Tee to Green April 2013

TRAVEL Tee it up & have a go on these drivable par-4s

PROFILE ‘Babe’ – the greatest female athlete ever

INSTRUCTION Playing from the fringe & the baseball swing drill

EQUIPMENT The season’s hottest woods, irons & balls

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TEE TO GREEN

April 2013 www.tee2green.co.za

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TIGER’S QUEST IS BACK ON TRACK

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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, Dr Rowena Thomson-Selibowitz, Jeff Clause PHOTOGRAPHY COVER: Sam Greenwood/ Getty Images/ Gallo Images, Sunshine Tour/Gallo 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.

FORE WORD

GEORGIA ON MY MIND Georgia, Georgia, The whole day through Just an old sweet song Keeps Georgia on my mind – Hoagy Carmichael

Y

es it’s that time of year again when all selfrespecting golf fans turn their minds to Georgia and the Masters. Mine will certainly be there amongst the Georgia pines watching the drama unfold.

But it won’t all be about winning as Tiger Woods takes on the rest of the field; think for a moment of the other fascinating side bar games.

We have the McIlroy/Woods shoot-out, irrespective of where they lie in the tournament. I must say I cannot see McIlroy getting the better of this one. Then look out for the eight-strong South African contingent and who will be the best over the week. No surprise here I believe, as Charl Schwarzel, a past champion with good recent form, is a clear favourite in this group. But look out for Sterne whose invite to the event was only assured at the 11th hour.

And what about those Englishmen, who will prevail out of Westwood, Rose and Poulter? I have a soft spot for Westwood as I believe he deserves to be on the list of Major winners and his time is running out.

How about a private bet on whether Ernie Els will finish ahead of Phil Michelson? If we exclude Tiger Woods, these two players are the best we have seen over the past 20 years.

And then the game that interests me most: Tom Watson versus Tianlang Guan. At 64 years of age Watson is giving the young Chinese prodigy 50 years. Yes, that’s right, 50 years.

Where else but in golf could such an interesting contest take place?

Back to that wonderful Hoagy Carmichael standard, Georgia on my Mind. My favourite version of the song is by Willie Nelson. With his Stetson hat and hair long and braided down his back, Willie does not look the part of a seasoned golfer. But like many other celebrities he is, and has gone, one step further by owning his own golf course.

In typical Willie fashion the course is not just about golf, but rather about relaxing and having a good time.

PEDERNALES GOLF CLUB By all accounts this is a beautiful nine-hole course spanning the hill-tops near the Pedernales River in western Travis County, Texas. It’s just eight songs away from Austin. It is more than just a beautiful course; it’s a relaxing and refreshing divergence from the formal country club scene.

The rules here are a little different.

Adjacent to Willie’s recording studio and condos, the Pedernales Golf Club is a place where you might see just about anybody, from the famous recording artists who frequent the place to Willie’s very extended ‘family’ members. And though memberships are available, they are open to the public. As they say in their publicity material: You’re welcome here if you love the game.

What fascinates me the most are some of the rules on their List of Local Rules and Etiquette:

• When another player is shooting, no player should talk, whistle, hum, clink coins, or pass gas.

• Excessive displays of affection are discouraged. Violators must replace divots and will be penalized five strokes.

• Replace divots, smooth footprints in bunkers, brush backtrail with branches, park car under brush, and have the office tell your spouse you’re in a conference.

• ‘Freebies’ are not recommended for players with short putts.

• No more than twelve in your foursome.

• Gambling is forbidden, of course, unless you’re stuck or you need a legal deduction for charitable or educational expenses.

• No bikinis, mini-skirts, skimpy see-through, or sexually exploitative attire allowed. Except on women.

I have never had the privilege of watching Willie perform live.

However, what I have seen on film and video suggests that this is the most laid back man on the planet.

Whether at times this is weedinduced, or just how he is, doesn’t matter to me. In fact, high up my bucket list is a trip to this part of Texas, so I can play a round at his nine-hole course. I hope I can order some of his special brand and, as I don’t smoke, they will need to make some ‘weed’ Bran Muffins for me. In this way I can be in the right ultrarelaxed state for the game – all for medicinal reasons mind you.

Then maybe a trip to Austin where, if I’m lucky, I will catch Willie in concert and hopefully he will sing Georgia on my Mind.

Dennis Bruyns Editor-in-Chief

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news

sweet 16

Thriston Lawrence becomes the youngest Sanlam South African Amateur champion PG

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FROM LEFT: Tianlang Guan, Charl Schwartzel, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

Woods vs The Rest With the field for the Masters now confirmed, it is time to turn our attention to Augusta National and who might prevail in this first major of 2013.

H

ot favourite, understandably, is Tiger Woods and although one could make a case in the past few majors why he would not win, this year he fully deserves to be at the top of the bookmakers boards.

After a slow start Woods has now won three times this year – at Torrey Pines, Doral and at Bay Hill. He goes into the Masters with the best current form of any player and obviously is the man to beat.

Rory McIlroy will have his supporters, but he has little or no form to suggest that he is ready to win. But with this youngster the form book never seems to matter much.

Phil Mickelson, a winner at Phoenix, and Brandt Snedeker look the best of the rest of the Americans. But I would look out for Matt Kucher, also a winner this year in the Match play and a player with an affinity for the lush fairways and slick Augusta greens. Kucher is looked upon as a local boy in that he attended Georgia Tech, was low amateur in the 1998 Masters and last year had his best ever finish in a Major when was third at Augusta behind Louis Oosthuizen and winner Bubba Watson.

And what of the defending champion Bubba Watson? Only two players have ever successfully defended this title and they happen

to be the two best players of all time, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Do you see Bubba Watson joining that twosome? I don’t.

The international contingent at this year’s Masters is stronger than ever. Players from 20 different countries will be challenging the Americans for this coveted title. The

strongest challenge should come from South Africa and England. Westwood, Donald, Poulter and Rose head up the English challenge while former champion Charl Schwarzel and last year’s runner up Louis Oosthuizen are the South African stand outs.

It is wonderful to see how the game of golf is changing and

Selected BettiNg OddS 3/1

Tiger Woods

10/1

Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson

16/1

Charl Schwartzel

20/1

Justin Rose

25/1

Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen Dustin Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Brandt Snedeker

33/1

Bubba Watson, Matt Kucher, Sergio Garcia

AND THEN SOME REAL LONGSHOTS 80/1

Ernie Els, Jim Furyk

125/1

Tim Clark, George Coetzee, Branden Grace

150/1

Richard Sterne, Trevor Immelman, Vijay Singh

AND WELL! 500/1

Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer,

1000/1

Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler, Ian Woosnam, Tianlang Guan

5000/1

Ben Crenshaw, Larry Mize, Sandy Lyle

becoming more and more international. This year’s Masters will feature players from 21 different countries and, once again, it is pleasing to note that outside of the USA, South Africa has the most competitors (eight in all) – three more than England.

Of particular interest are the players from the Far East. K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang from Korea, Ryo Ishikawa and Hiroyuki Fujita from Japan, Thaworn Wiratchant from Thailand and a first for the Masters, a player from China – Tianlang Guan, who at 14 years and six months old will become the youngest competitor ever. Guan qualified by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship last year.

We can only sit back and be proud of our players – Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Ernie Els, Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Tim Clark, Trevor Immelman, and Richard Sterne. And a ninth South African will be there in an official capacity as Gary Player again joins his old friends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as honorary starters. With a group like that and spurred on by the knowledge that SA has already had multiple winners of the Masters, one or more of our players will be there as the drama unfolds on the back nine on Sunday.

4 news on tour

Els Will sWitCH BrItIsh open champIon Ernie Els will use the belly putter for the last time at a major during the Us masters next week as he phases out the controversial club ahead of a proposed ban, the south african said. the European tour has backed the proposal made by the R&a and the Usga but the Us Pga tour is opposed to such a ban. Els used a conventional putter for his first three rounds at the Chiangmai golf Classic in thailand before switching to the belly version for the final round.

“I’m not quIte there on the consIstency front”

Not Easy on the Big Easy

C

ompared to many of this year’s crop of rookies, Musiwalo Nethunzwi has plenty of experience, having played three tournaments over the summer. That touring experience will be crucial when the Sunshine Big Easy Tour, presented by Stonehage, begins its 2013 season at Roodepoort Golf Club, where he’ll look to redefine his goals now that he knows what the Tour is all about.

team Sa update

Nethunzwi is no stranger to the Big Easy Tour. Last year he received an invitation to play at Big Easy Houghton and he took it with both hands, reaching a six-under-par total after 36 holes to finish tied third. The youngster from Soweto has been a shining light since his days at the Gary Player School of Excellence.

Back in those days he played out of Soweto Country Club and still managed to reach fourth in the SAGA open Amateur Ranking before he turned pro.

He now plays out of Modderfontein Golf Club, which has

a superb development programme for young talent. The likes of Trevor Fisher Junior hail from Modderfontein, and the young gun could well follow in his footsteps.

With the summer wrapped up and the winter tours beginning, it’s time for players to consolidate their years.

For the rookies that means getting as much experience under the belt as possible, yet Nethunzwi comes from a slightly different place. He’s already done well on the Big Easy Tour and has some solid tournament experience under his belt, so he’ll be looking for a result.

“i just wanted to play (with the belly putter) since it was my last competitive round before the masters,” said the four-time major winner who will switch to the shorter stick in time for the Us open in June.

World number 24, Els has been looking for consistency this year, having missed the cut in the arnold Palmer invitational with successive rounds of 75s before heading for thailand. “so far this year i’ve played some decent golf in parts, but i’m not quite there on the consistency front,” the former number one wrote on his blog on www.pgatour.com. “all you can do is keep working hard, though. as we saw last year, your fortunes can change quickly in this game.”

