Topic: Golf Talk / Club Near Penrith NSW with Sunday Am Comp

I’m assuming you are looking for an Open Day Sunday comp. If that is the case, it is fairly slim pickings, although I understand Ashlar has recently made its Sunday comp an open day.

Otherwise, Fox Hills and Cumberland are both just within your 20 minute range. I don’t know about the earliest tee-off times though.

Glenmore’s Sunday Open Day comp has a 10.00am start (or at least it used to).

Topic: Golf Talk / Sydney weekend open competitions?

The NSWGA website is the best source for Open Day information, but it isn’t really up to date.

I suggest you ring any prospective course and check while booking your tee time. Some will accept you as long as you have a golflink number, but others will insist you are a member of a recognised course.

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / Saturday Social - Sydney

The lack of Saturday social play opportunities in Sydney is a major reason why we join as members of clubs.

If you play at Rum Corps you probably know about Riverside Oaks.

There isn’t much else in that half of Sydney before about 2.00pm in the afternoons. The other Defence Course, RAAF Kingswood, might be an option. I’ve never played there, so I don’t really know.

Topic: ISG Feedback / Harrington Waters isn't listed in the course list

It’s a new course (at Harrington NSW naturally). I played there last week, and wouldn’t mind saying a few things about it, but it doesn’t appear in the Mid-North Coast or Lower North Coast lists.

Can it be added? I’d be surprised if the course owners (part of a larger housing estate development) would refuse to provide basic details, as they’s probably want the publicity.

Topic: Golf Talk / The Lakes in Sydney

Personally, I wouldn't pay $150 for any golf course, let alone The Lakes, which is good, but not great.

We play top 50 courses for three reasons. Firstly, so we can say we've played them, and then compare to other courses. Secondly, for the history if it is a tournament venue. For me, the best thing about The Lakes is being in the same place as any number of pro's and looking at the same shot they hit to win the Holden Classic etc. Thirdly, you do it just in case you never get the chance again.

With The Lakes, while it is fairly exclusive, it probably isn't as hard to get onto as Royal Sydney or The Australian, so I'd be waiting for a better (or cheaper) opportunity than $150.

Like everybody else, if it was my last ever Sydney game, I'd go to New South Wales.

Topic: Golf Talk / Jack Nicklaus Announces His Retirement

I can't believe nobody hasn't already posted and started discussing this.

I'm sure Bebox will post a story and a link shortly.

Anyway, for those who haven't heard... Jack announced today that the 2005 British Open at St Andrews would be his last tournament.

The coverage showed a guy with absolute class right to the end. No showboating, no tears, no huge fanfare, just a guy who has decided it is time to go.

If I was Jack I may have even picked my own tournament at Muirfield Village to do it, but my impression is that he simply felt it appropriate to make St Andrews the last place he would play.

In my view, typically classy way to end the best career in the history of golf.

Topic: Golf Talk / Electric golf buggys - do you use them?

At my course I would estimate maybe 25% of the regular walkers also have the battery-driven option. Camden Valley has a few hills, and those who have these buggies swear by them.

I've never seen one with a remote control, so I have to say they do not slow the field down at all.

The only down side I can see is that they take up heaps of space in the car boot, and seem to take forever to assemble, then to take apart again after the game. I've never seen one break down, or run out of juice either. I don't know what happens if that occurs.

Topic: Golf Talk / Pacific Dunes

I'm very surprised at the lack of early hype and publicity.

Usually this type of resort/residential development opens in a blaze of glory, with feature stories in the golf mags, and Tom Ramsey writing a misleading story in the Telegraph about how good it is.

Maybe it opened earlier than planned.

Nevertheless, assuming it is a green fee course available to visitors, it is very significant addition to Newcastle, Horizons and Nelson Bay for the region. My holidays in November could draw me to the area.

Topic: Golf Talk / These guys are good....

Two things.

Has everybody forgotten the winning score? Jack, Hogan, Harry Vardon etc, shot what they had to shoot to win. They didn't shoot 20 under in the last round and hit every shot perfectly. 12 under is very, very good on one of the hardest courses in the world.

Let me remind people of the playoff hole. Perfect drive, sensational iron under pressure, great putt under pressure. He won with a birdie, when he needed a birdie to win. That is NOT a choke.

Give the guy some credit.

Topic: Rules of Golf / Where to take the drop

I have a vague recollection that the cliffs at Narooma are marked with red pegs as lateral hazards, similar to The Coast, and I think St Michaels and NSW.

In a genuine strokeplay event I guess it does matter, so I'd think the penalty for hitting your own equipment is applied, then any other penalty for finishing in the hazard after that. Obviously, in any other event, you pick it up.

