS Handa, and then tied eighth in the 2013 Tshwane Open.

• Is the first Dane to with the South African Open championship.

• Is only the third Continental European to win the South African Open championship. He follows Mathias Grönberg (2000) and Henrik Stenson (2012).

• Victory comes in his debut in the South African Open championship.

Charl SChwartzel continued his remarkable sequence of results at Leopard creek country club with a four shot victory over a spirited richard finch in the alfred dunhill championship. a winner by 12 shots last year, the 29-year-old has also been a runnerup four times in the event, where he collected his first european tour title in 2005. after a double bogey on the 10th hole of his first round, he went 62 holes without dropping a shot, and a closing 67 saw him finish 17-under-par for the week. “i had that hiccup in the first round through 17 and the first hole, and after that pretty much flawless with no bogeys from there on in,” he said. “Most of the time if you play 60 holes or whatever, it may be without bogey, then hopefully you’ll win. “it’s always nice to get a win and get some confidence up. it’s been one of those years where i have played well and just didn’t get the wins.” the former Masters winner started the day two clear of finch, who lost his european tour card after a disappointing 2013 campaign and failed to regain at Qualifying school a fortnight before. the englishman was soon level, however, with birdies at the first and third, only for schwartzel to respond with a beautiful tee shot to a couple of feet at the fifth.

Both players birdied the sixth and eighth to leave the remainder of the

field trailing, but finch’s first mistake of the day at the 11th proved costly. a wayward drive led to a penalty drop and, although he salvaged bogey on that occasion, a double bogey at the 14th ended his challenge after schwartzel had birdied the 13th from eight feet.

charL schWartzeL, With this Win • His ninth European Tour International Schedule victory in his 247th European Tour event.

• Moved to number one in the Race to Dubai with €287,470.

• Moved back into the Top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

• His first European Tour victory since the Alfred Dunhill Championship at the beginning of the 2013 European Tour season.

• Makes a successful defence of his title he won 12 months ago at Leopard Creek.

• His third victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, following his triumphs in the 2005 and 2013 seasons.

• Of his nine European Tour victories, six have now come in South Africa.

They are: 2005 Alfred Dunhill Championship, 2010 Africa Open, 2010 Joburg Open, 2011 Joburg Open, 2013 Alfred Dunhill Championship and 2014 Alfred Dunhill Championship.

• First player to make a successful defence of a European Tour title since Luke Donald at the BMW PGA Championship in 2011/2012.

• The 118th South African victory in European Tour history.

• This victory extends South Africa’s sequence of consecutive winning years on The European Tour to 24, dating back to the 1991 season.

• His 12th win as a professional.

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Volvo Golf Champions The beautiful Durban Country Club will again host the volvo Golf Champions from 9 to 12 January, 2014.

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his elite event is the European Tour’s true Tournament of Champions and features a star-studded field of proven winners with everyone having either won on Tour in the previous year or with 10 or more career victories. The championship therefore features a perfect combination of the game’s most popular and well-established stars alongside those who are making a real name for themselves as they emerge onto the world’s golfing stage.

South African star and four-time Major winner Ernie Els will headline the field at the Volvo Golf Champions along with a host of Europe’s most established stars at the Volvo Golf Champions, The European Tour’s ‘Tournament of Champions’.

Record-breaking 20-year-old Matteo Manassero will head up the challenge of the next generation competing for an increased prize fund of $4 million.

Els, a 26-time winner on the European Tour, is joined by European Ryder Cup stalwarts, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, three-time Major winner

Pádraig Harrington, 2010 Open Champion Darren Clarke , eight-time Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie, 18-time European Tour winner Thomas Björn and two time Major winner José María Olazábal. Between them, they have won 143 European Tour titles and have 170 years of experience playing on the European Tour.

By contrast, Italian star Manassero, a four-time winner on the European Tour before his 20th birthday, is one of a talented group of young twenty-somethings looking to emulate the successes of their elders by adding the 2014 Volvo Golf Champions to their CV. Peter Uihlein, a 24-year-old American, is the newly crowned winner of the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, having won his maiden title at the 2013 Madeira Islands Open and finished 14th in the Race to Dubai.

Also qualified is 23-year-old Victor Dubuisson from France, after his stunning win at the Turkish Airlines Open last month, along with Korea’s 23-year-old Jin Jeong, who won the 2013 Perth International, and Asia’s

Giveaway!

1 x Pro-am Spot One (1) spot as part of a team of three amateurs playing alongside a participating Professional in the Volvo Golf Champions Pro Am competition taking place at Durban Country Club on Wednesday 8 January 2014. Amateurs must have a playing handicap of no more than 24 for men and 36 for ladies and a club handicap certificate will be required.

(Terms & conditions apply: Flights and accommodation excluded) Value R20 000

newest superstar, 24-year-old Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who qualified with a win at the Maybank Malaysian Open and leads the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit by an unassailable margin.

This exclusive, limited-field event of European winners will also enjoy a substantial head start over their peers at the beginning of the year.

The elite group of players will battle it out for their share of the $4 million prize fund at the start of the season when so many players are looking to secure their entry into the other big events such as The Masters and stake their claim to a place on the 2014 European Ryder Cup team.

Els will be looking for his first Volvo Golf Champions title, having lost out the last two years to his talented young countrymen, Branden Grace (2012) and Louis Oosthuizen (2013), who are both confirmed in the field.

4 x Season tickets Each of the tickets include the following: • Access to the Volvo Golf Champions for all 4 days of the tournament • Value of each ticket is R220 • Valid for 4 days (9 – 12 January 2014) TO ENTER: Go to the T2G Facebook page (www. facebook.com/ T2 Green Magazine) and answer the qualifying question: “Where will this year’s Volvo GC be played?”

Comp ends 20 Dec and winners will be announced via the T2G Facebook page.

Els explained: “I’m really looking forward to starting my year at the Volvo Golf Champions at the Durban Country Club. I have had some great wins there and I really enjoy the course; it is always extra special to play in front of my home fans. It is going to be a very tough week with so many excellent players in the field, but hopefully we will have another fantastic tournament and I will be able to give the crowds something to cheer about come Sunday afternoon.”

6 NEWS

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING

THE R & A has introduced a new “Open Qualifying Series” that works as follows: The Open Qualifying Series will comprise 14 events in nine countries on five continents and will offer players the opportunity to qualify for golf’s oldest Major championship at prestigious events on the PGA Tour, the European Tour, the Sunshine Tour, the Australasian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour.

Freddie Tait winner humbled At the SA Open, Louis Taylor – the lone surviving amateur after the cut – says he lived through a careerdefining experience.

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n Sunday, he wrapped up his SA Open campaign with an uncharacteristic 78, and this fourth-round score marked the only time that the Glendower course got the better of him. In the earlier rounds, Taylor carded 71, 70 and 70.

But it wasn’t only the revamped Glendower course that got to Taylor on Sunday. He was also overcome by the sense of the occasion.

Taylor’s SA Open debut was his first tournament experience on the international stage and in a field included 2011 Masters champion

Charl Schwartzel, two-time US Open winner Retief Goosen, 2014 European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, 2001 Open champion David Duval and many more seasoned European and Sunshine Tour champions.

“I am so grateful that the South African Golf Association gave me the chance to tee it up in a tournament of this stature,” Taylor said.

“I came here this week to see how things are run out here at an event like the SA Open. It was my first proper pro tournament and I wanted see how the pros play and at the same time just try to play my own

MOVIE REVIEW

ARTHUR NEWMAN

IMAGINE COLIN FIRTH, a former golf professional, now looking to start a new life as a teaching pro at an exclusive country club. He looks the part even with the limited shots of him playing. The film is not so much about golf, but second chances.

Firth plays Wallace Avery and he hates his job. His ex-wife and son

game. I stuck to my routine and did things the way I wanted to.

“After playing the SA Open, I know now this is a big step from amateur level. You can see it in every aspect and the organisation is just so professional. I’m glad that I’ve experienced it, seen it and got a glimpse of what is to come. It’s been fun to out here with all the great golfers.”

Despite his wayward play on Sunday, the proudest people at Glendower was Taylor’s Harrismithbased parents.

The Taylors were ringside in the packed 18th hole gallery when Taylor was presented with the Freddie Tait Trophy by SAGA president, Andre Pieterse – another Free State native – as the leading amateur in the 103rd South African Open Championship.

“It’s amazing to know that your name is going to be on this trophy forever, especially when you see the names of the previous winners,” gushed Taylor. “Denis Hutchinson, Dale Hayes, Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman… they have all gone on to do amazing things. I just hope I can live up to the billing.”

hate him, and he’s blown his one shot at living his dream – a life as a touring professional. Not wanting to face all this, he stages his own death and buys himself a new identity as Arthur Newman. However, Arthur’s road trip towards a new life (teaching golf) is interrupted by the arrival of the beautiful but fragile Mike, who is also trying to leave her past behind.

Drawn to one another, these two damaged souls begin to connect as they break into empty homes and

THREE SPOTS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE JOBURG OPEN ON THE SUNSHINE TOUR. THE THREE QUALIFYING PLACES AVAILABLE WILL GO TO THE LEADING THREE PLAYERS (NOT OTHERWISE EXEMPT) WHO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 POSITIONS The first event in the Qualifying Series was the Emirates Australian Open on the Australasian Tour.

The series will include three events on the PGA Tour – the AT&T National and the Greenbrier Classic, where four places in The Open will be available, and the John Deere Classic, where one player will qualify.

On the European Tour, three spots will be available at each of the Alstom Open de France, the Irish Open and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. Four spots will be available at the Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour and at an Asian Qualifying event in the early part of the year.

Three spots will be available at the Joburg Open on the Sunshine Tour. The three qualifying places available will go to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the Top 10 positions and ties.

take on the identities of the absent owners: elderly newlyweds, a high-roller and his Russian lady, among others. Through this process, Arthur and Mike discover that what they love most about each other are the identities they left at home, and their real journey, that of healing, begins.

Email your name, age, handicap and where you are a member to teetogreen@ballyhoomedia.co.za and stand a chance to win a copy.

