On Par – All about golf in Australia

This weekends US PGA Championship returns to Whistling Straits Golf Club near Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The course is a Pete Dye design modelled on Scottish Links layouts, and is remarkable for its 967 bunkers scattered across the course. Yep, thats no typo, 967 bunkers, the satellite view of the course looks like a moon landscape with pot and waste bunkers as far as the eye can see. However this was not Mornington Peninsula like natural landscape, over 800,000 cubic feet of dirt and sand was dumped on the site to create the course!

Whilst the pro’s pinpoint accuracy should remove about 957 bunkers from the equation, if the wind picks up it could get nasty. And this is the type of course that could reduce the club golfer into a sobbing feotal position with nightmares of being eaten by sand monsters.

Enough sand to wear out the grooves on the sand wedge

Vijay Singh won here in 2004, and the field is wide open. Tigers woes a well documented, though he seems to find an extra something in Majors. Lefty Phil should be the one the beat, and whilst he missed an opportunity last week to take the World #1 title from Woods, this could be the week. Would love to see Adam Scott up on top of the leaderboard coming into Sunday. Will the links style suit an Aussie win?

The 17th is the signature hole at Whistling Straits, named the “Pinched Nerve”

Mr 9 and I headed to the Growling Frog Golf Course to hit a couple of buckets of balls at the driving range on the weekend. The carpark was hauntingly empty, sun was out, perfect day for golf, however the course had been closed due to too much rain! Something unheard of over the last few years of drought conditions in Melbourne, but the course was basically unplayable on a dead track. The good news, is that come September and October the course will be perfect, and hopefully the rough will be able to germinate with less awkward shots from dry rutted lies.

Luckily the driving range was still open, so we grabbed a couple of buckets and spent the next hour hitting balls on the range, and working on the short game. The Growling Frog has excellent practice facilities, a fully grassed range (none of this hitting off plastic mats!), plus two chipping greens, practice bunker and putting green. Sams driver was on song, nailing a couple down the middle, mine was good too, though the short game is still in its winter hibernation, hopefully this Summer it wakes up!

Jamie and Mike, the legendary kiwi golfers who are playing a round of golf every day for the whole year are currently working their way through Scotland on their epic adventure. The lads have played 216 rounds through New Zealand, Australia, North America and now UK. Their blog – is a must read documenting every round, the highs, lows and the characters they meet along the way. The guys mentioned that a book could be on the cards, I hope so, it would be a great read.

Not surprisingly, they have been able to generate a lot of media exposure along the way, this recent article in the New York Post is a good one, documenting their travels and the great courses they have played. It also quotes John Sabino, the Top 100 Golfer who I was lucky to play Kingston Links with earlier in the year, and was able to introduce to Jamie and Mike. John hosted the guys in New York, sharing a common bond of the love of golf, and the slightly crazy aspirations and dreams that golfers have worldwide.

Great article on Jamie and Mikes odyssey

Congratulations Stuart Appleby on becoming the 5th player in PGA Tour history to card a 59. Appleby joins Al Geiberger in 1977, Chip Beck in 1991, David Duval in 1999 and Paul Goydos, three weeks ago, in the 59 Club.

The amazing scoreline including 9 birdies and an eagle, also importantly gave Appleby a one shot victory in the Greenbrier Classic.

How is this for a scorecard:

Hole 1, par 4 – 4 Hole 2, par 4 – 3 Hole 3, par 3 – 3 Hole 4, par 4 – 3 Hole 5, par 4 – 3 Hole 6, par 4 – 3 Hole 7, par 4 – 3 Hole 8, par 3 – 3 Hole 9, par 4 – 3 Front nine (par 34) – 28

Hole 10, par 4 – 4 Hole 11, par 4 – 4 Hole 12, par 5 – 3 Hole 13, par 4 – 4 Hole 14, par 4 – 4 Hole 15, par 3 – 3 Hole 16, par 4 – 3 Hole 17, par 5 – 4 Hole 18, par 3 – 2 Back nine (par 36) – 31

Total (par 70) – 59

For non-Geelong supporters, as the Cats kicked their first goal of the 3rd quarter in the 2007 AFL Grand Final to take a 7 goal lead that eventually became a 20 goal win, boredom set in. By the final quarter we were kicking the footy in the backyard. Dominance in sport shows the ultimate skill but can be boring to watch.

South African Louis Oosthuizen was dominant in the 2010 British Open, he clearly handled the conditions and St Andrews course the best over the four days. Ooose won by 7 shots from Lee Westwood, and Rory McIlroy who will regret his shocker of a 2nd round. While it was a fine display of skill from the little known Oosthuizen and a major win, ratings and media coverage for the Open fell away as the lead grew. Unfortunately, a dominant sporting win can be boring. But this shouldnt take anything away from Oosthuizen, a seven shot win in a major is rare, just not as exciting as a duel down the 18th!

Currently watching the first round of the British Open which is now underway at St Andrews on the Old Course, golfs mecca. Have been lucky enough to play there twice, and for a golfer it is truly a religious experience.

If I went around 18 holes with a score that was three times my age Id probably give the game away for a while! Rory McIlroy did just that today in the first round of the British Open at St Andrews, but he is only 21 and shot a remarkable 63. Other notable mentions include twitter favourite, John Daley on 6 under, and Tiger doing nicely on -5. Woods opened with a 66 at St Andrews in 2005 and went on to win comfortably, a lot has happened since then!