R60million and going stRong In last month’s Issue of t2g we looked at the current crop of south african touring Professionals in order to assess how they matched up to past players and looked forward to what they may still achieve. Well there is no holding team sa back.

Jaco van Zyl won the telkom Pga Championship and investec Cup and along the way picked up a bonus of R2million for leading the Chase to the investec Cup. not bad for a month’s work. on the other side of the indian ocean thomas aiken strode to an easy victory in the avantha masters banking €300,000 for his efforts. let us look at the team as a whole. in the first 12 weeks of the year taking into account events on the tours of america, Europe and south africa. they have pocketed just on R60million in prize money.

Here is a breakdown of each player’s earnings over that period.

PLAYER

TOTAL WINNINGS

Louis Oosthuizen

R5,742,652

Charl Schwartzel

R8,705,529

Ernie Els

R2,959,191

Branden Grace

R3,476,720

George Coetzee

R4,956,555

Richard Sterne

R7,011,903

Tim Clark

R7,264,648

Darren Fichardt

R5,191,132

Jaco van Zyl

R4,745,366

Retief Goosen

R2,572,056

Thomas Aiken

R4,487,689

Garth Mulroy

R1,851,720

TOTAL

R59,325,161

all earnings were converted into rand using the exchange rate on the monday morning following the

event. the figures include all tournaments up to and including the Bay Hill on the Pga tour, the malaysian open on the European tour and the investec Cup and bonus pool on the sunshine tour.

Jaco van Zyl rides the Investec Zebra after winning the Investec Cup at the Lost City Golf Course.

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In the bag

12 year old qualIfIes for european tour event Aged just 12, ye Wocheng will become the youngest golfer to play in a european tour event after he qualified for the volvo china open.

“I’ve dreamed of this since I was a boy,” he said. ah, the innocence of youth. and if that quote will raise a smile across the game, then his achievement will drop many jaws. poor guan tianlang was left to ask himself: “What took me so long?” he was a full year older at 13 when he set the mark last year. ye will tee off at tianjin binhai lake golf club on May 2 alongside the likes of paul casey, courtesy of his two-under total in the two-round Western china qualifying. the dongguan schoolboy was able to post a triple-bogey eight and still finish third.

With his father on the bag there were a few nervous moments after firing a four-under 68 on the first day. ye actually led the field when racing to the turn of his second round with three birdies to take him to seven-under. but he then dropped shots at the 11th and the 14th, before that calamity on the 16th, and it required all of his startling maturity to last until home at the Wolong valley country club. li Xinyang, who won the qualifier, looked comparatively ancient at 18 years of age. despite his tender years, ye is already well known on the international circuit. he won the us kids World Junior championship in san diego in 2010 and 2011 and finished runner-up last year. he also holds the tournament record of 12-under, beating the old mark of a certain player called tiger Woods. this year, ye won the guangdong Junior championships by a record 18 shots.

D.A. Points (Winner – Shell Houston Open) Driver: TaylorMade r11S (9 degree; UST Mamiya vTS Series shaft) Fairway wooD: TaylorMade Burner 3-wood (13 degree; Graphite Design Tour aD shaft) HyBriDS: TaylorMade r11 rescue (18 degree; aldila Nv Hybrid shaft) and Ping G10 (20 degree; aldila vS Hybrid shaft) iroNS: Ping i5 (4-Pw; Ping Z-Z65 shafts) weDGeS: Ping Tour with Gorge Grooves (52 and 58 degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts) PUTTer: Ping anser Ball: Titleist Pro v1x FooTwear: FootJoy XPS-1 Glove: FootJoy SciFlex Marcel Siem (Winner – Trophee Hassa II) Driver: TaylorMade rBZ (8 degree; Graffaloy Blue shaft) Fairway wooDS: TaylorMade rBZ 3-wood (13 degree; aldila riP Phenom X 70 shaft) iroNS: Mizuno MP-69 (3-Pw; True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shafts) weDGeS: Mizuno MP T-11 (50 and 54 degree) PUTTer: odyssey Tank Ball: Titleist Pro v1x FooTwear: FootJoy icon Glove: FootJoy StaSof

a specIal club for MIckelson Phil Mickelson is looking to a long stick to give him an advantage at augusta, and it’s not a putter. It is a 3 wood that is more like a driver with a lower ball flight and more run on the fairway so what’s the plan for augusta?

“We have a special club we’re making that I’ll be hitting on Monday,” he said. “so, we’ll see.”

this is not the first time that the former Masters champion has experimented with a different driving club. a few years ago he played with two drivers in his bag. Identical clubs in all aspects except the one was weighted with a bias towards a draw and the other a fade.

Well let’s see what comes out his bag on the first tee at augusta.

60 years and going strong

G

ary Player is a household name for every golfing fan, and as he celebrates his 60th year of professional golf.

“To be involved in a sport like golf as a professional for 60 years is just a thrill,” he reflects. “I’ve obviously exercised, watched my diet, been a good sleeper and a hard worker.”

At 77 years old, Player has seen it all in his six decades of golf and has chalked up 165 professional titles worldwide, including nine Major championships that were later matched by nine senior Majors after the age of 50.

From the get-go he was destined for greatness. At 17, just three years after he first swung a club, Player teed off in his first professional event – the Santa Clara Transvaal Open.

He went on to finish second to the great Bobby Locke, announcing himself to the South African golfing fraternity and launching one of the greatest golfing careers in history. His meteoric rise in the golfing world was due not only to hard work, but to passion, and Players recalls being a youngster who had little interest in the game – until the bug bit.

“At the age of 14, I played cricket and football and rugby and didn’t really want to play golf as I thought it was a sissy’s game,” says Player from his Colesberg farm.

“My father asked me to come out and play a game with him, though, and the first three holes were very short. It was a par-3 with a wedge and then two holes with a drive and a wedge, and I started par-par-par.

And there it is once again, this game of golf with fathers and their sons.

A lot has changed since The Black Knight first competed in the Majors.

Aside from using small rings to judge

Player with Bobby locke

whether a ball was still round enough to use, and from the incredible length of new courses, the world of golf is totally different.

“I think of the first time I went on the tee at St Andrews in 1955.

Dunlop came up to me and said, ‘Here are a couple of balls for you for the week’! Now you get fourdozen balls, a new driver, new shoes, free phone calls, free lunches, free courtesy cars, free hire cars, a gymnasium, a million-dollar first prize, and there I was in ’55 sleeping on the beach where they filmed Chariots of Fire,” he said.

Showing no signs of tiring and ever the optimist, Player would rather look ahead than reminisce, but when asked to consider his career in golf he said: “I’ve been extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful life, meeting so many terrific people and having travelled probably more than any other human being that has ever lived. Sixty years of constant travel and if I stay well I’m going to be doing an awful lot still.”

news

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Work begins at olympics venue The firsT pre-construction works have begun on the site of the 2016 olympic golf course in rio de Janeiro. clearing work to remove nonnative vegetation and establish hole centrelines began yesterday, after city authorities issued the required permit. actual construction of the course is now expected to begin in april, six months behind the scheduled start. Development company tanedo, along with architect gil Hanse, is handling the work, which has started just over a year after he was awarded the design contract. no earthmoving equipment is being used in the clearing work. rio 2016 organising committee president carlos arthur nuzman said: “We are delighted that work has begun on the golf venue and we remain on track to deliver the golf course for a test event in 2015 as scheduled. this venue will provide a key element of the rio 2016 legacy as the first public course in rio de Janeiro, and it will play a pivotal role in the development of the sport of golf in brazil.” the test event is scheduled for august 2015. For the course to be ready by this date, it is likely that all grassing will need to be completed before the end of next year. Hanse, who has been renovating the existing gavea gc course to occupy himself while waiting to begin the olympic course, said: “it is the start of a long process to transform this property into a beautiful golf course, and we are happy to get started.” gil Hanse is the founder and president of Hanse golf course Design inc. since the firm’s inception in 1993, he has been involved in a hands on capacity with each project that the firm has undertaken.

Hanse founded the firm based on the principles of creating a small firm that takes a personal interest in the design and construction of each of the firm’s projects. this commitment to a limited number of design projects with a maximum amount of personal attention has served the firm well in its several years of operation. a year ago, gil Hanse shocked the world by winning the most coveted course design job since bobby Jones tapped alister mackenzie to create augusta national in 1931.

Hanse, along with associate Jim Wagner and consultant amy alcott, beat out the likes of Jack nicklaus/ annika sorenstam and greg norman/lorena ochoa to earn the right to build a course for the 2016 rio summer olympics, where golf will make its return as a medal sport after a 112-year hiatus.

Sweet 16

A

t 16 years, two months and 26 days, Mpumalanga teenager Thriston Lawrence became the youngest champion of the Sanlam South African Amateur Championship in the 106 year history of the event at Country Club Johannesburg in March.

Playing with the steadfast persistence of a man many years his senior, the Nelspruit golfer fought his way into the records books with an emphatic 9 & 8 victory over Southern Cape’s Andrew Light.

Lawrence not only bettered the previous youngest player record, set

by Desvonde Botes in 1991, by just over two months, but his winning

margin was the biggest since Ettienne Groenewald lifted the trophy at Royal Johannesburg in 1980 with the same result.

“You know, I didn’t have any expectations when I arrived here at the start of the week,” the excited champion gushed. “I just wanted to gain experience. If I did well, it

the Nelspruit golfer fought his way iNto the records books with aN emphatic 9 & 8 victory

would have been a bonus.