7

Chen makes her Merc

senior scene

South African Connie Chen recently bagged a Mercedes E400 convertible with an ace at the par-3 15th during the third round of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

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hen flew a 6-iron from 148m at the Majlis Golf Course to notch only the second hole-in-one in the eight-year history of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

Chen had a hole-in-one in Spain last year, but didn’t win a prize. The 21-year-old from Pretoria has a driving licence and added that it would be a great first car.

“I didn’t see it go in; none of us

did,” Chen said. “My dad said, ‘oh, it might have gone in’, but the cameraman didn’t say anything. So he and Sandra were like, if it went in, someone would have done something. We only found out it went in, like maybe five meters away from the hole.”

The incredible stroke of skill led to a final round 70 that vaulted Chen into the Top 30 in the season-finale after she slipped to joint 50th with a second round 75.

AShby SurpriSE winnEr At OtwAy hAyES SEniOr CLASSiC Robyn Ashby, from Zwartkop Country Club, surprised everyone in winning his first Senior Amateur title at Zwartkop CC in mid-november, with a score of 144 (73, 71).

Ashby ascribed his maiden victory to good driving and a razor sharp

short game – especially putting. “being a member at Zwartkops for a number of years surely helped a lot because my knowledge of the greens and lines were superb!” tied for second with scores of 145 were Derik piek and ben Kleynhans, respectively.

FrAnKLin winS At KOrO CrEEK LAwRence FRAnkLin from Central Gauteng, was steadiness personified in winning the Limpopo Seniors at the Koro Creek golf estate near Modimolle in late november. he posted solid rounds of 72 and 71 for a 143 total, conquering this tricky layout through great iron play and a red hot driver.

Mellette hendrikse was second on 147 (75, 72) and third was Gerhard Strydom from waterkloof CC with scores of 74, 75 (149)

8 BLAST FROM THE PAST Sixty yearS ago the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II heralded a memorable summer of sport in Britain. Amongst the highlights was the first and only win in the world’s greatest flat the race, the Derby, for Sir Gordon Richards.

The day - Saturday June 6, 1953, just four days after the young Queen had been crowned and the Coronation Honours List had been announced with a knighthood, at last, for Gordon Richards, Britain’s champion jockey for nearly three decades.

By the end of that day Richards, who had been trying since 1924, had won his first Derby, on Pinza, beating the Queen’s horse, Aureole, into second place. It was his 28th and last attempt to claim racing’s Holy Grail.

Celebrations all round. For Richards, for trainer Norman Bertie and owner Sir Victor Sassoon who was to claim three more Derby victories with Crepello, Hard Ridden and St Paddy before he died in 1961. But there was sadness as well. Three days after Richards stormed home, Fred Darling, who bred Pinza, finally succumbed to cancer. He had willed himself to live and applaud the victory. He could die in peace now.

And then in mid-summer at the golf ’s toughest championship course Carnoustie Ben Hogan won the Open Championship.

Ben Hogan was the taciturn, tough man of American golf and, after being nagged by Walter Hagen and Tommy Armour, finally made his solitary appearance at the Open in July 1953. Aged 40, and still in constant pain from injuries received in a car crash four years earlier, Hogan systematically dismantled the formidable Carnoustie course with rounds of 73, 71, 70 and 68.

The 1953 Open was his crowning glory. Having already bagged the Masters and US Open earlier in the year, he opted to miss the PGA Championship in favour of the Open and arrived in Scotland two weeks before the start, virtually unheard of in those days. He promptly employed local caddie Cecil Timms, who was expected to be seen and not heard. Constant demands for cigarettes were communicated by Hogan with an impatient slap on his trouser pocket and the striking of an imaginary match. Timms retained his dignity throughout by performing his duties in an immaculately pressed lounge suit.

The tournament was won and his place in history secure. The presentation party was in place and the crowd waited to

I play with friends, but we don’t play friendly games

I always outworked everybody. Work never bothered me like it bothers some people

9 acclaim a very special golfer. And they waited, and waited. Ten minutes elapsed before Hogan appeared.

Officially Timms had been sent scurrying to collect a clean jacket for his master, but there are those who swear the iron man of golf was shedding tears at the back of the clubhouse and needed all those 10 minutes to compose himself.

The win at Carnoustie was but a part of Hogan’s watershed 1953 season, in which he won five of the six tournaments he entered, including three major championships.

It still stands among the greatest single seasons in the history of professional golf. Hogan was unable to enter — and possibly win — the 1953 PGA Championship (to complete the Grand Slam) because its play (July 1–7) overlapped the play of the British Open at Carnoustie (July 6–10), which he won. It was the only time that a golfer had won three major professional championships in a year until Tiger Woods won the final three majors in 2000 (and the first in 2001).

Hogan often declined to play in the PGA Championship, skipping it more and more often as his career wore on. There were two reasons for this: firstly, the PGA Championship was, until 1958, a match play event, and Hogan’s particular skill was “shooting a number” — meticulously planning and executing a strategy to achieve a score for a round on a

particular course (even to the point of leaving out the 7-iron in the U.S. Open at Merion, saying “there are no 7-iron shots at Merion”). The second reason was that the PGA required several days of 36 holes per day competition, and after his 1949 auto accident, Hogan struggled to manage more than 18 holes a day.

In 292 career PGA Tour events, Ben Hogan finished in the Top 3 in 47.6-percent of them. He finished in the Top 10 in 241 of those 292 events.

Hogan was born near Fort Worth in 1912. Hogan and Byron Nelson were childhood acquaintances, caddying at the same Fort Worth club. They even squared off one year for the club’s caddie championship (Nelson won).

Hogan’s childhood was rough - his father committed suicide, and it is believed that Hogan witnessed the tragic event.

Hogan turned pro in 1929, at age 17, to play pro events in Texas. He

A Classic Year Some years just stand out, iconic if you wish, and 1953 was certainly one of them.

didn’t join the PGA Tour until 1932. Much of his early career, Hogan battled a hook. But through a tremendous work ethic, he changed his game to a controlled fade (in his famous words, he “dug it out of the dirt”). In 1940, he began winning, and often.

He missed a couple years on Tour due to World War II, but returned full-time in 1946 and won 13 times, including his first major, the 1946 PGA Championship. From August 1945 to February 1949, Hogan won 37 times. But in 1949, he suffered terrible injuries in a car crash, and was never again able to play a full schedule due to circulatory problems in his legs.

Sixteen months after that crash - in which Hogan threw himself across his wife to protect her as their car collided with a bus - Hogan returned to win the 1950 U.S. Open. That victory is sometimes referred to as “the miracle at Merion,” because Hogan won despite severe pain and having to play 36 holes on the final day.

In fact, from 1950 on, Hogan never played more than seven PGA Tour events in a year. Yet, he won 13 more times, including six majors.

His demeanour on the course was quiet and focused. With others, Hogan was often distant and aloof.

But he had everyone’s respect.

Ben Hogan is one of the giants of golf history and 1953, 60 years ago, will be remembered as the “Year of the Hawk”.

Spectators watch Ben Hogan play a shot on his way to winning the 1953 British Open.

I hate a hook.

It nauseates me.

I could vomit when I see one.

It’s like a rattlesnake in your pocket

Selecting a stroke is like selecting a wife. To each his own

Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are Relax? How can inclined to do, anybody relax and you will and play golf? probably come You have to very close to grip the club having a perfect don’t you? golf swing

10 cover story

Best and Worst of

Dufnering Duf•ner•ing: noun; 1: the state of being lethargic, comatose or sluggish; inactive; inert; vacant; torpid; sedentary; somnambulant.

Newsmaker

of the Year

11

Player

of the Year

It seems unlikely that 2013 will be remembered as a stand-out year in world golf.

We witnessed some excellent golf

and as always with the game more than a few disappointments.

But a watershed year it was not.

Still there is much to reflect on.

12 cover story There were a number of deserving candidates. Adam Scott won his first Major at the Masters.

This was also the first by an Australian player in this first Major of the year. Englishman Justin Rose realised his true potential at Merion to win the US Open. Jason Dufner was an unlikely winner of the PGA Championship. Tiger Woods posted five PGA Tour wins, taking Player of the Year honours on the PGA Tour, and Henrik Stenson had an outstanding finish to the year on both sides of the pond. But for us, the ‘Player of the Year’ is the lefty, Phil Mickelson. And yes, this based primarily on his victory in the Open Championship at Muirfield.

The Open has always been the one Major that pundits believed Mickelson would never win.

His game, they felt, was not suited to the demands of links golf. With his victory the week before at the Scottish Open, Mickelson gave early notice that this criticism had no founding – and then at Muirfield he simply out played the world’s best players to record his fifth Major title.

He now joins an elite group of players in the modern game to have won three of the four Majors. They are Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Ray Floyd and Tom Watson. The missing Major for Mickelson is the US Open, a championship he has finished second six times.

In a year that included sA Player some fine individual of the Year performances from many players it is difficult to single out any one player’s achievements as more deserving than another. So we name Team SA as the SA Players of the Year. And in that we include all golfers who carried the flag as professional or amateur, male and female, senior or junior here in South Africa, or abroad.

Consider this: our South African players banked prize money in excess of R500 million in 2013.

addition to the oxford dictionarY

Player

In fact, Mickelson has been runner up in Majors eight times and third on seven occasions. And of all the current players, he seems the most likely to join the exclusive group of Sarazen, Hogan, Player, Nicklaus and Woods as a winner of the Grand Slam.

What makes it all even more worthy is the way he has done it.

Firstly, with dignity and humility.

Here is a man who has had to overcome some personal hardship, arthritis attacks in his fingers and

supporting his lovely wife, Amy, and then his mother Mary through their battles with breast cancer.

There is an old country adage that goes, “When you go to the big party, you dance with the one who brung ya.” In golf it is adapted to read “you swing with the one you bring.”

Mickelson brought to the game a good solid long game with a magical touch on, and around, the green.

And this is what he still has today; let’s hope it stays with him for many years to come. By triumphing at the Major he least expected to win, Mickelson has five Major championships and is now just that long-sought US Open away from a career Grand Slam.

criticism, culminating with Brandel Chamblee’s implication of cheating following his moving-ball penalty at the BMW Championship.

