New handicapping set for Australia

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After the announcement by Golf Australia in March that Australian golf courses will soon be rated according to the US model, rumours are circulating that a change to the current handicapping system will soon follow. There are meetings set across the country where the implementation for the new system will be discussed and from what I understand it will not be a straight copy of the USGA model but perhaps more like the model adopted by our clever friends in NZ.

What will this mean? Well from a course rating point of view there will be two values assigned to a course, the course rating and the slope rating.

Course Rating is a measurement of difficulty under normal conditions for a scratch golfer. It is based on course length and obstacles that affect the scoring of a scratch golfer.

Slope Rating was originally introduced for this reason: the more difficult a course is, the greater the discrepancy between the scores of stronger and weaker golfers. So it's a measure of any player's potential scoring ability on a course relative to the scoring ability of a scratch golfer on the same course. A golf course of average standard playing difficulty has a Slope Rating of 113. The lowest Slope Rating is 55 and the highest is 155.

So for example, Pebble Beach from the championship tees has a course rating of 74.3 and a slope of 144.

Another example from About.com:

Imagine two players, Player A and Player B. Player A is a six handicapper, Player B is a 16 handicapper. On a course of average difficulty (slope of 113), both players are likely to play close to their handicaps.

But as course difficulty increases, Player B's scores will rise faster than Player A's. On a course with a slope of 135, Player B might need an additional 10 strokes, while Player A might only need an additional 3.

Getting the feel for it yet? So what about the handicapping changes? It will be fairly complicated just like the current system but I don't think just because it will be complicated it is bad. It's complicated because it's attempting to be fair. Fair for golfers of all abilities and a fair measure of your own golfing ability, something the current system doesn't always do.

Currently, handicap changes are based on all golfers scores recorded in that particular days competition. A measure of how well your score stacks up against all others that day but this does not include anything that resembles slope. Golfers with low handicaps don't find difficult courses anywhere near as hard as higher handicappers.

Soon, your handicap will be based on the course difficulty. In fact, before you start a round on any course, you will be assigned a handicap (probably very similar to your home course handicap) to use on that course.

The best thing about it from Aussie Golfer's point of view is this:
No longer do you have to play in a competition to have your handicap altered. Anytime you play with a fellow golfer who also has an official handicap, your card is handed in for handicapping purposes. Some say this may lead to more cheating which may be true, but for 99.9% of golfers who would just rather a true estimate of their golfing potential this is great news. No longer will we see golfers play endless afternoon rounds of golf only to see them shoot 48 points in the first competition round they've played in months.

Got any questions? There's gotta be plenty.

The sort of examples and explanations I've outlined are based on the current USGA system. We will know in the coming months how similar the new Australian Golf handicapping system will be.

Related articles
New handicapping set for Australian golf
Australian handicapping changes
Australia adopts US course rating system
Reasons for Australia's new course ratings
Golf handicapping: What's with the 0.96?
New handicap system: how does it work?

Straight Down the Middle - Bing Crosby

Aussies fined for playing China Open

The Asian tour versus the new OneAsia Tour is getting uglier. Four Australians who are part of the Asian Tour have been issued fines and possible suspensions after playing in last week's Volvo China Open, part of the new OneAsia Tour.

Things have been getting nasty for a while now and it's hard to know exactly who is to blame for all this but it seems that the OneAsia Tour looks assured of becoming the world's third largest tour pretty quickly in terms of prize money and participants. It is best summarised in the FoxSports report:

The new Tour, formed by the China Golf Association, Korea Professional Golf Tour, Korea Golf Association and the PGA Tour of Australia aims to create a new force in world golf.

But it is opposed by the Asian Tour which has accused it of stealing its tournaments, including the China Open which it used to co-sanction.

The China Open was the first event as part of the new OneAsia tour and Jason King, Chris Gaunt, Brad Kennedy and Ashley Hall are the Australians who have been sent the notices and have a week to appeal the fines and suspension. Australian Scott Strange won the China Open but he is a member of the European Tour and is therefore not subject to the threats.

Personally, I now think the OneAsia Tour is going to be a very good thing for golf in the region and worldwide but it's a pity that tensions have been strained between this new tour and the Asian Tour. It appears that the PGA Tour of Australia wanted to get involved in the Asian Golf Tour and had an idea to bring it altogether. The Asian Tour organisers didn't like what they heard perhaps fearing losing control and both parties have been at loggerheads ever since.

Is Australian golf below par?

Aussie Golfer received an email last week from regular reader, Paul Arnfield:

Just on world golf at the moment, a few things have caught my eye.

