Corey McKernan and his US Masters' experiences

Today we have a special guest writer at Aussie Golfer. Former AFL star Corey McKernan.

Corey has been a golf tragic his whole life. I always thought he must have some talent for the game, as he was able to play off a single-figure handicap during most of his professional football career. He has been leading groups to major sporting events around the world and this year he is off to the US Masters.

Below he writes about his previous experiences at the US Masters and a few famous faces they expect to encounter this year.

by Corey McKernan

On Saturday, I will leave for my tour to the US Masters at Augusta. I am an absolute golf tragic, and this tour represents my insight into how a golf fan should experience the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. The tour not only includes viewing at the final two rounds of the US Masters, but the group of 20 will also play rounds at Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach, both arguably in the top 10 golf courses in the world.

We are not actually staying in Georgia when we move up for the Masters. We are staying in a massive Southern-style mansion in Aiken, just 20-odd miles away from Augusta National, but in South Carolina. We will be joined by two of golf’s biggest names at different stages of the trip. Aussie Jarrod Lyle, who has a huge future in the game and saw his profile raised dramatically by his amazing hole-in-one earlier this year, will stay with the group for a couple of nights and play two rounds with us as well. US Superstar, larger-than-life character John Daly, will also join us for our official tour BBQ in Aiken. The men and women on the tour were thrilled to hear of this latest, surprise addition to the itinerary.

2011 Presidents Cup tickets

Presidents Cup tickets go on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster next Monday (April 4, 2011) at 9am.

If you're lucky enough to be a "Citi Customer" you already have access to exclusive pre-sale Presidents Cup tickets. 

And from 9am tomorrow morning (March 31) PGA, MCC and Ticketmaster subscribers have access to early tickets.This form of exclusive pre-sale is really annoying but ticket prices look to  be a little out of reach of your average golf fan.

Prices

GENERAL ADMISSION ENTRY TO THE ROYAL MELBOURNE GOLF COURSE

Weekly Pass (Season)

Captains' Club (Tue-Sun): $650 Adult (no concessions)

General Admission (Tue-Sun): $475 Adult, $395 Concession, $295 Child

Single Day Tickets

Tuesday: $60 Adult, $45 Concession, $30 Child, $150 Family

Wednesday: $60 Adult, $45 Concession, $30 Child, $150 Family

Thursday: $110 Adult, $90 Concession, $70 Child, $280 Family

Friday: $110 Adult, $90 Concession, $70 Child, $280 Family

Saturday: $130 Adult, $110 Concession, $85 Child, $335 Family 

Sunday: $130 Adult, $110 Concession, $85 Child, $335 Family 

ENTRY WITH RESERVED SEAT AT THE 16TH HOLE

Weekly Pass (Season)

Captains' Club + Grandstand Seating: $770 Adult (no concessions)

Grandstand Only: $595 Adult, $515 Concession, $395 Child 

Single Day Tickets

Thursday: $140 Adult, $120 Concession, $100 Child  

Friday: $140 Adult, $120 Concession, $100 Child

Saturday: $190 Adult, $170 Concession, $115 Child

Sunday: $190 Adult, $170 Concession, $115 Child

Can an Australian win the US Masters this year?

Each year we build up the prospects of seeing an Australian golfer win the US Masters. However, in the 62 occasions the green jacket has been awarded, no Australian golfer has ever tried it on.

Greg Norman seemed to be sized and fitted for the jacket in 1996 but most of us would rather not remember it. Norman of course went close to winning on numerous occasions finishing in the top-5 on eight times including runner-up in 1986, 1987 and 1996.

There have also been a number of other Australians who had to settle for second place at the US Masters. Jack Newton finished four shots behind Seve Ballesteros in 1980, Bruce Crampton finished three shots behind Jack Nicklaus in 1972, and Jim Ferrier shot a final round 75 to finish second in 1950.

Will it be any different this year?
It has become almost painful to see any Australian in contention, let alone miss out on winning. The weight of past failures has sunken many couches in lounge rooms across the country. With a hint of cynicism after years of early morning torture, let's take a look at Australia's six hopes for the 2011 US Masters.

Sound advice or poor design?

What do you think of this sign?

This sign is on a golf course in Adelaide on the tee of a hole that dog-leg's right, with some large trees on the inside corner. However, a large gap opens up even further right, out onto the fairway of the next hole.