Woods’ failure to fire at Merion, Muirfield or Oak Hill – contrasting so sharply with virtuoso performances at the Players and Firestone – saw the 14-time Major

no problem with this one. And for once it is a real divot – yes of the Year the divot that launched thousands of words of copy in publications all over world, on Facebook pages, on Twitter and anywhere else that people could express their opinions. The divot made when Tiger Woods hit an almost perfect pitch into the 15th winner, who now hasn’t broken green at Augusta only to see the 70 on the weekend in nine straight ball spin back into the water.

Grand Slam events, widely When he decided to take a stroke diagnosed with Major-itis. And and distance penalty drop, he we hardly saw him smile on the dropped the ball two metres behind golf course. the place where he had last played Would he trade all five of his 2013 from. The divot from his previous wins for a single Major? Despite what shot was clearly visible and his he might say, we think he would. breach of the rules just as clear.

of the Year

The good?

Five wins. The Newsmaker bad? Almost as many rules of the Year controversies and the fact that none of Woods’ victories came at a Major championship. Add it all up and Woods remained golf ’s most newsworthy figure in 2013. Woods returned to No 1 in the World Golf Ranking and won the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year for the 11th time, but he garnered more headlines for not gaining any ground on Jack Nicklaus’ Major mark, and for his multiple rules run-ins.

Maybe there isn’t anything newsy about choosing Woods as the year’s top newsmaker. But we aren’t hitting the default button. Even without winning a Major championship to gain any ground on Jack Nicklaus’ career record, Woods in 2013 was a bigger lightning rod than ever.

He was the subject of the ‘Divot of the Year’ at Augusta and ongoing

Dufnering – Duf•ner•ing: noun; 1: the state of being lethargic, comatose or sluggish; inactive; inert; vacant; torpid; sedentary; somnambulant. It began on Twitter, sparked by a candid photo of Jason Dufner in a state of inner serenity, or perhaps waiting for lunch.

Thanks to his friend, Keegan Bradley, this pose of rumpled respite trended on social media. Soon, everyone was Dufnering but no one did it quite as well as Jason himself, who Dufnered his way to victory at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill CC.

Divot

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cover story

Performance of the Year

and here we’re not limiting that performance to the golf course only, but to any golf related happening involving a top player. And therefore give the accolade to Inbee Park for the stunning speech she made after being selected the Player of the Year on the LPGA Tour. There is only one way to illustrate this, and so here is a slightly edited version of what she said: “Not long ago, I was just a girl who was amazed by the fact that I was holding the scorecard of Lorena Ochoa. I clearly remember the day I was paired with Lorena for the first time. I was so overwhelmed after the round that I bragged about it to my sister. And now I am here, seven years into my professional golf career.

“Many people say I look effortless when I play golf. They also say I’m emotionless. Some even started calling me the ‘Silent Assassin’. I think that’s a great nickname. It means I get my job done without making unnecessary

mess. However, just because I don’t show my feelings, doesn’t mean that I don’t feel anything.

“I went through the biggest waves of emotions on the tour this season.

The season seemed endless. Every tournament, every round was a constant battle. I felt as if I was chased. There wasn’t a single moment this year where I felt completely relaxed. I felt as if I wasn’t left alone for one second.

“There were unforgettable moments... like winning three Major championships in a row, but I wasn’t ready for the attention and expectations that came along with it.

I wasn’t prepared to deal with all of that on top of keeping up my performance. I still don’t feel that prepared. I struggled, especially dealing with the media attention.

“I remember there were days when the thought of addressing the media overwhelmed me. Imagine yourself in China, standing in front of a crowd of Chinese people who are staring at you, and you had to make a speech in Chinese. That’s how I felt.

“I would repeat over and over again in my head what I had to say, even if it was a single sentence, and I still wouldn’t get it right.

“Secondly, I just felt so uncomfortable standing in front of a crowd whose eyes were all on me.

But now, I also realise it is part of the job, so I want to feel as comfortable standing here as I do on the golf course.

“So, to answer the media’s question, and yours: who is the ‘Silent Assassin?’

“Well, I’m someone who believes in finding happiness. My goal at the beginning of the year was simple: Let’s be happier than last year; at most, let’s win one more tournament.

Starting at the 10th, Furyk set up his Best astonishing round with round an explosive outward of the nine of eight-under 28 Year that included his eagle at the 15th where he holed out from 115 yards in the fairway. Further birdies at the second, third, and fourth raised hopes of a possible first 58 on the US circuit, but 59 by Jim Furykin the BMW the 43-year-old American made his Championship at Conway Farms. He only mistake of the day with a hit 14 of 14 fairways, reached 17 of three-putt bogey at the fifth. However, 18 greens in regulation and totalled he immediately recovered by sinking only 23 putts. an 11-foot birdie putt at the seventh “I’ve played a couple of good ones and, despite failing to birdie the (rounds) throughout my career,” said par-five eighth, signed off in style with the 16-times PGA Tour winner, another birdie at the ninth. whose only Major victory came at The five other players who have the 2003 US Open. “I remember a shot 59s on the PGA Tour are 62 at Doral once where I think the Americans Al Geiberger (1977 next best score was 67.

Memphis Classic), Chip Beck (1991 “But that magic number, it’s hard Las Vegas Invitational), David Duval to get under 30 on (one) nine, and (1999 Bob Hope Classic) and Paul then it’s really hard to get under 60 Goydos (2010 John Deere Classic) as for a day. It definitely played some well as Australian Stuart Appleby tricks with my head on the way in.”

(2010 Greenbrier Classic).

“Don’t we all want to be happy?

Aren’t we all doing whatever we do in order to be happy?

“Unexpectedly, as soon as happiness became my goal, I achieved more than ever. This year I had my best season yet, with six wins, including three straight Major championships.

“But a funny thing happened when I realised success; I started to want more. That’s when I really started to struggle. A lot came into my mind. I started to think too much; I started to think about scores, statistics, not only mine, but of others as well.

“I found it especially challenging dealing with other’s expectations of me, and with the attention that chasing history brings.

“In the midst of this perfect storm, my family kept me grounded. They reminded me of why I play golf. I don’t think I tell my family enough how grateful I am for their voice of reason and for their love. So at this time, I would really like to thank my family, who kept their faith in me though the good and bad.”

She then switched to Korean to speak to her family personally.

‘As well, to my extended family, friends, and fans and my sponsors, especially my agent Su Jung Lee, who made the long trip from Seoul to be here with me today. I am only standing here on behalf of all of these people.

“Of the many people I would like to thank, I cannot forget Brad Beecher. He’s much more than just a caddie for me, he has been one of my best friends throughout the many years I have been on the tour.

Brad has been next to me when I had to make tough decisions on the golf course. I cannot count how many times he saved me from taking poor shots.

15

“Whenever doubt creeps in, he’s there and helps me commit to my shots. Without his support, I would not have performed at the level I have this year.

“Off the course, I never hear him complain when I ask him to do some tedious task. He gets along with my family and is even more thoughtful towards them than I am.

“Brad, I am so grateful for our friendship both on and off the golf course and I look forward to continuing our success next year.

“Cheers, mate!

“Last but not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention my fiancé. He just makes me smile. He took a tremendous risk when he decided to stand by me and support me on the tour. I don’t think I could thank him enough for the sacrifices he has made. Despite not speaking English, he made a decision to move to a foreign country with only one thing: faith in me.

“Some people say he is the lucky one, but they are wrong. I am the lucky one. Because of him, I was able to fall in love again with golf. I began to enjoy my life on tour and that is reflected in my play.

“And, finally, I am honoured to have my name next to the greatest names in women’s golf. It really is unbelievable. I am especially proud to be the first player from South Korea to win this award. My hope is that my achievements will inspire a new generation of young girls to pick up a set of clubs and follow their dreams.

“More than anything though, I, the ‘Silent Assassin’, am most proud that I kept my eye on the higher goal, happiness. I found it.”

For the record Inbee won three Majors and a further three tournaments in 2013.

Tim burke oF orlando, Florida, hit a 427-yard drive to defeat favourite Joe Miller of London and claim Best the winner-take-all $250,000 first prize in the Re/Max Drive World Long Drive Championship. of the Burke had just three drives remaining when he Year walloped a monster blast down the left side of the makeshift fairway at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where a 52-yard-wide grid was created in the grass between the front straightaway and pit row. The teeing platform – or launching pad – was elevated 70 feet off the ground in the middle of the bleachers.

Burke, 26, called it “absolutely the best drive of my life”.

Miller, 28, had exhausted all six of his drives in the final round, and one of them was a 405-yard shot that forced Burke to go long, as 5,000 spectators and a live TV audience watched.

“I knew I had to kill one,” Burke said, adding in seriousness: “You know, 405’s not that big a number.”

Burke’s ball speed on his winning drive was 222 mph. This mammoth speed was aided by a launch angle of 12 degrees and spin rate of 2,450 RPM. Well, now we know what to aim for.

Best Drive

of the Year

This goes To all golFers who holed out from 40 feet or more during the year. Take your right hand and place it over your left shoulder and give yourselves a pat on the back. It takes skill to knock in a putt of this length. First you must get the line correct, then the distance and then execute the stroke and also have a bit of luck. And what a feeling when the ball runs true into the middle of the hole!

WIN WITH ‘Like’ our Facebook page (post the T2G promo code TG003) and stand a chance to win one of 3 Oakley hampers consisting of an Elemental Polo, Fairway Golf Bag, Golf Towel & a Fairway Umbrella – all worth R2 970! If you’ve already ‘Liked’ our page, enter by mailing your name, club, handicap and mobile number to: teetogreen@ballyhoomedia.co.za (quote the T2G promo-code TG003 in the subject field).

Phil Mickelson

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

OF PhilPLAYER Mickelson THE YEAR Performance of the Year SA Player of the Year Newsmaker of the Year Divot of the Year Best Round of the Year Best Drive of the Year Best Putt of the Year & One addition to the Oxford Dictionary!

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11

Best and Worst of

Dufnering Duf•ner•ing: noun; 1: the state of being lethargic, comatose or sluggish; inactive; inert; vacant; torpid; sedentary; somnambulant.

