Golf Indonesia -- Issue 14

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ISSUE 14

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JUNE 2014

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China's Li Hao-tong signs autographs for local junior golf fans at the 2014 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia PGA Championshop at Damai Indah's BSD Course. Photo courtesy of Antony Sutton

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

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CONTRIBUTORS' PROFILE

CONTENTS

Issue 14 W W W. G O L F I N D O N E S I A . B IZ

Editor Simon Reynolds simon@golfindonesia.biz Management Edo Frese edo@golfindonesia.biz Group Editor in Chief Angela Richardson angela@golfindonesia.biz Editorial Assistant Gabriella Panjaitan

ADAM TAYLOR Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Adam graduated from the Australian PGA as a full member professional with a Diploma in Golf Instruction in 2005.

Having been based at Royale Jakarta Golf Club for the past two years, Adam has devoted his passion and knowledge of the game to improving players of all levels and ages. His instructional techniques have featured in several television golf programs and golf magazines. He looks forward to improving your game through Golf Indonesia Magazine and at Ancora Golf Institute, Royale Jakarta.

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GOLF INSIGHT Singapore Bids Farewell to Two Golf Courses

By Antony Sutton

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ON TOUR The Inform George Gandranata Wins The Next Round of The Indonesian Golf Tour at LotusLakes Golf Club

SOCIETY GOLF Jakarta Inter-Society Matchplay League Round 3

By Anthony King

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CADDIES OF THE MONTH Riverside Golf Club

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FEATURED COURSE REVIEW Riverside Golf Club

By Dan Richards

ON TOUR PGTI 2014 Order of Merit, after LotusLakes 7th – 9th May

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GOLF INSIGHT Asian Tour No. 1 Kiradech Hopes Monk Experience will Push Him into U. S. Open

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GOLF FITNESS Fitness The TPI Way

By Averne Myles Loos

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CURIOUS TALES Golf Course Birdie Ends Up as Sausage Meat

By Antony Sutton

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TIPS Sound 'Chipping' Technique

By Adam Taylor

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ON TOUR (ASIAN) Aguilar's Perfect Finish Seals Win at The Championship at Laguna National

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ON TOUR (ASIAN) Australia's Both Completes Career Turnaround with ITCSI Philippine Open Victory

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ON TOUR (ONE ASIA) Park Jun-Won Wins GS Caltex Maekyung Open

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ON TOUR (ONE ASIA) Maiden Win for Kim Seung-Hyuk at SK Telecom Open

Sales & Marketing betty@golfindonesia.biz

GOLF TRAVEL Amazing Thailand: A Destination of Remarkable Golf Courses and the Capital of Golf in Southeast Asia

By Simon Reynolds

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gabriella@golfindonesia.biz

Betty De Haan

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Distribution Dian Mardianingsih dian@golfindonesia.biz Graphics Frederick Ng fred@golfindonesia.biz Finance & Admin Lini Verawaty Contributors Anthony King Averne Myles Loos Dan Richards

ANTONY SUTTON Antony is a freelance writer who has been hanging around Southeast Asia for about 20 years. Unfortunately, he hasn't picked a club in anger since his days in Bangladesh on the Kurmitola course where he benefited greatly from the words and wisdom of Nelson, the onearmed caddy.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Today, he keeps threatening to head to the local diving range to shake off the cobwebs, but hasn't yet made good with that promise. Instead he contents himself with a few quiet, cold beers once in a while and helping his son become a good Arsenal fan!

Antony Sutton Adam Taylor Circulation Enquiries info@golfindonesia.biz Subscription subscriptions@golfindonesia.biz Events events@golfindonesia.biz Classifieds classifieds@golfindonesia.biz

ANTHONY KING Anthony is the archetypical expat who started his globe trotting back in the late 70's. Having visited and played golf in all bar one continent he is still trying to find the course that suits a left handed golfer.

His company is based in Singapore but he remains a member of JGCC and several of the local golfing societies.

Published by PT. Koleksi Klasik Indonesia Jl. Kemang Raya No. 29A Kemang, Jakarta–Indonesia Tel: 021 7179 4550 Fax: 021 7179 4546 Office hours: 09.00–17.00 Monday–Friday Golf Indonesia is published monthly by PT. Koleksi Klasik.

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writers and the publisher does not accept any responsibility for any errors, ommisions, or complaints arising there from.

No parts of this publication can

AVERNE MYLES LOOS Sydney was his home for 29 years before moving to Jakarta, Indonesia. Previous to being a golf coach, he was a high school English teacher at an International School for 11 years. Once he decided that golf was going to be his future, he undertook studies in this profession and completed his TPI Training under Jason Glass, Lance Gill, Marck Blackburn and Jon Tattersall in the United States. He is a Senior Instructor with Arron Cole at Imperial Klub Golf Academy located at Lippo Karawaci. He lives here with his wife and 2 sons who are aspiring golfers as well.

be reproduced in whole or in part, in print or electronically without permission of the publisher. All trademarks, logos, brands and designs are copyright and fully reserved by PT. Koleksi Klasik Indonesia.

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DAN RICHARDS With an unshakable fade and a 12 handicap, Dan is a marketing professional who originates from Honolulu, Hawaii.

When it was confirmed that Dan would be moving to Jakarta, the first bag that he packed was his golf bag. As an expat, Dan ‘s goal is to play every course within driving distance of Jakarta.

I

was recently playing Golf at Bangpra Golf Course in Chonburi, Thailand. Bangpra’s design is inspired by traditional British parkland golf courses. The 7,000+/- yard layout is crafted amongst dense jungle foliage, serenaded by birdsong and patrolled by curious and speculative local monkeys, contemplating the ordeals of us humans, seemingly at leisure, wandering their local lands hitting a white dimpled ball towards rather small wormholes.

As our flight of merry golfers approached our penultimate Par 4 and our 17th hole of the day, preparing to play our tee shots, we could see a large gathering of monkeys on the fairway awaiting our drives. We all chuckled, shrugged our shoulders and thought nothing of it, as we had encountered bands of monkeys on many of the previous holes, and proceeded to pepper the monkeys with a Titleist, Srixon, Nike and then another Titleist golf ball. With the threat of incoming balls at over 100mph, the monkeys retreated towards the greenside area on the hole well protected by large oak trees and large bunkers, leaving our four golf balls untouched on the fairway, right side rough and fairway bunker.

Playing golf in Indonesia, golfers come face to face with many wildlife specimens, most notably of which we discussed amongst our flight: Biawak (a local monitor lizard), snakes, mongoose and wild dogs from nearby kampungs and not to be confused with African wild dogs which roam in packs. None of these wildlife threats should have any impact on the golfer’s game or score.

We then proceeded to play our second shots towards the pin positioned near the back of the green well protected by a large bunker at the rear. One of the players in hot pursuit of a

birdie took one club too many and his ball took one hop at the back of the green, took a large bounce and dropped and buried itself in the bunker in close proximity to a large band of monkeys taking shade below a large oak tree. As we all waltzed towards the green, our bunker-bound golfer paid extra attention to his ball, which had caught the interest of one of the larger monkeys.

The large monkey proceeded to shovel the ball from its deep buried lie, picking it up, before darting towards the large oak tree behind the bunker. The shiny Titleist NXT Tour S #4 then slipped from his clasp and fell nicely in the light rough behind the bunker.

