Bad lies
What a week!
You won’t believe how much I love this week at the PGA Show, but boy do we work hard. It’s three days of flat out walking and talking and filming and gleaning information on what’s hot and what’s not.
There’s certainly a new positive energy in golf and the game is almost back to it’s best again.
Retail sales of golf equipment is up to $ 8,41 Billion, which is 4,1% higher than the previous year and sales of golf clothing is also up to over $ 5 billion, which is a 6,4% increase.
John Solheim from Ping (who have just released the G410 range of clubs) was very bullish about 2019. He believes it’s going to be a great year for the game of golf.
Infact every company I visited at the PGA Show had excellent product on display. You quite simply don’t last in the golf industry unless your product is great.
I especially loved Ping’s entire G410 range, from the new Driver, which is doing so well on Tour already, to the irons, which are both great looking and feel terrific. The irons have a slightly smaller head and a thinner top line. It makes such a difference.
The Callaway Apex irons were good. Now they are even better.
Low to mid-handicap players, you just have to give the Srixon Z Series irons a try.
Cobra one-length clubs have got a boost from Bryson DeChambeau using them, and they are flying off the shelves in America.
The award for the Comeback Company in golf has to go to Wilson. They have a superb range of clubs, but they also have a ball that has the lowest compression which players are loving because although it feels soft, it goes miles.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be going into more detail on all the latest equipment that we got to see at the Show. Stay tuned!
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The Round Golf Podcast…This week on The Round Golf Podcast with Richard Kaufman, he takes a journey through the life of one of the greatest golfers of all time, Gary Player. The nine time major champion tells Richard why he wished himself dead as an 8-year old boy and how adversity made him into a champion and why he believes his success was a divine gift. The physical and verbal abuse he suffered for being the highest profile South African sportsman in the era of apartheid and his relationship with Nelson Mandela. His fears for the sport, covering topics from appearance fees to slow play. Why he thinks he could have helped Rory McIlroy win the Masters. And his relationships with, amongst others Hogan, Seve, Palmer and Nicklaus. Not forgetting the rounds that shaped his career.Make sure you click on this link TOMORROW, to access the podcast.
When the Ball Hits Back This week’s Waste Management event on the PGA Tour is Jonny Miller’s last tournament before he officially retires. His last day on the job will be on Saturday with his replacement, Paul Azinger stepping into the chair for the final round on Sunday.
Check out this entertaining video on a group of European Tour Pro’s trying to brainstorm what video’s they can film that will get us all watching what they get up to... And here’s them working on the first one…Monty’s Pythons...click here to watch. Players of the month
• Matt Kuchar came back from three bogeys in the first five holes to win his second title of the season at the Sony Open (10th to 13th Jan) in Hawaii: - "That was not at all what I was looking for. I knew I was playing well, so I tried to stay confident, I'm playing good golf. Some of the bogeys, it was a three-putt and a bad wedge shot, that's just so uncharacteristic."
• In just his sixth start on the PGA Tour and only his second cut, Adam Long won the Desert Classic (17th to 20th Jan) at La Quinta with a 14-foot birdie putt at the last:- "I got a pretty good read off Phil's putt, it was one of those putts that you just stand over you just know you're going to make. And you can't control that, but when you have that feeling it's a good one. I'm in pretty disbelief right now. I don't really know what happened."
• Shane Lowry had a wire-to-wire win in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (16th to 19th Jan): - "It was an emotional roller coaster today. I obviously went out with the lead by a few and before I knew it I was four behind. I was brave out there today. I ground it out well and I'm over the moon. I'm so excited with this win. I can't really tell you how good it feels to be standing here.”
• Bryson De Chambeau notched up his first international win in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic (24th to 27th Jan): - "Today was a pleasure. It was obviously a lot of fun to be able to finally hoist an international trophy, I'm so happy about that. I was trying to shoot 25 under today and missed it by one, but I'm happy with the results for sure.”
• World Number One, Justin Rose won the Farmers Insurance Open (24th to 27th Jan) at Torrey Pines. After three early bogey’s he told himself: - “I just said, "You're No. 1 in the world for a reason, just start playing like it, please.’ It obviously worked!