Player

of the Year

2013REVIEWISSUE 2013REVIEW REVIEWISSUE TEE TO GREEN

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10 cover story

Issue 915 www.tee2green.co.za

TEE TO GREEN

Issue 915 www.tee2green.co.za

2013REVIEWISSUE

YOUR FREE COPY

Phil Mickelson

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

OF PhilPLAYER Mickelson THE YEAR Performance of the Year SA Player of the Year Newsmaker of the Year Divot of the Year Best Round of the Year Best Drive of the Year Best Putt of the Year & One addition to the Oxford Dictionary!

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10

Newsmaker

of the Year

It seems unlikely that 2013 will be remembered as a stand-out year in world golf.

We witnessed some excellent golf

and as always with the game more than a few disappointments.

But a watershed year it was not.

Still there is much to reflect on.

28502_JW Gold_GQ Print Ad_320x225.indd 1

2013/11/29 4:32 PM

18 rules

summertime… and the weather is good for golfing

T

he long-awaited rains have arrived and the courses are perfect.

However, on the Highveld this also means summer storms with thunder and lightning. And lightning is bad news.

Rule 6-8 gives any player the right to stop when “he believes there is danger from lightning”. He doesn’t have to consult with his opponents, fellow competitors or the committee.

• It is recommended that you stop play immediately, mark the position of the ball and seek cover.

• Attempt to get into a building or motor car.

• If no structure is available, get to an open space and squat low to the ground as quickly as possible.

• Never stand underneath a single large tree.

• Crouch with hands on knees.

• Avoid tall structures such as towers, tall trees, fences, telephone lines, or power lines.

• Stay away from natural lightning rods such as golf clubs, tractors, fishing rods, bicycles, or camping equipment.

• Stay away from rivers, lakes, or other bodies of water.

• Do not lie flat on the ground.

Play should only be resumed when the storm has passed and there has been no sign of lightning for at least 30 minutes.

Regular rainfall also means an increased occurrence of casual water on the golf course. Looking for a free

drop, turn to Rule 25 and if it’s not covered there, the chances are you’ll not get it. The rule covers a whole host of situations, all broadly under the very general heading “Abnormal Ground Conditions”. This covers casual water, ground under repair, a cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.

Casual Water is any temporary accumulation of water on the course (other than a water hazard) visible before or after the player takes his or her stance. It includes snow and ice, an overflow from a water hazard if outside the bounds of hazard and a pitch mark filled with water.

As is often the case, it sometimes makes things clear if one outlines what is excluded. In this case, soft

Play was suspended due to lightning, during day 3 of the 2013 Nedbank Affinity Cup at Lost City Gold Club, Sun City.

mushy ground, and water that appears only as a result of pressing down with your foot. Dew, frost and manufactured ice are not regarded as casual water.

The rule basically provides relief to a player when his or her ball lies in, or touches the area of, casual water.

Relief is also available if the casual water interferes with a player’s stance or area of his intended swing. Only if the player’s ball and the casual water are on the putting green, is a player entitled to relief if the casual water is on his line of putt.

The general exception to the rule that if interference would only occur

19 because the player uses an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play, applies. The player would not get relief in any of these circumstances. In addition, a player may not brush away casual water from his or her line of play.

Relief pRoceduRe The player may either: • Play the ball as it lies (unless the committee has made relief mandatory by a local rule).

• If your ball lies through the green, determine the nearest point of relief, this being the point on the course nearest to where the ball lies, which avoids interference by the casual water, is not in a hazard or on a putting green, and is not nearer the hole. Then lift and drop the ball without penalty within one club length of that point. In this case, maximum relief must be taken at all times.

• If the ball lies on the putting green, without penalty place it at the nearest point of relief –or if maximum relief is not available at the point affording maximum possible relief as near as possible to the original spot, but not nearer the hole, nor in a hazard. If the nearest point is off the putting green the ball must be placed off the green.

• If the ball lies in a bunker it may be dropped without penalty in the

bunker as near as possible to the original spot but not nearer the hole and on ground that affords maximum relief from the casual water. If maximum relief is not possible, partial relief may be taken in a bunker.

If the bunker is completely covered by water the ball may be dropped under penalty of one stroke outside the bunker on the extension of the line between the original spot and the hole, but not nearer the hole.

Relief without penalty is not available if the casual water is within the bounds of a water hazard – the player must proceed under the rule for water hazards (Rule 26).

When searching for a ball in casual water, there is no penalty if the ball is accidentally moved; the ball should be replaced at the player’s estimate of its original location unless the player opts to take relief under one of the options above.

And finally, the provisions of Decision 25-1c/1 should be noted.

This deals with the definition of virtual certainty. An area of casual water preceded by thick rough is in a hollow not visible from the tee. A ball is hit into this area and can’t be found.

It is neither known nor virtually certain that the ball is in the casual water. Can the player proceed under Rule 25-1c? The answer is simply NO. In this case the player must proceed under Rule 27 (Lost Ball).

Some Frequently ASked queStionS In a bunker, can you remove a rock/stone lying next to the ball without a penalty? no. loose impediments may not be moved in a hazard. Some clubs do introduce a local rule allowing this, but it is not a rule of Golf (rule 13-4 applies).

Committee to take action in a case like this. in the case of a serious breach the Committee can disqualify the player under rule 33-7.

Your ball lies inside a bunker. Is there a penalty if, on your backswing, you touch the verge of the bunker – be it grass or sand? if the player touches any part inside the bunker he is in breach of the rule. if the verge is deemed to be outside the bunker there is no penalty (rule 13-4 applies).

I mark my ball on the green, pick it up and clean it and then replace it, picking up the marker. As I walk back to line up the putt, the wind blows the ball closer to the hole (or maybe even in). Do I replace it as near as possible to where it was or is it my good luck?

As long as the ball was at rest even for just a moment after you replaced it, it would then be back in play. if it moves closer to the hole your good luck.

If an opponent ‘accidentally’ distracts me on my backswing (for example, undoes the Velcro strap on his glove!) can I claim, under the Rule of ‘equity’, that I should be allowed to replay the shot? If not, then where does one draw the line between ‘accidental’ and ‘purposeful’ distraction by an opponent?

An accidental breach of etiquette is just that – an accident, and you would not be able to replay the shot.

However, if this was done repeatedly and on purpose, the provisions of the guidelines on etiquette would apply. these basically empower the

While searching for my ball in the rough, my opponent stands on it ‘by mistake’ and when I get there, it’s clearly plugged (or rather ‘pushed in’) to the sand. Can I take relief of some sort? definitely. if the ball gets moved by an opponent during a search, rule 18-3a applies and the ball may be replaced. Furthermore, a player is entitled to the lie and the line of play he had when his ball came to rest.

Accordingly, in equity the player may recreate the lie (repair the damage to the turf) and replace the ball without penalty..

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20

INSTRUCTION

By Dennis Bruyns, Illustrations Dave Edwards

PROPER PITCHING To score low, you need to be at your best from 60 metres and in.

The triangle formed by your arms and shoulders should remain intact throughout the swing.

Y

ou’re going to have days on which you miss a lot of greens, but if you’re pitching the ball well, you can still make up enough strokes to shoot the number you had in mind. Here is a pitching key to help you excel from close range.

MAINTAIN THE TRIANGLE At address, your arms and shoulders should form a triangle with your chest in the centre of the triangle. Throughout the swing, it’s important that you maintain this triangle and move your arms and chest with the club. This prevents you from decelerating and preserves the loft that you set at address. At the completion of the swing, your right knee and hip should have released so that your upper body faces the target.

DRILL: SQUEEZE PLAY There’s no better way to develop feel for distance than by working on the following drill. Get a bucket of balls and place two towels on the ground at spots 30 and 60 metres away from you. Pitch a ball to the first towel, then try to hit another past the first ball but short of the second towel. Repeat this process seeing how many balls you can hit in a row between the two towels. Remember: each shot must finish past the previous one.

Twenty in a row is PGA Tour calibre, and if you can hit 12 to 15 in there on a regular basis you’re doing pretty well.

30yds

60yds

PITCHING BALLS INTO A PROGRESSIVELY SMALLER SPACE IS TOUGH, BUT IT’LL DO WONDERS FOR YOUR SHORT GAME

21 PULL OUT AND KEEP

PUT YOUR SWING ON THE CLOCK

The image of a clock is frequently used in golf instruction to help illustrate the best position for hands and shoulders in the swing.

SWING YOUR HANDS TO ELEVEN O’CLOCK ON THE BACKSWING… HANDS TO 11 Imagine you’re standing with your back to the clock face and your head is at 12. Swing your hands to 11 o’ clock on the backswing, making sure that you retain your original spine angle from address. You should feel your upper body stretch against the resistance of your lower half, storing plenty of energy for the downswing. As you swing down, focus on returning your hands to 11 o’ clock at the completion of the follow through. The momentum of your swing should pull your hands up over your left shoulder.

….AND HIT THE SAME POSITION ON THE CLOCK AS YOU END YOUR SWING.

22

SWING THOUGHTS

By Theo Bezuidenhout

S

unday, 18 November 2012, 8.30am. The date and time is still clear in my memory, not so much for the events of that morning but rather what they symbolised.

I was following a client who had made the cut of the SA Open at the picturesque Serengeti Country Club when I noticed something odd. A gentleman, dressed in shorts and running shoes, came walking by at a vociferous pace writing in what seemed to be a note book while muttering distances to himself as he went along. Quite unremarkable when seen in isolation, as caddies often do this the morning of an event to check yardages and the like while making sure the ‘game plan’ is set for the day’s play.

However, if you look at how the golfing world has been dominated since that Sunday morning by one Henrik Stenson, things take on a totally different perspective.

Firstly, the gentleman in question I later learnt was, in fact, Solomon Soli, Stenson’s South African caddy for the event. Even though I commended Mr Soli for his

commitment to the cause, I hardly thought Stenson had a chance. He was, after all, just an invitational wild card and he had fallen so far down the world rankings (around number 230 actually, now that I have done my homework!), that I felt a George Coetzee victory was imminent.

