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Lee Westwood moved to America to better his Major chances but how is he settling in to the new way of life as he prepares for the Masters?

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OH yes, oh yes, it’s Masters time again and there’s not a buzz in golf quite like this one.

We all feel it - them and us. Not just because it’s the first Major of the year and the place

where the season really moves into top gear. Not just because the list of past winners is

a Who’s Who of just about every bona fide legend ever to play this beautifully frustrating

game we all love. And not just because the super-tough qualifying criteria and

relatively small field guarantee players of the highest caliber playing golf that is at times

bewitching in its quality and creativity. But because the return of this great event to the

same venue every year since its inception in 1934 means that golfers and golf fans alike

have iconic images of the picture book setting that is Augusta etched into their mind’s

eye more vividly than those of any other course in the world. The perfectly manicured fairways and maze-like greens; pine trees and blooming

azaleas; Magnolia Lane; the old plantation clubhouse; the Crow’s Nest; The Big Oak Tree;

Rae’s Creek; Amen Corner; caddies in white boiler suits; Jack, Arnie and Player on the first

tee…

Yes, this is more than just a Major. This is the Masters.

THE MASTERSPREVIEW

Tiger’s got his distance control back and Rory ‘s confidence with his clubs is on the up but this year it could be anyone’s!

EYES ON AUGUSTA

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WITH the 77th Masters

Tournament capturing

everyone’s imagination right

now the attention has shifted away from

the incident of Rory McIlroy walking off

the PGA National course at the Honda

Classic in Palm Beach, complaining of a

wisdom tooth problem, having hit his

second shot into the water to go to 7-over

on Day Two.

At least Rory had the good grace

to apologise for his actions, saying: “I

regret what I did. It was not good for the

tournament, not good for the kids and the

fans who were out there watching me – it

was not the right thing to do. No matter

how badly I was playing I should have

stayed out there. I should have taken my

drop, chipped it on the green and tried to

make five and play my hardest on the back

nine, even if I shot 85.

“I’ve got to remember that I started to

play golf because I love the game and

I know I should go out there and enjoy

myself. I’ve been putting too much pressure

on myself and I need to put the smile back

on my face.”

It’s never good to walk off the golf course

but we tend to forget that Rory is still only

23 years old and a lot has happened in his

career over the last few seasons. He’s got to

learn to live with the pressure and I’m sure

he will.

But he’s quite right not to blame his golf

clubs for his drop in form. Since doing the

treble last season of winning the DP World

Tour Championship, The Race to Dubai and

the US PGA Tour Money List and changing

his clubs he effectively missed the cut in

his following three events, starting with the

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, where

PlayerINTRODUCTION Worldwide Golf Executive Editor Since 1999

The 9-time Major Champion and 9-time Senior Major Champion who has witnessed and been a part of some of the most historic and memorable golfing occasions reflects on the game today

g greflects on theeeeeee y

Gary

I mentioned in my column last month that there are professionals around the world who can drive the ball well over 400 yards. We’ll soon be seeing big, strong golf Tour athletes regularly hitting it 400 yards plus. It wasn’t that long ago when we thought that 300 yards would be beyond the reach of even the most powerful of the Tour players. Nowadays, it’s commonplace for the big-hitters to get it over 300 yards.

he and Tiger Woods both failed to make it

to the weekend. It can take time to adjust

to different golf clubs and different golf

balls but it’s not a serious problem for a

player of Rory’s talent.

He showed at Doral that he’s beginning

to find his form with a final round seven-

under 65 to raise him up to a share of

eighth place. I’m sure he’ll soon be playing

like the World No.1 he is. It would be good

to see him get back on track before the

Masters to show the world just how good

he can be. That would put a smile on his

and everybody’s face. With Tiger Woods

winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship

in style it could be an intriguing battle

between Rory and Tiger at the top of the

World Ranking.

Talking about new golf clubs I’m

amazed at these new X-hot Callaway clubs.

They are magnificent. They send the ball

so far it’s absolutely scary. It’s frightening.

They’re a huge help to the amateurs but for

the Tour players they can create enormous

problems for the future of the game. I really

don’t know where it will all end.

I mentioned in my Column last month

that there are professionals around the

world who can drive the ball well over

400 yards. We’ll soon be seeing big, strong

golf Tour athletes regularly hitting it 400

yards plus. It wasn’t that long ago when we

thought that 300 yards would be beyond

the reach of even the most powerful of the

Tour players. Nowadays, it’s commonplace

for the big-hitters to get it over 300 yards.

Hitting the ball those distances is not

compatible with the golf courses around

the world that stage the big events. They

weren’t designed to accommodate 300

yards-plus tee shots and 250 yard iron

shots. We’ll soon see Tour players built like

LeBron James treating the first hole on the

Old Course at St Andrews in The Open like

a par-3 and carrying the green.

The other downside of the new

technology is that some players will be

leaving the driver in the bag for fear of

hitting the ball too far. So the spectators

will be denied the pleasure of seeing some

of the big-hitters booming the ball off the

tee. Tiger Woods has played tournaments

in the last few seasons where he didn’t

once use his driver throughout the four

days of a Tour event.

I’ve said it for many years now but it’s

getting to the point where it’s almost too

late for the governing bodies to act to limit

the distances the ball will travel.

Many great golf courses that host Tour

events have had to take the tee boxes

backwards to create extra length and re-

position bunkers to make them a threat

but there’s only so far they can go without

changing the whole character of the

course completely.

At the WGC-Cadillac Championship

at Doral Nicolas Colsaerts cut the corner

off the dogleg left 362 yards par-4 16th

hole with a tee shot that carried 346 yards,

bounced once and ended up at the back

of the green. Bubba Watson and Sergio

Garcia also took the same direct route

and carried their tee shots 324 yards.

The bunkers positioned to catch the

conventional drive were totally redundant.

Where will it all end?

The R&A and the USGA have come out

against the long-handled anchored putter,

perhaps they will also take steps to prevent

the ball travelling any further than it already

does.

Nicolas Colsaerts (above) is leading the driving distance stats on the US PGA Tour with an average of 308 yards. That average takes into consideration every drive he hits and Nicolas sometimes uses a three wood or an iron instead of a driver!

ISSUE No. 147, APRIL, 2013Published by:Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd+44 1663 719926

Published in Dubai by:Prografix, PO Box 24677,Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785

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THE first Major of 2013 is just around the corner

and it’s the big one that always gets everyone

talking. Each year pundits pore over the form guide,

analysing past performances and statistics to justify

their picks. But the great thing with this game is –

anything can happen, particularly at the Masters.