We immediately begun to wonder, do the R&A Rules of Golf account for balls being misplaced and moved by outside agents (i.e. monkeys), and in this case giving the golfer an even better lie and increasing his likelihood of making his par?

At the time our flight agreed to allow our fellow golfer to re-drop the golf ball where the ball originally was in the bunker. Upon returning home I was curious to research the official rules, we had acted accordingly: “If your ball is moved by an outside agency there is no penalty and the ball is replaced and placed as close to the original point of rest as possible”.

I think as golfers we can all learn from this encounter with monkeys as we play golf and live life. It appears the British colonialists encountered similar problems when playing golf in India in the early 1900’s. The British attempted all kinds of measures to restrain the monkeys from interfering and moving their golf balls, but all in vain. In the end, they accepted that it was near impossible to keep the monkeys away from moving their golf balls. So, they decided: “We all have to play the ball wherever the monkey happens to drop it.”

Simple. It is up to you to choose which rule you follow in the event it happens during your round of golf, but if you are playing in tournament conditions or match-play, I suggest you adopt the first option, otherwise you will be disqualified.

Simon Reynolds

Jakarta • Rare Maps & Antiques Jl. Kemang Raya 29A, Kemang, Jakarta - Indonesia Phone: (+62)21 719 0087 E-mail: info@bartelegallery.com Open Daily: 10am - 6pm

Bali • Rare Maps, Antiques & Art Jl. Dewi Sartika 1BB, Tuban, Bali 80361 - Indonesia Phone: (+62)361 935 1250 E-mail: info@bartelegallery.com Open Daily: 10am - 6pm

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

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SOCIETY GOLF

BY ANTHONY KING

Jakarta Inter-Society Matchplay League Round 3 who had been a member of the Indonesian National team in the last SEA Games, playing off a 4 handicap, losing 2&1.

Tee Set celebrated an amazing and memorable 30 years of golf in Jakarta, earlier in 2013

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o with 2014 rushing by and many people's thoughts focused on the Legislative and Presidential elections, golfers in Jakarta have been contemplating the next round of the league season.

Traditionally, this has been the point in the league where both front and rearguard positions start to get some clarity. Would it be the same this year?

Cloggies, the front-runners, had several selection problems and had to dig into their pool of players (the attraction of this matchplay format is that it attracts sufficient people who wish to experience the thrills, frustration and spills) for their match against MadDogs. There have been many sides who have come unstuck against the resilience of MadDogs that was not to be the case as the Cloggies eased through 7:3.

Second placed Sandbaggers thought that this would be their golden opportunity to

pick up a maximum 10 points as they were playing against the bottom positioned team. But this has to be put down as a missed opportunity because the Sentul Swingers claimed three points and, whilst still rooted to the bottom of the table, had a big smile on their faces that evening.

The most intriguing fixture this month was the battle between Tee Set and Tin Cups. It was always likely to be close and the score of 6:4 to Tee Set proved the case.

In this battle was the fight of the league's two lowest handicappers with Sam, from Tee Set defending an enviable record of having won all of his matches, against stalwart Joseph and age conquered youth with Sam failing in his quest. Another interest was to see how the editor of this magazine would fare against female competition. We can only put it down to chivalry that allowed Simon to give way to Ika, a talented Indonesian female,

CADDIES OF THE MONTH RIVERSIDE GOLF CLUB

The beauty of Cimanggis awaits you at Riverside Golf Club (Photo courtesy of Riverside Golf Club)

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Finally, we saw the continuance of a resurgent Jakarta Loose Impediments as they defeated Pocksia 6:4. This has been a major achievement for captain Brad as he has previously found it hard to field competitive teams, but this year the spirit is high and is being shown in their results.

The skill prize awards showed an interesting result in that for long drives all winners hit between 230-240 metres (this was far shorter than the normal monthly winners but conditions were not in the golfer's favour). In any event, congratulations to Simon, Pieter and Ika (235, 237 & 231 mtrs. respectively).

Closest to the Pin chucked up a real surprise as the league's sacrificial player managed to get to 90cm to take the award — congratulations Bags (Tin Cups).

Continuing our review of the participating teams, we turn our attention to the oldest playing group in Indonesia, namely Tee Set. The Society holds a record that must stand up to global comparison in that for more than 30 years it has played every Sunday (through riots, overthrows, climatic calamities, global crises and etc.). This Society has been known since inception as the most welcoming group of golfers who embrace players of all genders and abilities.

Throughout the years it has proven to be a wonderful haven for people who are on short term assignments in Jakarta or who are taking up the game and don’t want to be embarrassed or have not decided on which golf club to join. In addition to the welcoming atmosphere, the committee has a commitment to visit courses surrounding the Ibu Kota and to enable the members to enjoy the variety of golf offered in the city. The group holds its own knockout competition where first time losers get another opportunity to even battle for the champions medal, monthly scramble medals, annual trips to Bandung and several other events. Finally, being a male golfer with this group can be hazardous, especially if the drive does not pass the Ladies' Tee Box as your photo in a tutu could be spread far and wide!

If you are interested in joining Tee Set for a fun round of golf on a Sunday all the information can be found on their impressive website: www.teesetgolf. wordpress.com

Jakarta Inter-Society Match-play Standings after Round 3

Cloggies

25 points

Sandbaggers

20 points

Tin Cups

16 points

JLI

16 points

Mad Dogs

15 points

Tee Set

15 points

Pocksia

8 points

Sentul Swingers

5 points

FEATURED COURSE REVIEW

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BY DAN RICHARDS JR.

Riverside Golf Club Intro

COURSE INFORMATION

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RIVERSIDE GOLF CLUB

SOCIETIES Societies welcome. Contact marketing department for arrangements.

GREENS FEES Weekdays: Rp. 300,000 Saturday (am/pm): Rp. 1.600.00 / 755.000 Sunday (am/pm): Rp. 1,090,000 /525,000 Golf services (cart fee, caddie, tax, insurance): Rp. 295,000 Expatriate membership: Rp. 33,000,000 / year FACILITIES Pro-shop, Driving Range, Putting Green with practice bunkers, Chipping & pitching Area, Massage, Swimming Pool, Restaurant, Banqueting & VIP Rooms LOCATION Cimanggis, Cibubur, Bogor 16965 (30km from SCBD) CONTACT Telephone: 021 867-15533/34 SMS Program: 0817-647-1000 Email: marketing@riverside-golf.com Website: www.riverside-golf.com COURSE 18 holes, Par 72 (In yards) Tournament: 6,971 Championship: 6,499 Men's: 6,093 Women's: 5,369

"I'm a firm believer in using what mother nature gives us on a particular site," are the very words of designer Greg Norman, with regards to his approach for creating his signature golf courses.

At Riverside Golf Club in Cikeas, Greg Norman did just that when he sculpted Riverside Golf Club, his first course in Indonesia, with naturally rolling fairways, multiple carries over the Cikeas River and lush forest to protect each hole.

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3 The driving range is created in a way to emulate an on-course playing experience while the massive chipping area provides ample space to master the short and bunker game. Throughout the clubhouse players will find the standard amenities of a full pro shop, well-kept locker rooms and a tasty open-air restaurant featuring a refreshing house special mint strawberry ice tea sweetened with only local honey.