Other commentators are wrong about one thing. Narooma is such a good course you should go to the next hole and try to enjoy the rest of the game. The clubhouse can wait a while!

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / In-house Golf design Pty Ltd

I'm going to go out on a real limb here, and nominate the hole in question as the 7th at Cabramatta.

I have absolutely no inside knowledge of HS Colt, or anything currently happening at Cabramatta, but the highly esteemed Andrew who posts here often will either confirm it or deny it when he next reads this topic.

The description of the hole just sounds exactly like the 7th, and I know Andrew has a low opinion of previous changes to the course, and of the committee in general.

Topic: Golf Talk / Your tip for the Masters

Is it really wet in Augusta like it seems to be every else in southern USA?

If it is, it could be the same as 2003, when none of the big five got up.

However, as nobody else has picked him so far, I reckon Vijay could be the man again, with Phil and Ernie in contention.

Adam Scott best Aussie, Maruyama best roughie.

The big upset: Tiger to miss the cut by a shot after shooting 78 in the first round.

Topic: Golf Equipment / Maxfli A-10 Irons

For clubs 'nobody seems to use' there seems to be a lot of A10 Users.

I use them, and I've had them almost two years.

I'm not an equipment ho, so I can't really compare them to anything else, and my handicap hasn't moved at all. But I'm quite happy with them, and I'll keep them for at least another year.

I will agree that they look good, particularly the blade-like short irons.

Topic: Golf Talk / Tiger

I doubt if too many were using those extremely harsh words 'has been', and anybody who did was foolish.

It was never likely that Tiger was going to do a Baker-Finch. He was still a very, very good player during his 'slump', and he has looked awesome in his last few events.

Clearly, only Nick O'Hern can stop the juggernaut now!!

Seriously, with Tiger in peak form, Mickelson shrugging off the rumours and in peak form, Vijay pretty good, Ernie very good and Retief up there, this might be a golden year for golf. Anybody who wins two majors this year can really claim to be number 1, no matter what the official rankings say.

I would presume the next time the big four or five play together would be the Players Championship at Sawgrass. It should be really something, as that course probably suits all their long, high and soft games.

Topic: Rules of Golf / what is reasonable?

the trouble with the second at Shellharbour for us was this. None of us had ever played the course before, and the shot is a classic blind shot over a hill.

We didn't know which way the ball was likely to bounce, or even how far it might fly before landing due to our unfamiliarity with the course. The rough was quite deep, so there was a big chance we were simply looking in the wrong place. And of course, it

might

have gone in the hazard, but we didn't know for sure.

This is why I hate blind shots. You almost have to hit a provisional every time just in case you don't find your ball. The ultra-traditionalists might say this is part of the game, but in bonny Scotland they used to play with caddies most of the time, and send their caddies forward as spotters on blind shots.

Topic: Rules of Golf / what is reasonable?

In simple terms, if there is nowhere else the ball could possibly be, it can be assumed to be in the hazard.

I was the victim of this rule two weeks ago. My great problem was that I didn't think I'd hit my ball far enough to make the hazard, and I definitely didn't see it splash. The other killer is a little tree near the line of my ball. It was possible, but unlikely, for the ball to have struck this tree and gone somewhere other than the hazard. It also could have been nestled down in the rough (but it wasn't. I looked hard enough.)

The bottom line: I didn't see it go in, neither did anyone else, so I took a wipe.

It's not very fair, but that's the rule.

Topic: Golf Talk / Ogilvy: is this his time?

Wherever he's from, he's now a WINNER.

In one of today's papers it was stated that until now he had NEVER won a pro tourney anywhere, and it was claimed he was the best player to have never won a pro tournament.

Firstly, is this true?

Secondly, who now has the 'best player never to..." title. Someone must know.

Topic: Golf Architecture / Help! My Club has appointed the wrong architect!

Jack,

I think you may be on the wrong track with your problem and its solutions.

Surely any architect, no matter what their previous track record, will base their work upon the instructions received from those paying the bills.

The big question is: what does your committee want the architect to achieve? And is there any way you can influence the project brief?

Assuming your committee isn't totally closed to suggestions, start working on them.

On the other hand, if the architect has been given total freedom (unlikely, but you never know), then provide your expert advice direct to the firm. Work with them, not against them.

Topic: Golf Architecture / Hillside Golf Courses

After playing a game at Kangaroo Valley last week, I got to thinking about really hilly golf courses.