Tiger Woods, back on top of the World Ranking,

will no doubt start as favourite and after winning

three tournaments in the last two months – and six

times in 19 starts – it’s hard to argue with the logic in

that. He’s regained his distance control and his razor

sharp short game finally looks to be back as well. In

wrapping up his 17th WGC and his seventh Cadillac

Championship victory Woods took just 100 putts

over the four rounds – that’s fewer than at any other

event in his career. The return of his distance control

with his irons has seen him bag more birdies this

season but he’s still not killing off tournaments as

ruthlessly as the Tiger of old. He stumbled over the

line with two bogeys in the last three holes in the

Cadillac and Ricky Fowler’s late collapse at Bay Hill

made that win much easier than it might have been.

One thing’s for sure, if he’s leading after three rounds

at Augusta you’d be mad not to back him – he’s

converted an astonishing 53 third round leads and

21 of his last 22!

One player who was looking good at Bay Hill was

runner-up Justin Rose and it was the Englishman’s

swing that influenced Tiger to work with Justin’s

coach Sean Foley. Rose maintains such consistent

angles in his swing that even his bad shots are

respectable. That’s why he’s always going to be

knocking on the door come Sunday and if he

can close out those short putts I think he’ll be the

highest placed European at the Masters.

Rory will be many people’s favourite and you

can’t beat battling it out with the world’s best over

the weekend to prepare you for the first Major of

the year. His final round 65 at Doral showed his

confidence with his new Nike clubs is there and

he looked far more comfortable than at any point

this year. But he should have played a few more

competitive rounds before Augusta to build on that

momentum.

I’ve not gone with Tiger, Rory or Justin at Augusta,

even though they’ll be up there. I’m going with

Adam Scott. Let’s put what happened at The Open

last year aside and look at his form going into the

Masters. He’s leading the par- 5 scoring averages on

the US PGA Tour and that’s the key to getting fitted

with the Green Jacket. The one thing that could

upset my pick is for one of the many fearless rookie

PGA Tour players to rock up and take the spoils –

wondering what all the fuss was about.

FEATURES

CONTENTSMY MASTERS SHOUT IS SCOTT

Lee Westwood speaks exclusively to Worldwide Golf about the US move he hopes will seal his Major dream.

MAJOR MOVER30

40TRAVISWILSON

Alex GallemoreEditor

35MASTERS PREVIEW

A look ahead to Augusta as we run the rule over the likely candidates for the Green Jacket.

The veteran caddie talks about life on the bag of the new Women’s World No.1.

Editor-in-Chief: Mike GallemoreExecutive Editor: Gary PlayerEditor: Alex Gallemore

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COLUMNISTS

top-10 Masters moments and Sandy Lyle’s memories of his bunker magic in 1988.

INSTRUCTION

air their views on the state of the game.

ARABIAN GOLF

from the leading clubs in the Middle East.

Joel Neale catches up with UAE Junior Team coach Jason Froggatt and team member Ahmed Skaik.

STYLE

all under the spotlight.

TOP GEAR

Worldwide Golf readers test the latest fairway-busting drivers.

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VIEW FROM THE FIRST TEE 1ST AUGUSTA NATIONAL (TEA OLIVE)

PAR 4 – 445 YARDS

FEW of us who love the game of golf will ever get the chance to too see this spine-tingling view in the flesh – the one that greets players as they stand on the first tee at Augusta National.

It’s the starting point from which the greatest golfers in the

history of the game have plotted their way towards the

famous Green Jacket to cement their legacy forever. From

Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead to Arnold Palmer

(pictured), Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson through

to Seve, Langer, Faldo and then Woods… the biggest names

in the game have won the Masters and that’s why when

players tee it up at Tea Olive, the heart skips that little bit faster.

Unlike the other Majors which rotate venues, the familiarity

of Augusta – the sights, smells and sounds – breeds an even

greater sense of excitement as players set out to follow in

these hallowed footsteps for one of greatest prizes in golf. It’s

the first Major of the season and it’s when things start getting

really serious, so settling the nerves is paramount as players

look for a good tee shot down this long par 4. An elevated

tee, next to the famous Oak Tree at the back of the clubhouse,

plays to a fairly narrow fairway with a slight dogleg right.

There’s a big nasty fairway bunker to the right that needs to

be avoided but the big bombers can carry this with a drive of

320 yards. The second shot is brutal, playing onto a very tricky

elevated, multi-tiered green, with another huge bunker front

left waiting to swallow up any wayward approaches. It’s really

tough to get the ball close to the pin and par is a great score

for players to open their Masters challenge.

The Augusta National course was designed by famous architect Alister Mackenzie in collaboration with the legendary Bobby Jones (pictured in action above) who would hit shots from different spots to help Mackenzie (pictured right of Jones) calibrate the layout.

THE Golf Club formally opened in January 1933 whereupon Jones and co-founder Clifford Roberts immediately started talking about hosting an event in order to promote membership and improve Augusta National’s financial stability. The first ‘Augusta National Invitation Tournament’ was held in March 1934. Sadly, Mackenzie never got to witness it having passed away two months earlier. Prior to the second staging of the event the following year the decision was made to switch the nines, with the original front nine becoming what is now the back nine and vice versa. The tournament officially became known as ‘the Masters’ in 1939 with the name having been used unofficially for several years.

1932

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THE STARTER

1 Jack Nicklaus was written off as a spent force when he arrived at Augusta for the 1986 Masters aged 46. It was six years since he’d won his 17th Major at the US PGA

Championship at Oak Hill Country Club and two years since his last Tour victory of any description. Asked if he thought Nicklaus could win the Masters that year, Tom Kite, one of the stars of the day, said, ‘I don’t think he can win any tournament.’ Opening rounds of 74 and 71 seemed to confirm that theory but the Golden Bear showed his enduring class with a third round 69 to move to within four strokes of leaders Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros before a scintillating final round of 65, which included a back nine of 30 saw him edge Kite and Norman by one. The image of Jack raising his putter to the air as his decisive 18-foot birdie putt on 17 drops is, in our opinion, the standout Masters moment in the history of the event.

Top 10 Masters Moments

www.wwgolf.biz 15

2 In 1997 a 21-year-old named Tiger Woods signalled his arrival on the world stage in astonishing fashion, winning his first Major

by a whopping 12 shots and setting records for the youngest winner, biggest winning margin and lowest aggregate score (270). Golf would never be the same again.

3 In 1980 Seve Ballesteros became the first European and at 23 years and four days old, the youngest ever winner of the Masters (Tiger Woods later broke the record in 1997) when he claimed the first of two Green Jackets by four strokes from Gibby Gilbert and Jack Newton.