Located just 30km from the SCBD, Riverside is a challenging golf oasis waiting to be tamed by golfers of any skill level looking to escape the hustle and congestion of Jakarta. Beyond golf, Riverside Golf Club offers all of the necessary amenities and the ideal atmosphere for carefree relaxation that will have you coming back time and time again.

Course

Caddies

Designed with some heroic ‘go for it' shots, Riverside rewards the golfers brave enough to accept her challenge, but will punish those who fail to execute. Three of the four Par 3s require a gutsy carry across the Cikeas River with little room for error.

First time Riverside golfers will often find themselves asking their caddy for recommendations as the greens on the Par 4 and Par 5s are hidden from every tee box.

Beyond a little course knowledge, the key to a successful round at Riverside is to hit the landing zones and then attack the greens.

Tee shots that find the rough or don't make the dogleg will almost always require an extra shot to reach the green.

The caddies at Riverside are just as enjoyable and scenic as the course itself. To compliment their fun spirit, kind smiles and soft beauty, they are knowledgeable course experts who receive frequent training and are genuinely interested in having a great 18 with you. While declining in numbers, male caddies are also available upon request.

Ambience

COURSE RATING

80%

COURSE

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: 1. Hole #5, a Par 4 with a downhill approach shot to a green surrounded by water - magical 2. The signature Hole #14, a Par 3 that requires a mid to long iron across a gorge into a green amidst jungle vegetation 3. Riverside Golf Club caddies 4. The open air and spacious restaurant awaits and overlooks the #18 Hole

A few highlights from the course include Hole #5, a Par 4 with a downhill approach shot to a green surrounded by water; Hole #7, a Par 5 takes a zigzag through the forest setting up nicely for a birdie attempt; and the signature Hole #14, a Par 3 that requires a mid iron shot across a vast gorge into a green perched atop a jungle cliff.

Facilities Apart from the golf, Riverside stands out for their commitment to player improvement.

FACILITIES

Located in the peaceful countryside, Riverside is an idyllic environment for those looking to refresh and play great golf. Overall, course is in nice shape, the operational staff welcoming, and the starters keep play moving smoothly. Besides the occasional carry, Riverside is forgiving enough that every golfer should enjoy a round here at least once.

CADDIES

Value

AMBIENCE VALUE

GOLF INDONESIA RATING

20/25

For the weekday golfer, Riverside offers exceptional value with the green fee, buggy, caddie fee and hole-in-one insurance only costing Rp.595,000. Unfortunately for the weekend warriors out there, Riverside is priced to keep the Saturday crowds away while preserving a positive playing experience for its members.

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

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ON TOUR (ASIAN TOUR)

Australia's Both Completes Career Turnaround with ICTSI Philippine Open Victory

PRESS RELEASE

Manila, May 18 : Marcus Both of Australia secured an emphatic victory at the ICTSI Philippine Open on Sunday, to revive his career after thinking of quitting the game last year.

The towering Aussie, who lost his Asian Tour card last year for the first time since 2003, posted a two-under-par 70 for a winning total of six-under-par 282 at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.

Aguilar's Perfect Finish Seals Win at The Championship at Laguna National Singapore, May 4 : Chile’s Felipe Aguilar saved the best for last when he stormed home with a birdie-eagle finish to win The Championship at Laguna National on Sunday.

The Chilean’s stunning finish was for all to see when he raced home in just 28 shots to win The Championship with a spectacular 10-under-par 62 at the US$1.5 million event that is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

Korean-American David Lipsky came up short by one and had to settle for second place alongside overnight leader Anders Hansen of Denmark after carding a 65 while India’s Rahil Gangjee savoured one of his best finishes in recent years by signing off with a similar 65 to take fourth place.

Aguilar once again showed his knack for winning in Asia as his previous victory before The Championship came in 2008 in Indonesia.

“I like playing in the heat more than the cold, and with my wrist injury the heat has helped me,” said the Chilean.

He wrote off his own chances after an outward-34 but started believing in himself when he went on an astonishing birdie blitz after the turn.

“I did not think I could win in the morning as I was only two-under-par after the front-nine and they were a little far away. But then I started making birdie, birdie on the back-nine and the spirit came back,” said Aguilar.

After his birdie run that got him to 19-under through 15 holes, Aguilar

knew he needed a superlative effort to catch Hansen who was still holding a two-shot lead then.

“I told my caddie on nine if I can get going on the back-nine, I could do some damage and it ended up happening,” said Aguilar.

The Chilean’s magical show started when he sunk a 10-ft birdie putt at the par-three 17th and closed in dramatic fashion when he holed his approach for eagle at the last for a winning total of 22-under-par 266.

“On the 17th green I told my caddie if I make a birdie on 18, I might put some pressure on the leader and he said you might make two. I looked at him and he said that the way I’m hitting the ball I might make two and I did. It’s very, very special,” said the 39-year-old Chilean.

“I was still trying to do everything I can to win even on the last hole. I played really well this week. I only had four bogeys in four rounds and 23 birdies and 1 eagle in total. I’ll take that any week for sure,” said Lipsky.

While he missed out on his grandstand finish this week, Lipsky believes he will be back in contention following another top-10 finish on the Asian Tour.

“My game is in good shape now and I’m playing very well. I definitely gained a lot of experience from this week,” said the 25-year-old.

265

Felipe AGUILAR (CHI)

65-67-72-62.

267

David LIPSKY (USA)

64-68-70-65

Anders HANSEN (DEN) 67-66-67-67 269

Rahil GANGJEE (IND)

66-67-71-65

270

Chris WOOD (ENG)

68-67-68-67

271

Anirban LAHIRI (IND)

67-70-68-66

Gregory BOURDY (FRA)

66-70-67-68

273

David DRYSDALE (SCO)

68-70-70-65

Raphael JACQUELIN (FRA)

69-70-68-66

Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG)

68-67-69-69

SELECTED SCORES

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Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA)

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Both was almost reduced to tears after winning his third Asian Tour title and ending a five-year title drought on the region’s premier Tour. The victory was even sweeter as the Australian lost his playing rights last year and had to rely on a sponsor’s invite this week.

“It was an emotional year on and off the golf course after I lost my Tour card. I had to return to Qualifying School earlier this year and I missed the cut by one shot. It was so bad that I even thought of quitting the game,” said the 34-year-old Both, who won US$54,000.

After turning in 34, Both needed to make a huge 20-foot birdie putt on 15 followed by a short birdie on 16 to take a three-shot lead. He bogeyed the last two holes and admits that he was lucky to hold on to victory as his closest competitors failed to take advantage.

“I didn’t let off in the last two holes. I gave it full commitments there. Strange things have happened in golf and I’ve seen people hole second shots on the last to win. You just have to hope that it doesn’t happen to you!"

Indonesia’s Number One, George Gandranata failed to capitalize on his impressive 3rd round play, shooting a 69 and moving into the Top 20 after day 3. However, Gandranata posted a disappointing final round of 77.

Nonetheless, it is a Top 50 performance on the Asian Tour, and will take confidence from his impressive 3rd round score. Further evidence that Gandranata is more than capable of playing and competing on the Asian Tour.

Lipsky’s wait for his second win on the region’s premier Tour was prolonged despite his best efforts to end his twoyear title drought.