“I knew what I had to do to give myself a chance and I’m really proud of how I was able to stay calm and keep my focus going. I didn’t get ahead of myself. The first time I thought I could actually win this was when I got to the seventh and I was eight ahead.”

Lawrence said it was still all too much to take in.

The young golfer rose to prominence when he first represented Mpumalanga at the SA Junior Inter-Provincial at the age of 13 and won the SA Boys U-14 Stroke Play, but he warranted serious attention when he claimed the SA Boys U-19 Match Play Championship at Katberg last year.

Unprecedented achievements could become the order of the day for Lawrence, but this tremendous feat will also raise the bar for the emerging amateur stars of tomorrow.

8 NEWS

A ‘Special’ Performance

W

hen Tom Lugg, the Special Olympics Number One golfer, qualified for the SA Amateur Matchplay, it was a first for Special Olympics golf.

To add to his elation Tom received a call from Gary Player, who has given Tom much help and encouragement over the years and phoned him from the USA to congratulate him.

Tom is currently full time at the Gary Player Golf School of Champions and his current handicap is scratch. Tom scored 82 and 78 in the Qualifying for the Amateur at Country Club Johannesburg, which placed him in 119th spot in a field of 144. A special performance indeed.

Please note: Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization

for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 4 million athletes in 170 countries. Started by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all around the world – including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 53,000 events a year. The South African Golf Special Olympics is held in the spring each year at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club and is sponsored by the PGA of South Africa. For more information on Special Olympics visit their website at www. specialolympicssouthafrica.org

SPECIAL OLYMPICS IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST SPORTS ORGANIZATION FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

YOUNG TEAM FOR ZONE SIX THREE OF THE COUNTRY’S top amateurs will debut for South Africa when the SA team take up their title defence at the Africa Zone VI Golf Championships at Windhoek Golf and Country Club from 22-26 April.

The new caps include reigning Sanlam SA Amateur champion Thriston Lawrence (at 16 years the youngest player to be awarded national colours) from Nelspruit, SA Amateur finalist Andrew Light from George and Eddie Taylor from Harrismith, who plays out of Country Club Johannesburg. Lawrence, Light and Taylor are ranked fourth, seventh and ninth on the South African Golf Association’s current rankings.

The threesome will line up alongside the country’s number two Zander Lombard, Louis Taylor, ranked third, as well as Gerlou Roux, Werner Ferreira and Tertius van den Berg, ranked sixth, eighth and 12th respectively.

Lombard is the only member from the team that secured South Africa’s 12th victory in Malawi last year, while Louis Taylor, Roux, Ferreira and Van den Bergh earned their national colours in the recent Leopard Trophy.

“We are excited to field a young team in our title defence at this year’s championship. We are delighted to give these players the opportunity to gain some valuable international experience and we are confident that we are sending a strong team to Namibia,” said SAGA President Andre Pieterse.

Vice-president Gerhard Conradie will manage the team, while Llewellyn van Leeuwen, who guided the SA team to their third victory against the Scots at Leopard Creek, will also accompany the team as coach and captain.

The Africa Zone VI Golf Championship attracts countries mainly from east and southern Africa.

In addition to the hosts and the defending champions, the other teams expected to contest include Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique and Rwanda.

SAGA WELCOMES THOMPSON TO JUNIOR AND SENIOR GOLF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLF Association (SAGA) recently announced the appointment of Eden Thompson as National Junior and Senior Golf Coordinator and Junior Golf Development Officer from April 1, 2013.

Thompson will be responsible for the administrative duties and tournaments relating to the junior and senior amateur schedule, monitoring the progress of golf development programmes at provincial level, as well as liaising with the committees and individuals who look after junior golf at provincial level.

“We are delighted to welcome Eden to our ranks,” said SAGA president Andre Pieterse.

“Having served SAGA in the capacity of assistant executive director for three years and director of golf at Central Gauteng Golf Union and the Boland Golf Union for six years, Eden brings a decade of experience in golf administration to the position. We believe his leadership, commitment and proven track record in amateur golf will be a great asset to the SAGA and we have a lot of confidence in his abilities.”

The SAGA took ownership of junior golf in January 2011 in accordance to a mandate from SASCOC and SRSA. Part of Thompson’s directive will be to ensure that the 13 divisions that form SAGA Junior Golf develops into an integral part of the SAGA. He will also be responsible to ensure that the nationwide junior golf development programmes are closely aligned to the SAGA and that the funds allocated for development are appropriately disbursed.

“It has been hard to leave Boland Golf Union and everything I have

invested there in the last five years behind, but I am looking forward to the challenge ahead,” he said.

“I really enjoyed working for the SAGA in the past and I am honoured that the Executive has placed so much confidence in me. The position is quite diverse and will no doubt come with its own challenges, but I look forward to a long association with the SAGA. “I am really excited at the opportunity to grow junior and senior golf in South Africa and to drive the development of golf in our country.”

10 BLAST FROM THE PAST

F

uture Olympic champion, Mildred Didrikson was born on June 26, 1914 in Port Arthur, Texas, the daughter of Ole Didrikson and Hannah Marie Olsen. Her father and mother were from Norway, where her mother had been an outstanding skier and skater. Her father was a ship’s carpenter and cabinetmaker.

Times were often difficult for the large Didrikson family, and as an adolescent Mildred worked at many part-time jobs, including sewing gunny sacks at a penny a sack. Her father, a firm believer in physical conditioning, built a weight-lifting apparatus out of a broomstick and some old flatirons. Mildred was always competitive, interested in sports, and eager to play boys’ games with her brothers. After hitting five home runs in one baseball game, they called her ‘Babe’ (Babe Ruth was then in his heyday), a nickname that remained with her for the rest of her life.

Different SportS At the age of fifteen, Babe was the high-scoring forward on the girls’

basketball team at Beaumont Senior High School. She attracted the attention of Melvin J. McCombs, coach of one of the best girls’ basketball teams in the nation. In February 1930, McCombs secured a job for her with the Employers Casualty Company of Dallas, and she was soon a star player on its Golden Cyclones. She returned to Beaumont in June to graduate with her high school class. The Golden Cyclones won the national championship the next three years, and she was All-American forward for two of those years.

‘Babe’ soon turned her attention to track and field. At the National Women’s AAU Track Meet in 1931, she won first place in eight events and was second in a ninth. In 1932 she went to the Olympics. She qualified for five events but women were allowed to enter only three. She won gold in the javelin throw, with 143 feet, 4 inches, and the 80-meter hurdles, twice breaking the previous world record (her best time was 11.7 seconds). She made a world record high jump, but the jump was disallowed because of her “western roll” style jump and she was awarded

“my main idea in any kind of competition always has been to go out there and cut loose with everything i’ve got. i’ve never been afraid to go up against anything. i’ve always had the confidence that i was capable of winning.”

Mildred ‘Babe’ Didrikson Zaharias, the greatest woman athlete of all-time? silver for second place. The noted sports writer Paul Gallico remarked, “On every count, accomplishment, temperament, personality, and colour, she belongs to the ranks of those story-book champions of our age of innocence.” Gallico also referred to her as “the most talented athlete, male or female, ever developed in our country.”

Golf Champion As a professional golfer, she won 31 tournaments, including three U.S. Women’s Opens, and helped found the Ladies Professional Golf Association. “Babe changed the game of golf for women,” said Patty Berg.

Didrikson didn’t even take up golf seriously until she was 21. She was introduced to the game by Grantland

Rice in Los Angeles during the 1932 Olympics. Somewhere in between winning gold medals in the javelin and hurdles Didrikson joined Rice and three other sportswriters for a round of golf at Brentwood C.C. According to Rice, the Babe shot 91 that day and regularly hit drives measuring 250 yards.

The following year, while she was touring the country with the House of David baseball team, Didrikson travelled back to Los Angeles and took golf lessons from pro Stan Kertes at Brentwood. Two years later, she won the Texas Women’s Amateur Championship with an eagle on the 34th hole. The United States Golf Association ruled the following day that as a professional athlete (in other sports) Didrikson could no longer compete in amateur events.

11

I am out to beat everybody in sight, and that is just what I’m going to do.

You have to play by the rules of golf just as you have to live by the rules of life. There’s no other way.

Before I was in my teens, I knew exactly what I wanted to be: I wanted to be the best athlete who ever lived.

The formula for success is simple: practice and concentration then more practice and more concentration.

Practice, which some regard as a chore, should be approached as just about the most pleasant recreation ever devised, besides being a necessary part of golf.

Golf is a game of coordination, rhythm and grace; women have these to a high degree.

Good golf is easier to play – and far more pleasant – than bad golf.

Winning has always meant much to me, but winning friends has meant the most.

As long as I’m improving, I will go on, and besides, there’s too much money in the business to quit.

The Babe is here. Who’s coming in second?

I expect to play golf until I am 90--even longer if anybody figures out a way to swing a club from a rocking chair.

CLOCKWISE FrOM ABOVE: Didrikson-Zaharias won 82 golf tournament and was one of the founders of the LPGA; Babe won two gold medals at the 1932 Summer Olympics; She was nicknamed “Babe” after hitting 5 home runs in one baseball game; She won the US Women’s Amateur in 1946; And was an excellent boxer although she never turned professional.

This led Didrikson to go on exhibition tours and to celebrity pro-ams. In 1938, during a tournament in California, she was paired with a professional wrestler named George Zaharias. They married later that year, and with Zaharias supporting his wife and managing her career, the Babe applied for amateur reinstatement. The USGA granted her wish in 1943, and immediately after World War II Zaharias went back to her winning ways with victories in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1946 and the British Women’s Amateur in 1947. Published reports had her winning 16 consecutive tournaments, and this led her to turn professional, sign with sports promoter Fred Corcoran and, along with Berg, help form the LPGA Tour.