So, for the last year every time the name Henrik Stenson has come up in a conversation, I have had to doff my cap to the player who, when ranked 230 in the world, still sent out his caddy to make sure of yardages. In the process, teaching all of us something about professionalism.

Even though I did not see this one coming, in this month’s column I have the pleasure of sharing my thoughts on one of the greatest sporting comebacks ever.

ACCEPT THE UNACCEPTABLE “At some point, you have to accept where you’re at. It doesn’t matter how many eagles or birdies you’ve made in the past. You have to say, Well, we’re here now. What do we need to do to get back there, or even get better?”

THE COMEBACK KID All players go through slumps.

Some of them for longer periods, some of them for shorter spells, but what they all have in common is the fact that they will doubt if they can return to the levels they had reached.

If one looks at the quote above, it becomes clear that Stenson not only relished the climb back to where he was, but he also aspired to be better than he had been before. Quite remarkable when one thinks of all he was going through not only on the course, but off it.

It is a little known fact that at the time of his slump, Stenson was not only sponsored by Stanford Financial Services, a company accused of defrauding thousands of people, he had most of his savings with them.

So having lost his way on the course, Stenson also found himself in a financial quagmire.

Interesting to note then how Stenson took not only his bad form on the course, but also his terrible misfortune off it. In an interview he was quoted as saying: “It is a very unfortunate situation. I’m a victim as everybody else in that big thing. So we just have to see how bad it is.

Everybody has got to sit tight and see what comes out of it, but it’s obviously hard to be too positive about it at the moment.”

Hard to be too positive? I don’t know many people who can be anything but negative when they have played bad golf, let alone when they have lost a sizeable part of their savings. Henrik Stenson seems to have mastered the art of not taking golf, or life, too personally. A wonderful example of acceptance when times are tough.

NO QUICK FIXES After two years of struggling on the course, Stenson decided to reunite with his previous sports psychologist, Torsten Hansson. Although there were some quirky mental exercises like walking across a high beam blindfolded and also hitting balls blindfolded to learn to trust himself

again, most of it was good, old fashioned hard work.

As Stenson put it: “(But) we’re not reinventing the wheel again. If you’re playing poorly, it’s easy to get into a quick fix (mindset). There’s no magic involved; it’s just doing the right things, really.”

The right things in this case entailed building again on a relationship that had worked in the past with someone whom Stenson sees as a father figure. Secondly, it meant not falling for quick fixes in terms of his swing, putters or drivers and looking internally for answers.

Something young players don’t do too easily when so many other things can be blamed for poor play.

As with his rise to the top of the game in 2009, the second coming of Stenson has been patient, calculated and without much fanfare. In modern times too many athletes and too many people in general want that one trick or technique that will make them successful, when true success is only earned by doing the right thing many times over.

For Stenson this process of growth stretched from 11 May 2009 to 17 November 2012. A long time to keep on doing the right things.

Please share your mental issues with us (teetogreen@ ballyhoomedia.co.za; we will pass it onto Theo). The WINNING LETTER will receive a Titleist glove and one dozen Titleist Pro V1s.

PROFILE: Theo Bezuidenhout is a sport psychologist in private practice and consults with golfers of all abilities and ages. His clients include top juniors, amateurs and Sunshine Tour professionals. Theo has been a columnist for Tee to Green for over seven years. He is also an ambassador for Titleist. He has a special interest in parental involvement in sport and has also been involved with the Glacier Junior Series for the last two years as a consultant. He refuses to divulge how often he gets to work on his own golf.

KP444_1113_TTG.pdf

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WIN WITH

Do you want to create a sensation on the fairway? With an impeccable style and all the right equipment? Sports eyewear specialist adidas eyewear can now offer you the ideal golf glasses to complete your look. The tourpro brings you perfect vision combined with a stylish appearance. Golf pro Dustin Johnson is already relying on the new model – with impressive results! * Terms and conditions to include: Styles and colours may vary

‘Like’ our Facebook page (post the T2G promo code TG002) and stand a chance to win a pair of adidas tourpro sunglasses to the value of R2 600! If you’ve already ‘Liked’ our page, enter by mailing your name, club, handicap and mobile number to: teetogreen@ ballyhoomedia.co.za (quote the T2G promo-code TG002 in the subject field).

TEE TO GREEN

Issue 915 www.tee2green.co.za

2013REVIEWISSUE

YOUR FREE COPY

Phil Mickelson

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

OF PhilPLAYER Mickelson THE YEAR Performance of the Year SA Player of the Year Newsmaker of the Year Divot of the Year Best Round of the Year Best Drive of the Year Best Putt of the Year & One addition to the Oxford Dictionary!

PG 123938 Tee to Green 50x225-Repro.pdf

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32 travel

33

Only in Africa

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE OF TEE TO GREEN ON YOUR PC OR LAPTOP FOR FREE AT www.tee2green.co.za

All around the world, golf travellers can experience links, parkland, heathland, desert, mountain and coastal golf courses, but only in Africa can you play on a bush veld course while sharing the space with African game and birdlife. And there is no better place to get this unique experience than just a few hundred kilometres north of South Africa’s biggest city. Nestling in the Waterberg area of the Limpopo province are a number of wonderful golf courses that should be on every golfer’s ‘to play list.’

20

21

INSTRUCTION

PULL OUT AND KEEP

By Dennis Bruyns, Illustrations Dave Edwards

PUT YOUR SWING ON THE CLOCK

PROPER PITCHING To score low, you need to be at your best from 60 metres and in.

Y

The triangle formed by your arms and shoulders should remain intact throughout the swing.

ou’re going to have days on which you miss a lot

The image of a clock is frequently used in golf instruction to help illustrate the best position for hands and shoulders in the swing.

of greens, if you’re The Legendbut Golf & pitching the ball well, Safari Resort. you can still make up enough

strokes to shoot the number you had in mind. Here is a pitching key to help you excel from close range.

MAINTAIN THE TRIANGLE At address, your arms and shoulders should form a triangle with your chest in the centre of the triangle. Throughout the swing, it’s important that you maintain this triangle and move your arms and chest with the club. This prevents you from decelerating and preserves the loft that you set at address. At the completion of the swing, your right knee and hip should have released so that your upper body faces the target.

DRILL: SQUEEZE PLAY There’s no better way to develop feel for distance than by working on the following drill. Get a bucket of balls and place two towels on the ground at spots 30 and 60 metres away from you. Pitch a ball to the first towel, then try to hit another past the first ball but short of the second towel. Repeat this process seeing how many balls you can hit in a row between the two towels. Remember: each shot must finish past the previous one.

Twenty in a row is PGA Tour calibre, and if you can hit 12 to 15 in there on a regular basis you’re doing pretty well.

SWING YOUR HANDS TO ELEVEN O’CLOCK ON THE BACKSWING… HANDS TO 11 Imagine you’re standing with your back to the clock face and your head is at 12. Swing your hands to 11 o’ clock on the backswing, making sure that you retain your original spine angle from address. You should feel your upper body stretch against the resistance of your lower half, storing plenty of energy for the downswing. As you swing down, focus on returning your hands to 11 o’ clock at the completion of the follow through. The momentum of your swing should pull your hands up over your left shoulder.

30yds

60yds

PITCHING BALLS INTO A PROGRESSIVELY SMALLER SPACE IS TOUGH, BUT IT’LL DO WONDERS FOR YOUR SHORT GAME

….AND HIT THE SAME POSITION ON THE CLOCK AS YOU END YOUR SWING.

A fairway wood you can finally hit.

Today’s fairway woods can be hard to hit from anywhere other than a tee. The new Tight Lies will revolutionize the game just as the original did. Now featuring award-winning Velocity Slot Technology, this is the perfect club to hit for distance and accuracy from any lie.

Get ready to love hitting your fairway wood again with Tight Lies.

Learn more at www.adamsgolf.co.za

26

EQUIPMENT Treat yourself to something new

TAYLORMADE GOLF JETSPEED DRIVER, FAIRWAY WOODS AND RESCUE™ CLUBS

I

t’s that time of year so don’t hold back – remember you can buy yourself a better game. There are five items of equipment that are used more often than any other. These are a golf ball, used obviously on every hole and sometimes more than one on a hole, a glove, a driver, a putter and let’s not forget a sensible pair of golf shoes.

But please take note of this simple buying guide.

GOLF BALL Don’t be taken in by the marketing and advertising hype surrounding golf balls. And don’t believe that a ball is a ball is a ball. These days golf ball manufacture is very refined with different balls suiting different needs. Just because Ernie Els or Tiger Woods uses and particular brand and model don’t believe that is the best for you.

The average player will not lose anything by playing the best, most expensive tour balls on the market.

‘Like’ our Facebook page (post the T2G promo code TG004) and stand a chance to win one of 10 boxs of Noodle Ice balls. If you’ve already ‘Liked’ our page, enter by mailing your name, club, handicap and mobile number to: teetogreen@ballyhoomedia. co.za (quote the T2G promo-code TG004 in the subject field).

TaylorMade, the No. 1 played driver brand on the PGA Tour, today announced the release of JetSpeed, a breakthrough line of metalwoods that includes the company’s first driver to feature Speed Pocket technology. In addition, JetSpeed fairway woods and Rescue clubs combine an enhanced Speed Pocket, an extremely low-forward center of gravity (CG) location and extremely light overall weight to promote faster swing speed, clubhead speed and ball speed for more distance.

“Ten years ago, we introduced movable weight technology, and have since completely changed the dynamics of how drivers and fairways perform,” said Sean Toulon, Executive Vice President.

“We expect ‘low and forward CG’ to represent the next great innovation in metalwood performance,” said Sean Toulon, Executive Vice President. “With our SLDR and JetSpeed products, we’re giving golfers of all types the opportunity to increase their launch angle and reduce their spin-rate, which ultimately leads to more distance.”

Driver – R3 399, TP – R4 399, Fairway – R2 649, Rescue – R2 299

But by the same token the average player likely won’t notice any difference in performance using the less expensive models, either. Our shopping rule for balls is a simple one: If someone is buying the balls for you, go for the gold standard. If you’re buying them yourself, be thrifty. Remember: Most balls today are better than the golfers who choose to use them.

GLOVE Genuine leather or synthetic? For most of us it makes no difference.