The trouble with Kangaroo Valley, as I saw it, is that the land is so dominated by the severity of the slopes that there wasn't much the designer could have done with it.

Kangaroo Valley is literally an 'up and down' course, with one hole going up the hill, and the next coming back down again. Almost by necessity, the uphill holes were shortish, to compensate for the uphill slope and lack of run. The downhill holes were mainly 'risk and reward' par 5's, or dog leg par 4's requiring a lay up.

To my mind, the better holes were the ones pointing across the hill, but I can see how much harder it would be to build such holes (lots of earthmoving required), and drainage and maintenance wouldn't be so easy.

As far as hilly courses go, I think Tallwoods is probably be best I've seen, but it still has a sameness about its uphill par 5's and downhill par 4's.

Any thoughts?

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / GC's in Wollongong area?

As Wollongong is my home town and birthplace of my ordinary golf career, I can't resist this topic.

As a general comment, none of the courses are A Grade top shelf, but in comparison to some of the crappy courses Sydney golfers delude themselves into thinking are fairly good, the Illawarra area is pretty well off. None of them make a NSW Top Ten, but most would make the lower end of the Top 50.

The serious golfer can enjoy a game every week at Wollongong and Port Kembla without ever getting tired of them. Both are right on the coast, so the breeze plays a big part.

The Grange is good, but not nearly as interesting. A good course for the guy who can hit it 300m but sprays them. Plenty of room at The Grange.

Shellharbour Links is new and has potential to be very good, but needs some time to settle down and gain a bit of character. Amanda's only got little legs. Most normal golfers would have no trouble walking the course.

Slightly further away, Kiama is one the best short courses (par 66) you'll find anywhere.

Calderwood is shortish public only course that I really liked, but I know people who hate it.

Forget about Russell Vale. It's rubbish.

Within a 30 min drive, there is something for everybody in that lot, and each course is totally different from the others.

Topic: Golf Talk / Nick O'Hern @ the Heiny

I've got lots of sympathy for Nick, and lots of admiration for his game. But I'm not backing him under pressure down the stretch or in a playoff until he delivers.

Some thrive on that sort of pressure (Tiger, Vijay, Allenby), and perhaps Parry belongs on that list. The Great Mr Nicklaus was best ever in those situations.

Others never really get there. Our close personal friend Mr G Norman is top of that list, and Nick is on that list.

If he ever wins (and I think he will) it'll probably be by five shots.

I'm with those who are celebrating Parry's win rather than blaming O'hern for losing. I love watching him when he's playing well.

Topic: Golf Talk / Looking for a real challange?

Just as importantly, what did it cost? and was it easy to get a game?

Topic: Your Favourite Golf Courses / The Fairest Course You Ever Played

The concept of 'fairness' is interesting in itself, and the differing definitions are interesting to think about.

To go back to Andrew's original post regarding "The Australian", the concept of consistency equalling fairness isn't a bad starting point.

The things I regard as unfair include:

* hidden hazards a la Glenmore, which obviously reward local knowledge far more than it should

* all the difficult bits at a certain length, thus penalising one class of player more than others. Riverside Oaks is a good example of this. All the fairway bunkers seem to be about 220m from the tee, so the bigger hitters just fly over them.

* similarly, it is bad design to have all the hazards on one side. My course has all its out of bounds on the right side, and not much on the left.

* I don't like shaved edges of greens, where a hazard awaits the ball that goes 6 inches too far. The penalty far outweighs the sin in such instances.

I realise some of these things are character building, and I don't want bunkers to be uniformly perfect the way Andrew describes those at The Australian.

I always think of fairness in terms of whether a course rewards good shots and penalises bad ones. Lots of courses penalise good shots through quirks of fate when they shouldn't, and I'm sure everyone can think of examples where a poor shot can leave you in a good position you don't deserve. I don't like the design concept of 'stadium greens' for this reason, where a shot 30 metres off line can bounce off the hill and finish next to the flag (its good fun when it happens to you, I must admit).

Good topic, though.

Topic: Golf Talk / Putting

The trouble with the Baddeley method is that it's great while it works, but when you miss a short one the negative thoughts get worse than ever. You can't help but think "if only I'd taken more time over that putt".

Having said that, if people are giving it a thumbs-up, I might give it a proper try instead of chucking it in after one bad day.

Topic: Golf Talk / Here we go again ........ Michelle Wie

With Wie 5 over and tied for 120th, if she makes the cut from there she deserves all the accolades she would get.

Her only chance is if it is calm, and she shoots 65. If it's windy, it's goodbye for another year.

The topic has been debated to death, but for me, the womens tour needs her, but the men's tour doesn't.