1. In the world rankings, Australia has 3 representatives in the Top 50, while South Africa has 5. Perhaps we are not as good as we think!
2. Europe has taken over the USA having 16 rep’s to 15 in the world top 50.

He makes a couple of interesting points. Adam Scott's current position relative to his form is flattering but I would tend to argue that it is not so much bad golf by the Aussies but great golf by the South Africans. I can't believe Tim Clark is rated so low.

The domination of European golfers on the world stage continues. The quality of golfers on the European Tour is a big factor and has larger depth than the PGA Tour.

Australians and South Africans in the Top 50
4 Geoff Ogilvy, Aus
16 Ernie Els, SA
23 Retief Goosen, SA
29 Adam Scott, Aus
34 Robert Allenby, Aus
37 Tim Clark, SA
39 Trevor Immelman, SA
50 Rory Sabbatini, SA

Better greens = better putting

Is good putting related to good greens? Are the putting statistics from the professionals skewed somewhat because of the great quality of the greens they play on week after week? (Ignoring the 18th at Torrey Pines last year).

Aussie Golfer is begining to think they are. Professional golfers practise their putting more than anyone and will obviously be better putters than most. However, despite the professional tours being hosted at different courses each week, each course has greens of a quality that is second to none.

Your average golfer is not afforded this luxury but many are still aiming for the sort of stats Tiger and his compatriots keep. Be realistic. If you're playing on a sub-standard golf course with sub-standard greens, don't expect the best putting stats. Keep it in perspective and wait 'til you make the pro tour before getting too hard on yourself.

Ernie Els, playing in the wind

It's childish I know, but I came across this video from a long time ago on YouTube concerning Messrs Woods and Els, and a little passing of wind.

The Extreme 19th Hole

Have you seen those crazy, fantastical golf calendars with photos of amazing scenery with greens and golfers added on after the image is taken? They look completely surreal but a new golf course in South Africa has a real one.

The Legend Golf and Safari Resort is due to open very soon with each hole designed by a different professional golfer including Justin Rose, Mike Weir, Michael Campbell, Sergio Garcia, Jim Furyk, Camilo Villegas and Robert Allenby. In short, it looks absolutely spectacular and is the longest golf course in Africa.

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One hole that has been open to play for a while now is the par-3 19th. The extreme 19th. A tee has been created on an escarpment of Hanglip Mountain which overlooks the course and is only accessible by helicopter. A green sits 430m below in the shape of the African continent, Madagascar included. The horizontal distance is almost 360m and the ball, after a correctly hit drive takes 24 seconds to reach the ground.

Soon the hole will be open to the public with a $1million hole-in-one prize. It will cost around $400 to play the hole (extreme you may think) including the helicopter ride and 6 balls equipped with tracking chips. A few big names such as Sergio Gracia and Trevor Immelman have already played the hole but the only professional to have made a par was Padraig Harrington. See it in the video below.

More golf videos

Adam Scott's eagle took 42 seconds

Playing over the trees

Best golf videos of 2009

You won't believe this golf swing!

Slow play - Managing the problem

Here's the final part to Mike Orlaff's article on slow play on the golf course. Here's the link to part one if you missed it

by Mike Orloff

Here are some of the strategies we used to manage slow play:

Manage the course

• Par 5's -Extend the length to as long as possible, so most people are not waiting for the green to clear and to try and reach in two shots.
• Par 4's – Set to 330-350 metres maximum, so most players can reach or get close in two shots.
• Par 3's – Keep at a maximum length of 150-160 metres, so the majority of players can reach the green in one hit.
• Green speed – keep at 9-10 on the Stimpmeter, so players are not regularly 3 and 4 putting or generally spending to much time on the green.
• Rough – lower height, so the majority of players can fully advance the ball if hitting from the rough.
• Pin positions - put in the easiest green position on busy days.
• Competitions - Set up the course to accommodate the format of the day. i.e. Don't have the course play the longest and toughest if your conducting a stroke play club championship.

Manage the process

• Use a first tee starter on busy days to regulate the time between each group teeing off. Space the groups accordingly. If groups go off too quickly you risk them bottlenecking on a future hole, especially if you have a Par 3 early in the round.
• Use a more "experienced" staff member for marshalling duties. Most players may not heed the warning of a young staff member. Ideally find someone who is very friendly and helpful to players, but who can also be assertive when necessary.
• Have policy and procedures (approved by member committee if at private club) on how to identify and handle issues, and in extreme cases, how to kick someone off the course, or penalise their competition score.
• Educate your staff. Most facilities do not have proper training of marshalling staff, or have really thought of the best person to hire or put in the position of course Marshall.
• Communicate constantly with golf staff throughout the day to help identify trouble spots quickly and to make sure groups are properly paired.