Some of us are fortunate enough to play championship golf, but this isn’t essential in the enjoyment of the game.

I played many sports, but when that golf bug hit me, it was permanent.

That little ball won’t move until you hit it, and there’s nothing you can do for it after it has gone.

If you win through bad sportsmanship, that’s no real victory” There are no shortcuts to good golf. The better players realize this.

As a professional, Zaharias was just as dominant, winning 31 of the 128 events in which she played from 1948 to 1953. Asked what the secret of her success was, Zaharias would usually answer with her favourite expression.

“Aw,” she’d say, “I just loosen my girdle and take a whack at it.”

Her dedication to practice is the stuff of legend. She would hit as many as 1,000 balls a day, until her hands were blistered and bleeding.

In 1953 she was diagnosed with cancer and had a colostomy. She was told by doctors that she would never be able to play again. They did not know the Babe. Three and a half months later, though, she returned to competition. The next year she won the United States Women’s Open by twelve strokes. This was one of the five victories that year.

But she could not win the battle against cancer. She had a second operation in 1955 and it wasn’t long

“Aw,” she’d say, “I just loosen my girdle and take a whack at it.” before Babe Zaharias was gone. She died in Galveston, Texas on September 27th 1956 at the age of 42. In the last months of her life she and her husband established the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Fund to support cancer clinics and treatment centres.

Patty Berg called her “the most physically talented woman I’ve ever seen,” and that statement applied not only to golf, but to the rest of the sports Babe Didrikson Zaharias mastered.

Jim Murray, LA TImes sportswriter, described her thus: “She was brave as a lion, as lovable as a lamb. She bragged, she swore, drank, but could be presented at court, comfort a nun, buy a fur for her mother or sew a dress for herself as well as the product of any finishing school. She was a roughneck with a basketball or a deck of cards in her hands. But she grew roses, raised poodles, danced at the White House and hung curtains like the dutiful Scandinavian housewife she was.”

Paul Gallico paid perhaps the finest tribute to her: “Much has been made of Babe Didrikson’s natural aptitude for sports, as well as her competitive spirit and indomitable will to win.

But not enough has been said about the patience and strength of character expressed in her willingness to practice endlessly, and her recognition that she could reach the top and stay there only by incessant hard work.”

In her autobiography, This Life I’ve Led, Zaharias wrote, “All my life, I’ve had the urge to do things better than anyone else.”

She may have been the greatest woman athlete in history.

12 COVER STORY

13

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED...

NOT!

14 COVER STORY

or Tiger Woods it has always been about setting records. Amongst golf ’s greatest records are: Byron Nelson’s winning stretch of 11 tournament in a row, widest winning margin on the PGA Tour of 16 strokes held by our own Bobby Locke, the 82 PGA Tour victories of Sam Snead, most consecutive weeks at No.1 on the World Rankings and most overall weeks as No.1.

He fell short of Nelson’s number, but did win six in a row back in 2000, and in truth Nelson’s is a record that seems to be set in stone, never to be matched. He came within one of Locke’s 16 stroke victory when he won the US Open by 15 stokes at Pebble Beach in 2000. Locke’s victory was in the Chicago National - not quite the US Open.

With 77 wins to date, he is within five of Snead’s total and, barring injury, one can’t see him not going past that. And as regards the world rankings, even though he slumped to a lowly number 58 in November 2011, nobody comes close to his 623 weeks in the top spot.

In addition to these records, Woods has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record 10 times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons. He is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. Woods is only the second golfer, after Jack Nicklaus, to have achieved a career Grand Slam three times. Woods has won 17 World Golf Championships, and won at least one of those events in each of the first 11 years after they began in 1999.

Despite these outstanding achievements, the one record that he knows is the final measure of greatness for a golfer is Jack Nicklaus’ record for most Major victories in a career, 18. This has been Tiger’s stated goal since he first broke through by winning the Masters in 1997. He’s been stuck on 14 since 2008, going on five years. Since then a scandal sunk his personal life, culminating in his divorce from Elin Nordegren, serious injuries side-lined him, and he seemed to have lost his swing and his confidence somewhere along the way.

Mission Accomplished – I think not. For Woods this will only happen when he wins another Major. The Majors will be the ultimate measures.

WOODS AND NO 1 MODESTLY, WOODS first became No.1 the day after finishing T-19 at the 1997 US Open at Congressional, though that was just a one-week stint. He traded the top spot off and on with Greg Norman until January 1998, when Woods finished second at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and wrested supremacy from Norman. Impressively, the Shark, almost 43 at the time, but after 331 weeks on 11 different occasions, he would never again be No.1.

You could say that Woods also effectively silenced Ernie Els’ aspirations, too. The Big Easy was Woods’ next conquest, because they traded it off for parts of 1997 and 1998. But Els never could keep Woods down, maintaining No.1 for just nine weeks on three different runs.

Next up were challenges by David Duval (two stints as No.1, but for just 15 weeks in 1999) and the most effective one, by Vijay Singh. Back when Woods was still

“MY GOOD SHOTS ARE REALLY GOOD AND I JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE THE BAD ONES AREN’T THAT BAD.” a force (2004-05) and not kicked to the curb by his car hitting a hydrant, Singh took down the world’s greatest golfer with incredible durability and remarkable productivity. Woods won seven times those two seasons, two of them Majors, but Singh lapped him, winning 13 times, one of them a

Tiger’s new girlfriend, Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn

Major. Singh’s reward: three different trips to No.1, lasting a total of 32 weeks.

Woods twice supplanted Singh with victory at Doral and then at the Masters in 2005. The third and final time he knocked the Fijian from the top slot came after a week off before the US Open in 2005. It kicked off what would be an incomparable 281-week run for Woods, which wouldn’t end until Lee Westwood became No.1 on Oct 31, 2010.

This hiatus from the top spot – it has been 122 weeks split between Westwood (22 total), Martin Kaymer (eight), Luke Donald (54) and McIlroy (38) – has been Woods’ longest by far.

Crazy as it might sound, given how Woods has made No.1 his personal domain, but only four of the 16 official No.1s have been American, and they’ve been rather brief visits (Fred Couples, Tom Lehman and David Duval combine for just 32 weeks in the top spot).

Bottom line: Woods has 623 weeks to his credit as No.1, while the other 15 combine for 781.

15

L

ife must be going well for Tiger Woods when he can make headlines in the gossip pages for dating Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn – and in the sports pages for winning at Bay Hill and returning to No.1 in the world, all in the same week. The studio photos of Woods and Vonn that were posted on their Facebook pages looked more suitable for a catalogue showcasing their clothing sponsors. Far more natural were the poses of Woods with Arnold Palmer after winning his tournament – left arm draped around Palmer’s shoulder, both unable to contain their laughter over whatever was said that could not be repeated.

It wasn’t long before Woods was asked the correlation between going public about dating Vonn and winning a tournament to go back to No.1 for the first time since October 2010. There was a time when Woods answered questions about his personal life by saying, “That’s none of your business.’’ But he had fun with this one.

“You’re reading way too much into this,’’ he said with a grin.

Be that as it may, Woods does appear to be in a happy place.

Winning does that, and Woods is starting to win with alarming frequency. In the one year and two weeks since he limped off the course at Doral with tightness in his left Achilles tendon – the same injury that forced him to miss two majors in 2011 – Woods has won six times in his last 20 starts on the PGA Tour. In his three wins this year, no one got closer than two shots at any point in the final round.

And how long will he remain as No.1?

As Rickie Fowler noted after playing with Woods in the final group at Bay Hill, “He looks a lot more comfortable out there. He doesn’t really miss many shots. And if he does, it’s not by a whole lot.’’

Haven’t we heard this before?

Remember, Woods won Bay Hill a year ago and was declared the favourite to win a fifth green jacket at the Masters. Instead, he never broke par and wound up with his highest score as a pro at Augusta National and tied for 40th. He won the Memorial in his final event before the US Open, and then shared the 36-hole lead at Olympic Club. He failed to finish in the top 20.

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype because we know how good he was and believe he can be that good, if not better, again. This latest win at Bay Hill, however, was different.

It gave Woods consecutive wins for

FAR MORE NATURAL WERE THE POSES OF WOODS WITH ARNOLD PALMER AFTER WINNING HIS TOURNAMENT – LEFT ARM DRAPED AROUND PALMER’S SHOULDER, BOTH UNABLE TO CONTAIN THEIR LAUGHTER OVER WHATEVER WAS SAID THAT COULD NOT BE REPEATED.

IN TIGER’S BAG DRIVER: Nike VR Tour (8.5-degree; Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6x shaft) FAIRWAY WOODS: Nike VR Pro Ltd 15° 3-wood and Nike SQ II 19° 5-Wood with Mitsubishi Diamana Blueboard 103 shaft IRONS: Nike VR Pro Blades (2-PW) (Tiger will put his 5 Wood or 2 Iron in the bag depending upon the course setup and conditions). All irons are 1-degree upright, have D4 swingweight, standard size Tour Velvet grips and True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts WEDGES: Nike VR Pro (56 and 60-degree; True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts) PUTTER: Nike Method 001 BALL: Nike ONE Tour D (with “Tiger” imprint) GOLF GLOVE: Nike Dri-FIT Tour glove GOLF SHOES: Nike TW Free Inspired Prototype DRIVER CLUB COVER: Frank, a plush tiger head club cover created by his mother. Frank has appeared in several commercials

the first time since August 2009. Asked the last time he felt this good going into the Masters, he said, “It’s been a few years.’’

