World Matchplay format a winner

The format for the Volvo World Matchplay Championship in Spain is an absolute winner. Four groups of four play each other once over 18 holes and the winners of each group play each other over 36 holes on Saturday in the semi-finals. The final is played on Sunday over 36 holes.

It is a simple format that requires each golfer playing at least three rounds of golf. Much better than being knocked out in the first round of the WGC Matchplay, for example. Watching players battle it out in their respective groups over the first few days adds something to the spectacle and the more matchplay on the world golf roster the better.

There is one more great thing about the current matchplay tournament - if Robert Allenby can win his group, we may just see him up against Anthony Kim again. I'd drink to that.

Golf Ball v Race Car

A tip of the tam-o-shanter to Jay Busbee at Devil Ball Golf for this one. It comes from the "we do it because we can" video file and concerns a race between a golf ball and a race car. Which one is quicker over 300 yards (or 274.32 metres)?

Other golf videos
Ian Baker-Finch: The videos
Amazing hole-in-one
Amazing golf swing

Golf biased towards 'morning person'

Aussie Golfer is not a morning person. I struggle to open the fridge door in the morning let alone drive a ball in the right direction. Western society favours morning people because the working day has been structured around sunrise and sunset but I've suspected for a while that better handicapped golfers are more likely to be morning people.

Factor 1: Competition Golf
Competition golf is the only time you can play in order to contribute a round to your handicap here in Australia. Most club competition golf is played in the morning, from 6am - 11am. Of these hours, the calmest part of the day is usually at daybreak. I've lost track of the number of times the conditions have greatly changed around about 10am for the worse.
Summary: Conditions for better golf is usually earlier in the day.

Factor 2: Human Physiology
Scientific research has shown evidence to support a wide variety of circadian rhythms in people - as we all know, some of us are morning people, some of us are night owls. New research by Dave Collins' lab at the University of Alberta (himself a keen golfer) has shown morning people's strength remains fairly constant all day however the strength of night owl's peak later in the day. I realise golf is not all about strength but other research has shown the same pattern when looking at reaction time and concentration.
Summary: Nightowls have increased concentration and have better coordination later in the day.

The idea is a crazy one and needs some more specific research but the thought has occurred out of years of frustration being forced to play morning golf for my handicap to change. I'm not the only golfer who prefers afternoon golf. Hopefully future Australian golf handicapping changes will allow for all rounds of golf to contribute to a golfers handicap so those of us with an aversion to mornings can compete on an equal footing.

Golf snippets

There has been some great golf articles written in the past few weeks (not just at Aussie Golfer) and I couldn't go on without highlighting some of them.

• Seve Ballesteros back on track after battling brain cancer. He wants to play in next years British Open.
  
  
• It seemed as though every man and his dog wanted to get stuck into Robert Allenby after his comments about Anthony Kim at the Presidents Cup. The Armchair Golfer pointed out that Allenby is no golf journeyman.
  
  
• Cliff at Rub of the Green hit the nail on the head when it comes to golf in the Olympics.
  
  
• The SMH had a great story on the two Australian golfers who have beaten Tiger Woods.
  
  
• And put your cameras away, John Daly's on his way back again.

TV golf show premieres tonight

Despite the complete lack of any news or information on the website, One HD's new golf show "The Pro Shop" will be airing tonight at 8:30pm.

Hosted by Andrew Maher, it will reportedly not only contain highlights from the week of golf and previews of upcoming events but will also have a bit for the everyday golfer including equipment testing, tips, course reviews and celebrity interviews. Peter Senior will feature in tonight's show along with Nikki Garrett and jockey Damien Oliver.

Network Ten General Manager of Sport David White said, “Along with our extensive live sport offerings we believe that sports fans want to learn about different sports and how to incorporate them into their lives. This show will have something for the casual golfer right through to the dedicated serious golfer.”

Interestingly, it is on the same night as the only other dedicated golf show on Australian television, The PGA Golf Show on FoxSports but goes to air an hour later on One HD. I'm interested to see if this new show lives up to the rumours - a little less dedicated to PGA/Euro Tour highlights and more like the sort of golf talk you might hear in the clubhouse or at Aussie Golfer.

