Golf Australia July 2018

IF you have spent any time watching a pay-TV service you will be familiar with the Discovery Channel.You know the one … documentaries on animals, space and lots of other scientific marvels. Well, Discovery is no longer just a channel. It is a massive company now known as Discovery Inc. and, as a golf fan, you will be hearing more about Discovery in years to come. Here’s why. Discovery recently struck a $2 billion deal to acquire the international television and streaming rights to PGA Tour golf through to 2030. The move is the latest high-profile sports agreement for the factual giant, following its successful Olympics debut earlier this year through its Eurosport division. The deal gives Discovery online and TV broadcast rights to more than 140 golf tournaments a…

When the modern bible of golf courses and course design – The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses – was published in the mid-90s it became an immediate hit simply because its author, Tom Doak, didn’t hold back any punches. Today, Doak is one of golf ’s most sought after course designers. His theories on course design all revolve around building courses that make golf interesting, which is no doubt why his creations have become so popular … just like his original book, which could set you back $600-$700 (or $1,200 for a signed copy) these days. Dozens of Australian courses were put under the microscope by Doak, and some with big reputations were deflated by the blunt writings of the American. Not Commonwealth Golf Club. Doak included the Melbourne Sandbelt…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Glennie Ave, South Oakleigh, Victoria. CONTACT: (03) 9575 0444. WEBSITE: www.commonwealthgolf.com.au DESIGNERS: Sam Bennett (1921); Charles H. Lane (1926); Sloan Morpeth (1962); Kevin Hartley (1992); Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Clayton, Mike Cocking & Ashley Mead – OCCM (2006 and ongoing). SLOPE RATINGS: MEN: 132 (black), 131 (blue), 126 (white); WOMEN: 138 (white), 129 (red), 127 (green), 118 (gold). PLAYING SURFACES: Legends couch fairways, bentgrass greens. GREEN FEES: $250. Members of golf clubs within Australia who hold a Golf Link number will receive a 20 percent discount. PGA PROS: John Wade and Sandy Jamieson. THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Membership at Commonwealth is quite exclusive, however the process of joining is not overly onerous. New member intakes are approximately quarterly. These intakes will be subject to field sizes and player…

IN 1987 Ian Woosnam won the Jersey Open, the Madrid Open, the Scottish Open, the Trophee Lancome, the World Match Play Championship, the Hong Kong Open, the Sun City Million Dollar Challenge, the World Cup individual and team (alongside David Llewellyn) trophies and was a star performer in the European Ryder Cup side that won for the first time on US soil at Muirfield Village. By almost any measure, the then 29-year old Welshman was the best player in the world that season. And yet. The following June, when Curtis Strange defeated Nick Faldo in a play-off for the US Open title, Woosnam was watching at home on television. No, he hadn’t missed the cut in America’s national championship; he simply hadn’t met any of the exemption criteria through which…

THE next instalment of a top female player taking on the men in a PGA Tour event is set to be played out this month when Brittany Lincicome tees it up in the Barbasol Championship. The Barbasol is the alternate event to The Open Championship so the field may only feature a handful of male players ranked in the top-100 in the world, which makes it an interesting prospect for the eight-time LPGA Tour title winner. The 32-year-old will take up a sponsor’s exemption to play in the event joining the likes of Annika Sorenstam, who famously played the PGA Tour’s Colonial Tournament 15 years ago and just missed the cut. Michelle Wie has played against the men several times, while the legendary Babe Didrickson Zaharias was the first to…

IF THE FORMER WORLD NO.1 DOES DECIDE TO STAY HOME IN OHIO, AUSTRALIA’S WORLD CUP RESPONSIBILITIES WOULD THEN FALL TO MARC LEISHMAN ... THE World Cup of Golf is fast approaching and Australian golf fans are still in the dark about which two players will be representing them in Melbourne … Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The tournament dictates that, “the top ranked player of each qualified country may pick any player from the same country within the top-500 on the Official World Golf Ranking.” So, with that in mind, Jason Day – who at the time of writing is ranked No.8 in the world – should receive that honour when the cut-off date arrives on September 13. The 30-year-old won the Cup in 2013 alongside his fellow…