As for colour – that’s a fashion choice. What is important is that it fits snuggly. The hands are the only part of the body attached to the club so the last thing you need is a loose fitting glove.

SHOES Most golf courses are in the region of 6,500 metres long, add to this the walks between green and tee as well as the fact that you will be on your feet for about four and a half hours at least and it does not take a shoe specialist to realise the

importance of footwear when playing golf. Add to this the fact that you need stability in the swing through the spikes and support for your ankles.

You will play in all sorts of weather so get something sensible and serviceable. And don’t look to save a few rands, buy the best and make sure they fit properly.

DRIVER There’s a reason the drivers you see in magazines are supersized as this often means a greater moment of inertia (forgiveness). Bigger also means the driver likely will be made of titanium and have the spring-like effect that provides better transfer of momentum from the clubhead to the ball (resulting in more distance).

There is a point of diminishing returns, however. Once you get much beyond 400 cubic centimetres (more than twice the size of Callaway’s original Big Bertha), the forgiveness factor starts flattening out – diminishing

TAYLORMADE NOODLE ICE BALLS Noodle the most recognizable name in the long and soft category of golf balls introduces the new NOODLE ICE which comes in a 15 ball pack. The Noodle ice features the transparent surlyn cover and highly optic core and is engineered to deliver the classic long and soft performance that the brand is known word wide for.

• fast low compression for added distance and feel • suitable for all swing speeds • high optic core promotes solid contact • new 15 ball multi value pack

28 EQUIPMENT PIRETTI FINE PUTTERS Established in 2008, our goal is to provide premium quality milled putters using only the finest materials available.

Superior craftsmanship, a heavier head weight to help smooth out the putting stroke and lower degree of loft make Piretti Fine Putters different from other manufacturers. www.pirettifineputters.co.za

Matera The Matera FN is designed for players that like a wider profile, but don’t like to look at the lines of a deep pocket in the flange of the putter head. The Matera FN is milled from a solid billet of 11L17 carbon steel. It is offered in a head weight of 365 grams and yields a 5:00 toe hang.

Midnight Black finish.

R3199

Cortino 2 The Cortino 2 is a classic Anser style putter that is milled from a solid billet of 303 stainless steel. This putter is designed with a 4:oo toe hang and favours golfers with an arc putting stroke. It has a satin stainless finish with a high polished face and sole. The Cortino 2 is also made with a deep milled face to give it a soft yet solid feel at impact.

R3 199

returns and the head gets too cumbersome. Be aware of the length of your driver’s shaft, too. The best players in the world, who can have any length shaft they want up to 48 inches, have settled on 44 or 44 3/4 inches (Tiger has even used a 43.5 inch driver). Your typical off-the-rack titanium driver has a 45-inch shaft.

Go for a shorter shaft. Remember that golf is and always has been a game of distance and direction. And if you need to cut down on the distance to gain on the accuracy – do it. This is hard to accept for most golfers so here is a radical suggestion, carry two drivers. One with a loft of nine degrees, a shaft length of 45 degrees and custom fitted to give you maximum distance. And another with 12

degrees of loft, a 43 inch shaft and a smaller head, in other words almost what we used to refer to as a two wood. This one should be set up with direction in mind. Then it’s up to you to work out which one to use when and that will be the toughest decision of all. Just remember to leave your ego in the locker room.

IT CAN NEVER BE OVER EMPHASIZED HOW IMPORTANT PUTTING IS SO WHY NOT CARRY TWO PUTTERS IN YOUR BAG

PUTTER Do they ever come in all shapes and sizes these days! A putter with the shape of the Classic Ping Anser is now regarded as quite plain in shape yet in the sixties when that shape first came out it was regarded a quite radical.

So much depends on how you feel. If you don’t feel comfortable with the putter it is unlikely it will do the job for you. The new age shapes

are great, they almost line up themselves and if you just take them straight back and through you should hole many more putts.

However I question their effectiveness for long putts. The average player might feel they are a bit cumbersome and even clumsy for longer putts.

Therefore here is another radical suggestion. Why not carry two putters, one for long putts which

require more of an arc to the putting stroke and then a new age mallet style for the short scoring putts. It can never be over emphasized how important putting is so why not carry two putters in your bag.

And always be honest with yourself about your skill level.

Despite what the ads say, you are not Tiger Woods. Are you a beginner, an intermediate player (somebody who shoots 80 to 95, let’s say) or an advanced player (someone who consistently breaks 80, or about 7 percent of the male golf population and less than 1 percent of the female golf population? Each level of player needs something different.

FESTIVE SALE ALL STORES NATIONWIDE

Visit www.TheProShop.co.za to view the full SALE flyer

NOW ON!

Hundreds of deals on clubs, accessories, clothing and footwear

Our biggest SALE ever!

While stocks last. Sale ends 24 December 2013

WIN WITH ‘Like’ our Facebook page (post the T2G promo code TG001) and stand a chance to win one of 4 adams Tight Lies fairway woods clubs valued at R2 499 each! If you’ve already ‘Liked’ our page, enter by mailing your name, club, handicap and mobile number to: teetogreen@ballyhoomedia.co.za (quote the T2G promo-code TG001 in the subject field).

Original Tri-level Sole Design Reduces amount of turf interaction to increase performance from the fairway, rough or tight lies.

Low-profile Upside Down Design Produces larger impact area below the ball for better contact, and easier launch out of a multitude of lies.

Cut-through Velocity Slot Technology Creates a hotter face – twice as hot as the original.

Phil Mickelson

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Phil Mickelson PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Performance of the Year SA Player of the Year Newsmaker of the Year Divot of the Year Best Round of the Year Best Drive of the Year Best Putt of the Year & One addition to the Oxford Dictionary!

PG 123938 Tee to Green 50x225-Repro.pdf

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VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE OF TEE TO GREEN ON YOUR TABLET OR MOBILE PHONE FOR FREE AT www.tee2green.co.za

2013REVIEWISSUE 2013REVIEW REVIEWISSUE

9 Sixty yearS year ago the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II heralded a memorable summer of sport in Britain. Amongst the highlights was the first and only win in the world’s greatest flat the race, the Derby, for Sir Gordon Richards.

The day - Saturday June 6, 1953, just four days after the young Queen had been crowned and the Coronation Honours List had been announced with a knighthood, at last, for Gordon Richards, Britain’s champion jockey for nearly three decades.

By the end of that day Richards, who had been trying since 1924, had won his first Derby, on Pinza, beating the Queen’s horse, Aureole, into second place. It was his 28th and last attempt to claim racing’s Holy Grail.

Celebrations all round. For Richards, for trainer Norman Bertie and owner Sir Victor Sassoon who was to claim three more Derby victories with Crepello, Hard Ridden and St Paddy before he died in 1961. But there was sadness as well. Three days after Richards stormed home, Fred Darling, who bred Pinza, finally succumbed to cancer. He had willed himself to live and applaud the victory. He could die in peace now.

And then in mid-summer at the golf ’s toughest championship course Carnoustie Ben Hogan won the Open Championship.

Ben Hogan was the taciturn, tough man of American golf and, after being nagged by Walter Hagen and Tommy Armour, finally made his solitary appearance at the Open in July 1953. Aged 40, and still in constant pain from injuries received in a car crash four years earlier, Hogan systematically dismantled the formidable Carnoustie course with rounds of 73, 71, 70 and 68.

The 1953 Open was his crowning glory. Having already bagged the Masters and US Open earlier in the year, he opted to miss the PGA Championship in favour of the Open and arrived in Scotland two weeks before the start, virtually unheard of in those days. He promptly employed local caddie Cecil Timms, who was expected to be seen and not heard. Constant demands for cigarettes were communicated by Hogan with an impatient slap on his trouser pocket and the striking of an imaginary match. Timms retained his dignity throughout by performing his duties in an immaculately pressed lounge suit.

The tournament was won and his place in history secure. The presentation party was in place and the crowd waited to

acclaim a very special golfer. And they waited, and waited. Ten minutes elapsed before Hogan appeared.

Officially Timms had been sent scurrying to collect a clean jacket for his master, but there are those who swear the iron man of golf was shedding tears at the back of the clubhouse and needed all those 10 minutes to compose himself.

The win at Carnoustie was but a part of Hogan’s watershed 1953 season, in which he won five of the six tournaments he entered, including three major championships.

It still stands among the greatest single seasons in the history of professional golf. Hogan was unable to enter — and possibly win — the 1953 PGA Championship (to complete the Grand Slam) because its play (July 1–7) overlapped the play of the British Open at Carnoustie (July 6–10), which he won. It was the only time that a golfer had won three major professional championships in a year until Tiger Woods won the final three majors in 2000 (and the first in 2001).

Hogan often declined to play in the PGA Championship, skipping it more and more often as his career wore on. There were two reasons for this: firstly, the PGA Championship was, until 1958, a match play event, and Hogan’s particular skill was “shooting a number” — meticulously planning and executing a strategy to achieve a score for a round on a

particular course (even to the point of leaving out the 7-iron in the U.S. Open at Merion, saying “there are no 7-iron shots at Merion”). The second reason was that the PGA required several days of 36 holes per day competition, and after his 1949 auto accident, Hogan struggled to manage more than 18 holes a day.

In 292 career PGA Tour events, Ben Hogan finished in the Top 3 in 47.6-percent of them. He finished in the Top 10 in 241 of those 292 events.

Hogan was born near Fort Worth in 1912. Hogan and Byron Nelson were childhood acquaintances, caddying at the same Fort Worth club. They even squared off one year for the club’s caddie championship (Nelson won).

Hogan’s childhood was rough - his father committed suicide, and it is believed that Hogan witnessed the tragic event.

Hogan turned pro in 1929, at age 17, to play pro events in Texas. He

A Classic Year Some years just stand out, iconic if you wish, and 1953 was certainly one of them.

didn’t join the PGA Tour until 1932. Much of his early career, Hogan battled a hook. But through a tremendous work ethic, he changed his game to a controlled fade (in his famous words, he “dug it out of the dirt”). In 1940, he began winning, and often.

