Golf Australia November 2015

IT WON’T be long into this summer’s schedule of events on the PGA Tour of Australasia before the debate about appearance fees will be raised. Should tournament organisers pay exorbitant amounts of money just to have a marquee player or two tee it up in one of our Triple Crown events? The naïve will argue our events are prestigious enough for players, local and foreign, to want to play.Yes, they are prestigious and getting your name on the Stonehaven or Joe Kirkwood cups, or slipping into the Gold Jacket at the Masters, is rewarded with a place in Australia’s rich golfing history. But the cold, hard truth is that without stumping up a significant appearance fee there is little to no chance Australian golf fans would get to see the…

Things are a little different at Yarra Yarra Golf Club. From the moment you meander down the driveway to the clubhouse that looms before you like something out of a European billionaire’s property portfolio, you’ll discover that bucking the trend is often standard procedure here. And that’s exactly how they like it. With cynics forecasting the demise of golf clubs due to dwindling membership bases and a lack of juniors taking up the sport, it takes a bit of pluck to declare your club – while not immune to the woes afflicting other courses – is on an upward trend. But that’s precisely what Yarra Yarra’s general manager Peter Vlahandreas does when spruiking his club’s fortunes and prospects, which, if his words hold true, would be the envy of most…

THE COURSE LOCATION:567 Warrigal Road, Bentleigh East, Victoria. CONTACT: (03) 9575 0575. WEBSITE: www.yarrayarra.com.au DESIGNER:Alex Russell (1928). SLOPE RATINGS:Men: 130/124; women: 130/134. PLAYING SURFACES:Couch/Santa Ana (fairways); Poa annua (greens). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT:Rod Tatt. PGA PROFESSIONAL:Andrew Bertram. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Opportunities for membership are now available for Corporate,Adult and Young members. Full membership gives you access to every single aspect of Yarra Yarra. Contact the club or visit the website to find out about the joining process, membership options and the membership fee structure. RECIPROCAL CLUBS: Yarra Yarra has a host of reciprocal clubs across Australia and internationally, as well as reciprocal rights at the other seven Sandbelt courses.Visit the website for the full list of reciprocal rights clubs. VISITING GOLFERS: Tee-times for international and interstate guests who are members of…

TAKING the example of the majority of finishing holes on Australia’s best courses, it would be a reasonable assumption the role of the 18th hole is to test a player’s ability to play two accurate and powerful long shots. There is nothing wrong with the principle and there is any number of good ones, including Royal Melbourne West, Royal Melbourne East, Commonwealth, Metropolitan, Barnbougle Dunes, Lost Farm, Royal Sydney, The National’s Moonah course, Lake Karrinyup, Victoria, Woodlands, Cape Wickham, Kingston Heath and St Andrews Beach. All are par-4s between 380 and 430 metres, with the exception of the short par-5s at Woodlands and Victoria, and in this age both are nothing more than long two-shot holes for scratch players. They are ‘easy’ holes to par but suggest changing them to…

STEVEN Bowditch admits at times in the past he has taken the big Australian events for granted and not given them the respect they deserve, but he returns in 2015 more determined than ever to add some local glory to his resume. The 32-year-old has taken his game to a new level in 2015, winning on the US PGA Tour for the second time, with his powerhouse performance at the Byron Nelson Championship, before making it through the FedEx Cup Playoffs all the way to the Tour Championship. Add a Presidents Cup captain’s pick and the Queenslander is on his way to becoming a mainstay near the world’s top-50. Once just content to be pretty good, Bowditch has spent 2015 working towards being great. A new maturity towards his fitness…

SEPTEMBER PHOTO CAPTION COMPETITION We had some funny entries to our photo of Germany’s Martin Kaymer showing off his soccer skills, which he honed as a young football star. The best entry according to our judges from the hundreds received came from James Eagle of Berry, NSW, with: “There’s something to be said for catching one right off the heel.” Congratulations James, you are the lucky winner of a pair of adidas Tour 360X shoes worth $149. golf Australia We’re on Facebook. Like us and get news updates and the chance to win prizes at www.facebook.com/ golfaustralia Follow Golf Australia on Twitter @GolfAustMag www.golfaustralia.com.au…