Two Aussies bound for 2010 PGA Tour

Finishing in the Top 25 money winners on the US Nationwide Tour ensures not only some decent money but a spot on the big show, the PGA Tour. Prior to the weekend, six Australians had a shot of making the big time but only two made it - Michael Sim and Cameron Percy.

The four Australians who occupied positions 25 to 28 before the end of season tournament all missed out. Alistair Presnell, Scott Gardiner, Andrew Buckle and Gavin Coles will all try now to squeeze onto the tour via the pressure packed Q-School or come back and try again next year.

Alistair Presnell can consider himself a little unlucky after finishing tied for 19th on the weekend but still being forced out of 25th spot and Andrew Buckle imploded on his back nine in the final round last week when he really should have had his tour card all sewn up.

Cameron Percy finished in 8th spot and will now join fellow Melbournian on tour, Geoff Ogilvy whom he grew up playing with and beating as an amateur.

Michael Sim dominated the tour like no one has done before and finished up as leading money winner. He had already got himself a start with the big boys after winning three times this year and earned himself a 'battlefield promotion'. This turned out to be somewhat of a joke as there was only one event but the Scottish born Sim could well be set to be one of the game's great players.

To find out a little more about these guys, check out the videos below.

Tiger Tracking TV

The 2009 Australian Masters is now a couple of weeks away kicking off Australia's summer of golf. The tournament is a sell out but if you've missed out on a ticket there's some great TV coverage planned one of the official broadcasters.

Channel Nine and FoxSports are televising the Australian Masters this year and FoxSports is introducing a Tiger tracker so by clicking the interactive button you can watch every shot the worlds number one golfer hits throughout the tournament. If Mr Woods isn't your cup of tea there's options to watch other golfers. You will be able to watch every angry glare Robert Allenby makes or every shot Adam Scott plays where you'll be sure to get your moneys worth.

In addition, the interactive feature will enable viewers to access the live tournament leaderboard, statistics, up-to-date highlights and pre and post-round player interviews.

The money paid to get Tiger in Australia seems to be already paying off for long suffering Australian golf fans.

Related Stories
Tiger to play in Australia again
Tiger and the money

Frustrated golfer

Aussie Golfer was sitting in a waiting room recently and found this in among a pile of magazines and books:


I opened the book to find all the pages ripped out and somone had written this in it:

So there you go.

How to impress Tiger, when you're 12

Tiger Woods was at a course in North Carolina early this month to talk about a new course design project. He hits a few ceremonial drives into the trees and calls upon someone to hit it straight. He chooses this kid who nails not one, but two drives down the middle.

More golf videos
Tiger's a loser
Million dollar hole-in-one
How to make a 200ft putt

Golf Rules: Red and yellow stakes

This one comes up so many times it would be rude not to address it on Aussie Golfer. Water hazards are defined by either red or yellow stakes. What is the difference?

Firstly, yellow stakes define a "water hazard" and red stakes define a "lateral water hazard" and the options for correctly proceeding are similar but there is one difference which is very important to know.

For both red and yellow stakes you may under the penalty of one stroke (Rule 26-1a) "Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played".

For both red and yellow stakes you may, under the penalty of one stroke (Rule 26-1b) "Drop a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind the water hazard the ball may be dropped;

Now here's the difference. What if a water hazard lies along the side of a fairway? Or to put another way, what if the hazard lies "laterally" with respect to the fairway? It's near impossible to apply Rule 26-1b as you cannot define a straight line between where the ball crossed the hazard and the hole.

Hence the need for an additional rule applying to lateral water hazards (red staked hazards) only.

For red stakes only, (Rule 26-1c) "...drop a ball outside the water hazard within two club-lengths of and not nearer the hole than (i) the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard or (ii) a point on the opposite margin of the water hazard equidistant from the hole."

Maybe this is obvious but I've lost track of the number of times golfers, experienced golfers, have misunderstood this rule.

Other golf rules
Unplayable lie
A crow took my golf ball
Red and yellow stakes
The teeing ground

Trans Tasman battle on the golf course

Geoff Ogilvy will go up against Michael Campbell at Moore Park Golf Course in Sydney as part of an Australia v New Zealand Golf Skins Challenge on December 7. They will be joined by celebrities from both nations who will also play off against one another in golf's version of the Bledisloe Cup.

It will be a short drive for Michael Campbell, the 2005 US Open champ who now resides in Sydney and is attempting to piece his golf game back together. Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open winner will also take time out of summer schedule to play.