He missed a couple years on Tour due to World War II, but returned full-time in 1946 and won 13 times, including his first major, the 1946 PGA Championship. From August 1945 to February 1949, Hogan won 37 times. But in 1949, he suffered terrible injuries in a car crash, and was never again able to play a full schedule due to circulatory problems in his legs.

Sixteen months after that crash - in which Hogan threw himself across his wife to protect her as their car collided with a bus - Hogan returned to win the 1950 U.S. Open. That victory is sometimes referred to as “the miracle at Merion,” because Hogan won despite severe pain and having to play 36 holes on the final day.

In fact, from 1950 on, Hogan never played more than seven PGA Tour events in a year. Yet, he won 13 more times, including six majors.

His demeanour on the course was quiet and focused. With others, Hogan was often distant and aloof.

But he had everyone’s respect.

Ben Hogan is one of the giants of golf history and 1953, 60 years ago, will be remembered as the “Year of the Hawk”.

Spectators watch Ben Hogan play a shot on his way to winning the 1953 British Open.

TEE TO GREEN

YOUR FREE COPY

8 BLAST FROM THE PAST

Issue 915 www.tee2green.co.za

TEE TO GREEN

Issue 915 www.tee2green.co.za

2013REVIEWISSUE

YOUR FREE COPY

Phil Mickelson

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

OF PhilPLAYER Mickelson THE YEAR Performance of the Year SA Player of the Year Newsmaker of the Year Divot of the Year Best Round of the Year Best Drive of the Year Best Putt of the Year & One addition to the Oxford Dictionary!

PG 123938 Tee to Green 50x225-Repro.pdf

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I play with friends, but we don’t play friendly games

I always outworked everybody. Work never bothered me like it bothers some people

I hate a hook.

It nauseates me.

I could vomit when I see one.

It’s like a rattlesnake in your pocket

Selecting a stroke is like selecting a wife. To each his own

Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are Relax? How can inclined to do, anybody relax and you will and play golf? probably come You have to very close to grip the club having a perfect don’t you? golf swing

32 travel

33

Only in Africa All around the world, golf travellers can experience links, parkland, heathland, desert, mountain and coastal golf courses, but only in Africa can you play on a bush veld course while sharing the space with African game and birdlife. And there is no better place to get this unique experience than just a few hundred kilometres north of South Africa’s biggest city. Nestling in the Waterberg area of the Limpopo province are a number of wonderful golf courses that should be on every golfer’s ‘to play list.’

The Legend Golf & Safari Resort.

RiddleGolf Academy now open at Koro Creek and Services Golf Club.

Come and Learn the Weight Transfer System and see your golf reach new levels in 2014.

Where Golf meets nature DECEMBER JANUARY SPECIAL:

2014 Full time course for school leavers and those wishing to pursue a carrier in golf.

Contact: David Riddle on david@riddlegolf.com for more info or phone 0829907179 and change your golf forever.

R250 per player including your golf cart, Too Book Contact +27 14 717 1181 Terms and Conditions apply.

Tel: +27 14 717 1181 proshop@korocreek.com

Cell: +27 82 990 7179 david@riddlegolf.com

WE ARE WAITING TO WELCOME YOU

Stay and P lay midweek special

Terms and conditions:

• Minimum 8 players – two x four balls.

• R400.00 per player per day for 27 holes of golf including cart sharing.

• Optional accommodation at R750.00 per person sharing in the Bush Lodge.

• Golf available Monday to Thursday only.

• Accommodation available Sunday to Thursday only.

• Warm up range balls included with unlimited use of practice facilities.

• Available to both Affiliated and non Affiliated golfers.

• Commences Monday 13th January and concludes Thursday 5th June.

This offer to play up to 27 holes every day creates the perfect opportunity to play competitive golf using different and unique formats of play. Let the Proshop make some recommendations.

Contact: conferencing@zebula.co.za or 014-734-7700 for reservations.

www.zebula.co.za

TRAVEL

35

The Zebula Clubhouse is the estate’s crowning glory, in prime position for sundowners on the deck while watching a blood-red African sunset

ZEBULA GOLF ESTATE Golf estates abound in South Africa,m but few can match Zebula, a stunning lifestyle destination a mere two hours’ drive north of Johannesburg in the magnificent malaria-free Waterberg region of Limpopo Province.

Located on 1,600 hectares of pristine bushveld in the shadow of the Waterberg mountains, Zebula commands a most spectacular setting.

Undulating, indigenous tree-covered hills and wide-open grasslands are punctuated with frequent dams and waterholes – a diverse landscape that supports a wide variety of game, birds and small wildlife.

Upmarket luxury homes are tastefully designed and privately positioned so as not to impose on the surroundings. The Peter Matkovitchdesigned golf course respects the environment, following the natural contours of the terrain, a masterful symphony of indigenous bush and landscaped areas. Surprising for its

bushveld location, water supply is both abundant and sustainable, ensuring that the quality of the greens is unrivalled and that playing surfaces are always top notch.

Naturally occurring game include kudu, impala, blue wildebeest, zebra, blesbok, red hartebeest, giraffe, eland, jackal, warthog, ostrich as well as many other indigenous species.

Visitors and residents are able to walk, run, cycle or drive on the estate and get up close and personal with the wildlife, making a trip to Zebula a true back-to-nature experience.

Zebula also offers three hour game drives into the adjoining Mabalingwe Nature Reserve where you may also see rhino, buffalo and elephant.

Guests at Zebula can enjoy face to face animal encounters with elephants, lion and tiger cubs, while our resident cheetah take our wildlife experience to whole new level, further confirming our status as a golf and leisure destination unlike any other on the continent.

The Zebula Clubhouse is the estate’s crowning glory, in prime position for sundowners on the deck while watching a blood-red African sunset over the distant Waterberg after a day spent on the golf course, languishing in the spa, or making memories with your family and friends.

The Spa at Zebula is a haven for golfers and non-golfers alike. This is a place to indulge, heal and unwind in a beautiful natural setting complete with indoor heated splash pool, relaxation garden and health bar with aweinspiring views. Here a comprehensive range of therapies, including The Spa at Zebula’s unique African- and Asian-inspired signature treatments, ensure that the stresses and strains of city living are effectively eased away.

More information: www.zebula.co.za KORO CREEK The Waterberg area is blessed in having several top golf courses, but only one has a member’s course history, and this places Koro Creek in a unique position when it comes to a Waterberg golf experience.

It has a sense of familiarity for city visitors, familiarity not in the sense of playing a course easily forgotten, but in relating more to the experience of being somewhere welcoming. From the time one drives through the estate gate and sees the bustling car park conveniently place behind the Bushveld themed clubhouse, one experiences an unpretentious golf experience that effortlessly combines the top standards expected at the best country clubs in the world, with the family comfort of a member’s facility.

Groups to Koro Creek will find that there are no shortage of facilities, from a full driving range with an Academy operated by RiddleGolf, clubhouse venues for large or small groups, a well stocked Links Pro Shop, restaurant, bar and, of course, an excellent golf course.

36 travel The course motto (‘Where Golf meets Nature’) Koro Creek fits perfectly with a Koro Creek round, with its many waterways that challenge one’s nerve while at the same time offering golfers a chance to see a wide verity of water birds. The par- 3, stroke one is made less intimidating by the site of the newly released giraffe striding majestically across its narrow fairway.

One is almost assured of seeing most plains game, and this only serves to highlight the fact that you are indeed privileged to be playing golf in Africa. The course is one of the best conditioned in Limpopo and continues to improve each year as it matures. Fairways are well grassed and easily defined, bunkers strategically placed to save wayward drives from a far worse fate and to protect the always excellent greens. As a challenge, Koro Creek offers something for golfers of all levels and one is always happy with a par round around this Bushveld gem.

Koro Creek has birdie chances, but these are not handed out based purely on one’s ability to smash the ball. This course cannot be brought to her to her knees with power alone; finesse is required if one is to break par here. The short par-5 first is a prime example, requiring only a driver and long iron to find the putting surface, but beware: danger lurks in the form of a large, seductive dam that wraps the front and right side of the green.

Any form of miss-hit and your day is off to a tough start; two good shots and its birdie time.

The course has an excellent balance and, although the par-3s can be a little intimidating, forward tees are available for the week of heart. I would definitely recommend the mighty seventh off the back tee at least once, as it is a true test. The par-4s offer a variety of distances and doglegs, so keeping one’s experience fresh throughout the day.

Golf truly does meet nature at Koro Creek.

More information: www.korocreek.com ElEmEnts PrivatE Golf rEsErvE The golf course is an unsurpassed Peter Matkovich design; many regard it as his best course. Elements Private Golf Reserve has been rated in the Top 10 Golf Courses of South Africa for the second year in succession.

Peter, a golf professional for 25 years, has designed and constructed golf courses for more than 15 years, drawing on his considerable experience of golf courses and luxury private golf clubs around the world. He has absorbed options on courses and comments about the game from the world’s best-known professionals and senior club golfers. More than anything, Peter believes that golf is not just about scoring; it is a walk in the park, an experience for all the senses. Golfers should leave the course with an urge to return.

Taking in all the natural surroundings of the Limpopo region, this is not only a game of golf but a retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Elements Private Golf Reserve is just that, private and a reserve. The golf course is just the excuse needed to get out there and enjoy it.

“Seamless blends of nature’s random beauty, and man’s orderly designs, are serene reflections of the sensitivity to local environments,” comments Peter, an environmentalist whose love for the indigenous remains a cornerstone of his design philosophy. With this stunning golf course as a feature, Elements Private Golf Reserve will probably become one of South Africa’s leading luxury private golf clubs.

Close to both Pretoria and Johannesburg, the venue is situated in one of the most breathtaking malaria-free bushveld regions of southern Africa and offers superior accommodation.

More information: www.elementspgr.co.za

thE lEGEnd Golf & safari rEsort The signature course at ‘Legends’ is a world first. At the heart of the resort is a championship course designed by eighteen of the world’s top golfers.

These leading professionals, selected to add their design expertise to the signature course, share the fascination and spirit of golf. And those who have played the course say it is something very special.

The list of signatures who have been honoured to design a hole reads like a who’s who of world golf: Trevor Immelman, former US Masters champion; Padraig Harrington, two-time Open champion and US PGA champion; Bernard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Justin Rose, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen, to name a few.