4 In 1978 Gary Player was 42 and seven shots behind Hubert Green going into the final round. His last Major victory, the eighth of

his career had come four years earlier at The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes and his final Grand Slam triumph was to prove the most unlikely and spectacular of them all. Playing along-side a 21-year-old Seve Ballesteros The Black Knight shot an outrageous back nine of 30 and birdied seven of the last 10 holes, including a 15-footer at the last, to win by one.

5 Tiger Woods was leading by one in 2005 when he pitched his second shot on the par 3 16th well above the hole before golf fans around the world watched the ball trickle slowly down towards the hole and then teeter for an eternity on the edge of the cup before dropping in. He bogeyed the next two holes

and fell into a play-off with Chris DiMarco, which he won to collect his fourth Green Jacket.

6 The most famous shot ever made at the Masters happened in 1935 when Gene Sarazen holed a four-wood approach from

235 yards out for an albatross on the par-five 15th hole.

7 Greg Norman, six shots clear of the field after the third round, is left heartbroken after a final round meltdown sees him close with a 78 as

the ultra-consistent Sir Nick Faldo shoots 67 to win by five shots in 1996.

8 Sandy Lyle in 1988 played one of the most iconic shots in Masters history when he struck a perfect seven iron out of a fairway bunker

on the 18th which landed just a few feet from the pin to set up a winning birdie for a one stroke win over Mark Calcavecchia.

9 In 1942 Byron Nelson triumphed in an 18-hole play-off considered one of the best of all time, beating Ben Hogan 69-70.

10 Phil Mickelson finally shed his ‘nearly man’ tag in 2004 when, in his 13th year on the US PGA Tour, he claimed

his first Major in his 12th appearance at the M asters. After a storming back nine of 31 he became only the fourth player in Masters history to win the title with the final putt when he sank an 18-footer on the 72nd hole to edge out Ernie Els by one.

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THE STARTER

The Masters is played in April for the first

time in 1940. Having been inaugurated by

Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts six years

earlier the tournament is initially played in

March but moves to the first week in April

in 1940 as Jimmy Demaret beats Lloyd

Mangrum by four strokes.

1940 APRIL MASTERS

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

SANDY’S SUBLIME MOMENT IN THE SANDThe Scotsman recounts the unforgettable shot that won him the second of his two Majors at the 1988 Masters.

“I was just trying to hold it together. I’d had a bit of a letdown at the 11th and 12th holes, losing the lead to Mark Calcavecchia, and then failed to make birdies on both of the back nine’s par 5s, the 13th and 15th, when I’d had good chances but didn’t convert them. I was getting a little desperate by then. I thought, ‘Well that’s it, you’ve had your chance at 13 and 15 and you’ve not taken it.’ With the 16th, 17th and 18th coming up I thought if I could finish them in par I’d be doing quite nicely but little did I know I’d make a good putt on 16 from behind the hole for birdie and then the one on 18 that everyone remembers.”

Lyle is in the fairway bunker off the tee on 18

“Seven iron was the chosen weapon which was going to land probably past the pin, which it did, remarkably well. It landed past the pin by about six or seven yards and stayed on the bank there for what seemed like minutes. I was waiting for some sort of reaction from the crowd but nothing was happening and I thought, ‘Well it’s probably gone big at the back of the green somewhere.’ But then the crowd got more and more excited so I thought, ‘Well this is looking really good now.’ I imagined that the ball had run up cozy to about a foot from the hole and I could just walk up to the green, pull the pin out, tap it in and keep moving! But that wasn’t the case – I still had a fairly long putt to make but luckily I managed to knock it in.”

– Sandy Lyle

– Sandy Lyle

Bobby Jones (right) with Jimmy Demaret at the 1940

Masters presentation.

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The Race to Dubai is a season-long competition spanning a minimum of 45 tournaments in 24 countries and all five continents on The 2013 European Tour

International Schedule. The Race to Dubai winner receives The Harry Vardon Trophy (first awarded in 1937), and a seven year European Tour Card exemption. The

winner of The Race to Dubai will secure Category 1 Membership of The European Tour similar to the winners of The Open Championship, the US Open, the US PGA

Championship and the Masters Tournament. The Bonus Pool will count as Official Money on the final Race to Dubai standings.

E X P L A N AT I O N O F T H E E U R O P E A N TO U R R A C E TO D U B A I 2 0 1 3

www.wwgolf.biz24

I’M really looking forward to the Masters in a

couple of weeks’ time. This must be one of the

most intriguing Masters for many years and it’s

almost impossible to predict the winner. Mind

you I would never venture to say who I thought

would win the Masters.

Apart from the fact that there are a host of players

who have the ability to win the title, there is also ‘The

Masters Factor’ that has to be taken into account.

There’s something magical about the Masters. It’s a

tournament like no other. It has a special atmosphere

that is quite unique. Players seem to raise their game

when they get to Augusta, which means that their

form in the weeks before the tournament is no guide

whatsoever.

It’s hard to define why the ambience is so different

but it certainly has an amazing effect on the players.

They seem to rise to the occasion. When the bell rings

at Augusta you come out fighting.

Standing on the first tee at Augusta on Day One

you suddenly feel your spirits lift. I remember playing

in the 1978 Masters. Prior to Augusta I’d been playing

at Greensboro and one of the newspapers carried an

article headlined: ‘Gary Player is a Fading Star.’

My form had not been particularly good on the

run-up to the first Major of the season but the moment the bell rang and

I hit my first shot I came out fighting. I managed to beat Hubert Green,

Tom Watson and Rod Funseth by a single shot. It was my third Masters

title which came 17 years after my first Green Jacket. I don’t know what

that newspaper’s interpretation of a ‘Fading Star’ was but this so-called

‘fading star’ was shining bright, I set them alight, and I could tell them I

was quite right – Mohammed Ali couldn’t have put it any better.

Jack (Nicklaus) was a perfect example of a sportsman able to up his

game when it mattered most. He was a superstar who had that special

ingredient. He could hit the ball all over the place on the driving range

before a big tournament and then go and shoot the lights out when the

real action started. I often saw him do that. You can’t define what it is that

gives a player that special ‘IT’ but Jack had ‘IT.’

When I won the second of my three Open Championships, at

Carnoustie in 1968, I was missing something in my game. The night

before the tournament I was out on the driving range until ten in the

evening hitting balls when suddenly something clicked and I was back in

control.