Leading scores after round 4 of the The Championship being played at the par 72, 7071 Yards Laguna National Golf Club (am — denotes amateur)

274

Overnight leader Chan Kim of the United States battled tooth-and-nail for his first Asian Tour victory before settling for a share of 10th place following a round of 76 at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.

“Words can’t describe how it feels from being an invite to a winner this week. I have to thank ICTSI and the Asian Tour for giving me the invite. To come away with the trophy is amazing. I’m a bit lost for words,” he added.

63-68-69-74

Scores after round 4 of the ICTSI Philippine Open 2014 being played at the par 72, 7222 Yards Wack Wack GcC course (a- denotes amateur):

282 Marcus BOTH (AUS) 70-66-76-70 284 Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN) 66-73-76-69 Nathan HOLMAN (AUS) 71-71-72-70 Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 74-71-69-70 Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 74-72-68-70 Jay BAYRON (PHI) 71-72-69-72 285 HSIEH Tung-shu (TPE) 77-68-70-70 286 Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 72-72-72-70 WANG Jeung-hun (KOR) 72-68-72-74 287 S.S.P CHOWRASIA (IND) 71-71-76-69

Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 70-75-71-71 Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 71-75-70-71

Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 74-74-67-72 Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 79-67-69-72 Chan KIM (USA) 66-72-73-76 288 CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 75-71-73-69

Settee PRAKONGVECH (THA) 70-74-74-70

Gunn CHAROENKUL (THA) 73-70-74-71 289 Lionel WEBER (FRA) 72-70-75-72 Mithun PERERA (SRI) 71-72-73-73 Anura ROHANA (SRI) 75-70-71-73 290 Unho PARK (AUS) 72-72-75-71 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 75-69-76-70 Abhijit CHADHA (IND) 75-72-71-72 Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 75-70-72-73 Jarin TODD (USA) 73-71-71-75 NOTABLE SCORE(S) 294 George GANDRANATA (INA) 72-76-69-77

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

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ON TOUR (ONE ASIA) PRESS RELEASE

into the final round. He has also previously finished third and fourth.

PARK JUN-WON WINS GS CALTEX MAEKYUNG OPEN

“I’m disappointed, but that’s golf,” he said. “At least I played well today and credit must go to Jun-won for a really fantastic effort.”

In a field dominated by Koreans, Australian Scott Hend (72) was best of the foreigners with a share of fifth at seven-under, while New Zealander Ryan Fox, a winner on his domestic tour last week, had a storming 68 to finish ninth and record his best-ever top tier result.

SEOUL, May 11 : Unheralded, Park Jun-won fired a flawless five-under-par 67 on Sunday to win the one billion (around US $1 million) GS Caltex Maekyung Open by three shots at Namseoul Country Club, on the outskirts of the Korean capital.

Fellow Kiwi Gareth Paddison (73), American David Oh (71) and China’s Li Haotong (71) were the only other internationals in the top 20.

The 27-year-old shared the third round lead with Park Sang-hyun (70), but eased away from his namesake on the back nine to finish the tournament at 15 under par and claim his first professional victory.

Lee Ki-sang (67) and Hwang Jung-gon (71) shared third place at nine under par, while Australian Scott Hend (72) was best of the non-Koreans with a share of fifth at seven under.

Park only joined OneAsia the day before the tournament started, making the field via his membership of the Korean Golf Tour where his previous best finish was joint second at their PGA Championship two years ago.

But he played like a seasoned champion all week, having shot a tournament-low 64 in the second round and matching the day’s best despite the pressure on Sunday.

“My putting was really great all week and that was the key,” he said. “I was really focused.”

Seoul-born Park started playing as a youngster with the encouragement of his parents and made the national amateur squad before turning pro in 2006. A two-yearstint of national service interrupted his career, but since being discharged he has shown little sign of the talent he displayed all week at Namseoul.

Park Jun-won earned $191,580 for Sunday’s victory and leaps to the top of the Order of Merit.

OneAsia moves across Seoul to Incheon next week for the SK Telecom Open at Sky72 Golf Club’s Ocean Course.

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: 1. Park Jun-won teeing off during the final round on his way to victory.

2. Big-hitting Aussie Scott Hend, played solid all week for a tie for 5th at the Namseoul Country Club.

“In the winter I spent some time with Kim Kyung-tae who gave me some very good advice on how to be a better player,” said Park, referring to the two-time winner of this event and the first Korean to win the Japan Tour’s Order of Merit.

“Although I hadn’t won before, I never gave up hoping that this day would come, and this year I was determined to make it happen.”

For his namesake Park Sang-hyun, it was once again a case of always the best man and never the groom has he finished second for the third time on OneAsia after leading going

After the final round of the one billion won (U.S. $1 million) GS Caltex Maekyung Open being played at Namseoul Country Club’s 6,348-metre (6,943-yard), par-72 Course:

273

Park Jun-won (Korea)

72-64-70-67

276

PARK Sang-hyun (KOR)

72-66-68-70

279

LEE Ki-sang (KOR)

70-73-69-67

279

HWANG Jung-gon (KOR) 69-73-66-71

281

KIM Woo-hyun (KOR)

69-68-74-70

281

PARK Il-hwan (KOR)

70-69-71-71

281

Scott HEND (AUS)

71-66-72-72

281

JANG Dong-kyu (KOR)

69-72-69-71

281

KIM Nam-hun (AM) (KOR) 75-66-69-71

Maiden Win for Kim Seung-Hyuk at SK Telecom Open looked to have blown his chance with a double-bogey at the fourth, but birdies at five and seven got him back in the mix.

with a shin splint in his left calf over the weekend and struggled home posting a final round 77.

“I didn’t panic after the double,” he said.

“There was still a lot of holes to come, so I just tried to focus on my game.”

The OneAsia takes a break until the 14th of August, where we can look forward to the inaugural Fiji International, played at Natadola Beach Championship Golf Course, with US$ 1 million total prize money available for contestants.

He got nervous at the 11th, however, when a glance at the leaderboard after another birdie showed the leaderboard log jam.

“Now we were starting to run out of holes, but I told myself again that I just needed to worry about myself, not anyone else.”

Kim Kyung-tae fell away after dropping shots on 11 and 12, but back-to-back birdies on the next two — as well as a birdie and bogey on 16 and 17 — kept him in the hunt.

INCHEON, Korea, May 18 : Journeyman Kim Seung-hyuk birdied the last for a twounder-par 70 on Sunday to win OneAsia's SK Telecom Open by a shot from Lee Taehee (69) and Kim Kyung-tae (71) at Sky72 Golf Club in Incheon, west of Seoul.

The 28-year-old Korean finished 11 under par around the 6,622-metre (7,241-yard) Ocean Course to claim his first professional title in a career that started in 2005.

Australian David Bransdon (69) also challenged down the stretch but had to settle for fourth place at nine under, while star attraction K.J. Choi (68) was a shot further behind.

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Kim banked $195,000 from the one billion won (around US $1 million) purse and moves to the top of the Order of Merit. He is the third player to claim a career-first victory on OneAsia this season following Alexander Levy at the Volvo China Open in April and Park Jun-won at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last week.

The lead changed hands several times in a gripping final round — at one point the top four were all tied at 10 under — on a day where there were birdies aplenty, but also bogeys lurking around every corner.

