Royal Port Alfred Golf Club - Description of 1st hole

Description
The 1st hole at Royal Port Alfred Golf Club is called 'Hugh Kelly'. It's a 301m, par 4 hole, ranked stroke 10. The hole should in theory be quite easy, but is in fact difficult to score on simply because it's the first hole and most players don't warm up sufficiently before teeing off. Furthermore the course's fence line about 3m off the fairway on the right side and if you're over eager on this hole going out of bounds is a real possibility.

1st tee furniture.

The green is protected with two bunkers on the front-right and one on the front-left. The circular green is quite big measuring approx. 30m across. There's thick coastal vegetation quite close to the green on the right back and also on the left and back - but further away. The tee is well elevated and most players should be able to make the green or its direct environs with two well executed strokes.

A short way downhill from the elevated tee, there is quite a large practice tee. Signs on the fence line to the right indicate distances from the middle of this practice tee. It is also elevated

Photographs

View from the 1st tee. The closest bit of green beyond the tee is a practice tee. The green is just before the bushes straight ahead. The fairway to the left is the 18th. (dry season)

Rough in front of the tee, with elevated practice tee and fairway beyond. (dry season)

Elevated practice tee in foreground, with fairway beyond. Fence line on the right. The fairway of the 2nd hole, Hippo's Bath, stretches out over the hill in the background. (dry season)

The clubhouse (side view) as seen from the practice tee on the 1st hole. (dry season)

Sign at practice tee.

The front of the fairway. (dry season)

Vehicle & antelope spoor in a sandy patch next to the 1st fairway...

Marker indicating 150m to the centre of the green. (dry season)

Club house as seen from across the 1st fairway. (dry season)

Fairway marker - 100m from the centre of the green.

The green from the front. One bunker on the left and two on the right. (dry season)

Tree in the right rough with bunker protected green in the background. Not a good lie...

Looking back up the fairway towards the clubhouse from the right rough, short of the pin. The fence line is visible on the left and the 18th green is just to the right, and below, the clubhouse. (dry season)

The two bunkers protecting the right side of the 1st green. (dry season)

Close up of bunker on right of the green. (dry season)

Bunker on the left of the green. (dry season)

This stuff is thick. Typical coastal bush found all across the golf course. These are at the back of the 1st green.

View from the front of the green (bunker rake in front), over the fairway towards the clubhouse. The 18th fairway and green is to the right. (dry season)

The view back to the clubhouse from the 1st green.

18 holes at Royal Port Alfred (23.04.2008)

This is a report on my last round played on Wednesday, 23 April 2008. I played 18 holes on my home course a The Royal Port Alfred Golf Club.

18th fairway in foreground
and dunes in the distant background.

Summary
I played on my own. I scored 53 (11 stableford) over the first nine and 45 (18 stableford) over the back nine for a total of 98 (29 stableford). The score and stableford points over the back nine is a personal best, as is the total stableford points. I'm obviously very happy with that.

It was the first time out with my new set of clubs and I may have fared even better if it wasn't for the adjustment. I also started out late after a delay and was a little hurried over the first five holes as I had a very fast 3-ball breathing down my neck (they hopped over to the 10th hole after no. 5 which is the way to play if you're only doing 9-holes on our course). Being late, my regular caddie wasn't available and one Nicholas did a pretty good job.

On checking my handicap on the National Golf Network site, after the game, I realised that under the new competition system I should now be playing off a 23 (handicap = 30), which would have brought my total down to 97 (stableford points unchanged). But I'll leave that be...

More detailed description
The weather was quite nice. A light south-easterly was blowing, it was sunny and mild.

A lot of new & different things today
A lot of things were different for this round - which could have lead to disaster. I actually fully expected a disaster. I had a brand new set of clubs, that I have not hit a single shot with before, I had new golf shoes and a different caddie. I'm also used to teeing off before the first official slot, which makes for an empty course and a relaxed pace. As stated above I was very rushed over the first 5 holes today.

The coastal vegetation on the golf course,
as viewed from the 18th fairway, with dunes in the background.

My new clubs For more on my new clubs, click here. This is the first time I put them to the test. In general I'm more than satisfied, actually pleasantly surprised. Although not reflected in my round's score today, I'm convinced that it will assist me in lowering my scores and handicap. I definitely got more distance and have more options out of the rough.