When the bell went the next day at the start of the first round I came

out fighting, determined to win another Open and another Major – and I

beat my good friends Jack Nicklaus and Bob Charles by two shots. That’s

all down to the ‘IT’ factor.

At this month’s Masters, obviously, I’d love to see last year’s winner

Bubba Watson helping one of the South Africans put on the Green Jacket

on April 14. It would be ironic if the winner is Louis Oosthuizen, who

lost to Bubba on the second extra hole of a sudden-death play-off at

last year’s tournament with Watson’s amazing ‘banana’ rescue shot onto

the green. We’ve got a strong contingent of South Africans competing

with Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Charl Schwartzel, the

2011 Masters winner, 2008 Masters winner Trevor

Immelman, Richard Sterne, Brandon Grace and

George Coetzee all in contention.

R&A and USGA STAND STRONGI’M proud of the R&A and the USGA for sticking to

their guns with their proposed prohibition of long-

handled anchored putters – and I’m equally proud of

The European Tour for backing them.

The R&A and the USGA are responsible for

formulating and administering the Rules of Golf

and their role in the game should be respected by

everyone involved.

I’m shocked at the response of the US PGA Tour and

some of their members who believe that it should

be up to the individual player to decide what putter

he uses and not the Rules of the governing bodies of

golf.

Whichever way you want to look at it, the fact

is the same – using an anchored putter takes the

wrist action and the nerves out of the game and

diminishes the necessity of mind control. It’s a

tragedy that some of the players cannot accept the

importance the mind plays in golf.

I’ve seen all sorts of statistics about whether players using long-

handled anchored putters hole more putts than they did by using a

conventional putter. What is fundamentally wrong is that the anchored

long stick is the biggest helper there is to those players who don’t have

the nerve and mind control to putt consistently.

CAN I SHOOT 20 BELOW MY AGE IN SWITZERLANDI’M looking forward to playing the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open in

Switzerland in July on the European Senior Tour. I’m aiming on shooting

below my age by 20 and beating the 15 I achieved last year. I guess it’s

true that the older I get, the easier it becomes. Golf Club Bad Ragaz is in a

spectacular setting in the Swiss Alps and it will be good to meet up with

so many good friends on the Senior Tour.

I appreciate that tournament sponsorship is tight for all the tours these

days but I don’t think that prospective sponsors of the Senior Tours are

fully aware of the enormous benefits they receive by supporting a Senior

event.

The standard of play is almost as high as the regular tours and Senior

Tour players are much more amenable than players on the regular Tours

and they certainly know how to look after the sponsors. The Senior

players are happy to play in the Pro-Ams and have a laugh and a joke

with the sponsors, help them with their game and generally create an

enjoyable, memorable atmosphere for them.

They’ll have breakfast and dinner with them and make the whole

experience a special occasion. If I wanted to look after my customers and

clients I’d certainly choose to sponsor a Senior event.

GARY PLAYER

Tom Watson, the 1977 Masters champion, pictured with Gary Player at the 1978 Masters presentation,

after helping Gary on with the Green Jacket. Watson, Green and Funseth shared second place.

www.wwgolf.biz 25

HELPING HAND BACK HOMEIT’S an exciting time for me at home on the farm in South Africa at

the moment. The horses are doing well and there are a lot of new

developments going on. I had a wonderful experience last month when

a young man came to see me on his way back home from playing in a

tournament at Fancourt.

He was distraught with his game, having shot a final round 78. He

spent the entire day with me. I helped him with his game and I changed

his golf swing and his attitude. He played in a tournament the following

week and he earned 1.2million rand in prizemoney. He couldn’t have

been more pleased. He rang me to tell me what had happened and his

father also rang me to thank me for what I had done to help. I got a real

kick out of that.

VOLVO SHOWCASE ONE OF MY GREATEST DESIGNS THRACIAN CLIFFS Golf and Beach Resort at Kavarna, Bulgaria, will be an

excellent venue for this year’s Volvo World Match Play Championship on

May 16-19.

I have a soft spot for the World Match Play, having won the

Championship five times in the 1960s and ‘70s when it was played at the

Wentworth Club in Surrey – my home from home in England. That set the

record until Ernie Els went on to win it seven times.

Thracian Cliffs is one of the finest golf courses I have designed. It’s in a

magnificent, spectacular setting overlooking the Black Sea and an event

as prestigious as the Volvo World Match Play Championship will certainly

put the Resort on the world golf map.

At this month’s Masters, obviously, I’d love to see last year’s winner Bubba Watson helping one of the South Africans put on the Green Jacket on April 14. It would be ironic if the winner is Louis Oosthuizen, who lost to Bubba on the second extra hole of a sudden-death play-off at last year’s tournament with that amazing ‘banana’ rescue shot onto the green.

South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel led the way by winning the Masters in 2011 and the number of world class players in the field this year

has never been stronger.

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GREG NORMANLAST month, I had the pleasure of

travelling to China to announce my

role as the Advisory Coach for the

China Golf Association as part of

their bid to have China represented at the

Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. 

In many ways, the invitation for me to play

this role is the culmination of my 35 year

career in golf. Not only am I able to draw from

my experiences as a Touring Professional, but

also my experience in junior development.

My golf foundation in Australia dates back

to the late 1980s and my more recent

development of the Greg Norman Champions

Golf Academy here in the United States has

given me a great deal of experience.

Like many things, the gestation period

on this partnership has taken some time,

but the conversations with Minister Xaio

Tian and Zhang Xiaoning of the China Golf

Association really started to take shape last

September when I met with them to discuss

China’s National Golf Team and their current

development programme.

As we all know, China is fully committed

to the Olympic movement and their

commitment to golf is equally impressive.

In a relatively short period of time, they’ve

made great strides, but in my initial

meetings, we both identified some areas for

improvement, in particular with hands-on,

practical Tournament experience. As part

of my role, I’ll be evaluating and improving

upon their programmes and dropping in

several instructors from the United States and

Australia. I’ve been given the latitude to make

some meaningful contributions, which I look

forward to.

Not many people fully understand the

criteria for Olympic qualification. In fact, the

International Olympic Committee will be

voting on the final criteria towards the end

of this year. But, in essence, it’s an individual

competition, over 72 holes, with qualifiers

coming off the World Ranking.

The field size for both the men’s and

women’s competition will be 60, starting

with the top 15 players in the world, with no

more than two or three from any one country.

While this qualifying system is being fine-

tuned, I think it does a good job of featuring

the best players in the world, together with

geographic diversity. At present, China is on

the bubble with one qualifier for the men’s

competition. Interestingly enough, China has

greater depth for the women’s competition.

