Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Compleat Golfer

“The future is electric,” so the saying goes. The biggest challenge is not the transition from internal combustion cars of the past to electric vehicles of the future; it’s what the bridge today will be to help narrow the divide. To put it into context, no matter the talent of a golfer, they don’t go from playing well at their local club to the PGA Tour There is the all-important developmental process in between to help the player adjust and progress to the level of the PGA. The same applies for transitioning from fossil fuels to electric mobility, there needs to be an in between, and that’s where hybrid-powered vehicles feature. There is a plethora of hybrids to be found in the luxury sedan market, from the traditional self-regenerating to…

1. Name the player(s) who led after each round of the Major. 2. What was the winning total, to par? 3. Seven South African golfers teed up at the US Open. Name them. 4. How many of these South Africans made the cut? Name them 5. At how many strokes over par was the cut made? 6. Who was the leading non-American on the final leaderboard? 7. How many Americans finished in the top 10? (Actually five golfers tied for eighth, so there were 12 players in the top 10 overall.) 8. Three players who have reached No 1 in the world finished in the top 10. Can you name them? 9.Two players shot the lowest round of the tournament, a 65. Name them. 10.Who was the highest-ranked player going…

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!!! FOLLOW THROUGH!!! DON’T CHEAT!!! SPEED UP PLAY!!! REPLACE YOUR DIVOT!!! USE SUNSCREEN!!! KEEP YOUR PHONE ON SILENT!!!! OK so this isn’t a snapshot of Donald Trump’s Twitter timeline, nor did I mistakingly have my keyboard caps Lock on. although I’ve often wondered why he tweets in the manner he does – or did? By the time you read this the US elections would have probably already been held and the likelihood is that Trump is clearing out the Oval Office to make space for Joe Biden and his wife Jill. It would represent a stunning turnaround in fortunes for Trump to have been re-elected given he was 10 percentage points down in the ratings with less than a month to go. From a golfing perspective. Biden…

Traditional courses like Wingate are seen as ‘short’ by today’s standards. Like most from this era, the layout is defined by unique risk-and-reward holes, with two in particular standing out as signature holes, according to the club’s golf director, Shane Hayes. ‘Over my years of involvement at the club, two holes have always stood out for me, and they often play a major role in how the annual club championships are decided. On the front nine the par-four 9th hole presents some interesting decisions off the tee. If there is any wind, it will assist on this hole, which tempts you into getting as close as possible to the green. This, though, comes with the risk of reaching the water short left of the green. Overcompensating on the right-hand side…

This past month I saw my coach Doug Wood for the first time since leaving South Africa at the end of June. He came over to the US for a four-week stretch to work with me, Erik van Rooyen, JC Ritchie and Shaun Norris. It was fun playing and practising with Shaun and JC and it was great being around some South African company and having a ‘good old braai’. My first tournament after a week of practice and prep was the second Major of the year, the ANA Inspiration in Palm Springs. We normally play this event in March but it was moved to September It was a demanding week with temperatures in the 40s, narrow fairways and thick rough. The grass was also completely different to what we…

Thomas Abt has just finished building a magnificent greenhouse in his garden, and the timing for this could not have been better. For in his new position as the commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, there is a similar sense of Abt’s desire to create the perfect environment for the growth and blossoming of South African professional golf. On 1 October 2020, Abt officially took over from longstanding commissioner Selwyn Nathan. Or rather, that’s when the paperwork was signed and sealed. In reality, Nathan has been grooming Abt for this ever since he appointed him as deputy commissioner in February 2018. And Abt himself has been preparing for this ever since his dad took him to watch what was then the ‘Million Dollar in the 1980s, and a young boy was…

When fate conspired to throw Jhared Hack, Adam Schenk and Ryan Yip together in the same group for the final round of 2016 News Sentinel Open on the Web.com Tour it proved, if nothing else, that the golfing gods have a wicked sense of humour. The unlikely trio, comprising three of the scariest terms in golf, unsurprisingly set social media buzzing as they attempted to chase down the biggest win of their careers. For what it’s worth, Schenk ended up in a tie for sixth, Yip finished in eighth and Hack tied for 11th as journeyman JJ Spaun claimed the victory in Knoxville, Tennessee. Their careers have taken distinctly different paths since that fateful day, with Schenk having progressed to the PGA Tour, Yip continuing to fight it out on…

No other golf course is more ingrained in the Stone family than Rustenburg Golf Club. That’s why this month’s feature course is in my column. It’s the only way I can pay the club its dues for all it has done for me and my family. It all started in the 1970s when my grandfather picked up the game and went to the pro, an old Scotsman by the name of Jock Black, to improve. He went from a 21-handicap to a single figure in a matter of months, showing the value of a good coach. He went on to win many club championships and later represent the South African Senior team, and it all started at Rustenburg GC. My grandfather introduced my father to the game when he came…