Woods lost part of his mystique when he stopped making putts. However, consider some of his absurd statistics with the putter during the Bay Hill, making 19 of 28 putts from between 7 feet and 20 feet. Surely this was the Woods of old. But it was still at Bay Hill and not in a Major. There is no doubt there is a big step up in a Major and, the question remains, can he step up?

The Masters might be his best chance since 2009, when he coughed up a two-shot lead to Y.E. Yang on the last day of the PGA Championship.

Everything fell apart soon after that – revelations of his extramarital affairs, losing his wife in a divorce, finding a new swing coach, coping with more injuries to his left leg.

You can never be sure of anything in the game of golf, of course, but in the case of Tiger Woods it looks pretty much as if a sleeping giant has finally recovered his supreme belief of self and with it, that marvellous ability that sets him aside from all his rivals – the ability to make shots under pressure that really count.

Say what you will, healthy and happy marriages help produce great golfers.

You only need to take a look at Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player to see that.

It seems that if Tiger Woods can find the same sort of comforting relationship from here on in, and stays healthy in body, there must be every chance that this greatest of competitors will go on to capture every record imaginable and firmly establish himself as the most successful golfer of all time.

And yes, this despite the fact that the world has never seen quite as many outstanding golfers as there are right now, for few, no matter how much talent they may have, can ever hope to possess the phenomenal focus and great mental strength Woods has so often been able to bring to the table when he is performing at his best.

“It’s a by-product of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments,” he said.

He is reducing the mistakes and ironing out the weaknesses. Or, as he puts it, “I’ve gotten so much better since last year and I’ve cleaned up a lot of different things in my game. I’m very pleased with where it’s come along. My good shots are really good and I just need to make sure the bad ones aren’t that bad.”

No doubt about it we can safely say Tiger is stalking Jack’s record of 18 Majors with serious intent once more.

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16 rules

local rules

No two golf courses and the conditions in which they are played are exactly the same. Dennis Bruyns elaborates on the need for Local Rules and what they should cover.

G

olf has a playing field like no other amongst games that require a formal playing area. It offers an unusual combination of rigid specifications (tees, greens, fairways etc), mixed with wild and unpredictable irregularities of nature. Consider that a golf course can be set out on some 100 hectares on land with trees, streams, dams, dunes, ravines – on ground near the seaside, in parkland, on heath land, in the bushveld and even in the desert. So although the Rules of Golf are uniform throughout the world, it is not a case of one size fits all and therefore the need for a set of Local Rules – rules that are local to a specific course and even a specific time.

The game’s administrators the R&A and the USGA are well aware

of this and as a result have provided guidelines for club committees. These are found in the appendix to the Rules of Golf booklet. Unfortunately very few committees seem to take note of these. And now in this wonderful digital age, with tons of information posted on websites, detailed explanations with examples are available. Any club wishing to get their Local Rules worded correctly and in line with the guidelines set out by the Rules makers have no excuses.

There is a problem though, and this is a technical one – how to display these rules effectively? At most clubs Local Rules are written on the back of the score card, a good place however there is restricted space and therefore a restriction on how detailed they can be. Some clubs make use of a large whiteboard, result - bigger writing on a bigger

Spectacular yes, but is it practical? It would seem that some sort of Local Rule needs to be in place to allow players to safely negotiate this hole at Stone Forest International Country Club in China.

board and still not enough space.

These are problems can easily be overcome and what is important is that the rules are clear and concise and understood by all.

Obviously with millions of rand at stake the officials on the Pro Tours are under pressure to get it right and this is how they do it. They play different courses each week and certainly when it comes to the European Tour in different countries and vastly differing conditions. What they do is produce for the year a set of Permanent Local Rules referred to as the “Hard Card”. Each competitor or tour member receives a copy. As the name suggests this list covers the rules and their application

that are permanent to the tour.

In addition to the Hard Card the Tour produces a weekly set of “Additional Local Rules” that apply to that week and that course only.

These are usually set out on a form and handed out to each player as they tee off. There is no guarantee that the players read these but the principle is correct – they are in place, they are uniform and they have been delivered.

This is not really practical for a club to do. My advice is to use your general notice board as the substitute for the “Permanent Rules Hard Card”. Have these rules clearly displayed for all to read. And then use the Whiteboard for the special almost temporary Local Rules.

At all times follow the guidelines set out by the R&A. Rule 33-8a states that “The Committee may establish Local Rules for local abnormal conditions if they are consistent with the policy set forth in Appendix I.” Appendix I to the Rules of Golf lists specific matters for which Local Rules may be advisable, and it also provides specimen wordings, e.g. protection of young trees, preferred lies, stones in bunkers, etc.

Committees are advised to use the specimen Local Rules rather than adopt different language. At all times, it is the duty of Committees to interpret their own Local Rules and, if a doubt arises about the applicability or interpretation of a Local Rule, it is the responsibility of the Committee to give a decision.

The R&A does not interpret Local Rules other than those covered by Appendix I in the Rules of Golf.

Rule 33-8b goes on to say, “A Rule of Golf must not be waived by a Local Rule. However, if the Committee considers that local abnormal conditions interfere with the proper playing of the game to the extent that it is necessary to make a Local Rule that modifies the Rules of Golf, the Local Rule must be authorised by The R&A.” Often Local Rules are introduced to clarify the course marking, clarifying the boundaries of the course or ground under repair, for example, but Rule 33-8b allows Committees to provide relief from local abnormal conditions that are not covered by the Rules themselves, provided the correct authority is gained from The R&A. For example, it may be appropriate to provide relief from outcrops of rock in the fairway or semi-rough; a Committee may wish to give relief from animal dung that is prevalent on a course; or there might be a desire to cater for artificial tee-mats in the winter. There are many situations that may be unique to an area or course that interfere with the proper playing of the game and need to be addressed via the Local Rules.

And remember the R&A is happy to offer advice in this area.

rules

Some Pro Tour ruleS Over the years I’ve had a number of queries relating to whether the Pro Golfers, and more specifically Tour Players, play to a different set of rules. Some of these arise from what golfers see on television while others are from golfers who might have played with tour players who themselves don’t really understand the distinction between the rules of Golf and special local rules put in place for tournaments and, in some cases, a series of tournaments. So let me emphasise the fact that there is only one set of rules for the game of golf.

These are set and administered by the r&A and the uSGA and all golf, be it social, tournament, professional or amateur should be played according to these rules.

The following are some of the special local rules played on the Southern African PGA tour. These are not therefore special rules for pros but rather special rules for tournaments played under the auspices of the Sunshine Tour.

One Ball COnditiOn Pro Rule: During a stipulated round the balls a player plays must be of the same brand and type detailed

by a single entry on the current list of conforming golf balls.

Rule of Golf: Players may change the make of ball during the round and are not restricted as above.

Tour players are restricted to one ball with which they must learn to execute a variety of strokes. They cannot make use of modern ball technology that would allow them say play one ball for downwind shots and a ball with different ball flight characteristics for shots played into the wind etc. new tuRf SOdS Pro Rule: Allows for relief from any seam of new turf through the green interfering with the lie of the ball or the area of intended swing. All seams forming part of the condition are to be treated as the same seam for the purposes of rule 20-2c (re-dropping).

Rule of Golf: unless specifically marked as ground under repair players may not get a free drop.

What is interesting about this local rule is that it is only when the seam of the sod interferes with the lie of the ball or the intended swing that relief can be taken. If the ball lies in the middle of the sod the player must play the ball as it lies. There is no relief if the sod interferes with the player’s stance.

17

firm hard conditions not requiring the rule, while later in the day as a result of a sudden storm ground conditions may change. To make it equitable for all players the relief is extended for all play.

emBedded Ball Pro Rule: relief extended to “Through the Green”.

Rule of Golf: rule 25-2 provides relief without penalty for a ball embedded in its own pitch mark on any closely-mown areas.

“Closely-mown Area” means any area of the course, including paths through the rough cut to fairway height or less. The special local rule extends this to apply “through the green” which includes all areas of the course except the teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played and all hazards on the course. The reason for the extension of the rule is to allow for changing circumstances during a tournament. Players playing early in the day may play in

aBnORmal GROund COnditiOnS Pro Rule: relief will be denied for interference to stance from a hole, cast or runway made by a burrowing animal, reptile or bird.

Rule of Golf: Applies for interference to stance as well.

This is an interesting restriction and basically is in place to prevent players from using their stance to get relief, when there is no interference to the ball or swing.

StOneS in BunkeRS Pro Rule: Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions, rule 24-1 applies.

Rule of Golf: Stones are loose impediments and may not be removed.

If all the courses played on the Tour had perfectly sifted sand, with no stones, there would be no need for the rule. It is partly in place for safety reasons for players and spectators in that in playing a shot out the bunker an interfering stone may also be hit, which in turn could strike the player or spectator.

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19

SWING THOUGHTS

QUITTING

Y

ou are the reigning US Open and PGA champion. You are undisputedly the best golfer in the world. You then sign a deal with one of the biggest sporting apparel manufacturers in the world, rumoured to be around the $20 million-per-year mark.

So if you are Rory McIlroy what is there to do next? Try this for a run of form: missed cut in Abu Dhabi, followed by a first round exit at the Accenture Matchplay, and then a walk-off withdrawal after 26 holes at the Honda Classic.

Now we all understand the vagaries of the game. The best lose it sometimes, the best play badly and the best might even be seven over par after 8 holes. However, what really confounds one with the MMO (McIlroy-March-Off) is the fact that, in my humble opinion, the best player in the world should not quit.

Heck, come to think of it, the best player in the world does not quit!