The event is free for spectators and for a good cause with all proceeds going to youth charities in Australia and New Zealand and so far there's a few celebrities on board. Nathan Hindmarsh is going up against Nathan Cayless but in the strangest match-up, Tim Farris from INXS is going up against Jimmy Barnes!

Yes, Jimmy Barnes is playing on the New Zealand team?! How does the country of New Zealand feel about this? According to Jimmy there ain't no second prize but maybe this has what he has here? It looks like a fun day so get out there and support it if you can. This could become an annual fixture as there is certainly many other great match-up's we'd all like to see:

Colin Hay v Neil Finn
Eric Bana v Russell Crowe
Peter Senior v Hobbit
Dean Jones v Richard Hadlee

Just to name a few.

Follow Geoff Ogilvy on Twitter

A Royal amateur golf tournament

A very prestigious amateur golf event is taking place in Sydney next week with a trip to the UK on offer. The Duke of Edinburgh Cup is no ordinary golf event with no ordinary prize and it's the first time a qualifying event has been held in Australia.

If you end up being in the highest scoring pair next Friday at St.Michael's Golf Club and you'll score yourselves a trip to the UK to play in the world finals held at Windsor Castle. You'll get to stay in the castle for five nights too!

It's an event for serious golfers and there are some spots available. Some details are in the image below but click this link for all the details.

Golf course hazards: Space junk

The 12th hole at Nullarbor Links is located at Balladonia in Western Australia. It is situated at one end of 'Ninety Mile Straight' - one of the longest straight stretches of road in the world.

I thought I'd point this place out not only because it is part in the longest golf course in the world which Aussie Golfer reported on recently, but also because it is well known for having part of the NASA space program fall on it.

If you're not familiar with the story here's the abbreviated version as told on the Nullarbor Links 12th hole description:

Skylab was a space research laboratory constructed by the United States National Aerospace Agency (NASA) when in July 1979 it eventually succumbed to the Earth's gravitational pull, re-entered the atmosphere and landed in fiery chunks around Balladonia.

Skylab served as a laboratory in earth orbit and was used to make solar-astronomical studies, long-duration medical studies of the three-person crew, extensive multispectral observations of the earth, and to conduct a variety of other scientific and technological experiments, such as metallic-crystal growth in the weightless state.

Over the period before its final descent the world had become fascinated over where the doomed station would land. The US President (Jimmy Carter) personally rang Balladonia Hotel Motel to apologise for Skylab falling on them.

For only the second time in its history the National Geographic Magazine stopped its presses to include the story. The local shire ranger (Mr David Somerville) was photographed giving the director of NASA a littering ticket, which received huge international coverage (the council later waved the fine).

So if anyone plays this course. Send in your pics, your score, your story....and a picture with you and Skylab too please!

Related stories
World's Longest Golf Course
Extreme 19th Golf Hole

Golf Tip: Curing the Shank

Here's a nice little tip from Ossie Moore from the PGA Golf Show on FoxSports if you've been shanking the golf ball. A golf curse almost as bad as the yips.

(For Herb)

Tall poppy syndrome flourishing

Last year, Tim Clark won the Australia Open at Royal Sydney and admitted he felt more appreciated in Australia than he did in his home country of South Africa.

"In all honesty I've felt more welcome here than I do when I go home," he said. "People have been very excited for me to be here playing.

"I can feel the appreciation from the people around that I'm here playing and I don't feel that when I'm at home. That's probably why I came down here this year."

Tim Clark will be back at the Australian Open to defend his title this year at NSW Golf Club but it is somewhat ironic that Robert Allenby has chosen to tee up at the invitational Sun City Challenge in South Africa, which is held in the same week - missing his first Australian Open in 21 years. Immediately after being abused by the drunks in last year's event he said:

"That was 20 years straight of the Australian Open and I thought, that's it. I'm not ever playing another Australian Open again and I'm not playing in Sydney again.

Reports have said he did not choose to bypass the Australian Open due to his outburst about the 'party hole' at last years event. That may well be the case with the Sun City Challenge carrying a $US1.2 million winner's purse compared to the total prize money for the Australian Open of $A1.5 million dollars.