Around the world
• With new Honma clubs in the bag, Justin Rose shot all four rounds in the sixties to win his 10th PGA Tour title at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He started the final round with a three-shot lead and despite three early bogey’s, he shot a 3-under 69 to win by two at 21-under 267. Adam Scott closed with four birdies to finish second at 19-under while Hideki Matsuyama and Talor Gooch tied for third at 16-under. Jadon Day, Rory McIlory and Jon Rahm tied for 5th at 14-under. Playing in his first event of the year, Tiger finished tied for 20th at 10-under.
• Bryson DeChambeau won his maiden European Tour title at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He played impressive golf at the Emirates Golf Club, closing with an 8-under 64 on Sunday to set a new tournament record at 24-under 264. He won by seven shots over Matt Wallace whose round of 68 ended with back-to-back birdies. Paul Waring, Ian Poulter, Haotong Li; Sergio Garcia and Alvaro Quiros tied for third on 16-under. The top South Africans in the field were Justing Harding, who shot a 9-under 63 to finish in a tie for 8th at 15-under and Ernie Els, who had a great event and finished tied for 13th at 14-under.
• Rafael Campos had his first win on the Web.Com Tour at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club in the Bahamas. He became the first Puerto Rican to win on this Tour and he finished at 7-under 281, winning by one over Vincent Whaley (who missed a birdie putt at the last to tie). Paul Imondi finished alone in third at 5-under. Congrats to Oliver Bekker who finished in a tie for 25th on 3-over. Look forward to hearing more from him on this Tour.
• Wynand Dingle beat Thriston Lawrence in a play-off for his third IGT title in the Race to Q-School #2 at Silver Lakes. Lawrence had a three-shot entering the final round and while he shot a final round 69, Dingle shot a 65 to tie at 16-under 200 at the close of regulation play. Dingle won with a par on the second play-off hole. JC Ritchie, CJ du Plessis and Christoff Appel tied for third at 13-under.
• Wonderful performance by Kaiyuree Moodley in last week’s Annika Invitational at the World Golf Village in St Augustine, Florida. She shot rounds of 72-68-74 to go into a three-way play-off after finishing tied at the top of the leaderboard alongside American Jensen Castle and Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad at 2-under 214. Halmstad won with a par on the first play-off hole. Caitlyn Macnab’s final round 70 saw her finish tied for 37th at 12-over.
• Bloem Golf Club’s Wilco Nienaber won the Gauteng North Open at Silver Lakes. He opened with rounds of 68-74-68 and followed them up with a final round 10-under 62 to win by three at 16-under 272. Aneurin Gounden; Garrick Hugo and Casey Jarvis tied for second at 13-under.
• Denis and Gil Hutchinson celebrate their 62nd Wedding Anniversary today and Gary and Vivienne Player celebrated theirs last week – what an achievement! Huge congratulations to both iconic couples – there’s no truth to the rumour that Gil and Vivienne are up for Nobel Peace prizes…
• Just in case you’ve forgotten that time marches on, Jack Nicklaus’ son just won a senior event in America. Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer in the history of the game, turned 79 last week. I know a lot of you will argue that Tiger is better, but this is why I give Nicklaus the nod… It was 24 years between his first major win (1962) and his last (1986); he won 18 majors; he was second in nineteen others; he was never involved in any controversy; he was always the first to congratulate anyone who beat him; he played against more players in the All-Time Top 20 of golf than Tiger – Billy Casper; Arnold Palmer; Gary Player; Lee Trevino; Tom Watson; Nick Faldo; Seve Ballesteros; Greg Norman. Case made – Happy Birthday Jack.
• Both the Ladies and Men’s Sunshine Tour get under way this week; the men’s with the playing of the PGA Championship at Eye of Africa south of Johannesburg and the Ladies with the Canon SLT Open at Irene. In other Sunshine Tour news, the Cape Town Open has a new title sponsor in Ram Hand to Hand Couriers. The event which will be played at Royal Cape Golf Club from 7th to 10th February will be known as the RAM Cape Town Open.