Sharing the overnight lead with multiplewinner Kim Kyung-tae, Kim Seung-hyuk

The Kims walked onto the 18th both needing a birdie for victory; Kyung-tae’s 20 footer slid agonisingly by, but Seunghyuk’s nine-footer, seemingly running out of steam, found the cup.

“It was a fantastic feeling when it went in,” he said, ”now I know I can win a golf tournament, so I can set my sights on winning more.”

Indonesia’s Rory Hie has enjoyed some impressive performances on the OneAsia tour over the last few years, most notably a Top 5 finish in last year’s Nanshan China Masters. Unfortunately, Hie was battling

After the final round of the one billion won (U.S. $1 million) SK Telecom Open being played at Sky72's 6,622-metre (7,241-yard), par-72 Ocean Course:

277 Kim Seung-hyuk (KOR)

66-74-67-70

278 Lee Tae-hee (KOR)

68-68-73-69

Kim Kyung-tae (KOR)

70-70-67-71

279 David Bransdon (AUS)

71-70-69-69

280 K. J. Choi (KOR)

75-67-70-68

281 Lee Kyoung-hoon (KOR) 70-70-69-72 282 Kim Dae-hyun (KOR) Park Sang-hyun (KOR)

72-69-75-66 72-67-73-70

283 Kim Nam-hun (KOR)

72-73-69-69

David Oh (USA)

74-70-69-70

Jang Dong-kyu (KOR)

75-66-70-72

284 Michael Wright (AUS)

71-73-70-70

Choi Ho-sung (KOR)

71-71-71-71

Park Il-hwan (KOR)

73-70-69-72

Jason Scrivener (AUS)

72-72-67-73

NOTABLE SCORE 297 Rory Hie (Indonesia)

75-72-73-77

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

9

GOLF TRAVEL

BY SIMON REYNOLDS

AMAZING THAILAND

A Destination of Remarkable Golf Courses and The Capital of Golf in Southeast Asia

A-Course, Hole #3, Par 3 @ Pattana Sports Club

B

angkok is a short four-hour f light from Jakarta. What awaits you is a country full of warm smiles, vibrant colours, aromatic scents and hundreds of world-class golf courses designed by the game's greatest designers: Nicklaus, Player, Palmer, Norman, Faldo, Dye and Robert Trent Jones Jr. the list goes on. All of these courses can be played at US dollar rates, which Indonesian golfers will find cheap by local standards. A wise plan for golf travellers is to visit during the low season (July-September), where golf can be played at world-class venues designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus for less than US 100 dollars, even at weekends. There truly is a golf course for everyone, and golf courses can be found all over the country, the main golf rich regions being Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin. In the cooler mountainous regions of Chiang Mai, which requires a short domestic flight from Bangkok, world-class golf courses can be played for just US 30-80 dollars, and the milder and cooler temperatures make it well worth the visit.

On Golf Indonesia’s visit, we had the pleasure to play and inspect three golf courses, two in Pattaya and one in Bangkok.

Pattaya is only a one hour and 15 minute drive from Bangkok and it is the perfect destination for families. The region, south-east of Bangkok, offers the greatest

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Thaworn Wiratchant, holds the record for the most wins on the Asian Tour with 16. Still playing and competing for trophies on the Asian Tour at 47 years of age.

variety of championship quality golf courses and truly is a golf vacation paradise. The area has courses designed by the very best designers in Golf: Jack Nicklaus, Thomson & Wolveridge, Ronald Fream, Desmond Muirhead. It also provides accommodation for all budgets from value to 6-star luxury. A golfer can spend one week playing golf in the region and he will probably be looking to come back for more, having only touched the surface.

Our first stop was the Pattana Sports Club, a 27-hole modern golf setup, of three 9-holes course, a short drive from Pattaya. The three nine-holes courses are aptly named Andreae, Brookei, and Calypso (after the cactus found throughout the property and course) all of which come with a variety of interesting challenges.

The 400-acre resort property also

boasts a full range of premium accommodations and amenities, meeting and event facilities, driving range and short game areas and even a 7,000 capacity stadium. The Andreae Nine Hole course is recommended with two impressive par 3s which require substantial carry and accuracy over large expanses of water.

One of the many joys of golf in Thailand is the variety of course designs to experience. With such a sheer number of golf courses in Thailand, course designers must be creative and imaginative in allowing golfers to play holes that they will cherish and love, and will have them longing to return and play again. Thailand is home to a few Par 6 holes, something that Indonesian golfers will not have experienced. For example, at Pattana Sports Club, Hole #5 is 663 yards from the back tees,

a unique hole allowing for a Par from 6 strokes for any visiting golfer due to its long distance from tee to green.

We had the opportunity to play the region's oldest course, Bangpra International established in 1958 (refer to my editorial note), designed in the style of traditional tree-lined British park-lined courses, with the added bonus of slick greens and an abundance of local wildlife and monkeys, who may or may not interfere with your golf ball. The course is a 'must play' for its beautiful and mature ambience and qualities which may be lacking at the region's other more modern and championshipstyle ambience.

The combination of diving, water skiing, snorkeling, and game fishing along with the range of Pattaya golf courses makes

Pattaya number one for sports activities in Thailand. Jomtien Beach is the windsurfing capital of the country with its beautiful, white sandy beaches along a palm-lined promenade. Island hopping is also popular here, where an easy 30-minute boat ride will take you to isolated beaches for swimming in clear blue ocean water and amazing coral reefs.

Because of its close proximity to Bangkok, this provides an ideal setting for an easy two destination golf trip, and the wide choice of Pattaya golf courses make it a must for any golf enthusiast.

If you prefer to stay closer to Bangkok, not to worry, lots of great option for golfers looking to enjoy Bangkok’s vibrant energy and sleepless nights. There is a wealth of golf courses to be enjoyed in Bangkok and within close proximity of Thailand’s capitol city. We paid a visit to Riverdale Golf Club, located less than 30 minutes from the city centre. The course is a challenging 18-hole championship course in immaculate playing condition with undulating fairways and multi-tier greens. The signature hole is #8, a spilt green par 3, where golfers can choose which green to play. Option one is a short island green, a miniature version of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, playing just 97 yards from the men’s regular tees. The green is downhill and very small so it will

test the accuracy of your wedge play. The clubhouse is perched on the hillside and overlooks the course with majestic views of the course layout (see picture below).

Option two is a longer iron shot to an elevated green, which measures 152 yards from the men’s regular tees.

Golf in Asia, and the success of the Asian Tour, is partly due to the strong root and foundation of golf in Thailand. Starting with Boonchu Ruangkit, the Thai golf legend who hit the opening drive of the Asian Tour back in the early 1990s, golf in Thailand continues to produce a steady stream of highly talented and competitive golfers who are achieving great things in Asia and also on the other professional tours worldwide.

18 year-old Jazz Janewattananond is competing for titles on the Asian tour and is one of the bright lights flying the Thai flag in Asian golf at such a young age.

The question is, why has Thailand been consistently producing so many talented golfers?

Thai youngsters have been inspired from Thailand’s golf legends like

Thaworn Wiratchant, now 47 and still playing and winning on the Asian Tour and the most successful player of all time on the Asian Tour with 16 wins.

Also Thongchai Jaidee, now 44, the first Thai player to play and make the cut, in all of golf’s major championships and he is also a winner on the European Tour outside of Asia. Most recently the Nordea Masters defeating Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher in a playoff, and breaking into the Top 40 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the very first time.