Manage the expectation

• Educate players - Set the time expectation for players before they tee off and inform players of any unusual course conditions. If you are tracking a 5-hour round for that particular day, let them know before they start. If their expectation is changed before they tee off, you could circumvent any potential blow-ups.
• Player perception - many players don't know exactly what time they teed off. In many cases they went off later than the tee time booked, which may result in them thinking it took longer than it actually did. Write the start time on a card and give it to each group.

To better understand where your issues really exist, start out by tracking every group that tees off over the next four Saturdays. Start with your first group off and have someone write down what time the group actually started (not when they checked in or what their tee time was suppose to be), then again when they finish 9-holes, and finally when they finish 18 holes. You will most likely see a couple of groups in the morning (many times the same players each week) that are creating the slow play for the rest of the day.

The next slowest group off the tee always sets the pace for all players behind them. If you get off to a slow start in the morning, you will spend the entire day trying to recover. If you are having a slow pace day, leave the first tee open for as long as you can and this will at least give the later groups some relief on overall time taken to play, by freeing up any bottlenecks on course.

The entire process must be controlled through a series of preemptive management strategies, otherwise you risk letting the players self-manage the process which is a potential for disaster.

Mike Orloff is a golf operations specialist and is director of Golf Industry Central.

Slow play - Pace and Flow

As mentioned yesterday, Mike Orloff from Golf Industry Central has be kind enough to share with us an article he wrote on slow golf. Here's part one.

by Mike Orloff

Slow Play –Who is in control?

We continue to read and hear the endless stories of players complaining about "slow play" at our golf facilities. Just have a look at some of the online golf forums and you read the same story over and over again. "We did not see a Marshall", "we called the pro shop to tell them about the slow group ahead of us, but they never came out to help", "the group ahead of us were beginners and were really slow" and on and on…

So who is to blame, the golfer or the facility?

This is a management issue much more than a player issue. If your staff were behaving in an inappropriate way, you would do something about it. If your players (especially members) are not behaving to your expectation you must also do something about it.

Yes, players do need to be educated on pace of play and etiquette best practices, like the need to keep up with the group ahead of them and not ahead of the group behind them, but at the end of the day it is up to management to ensure that everyone has a respectable pace during their golf round.

The strategy lays in three key areas- education of golfers and staff, management of golfers, and general course set-up.

The two concepts that you must also fully understand to properly manage this issue are Pace and Flow.

Pace basically is the measurement of time it takes you to play your round. I.e. it took you 4 hours to play. Pace issues are primarily caused due to lack of player education and improper course setup.

Flow has to do with the consistency of the time it took to play. I.e. it took you four hours to play, but with several delays due to a group ahead of you. Flow issues are primarily caused by improper course setup and overall lack of management of the process.

Early in my career, I managed facilities in California that were generating 100,000 to 120,000 annual rounds on a single 18-hole facility. Due to the extreme amount of demand to play golf, especially on weekends, 5-somes were the norm as was having 60 to 70 people playing 9-holes early in the morning before the 18-hole players made the turn. We had daylight savings so the summer months allowed players to tee off until 5pm each day. Needless to say, it was busy.

It was critical to proactively manage the large number of players each day, most importantly starting with the first groups out each morning. You can envisage the 18-hole round like two spinning wheels, with each nine being a separate wheel. Try to get the early groups to get the front wheel spinning at a great pace, which ultimately will get the second wheel spinning at a greater pace. One group can slow the pace of either wheel, so the quicker you identify this group, the better you will keep the wheels spinning.

Tomorrow: Stratagies to manage slow play

Mike Orloff is a golf operations specialist and is director of Golf Industry Central.

Allenby's streak ends

Aussie Golfer recieved this email from regular reader Paul Arnfield last week:

Robert Allenby has now played 33 tournaments without missing the cut, his last was the "Sony open in Hawaii" in January 2008. Although he has not won a tournament on the USPGA circuit and done little since his Triple Crown in Australia in 07, you have to admire his consistent form and his "never throw in the towel" attitude.

Guess what happened on the weekend? 73-72, missed the cut by one stroke.

Admittedly, I'd been meaning to mention this great streak for a while now too so maybe I'm to blame as well. Amazing run though considering all he has been through.

Scott no longer a stranger

Scott Strange was the one bright spark for Australia on the Euro Tour last year and has continued his emergence as one of Australia's leading golfers by winning the Volvo China Open. He won by one shot, coming from the chasing pack on the back nine and carved out a nice final round 68. He won a gold jacket for his troubles and also a berth in the year ending Volvo World Matchplay for only 16 golfers and a prize packet of US$5 million.