Over the next year or two I’ll be working

with the China National Team on a broad-

based programme, but as the Olympic

criteria becomes better defined and we see

what players show the greatest potential for

qualifying through the World Ranking, I will

then shift gears to work more closely with

the players who have the best chance of

qualifying.

Of course, all of this is a strong

endorsement for China as an emerging

golf market. As I’ve said, the East may well

take over the West, which we’ve already

witnessed in recent years on the LPGA

Tour. As an industry, it’s important that we

nurture emerging markets for our sport

and I’m one of many who see this as a

wonderful opportunity to grow the game of

golf. I’m honoured to have been given this

opportunity to play a small role in the creation

of what I’m sure will be a very sustainable and

vibrant golf market.

Not many people fully understand the criteria for Olympic qualification.  In fact, the International Olympic Committee will be voting on the final criteria towards the end of this year.  But, in essence, it’s an individual competition, over 72 holes, with qualifiers coming off the World Ranking.

www.wwgolf.biz 27

AS the second week in April fast approaches, I can’t wait for the

first Major of the year. I’m heading to Augusta where I will be

working with some of my corporate partners for a few days and

I look forward to spending some time there.

This year has already produced some great winners on the US

PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson

and Brandt Snedeker. So far, every event on the US PGA Tour up

through the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at

Doral has been won by an American.

Given Tiger’s victory there, and his win earlier this year at the

Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, you would have to

count him as an early favourite to win the Masters. I also like Phil

Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker’s chances as they both have

incredible short games and they have both shown good form so

far this year.

If Rory can carry the momentum of his final round 65 at Doral

through to his next start at the Houston Open and he plays well

there, then he jumps right back into the picture and we may see

our first non-American winner on the US PGA Tour this year. While

Rory hasn’t quite gotten off to the start he would like, his closing

round in the WGC-Cadillac Championship indicates to me that his

game might be peaking at just the right time. And as we all know,

that is the key to winning Majors.

My two dark horses to win would be Adam Scott and

Charl Schwartzel. Adam came so close last year at The Open

Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes and I firmly believe

that he is ready to take the next step and win his first Major. I

believe it’s just a matter of time.

Charl has been playing much better recently and he has proven

that he can win at Augusta so he has a level of comfort there. As

I have said before, the Masters is special, it’s just pure golf. There

are no corporate tents. It’s not a commercial event and the golf

course is hallowed ground. As usual, it should shape up to be a

very exciting tournament.

Given Tiger’s victory there (Doral), and his victory earlier this year at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, you would have to count him as an early favourite to win The Masters. I also like Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker’s chances as they both have incredible short games and have both shown good form this year.

It’s hard to believe that Tiger last put on the

Green Jacket in 2005. But his form leading into the Masters shows he’s focused on getting his

hands on another.

2004 Masters champion Phil Mickelson helps Tiger on with his

fourth Green Jacket in 2005.

www.wwgolf.biz28

PETE COWENA lot of people ask me why certain smaller guys can hit the ball further than some bigger, more muscular players. Rory McIlroy can hit the ball a long way but he’s only 11 stone or more wet through and around 5 ft 9 inches tall. It depends entirely how a player uses his muscle mass. A muscle can be very quick for a little guy and not as quick for a bigger player.

WITH almost all my players now playing

in the States I’m having to spend

more and more time over there

working with them. Sadly, there aren’t

enough big tournaments in Europe at the

moment to entice the players to come over here

to play. Yet if I were a player I’d be playing on The

European Tour because it’s a lot easier to get into

the top 50 in the World Ranking by playing The

European Tour than playing the US PGA Tour.

The other downside for the Europeans is that

because the Americans have played on the US

PGA Tour year in, year out, they know the golf

courses like the back of their hand. That gives

them a big advantage over our boys. Our

guys haven’t learned their way round many of

the courses and it might take them a couple

of years or so before they get to know the

courses well enough to be able to compete on

equal terms with the Americans.

The competition on the US PGA Tour is fierce.

They’ve got so many good players coming to

the fore that it’s tougher than ever for our boys to

win in the States. Like it or not, the US PGA Tour

has got prominence over The European Tour right

now.

I fully appreciate why the big name European

players have moved to the States. It’s where all the

action is. I’d do the same as my players have done

and move to America but my wife wouldn’t hear of

it. I was offered a good position over in the States

many years ago but the family wouldn’t move. That

was the end of it. I know when I can win but I wasn’t

going to win that argument.

I’ve been working with GMAC and he played

really well at Doral but his putting let him down.

He told me he’d have won it if his putting had been

better. He missed out on the money and the World

Ranking points. That double bogey six at the last was

very costly for him, although he did the right thing

in going for birdie, which would

have given him a share of second

place with Steve Stricker. There’s

more to be gained by going for

birdie than by settling for bogey. In

the end he had to take a tie for third

place and a big drop in money and

Ranking points.

A lot of people ask me why certain smaller

guys can hit the ball further than some bigger,

more muscular players. Obviously, a lot of players are

hitting the ball further than ever before but not all of

them can work it as well as they should.

Rory McIlroy can hit the ball a long way but he’s only

around 11 stone or more wet through and about 5 ft 9 inches

tall. It depends entirely how a player uses his muscle mass. A

muscle can be very quick for a little guy and not as quick for a

bigger player.

It’s a bit like a boxer. It’s not the fact that he can punch harder

because he’s got huge muscle mass it’s because his muscles can

move faster, delivering more power. It’s the same with golfers.

They can hit the ball further simply because their muscles can

move quicker and the speed gets greater and greater. It’s all

to do with the physiology. The speed of the muscle mass is

what matters, not the muscle mass itself.

THE MASTERSI’ve always believed that the secret of a player’s success

at the Masters is to play to your strengths. You don’t have

to be a big hitter and turn all the par-5s into par-4s to

succeed. When Mike Weir won the Masters in 2003 he laid

up on all the par-5s and wherever he thought it necessary.

He put his trust in his wedge play.

You’ve got to understand exactly what your strengths

are and play to them to do well at Augusta National. If you

can do that you’ve got a chance of being in contention.

If you hit it well and putt well then you’ll do all right. Great

chippers always seem to succeed at Augusta. If you look back

at the Masters winners over the past 30 years or so you won’t

find one who’s not a good chipper - they’re all good chippers.

www.wwgolf.biz 29

As far as who is going to win this month’s Masters, Rory McIlroy won’t

be far away. You’ve got to remember, he’s only played a handful of

tournaments so far this season and it takes playing competitive golf to

get you tournament sharp.