Thongchai proudly captained Team Asia in the inaugural Eurasia Cup. With the success in Asia and worldwide of these Thai golf legends, young Thai golfers have truly been inspired to play golf in Asia and worldwide at the highest levels to follow in the footsteps of their heroes, Mr Wiratchant and Mr Jaidee.

At a comfortable distance from Jakarta and with golf prices so reasonable, a golf trip to Thailand will cater for all your golfing requirements, along with fun and adventure. There are many top quality local tour operators who can organise and tailor a golfing trip for you and your buddies.

Riverdale Golf Club, Bangkok

Thongchai Jaidee, recently won his second tournament outside of Asia, the European Tour’s Nordea Masters, defeating Stephen Gallacher and Victor Dubuisson in a playoff to break into the Top 40 of the OWG Rankings.

Contact the Tourism Authority of Thailand here in Jakarta, for information about local tour operators in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya, who can plan your golf trips to Thailand: Leo Jaya Negara Marketing Officer Tourism Authority of Thailand, Jakarta Office The Plaza Office Tower, 38th Floor Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Jakarta 10350 Tel: (021) 2992-2353 marketing3@wisatathailand.com Website: www.wisatathailand. com

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

11

GOLF INSIGHT

BY ANTONY SUTTON

Singapore Bids Farewell to Two Golf Courses

T

wo percent of Singapore’s land is given over to golf courses. A pretty remarkable statistic given how small the city state is and its reliance on Indonesian sand to expand!

It seems the government there now feels that two percent, or approximately 1,500 hectares, is too much and Singapore’s golfing fraternity will have to lose some of their 17-odd courses so more apartments, condominiums, office blocks and shopping malls can be built.

It is not just golf of course that is feeling the pressure. A historical cemetery was recently wiped off the map to build a new highway, while familiar landmarks are frequently sacrificed in the name of progress.

consultation meeting, members also said it wasn’t fair as they had paid their membership fees in good faith, or words to that effect.

The government was less than sympathetic, saying that as golf club leases were for a fixed period any aspiring member should have factored that in when contemplating a membership. And anyway, they continued, the Keppel members should have known the land would be needed for other purposes as the plan had initially been proposed back in 2001.

At least Keppel boasts some history. Marina Bay Golf Course only opened in 2006 and immediately drew rave reviews, being awarded 7th Best New Course for the year at the Asian Golf Monthly awards.

First to go will be Keppel Club. Situated just off the West Coast Highway, this 5,917 metre par-72 course will close its doors for the final time on 31st December, 2021 when its lease expires.

More honours followed as it was placed in the top three for value for money and best course in Singapore a couple of times.

This historic club saw its first drive back in 1904 but the land has been eyeballed by developers for a residential area.

The 6,542 metre course was designed by South African Phil Jacobs and plays at par72 and its signature Par-3 13th comes with an island green design. The club also offers night golf and a four-tier driving range.

Members did ask if they could have a short extension on their lease but the government said no - as soon as the lease expires, the developers will be moving in. At a public

But not for much longer! The 18th will be putted for the last time in July, 2024.

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A number of other courses will see their leases extended until 2030 and 2040, while losing some of their land along the way.

Orchid Country Club, for example, gets an extension until 2030 before it too will be consigned to the history books.

Golfers are, of course, not too happy at the news.

Jessica Phua is a former member of parliament and belongs to three golf clubs. “Most members join the club for the purpose of playing golf. After golfing hours, most golf clubs become as quiet as graveyards.”

A member of SICC, Tanah Merah Country Club and Laguna National Golf and Country Club, Ms Phua expressed concern that membership prices at the golf clubs to be axed would fall. However, the optimistic golfer says she hopes the plans are reconsidered as golf courses are ‘green lungs’ for the city state.

M. Murugiah is the president of the Singapore Professional Golfers’ Association and he too is unhappy with the planned closures. In fact, he feels Singapore needs more courses, not less!

“We have so many people playing golf and people keen to take up golf as well,” he said

Aerial view of Kepell Golf Club in Singapore, established in 1904.

before adding the game could become more expensive with fewer courses and that could discourage more people from taking up the game.

Looking at all this from an Indonesian perspective, a couple of things spring to mind. Firstly, all that forward planning!

But secondly, there is surely an opportunity for Indonesian golf courses.

The islands of Batam and Bintan have long been favoured by Singapore expats and locals as a weekend getaway with some quality beach time and spectacular courses.

Indeed, just last month, the St. Andrew’s Society of Singapore held its annual Chieftan’s Trophy at Ria Bintan with some 40 bekilted members taking the ferry across for a weekend.

With the steady rise in budget airlines and the Asean Economic Community just around the corner promising even greater integration between Southeast Asian nations, savvy clubs should be looking at how they can tap into the Singapore market and how they can entice casual and serious players over for a weekend.

The courses of Jakarta, Bogor, Sentul and around Surabaya don’t just offer great golf.

They also offer spectacular scenery at no extra cost!

ON TOUR PRESS RELEASE

The Inform George Gandranata Wins The Next Round of The Indonesian Golf Tour at LotusLakes Golf Club George Gandranata put on a great exhibition of golf and became the champion of the Indonesian Golf Tour’s latest event at LotusLakes Golf Club. Not expecting to win, he played confidently and to his best ability, which is what George believes is the key to his success.

“Golf is a ‘day by day’ game. One day you’re good, another day you play bad. I don’t have expectations for each of the tournament I have played. All I need to do is make sure that I play well and produce a good score with every opportunity,” said George.

“I want to thank PGTI and Jimmy Masrin who have created the opportunity for the local professional golfers to play more. I am sure that the more we play, we will be able to score better in the future. Of course thanks to all the sponsors such as Linc Group, and the host venue, LotusLakes Golf Club who prepared the course in superb condition, especially the greens that successfully caused headaches for us professional golfers. It was a great event and tournaments like these give us pros more valuable playing experience,” added George.

George won the tournament with a total score of even-par, 216 (70-73-73). Tailing him was amateur golfer, Kevin C. Akbar who finished second place and came in as the Lowest

POS 1 2 3 4 T5 T5 T8 T8 T8 11 T 12 T 12 T 12 T 14 T 14 16 T 17 T 17 T 19 T 19 T 19 T 22 T 22 T 22 T 25 T 25 T 25 T 28 T 28 T 28 T 28 T 28 T 28 T 34 T 34 T 36 T 36 T 38 T 38 T 38 T 38 T 42 T 42 T 44 T 44 T 44 T 47 T 47 49 50

START 1 2 4 6 3 6 13 6 13 6 6 13 18 21 40 4 18 11 13 26 18 26 11 13 26 33 26 21 21 21 21 33 26 46 33 46 33 42 26 33 43 43 46 43 32 33 33 40 46 46

Male Amateur, firing a total score of one-overpar, 217 (74-71-72).

Another huge successful event during the inaugural season of the Indonesian Golf Tour, thanks to Linc Group as the presenting partner, LotusLakes Golf Club as the host venue, PGTI as the sanctioning body and also OB Golf & Lifestyle Magazine as the promoter. The next series of Indonesian Golf Tour will be held at Modern Land Golf Club, June 10th – 12th June 2014. Be sure to mark your calendars and watch your favorite local professional golf player in action.