The early starters have had the better of the conditions, with afternoon winds likely to restrict the low scoring.

Check out all the live scoring at http://www.opengolf.com/

My On Par Golf Blog has been strolling the internets virtual fairways for almost five years. In that time Ive posted almost 350 posts, predominantly about golf. The blog is a hobby about a sport that Im passionate about.

Now there is a rival On Par Golf Blog, published by none other than the New York Times. The NY Times first published on their ‘On Par” blog on April 5, 2010, so I am well and truly the first and the original On Par! I will drop them a line to let them know about the On Par from Down Under! Fore!!!!

Waterford Valley, 18th green

Matchplay is the ultimate head to head format in golf, pressure is on from the very first hole as an early head start can be a crucial advantage, every mistake seems to be magnified and every good shot is rewarded. Matchplay is golfs version of chess, strategy can come into play as the opponents try to outwit and outplay (Yes, its a bit like survivor too, but without the bitchiness and backstabbing, mostly). Unfortunately for the weekend hacker, club golfer or professional, matchplay is a rarity. Pennant players and amateurs will play more matchplay than most.

My colleague Nige and I had advanced through to the Second round of the Herald Sun Matchplay pairs tournament, last month we had won our First round matchup with a resounding 6&4. We were matched with Paul and Nick from Yarrambat, both single figure handicaps, it was going to be a tough game. Neutral venue selected was Waterford Valley. Unfortunately due to a lot of rain over the previous 24 hours, the emphasis was on ‘Water’, a lot of casual water, some more formal water and rather muddy conditions. Luckily though, the weather had cleared and it was game on.

Our challenge got tougher after the second hole with Paul sinking a birdie to go one up. I parred the next to get us back to even, and then we halved the next five holes in a very close contest. Nige was hitting the ball solidly, and my swing was really dialed in, the driver was on fire and my iron shots solid. A par on the 9th gave us a handy lead into the back nine. Then another par on the 11th and we were 2 up. Our opponents hit back on the 12th, with another birdie to Paul and then wins on 14th and 15th put them 1 up. Nick and I both nailed approaches to the 16th and putted out for pars. We then won the 17th to draw level. Again, Nick and I hit great shots into the tough 18th and putted out to halve the hole leaving us all square after 18.

With darkness approaching, we ventured on to play our 19th hole, the dogleg 10th. Nick hit into the rough and was out, leaving Paul, Nige and I on the faiway. Nige found the bunker, I hit one of my worst approaches for the day and left it short, Paul saved one of his best for last and his par was enough for victory. A great game played in good spirits, but a sour end for Nige and I coming so close, yet falling at the first playoff hole. (We had agreed that if we were tied after 2 playoff holes, it would be decided by sudden death puttoff!!)

Steve takes a swing at the $500 hole in one prize

Recently spent a fantastic weekend with friends touring the Rutherglen Wineries on the Winery Walkabout. Amongst the excellent durif, shiraz, muscat and port vineyards lies Lake Moodemere Vineyard. The small winery produces some excellent wine including the Late Harvest Biancone. Set above Lake Moodemere, great views accompany the cellar door tasting. Winemaker Michael Chambers has also setup a unique golf hole tempting the visitor with the opportunity to score a hole in one and win $500 worth of wine.

The golf hole is the ultimate island green, forget the 17th at Sawgrass, the Lake Moonemere hole has a tee perched high on the bank of the lake with a very small pontoon with a landing area the size of a dinner table moored about 110 metres away in the middle of the Lake. The hole itself is generous, a bucket. The hole has been open for a year, and the prize for a hole in one, $500 worth of wine, is yet to go off.

Balls are $1 each, or as part of the Walkabout, 3 balls were provided for participants. We all had a go, most balls going into the water, though I did manage to land a shot on the pontoon, bouncing off into the water (no hold on the synthetic turf!). Winemaker Michael was kind enough to shout a bottle of Shiraz for hitting the target!

If you are in the Rutherglen area on a golf trip, or sampling the reds, stop in at Lake Moodemere and have a crack at one of the more unique golf holes in Australia!

Tiger Woods will return to Melbourne to play the 2010 JBWere Australian Masters at Victoria Golf Club. In Melbourne last November he was royalty, followed by massive galleries and media watching his every step. 106,000 spectators across four days at Kingston Heath, large numbers of interstate visitors, tee times booked out across Melbourne and the Peninsula, and a huge economic impact to the Victorian economy made the $1.5m investment by the Government look pretty worthwhile.

It all went pear-shaped for Woods after his Melbourne trip and though he is now back playing on the PGA Tour, he isnt the same player who won the 2009 Australian Masters. However he is still the World Number One, and he is still arguably the best golfer ever. Joining Woods will be Villegas, Garcia, Ogilvy and others will be added. Tickets will sell out once more, the lure of Tiger may be different, but he will still bring in the masses. Tickets are now on sale at www.ticketek.com.au, season pass is $179 to access the venue over six days and general admission to the tournament is $49 per day.

This years Masters will be held at Victoria Golf Club as part of the very smart rotation of the Masters venue between sandbelt courses, Victoria is a fantastic layout, the epic bunkering and tight fairways will test the pro’s.

Australians will now have the opportunity to see Tiger play three years in a row, as he will most likely return next year as well as part of the US Presidents Cup team.

Welcome back Tiger, you da man!