Strange, hailing from Western Australia won his first Euro title last year in Wales. It was an emotional win then after his sister had passed away from breast cancer a few weeks earlier. This win was no less emotional as Strange, an ambassador for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, again mentioned his sister at the presentation.

He has been flying under the world and Australian golf radar, despite his Wales Open win and playing good golf in Australia late last year. Perhaps he may now get a little more recognition. He was stoked to win and will be even happier when he finds out the answer to a question he asked reporters as he lifted the trophy:

"Anyone know the footy score?"

I'm assuming he was referring to the Eagles. They won in a big upset win over the Bulldogs. Someone let Scott know please.

Slow play - how to beat it

In the opinion of Aussie Golfer, the single most deterrant from the game of golf is the length of time it takes to play it. There is no doubt that playing a 3 and a half hour round of golf can sometimes be too much time out of the week. It is even more unfortunate that a three and a half hour round of golf seems to be a thing of the past. In fact, I have barely played many 4 hour rounds in the last 5 years.

Mike Orloff from Golf Industry Central has 19 years experience owithgolf course operations with large interntaional golf companies to management of Lakelands, Robina Woods and Horizons Golf Clubs to name a few. He therefore has some great inside knowledge on what slow play is, what contributes to slow play and how it should be dealt with on a club and player level.

Mike writes articles for various publications internationally and in Australia, including Inside Golf and he's been kind enough to share with us an article he wrote on the issue of slow play. Over the next week I'll be publishing the full article in two parts starting tomorrow with "Slow Play - Pace and Flow"

In the meantime, please jump over to Golf Industry Central and take a look around. It's got all the inside scoop on golf related business, jobs board, news and and a forum to start up discussions.

Golf Trivia Answers #5

1. What year did the R&A officially formalise playing with the current ball size?
   1990
   
2. Which three Australian golfers have led the US Masters after three rounds?
   Craig Parry, Greg Norman, Stuart Appleby
   
3. Who was stopped in the early hours of a Monday morning last year for driving a golf cart through central Stockholm, reportedly drunk?
   Bill Murray
   
4. Who is the only Australian woman to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame?
   Karrie Webb
   
5. Who is the only Australian golfer to win the Par 3 Contest at Augusta National?
   Bruce Crampton
   

Previous Golf Trivia Quizzes
Golf Trivia #1
Golf Trivia #2
Golf Trivia #3
Golf Trivia #4
Golf Trivia #5
Golf Trivia #6
Golf Course Quiz

Daly sets up stall at Masters

John Daly wasn't playing at Augusta National last week but he decided to turn up anyway and flog some of his merchandise a few blocks away from the side of his Winnebago. It's a sorry sight and Aussie Golfer wasn't going to report this as I assumed it would be big news everywhere else pretty quickly.

This story did not get quite as much press as I thought it would. At least not in Australia so I thought I'd convey my thoughts.

It all just makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. John Daly's six month suspension from the PGA Tour is almost over but what is this gifted golfer doing here? I suppose he may enjoy it. I'd enjoy getting among the great atmosphere around Augusta National at this time of year but it doesn't seem right somehow. With all the golfing talent he possesses he shouldn't be in this position.

This was written in the Seattlepi:

Only a few weeks from the end of his six-month suspension from the PGA Tour and slimmer than he's been in years after surgery to shrink his stomach, Daly is kicking off what could be called his comeback tour at the Masters. The money he makes from shilling his merchandise - cash only, please - will help him stave off bankruptcy. The 40-plus pounds he's lost in the last eight weeks will help his prodigious game get back under control.

When I saw the image it did confirm the feeling for me but I really hope he does get back on track. It appears things may be going in the right direction and apparently he's on a high protein diet and drinking very little. He's a bit of a troubled soul that needs some good friends and sound advice around him as I worry about where the proceeds of his sales may end up being used.

Photo courtesy of Settlepi and Darron Cummings

Golf joke: Playing blind

Aussie Golfer loves a good golf joke and a good engineer joke. Here's a good joke featuring both golf and an engineer.

A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.
The engineer fumed, "What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!"
The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!"
The pastor said, "Hey, here comes the greens keeper. Let's have a word with him."
"Hey George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The greens keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firemen.
They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."

The group was silent and respectful for a moment.
The pastor said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my colleagues and see if there's anything he can do for sight."

The engineer said, "Why can't these guys play at night?"