In this edition of Swing Thoughts we investigate what you can do to avoid the trap of not only giving up, but also losing your self-respect.

FIGURE OUT WHY YOU PLAY THE GAME This sounds quite straightforward.

For some, as the old joke goes, they play golf because it amuses them that their spouse thinks they are having fun. For the rest of us though, it may not be such a clear-cut answer as trying to disgruntle your spouse.

Sadly, however, many players play with the sole motivation of feeding their egos. One can easily observe golfers that are overly ego-involved.

They are the players who are all about beating the players in their four-ball. They could care less what they are shooting as long as they can beat you.

The second warning signal that you may be overly ego-involved is the fact that you set milestones and goals in terms of score every step of the way.

Thus, ‘if I am not level after 6, I am

By Theo Bezuidenhout

Rory McIlroy walks off the course on the 18th hole during the second round of the Honda Classic

obviously playing badly and I won’t play any better and I may as well stop trying now’. Sound vaguely familiar?

The fact of the matter is that as soon as ego becomes your over-riding motivation, you will find yourself in mental trouble on the course, just as McIlroy has recently. This is due to the fact that your focus shifts from internal task-relevant cues, e.g. routines, proper decision-making processes and commitment, to external ego-driven stimuli.

In Rory’s case, could the cash be playing a bigger role than he or anyone would like to admit? In your case, could the fact that you are playing to prove a point be taking performance off the table? Only Rory and you can answer these questions.

MAKE RESILIENCE A VALUE Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong. If it is not in your values to steal, the chances are that even when you are presented with an opportunity, you will not take something that does not belong to you.

The same goes for quitting, and not only the Rory McIlroy type of quitting (of walking off the course).

Heck, come to think of it, the best player in the world does not quit!

Oh no, we are also talking here about giving up internally and just going through the motions because you have to.

The challenge with setting these values is that it is pointless to try and remember them. They need to be written down because this is already a form of committing to valued behaviours. Secondly, if you don’t remind yourself what they actually are, you will break them any chance you get.

As an example, let’s say Rory had set himself some competitive values.

These may include accepting bad shots for what they are, a never say-dieattitude or even playing each nine on its own merits. After the debacle of his first nine at The Honda, he may have been able to fall back on his own moral compass to remind himself that as the best player in the world you need to stick things out.

IF YOU DO IT ONCE… The ex-Benetton and Renault Formula 1 principal, Flavio Briatore, is rumoured to have said in an interview that if one of his employees made a mistake he fired him on the spot. The reason? If the person did it once they were capable of doing it again, was the flamboyant Italian’s explanation.

Thankfully in golf we are not that fatalistic and, secondly, I am not proposing that if you have given up in the past that it is all doom and gloom.

Rather it is important to remember that much like Briatore’s thinking around mistakes, one cannot undo quitting. Another important factor here is also that just like being resilient, giving up also becomes a habit.

So the next time you have your back against the wall and the fight seems to be insurmountable, just remember that the next decision you make in terms of fighting or giving up, determines not only your round but how you see yourself as a golfer.

Fortunately for all golfers, the great players aren’t just remembered for the low scores they shot but also the adversities they overcame. Me thinks Rory has a bit to learn about resilience before we can call him great.

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 Volvo South Africa and Volvo in Golf as well as a Titleist ambassador. 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.

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INSTRUCTION

By Dennis Bryuns, Illustrations Dave Edwards

FROM THE FRINGE Choose to putt most of the time

Work out the pros and cons of the shot when playing from the fringe

A

big part of shaving strokes off your score and becoming a better golfer lies in shot selection. On almost every shot in the game you will be faced with a variety of shot options and nowhere more so than around the green.

Putt the ball whenever you can

Use a putting stroke with a wedge or nine iron. Hold the club vertically on the toe.

21 PULL OUT AND KEEP

There is a general principle for the short game that says “minimum airtime maximum ground time” And this is a good principle to follow. If conditions allow it – Putt.

The majority of golf courses in South Africa now have kikuyu fairways that grow right up to the edge of the green. And we hear so often on TV that you can’t putt over a kikuyu fringe as the ball will bobble or deflect and not run true.

To an extent this is correct but better mowing equipment and cutting techniques have resulted in much better and cleaner fringe surfaces.

And most important of all is what our expectation is. As a regular average golfer we are happy to get

IF YOU HAVE TO CHIP FOLLOW THE PRINCIPLE – MINIMUM AIRTIME, MAXIMUM GROUND TIME

the ball inside the two metre radius and so give ourselves a better that 50% chance of making an up and down. The pro tour player is often trying to hole the shot and therefore wants to eliminate whatever variables he can. Ignore what they do – on and around the green they really do play another game altogether, a game that is refined by hours and hours of practice.

Generally therefore go for the putter. You will have to hit it harder than usual depending on how much fringe there is between you and the hole. Therefore concentrate on making a good solid strike and imagine a circle with a one metre radius around the hole – that is your target.

If you have to chip follow the principle – minimum airtime, maximum ground time. Use a nine iron or wedge and hit it with a putting type stroke (see illustration).

Remember correct shot selection is the best way to lower your scores without spending hours and hours on the practice tee.

GOLF AND BASEBALL

Same swing just a different plane

W

e all know by now that a big turn and a wide arc are essential in generating club head speed and therefor increasing distance. That doesn’t mean that if we are looking for a few extra yards we must try and imitate John Daly’s huge turn, wide arc and extended backswing.

In fact if we did we run the risk of being taken off on a stretcher as we will almost certain cause ourselves some serious back injury.

So what can we do, especially if we have put on a few years and have now lost those extra yards?

Easy solution: Accept it, lower your expectations and improve your short game – you’re going to need it!

Real Solution: Get out on the practice tee and use the “Baseball Swing Drill”.

THIS IS HOW IT WORKS: Start with a slightly closed stance as this will help you make a bigger

If you are playing uphill or through heavy grass, chip the ball.

turn on your backswing. The club is then swung around the body with the hands getting no higher than the shoulders on a flatter plane. The closed stance and flatter plane will help you to make a full turn both with your lower body and of course with your shoulders. This flatter swing will also give you a more penetrating ball flight and a controlled draw, resulting in more roll on the ball.

One important aspect to guard against is a loop. Do not end up looping the club up and away from your body at the changeover from backswing to downswing (see last month’s tip). It is crucial that the club stays on the flatter, around the body plane.

Don’t expect to just have a single swing like this and your body will do it right every time.

Spend some time on the practice tee doing our recommended Gradual Descent Drill.

GRADUAL DESCENT DRILL Make swings on a horizontal plane between shoulder and chest height, concentrating on making a full turn and follow through. Get the feeling of the club head dipping slightly under this plane at impact and then up again to shoulder height on the follow through. Keep the right elbow tucked in to the waist on the downswing to prevent becoming disconnected. Using the same swing lower the plane to waist and then knee height. Then swing the same way just above the ball.

Now address the ball and swing away. Start again and repeat until it becomes natural to you. You should quickly notice the change in ball flight and distance.

This drill can also be part of your pre-shot routine. I remember Mark McNulty using it regularly in the 80’s and he won over 60 professional tournaments.

What more can I say.

22 WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Over the years South Africa has produced many superb young players. Not all of them kick on and become accomplished professional golfers. It is not my intention to look at the reasons for this, but rather to reflect on their early achievements and find out what they are doing now.

NOW

In this series of occasional articles Dennis Bruyns looks at the careers of prominent golfers from the past and answers the question – where are they now?

23

Wayne Player

As the son of the great Gary Player, Wayne was always in under pressure to succeed and in some way further his family name in golf, almost an impossible burden for a young man to bear when your father is one of only five players in the history of the game to have won golf ’s Grand Slam. And to set the bar even higher he just happened to win over 150 professional golf tournaments in a career spanning 40 years.

Despite this, Wayne achieved some distinct honours as a young golfer. He was selected for South Africa in 1980 to play in the World Amateur Team Championship at Pinehurst in North Carolina. He and fellow team members, Etienne Groenewald, Duncan Lindsay-Smith and David Suddards recorded the best finish ever by a South African team – second place behind the Americans Jim Holtgrieve, Jay Sigel, Hal Sutton and Bob Tway. Sutton and Tway would go on to win the PGA Championship in 1983 and 1986, respectively.

As an amateur Wayne made it through the pre-qualifying for the ’79 British Open at Royal Lytham and, when he qualified for the 1982 US Open at Pebble Beach, he and his father became the first father/son duo to qualify and play in both a US and British Open at the same time. Wayne won several amateur and professional titles and competed in two British Opens, a US Open, four British Amateurs and three US Amateurs.

LEFT: Wayne Player, son of golfing legend Gary Player, in his heyday as a professional golfer.

TOP: Wayne acted as co-host on The Golf Channel’s “On the Range” with Gary Williams and veteran golf analyst Bill Kratzert ABOVE: Wayne with his wife Shervon and three boys, Jordan, Tyler, and Nicholas

it was the life lessons learned from his father, rather than the swing lessons, that would shape wayne’s later career and personal life However, it was the life lessons learned from his father, rather than the swing lessons, that would shape Wayne’s later career and personal life. He quickly realised that his own passion was not in competing, but in sharing his father’s beliefs about the game of golf and life with others. Wayne decided to dedicate his life to helping others achieve their full potential both on the course and in life.

Wayne set out first by partnering with Disney to create The Disney Institute Golf Experience. The program included both classroom and on-course instruction for over 10,000 attendees over a two-year period, featuring his proprietary teaching method called the “Player Approach” to golf.