The 'party hole' has been scrapped though as reported by Aussie Golfer in August which is probably a good thing. I'm not sure the golf course really is the place heavy drinking. This isn't some outback tournament, this is the Australian Open.

An Australian heads to South Africa and a South African returns to Australia to play. Despite some evidence to suggest otherwise, I can't help but think it's largely due to the tall poppy syndrome us antipodeans do so well.

Create your own "live" golf leaderboard using Twitter

Are you sick of your social golf group being treated like second class golfers? Are you tired of your golf events not being televised nationally and golf clubs refusing to display "live" tournament leaderboards?

Well, be tired and sick no more. The popular and often disparaged Twitter social network can do the job for you. Here's how.

1. Create an account for your social golf group on Twitter.
2. Give this account name and password to at least one golfer in each group in the event.
3. Get them to "tweet" the group scores after every few holes.

That's it! Anyone on course or at home can watch the scores as they are posted. It gives some live feedback to how everyone is fairing on course and just what is needed to win.

A live leaderboard was trialled recently by a social group which included some of us at Aussie Golfer and proved a success. Clubhouse leaders were posted as they finished and added to the excitement of the day.

Anyone that uses Twitter knows it is capable of more but Aussie Golfer had searched for a long time for an online golf website that could do this job to no avail. With the advent of Twitter and phones with internet access this is now very simple and at everyone's fingertips.

Let me know if anyone else tries it out.

Drive Driven

It's been a pretty serious few days here at Aussie Golfer with the Presidents Cup taking precedence. "Lighten up!", a voice has been saying in my head - one of many.

In the opinion of Aussie Golfer, this is the best of use of a golf sound bite in the history of music. It comes from Yello, Swiss electronic duo that are most famous for their track "Oh Yeah," which featured in the film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

One half of the duo is Dieter Meier who was born a millionaire, he's known to be a professional gambler and was once a member of Switzerland's national golf team - which may explain the song title and golf sound throughout this track, "Drive Driven".

See? It has a golf connection! Enjoy.

The Presidents Cup grief train

And so it goes once more, the USA wins the 2009 Presidents Cup beating the Internationals 19.5 to 14.5. The AAP report described it best in the first few lines:

The International team continued its record of utter futility on the road when it suffered a five-point defeat at the hands of the Americans...

Last week a reporter asked Geoff Ogilvy if perhaps it's not such a big deal if the Internationals don't lose as they won't get much grief for losing. Ogilvy couldn't help but agree and I do too. But that has to change and they need to cop some grief. International team captain Greg Norman isn't helping matters with these statements:

"I've met 12 people from nine different countries. To understand where they are and how they've got to where they are today is a tremendous victory for me.

"Of course we wanted to win but if you look back on it it's a tremendous success as far as I'm concerned."

"Victory" and "tremendous success" aren't phrases I'd associate with this lacklustre performance and sounds like it's from someone relatively happy to finish second.

In hindsight, and that's what you use to evaluate and get better, Norman should have had Ernie Els up against Tiger Woods. It appeared all weekend as though he'd written off anyone beating Woods and focused on the other matches - with all due respect to those that played against Tiger. Perhaps pairings from the same region is a good way to go. Yang and Ishikawa played well when paired up and Allenby and Ogilvy won convincingly.

There were no doubt some excellent performances on the weekend. The pick of Adam Scott was almost justified, Tim Clark was very good at times and Robert Allenby did everything right until Sunday. Ryo Ishikawa and Ernie Els finished with the best results (3-2) from the weekend but there was a lot of passengers in the International team.

Geoff Ogilvy was horrible the first few days, while Camilo Villegas and Angel Cabrera didn't record a win. Even Vijay wasn't very good with 3 losses against his name.

Take nothing away from the USA team. They also had a few passengers as well but on the whole the golf played from these guys was fantastic and a standard you'd expect - then there was Tiger Woods of course on another level altogether, closely followed by Steve Stricker.

But the Internationals cannot be happy with this performance. The event was great to watch and matchplay is so refreshing to see after a glut of stroke events all year. They must not sugar coat the event as a success or any sort of victory until they win. It's for the good of the event and to get fans flocking to the very different golf course of Royal Melbourne in two years time, itching to see an International victory. A real one.

P.S. I must congratulate One Eyed Golfer on winning the little wager we had on the event. there's talk of double-or-nothing on Australian Masters predictions. Stay tuned.