Other golf jokes:
Mother Superior
Love on the course
Golf terms
The ball you can't lose
Using the new ball
Deserted island
Cow encounter

Masters Matters

Another great US Masters is wrapped up and despite what you may read on some other golf websites, it was a finish worth remembering. Here's a few thoughts from the weekend:

• Luke Black from the Gold Coast is wondering how much a flight to Argentina is worth after placing a bet on Angel Cabrera before round one at 150-1. His reasoning:
  
  "...he's long and has exceptional nerve (as witnessed when he held on to win the US Open in '07 with Woods and Furyk chasing him down). And i reckon he would be a good bloke to have a beer with, despite the language barrier."
  
  
• There was a huge amount of coverage of the Tiger/Phil challenge. It was quite something to watch but let's not forget the other battle up front. Shingo Katayama finished higher than these two and was only given limited TV coverage.
  
  
• It was another lean year for the Aussies. Geoff Ogilvy saved some face with five birdies over the last five holes. Aaron Baddeley seemed to have been left to fend for himself on Easter Sunday but managed to tie for 16th.
  
  
• Will Kenny Perry get a passport and actually leave the US this year and play the The Open at Turnberry?
  
  
• The US Masters is a great but very strange tournament. It's target golf at it's finest but it appears low on actual shot making. Plenty of birdies this year though which was fun to watch.
  
  
• It was tough to see Kenny Perry lose as well as Chad Campbell but keep in mind the remarkable par Angel Cabrera made on the first playoff hole. It will not be etched into Masters folklore quite as much as if Tiger had done the same thing.
  
  
• Is there a dress code at Augusta? I've never seen so many "just above the knee" light coloured chino shorts and polo shirts in my life.
  
  
• Speaking of dress code, Camilo Villegas was dressed superbly. All white with green hat. He and his caddy played ambrose for most of the day and no one knew the difference.
  
  
• The Presidents Cup: October 2009, San Fransisco. First singles match: Angel Cabrera v Kenny Perry.
  
  
• Finally, this is worth a read if you haven't seen it already. It's an article from Mark Kiszla at the Denver Post titled "Mob mentality turns Masters into one-eyed Tiger-fest". An excerpt:

  Golf has a problem. Tigermania has grown so huge that the birdies and eagles no longer count for much unless it's Woods making the gallery roar. The Masters has lost its relevance and a grand celebration of golf is shuffled underfoot when the headline after 54 holes of the sport's premier event reads: Woods trails leaders by seven strokes.

Photos courtesy of Rainier Ehrhardt, Pops at www.augusta.com

Harrington screwed

Aussie Golfer couldn't agree more with this little wrap from Average Golfer of the incident involving Padraig Harrington during the second round of the Masters.

Screwed. Padraig Harrington got screwed by one of the stupidest of golf rules. On the 15th hole, in high wind, he addressed his putt and the ball was moved by the wind. That cost him a penalty stroke. If they rely on players' integrity to call their own penalties, even when out of TV camera view, then why can't the rely on a players' integrity to say that the ball moved at address, but not because they touched it? If Harrington loses by a stroke it would be a huge injustice. This rule is way overdue for a revisit.

Norman misses cut but four Aussies play on

Greg Norman produced some of his old magic at Augusta but it wasn't quite enough in order to make the cut. Four of the seven Australians in the tournament made the cut with Stuart Appleby and Robert Allenby only just scraping through. I still think he could shoot anything given a decent day with the putter, his eagle on 13 proved that.

Young guns Aaron Baddeley and Geoff Ogilvy have done enough to not only make the cut but give themselves a shot come Sunday. Ogilvy is a big chance quietly doing what he has to do to win this tournament but an Aaron Baddeley win on Easter Sunday may be hard to watch. Mathew Goggin struggled both days on his first look at Augusta, it's a pity Norman has to leave but an even bigger disappointment was Adam Scott once again missing the cut. He's really struggling at the moment.

Come Sunday, Aussie Golfer still believes Jim Furyk is going to be right in the mix. Obviously Tiger will be there but Furyk is flying under the radar a little.

Australians left at Augusta
T11 Geoff Ogilvy (-3)
T19 Aaron Baddeley (-2)
T42 Robert Allenby (+1)
T42 Stuart Appleby (+1)

Fear of a Shark attack

An inordinate amount of shark attacks have taken place in Australia this past summer and it has raised a certain amount of paranoia at the beach. Only a few weeks ago at my local beach a lifesaver reported a shark sighting. The shark alarm sounded and everyone got out the water only to find out later the shark was 40cm long. Hardly a shark and hardly worth the alarm. In the golf world there’s a shark of a different kind lurking and it is also bringing with it a sense of fear and paranoia.

Greg Norman returns to Augusta National in the morning. It’s the home of so many heartbreaking moments of his golf career, not to mention ours as well. As an Australian golf fan, Augusta conjures up a certain sense of beauty and wonder but much like a bottle of chartreuse, is capable of doing some serious damage.