PLAYER

RD1

RD2

RD3

TOT

TOTAL PAR (+/-)

GEORGE GANDRANATA KEVIN C AKBAR (am) * IAN ANDREW BRAMANTIO ADI ILYASSAK RINALDI ADIYANDONO JORDAN SURYA IRAWAN ANDIK MAULUDIN ARI SAFARI (am) * BENITA Y. KASIADI ABHI SAHARI INDRA HERMAWAN J. DERMAWAN FAHMI REZA NASIN SURACHMAN MAAN NASIM DANA (am) * SARMILIH SANUSI ASEP SAEFULLOH HENDRY NASIM SANDRO BERNAD JOEH SEIK (am) * IRMANSYAH RUDI ANTO TONY BLACKER STEPHEN A. LINDSKOG ADE SEBUL ADE PURWAJI SOEWARNO K JUNAIDI IBRAHIM RAMADHAN ALWIE DENNI HERMAWAN DERA NASIM ALMAY RAIHAN (am) * DEDE IDRIS MAMAN SUHERMAN ASEP CAPRIE KIM MIN SEOK (am) * EFFENDI K. JOSQUIN TOBING JAMEL ONDO KURNIAWAN SIM MIN SUB (am) * KIM DONG YOON (am) * HAMZAH RACHMADI AKMIN (am) * FAJAR WINURYANTO SUPRIYATNA STEFAN CHRISTIAN (am) *

70 74 75 77 72 78 75 73 78 76 72 77 77 78 78 75 77 74 77 77 78 78 72 75 77 77 79 76 76 77 78 80 75 80 79 84 79 80 77 80 78 80 78 81 81 78 77 79 82 84

73 71 72 72 74 71 76 76 73 73 77 74 75 75 79 72 75 76 74 77 74 76 78 76 77 79 75 77 77 76 75 76 79 80 77 76 77 78 77 76 81 79 82 78 74 78 79 78 78 76

73 72 71 71 75 72 71 73 71 74 75 73 72 72 68 79 75 77 77 74 76 75 79 78 76 74 76 78 78 78 78 75 77 72 76 74 78 77 81 79 76 77 76 78 82 81 82 81 80 83

216 217 218 220 221 221 222 222 222 223 224 224 224 225 225 226 227 227 228 228 228 229 229 229 230 230 230 231 231 231 231 231 231 232 232 234 234 235 235 235 235 236 236 237 237 237 238 238 240 243

0 +1 +2 +4 +5 +5 +6 +6 +6 +7 +8 +8 +8 +9 +9 +10 +11 +11 +12 +12 +12 +13 +13 +13 +14 +14 +14 +15 +15 +15 +15 +15 +15 +16 +16 +18 +18 +19 +19 +19 +19 +20 +20 +21 +21 +21 +22 +22 +24 +27

EARNING (IDR) 32,000,000

REMARK The Champion Lowest Amateur

19,451,000 12,251,000 7,891,000 7,891,000 5,457,000 5,457,000 4,657,000 4,323,666 4,323,666 4,323,666 4,077,000 4,077,000 3,957,000 3,877,000 3,717,000 3,717,000 3,717,000 3,547,000 3,547,000 3,397,000 3,397,000 3,397,000 3,127,000 3,127,000 3,127,000 3,127,000 3,127,000 3,127,000 2,917,000 2,827,000 2,827,000 2,677,000 2,677,000 2,677,000 2,527,000 2,527,000

2,437,000 2,377,000 2,318,012

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

13

ON TOUR

GOLF INSIGHT

PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

PGTI 2014 ORDER OF MERIT, after LotusLakes 7th – 9th May PLAYER

EVENTS PLAYED

MONEY (IDR)

George Gandranata

8

289,275,865

Andik Mauludin

8

99,420,410

Ian Andrew

8

81,686,411

Denny A Wijaya

6

50,297,096

Kurnia Herisiandy Santoso

7

47,739,550

Ilyassak

8

38,658,762

Junaidi Ibrahim

8

38,075,016

Maan Nasim

5

34,054,737

Rory Hie

7

33,417,553

Benita Y. Kasaidi

8

33,333,910

Asep Saefulloh

8

32,906,626

Jordan Surya Irawan

7

30,197,066

William Sjaichudin

6

29,085,411

Rinaldi Adiyandono

8

28,599,476

I Ketut Sugiarta

3

27,295,433

Ramadhan Alwie

8

27,169,430

Ade Sebul

8

26,068,306

Bramantioi Adi

8

25,844,212

Sarmilih

8

24,304,578

Sanusi

7

23,553,342

Photos courtesy of Jitti Sritanapol and Lewan-DowSki

Asian Tour No. 1 Kiradech Hopes Monk Experience Will Push Him into U.S. Open Kuala Lumpur : Asian Tour star Kiradech Aphibarnrat hopes a week-long stay in a Thai Buddhist temple where he learned to become a monk will propel him into a first appearance at the U.S. Open next month.

The 24-year-old Kiradech, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, exchanged his golf gear with a robe and shaved his head and eyebrows as he spent seven days last week at the Wat Veerachoti Thamaram in the Chachoengsao province, which is some 80km from Bangkok.

During the time, the burly Thai woke up at 4.30am every morning, learned to meditate and pray with other monks, walked barefooted for several kilometres to gather food, cleaned the temple grounds and ate one meal a day.

“In Thai culture, you have to do this once in your lifetime when you’re aged between 21 to 25. It is a mark of respect to our parents,” said Kiradech.

“This was a good experience for me. You have to learn to be patient and to be cool with yourself. I learned a lot of things and hope to be able to do more things in the future. I feel like I’ve grown older in the past week and in some strange way, I feel I am able to think and do things better.”

It is a tradition in Thailand for young Buddhist men or boys to learn and become a monk as it is believed that this will lead their parents to heaven when they die.

Currently ranked 83rd in the world, Kiradech hopes to break into the top-60

by May 26 or June 9 to qualify for the year’s second Major, the US Open.

© valentineisd.com

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While his time in a temple is over, Kiradech thinks that learning to become a monk may help him with his golfing ambitions as well following a topsy-turvy start to the 2014 season where he has recorded only one top-five and missed three cuts.

“From the beginning of the year until now, I felt like I haven’t been mentally strong and focused. I want to learn to be more patient with myself and enjoy my golf and hopefully my time in the temple will help me appreciate what I do for a living,” said Kiradech, who holds two wins on the Asian Tour.

“In the temple grounds, I did a lot of meditation and prayer every day. Walking without shoes with the other monks for several kilometres to collect food was another experience. I had to work and clean the temple grounds every day,” he said.

Kiradech will fly off to Wentworth this week for the BMW PGA Championship followed by a trans-Atlantic flight to the US for the Memorial Tournament which he received an invitation to compete from golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

“I’ve got two big events coming up and I want to play well to get myself into the US Open,” said Kiradech, who finished tied 25th in last year’s US PGA Championship.

“I need to have two good results. But the way I’m playing now, my confidence is coming up. I’m hitting the ball solidly and I feel I have a chance to play well in my next two events. I want to fly the Asian Tour flag high in England and the US.”

GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

15

GOLF FITNESS

BY AVERNE MYLES LOOS

Fitness The TPI Way

Torso Acceleration Drill

B

efore I start with this article, I feel it would be appropriate to explain what TPI is and our philosophy.