Golf clubs can introduce whatever rules they like but it seems to me that the hole has been poorly designed. Given the game of golf is all about getting the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible, I'm not so sure "the spirit in which it has been designed" line would change a lot of golfers minds. Can you imagine telling this to John Daly or Bubba Watson?

I wonder how many golfers have been disciplined?

A day at Lost Farm, in pictures

Aussie Golfer travelled to Tasmania to play the 20 holes on offer at Lost Farm Golf Course yesterday. Here were a few highlights, captured on the phone camera. Of course, as I'm sure you'll understand, they don't do the it justice. It is quite the golfing experience.

Early morning at the first green.

Course review: Byron Bay Golf Club

"You might get the prize for the worst score".

I'd just signed my card at the end of the round when my marker said this to me. A silver lining is probably what he had in mind and it did the trick. In fact, despite the golf, I'd just had a fantastic day at Byron Bay Golf Club.

Byron Bay has a reputation for hippies and a laid back lifestyle most city slickers only dream about on the bus to work. It should also be known as having some of the friendliest golfers in the country.

First tee pleasantries were more pleasant than at usual city courses. I was soon offered a ride in a cart for the day and an introduction to one of the oldest members of Byron Bay Golf Club. The 85-year old, proceeded to set the pace all day and screamed around the golf course faster than most 30-year-old's. His tales of lone fishing 50 miles or more offshore were extraordinary, and it was obvious he was a reincarnation of the Ancient Mariner.

Three aces in one day, on the same hole

Last Saturday a piece of history was made at Melbourne's Eastwood Golf Club. In what is considered to be a world first, three golfers scored three hole-in-one's on the same hole!

The first golfer, Dragan Milosevic assumed he had won the nearest-the-pin prize when he aced the 137 metre, par-3 14th hole in the morning. But two golfers in the same afternoon group, Lance Robinson and Lindsay Howard, replicated the perfect shot on the same hole. Both golfers were even marking each other's card.

Check out the full story over at Inside Golf, they are looking for someone to calculate the odds of this happening.

2011 OneAsia Tour tees off

The 2011 OneAsia Tour begins this week at the Indonesian PGA Championship.

This year, the OneAsia Tour has 13 tournaments on its schedule for 2011 which includes the Australian Open in November and a mysterious OneAsia Championship at the end of the year.

This week's Indonesian PGA Championship kicks off the year starting Thursday at Imperial Klub Golf in Karawachi, situated just outside of Jakarta. A host of Aussies litter the field including Scott Strange, Alistair Presnell, Matt Griffin, Peter O'Malley and even Wayne Grady!

A weekend in Tassie, at Barnbougle Dunes

At risk of inciting readers into a rage of golf jealousy, Aussie Golfer is privileged (and organised) enough to be flying to Launceston this weekend to play golf at Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm golf courses.

I'll be sharing my thoughts on Twitter most of the weekend and updating when I can here at Aussie Golfer. 

I've been told by a number of people to have plenty of golf balls ready. Any other tips?

Thinking of going to the Presidents Cup?

If you're thinking of travelling to the event from within Australia or Internationally I suggest you start planning as early as possible. Tickets and accommodation around this event are going to be like hen's teeth.

The 2011 Presidents Cup is being held in Melbourne this year from November 15 – 20, 2011 and Royal Melbourne Golf Club is hosting the Presidents Cup once again. It also hosted the event in 1998, the only time the International Team has recorded an outright victory over the US Team.

Feherty takes a shot at everyone

There was some exclusive tournament called the Tavistock Cup on last week. It is a team event where only members from the competing clubs can be a part of the gallery but they raise a fair bit of cash for worthy causes.

This year they had a pretty awesome field competing for some pretty good cash. David Feherty was introducing the players on the tee and did a pretty good job of keeping them grounded among the posh, wealthy golf types. :-)

More David Feherty video

An extraordinary golf shot

Funniest thing on a golf course

Tiger's a loser

Golf Australia dumps 'social round' handicapping

In a blow for Australian golf, Golf Australia has decided to dump the proposed introduction of using 'social rounds' for handicapping. The decision is a bad one, it shows poor leadership and smells of rolling over to a small, vocal minority which is not in the best interest of Australian golfers.

It remains to be seen whether Golf Australia can convince the USGA, who own the rights to the system, that these particular parts are unworkable in Australia. They would still like to continue using the rest of their system but in an amended form. Such as the introduction of the slope course rating system for example, due to be rolled out later this year.