In Rory’s case he’s also got to get confident with his new

equipment. It can take a while. Some players get a result straight away,

others take a little longer. If you don’t get confident with your new

clubs immediately the Press are always going to say you’re not playing

well because you’ve got a problem with your equipment change. It’s

not the equipment that’s the problem, it’s getting the confidence of

using it. If Rory can shoot 65 round Doral, as he did in the final round,

then he knows there really can’t be much wrong with getting used to

his new equipment.

After my players, one guy I’d like to see win the Masters is Adam

Scott. He deserves it. He was runner-up with fellow Australian Jason

Day behind Charl Schwartzel in the 2011 Masters. He’s leading the par-

5 stats on the US PGA Tour and I think he’s got a really good chance

this time. Geoff Ogilvie is another Aussie who is showing some good

form and could be an outside chance.

Charl is playing well, too, but I expect the favourite has to be Tiger

Woods, along with Steve Stricker, who is limiting the number of

tournaments he plays.

I had four players in the top 12 at last year’s Masters – Louis

Oosthuizen, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Lee

Westwood – and they’ve all got a good chance of winning, although

Lee is no longer one of my boys. Louis is good enough to win any

tournament. But right now he’s got a lot on his plate. He and his wife

have got two youngsters and another child is on the way. He’s decided

to spend more time in the United States and they’ve just moved into

a house in West Palm Beach. It’s difficult when you’ve got so much

going on off the course to keep your focus on the course.

Apart from the big names it could be a lesser known US PGA Tour

player who walks away in the Green Jacket. There are so many up-

and-coming players who are making their mark. They’re fearless and

they won’t be frightened by the aura of Augusta. Don’t be surprised if

you’ve never even heard of this year’s Masters winner.

One of the least desirable aspects of our game is that so many guys

follow the money. Sometimes they can’t see the bigger picture. They

tend to go where the money takes them.

If a player I’m coaching tells me he’s just in it for the money that’s

one thing. If a player tells me they want to be the best in the world

that’s something else. Some players just can’t resist the opportunity to

go for big money tournaments instead of thinking of the progression

and improvement of their career. Certainly, their management

companies are not going to persuade their players to turn it down.

Management companies take 20 per cent of their players’ earnings

so, obviously, they’re going to encourage them to go where the

money is. But money isn’t everything in this game. If a player is able

to concentrate on becoming a better player long-term then he’s

more likely to succeed than a player who can only see the short-term

financial gains. Overall, it’s the player who wants to be the best who

usually ends up winning the most money anyway.

I’ve been working with GMAC and he played really well at Doral but his putting let him down. He told me he’d have won it if his putting had been better. He missed out on the money and the World Ranking points. That double bogey six at the last was very costly for him, although he did the right thing in going for birdie, which would have given him a share of second place with Steve Stricker. There’s more to be gained by going for birdie than by settling for bogey.

www.wwgolf.biz30

www.wwgolf.biz 31

Major change

LEE WESTWOOD talks exclusively to Richard Bevan about his move to the United States which he hopes will pay dividends in his search for that long overdue Major title starting with this month’s Masters Tournament. AS a down to earth no-nonsense

Englishman Lee Westwood isn’t someone

you’d traditionally associate with change.

He knows what he likes and he likes what

he knows. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. You

get the picture…

FOR practically his entire professional career

Lee has been guided by the larger than life

Chubby Chandler and his International Sports

Management company. The responsibility

of honing his much-admired swing had

long been the task of Pete Cowen. While

increasingly outrageous sums of money

dangled in front of them many of his peers

have jumped ship from one equipment

manufacturer to another, but Westy has

steadfastly stayed loyal to Ping since day one.

Such consistency has served him well as

37 international tournament victories, two

European money list titles, eight Ryder Cup

appearances and a six month stint as World

No.1 bear testament to his long-term success.

Sure, he’s had his dark periods. After ending

Colin Montgomerie’s seven-year reign at the

top of the European Tour Order of Merit in

2000, Westwood suffered a two-year slump

of epic proportions, dropping outside the

top 200 in the World Rankings. Then, after a

mini-revival, there was another dip in 2004

and 2006, before he turned it around again

and rose to win the inaugural Race to Dubai

and DP World Tour Championship in 2009,

before knocking Tiger Woods off the top of

the World Ranking the following year. But

whenever times have been tough, rather than

making dramatic changes, Westwood has

taken solace from the familiarity of those ever-

presents in his career. Whether it be words of

comfort and encouragement from Chubby,

back to swing basics with Pete or the support

of his family and friends in Worksop, Lee has

gained strength from having this same solid,

dependable and trusted team of people

around him.

So it came as something of a surprise to

many in the game when the 39-year-old

opted to up sticks and move with wife Laurae

and kids Sam and Poppy, to Palm Beach in

Florida. Despite achieving more than most

golfers of his generation Westwood is yet to

claim the Major his talent so richly deserves.

He’s had several near misses and the next

five years are crucial for a player very much

into his prime. So the move is geared towards

putting that right. He finished runner-up

in the Masters two years ago and with the

benefit of a full winter practicing in the sun at

Old Palm Beach Golf Club under his belt, he’s

relishing a return to Augusta this month.

WWG: How are you enjoying living in the

states and how has the move benefited your

game?

LW: To be honest, the entire family is loving

it, particularly as we’re guaranteed mostly

excellent weather for pretty much the

whole year. The thing I’ve benefitted most

from is being able to practice whenever I

want and not to have to don eight layers of

clothing before going out.

WWG: What prompted you to move after so

long in the UK?

LW: It was one of those things we’d

been thinking about for quite some time.

Eventually, it just seemed the right move at

the right time for all of us so we made the

commitment and we haven’t looked back

since. I knew that it was the right move

for my career and once I knew the family

were on board with it, too, it was full steam

ahead.

WWG: While the move will obviously benefit

you on American courses is there a danger

of it hampering you on European and links

courses?

LW: I wouldn’t think so. I’ve played on

European Tour courses all over the world

long enough and often enough. As Seve

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www.wwgolf.biz 33

although I’m a big Knicks fan, I like

watching all the best players.

WWG: How is your game feeling at the

moment ahead of the Masters and are you

confident? Have you been working on

anything in particular?

LW: I’m relatively happy with the way

I’m swinging so it’s just a case of keeping

everything up to speed. The better

weather has definitely helped my short

game so hopefully everything will come

together as we head for Augusta.

WWG: What is the key to success at the

Masters and how do you prepare your

game for that tournament?

LW: The key to Augusta is much the same

as anywhere else – keep it in the fairway

and find the greens and hope your short

game is up to it because you definitely

need a good short game at Augusta.

once said: ‘A golfer has to be able to play

on any course, eat at any table and sleep

in any bed.’