Two clubs stood out for me. The 3-wood definitely has a larger sweet spot than my previous one. I hit much straighter and even my bad shots had significantly better results than with the old wood. The 3-hybrid is incredible. It's my first time playing with a hybrid and it was an absolute pleasure. I'm comfortable playing it out of the rough in lies for which I would previously have resorted to a 5-iron and obviously get more distance as a result. It also plays very sweetly from the fairways.

Mpumi, a wonderful lady, who takes my food order via cell phone
from the course and has it ready for me shortly after I walk off the course.

The biggest adjustment for me is the Pitching Wedge. My chips were terrible today. The one or two times that I hit it sweetly were great - but it was mostly disastrous. At least it was only the one club. It could have been the case with all of my new clubs. The putter is heavier to what I'm used to , which meant that my weight on puts was often a little out. But I like the putter. I hit one good drive with the 1-wood at 190m, which is a good distance for me. But I'm putting the 1-wood aside until I get a chance to hone it on the driving range. I'm not used to teeing the ball high enough for a driver.

Part of the clubhouse bar.

My swing
I use a three-quarter swing for more control, i.e. not a full back swing. However, it is obviously a compromise. I'll probably get much more distance from a full swing and I'm curious to try it out on our very distant driving range. Tampering with something that's not badly broken is dangerous, but what the heck. I did fade some of my balls quite badly and I'd like to see if I can tweak that as well.

Hole by hole

1. 'Hugh Kelly'. par 4. score = 6 for 1.
   Drew the drive with new 3-wood, but got good distance. Semi-rough, not a bad lie.
   I pull my approach shot to the left of the green and end up in deep rough.
   My chip is messed up and I need another one to get on the green.
   2-put into hole.
   
   
2. 'Hippo's Bath'. par 4. score (stroke 4) = 6 for 2.
   Faded drive with new 3-wood, but good distance. Lucky not to be out of bounds, lie close to the fence line, but playable.
   2nd shot PW onto the fairway.
   3d shot PW, hit a flat shot (in the teeth) over the green with a lie at the foot of the 3d hole's tee...
   4th shot PW, hit on the head - wasted shot rolling two metres...
   5th shot PW, once again poorly connected, but luckily it runs onto the green.
   6th shot, good put into hole, thus avoiding a 7 on this hole.
   
   
3. 'Thalassa'. par 4. score = 5 for 2.
   Lovely straight drive with 3-wood. Better trajectory than my normal flat shots - perhaps a bit high in fact. 160m drive. Not incredible, but I'm quite happy considering that I hit the fairway and am in striking distance of the green.
   2nd shot with 6-iron faded to the right, but more or less pin-high.
   3d shot with PW. Good chip to within a metre of the hole.
   4th shot with putter. Line 100% but I get the weight wrong with the heavier putter and the ball pops out of the hole...
   5th. Putt in for 5.
   
   
4. 'Atherstone'. par 4. score = 6 for 1.
   Nice straight, if low, drive with new 1-wood. 190m drive. I hit the fairway. Best position ever on this hole for me. Open line to the pin, 90m on.
   
   
5. 'Mullins'. par 4. score (stroke 2) = 7 for 1.
   Flat, hooked, drive with new driver. Poor shot into rough.
   2nd shot with 3-hybrid. Poor direction but very good connection and distance.
   3d shot with 7-iron from the rough, ±150m from hole, which is at the end of a long downhill. End up 40m from the hole.
   4th shot. Messed up chip...
   5th shot. Chip onto green.
   Two-put into hole.
   
   
6. 'Happy Valley'. par 3. score = 4 for 2.
   1st shot with 7-iron into light south-easterly. Pin high, but approx. 15m left of green. I'm lucky that the ball runs down a slope to within 3m of the green.
   2nd shot, PW chip attempt hit the ball in the teeth... but onto the green.
   2-put into hole.
   
   
7. 'Shelly Beach'. par 5. score (stroke 6) = 8 for 0*.
   * = After entering my score I visit the NGN site to check my handicap and learn that at my present handicap of 30 I should be playing of a 23 (up to now I played of 24) and thus this hole should in fact have been 7 for 0...
   
   
   Looking back to fairway from 7th green.
   