From there, Wayne went on to work with several top golf instructors, including David Leadbetter, Bob Toski, and Peter Kostis, and made multiple television appearances on The Golf Channel and Fox Sports. Most recently Wayne acted as co-host on The Golf Channel’s ‘On the Range’ with Gary Williams and veteran golf analyst Bill Kratzert, and was chosen as a finalist on ‘Instructor Search’ in 2010.

Today, Wayne is the founder and owner of Wayne Player Productions, LLC, a full service entertainment and travel company, specializing in customized golf and bucket list experiences for corporate and private clients.

These personally hosted events include everything from the Masters, the

British Open, the Ryder Cup; golf excursions to Scotland and Ireland; to an incredible Golf Safari to South Africa. Horse and tennis enthusiasts can enjoy customized experiences to the Kentucky Derby, the Breeders Cup, French Open, US Open and Wimbledon.

In addition, Wayne specializes in hosting corporate golf outings at some of the most exclusive and sought after clubs in the nation.

These events feature golf clinics, motivational speaking to employees and clients, as well as ‘Meet & Greet’ and golfing opportunities with his father, Gary Player.

Wayne resides in Tequesta, Florida, with his wife Shervon and three boys, Jordan, Tyler, and Nicholas.

24 where are they now?

Manny Zerman

When you consider performances of South Africans in International Amateur events, the name Manny Zerman is up there with the best. Manny was twice a runner-up in the US Amateur Championship. In 1990 he lost to Phil Mickelson at Cherry Hills and the following year to Mitch Voges, having despatched David Duval in an earlier round. These fine performances led to invites to the Masters where he won the low amateur award.

He won the PAC-10 championship and the Regional Championship and was part of the NCAA National Championship team, all while attending the University of Arizona.

Manny was a four time All-American during his four years at Arizona.

How did a young golfer from South Africa end up in America achieving these fine honours?

Manny Zerman was born in South Africa to Italian parents. As a teenager he travelled to play in a number of junior tournaments in America. On his fourth trip to the States, the 17-year-old decided to make a change. He told his parents that he had decided to stay.

The news surprised the Zermans, but finally they agreed. “This is his future,” Armando told his wife. “He must go and make his own life.”

They were encouraged by John and Sue Hogue, the couple Manny had stayed with during his visits to San Diego, who offered their home and their hearts to him. Avid golf fans, the Hogues had hosted dozens of junior players over the years, but they became attached to Manny in a special way.

And so began the Americanization of Manny Zerman. He enrolled at the University of San Diego High, a private prep school. It wasn’t an easy transition. Zerman had never seen multiple-choice questions before – essay exams were the norm in South Africa – so he had to be tutored in American test-taking techniques.

Later the deficiency would compound his difficulties with the SAT. He made friends with Phil Mickelson, which helped in his acclimatisation. He and Phil would become team mates when they went to college a few years later.

An unusual family reunion occurred when his parents Miranda and Armando made the trip to the Masters to see their son compete on one of golf ’s greatest stages. They had not seen their son in four years and here was their boy, all grown up and competing against the best golfers in the world. They seemed

Manny Zerman lines up a putt during the 1992 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.

They had noT seen Their son in four years and here was Their boy, all grown up and compeTing againsT The besT golfers in The world

awestruck by it all, especially the sight of their son’s name on the leader board during the first round, after Manny had holed a 49-yard wedge shot for eagle at the par-5 second hole. However, by Sunday afternoon, Manny’s name was off the leader board and he was on his way to shooting a six-over-par 294.

Still, the score wasn’t important to Miranda and Armando. Manny was realizing his dreams – and theirs.

As Manny walked up the left side of the 18th fairway near the gallery ropes, Armando approached him. With Miranda watching, he put his hand on Manny’s shoulder and said, “We’re proud of you.” Manny didn’t say anything at the time, but later confessed that the moment made him so happy he had chills. That’s almost a fairy-tale ending.

This is no fairy tale. It’s the real-life story of Manny Zerman, who has been smiled on by fate and four loving adults. “I’ve been very fortunate,” Zerman said at the time. “My mom and dad sacrificed for me and then let me experience life for myself. Then when I got here, these people who weren’t my parents guided me in the right direction.”

After this fine amateur career Manny turned professional and played briefly on the PGA Tour and then on the European, Asian, Canadian and the Nationwide tours winning on both the Asian and Canadian tours. But he never really reached the same heights he had as an amateur.

Manny Zerman, formerly the world’s top-ranked junior player and a four-time All-American at the University of Arizona (1990-93), has established a golf school at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa, where he also serves as Director of Instruction.

“Having enjoyed life as a competitive golfer, I am now determined to help recreational players get more enjoyment from their games,” says Zerman. “Too often golfers think of golf as being more difficult than it is. My goal is to help golfers build on sound fundamentals to score better and have more fun.”

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HEALTHY GOLF

YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN

By Dr Rowena Thomson-Selibowitz

WINNING LETTER Thank you for a great column. I wanted to know whether you could recommend a stimulant or supplement to help me with a dodgy knee. I had ligament ops and can’t walk 18 holes anymore without needing to take pain pills.

I don’t want to take them because they make me dizzy.

John Gillmore (Durban) Dear John, There are a few natural supplements that may help to support your muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. However, please always discuss these supplements with your physician before starting to take them.

Inflammation is likely the cause of your pain, so consider taking a natural anti-inflammatory on a daily basis to minimise discomfort.

Remember, natural antiinflammatories are less likely to cause stomach upset. And need to be taken on a daily basis to be effective. Powerful anti-inflammatories include turmeric, MSM and Celadrin. I personally find Solgar’s Cherry Turmeric Complex very effective. Although these products will address the inflammation, you also need to support your knee joint and its surrounding structures. I recommend you take a glucosamine and chondroitin product to protect your joint cartilage against additional wear and tear. You may also want to consider taking Omega 3 as this is shown to be helpful in reducing inflammation.

Is golf actually good exercise? I see a lot of unhealthy looking guys on the course, mostly weight issues, although we walk on average 7km per round. If I wanted to stay fit, would I choose to play golf? It doesn’t appear like a very good cardio vascular exercise.

Clinton Thomas (Lenasia)

Dear Clinton, Like everything in life, you get out what you put in. Walking is good exercise but in order for walking on the course or playing golf to be considered aerobic exercise, you do need to increase your heart rate. So, if you are walking around the course, but you are never actually exerting yourself, then you are not exercising adequately. Remember exercising only once a week (even if it is a 7km walk) is not enough. Most health experts recommend at least 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three to four times a week. Maybe next time you play a round, try to walk at a quicker pace.

Golfers come in all shapes and sizes!

Hello Doctor – I am generally quite unuhealthy (I smoke and drink a bit too much for my age and like to braai!) but am trying to do something about it. I walk with my son, who plays golf to get exercise, but need something more to lose weight and to lift my energy levels. Any advice will be much appreciated.

Peter Selborne (Cape Town) Dear Peter, Weight loss is really a lifestyle change.

I am pleased to hear that you are trying to exercise. I would suggest consulting a dietician or nutritionist to assist you in making healthier food choices. The more nutritious your meals, the more energy you will generate. There are a few natural

things you may want to try to lose weight and be energised, but they really only work in conjunction with exercise and a healthy eating plan.

These include: • Green Tea Extract: this is a natural detoxifier and is known to increase metabolism. Buy a green tea supplement that has a high EGCG content.

Green tea does contain caffeine, so please do not take it at night.

• Chromium picolinate: This helps insulin work more efficiently – and so may help to improve blood sugar balance and reduce your cravings for sugary and starchy foods.

• A combination of L- carnitine and coenzyme Q-10 will assist you in generating energy and both assist with fat metabolism.

Please check with your doctor before taking any supplements.

Thanks for you great advice to the middle aged women that want to stay trim a few months back. I too am a middle aged woman and find that I get absolutely exhausted midway though the second nine. I casually walk the course where we live quite comfortably but when I play it is a different story.

I don’t want to start taking things I don’t know so can you please assist with some advice on how to lift my levels before and during the game?

Patricia Patrick (Rustenburg) Dear Patricia, Playing golf and walking the course are quite different. Maybe you are putting too much pressure on yourself to win and nerves may be playing a factor here. Consider stress management techniques to help address any nervousness you may feel.

Without taking supplements, ensure that you are well- nourished.

Do this by eating a well-balanced breakfast on game day that includes protein (yoghurt, nuts, seeds, eggs (boiled not fried) or even a lean meat such as fish (kippers)). Please refrain

from eating sugary snacks or products made from white flour as these will drop your blood sugar levels quickly. Rather opt for a piece of fruit (including the skin) or a handful of raw nuts to maintain energy through the game. None of these should make you gain weight.

Remember with healthy eating, quality is always more important than quantity, so if you do not eat properly, you will not have enough energy for the second nine.

What kind of dietary supplements can you recommend to youngsters who are playing golf for them to avoid developing physical problems?

Luke Valentine (Joburg) Dear Luke, I am not sure exactly which physical problems you are concerned about.

Golf, like any other physical activity, is good for youngsters. However, if they are playing golf at a competitive level that requires a lot of practicing, they may be more vulnerable to muscle and joint injuries.

For this reason, it is important to assist in maintaining healthy muscle by ensuring that the youngsters get enough Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) in their diet. BCAAs are found in protein, but there are also supplements that can be bought from health shops that contain good quality, low temperature processed amino acids.

Glucosamine and chondroitin may also be useful in helping to protect joints and cartilage from damage.

It is important to make youngsters understand that if they are hurt or sore, it is best to rest and skip a few practice sessions as pain is the body’s way of telling you to take a little time out.

Send though your health related queries to teetogreen@ ballyhoomedia.co.za. The WINNING LETTER will receive a Solgar Product Hamper.