WWG: You’re a down to earth Englishman,

how do you find the ‘super polite’ customer

service in the US – do you like it or does it

get on your nerves?

LW: I haven’t found anything that’s got

on my nerves too much so far and the

service in America is second to none.

There isn’t much in Palm Beach you can’t

get.

WWG: Ian Poulter has settled into the

American way of life quite well as far as

following local sports teams etc – have you

and your kids done the same?

LW: I’ve followed a variety of American

sport for many years and not just since

I’ve moved to America. Basketball is

probably my favourite US sport and

WWG: How does the Masters differ from

the other US Majors and is it one you feel

your game is suited to?

LW: I think my game suits most courses,

but Augusta is unique. It’s such a special

place and a much more undulating

course than you normally find in America.

The greens are also very tricky, especially

if you’re on the wrong side of the flag. It

does test every aspect of your game.

WWG: Does the ‘best player never to have

won a Major’ tag create extra pressure for

you when you tee it up in a Major or is it

something you pay no attention to?

LW: It’s something I don’t think too much

about and I know there are plenty of

contenders for that title anyway. There’s

always pressure whatever the event so it’s

important not to make too much of the

ones that have a Major title to them. You

just hope to have your best game with

you and let the rest take care of itself.

WWG: Where does your win at the

inaugural Dubai World Championship rate

among your career achievements?

LW: It was a very special tournament

and an extra special win given that it

sealed everything on The Race to Dubai.

I have many happy memories of Dubai

and that was probably the biggest.

WWG: Rory McIlroy’s move to Nike has

attracted a great deal of attention lately,

why have you stuck with Ping for so long

when so many of the big name players

have switched manufacturers?

LW: Ping have been very good to me

throughout my career. I like their product

and I’ve never seen any reason to switch.

WWG: What advice can you give amateurs

who are struggling for distance off the tee?

LW: Concentrate more on swinging

smoothly than trying to knock the case

off the ball and you’ll be surprised how

much further you hit it.

WWG: What do you miss most about not

living in the UK?

LW: My parents, cricket and the Daily

Mail crossword.

Lee Westwood

Lee pictured with his wife, Laurae, and children Sam and Poppy during the Par 3 Contest prior to the 2011 Masters.

Despite ending Colin Montgomerie’s seven-year

reign at the top of the Order of Merit with six victories on

The European Tour, Westy struggles at Augusta and

misses the cut.

Lee Westwood takes on the daunting challenge of the18th tee shot at Augusta National during the practice round at the Masters Tournament last year.

After a solid season in 1996

Tour title Westwood makes his Masters debut in 1997 and

Misses the Masters after taking a break from the game following the birth of son Samuel Bevan.

Having fallen down the World Ranking, eventually

dropping outside the top 200, Westy is ineligible for

the Masters.

Posts his best result in the tournament by taking the runner-up spot, three shots behind winner Phil Mickelson.

Finishes two shots back from winner Bubba

Watson and runner-up Louis Oosthuizen in a

share of third place.

1997 2000 2001 2003 2010 2010

OH yes, it’s april and it’s Masters time again. There’s no bigger buzz in golf quite like this one. We all feel it – players and fans alike. Not just because it’s the first Major of the year and the time and place where the season really moves into top gear. Not just because the list of past winners is a Who’s Who of just about every bona fide legend ever to play this beautifully frustrating game we all love. Not just because the super-tough qualifying criteria and relatively small field guarantee players of the highest calibre playing golf that is, at times, bewitching in its quality and creativity. But because the return of this great event to the same venue every year since its inception in 1934 means that golfers and golf fans alike have iconic images of the picture book setting that is Augusta National etched into their mind’s eye more vividly than those of any other course in the world. The perfectly manicured fairways and maze-like greens; tall Georgia pine trees and blooming azaleas; Magnolia Lane; the old plantation clubhouse; the Crow’s Nest; The Big Oak Tree; Rae’s Creek; Amen Corner; caddies in white boiler suits; The Big Three – Jack, Arnie and Player on the first tee…

Yes, this is more than just a Major. This is the Masters.

THE MASTERSPREVIEW

TIGER WOODSTHERE’S no denying it – he’s got the smile back on his face, helped in no small part by a certain Olympic champion skier no doubt, and with victories on the sprawling layouts of Torrey Pines and Doral’s Blue Monster already under his belt this season the World No.2 is back in business and perfectly poised for an assault on his fifth Green Jacket and his first since 2005.

Pros: Woods is that rare breed who has great length off the tee and a sub-lime short game to go with it, which is why he’s won this tournament more than any other player in the modern era and is second, along with Arnold Palmer, only to the great Jack Nicklaus (six) in the all time victories list with four.

Cons: He’s not won a Major since 2008 and despite having memories from 14 previous Grand Slam wins to help him through, the pressure could derail the former World No.1 if things start getting tough.

RORY McILROYHis performance in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral and in particular his scintillating closing round of 65 that fired him into the top 10 hinted that the first green shoots of recovery were starting to show in his game as he comes to terms with the pressure of being World No.1 and golf’s new super-power as well his multi-million dollar equipment switch.

Pros: Like Woods, his power and short game precision as well as his shot shaping are perfectly suited to Augusta and he showed in 2011, for 54 holes at least, that he has the eye to plot his way around the course perfectly.

Cons: Woeful start to the season – two missed cuts and a mid-tournament walk-off prior to Doral means the jury is still out on whether he’s comfortable with his game. The bright light of the spotlight could burn him especially with the spectre of his collapse two years ago lurking in the shadows.

JUSTIN ROSERose is playing the best golf of his career right now and looks to have picked up where he left off last season, with some great results already under his belt on both The European Tour and US PGA Tour. He’s fully deserving of his World No.5 ranking having finally established himself as the world-class performer we all thought he’d become last year. He’s never missed a cut in the Masters and was eighth last year, with his best result a fifth place finish in 2007.

Pros: He’s got the ability to do well at Augusta and his performance at last year’s Ryder Cup proved he also now has the confidence and ‘big game’ temperament’ to withstand the pressure cooker.

Con: Not really been tested in the heat of the battle for a Major on Sunday and it remains to be seen if his putting will hold up.

LUKE DONALDAn unrivalled short game makes up for Donald’s lack of length at Augusta, as does his wonderful golfing brain, although he needs to be in the finest fettle as he’ll be playing longer irons into the lightening quick greens making it tougher to hold the ball on the dance floor. The lack of a Major on the former World No.1’s CV is as baffling to him as it is to everyone else but surely it’s just a matter of time before he puts that right?