10 things that need to happen for an International win

Oh dear. I fear the worst here. The Internationals need to win 8 of the 12 singles matches on the final day of the 2009 Presidents Cup to win. Ana amazing last few holes from Tiger yesterday turned what might have been a one point margin into a three point one.

For the Internationals to win, and for me to win my Presidents Cup wager with One Eyed Golfer, here's 10 things which need to happen.

1. Angel Cabrera, Camilo Villegas and Retief Goosen need to turn it around fast. None have won a match yet.
2. Retief needs to confuse everybody on every hole. Not just the 18th.
   
3. Someone tell Y.E. Yang he can lift any golf bag he wants if he wins.
4. All Internationals need to show the grit of Robert Allenby.
5. Some famous International basketballer needs to be flown in to counter the useless assistant role of Michael Jordan. Say it with me, Yao Ming.
6. We need some of our own rowdy, raucous and potentially match changing International golf fans in the gallery. Do they exist?
7. Steve Stricker needs to miss a putt.
8. Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy must win. We care down here and there's a grief train coming.
   
9. Tim Clark needs to play two matches at once.
10. Greg Norman may need to play.

I think Tim Clark or Ernie Els should have been up against Woods. Nevertheless, it gives the golf world another Yang v Woods show.

Sunday singles match-up's
Camilo Villegas v Hunter Mahan
Stewart Cink v Adam Scott
Mike Weir v Justin Leonard
Anthony Kim v Robert Allenby
Geoff Ogilvy v Steve Stricker
Sean O'Hair v Ernie Els
Ryo Ishikawa v Kenny Perry
Zach Johnson v Tim Clark
Y.E. Yang v Tiger Woods
Lucas Glover v Vijay Singh
Retief Goosen v Phil Mickelson
Jim Furyk v Angel Cabrera

Presidents Cup - more thoughts

There's a few more things Aussie Golfer would like to highlight before this week's Presidents Cup gets underway.

• I've always found the Presidents Cup format puzzling. IT differs from the Ryder Cup with four days of play and many more matches enabling all players on the course at once, except for Saturday. We have five morning matches and five afternoon matches. With 12 players on each team, two from each will sit on the sidelines for each set of matches. Why? Why not play an extra match in the morning and one in the afternoon? Can anyone explain this?
  
• A reporter asked Geoff Ogilvy yesterday: "Obviously in Europe it's a big deal when they don't win; I don't get the sense that back in Australia you're getting much grief if you don't win The Presidents Cup." As a golf writer who aims to be as positive as possible on all fronts, I'm here to say I'm sick of losing this thing and if you lose again I'll lay on the grief in the form of a large, fast moving grief train.

Internationals go-to man: Mike Weir
Internationals question mark: Adam Scott
Apologies to those who think 've been giving Adam a hard time this year. I don't think I'm the only one but his form has been ordinary and is lucky to be in this event. I will be first to sing his praises if he shines this weekend. I do hope he does.

USA go-to man: Jim Furyk
USA question mark: Zach Johnson

Sunday match-up's we'd like to see:
Yang v Woods
Villegas v Kim
Singh v Mickelson
Cabrera v Perry
Norman v Evert

Related stories
Presidents Cup - what you need to know
Top 10 reasons why Norman picked Adam Scott

Presidents Cup - Thursday pairings

The match-up's for tomorrow's foursomes (alternate shot) have been anounced.

TIM CLARK/MIKE WEIR V ANTHONY KIM/PHIL MICKELSON
Mickelson and Kim were awesome in the Ryder Cup on home soil. Two of the most solid players from the Internationals paired against them here who will be unfazed by Kim's belt, Phil's body and the roars of the crowd. It'll still be tough.

ADAM SCOTT/ERNIE ELS V HUNTER MAHAN/SEAN O'HAIR
Greg's given Ernie the job to look after Adam Scott. It may be a good choice especially against these two relative new-comers. If Adam can putt, they're half a chance.

VIJAY SINGH/ROBERT ALLENBY V LUCAS GLOVER/STEWART CINK
Kind of an odd pairing this one. Both Vijay and Allenby have found some form lately but there's some serious form facing them. According to Allenby, "...we will be massaging each other around the golf course. That would be on the shoulders, that would be."

