Golf Australia August 2018

IN the days and weeks after Peter Thomson passed away, the tributes to the great man flowed. It seemed like every Australian who has ever picked up a golf club had a ‘Thommo’ story to tell. One of my favourite yarns dates back to The Open at Royal Birkdale in 1954 and that white jacket he donned for the trophy presentation. Back in those days the championship finished on Saturday with 36 holes played in the day. Thomson carded a 69 in the morning and was locked in a share of the lead with Welshman Dai Rees and Englishman Syd Scott with the afternoon round to play. While Rees and Scott ate their lunch, Thommo ducked back to his hotel to grab the white jacket and a tie for the…

It was billed as The Ultimate Event – the massive party thrown in celebration of the opening of Sanctuary Cove on Queensland’s Gold Coast. The year was 1988 and the unofficial ‘King of the Coast’ at the time, property developer Mike Gore, wanted the world to know about his resort and residential community. Huge appearance fees were paid to Frank Sinatra, Peter Allan and Whitney Houston to come and sing. The likes of Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Curtis Strange, Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd were also enticed to play in the inaugural $500,000 Sanctuary Cove Classic. While the Ultimate Event got everybody talking about Sanctuary Cove, it also signalled a shift in Australian golf towards resort course developments that would gain significant momentum during the 1990s. Three decades…

THE COURSE LOCATION: The Parkway, Sanctuary Cove, Queensland. CONTACT: (07) 5699 9000. WEBSITE: www.sanctuarycovegolf.com DESIGNERS: Pines – Arnold Palmer (1989); Palms – Ross Watson (2011). SLOPE RATINGS: Pines –132 (black), 127 (blue), 116 (white), 133 (white women), 126 (red women); Palms –130 (black), 125 (blue), 121 (white), 127 (white women), 122 (red women). PLAYING SURFACES: Pines – Bermuda Tifdwarf (greens), Wintergreen couch (fairways); Palms – Bermuda Tifeagle (greens), Wintergreen couch (fairways). GREEN FEES: Pines – Private course. Member’s guests and Intercontinental resort guests only. Palms – $99 including shared cart. Book via the website www.sanctuarycovegolf.com COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Paul McLean. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Matt Ballard, Michael Jones, Steve Darmody and Terry Price. THE CLUB & RESORT MEMBERSHIP: There are five different levels of membership available. Equity Members enjoy full membership including…

WHAT PHIL SHOULD HAVE SAID – AND WHAT IS SURELY IN HIS HEART – WAS THAT HE HAD SIMPLY HAD ENOUGH. IT is the morning after the day before here on Long Island and I’m still thinking about Phil Mickelson. By now – and certainly by the time you read these words – just about anyone on the planet with even the most tenuous interest in golf will know what the game’s greatest-ever left-hander got up to on the 13th green at Shinnecock Hills during the third round of the 118th US Open. Or should that be Shinnecock-up Hills? While this column is not going to condone Mickelson’s actions – his blatant disregard for both the letter and spirit of the law was hugely disappointing, especially in one so influential…

TWO of Australia’s most famous tournament venues have won the rights to host the 2020 and 2022 editions of the Australian Open. A strong field of contenders from Melbourne’s famous Sandbelt put their credentials to Golf Australia to fill the “release years” from the current eight-year contract with Sydney. Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt was grateful to all clubs for their enthusiasm in the bidding process, but was delighted to announce that Kingston Heath Golf Club would play host in 2020 and then Victoria Golf Club in 2022. “We were extremely impressed with the level of interest in hosting our men’s national championship from so many clubs in the Sandbelt,” Pitt said. “In Kingston Heath GC and Victoria GC, we know we have two proven venues whose reputations will…

WHETHER we like it or not, the majority of us are influenced in some way, shape or form by what we watch on television. It is human nature to conform. Stanley Milgram proved that with his infamous electric shock experiment in 1963 and Philip Zimbardo did likewise with the Stanford prison experiment eight years later. So it wouldn’t be surprising if, after years of watching professional golf tournaments, the majority of golf fans have been led to believe that every course should be green and lush and have white sand in its bunkers. I confess, I too fell victim to ‘Augusta Syndrome’ when my local track looked below par two Septembers ago. There wasn’t great grass coverage and the course wasn’t exactly green. The members were up in arms. But…