   
   Drive with new 1-wood once again, flat, low and hooked. However, the distance is not bad and I end up in the left rough 'two bumps' past the front of the fairway.
   2nd shot is my first with new 8-iron, for that matter first with an 8-iron in a very long time as I lost my previous 8-iron somewhere on a course long ago. I hit the ball high... but it rolls onto the fairway at least.
   3d shot with 3-hybrid from the fairway. The moment I connect it I know it's going to fade. Good distance and connection, but I end up to the right of the very narrow rough - out of bounds. I suspect I have to look at straightening my swing?
   4th shot = drop.
   5th shot with 5-iron 40m short of the green into the right bunker...
   6th shot with SW roles 2m, still in the bunker. Didn't swing through...
   7th shot with SW gets me out of the bunker but short of the green.
   8th shot with PW short of the hole = blackout on this hole.
   
   
8. 'Keith Grainger'. Par 3. score = 4 for 2.
   
   Nicholas on the 8th tee, the green is in the distant
   background, just in front of a small tea-house.
   
   
   Drive from elevated position with 7-iron (I think) and end up just onto the front of the green.
   Three put...
   
   
9. 'Phillipson'. Par 5. score = 7 for 0.
   Drive into bushes with 1-wood...
   4th shot not great, but I reach the fairway.
   5th shot with 3-hybrid from fairway. Great line and length.
   6th shot from approx. 100m out on the fairway, with wind from behind. Full swing with PW. I hit it in the teeth and travel over the back of the green.
   7th shot a bungled chip. I blackout on this hole...
   
   
   
10. 'Whale Back'. par 4. score (stroke 3) = 4 for 4.
    Great drive with 3-wood, onto the left of the right sloping fairway - within reach of the green.
    2nd shot from fairway with 3-hybrid is pin high, but about 5m to the left and below green.
    3d shot an attempted chip with PW. I hit the ball on the head but I'm very lucky that it rolls to within a metre from the hole.
    4th shot is a solid put into the hole.
    
    
    
11. 'Punch Bowl'. par 3. score = 3 for 3.
    Perfect drive with 3-hybrid. Straight to the flag, ending up approx. a metre from the green. Probably about a 160m drive - the tee is slightly elevated.
    2nd shot is put onto the green, perfect line, but a little soft ending up 40cm short of the hole.
    1-put into the hole.
    
    
    
12. 'Greenmantle'. par 4. score = 5 for 2.
    Tee is at the back most elevated location today, 358m from the hole.
    Drive with 1-wood is disappointing. I feel the club head shift on impact and suspect that I didn't swing through either. End up approx. 165 from hole, i.e. a 193m drive (from high elevation...)
    2nd shot with 3-hybrid from the rough doesn't work well, with ball veering off to the right - almost in the rough again. 50m from the green.
    3d shot with PW is well executed and reaches the green.
    2-put for 5.
    
    
    
13. 'Doug Dold'. par 3. score 4 for 2.
    
    Nicholas on the 13th green.
    
    
    On the caddie's advice I opt for a 5-iron, which I believed would be too short for the 178m to the green. In my effort to extract distance from the ball I force my swing and end up in the rough 50m to the left of the green. The distance was actually OK.
    My 2nd shot, PW, is hit in the teeth and ends up against the bushes 30m to the right of the green.
    3d shot with PW and virtually no room for a back swing. I improvise a shot angling the club face towards the green but swinging sideways from an angle. It works perfectly and I'm on the green.
    2-put into the hole.
    
    
    
14. 'Southern Cross'. par 5. score 7 for 0
    
    View from clubhouse. Practice green in front.
    14th tee just beyond and below, and 14th
    fairway stretches out towards the ocean.
    
    
    Drive with 1-wood is disastrous. I hook the ball into the 13th rough.
    2nd shot with 3-hybrid across Milkwood trees works well and I in the middle of the 14th fairway.
    3d shot with 3-hybrid from fairway takes me to within 50m of the hole.
    From there disaster strikes with my PW and I ring the hole...
    
    
    
15. 'Graham'. par 4. score = 4 for 3.
    At this point I've decided to put away the 1-wood. Drive with 3-wood fades but works very well and hits the fairway. A 200m drive into an uphill fairway, with assistance from a light easterly.
    2nd shot. A successful swing with the PW ends up on the edge of the green.
    A 30m put ends up within 40cm of the hole and the 2nd put finds the hole.
    