ANGEL CABRERA/CAMILO VILLEGAS V KENNY PERRY/ZACH JOHNSON
It looks like Norman is putting an old hand with each of the youngsters in the Internationals. Nice to see Angel up against Kenny. Ideally, I'd like to see Angel try and replicate Camilo's spider move over every putt. Could be replacing a few very large plugmarks.

GEOFF OGILVY/RYO ISHIKAWA V TIGER WOODS/STEVE STRICKER
Wow. What in introduction for Ryo. With Ogilvy struggling right now, I can't see these guys pulling it off. It throws Ishikawa into the deep to start and may stand him on good ground for the weekend. Let's not forget the huge crowds he plays in front of every week in Japan. They're not quite Amercian golf fans though.

RETIEF GOOSEN/Y.E. YANG V JIM FURYK/JUSTIN LEONARD
This'll be close. Goose will keep the Americans honest here and it will just be a matter of how well Leonard and Yang play to determine the winner. Keep your bag well away from Yang if you win Goose, he's known to hoist a few over his head.

The Presidents Cup wager

Despite the trials of Greg Norman, the random pick of Adam Scott and watching Ryo Ishikawa this week - I thought I'd make the Presidents Cup a little more interesting and decided to place a small wager on the event with some American golf bloggers.

Vince from One-Eyed Golfer was very quick to take up the challenge. He's got a nice golf blog with some great music thrown in from time to time which wins me over. Based in Maryland he's gonna end up buying me some beer and crabs.

"Our Chesapeake Bay in Maryland is famous for their Blue Crabs. We steam them in beer and top them with Old Bay Seasoning and wash 'em down with Natty Bo Beer."

On the off chance the Internationals don't turn up or all get injured and somehow lose, I'll be paying up with "chilli, salt and pepper mud crabs and crocodile kebabs. Washed down with Coopers Sparkling."

This International team is full of major winners with a nice spread of old hands (Els, Goosen, Cabrera, Singh) with some great young guns itching to make their mark (Villegas, Ishikawa, Scott). And seriously, Greg Norman's gotta be a much better captain than Fred Couples. Freddy's just too nice.

As much as I'd like to share our local delicacies with any international guest (hey, I like sharing them to locals!) I really can't see me doing anything but eating some blue crabs and drinking National Bohemian beer in the near future.

Do we all agree?

Related posts
Presidents Cup - what you need to know
Top 10 reasons why Norman picked Adam Scott

Reasons for Australia's new course ratings

There have been a number of readers ask me why Golf Australia is implementing the USGA course rating system? Due to roll out in the near future with expectations it will be fully implemented across Australia by late 2011, it is also leading to a drastic change in the handicapping structure.

So, what is wrong with the current system and what is so attractive about the USGA course rating system? Scott Wagstaff from Golf Queensland has written an article to attempt to answer these questions;

There’s little doubt that the ‘rating’ of many of Australia’s 1500 or more courses are out of date. Some of the reasons relate to the fact that the training, auditing and rerating process has been minimal at best. This has led to inconsistencies across States, and even regions which in a national system are obviously not ideal.

Read the full article at Inside Golf Australia.

Related articles
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Presidents Cup 2009 - what you need to know

This week brings with it The Presidents Cup, the eighth time the team event has been held between the USA and the International team made up of the best professional golfers from everywhere except the US and Europe.

The 2009 teams are captained by Fred Couples and Greg Norman and with the sort of week Norman has already had, I can't see him settling for anything like the sportsmanlike tie we frustratingly finished with in South Africa in 2003. Unfortunately, the tie is still in the rules.

I'm particularly keen to see how Ryo Ishikawa performs on his debut and how the controversial pick of Adam Scott plays out. Past International teams have always had a few players who are questionable under pressure. There are far fewer this year.

Here's a few other things you need to know.

2009 Presidents Cup Location
Harding Park Golf Course, San Francisco

Past results
USA 5, Internationals 1 (1 tie in 2003).

Australian TV Times
Live on FoxSports
Friday 6:00 am - 11:00 am
Saturday 5:00 am - 11:00 am
Sunday 2:00 am - 12:00 pm
Monday 3:00 am - 9:00 am

Format
The Presidents Cup consists of 34 matches:
11 Foursomes (alternate shot)
11 Four-ball (better ball)
12 Singles matches involving all players on the final Sunday.