At the British Open last year it was fun to see Norman back in contention for a major tournament but for some reason, despite leading for most of the event, I just never thought he would win and the loss sat a lot better than all the other losses did. Augusta National plays much harder and a lot longer than it used to and I fear Greg may not make the cut. It's something both Greg and I are prepared for.

But lately I’ve been having some scary thoughts. Thoughts of an Shark attack. What if he does make the cut? If the weather goes bad, and Norman is forced to use some of that old fashioned shot-making skill we regularly used to see in golf 10 years ago, then maybe, just maybe we could see his name on the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon.

The sight of The Shark making a hole-in-one at the annual Par-3 contest this morning sent my primordial sense of fear into overload. I sense an attack and I’m not prepared for it. I assumed the heartbreaking Monday morning’s of the US Masters were a thing of the past I don't think I can go through it all again.

Go easy on us Greg. If you're not going to win, I won't hold it against you. I’m perfectly happy if you decide to swim out of the shallow Augusta waters and leave us Australian golf fans to watch the rest of the tournament using the whole seat and in relative safety.

Aussie Style Masters

Aussie Golfer was asked to write a guest article on Armchair Golf Blog giving a distinctly Australian view of the US Masters: "The Masters, Aussie Style". It gives our friends in the States particularly, an idea of the sort of things we go through watching the Masters each year.

It's only a short iron away so head on over to and give it a read. Take a good look around. Neil has a nice little site and it may be a good opportunity to download his free, 44-page US Masters guide!

The Questions of Quiros

So far as sweeping generalisations go, "Spanish golfers are colourful characters", is a good one. Alvaro Quiros (pictured) is no exception and I had to pass on this excerpt from a story on the PGA Tour website detailing a Sunday before the Masters. Quiros qualified to play in the Masters by being the 25th best golfer in the world and it's hard not to like him from this account.

He saw Augusta for the first time after playing nine holes with Luke Donald. In fact he'd never even seen it on TV:

Quiros, whose reputation as a big hitter is growing quickly, is the son of a gardener from the famed "Costa Del Sol" just down the road from Valderrama. They didn't have enough money to pay for the satellite feed required to watch the Masters, so his only visual of the Augusta National came from a DVD on Seve Ballesteros. Those highlights only featured the 15th, 16th and 18th holes.

Quiros had just settled into a patio chair to order lunch when Donald mentioned that the Spaniard hit wedge into the 445-yard first hole, with the first 300 yards uphill.

So what did he think of the front nine?

"Too much," Quiros said. "Some of the shots? Impossible."

Donald grinned, having been there before. The Englishman has moderate length, at best, yet tied for third in 2005. Quiros needs a crash course on Augusta National, and he plans to play Monday with two-time winner Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Quiros also needs experience ordering food.

"Are the salads big?" he asked. The waiter concurred, and Quiros settled on a Caesar chicken salad.

But he wasn't finished.

"I have to asked another question. What about the all-beef hot dog? Is that big?" he said. And when the waiter gave that a thumbs-up, Quiros ordered them both.

Ogilvy makes a splash, three of them

Geoff Ogilvy was joined by Today's Golfer on a practise round at Augusta. click the link for the full story but this tell's you something about how hard it can be:

"On the 12th, I started off hitting an 8-iron," shudders Ogilvy. "When we got to the tee it was semi-downwind and my caddie was happy with that choice. But, by the time I hit the shot, the wind had switched. The ball ballooned up and finished in the water.

"So I tried again. I hit it harder and the ball ballooned up even more and finished even shorter, again in the water. Then I switched to a 7-iron and came up short again. Then I went to a 6-iron and, although the shot finished up wet again, it did manage to fly the creek before dribbling back down the bank.

"All four were struck solidly. It is so deceiving down in that corner. The wind whistles across from the right (down the 13th fairway] and screws up every calculation. I'm just glad I wasn't adding up my score. It would have been astonishing for people to watch the Masters field go through there in those conditions; it would have been a massacre."

Peter Thomson on the Masters

Peter Thomson wrote an article on the US Masters in today's paper. Specifically, it's about Bobby Jones, his vision and the innovations the powers of Augusta National have brought to the game.

There was talk a year or so back of a special golf ball to play the Masters, one that didn't fly so far as to make the old course look silly. Wise counsel though stopped the experiment in its tracks. Pity, it could have done some good.

When Peter Thomson speaks it's always worth a listen. Head on over to "Augusta still gets the better of the best" for the full story.