    
16. 'Vroom'. par 4. score (stroke 1) = 7 for 0.
    Drive with 3-wood hooked and very low, ends up in the 17th rough. Once again the distance gained is better than a similarly poor execution would have produced with my old 3-wood.
    2nd shot with 3-hybrid from the rough not great, it dovetails to the right but at least finds the fairway approx. 80m on. 200m from the pin.
    3d shot with 3-hybrid is hit on head and only travels ±55m to within 145m from hole...
    4th shot with 4-iron similarly poor shot, but it rolls along the fairway and ends 40m from the green...
    5shot with PW again hit on the head, but once again I'm quite lucky and it ends up 3m beyond the pin.
    6th shot I put right-side, while caddie actually said 'right-edge' and my well executed shot rolls past the hole.
    I miss a short 1m put and ring the hole...
    
    
17. 'Connaught'. par 4. score (stroke 5) = 5 for 3.
    Drive with 3-wood is below average and I end up in the left rough, with a fair lie. 140m uphill drive - not great.
    2nd shot with 3 hybrid is not well aimed but connected very well, travelling nicely.
    3d shot is a good 40m PW, within 3m of the hole.
    2-put.
    
    
18. 'Settlers'. par 5. score = 6 for 2.
    Drive with 3-wood not well executed. Drawn to the left rough, but distance surprisingly as good as I've ever got on this hole with my old 3-wood.
    2nd shot with 5-iron from the rough not to bad, ending on the fairway.
    3d shot with 3-hybrid fades into right rough, 80m from the hole, which is not a good place to be on the 18th.
    4th shot a full swing with the PW from a very deep rough, ends up 10m short of, and 10m below, the green.
    5th shot with PW well executed, ends up 2m from the hole.
    I round of the day's play with a good 2m put straight into the hole.
    

My new clubs

(To skip the blah blah and see what I've got in my bag just scroll down to the bottom!)

Until last week I played with ancient clubs that I took over from my dad. I started playing golf approximately three years ago, at which time my dad felt like moving on to newer technology. One of my resolutions for 2008 is to play much more regular golf (last year I only handed in four or five score cards). Having not done too badly in following that resolution, I've decided it's time for new clubs. My birthday (today) was the perfect excuse for purchasing the new set.

My budget at present does not allow for expensive, top of the range, clubs. I went around to a couple of pro shops and other suppliers to see what was available on the market. I was considering a set of irons from Walmer Country Club's pro shop at approx. R1 450 (South African Rand). By the way the Club's course and pro shop are both more than worth a visit.

What I found interesting is that the various suppliers offer a limited number of 'straight' iron sets (3-9, PW, SW), most clearly prefer to market boxed sets (i.e. a bag, a set mix of irons & hybrids plus one or two woods). With the latter the reduced cost is a great advantage, but provides no freedom to choose between an iron and hybrid for example.

Eventually I ended up in Game (a hypermarket type chain offering a limited product range but low prices because they push through volume on their selected items). Not being too brand conscience this turned out to be a good move. I found a Spalding 'V Force' boxed set for just over R1 200 (I was happy with the mix). It is the only set of clubs in Game's offering! While the above set of irons may have been marginally better clubs, in addition to irons I now got two woods, a putter and bag thrown into the deal for ±R200 less! My impression is that I still got a solid set of clubs. Time will tell.

Here's what I have in my bag now
All the below are Spalding 'V Force', all iron club heads are stainless steel.

• 1-wood (driver) - 'R-Flex', 'High Modulus', graphite shaft; Forged 400cc head.
  
• 3-wood (fairway wood) - 'R-Flex', 'High Modulus', graphite shaft; 250cc head.
  
• 3-hybrid- 'R-Flex', 'High Modulus', graphite shaft.
  
• 4-9 irons - 'True Temper', stainless steel shafts; perimeter weighted, stainless steel heads.
  
• Pitching Wedge - specs as per irons above.
  
• Sand Wedge - specs as per irons above.
  
• Putter - specs as per irons above.
  

7-iron club face

7-iron, back of club head

7-iron, foot.

Update - My first round of golf with the new clubs
The below comes from a report on 18 holes at Port Alfred played on 23 April 2008:

...My new clubs ....This is the first time I put them to the test. In general I'm more than satisfied, actually pleasantly surprised. Although not reflected in my round's score today, I'm convinced that it will assist me in lowering my scores and handicap. I definitely got more distance and have more options out of the rough.