The Titleist Performance Institute is the world’s leading educational organisation and research facility dedicated to the study of how the human body functions in relation to the golf swing.

TPI discovered how a properly functioning body allows a player to swing a club in the most efficient way possible.

Additionally, TPI has analysed how physical limitations in a player’s body can adversely affect the swing and potentially lead to injury.

Torso Acceleration Drill

with a team of experts. Similarly, any professional in the golf industry will see their clients benefit most by themselves being part of a network or a team of professionals.

Here are a couple of stretching techniques which I have developed for a couple of students of mine, Franklin and Sonny.

Get in a good 5-iron posture with your arms crossed over your shoulder. While trying to limit your lower body from moving, take a full backswing keeping your shoulder plane from flattening out at the top.

From here, return to the impact position, again with as little or no lower body motion as possible.

Finally, rotate your whole body through to the finish while maintaining a good, stable posture and shoulder plane throughout.

Sonny has been playing golf for a few years and has received instruction from a number of professionals.

Unfortunately, a swing was designed for him as it was considered to be ‘aesthetically’ correct even though was not well suited for his build and abilities.

35 Yard Bear Crawls The TPI Philosophy TPI odes not to believe in one way to swing a club, rather in an infinite number of swing styles. But, we do believe there is one efficient way for every player to swing and it is based on what the player can physically do. The most efficient swing is not the same for every golfer, because each golfer’s body is different.

To achieve an efficient swing, a golfer must first be screened. This screening involves an assessment of swing mechanics and biomechanics, nutrition, mental strategy or all of the above. A golfer will see the greatest improvement by surrounding themselves

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This is a great exercise to develop stamina and coordination.

Set up two cones -35 yards apart. Get into a bear crawl position, hands and feet on the ground, and crawl like a bear from one cone to the next. If you place the cones seven yards apart, repeat five times.

If they are 35 yards apart, just do once.

Torso Acceleration Drill This exercise helps develop a better sequence of motion between the upper and lower body and teaches you how to fire your oblique abdominals in your swing.

Bear Crawls

Averne Myles Loos is a certified Titleist Performance Institute Fitness Instructor at Imperial Klub Golf Academy

CURIOUS TALES

BY ANTONY SUTTON

Golf Course Birdie Ends Up as Sausage Meat

G

olfers love a birdie. Indeed, the game would be rather dull without an eagle or an albatross to strive for. But a rhea?

Members of the Barkway Park Golf Club got a bit of a surprise in April when they were advised to beware of an escaped rhea.

The six foot flightless bird that is native to South America had escaped from its nearby enclosure and taken refuge for a while on the golf course a few miles north-west of London.

Police warned the public not to approach the bird, saying it was tall and had sharp claws but it seems the bird was not a danger on the course. Indeed, it may have been the one in danger as the news of its new home attracted new hackers keen on following up their birdie on the 16th with a rhea on the 17th!

Alas, there was to be no happy ending to this tale. The bird wandered on to some adjoining private land and was shot by the gamekeeper there and made into gourmet sausages!

Rhea on the loose in the English Countryside. Photo courtesy of www. guardian.com The six foot flightless bird that is native to South America an unusual sight at Barkway Golf Club. Photo courtesy of www.dailymail.co.uk

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GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ / JUNE 2014 /

17

TIPS

BY ADAM TAYLOR

SOUND 'CHIPPING' TECHNIQUE So far in Golf Indonesia, I have outlined five key principles to a sound golf swing, starting with the grip position then progressing through body setup and alignment, takeaway, the letter ‘L’ position through to the impact and early follow through.

To wrap up this series, for this edition and the one after, I will focus on how to apply these positions to perform the actual swing and how to improve your contact and direction and distance.

The key to making good contact and direction starts with the grip (see the January edition) as this allows the freedom of the left wrist to break during the takeaway. The chipping setup is also crucial in making good contact, making sure your feet are close together and the ball is in line with the inside of the right foot. This helps maximise contact and therefore distance control. The reference point for the takeaway is when your left wrist is level with the outside of your right foot and the club level with the ground. At this point, we want the club face at the same angle as your back or pointing slightly towards the ground.

Chipping Swings A great way to start improving your overall technique is to improve your chipping first. The takeaway, impact position and early follow through are basically the same from chipping to the full swing. And because a chipped shot is a short swing, it is much easier to make changes and improve your technique.

Start with a sand wedge or a pitching wedge as these clubs are a good test of your impact position. Many golfers try to scoop the club to get the ball in the air; we want the opposite!

This means the club face has not rolled open during the takeaway, therefore your hands don’t have to roll it back to square at impact. The takeaway helps get the hands in front of the club face at impact, the most difficult area of the swing and key to good contact. Many amateur golfers flip the club at impact for all shots, resulting in either grounded or topping shots.

The reference points for this practise are swinging the club to a position level with the ground in the takeaway, and in the follow through. Swinging to equal positions of either side of the ball greatly helps with tempo and distance control. You will also be practising your chipping and the base of your full swing at the same time.

A further way to improve your takeaway, impact and follow through is to practise your chipping swing with one hand at a time. Alternating between your right and left hand is extremely valuable practise to further increase your control over the club in the takeaway and especially through impact.

If you would like any further information about this article, or to have a personal lesson with me, please contact Ancora Golf Institute @ Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Exercises

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In the next issue of Golf Indonesia, I will be outlining how the positions of your chipping swings play the same role in your longer swings.

/ JUNE 2014 / GOLFINDONESIA .BIZ

Ancora Golf Institute, Royale Jakarta Golf Club Jl. Raya Halim Tiga, Halim Perdana Kusuma, Jakarta 13610 Phone +62 21 8087 2222 ext. 310-311 Email: royale.lesson@ancorasports.com Web: www. ancorasports.com

AGENDA — JUNE 2014

May 31 – Jun 02 Finna Golf: 21st Anniversary, Finna Golf & Country Club Resort, East Java (info: reservations@finnagolf.com) June 03 – June 06 The 20th Enjoy Jakarta World Junior Golf Championship 2014, Damai Indah Golf BSD Course June 04 – June 07 ICTSI Orchard Golf Championship, Asian Development Tour, Orchard Golf & Country Club, Philippines

June 11 – June 14 PGM Vascory Templar Park Championship, Asian Development Tour, Templar Park Country Club, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

June 19 GOLFCLICK.NET 1st Anniversary Golf Tournament, Padang Golf Modern, Tangerang (info@golfclick.net for details)

June 12 – June 15 US Open, Pinehurst Resort, Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States

June 22 Jakarta Inter-Society Match-play League Round 4, Jagorawi New Course (anthonygwking@yahoo.co.uk for details)

June 14 Gran Nikko Bali 1st Annual Golf Tournament, Bali National Golf (jo@grandnikkobali.com for details)

June 05 – June 08 Queen’s Cup, Asian Tour, Santiburi Samui Country Club, Koh Samui, Thailand

June 17 – June 19 Indonesian Golf Tour, Jababeka Golf Club, Indonesia

June 10 – June 12 Indonesian Golf Tour, Padang Golf Modern, Tangerang

June 19 Candaan Golf Tournament, Palm Hill Golf Club, Bogor

June 29 Tee Set Monthly Medal, Senayan National, Jakarta (keith. steuart.miller@gmail.com for details)

CLASSIFIEDS

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