Tuesday Golf Trivia #5

1. What year did the R&A officially formalise playing with the current ball size?
   
2. Which three Australian golfers have led the US Masters after three rounds?
3. Who was stopped in the early hours of a Monday morning last year for driving a golf cart through central Stockholm, reportedly drunk?
4. Who is the only Australian woman to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame?
5. Who is the only Australian golfer to win the Par 3 contest at Augusta National?

Answers

Previous Golf Trivia Quizzes
Golf Trivia #1
Golf Trivia #2
Golf Trivia #3
Golf Trivia #4
Golf Trivia #5
Golf Trivia #6
Golf Course Quiz

US Masters TV coverage

All the US Masters coverage is on Channel 10, One HD and FoxSports this week, and thanks to Easter, we all have Friday to Monday off of work!

There's plenty of repeat coverage on One HD and Foxsports but the schedule for the live golf is on Channel 10 and One HD and is listed below.

Friday, April 10, Round 1

6:00 am - 09:30 am

Saturday, April 11, Round 2

6:00 am - 09:30 am

Sunday, April 12, Round 3

5:30 am - 09:30 am

Monday, April 13, Round 4

4:00 am - 09:30 am

Adam Scott's website

There's only a few Australian professional golfers with their own website. It's a sign of how big or marketable a player is.

Adam Scott's website was stumbled upon the recently. It's a fancy looking website with regular updates (when he's not frolicking on the beach with Kate Hudson), complete with background music! How soothing. Ben Harper was playing when I was browsing.

Let's hope he finds some form at Augusta this week.

Photo courtesy of www.pgatour.com

US Masters iPhone App

The US Masters iPhone application that I mentioned last week has now been released. Get it through iTunes app store now. It contains live views of row after row of flowers and garden beds, the occasional scoreboard thrown in and very little golf. Joking.

It's worth grabbing for the short movie on Jack's win in 1986. It will be interesting to see whether all live views of Amen Corner will be available in Australia.

Sports coverage sexist

The best golf article written in Australia this week must be Patrick's Smith's article in The Australian on Thursday - "What a tangled Webb we weave". He mentions how some of the best sports stories aren't reported by Australian sports journalists, particularly when the sports person is female and goes so far as to say the media coverage of women's sports is sexist.

Karrie Webb's win last week was superb and a great story to see her winning again on the LPGA Tour but the coverage of it in Australia was ordinary. Aussie Golfer believes it also applies world-wide as there seems to have been more coverage of Anna Rawson's role as the new GoDaddy girl than Webb's win.

Smith writes:

Your chances of finding your correct place on the news list diminishes if you are a woman. The media doesn't rate women as athletes as much as it rates them as a picture story. Even then it's best that you are attractive.

He goes on:

This disregard for women and their sport was so pronounced this week that the media should be garrotted. It clearly made a decision that the sex of a sports person should dictate the place on the news lists and broadcasts and not the feat itself.

Karrie Webb was sport's great story this week. The former No1 woman golfer in the world won her first event on the US tour for more than two years. As she putted out on the 18th, she was in tears. You might expect that of a loser not a winner, but such has been Webb's fight to find her best form that she was overwhelmed. You didn't have to ask her how it felt to see Webb's return to the winning list was a story, both moving and magnificent.

And finally:

Fools discount Webb's achievements because she does not act like a centrefold, does not roll around the fairways like Bill Murray at pro-ams, does not hit the ball as far as a lot of men on the major tours. But not every man drives it as far as Woods or John Daly yet they are still cherished by the media nonetheless.

The media's coverage of women's sport is sexist. Karrie Webb's remarkable but untold comeback proves it.

Please go and read the full article at The Australian.

Golf Trivia Answers #4

Here's the answers to the questions posed on Tuesday.

1. Which Australian golfer finished second to Ian Baker-Finch when he won the 1991 British Open?
   Mike Harwood
2. Which Australian golfer played in the final pairing of the 1999 British Open along side Jean Van De Velde?
   Craig Parry
3. Can you lose your ball in GUR?
   No. If it is reasonably certain the ball cannot be found in GUR, the ball is deemed to lie at the spot where it last crossed the outermost limits of the GUR and free relief may be taken.
   
4. Which two golfers have lost a playoff in each of the 4 majors?
   Greg Norman and Craig Wood
   
5. What golf course is pictured below? (click on it to enlarge)
   St.Andrew's Old Course
   

Previous Golf Trivia Quizzes
Golf Trivia #1
Golf Trivia #2
Golf Trivia #3
Golf Trivia #4
Golf Trivia #5
Golf Trivia #6
Golf Course Quiz

Seven Aussies take on Masters hoodoo

Seven Australians have qualified to play in next week's US Masters at Augusta National. Unless another Aussie can win at the Houston Open this weekend, it will remain at seven. While we've had a reasonable run at making the cut at Augusta, an Australian has yet to ever win the green jacket.