0 You don’t want to win the Masters Par 3 Contest. No one has ever won the Wednesday event and The Masters in the same year. Last year’s Par 3 Contest winner was Matt Wallace. He missed the cut in the tournament. 3 The number of South African golfers to have won the Par 3 Contest – in three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010. They were Rory Sabbatini, Tim Clark and Louis Oosthuizen (above). 5 The number of golfers who have led from start to finish to win. They are Craig Wood (1941), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972), Raymond Floyd (1976) and Jordan Spieth (2015). 10 The highest score on any hole in Masters history. In 1948 Sam Byrd made 10 on the 2nd hole and in 2006…

Living in Gauteng blings access to a multitude of great golf courses, all of which can be played in favourable weather conditions all year round. As a result, many of the courses have become particularly well known to South Africans and tourists, but one that may rate as one of the more ‘best-kept secrets’ is Wingate Park Country Club. Situated in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria, this gem is an old-school country club in the truest sense. Officially established in 1947, with its first social event being a picnic for 1000 people, it became a much sought-after recreational venue offering horse riding, tennis, bowls, cricket and swimming, with the golf course opening for play in 1951. Although the offerings have changed somewhat, as has the general appetite for the country…

One of the many side-effects of the Covid- 19 pandemic on the golfing community has been the huge increase in demand for golf trolleys, or carts, in countries where most golfers previously relied on a buggy to transport themselves and their clubs around the course. Google documented changes in consumer behaviour during the pandemic and found that golf-bag accessaries were the No 1 top-trending retail category. The most popular subtopics within that category were push carts, pull carts and the Clicgear 4.0. A few years ago, it was a device many associated with lower-rent courses. PGA Tour pros sometimes made fun of collegiate golfers for using push carts. Pinehurst, which has played host to professional golf’s biggest events, was a ‘no push cart facility’. The carts gradually became more common,…

A total of 104 players took part at the exciting day at Highland Gate golf estate in October, with all the Els for Autism partners going out of their way to contribute to proceedings in whatever way possible. As was the case at Randpark in September, another hugely successful day unfolded. Despite being a bit nervous in the lead- up to the day, with some heavy weather pulling along from Johannesburg and Pretoria, Ernie Els business development manager Nico van Rensburg says a perfect day evolved. ‘Everyone just wanted to play golf again. With our 23 sponsors on board, it made for an excellent day as everyone was so excited to get out of the city for a bit,’ he said, ‘The big winner, though, was Highland Gate. I think…

NOVEMBER PICK OF THE MONTH THE MASTERS AUGUSTA NATIONAL 12-15 NOVEMBER 2019 winner Tiger Woods completed one of sport’s greatest comebacks to end an 11-year Major title drought at The Masters by claiming a fifth Green Jacket. A gritty two-under 70 clinched a one-shot victory over Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele and earned the 43-year-old a 15th Major title that many thought would never come. It instantly sparked talk of Woods making a run at Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Majors. Not since the 2008 US Open had Woods hoisted a Major trophy and the last of his four Augusta titles came in 20 05. But after a beaming Woods slipped on his Green Jacket, he would be aware that the win has brought him tantalisingly close to…

Oddly, it was a visit to a hypnotist that changed his life. Just days before the Dunhill Championship at Houghton in 2004, Keith Home was struggling with his golf, brake, and ready to give up. He was thinking he was about to play at his last tournament as a professional. ‘I was lying awake one night, looking at my wife Karen, who was pregnant with our first child,’ recalls Home. We had just moved to Johannesburg, I had R500 left in my bank account and my credit card was maxed out. I’d been struggling with my game for a while and I had no idea how to get better. I really thought I was going to quit. I was a qualified lawyer, but what good was that going to do…

Agusta National Golf Club is the Sistine Chapel of golf – a place wrapped in myth, steeped in history and bathed in wondrous green hues; from the jacket presented to winners of The Masters, to pristine fairways and even the colour of refreshment cups. The drive down Magnolia Lane is intimidating, membership is extremely exclusive and not all are allowed in the clubhouse. Those who are permitted entry approach the hallowed halls with the deference they might adopt when entering a great cathedral. However, one area where a slight relaxation of the rigid rules does occur is a space called The Crow’s Nest. Situated in the turret of the iconic white plantation-style clubhouse, it is one of the most historic places on the property. Reached by stairs, it is where…

The European Tour @EuropeanTour Carding the joint lowest round of the weekend to win your first #RolexSeries event. Amazing Aaron Rai. Bernd Wiesberger @BWiesberger Thanks @ScottishOpen and @Renaissancegc for a superb event. Very honored to have been the Champ for the last 16 months and congrats to @AaronRaiGolf on the Win today! @EuropeanTour Tommy Fleetwood @TommyFleetwoodl Congratulations Aaron Rai, a deserved win! Well done @EuropeanTour #ASISO I had a great week and love Scotland!! Home now and watching MOTD! Ian Poulter @IanJamesPoulter Absolutely devastated about the finish...simply gutted...1 poor tee shot all week and taken out of tournament. Next stop @bmwpga Lee Westwood @WestwoodLee You know it’s really wet when I have to turn my hat back to front. Still enjoyed it out there with @sam_westwoodl3. All dried off and…