This is an issue I have spoken about previously. Golf Australia did a bad job of selling the new system to the golfing public and conveyed a misconception of what a 'social round' will be under the now defunct system.

Simon Magdulski from Golf Australia explained the reasons for the scrapping of the proposal in a recent article in Golfer Pacific magazine; to which a recap and rebuttal is required.

The changes to Augusta National, hole-by-hole

The US Masters is only two weeks away now (April 7 - 10) I know plenty of people who know every hole at Augusta National by heart, without ever stepping foot in Georgia let alone the golf course.

From Amen corner, to the dramatic 16th, to the knee trembling chute that greets your drive at the 18th tee, they all are marked onto our early morning Australian golf psyche as a mythical, faraway place.

Aaron Baddeley was playing a few practice rounds on the hallowed grounds this week and he still finds it an incredible place despite playing five US Masters tournaments there. "What an amazing place!! If Augusta is this good on earth I can only imagine what the courses will be like in heaven!!", he said on Twitter this week.

Bobby Jones' Augusta National has changed dramatically since it held its first tournament there in 1934 and Golf Digest have a fascinating article giving a hole-by-hole look at the changes to every golf hole through the years.

Golf format: Las Vegas

Here is a golf format not played much in Australia. It can be a good deal of fun for a casual Sunday afternoon round with friends, but be careful, you may lose more than you bargained for.

Las Vegas is a game for four players which usually involves a bit of gambling and it works like this: 

Christchurch Appeal Golf Day

There is one more golf day I wanted to let everyone know about.

The Christchurch Appeal Golf Day is being held at Bonnie Doon Golf Club in Sydney on Thursday April 7, 2011. All proceeds from the day will go directly to the NZ government Earthquake appeal to restore the city of Christchurch.

The 4-ball ambrose event includes plenty of prizes and a $190 fee includes golf and dinner at the fantastic Bonnie Doon Golf Club. Hole sponsorship and prize donations are also welcome.

I have some good Kiwi friends who have been deeply affected by this tragic disaster and this event is a the sort of thing I'm keen for people to get behind to show support from the Australian community. If you or your company would like further information, please refer to the Christchurch Appeal Golf Day link for more information.

Charity golf day at Yarra Yarra supporting homeless kids

The Lighthouse Foundation  provides homeless kids who often come from backgrounds of long term neglect and abuse, a home and a sense of family.

The work this organisation does is extraordinary and the least I could do is promote their charity golf day coming up at the prestigious Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne.

Date: Monday, April 11, 2011

Where: Yarra Yarra Golf Club

If you're in Melbourne and you or your organisation would like to be a part of the day click here for more details and to RSVP.

Ben Crane on slow golf

Ben Crane is one of the slowest golfers on the PGA Tour and he knows it.

He has produced a few golf videos recently with Will Ferrell type humour. His latest video takes a humorous and perhaps somewhat truthful look at his slow play affliction.

It is a good laugh but I wish officials would do more to crack down on slow play on the professional tours. It is catching on with weekend golfers.

More golf comedy
Beer cart girl advertisement

Callaway golf commercial

Fed Ex golf commercial

Tiger's house and his awesome backyard

We recently got a look at Tiger Woods' new house but this week he told us about his new practice facility in on his blog.

He talks about a whole range of things including the last movie he saw, his swing and when he will win again. But it was his new practise facility that stood out; it looks like a great area for backyard cricket. There are more photos below, but here is what he said about it:

Six Aussies and a Senior to tee up at WGC event

Senior joins field at Cadillac Championship

After barely catching our breath after the last World Golf Championship event rolls along. This time it is the newly named Cadillac Championship being held as per usual, at TPC Blue Monster golf Course at Doral in Florida.

PGA Tour chairman Tim Finchem once said that the 'World' in World Golf Championships means the world's best players, not necessarily referencing where they are played. While it is hard to follow Finchem's logic in basic arithmetic, he is right about the players as the WGC events. They do always produce quality, interesting fields. Take a look at the seven Australians in the field this week.

Cadillac Championship TV Times

WGC Cadillac Championship on free-to-air TV.

The best in golfers in the world tee it up again this week at the WGC Cadillac Championship at the TPC Blue Monster golf course at Doral, Florida.

As with all the WGC events, One HD have live coverage each morning.