Two clubs stood out for me. The 3-wood definitely has a larger sweet spot than my previous one. I hit much straighter and even my bad shots had significantly better results than with the old wood. The 3-hybrid is incredible. It's my first time playing with a hybrid and it was an absolute pleasure. I'm comfortable playing it out of the rough in lies for which I would previously have resorted to a 5-iron and obviously get more distance as a result. It also plays very sweetly from the fairways.

The biggest adjustment for me is the Pitching Wedge. My pitches were terrible today. The one or two times that I hit it sweetly were great - but it was mostly disastrous. At least it was only the one club. It could have been the case with all of my new clubs. The putter is heavier to what I'm used to , which meant that my weight on puts was often a little out. But I like the putter. I hit one good drive with the 1-wood at 190m, which for me is good distance. But I'm putting the 1-wood aside until I get a chance to hone it on the driving range. I'm not used to teeing the ball high enough for a driver....

Fuzzy Zoeller's amazing lucky break (YouTube)

I browsed South Africa's "National Golf Network" site today to get an update on my handicap. I drifted off to other corners of the site and encountered the amazing video below. It must be on of the most amazing golf shots ever captured on video.

I couldn't find any information about the tournament or year in which this shot was played. All I know is that the player is one Fuzzy Zoeller, a former Masters champion.

I vaguely remember a shot in the Sun City Million Dollar golf tournament some years ago where a guy's ball ricochetted from a tree into the hole for a hole in one, which saw him winning a car for his effort. However, a quick YouTube search for the incident did not deliver anything. I'd love to see a clip of that again...

18 holes at Royal Port Alfred (16.04.2008)

Playing partners
Sven and I was joined by my brother in law's brother in law for a round of golf today at my home course in Port Alfred.. Yes, you didn't misread that - Hanno is the brother in law of my wife's brother :-).

Hanno is about a ten handicap and it shows in his style and easy swing. However, he played with borrowed golf clubs today (my dad's), on a strange (to him) and challenging course with a strong westerly over the last nine holes. Even though Hanno's score was only a couple of shots more than ours he'd prefer that it not be published... Enough said on that topic!

Sven pitching out of "Hippo's Bath".

Synopsis I played a round of 102 (27 Stableford points). Sven played 98 (Stableford 29).

My performance on the first five holes is reason for hope. At that rate I may be down to the mid nineties in the not too distant future. My course management wasn't too bad, but can be improved. My putting slipped a bit today and kept me from dipping below 100 again. Another factor was the very strong wind over the last nine and my insufficient sleep the night before. My 5 on the (par 3) 6th and blackout on the (par 3) 8th were disappointing. Both are probably psychological failures and I have to try and get my mind around those holes. Drives into the bushes at the aforementioned 8th, short of the fairway on the 10th, into the bushes at the 12th and twice into the bushes at the 15th cost me dearly.

Hanno drives on the 2nd.

A more detailed description of my round follows below:

A very promising start
For me the day started very well. I have this tendency to mess up my first hole and more often than not I end up with a ring 6. This may have a lot to do with not warming up before teeing of... However, today I managed to hit the fairway - which is always a good start. I scored 5 on the par 4 (for 2), followed by 5 ( par 4 for 3), two more 5's (both par 4's for 2's). The last good hole in this opening streak was a 6 for 2 scored on the stroke 2/ 413m/ 5th hole (Mullins). Thus after five holes my Stableford score was already an impressive eleven! If only I could continue the streak...

Hanno tees off on hole 1

Happy Valley (6th) slows me down
In golf you should never count your chickens before they've hatched. The next hole was a ominous sign of things to come. Relative to my normal performance on this hole, I actually didn't play too badly. Compared to my start over the first 5 holes today though, it was downright depressing.

Royal Port Alfred's par 3 holes (four of them) are really quite well designed. Three of the four reward good shots but severely punish bad ones. The most forgiving is the par 3, 13th. But I found myself on the 6th. Happy Valley is one of those holes which should in theory by easy. Somehow the shrubby coastal bush in front of, and to the side of the hole tend to draw bad balls in and swallow them whole... Luckily a played a 'half-bad' shot that at least carried over the latter but my ball ended up plugged into the rough 30m short of the hole and probably 30m below as well (very steep gradient). A simple chip was not an option, I had to punch it hard and overflew the green and down the back on a similar gradient. Luckily closer and not plugged in this time. The third shot reached the green and I two putted for 5 (for 1).