Dominic Pedler of Golf International magazine is one of the many journalists to have visited the site. “Most impressive is how the course succeeds in incorporating the various disparate design thoughts into a single cohesive vision.”

Each hole has the vision of a great golfer at its heart. And the stunning setting of the signature course only adds to its unique nature.

A par-72, which begins with South African designer Immelman and ends with South African designer Goosen, the signature course boasts wide fairways and immaculate greens.

With game meandering across those lush fairways and the enigmatic Hanglip Mountain overlooking the course, the Legend Golf & Safari Signature Course is making a name for itself as Africa’s most exciting new golf development.

Elements Private Golf reserve has been rated in the top 10 Golf Courses of south africa for the second year in succession

Vaal De Grace – Parys In the middle of the gushing waters of the Vaal River, on the borders of the Free State and Northwest Province, rests and island of incomparable quiet and beauty.

On this island, the stately Vaal De Grace Golf Estate promises a novel kind of lifestyle and golfing experience that is second to none.

The golf course is a mere hour’s drive from Johannesburg and is situated on the borders of the scenic town of Parys. The area itself is part of the Vredefort Dome area with its mix of interesting geographics, mountains, rivers and valleys. The town itself plays host to many interesting stores, boutiques and art galleries and restaurants.

This area has developed a strong reputation for adventure sports and, with the beautiful scenery and terrain around you, it is easy to see why it attracts adrenalin junkies and nature lovers alike.

Four reasons to play Vaal de Grace this holiday • The beautiful scenery and wildlife makes Vaal De Grace one of the most unique golfing experiences found anywhere in Africa.

• The 18-hole Nick Price design, the only one in South Africa.

• The most magnificent closing stretch of holes that run alongside the banks of the Vaal River.

• The friendly staff and the excellent conditioning of the course makes for a special outing.

CONTACT DETAILS Tel: 056 811 213 Web: www.vaaldegrace.co.za Manager: pr@vaaldegrace.co.za

38 travel But there are other interesting golf options at Legends. The 10-hole, par-3 Tribute Course pays homage to some of the greatest golf holes ever designed and those that entertained us with some of the most dramatic moments the golfing world has ever seen.

The course is made up of nine world famous holes and one selfdesigned hole – an African Redan.

The famous golf holes that have been paid ‘tribute’ to are: 1st Pine Valley, 10th 2nd Troon, 8th ‘The Postage Stamp’ 3rd St Andrews Old Course, 11th 4th Augusta, 12th ‘Golden Bell’ 5th Royal Melbourne, 6th 6th Augusta, 16th ‘Redbud’ 7th Rivera Country Club, 7th 8th An African Redan hole 9th Yale University, 9th 10th TPC Sawgrass, 17th And then there is the Extreme 19th. Newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations across the globe have run features on this most amazing golf hole.

Accessible only by helicopter, with the tee set 400m up on the majestic Hanglip Mountain and played to a green the shape of Africa some 400m below, the Extreme 19th has captured the imagination like no other hole.

Golfing superstars as well as celebrities from across the world of sport and entertainment have been equally as impressed with this most unique hole.

In a shoot-out with French star Raphael Jacquelin, 2008 Open Champion Padraig Harrington famously became the first person to make a par-3 – but since then he has been joined by many others, just normal golfers enjoying the golfing experience of a lifetime.

More information: www.legendgolfsafari.com

Each hole is unique in its own right with several holes crossing a natural water ravine which runs through the property

Euphoria Golf EstatE The tranquil setting belies the challenging nature of the Annika Sorenstamsignature Euphoria 18-hole championship golf course. Sorenstam, regarded by many as the greatest female golfer of all time, is the name behind the first lady-golfers’ signature golf course in South Africa.

Not only is this Sorenstam’s first signature course, it is also the first golf course in South Africa to be designed by the reputable European Golf Design Company. EGD is a joint venture company between the European Tour and International Management Group.

Each of the 18 holes has four tee boxes of equal size suitably elevated to provide the player with a good view of the hole in play and with vistas over the estate and surrounding bushveld plains. This modern golf course is long, measuring 7,055 meters off the white tees; 6,540 meters off the blue tees; 5,960 meters off the green tees and 5,145 meters off the front

Euphoria Golf Estate

red tees. Each hole is unique in its own right with several holes crossing a natural water ravine which runs through the property.

Designed with a serious commitment to the preservation of the indigenous fauna and flora, it is the combination of golf and the unsurpassed beauty of the Waterberg landscape that makes Euphoria such a unique golfing experience. Wide golf corridors ensure privacy to golfers and homeowners alike.

The Clubhouse facilities are in keeping with the overall world class experience and include function rooms, a terrace and an elegant restaurant, serving a mixture of local cuisine and traditional dishes.

A Golf Academy offers a comprehensive range of golf lessons

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and clinics to suit all ages and golfing standards. Full time teaching professionals are on hand to offer expert advice and tuition to groups or individuals.

Euphoria golf course is a blend of bushveld golf with wide, undulating fairways, wild grasses and deep bankers, which gives it a Links-like feel on many of the holes. Aptly named Euphoria, ‘the idyllic state of well-being’, the course nestles in the foothills of the Waterberg Mountain, 10km from Naboomspruit (Mookgophong). Eugene Marais, the renowned poet and naturalist wrote of the region, “where every morning from the highest cliffs, the eagle swiftly circles upwards to greet the sun blazing in the growing sky” .

More information: www.euphoriaestate.co.za

don’t miss The European Tour’s

tournament of champions!

Tickets are now available for the Volvo Golf Champions, returning to Durban Country Club in January 2014.

The increased prize fund – now $4 million – underlines the Championship’s position as one of the most prestigious tournaments on The European Tour International Schedule.

Louis Oosthuizen heads an elite group of players who will battle it out for the $700,000 first prize.

louis oosthuizen defending champion

Get your tickets at www.computicket.com or by calling 08619158000.

You can find out more at www.volvoingolf.com

Durban Country Club, 9-12 January 2014 volvoingolf.com

40

humour Illustration Dave Edwards

Blind firefighters A priest, a doctor, and a lawyer were stuck behind a particularly slow group of golfers. After three holes, they complained to the greens keeper.

“Sorry guys. That’s a group of blind firefighters,” the man explained. “They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from burning down last year, so we let them play here any time for free.”

“That’s so sad,” the priest said, “I’ll say a prayer for them tonight.”

“Good idea” the doctor agreed.

“I’m going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there’s anything he can do for them.”

The lawyer said, “So, why can’t they play at night?”

Handicap golf A guy AbOut tO tee Off was approached by a man who held out a card that read, “I am a deaf mute.

May I please play through?”

The first man gave the card back, angrily shaking his head, and saying, “No, you CANNOT play through.” He assumed the guy read lips so he mouthed, “I can’t believe you would try to use your handicap to your own advantage like that!

Shame on you!”

The deaf man walked away and the first man whacked the ball onto the green and then walked off to finish the hole.

Just as he was about to putt the ball into the hole he was hit in the head with a golf ball that knocked him out cold.

When he came to a few minutes later, he looked around and saw the deaf mute sternly looking at him, one hand on his hip, the other hand holding up four fingers.

One LINeRS the higher a golfer’s handicap, the more likely he is to try to tell you What you’re doing Wrong. a tWo-foot putt counts the same as a tWo-foot drive. golf Balls are like eggs. they’re White, they are sold By the dozen, and a Week later you have to Buy more.

a good golf partner is one Who’s alWays a little Bit Worse than you are. if your opponent has trouBle rememBering Whether he shot a six or a seven, it means he proBaBly shot an eight. golf is What you play When you’re too out of shape to play other games

Brand neW golf Balls are attracted to Water, and the poWer of the attraction is in direct proportion to hoW much the Balls cost. golf is a game in Which you yell “fore,” you score a six, and you Write doWn “five.”

Walking The room was full of pregnant women and their partners, and the Lamaze class was in full swing. The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly, along with informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan.

The teacher then announced, “Ladies, exercise is good for you.

Walking is especially beneficial. And, gentlemen, it wouldn’t hurt you to take the time to go walking with your partner.”

The room really got quiet. Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand.

“Yes?” replied the teacher.

“Is it all right if she carries a golf bag while we walk?” a priestly golf story A fellow was getting ready to tee off on the first hole when a second golfer approached and asked if he could join him.

The first said that he usually played alone, but agreed to the twosome. They were even after the first few holes. The second guy said, “We’re about evenly matched, how about playing for five rands a hole?”

The first fellow said that he wasn’t much for betting, but agreed to he terms. The second guy won the remaining sixteen holes with ease.

As they were walking off No 18 and while counting his R80, the second guy confessed that he was the pro at the neighboring course and liked to pick on suckers.

The first fellow revealed that he was the Parish priest. The pro got all flustered and apologetic, offering to return the money.

The priest said, “You won fair and square and I was foolish to bet with you. You keep your winnings.”

The pro replied, “Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

The priest said, “Well, you could come to Mass on Sunday and make a donation. And... if you want to bring your mother and father along, I’ll marry them.” the perfect joB Carl went to a career counselor to help him find a new career.

After extensive testing, the counselor told him the results, “Carl, according to our tests, you are a sadistic psychopath who enjoys inflicting pain, misery and suffering on others. You’d make a terrific golf course designer!”

Golfer: Hey caddie, would you wade into that pond and see if you can find my ball?

Caddie: Why? Golfer: It’s my lucky ball. dear aBBy, I’ve never written to you before, but I really need your advice. I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me.

The usual signs. Phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. My wife has been going out with ‘the girls’ a lot recently although, when I ask their names, she always says, “Just some friends from work, you don’t know them.”

I always try to stay awake to look out for her coming home, but I usually fall asleep. Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just didn’t want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to really check on her.

Around midnight, I decided to hide in the garage behind my golf clubs so I could get a good view of the whole street when she arrived home from a night out with ‘the girls’.

It was at that moment, crouching behind my clubs, that I noticed that the graphite shaft on my driver appeared to have a hairline crack right by the club head. Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the pro shop where I bought it?