Thursday and Friday: 6am - 10am (AEST)

 Saturday and Sunday: 4am - 10am

Top 10 most useful Australian golf websites

Golf in Australia has come a long way in the past few years. We now have online access to our own scores, easy access to live tournament leaderboards and loads of golf tips that can cure any golf swing ailment you have, or even thinking of contracting in the future.

Here is a list of the 10 Australian golf websites I frequent the most (in no particular order) to get my golf fix each week. I've left off the online buying websites for the moment and just added the ones that I read for golf news, scores, information, golf tips and nerdy golf talk.

Fix your swing plane - Aaron Baddeley's golf swing

Here is a cool video of Aaron Baddeley's golf swing as narrated by commentators during the recent broadcast of his victory at the Northern Trust Open a few weeks ago. It highlights the consistency of his current swing plane, which we can all learn something from.

Australia's best golf holes

The par-4 fourth at Royal Adelaide Golf Club

The March 2011 edition of Australian Golf Digest magazine has been on the shelves for a while now but grab a copy if you can, they have listed their best 18 golf holes in Australia.

Australian Golf Digest usually compiles Australia's top golf courses every year but they've broken with tradition for 2011 and rated the country's best golf holes to make up their Hall of Fame for Australia's golf holes.

See, anyone can shank a golf ball

The Honda Classic in causing some real problems for the golfers on the PGA Tour this week with one golfer firing a 'hosel rocket' into the lake. Some of you may know it as a shank. (Video below)

It was strange enough to see tough conditions on the PGA Tour. Normally it is so tranquil, lush and perfect for golf. It was stranger still seeing Heath Slocum shank a golf ball into the water on the extremely difficult 17th hole at the PGA National Champions course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

Now, granted holes 15, 16 and 17 are known as The Bear Trap, one of the toughest three-hole stretches in golf. And the wind was howling. And he was trying to play a low punch shot with a four iron.

But he still shanked it.

Visor tip to Daves at ozgolf.net


More golf videos

Thongchai Jaidee shoots the lights out

Real shark living in golf course lake

Jiminez breaks putter, Monty laughs

Lyle sends fans crazy with hole-in-one

The end of the Tiger domination

Check out the list of Top 10 golfers according to the men's world golf rankings.

1. Martin Kaymer
2. Lee Westwood
3. Luke Donald
4. Graeme McDowell
5. Tiger Woods
6. Phil Mickelson
7. Paul Casey
8. Rory McIlroy
9. Steve Stricker
10. Matt Kuchar

It is not surprising that there have been many golf articles written this week which included the phrase "changing of the guard". There is certainly a much larger European domination to the Top 10  which hasn't been seen since 1992.

Martin Kaymer is the first German to hold the number one ranking since Bernard Langer and it is the first time four Europeans have held the top positions since 1992, when Ian Woosnam, Nick Faldo, José Maria Olazábal and Seve Ballesteros dominated world golf.

More interesting are the stories surrounding the death of the golf game of Tiger Woods, in particular this analysis by Wall Street Journal golf writer, John Paul Newport. this article is a fascinating read as he cites theories from famous American palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould to highlight "Why Tiger Woods will never dominate again".

Whenever Mr. Woods starts winning again, assuming he does, there are reasons to think that he will be less dominating. The first is Mr. Gould's assessment that over time, in a more or less stable universe like baseball or golf, the overall quality of performance advances inexorably, making outlier performances like a .400 batting average less likely.

As knowledge spreads and weaknesses and inefficiencies are rooted out, those fields, and especially the top players, are performing closer and closer to as well as anyone can—to what Mr. Gould called the "right wall" of the bell curve. As a result, he wrote, "the truly superb cannot soar so far above the ordinary." 

 Read the full article at the Wall Street Journal.

Golf cart catches fire and explodes

Next time you are trying to decide if you walk a golf course or get a cart, consider this story.

The mind games of match play

How far should you go to get inside the head of your opponent on the golf course?

There has been a lot said about Jason Day's tactics during the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. If you missed it, he admitted to trying to disrupt the rhythm of his first opponent K.T.Kim by walking ahead of him for the entire match, just to remind him he is still around.

In his second round match against Paul Casey, he made him putt out a short putt early in the match which would normally have been conceded.

"He looked really angry at me, too," Day said. "It was only about a foot and a half. ... But it's not about that hole, it's about the future holes coming on. So if I can make him a little angry, if I can get him out of his game plan and force him to make silly decisions out there, that's obviously part of the mind games that you play.