The Australian contestants this year are:

Robert Allenby (best result 22nd, 2006)
Stuart Appleby (7th, 2007)
Aaron Baddeley (52nd, 2007)
Mathew Goggin (debut)
Greg Norman (2nd, 1986, 1987, 1996)
Geoff Ogilvy (16th, 2006)
Adam Scott (9th, 2002)

Other stats, Australians at the Masters (2000 - 2008):
Most Aussies: 9 (2008)
Cuts made: 60%
Norman's record: Nine Top 10's. Eight of them Top 5's.

Related articles:
Australians at the majors

Australians at the majors, 2000 - 2008.

Course Review: Mount Lofty GC, SA

Mount Lofty is the highest point in the Mount Lofty Ranges overlooking Adelaide. A nice restaurant and cafe sit on the site and is generally a nice spot to spend a part of the day. A short drive away is the Mount Lofty Golf Club and as it's situated in the Adelaide Hills, you'd expect it to be...well, hilly.

Aussie Golfer has played this little track a few times and it's got a few interesting quirks. Firstly, any mention of Mount Lofty to any golfer will yield a description of the first hole. A 209 metre par-4 straight uphill. Good golfers will have no real trouble making the distance to the green in one despite the elevation but it's a tough one for high handicappers. Anything left and right is almost dead and I've seen many second shots come up short and roll back to the same spot.

The 1st hole. Short but straight uphill.

The second quirk of the course is it's undulations. I realise you have to work with what you've got and I don't mind a bit of up and down, but it's the lateral up and down that is the problem. On several holes it's near impossible to keep your ball on the fairway no matter how well you hit it, the 2nd, 4th and the 14th are prime examples.

View from the 12th tee. The camera is level.

The 14th threw at me one of my pet hates on a golf course. Trees. Not just ordinary trees, but trees and branches in a direct line between my ball and the pin from the fairway. I'd gone too far left off the tee trying to roll the ball down to the fairway. A chip out left me a 9-iron to the green. Could that branch over-hanging the green be in my way to the flagstick? Surely not. That would affect almost everyone. A sweetly hit 9-iron looked destined for the pin when it struck the branch and flew off into the right rough! Oh the pain! I'll keep any further comments on this unfair part of golf for another article.

View from behind the 14th green with the offending tree on the right.

There are some nice holes at Mount Lofty. The 4th, a 352 metre, downhill par-4 is probably the nicest. A straight drive can run forever but eventually you'll have to face a short iron into a shallow but wide green sitting behind a large creek. Think Augusta's 12th hole...but in the Adelaide Hills. Not quite the same I guess but they don't have Farmers Union Iced Coffee or Vili's pies in Georgia. I've also always enjoyed the 8th hole despite never scoring well on it and the 18th is a good test of golf before the pie and chips.

Overall it's a fun little course for would-be golfers and at $35 it's well priced. Lots of local knowledge would help to use the hills and slopes to get the ball in the right spot. The pro shop seemed to be under new management or getting in new stock when I played and needed some work but the club are doing lots of things to promote golf and get people up and playing the course. Some of the membership options are great for golfers looking at playing more often at a good price.

Mount Lofty Golf Course is similar in style to a few other golf courses around Adelaide (Mt.Osmond, Hahndorf, Highercombe) that are good for your short game and fun to play now and then. But if you're going to play Mount Lofty, make it worth your while and visit the lookout on the way home.

More reviews:
The Tap Inn, Adelaide, SA
Bonville GC, Coffs Harbour, NSW
Lake Claremont GC, Perth, WA
The Vintage, Hunter Valley, NSW
Werribee Park GC, Melbourne, Vic
Lake Karrinyup Country Club, Perth, WA
Glenmore Heritage Valley, NSW
The Vines, Perth, WA
Mt.Lofty GC, SA
Gerringong GC, NSW

iPhone Golf Wallpaper

More iPhone golf wallpaper for you crazy kids.




Click here for more iPhone Golf Wallpaper

GolfDotz

A week before last Christmas Aussie Golfer reviewed a few golfing nick nacks that may make good Christmas gifts for golfers. I had not actually tried any of the products but upon reading the review, GolfDotz sent me a few samples of their product.

GolfDotz don't know I'm writing this and I'm not one to promote golfing products willy nilly. I read an article claiming they didn't work if you have high club speed. I have high club head speed and they stayed on beautifully and adding them to the ball was only marginally slower than using a pen to mark the ball.

I'm not going to go on about them anymore other than to say, it's a golf product on the market that I quite like. They work and they look good.

Ok, back to regular programming...