You can have the best putting stroke in the world but if you haven’t read the putt correctly, it will miss. Simple. When playing on the European Tour you’re exposed to many different types of greens, so over the years I’ve developed a simple drill to help me get a feel for the greens for the week. I’ll start with a 10-foot putt, preferably with a decent amount of break to it. I will line up the ball where I feel is the correct line. I will then place two small coins along the inside of where I predict the ball to roll. This creates a visual arc of how the putt will turn. I will then hit the putt and see how close my guess was. If the putt…

Tick, tock. The clock is ticking, slowly perhaps, but ticking. If a South African doesn’t win The Masters in November it will mark more than eight years since the country produced a Major champion Not quite the 20-year wait between 1974 and 1994 that Gary Player and Ernie Els bookmarked, but a significant drought nonetheless. Perhaps it’s that South African fans were spoilt for success, because even when Tiger Woods was collecting 14 Majors between 1997 and 2008, we were able to celebrate five Major wins, and then after Tiger had his meltdown in 2009, we had another three. When Ernie, then 42, won his fourth Major, The Open Championship, in 2012, it capped a run of seven Majors for South Africans in 12 years. That doesn’t mean we haven’t…

A few years ago, on a driving range at the Old Course at St Andrews, George Coetzee told me he was reading about chess. He spoke passionately about the life story of Joshua Waitzkin, a chess prodigy who was an International Master at the age of 16, but who then left the game as he struggled between the dichotomy of needing to win while still wanting to enjoy the art and pure joy of chess. As we spoke, I marvelled again at the often roundabout way Coetzee comes to certain realisations in his life and career. And perhaps it’s why I wasn’t at all surprised that, after he won his fifth European Tour title at the Portugal Masters this September, he spoke about playing darts and snooker with a heart-rate…

For most golfers it seems the rules are only there to penalise you for doing something wrong, but in so many situations in the game they can actually help you when you are in trouble. For example, take the situation of when you’re stuck in a thick bush, or in the water, with no shot. You will have to take penalty relief (one stroke], but the rules allow you to drop away from the area to a spot from where you will hopefully be able to continue play towards the hole. And if you really know your rules this can be quite an advantage, as was the case with an incident I spotted at the US Open at Winged Foot. The players faced a very tough course and you could…

In a time where many golf clubs across the country battle for membership growth, or even retention, Wingate Park Country Club is proving to be an exception. There is nothing pretentious about this traditional country dub. It’s more a place that has maintained the best parts of tradition while moving with the times to find a way to make members and guests feel at home. It isn’t easy to find the perfect balance that Wingate has achieved. Its ever-increasing membership is testimony to the fact it is getting the formula right, and a visit there at any time sees you surrounded by a mix of ages and golfing levels. Along with that, it’s a place where families can meet the bowls section of the club is extremely healthy and not…

Although nervous, Luca Filippi (above) played well enough to make the cut in his first professional start and, while he faded to a tie for 39th at the Betway Championship, he proved he was more than comfortable stepping up to take on the country’s top touring professionals. Filippi, along with the other 22 graduates on the Sunshine Tour, is proving that the National Squad, founded by businessman Johann Rupert five years ago, is achieving precisely what it set out to do – prepare our top amateur golfers for life in the paid ranks. Some have fared better than others, most notably former South African No 1 Garrick Higgo, who won twice in his debut season on the Sunshine Tour, finishing sixth on the Order of Merit and comfortably walking away…

Trapped in the trees, Bubba Watson had no chance. Good thing he’s one of those guys who never hits the ball straight. Unable to even see the green from where he was standing, Watson curled a shot from out of the pine straw and safely on to the 10th green to win The Masters on the second hole of a playoff against South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen. Watson won his first Major and sobbed, his shoulders heaving, as he embraced his mother. He won by hitting a most memorable wedge shot, one that may have trumped the historic double-eagle two Oosthuizen dropped in on the 2nd green to take the lead early in the final round. Both players finished at 10-under 278. Watson played the second playoff hole in par to…

‘Nine-holers, par threes and other abbreviated courses are all the rage – and could be the secret to reviving golf – Links magazine 2018 Since taking a step back from playing full time on the Sunshine Tour and moving more into the business side of this game, I can vouch for this statement It also goes deeper than what a ‘purist’ would shrug it off to be. The game, as well as the demographic of people who keep it alive these days, has changed – and changed for the better in my opinion. Gone are the days of a golf club surviving (let alone thriving) on its membership subs, greenfees and halfway-house sales The age of new’ is upon us and truth be told, it’s time to accept that fact…