The teams and Presidents Cup records (W-L-H):

USA	International
Tiger Woods (13-11-1)	Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) (2-3-0)
Phil Mickelson (11-13-9)	Vijay Singh (FIJI) (14-15-6)
Steve Stricker (5-5-0)	Camilo Villegas (COL) (debut)
Kenny Perry (7-6-0)	Retief Goosen (SA) (11-7-2)
Zach Johnson (2-2-0)	Ernie Els (SA) (13-10-2)
Stewart Cink (8-4-1)	Angel Cabrera (ARG) (3-3-3)
Sean O’Hair (debut)	Mike Weir (CAN) (11-7-1)
Jim Furyk (13-8-2)	Robert Allenby (AUS) (6-11-2)
Anthony Kim (debut)	Y.E. Yang (SK) (debut)
Justin Leonard (6-11-1)	Tim Clark (SA) (4-5-1)
Lucas Glover (2-3-0)	Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) (debut)
Hunter Mahan (2-3-0)	Adam Scott (AUS) (7-6-2)

Related stories
Top 10 reasons why Norman picked Adam Scott

Getting treated like a pro

Gene Oberto is not only heavily involved in Swedish Golf Online but writes over at Divot Ends and posted a great story last week on a club professional in Sweden treating club members like tour professionals.

Members with a real passion for golf get discounts for specific equipment brands they use including being able to practice with the same balls they would use in a tournament. Further,

A pre-season check of lie angles, grips and clubs will insure that the golfer's clubs are properly fitted for his game. During the season, the members will also receive group training sessions and get discounts on specially ordered equipment from the pro shop. Members will also benefit from information sessions from the equipment company representatives.

And here's what I love about it:

Finally, there will be season long competitions for the members that generate points, similar to the European Order of Merit. The two top point earners will be made Captains of two teams chosen from the members of the Player's Staff. The two teams chosen will have an end of the year competition based on the Ryder Cup competition, including a winning cup.

Local club professionals in Australia need to start getting far more pro-active and this is the sort of thing they should be implementing. Read the whole article at Divot Ends.

One legged golfer playing with the pro's

There's always fun to be had at the Dunhill Links Championship taking place in Scotland this week. Regular celebrity golfers such as Samuel L. Jackson, Steve Waugh, Huey Lewis, Hugh Grant, Tim Henman and Shane Warne are in attendance but the best golf story I've come across is the one concerning Manuel de los Santos, the one-legged golfer.

The 25-year-old Manuel de los Santos from the Dominican Republic lost his left leg at 18 after being hit by a car. He hits the ball about 260 yds and plays off of three. The BBC video report on Manuel is a quick, fascinating look at this remarkable man.

Hugh Grant made us laugh this morning after he was asked if he takes his clubs as he travels around the world. His reply, "No, I have sets of clubs all over the world. I'm very rich.".

I just had to add this image from Kingbarns GC yesterday. Are you surprised to learn it's Jean Van der Velde?

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Australian Golf Calendar 2009/2010

The Australian summer is fast approaching (I'm not even sure we had a winter) and so is a number of Australian golf tournaments including the Australian Masters featuring Tiger Woods.

Here's the list of the big ones this summer.

Men
Nov 12 - 15, 2009 Australian Masters, Kingston Heath GC, Melbourne, Vic.
Dec 10-13, 2009 Australian PGA Championship, Hyatt Regency Coolum, Qld.
Dec 3 - 6, 2009 Australian Open NSW GC, NSW.

Women
Feb 5-8, 2009 ANZ Ladies Masters, Royal Pines, Gold Coast, Qld.
Feb 12 -15, 2009 Australian Open, Metropolitan GC

My favourite beer

My favourite beer is the first after a round of golf. It beats the first beer on a Friday after work and it beats any beer I've ever had watching the footy.

It doesn't matter how I play. Good or bad, the beer still tastes damn good.

I'm not suggesting this is always my first drink after a round of golf. Often dehydration has stupidly set in and I'm craving for a few litres of water but if the beer is served within a half hour of putting out on 18, it's the best.

It's any type of beer too so long as it's the first one after golf. Lagers, ales, stouts, Toohey's, Coopers or VB. I think I'd even enjoy a Corona if it was given to me straight after a round of golf.

Can anyone else relate?