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36 travel

Over the years – and I mean over many years! – I have been privileged to play many of the great courses of the world, nearly always in tournament condition, all of which adds to the pressure and excitement.

Among my favourites are those that offer the greatest elements of risk and reward. Obviously these are generally the par-5s on a course, but don’t forget those wonderful short or driveable par-4s – or as I like to call them – three-and-a-half pars. These are holes where you expect to make a three, are slightly disappointed with a four and know you lost two strokes on the field with a five; worse than that is a disaster!

Being one of the longest drivers of a ball in SA and Europe for three to four years in my prime, gave me an opportunity to reach more of these holes than most other professionals and therefor also left me with the dilemma – to go for it or simply play safe.

There were a number of considerations that I had to take into account before I decided to have a go at the green or not: • How was I playing or hitting the ball (was I catching it solid) • Where was the pin on the day (sometimes just missing the green can leave you with a more difficult chip than a full shot) • What round of the tournament it was (if I needed birdies to make the halfway cut, was I going along nicely and or if I had a chance to win) • What my score was for the day, how badly did I need an eagle or a birdie • The fear factor (if you are afraid don’t go for it) • The most important was the risk reward ratio (how much I had to gain against how much there was to lose on that particular hole and at that point in time) Here are some the most memorable from my playing days: Durban Country Club – 18th hole My favourite golf course in the world, after all it was here that I won two South African Opens as well as an early European co-sanctioned tournament, the Tournament Players Championship. Standing on the 18th tee in the late afternoon, with the coastline on your left, the Durban

skyline in the distance, the old white colonial clubhouse in the background and the crowds on either side of the narrow fairway can be very daunting.

Each time I have needed a birdie to win and have managed somehow to pull it off. It is not a very difficult hole downwind as you only have to carry it about 220metres for it to catch the down slope and either run onto the green or finish in the front right swale, which leaves a testing pitch as its uphill against quite a pronounced slope.

However, should you miss it left, it either goes into the small bunker guarding the left hand side or further left it can kick hard left and go out of bounds. Should you leak it right it goes all the way down to the squash court, leaving a very difficult blind pitch to the narrow green. Into the wind it is another kettle of fish altogether as you have to grit your teeth and smash it. In the 1988 SA Open I reached it into the wind with a one iron. I had earlier decided to leave the driver in the bag and that’s where it stayed. My birdie three gave me a one stroke victory over the luckless Ian Mosey. Mosey had a chance to win the Open that year and also a few years before when he missed a short putt to lose to Gary Player. erinvale - 11th hole I have a very special memories of Erinvale as it was here that I had the privilege of partnering Ernie Els in the World Cup in 1996, which we won by a considerable margin.

Erinvale also added to my personal immortality as Ernie and I broke the World Cup record when we won by 18 shots. After that event they changed the format from combined medal so I believe that record will stand for a very long time.

The 11th was very drivable for me. However, it has a long narrow green which in a tournament is very firm and fast. It is also guarded by two rather deep bunkers, which make for a very difficult up-anddown if the flag is tucked up against them. I hit one of my best shots there in the third round when I bunkered it in the right hand trap and had no green to work with but got it out to a foot with Ernie watching. I got a nod from him for that shot – and I made the putt.

driveable par-4s

risk & reward Holes

The most exciting in the game says former Sa Open Champion Wayne Westner

37

RoodepooRt CountRy Club (Ruimsig) - 13th hole This is a real teaser as it is drivable but has a few nasty side effects. There is a pond front left of the green as well as a drainage ditch on the right hand side of the green and over the back. The lay-up is also a little tricky as the water comes into play all the way down the left side of the fairway.

We were playing the Nissan Skins – myself, John Daly, Mr John Bland (at his age I have to show him some respect) and Mr Gary Player.

Blandie had to keep asking his caddy where mine and Daly’s golf balls were, whereas we could hear Blandie’s ball landing. Just kidding, but remember Daly and I were really long and were having a driving competition on the side.

However, at 13, they had moved the tee forward a touch so that Daly and I could have a go at the green. I hit it onto the front left just short and Daly hit it about 4 metres behind the flag. On the day there was a brand new Nissan 300ZX sportscar

for an eagle on the hole; Daly hit a perfect putt that horseshoed around the hole. On the way to the tee Blandie said to him, “bad luck John and don’t worry.” Then he added a typical Blandie chirp, “It’s a long drive back to the states anyway.” the belfRy - 17th hole I must include a hole from overseas so go with this thrilling par 4.

Whenever I think of the Belfry I am reminded of that iconic moment when my close friend Sam Torrance

Above: The spectacular 18th hole at Durban Country Club. one of the best driveable par-4 holes in the world. And the view is not too bad either.

LefT: Looking back from the green at the short par-4 13th at Roodeport Country Club. Short yes, but plenty to fear with water all the way down the left of the fairway and green. oveRLeAf: The tees are always brought forward for tournaments at the 10th hole at The belfry to tease players into having a go at the green. The dangers are clearly there to be seen.

38 travel Wayne Westner Golf ColleGe Wayne Westner, winner of multiple tournaments worldwide including two SA Opens, Dubai Desert Classic and the World Cup, invites you to attend the most advanced Golf College in South Africa at the beautiful Selborne Golf Estate on the South Coast.

We are offering 2, 3 and 7 day courses as well as one week and two week courses for children during the school holidays.

held his hands aloft after sinking the winning putt and so secured the Ryder Cup for Europe.

But back to the 10th, this drivable par-4 has a plaque on the tee acknowledging the occasion when the great Seve Ballesteros drove the green.

I have had a tilt or two at it over the years, but it really is such a dangerous shot. It has huge overhanging trees in the front of the green as well as a stream running all the way in front and down the left side of the green. It requires a high strong fade, if there is such a thing, but if you miss it you catch the tree which then leaves you no chance of an up-and-down for par.

And if you hit it into the river you are faced with a difficult lob wedge off

tight turf to a very narrow green. If it was the 17th or the 18th and I had a chance to win, I may had a gone at it more often.

Jack Nicklaus has always said that really good golf courses must have at least one genuine three hitter par-5 and a driveable par-4. I couldn’t agree more. Problem is that the average golfer playing from the club tees might never get the feel and thrill of playing the hole set up in a way that he can drive it. So make the trip to Durban Country Club and find the tee that will give you a chance to hit the 18th green (even if it is off the ladies tee). Tee it up and have a go at the green, it is something all golfers must experience.

Course includes: • Full playing analysis of your entire game • Tuition designed specifically for your personal game • Complete appraisal of youngsters looking to turn pro • Individualized road map to the tour • Daily nine hole playing lessons • Daily long and short game tuition • Understanding your game • Workable mental techniques to improve your game • Get rid of the slice • Get rid of the yips • Gain more distance at any age.

And is suitable for: • Young golfers looking to make a career in of golf • Full time tuition monthly, and yearly • Children during school holidays • All level of players • Couples • Families Enquiries/ bookings: Wayne: 079 692 1901 Alison: 082 920 8627 ali@eject.co.za

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40

humour Illustration Dave Edwards

I have to give up golf I’m goIng to have to give up golf,” Fred sadly advised the club secretary.

“I’ve become so near-sighted I keep losing balls and if I play with glasses they keep falling off.”

“Listen, don’t give up;” the secretary replied. “What about teaming up with old Harry Jones.”

“But he’s in his 80s and can only just make it around the course.”

“Yes, yes, he’s old, but he’s also farsighted and he’ll be able to see where you’ve hit your ball. It’s a way to keep playing.”

The next day Fred and old Harry played their first game together. Fred teed off first and his powerful swing took the ball sailing up the fairway.

“Did you see it?” he asked Harry.

“Yes,” the old-timer answered.

“Where did it go?”

“I forget!” came the reply.

The faciliTy was There A guest at an exclusive Golf and Spa resort is checking out and is astounded by the cost of his stay.

He queries the account and is politely reminded by the resort manager of the wonderful Health and Beauty Spa at the resort.

“But I came to play golf and did not use the Health Spa“ the guest retorts.

Ah! But the facility was there should you have wanted to use it,” says the manager going on to say

that there is a state of the art Golf Academy available at the resort.

“But I did not use it,” comes the reply from the guest “Ah! But the facility was there should you have wanted to,” says the manager. “And don’t forget our 24 hour room service and three international restaurants.”

Once again the guest points out that he did not use any of these services.

“Ah! But the facility was there if

you had wished to,” the manager replies. realising he is getting nowhere, the guest makes out a cheque and hands it over.

“There is something wrong here,” says the manager. “The cheque is for r1000 less than it should be.”

“That’s for sleeping with my wife,” says the guest.

“But I did no such thing.“ “Ah” says the guest, “but the facility was there if you had wished to.”

NeiTher would he My wife asked me why I don’t play golf with Patrick anymore.

I asked her, “would you continue to play with a guy who always gets drunk, loses so many balls other groups are always playing through, tells lousy jokes while you are trying to putt and generally offends everyone around him on the course?”

“Certainly not, dear” she replied.

“Well, neither would he.”

one lInerS

Golf is a game in which the slowest people in the world are those in front of you, and the fastest are those behind. The secret of good golf is to hit the ball hard, straight and not too often. Golf was once a rich man’s sport, but now it has millions of poor players. An amateur golfer is one who addresses the ball twice: once before swinging, and once again after swinging. Many a golfer prefers a golf cart to a caddy because the cart cannot count, criticize or laugh. A golf gift given to you at Christmas by a non-golfer is always unsuitable. Your first hole-in-one is always achieved when playing alone. Your natural ability as a golfer is in inverse proportion to the amount of money you spend on new equipment.