Sven a little higher up the slope than I was...

Shelly Beach (7th)
Shelly Beach is a hole that tends to really cost me. It is a par 5 / 456m hole. The distance is obviously not too daunting and in all fairness the width could have been less. The problem is that it is extremely uneven (typical links type fairway), sloped steeply to the right, with a narrow rough before you end up in coastal shrubs or -God forbid- go out of bounds over the fence line 3 metres further. It is stroke 6, which for me -at my current handicap- can result in a nauseating score of 8. Today I managed to hit the fairway with my drive. Thereafter I zig-zagged across the remainder of the hole but at least scored 7 (for 2).

Another par 3 nightmare at the 8th
The 8th at Royal Port Alfred is once again a par 3 that rewards good shots and mostly punish bad shots severely. Its a 144m hole where one tees off from an elevated tee. While there is limited fairway in front of the green, none of it is visible from the tee. The thick coastal bush between you and the green is very intimidating and once again swallows many a poor shot. Today the markers was set back, making it about 150m to the flag. I faded both my drives badly into the bushes on the right of the hole. Ring 5...

Sven tees off on the 2nd hole.

1st nine in the pocket
I finished the 9th hole of quite well, scoring 6 for two on the stroke 8 par 5. That gave me 49 on the 1st nine. For me that's a satisfactory score, although judging by my first five holes I did loose the plot along the way. At one point a 46 was well within reach... I did score only one ring and had a Stableford total of 16 - not bad.

The wind picks up...
As is probably true of most coastal courses, the wind -particularly the westerly- can be a major factor. At this point in my game the westerly was beginning to show it's bite. That and probably a lack of concentration and some fatigue after less than 5-hours' sleep. The 10th & 11th went quite well. A 6 for 2 on a par 4 (stroke 3) and 4 for 2 on a par 3.

Hanno lining up a put.

Nosedive at the 12th
I messed up the 12th without any help from the wind mind you. Teeing off from a very elevated tee, I managed to connect the ball too high resulting in a top-spinning diving ball. It ended in the bushes. My 2nd drive (3d shot) was a beauty, but a little late... The fourth shot ended short in the rough and eventually I ring 6'ed the hole.

Battling cross-wind on 13 & 14
We were all a little sceptical of the lines given by our caddies on the 13th hole, par 3. They wanted us to aim way left. My two buddies both ended up to the right of the hole, compensating for the caddies' dramatic lines. I saw the results and planned not to repeat their mistakes - except that I dovetailed my drive into the rough and short of the fairway... All the same I was actually in a better position and ended up just missing a ring while my buddies were less fortunate.

My caddie Eric is closest in picture with the red shirt.

On the 14th the wind did not bring back my ball onto the fairway as I expected and my ball flew straight where I aimed it - into the rough behind some trees! I dug myself out of the situation fairly well on my 2nd shot, just to see my 3d end up to the right behind some more trees. From there I sliced my 9-iron shot and took to more poor chip shots to reach the green. The only thing that saved me from a ring was a long range put that found the hole.

The last four holes
I once again messed up two drives in a row to 6 ring the 15th, par 4. The 16th hole is stroke one, thus statistically the most difficult hole on the course. However, straight good shots will give you a good result. My drive was one of the best of my day. I scored 6 which on this particular hole is a good result for me. Then I managed to repeat a good showing on the (par 4) 17th. The latter two holes has sunk many a promising round. They're long par 4's (17 being uphill and into the prevailing wind). Hole no. 18 should have been plain sailing, but I maxed out on 7 (par 5).

Trevor Immelman - YOU'RE THE MAN!

Two nights ago I spent a late night at my parents' house. It was serious business, we stayed up until two in the morning and got really stressed along the way... However, at roughly 02:00 suspense turned to extreme joy. Trevor Immelman, A PROUD SOUTH AFRICAN, did it - he beat the best of the world -leading on all four days of the tournament- to take the US Masters 2008 title. He got a rather shabby green jacket for his effort, oh, and a little over a million Dollars in cash...