• There is a new golf movie that will be launched on 2nd Feb called the “Loopers: The Caddies Long Walk” narrated by Bill Murray. It’s a documentary about caddies and has loads of interviews with golf’s greats and many of the best-known caddies. Let’s hope it makes it to SA!
• Who’s up this week? (Please note that this is the entry list as at Monday & is subject to change)
• PGA TOUR - Waste Management Phoenix Open – Rory Sabbatini; Charl Schwartzel
• EUROPEAN TOUR - Saudi International powered by SBIA - Louis Oosthuizen; Ernie Els; Trevor Immelman; Dean Burmester; Haydn Porteous; Zander Lombard; Brandon Stone; George Coetzee; Richard Sterne; Erik van Rooyen; Jacques Kruyswijk; Christiaan Bezuidenhout; Justin Walters; Shaun Norris
• SUNSHINE TOUR- Eye of Africa PGA Championship – A host of local pro’s including Dawie van der Walt & Bradford Vaugahn
• SUNSHINE LADIES TOUR – Canon SLT Open – Lee-Anne Pace; Ashleigh Buhai; Stacy Bregman headline the field
By the rules This month our resident “Rules Guru”, Dennis Bruyns answers a question that came from one of our readers…
Can you please elaborate on the placing when allowed with the longest club in your bag.?
E.g. any were from handle to toe. Or only at the toe?
In the new 2019 Rules the measurement of a Club Length is now the norm.
To be quite clear they have made it a club in the player’s bag and have eliminated the putter as an option. This because there is no limit to how long a putter can be, while all other clubs (drivers etc.) can be a maximum of 48 inches only.
And this is from the tip at the grip end to the bottom of the club head at the other end. Most standard Drivers are either 43 or 45 inches. A 48 inch driver would almost certainly be custom made.
When it comes to “Placing”, it is up to the club or tournament committee to decide on the length. Some use the length of the scorecard, while some might specify a measurement in inches (6 inches being quite common). And of course, it is anywhere within that length.
As it is a Local Rule it really is up to the club.
On tour with Dale Dale Hayes Golf appreciates the ongoing support of City Lodge & SkyNet:
Golf management campus Make golf your Major at the Golf Management Campus
Is it your dream to…Play on the Tour? Manage a Golf Club? Be a Golf Director? Be a Club Professional? Be a Golf Course Superintendent? The best way to make your dream a reality is to attend the Golf Management Campus
• 3-year Internationally recognised PGA Diploma Course
• Game Improvement Programme (Part Time or Full Time)
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• Sports Turf Maintenance What sets us apart from the rest: - • A host of extremely experienced lecturers and coaches from the guru’s in the golf business, including: Dale Hayes & Dennis Bruyns - PGA Master Professionals; Elsabe Hefer - PGA Top 25 Teacher; Francois Viljoen - PGA Fellow Professional & Programme Director; Theo Bezuidenhout Consulting - Sports Psychologists & Rudy Mertz - Golf Equipment Technology Specialist and Master Fitter. • A host of guest lecturers, equally talented and successful individuals from within the Golf Industry including Peter Matkovich - Golf Course Architect; Paul Leishman - Club Management & Chris Williams – Greenkeeping
Contact Francois Viljoen on (012) 654-1144 / 072 224 2456 / mentor@golfmanagementcampus.co.za or visit www.golfmanagementcsampus.co.za.  | The Driving Range This month Elsabe Hefer advises you on a good grip to maximise your potential.
This week she looks at the correct position for your hands to maximise control of the clubface through the swing.
Elsabe Hefer is a Fellow Member of the PGA; a former Gauteng North PGA Teacher of the Year and PGA Top 20 Teacher. She is the Head Teaching Professional at Zwartkop Country Club.
And, to finish off... The rare hole-in-one, the perfect fluke ever, it’s the best feeling in golf.
Celebrate – get the certificate and have bragging rights forever! For further information and to join, contact Margaret on (012) 654-1144 or click here to send an email.
The Greats…
“A match against Bobby Jone is just as though you got your hand caught in a buzz saw. He coasts along serenly waiting for you to miss a shot, and the moment you do, he has you on the hook and you never get off.” - Francis Ouimet
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