Gary Player, another in South Africa's long list of golfing greats, has been saying for years that Immelman has it in him to beat the best in the business. On Sunday he proved this beyond any doubt.

We're all waiting with bated breath for Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Rory Sabbatini or any of the other South Africans playing the European and/or American Tours to hit some long overdue form. In the meanwhile Trevor has delivered the goods. It also reminds one that Ernie, Retief and the others -as great as they are-, are not the only South Africans with the ability to win the big tournaments - even the majors.

It bodes well for our golfing future.

Official PGA website - post victory & other interviews

See interview (& other clips) here.

YouTube clips
(If you're reading this post outside of my blog, YouTube clips will probably not show)



Presentation of green jacket and gracious acceptance speech by Trevor Immelman. I'm glad to notice that our players tend to be excellent ambassadors for the country - displaying humility whenever they're victorious.



The top 10 ways in which Trevor Immelman's life has changed - David Letterman Show. Quite funny, although you can see Trevor's not 100% at ease on a stage :-).

More YouTube clips:

• Trevor Immelman avoids disaster on the 15th (3d round) - here.
• A few highlights from Trevor's final round - here.
• A great bunker shot by Trevor and the 15th hole again - here.
• Trevor's swing in slow motion on 'Swingvision". A pre-Masters clip. here.
  

New York Times

• Article: Immelman Survives Pressure to win Masters - here.
• Slide show: Immelman Wins Masters - here.

Hello World!

Here we go... This is a very short introductory posting to summarise who I am and what I hope to do in this space.

I'm currently (April 2008) 37, turning 38 in a week or so (born 70/04/24...). I've been playing golf on and off for approx. 3 years. One of my new year's resolutions for 2008 is to try and play a weekly round of golf - so far I'm managing to average a round every two weeks. I've already reaped some reward for the more regular golf as two weeks ago I broke 100 for the first time in my short golfing career. Which tells you something about the level of my game :-). However, I've managed to dip below 100 two consecutive weeks (98 & 99), which is encouraging.

Officially my handicap stands at 30. Ouch! That means that I play from the maximum allowed handicap of 23 (as I understand it). That is I'm allowed to double bogey all the holes on the course and triple bogey the five most difficult ones - after which I ring. Stableford = zero for a ring, 1 for my maximum score without ringing, 2 for one shot better and so forth. For my latest handicap info and last couple of scores click here.

I have a very dynamic collection of golfing buddies. Dynamic as in sometimes we play together and other times not! In the course of my blogging you will be introduced to Sven, Attie, my dad (also Mike), Christoph (a 5-6 handicapper) and some other buddies, family and friends of friends. Attie recently vowed never to play golf again after two particularly bad rounds, but following on Trevor Immelman's victory in the US Masters (2008) last night (our time) he seems to have rekindled some of his spirit for the game.

I started playing golf after a friend of mine and his wife (Jaco -a.k.a. 'Flaps' and Amanda) visited us in our very idyllic coastal village. They've just started playing at the time and dragged me along for a round. I was 'converted'. Before I thought of golf as a snobbish game of people dressing funny!

My dad passed his old clubs on to me, which he got second hand to start with. I suspect the clubs are older than I am... I think I actually did him a favour as it gave him an excuse to buy new ones. I'll expand on what I have (and haven't) got in my bag, but it is basically irons 3-9, a pitching wedge, sand wedge, fairway 3-wood and cheap 1-wood (which I currently avoid at all cost). Then there's the 'ping' putter to round off the collection. ((For an update on my new clubs, click here))

In addition to playing more often (last year I only handed in about four or five score cards), the other element that greatly improved my score is called Eric. That's Eric as in a caddy at Royal Port Alfred. Slightly rough around the edges but extremely good at reading putting lines. He's worth his weight in gold as far as I'm concerned.

By the way my home club is Royal Port Alfred Golf Club, we had our centenary celebrations last year (2007).

What I really want to do right now is sing Immelman's praises, hopefully later this evening or tomorrow morning. Staying up 'till two in the morning was all worth it!

Oh... so what do I want to do in this space. Well, as I see it at present I'll pass along trivia about golf and blog about my own (golfing) pain and suffering. If our (South African) golfers keep on performing you'll be bombarded with posts on that as well.

Until later, enjoy your golf!