Pros: He’s Mr. Calm under pressure and has the short game to contend with Augusta’s difficult greens.

Cons: Oddly enough, Donald hasn’t ever really contended on the final day of a Major and the Masters tournament can see even the coolest players wilt under the pressure. Also Luke’s lack of length off the tee could count against him if his short game isn’t 100 per cent accurate..

THE common notion is that in order to triumph on Augusta National’s 7,435 yards you have to be a big hitter and while there are some

notable exceptions to that view – Larry Mize, Gary Player, Mark O’Meara, José Maria Olazábal, Mike Weir, Zach Johnson – it’s true that the

vast majority of Masters Champions have been able to pack a hearty punch off the tee. But with ludicrously quick, tricky, multi-tiered greens

and some devilish pin positions, a top notch short game is what really counts and while a longer drive will leave players a better chance of

a birdie with a shorter iron onto the dance floor cute course management is also required if players are to get the better of this teasing risk

and reward course. As Rory McIlroy found out in 2011 Augusta will eat you up if you push too hard at the wrong time.

Who’d look good in green?

THE MASTERS PREVIEW

BRANDT SNEDEKERHis career has been on an upward trajectory since winning the US PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award in 2007. Pulled up trees last year, winning the Farmers Insurance Open and the Tour Championship to win the FedExCup. Started in the same vein this season, winning at Pebble Beach and racking up three top threes before a rib injury forced him to take a five-week lay-off. Was the undisputed ‘hottest player on Tour’ in the US before Woods stole the title in his absence.

Pros: Probably the best putter in the world right now which will be crucial at Augusta, especially for someone who isn’t the longest off the tee and will be playing longer irons into the greens.

Cons: In the two previous occasions that he’s been in contention heading into Sunday at a Major he’s failed to deliver when it counts, shooting a 77 in the 2008 Masters and a 74 in last year’s Open Championship.

ADAM SCOTTProbably the most consistent player the world in the Majors over the past couple of years and one of the bigger hitters on Tour, Augusta was the first place Scott re-ally contended on a Grand Slam Sunday when he signed for a 67 in 2011 but then watched as Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win by two. Famously had The Open Championship in his grasp last year until a horrific collapse handed it to Ernie Els. Scott’s short game is looking strong, helped by his controversial use of the anchored long-handled putter, and he’s in good form with two top 10s including a share of third place at Doral where he shot 68-64 over the weekend.

Pros: One of the best score builders in the game, his excellent course management will be crucial at Augusta. He’s also leading the par-5 scoring charts on Tour this year, which as our stat boffins have shown, could be the key to victory.

Cons: As Rory knows all too well, Augusta is no place to be when in contention on Sunday if there’s even the slightest doubt in your mind as the demons of last year’s Open Championship meltdown could prove too strong.

PHIL MICKELSONBig Phil and Augusta go together like bacon and egg. It was the scene of his long-overdue first Major triumph in 2004 and he looked mighty comfortable slipping into two more Green Jackets since then (2006, 2010). He knows how to play the course, he’s got the creativity and vision to get out of trouble (remember that audacious shot from the trees in 2010?) and his legendary short game is tailor-made for this tournament. Lefty’s in great form with a tied thrid finish at Doral and victory in Phoenix already under his belt.

Pros: Augusta is his home away from home and he’s cracked the code of how to succeed there. As for his short game…need we say more?

Cons: He does have a habit of going from the sublime to the ridiculous – they don’t call him Phil The Thrill for nothing and inconsistency could prove his Achilles heel again.

LOUIS OOSTHUIZENProbably only second to Rory McIlroy as the most naturally gifted player of the current crop of rising superstars in the world game, Louis produced one of the classic Masters moments with the first albatross ever recorded on the second hole in last year’s final round. Would have been the man of the moment had it not been for winner Bubba Watson’s flabbergasting antics in the play-off.

Pros: Showed he’s got the game and the temperament for the biggest of stages by winning The 2010 Open Championship at a canter before narrowly missing out at Augusta last year to a moment of Bubba brilliance.

Cons: Like Westwood he’s recently moved his young family to the US and has plenty of distractions around his game at the moment which has been reflected by some patchy form since winning the Volvo Golf Champions in January.

FIVE STAR QUALITYThe four par-5s at Augusta are crucial to a player’s chances of donning the Green Jacket come Sunday. Bobby Jones and Alistair McKenzie designed the 575-yard second, the 570-yard eighth, the 510-yard 13th and the 530-yard 15th as classic risk-reward holes. The opportunity for birdie is there on all of them but if you push too hard, they can eat you up. “Augusta National definitely has the best risk-reward of any set of par-5 holes,” said four-time winner Tiger Woods. “There’s no other group of par-5s where you can make a three or, just as easily, a seven.”

The ability to outsmart their opponents on these holes has proved a decisive feature of a startling number of Masters champions. In the 70 tournaments from which statistics are available the winner has led the par-5 scoring table on 18 occasions and been in the top five 27 times, including last year’s champion, Bubba Watson, who shared third place on the long holes with nine birdies over the four rounds. Only 10 times has the victor finished outside the top 15 on the par-5s.

Available throughout the GCC. Contact your nearest Golf Shop.www.prosports.ae

PHIL MICKELSONI love the Masters because…“It’s the most exciting week of the year. It’s what I’ve dreamed of ever since I was a kid. It gives us players something to strive for – an event that we’re ex-cited just to be in the field. Augusta National is a course that I’ve just come to love and appreciate and a course where I’ve played some of my best golf at. It’s a golf course that I feel I don’t have to be perfect on and can still salvage pars and even make some birdies. It requires the ability to decide when to go for it and when not to. There are opportunities on every hole to make birdie and there are opportunities to make double or worse. Being able to pick your spots on which holes to attack and which holes to play to a certain spot where you can get up and down and make par is I think the biggest part of winning the Masters.”

The Green JacketTHE tradition of the Green Jacket began in 1937 when members of Augusta National Golf Club were encouraged to wear them so that spectators at the early Masters Tournaments could easily recognise the players. The jackets soon became a symbol of membership at the exclusive club but it wasn’t until Sam Snead won the first of his three Masters titles in 1949 that the tradition of presenting the Green Jacket to the winner began. Champions are allowed to take the jacket home for the first year after their victory, after which it must be returned to the club for them to wear whenever they visit. Organisers have several jackets of different sizes ready in anticipation of the winner on the Sunday and after close of play, measurements of the champion are rushed to the pro-shop where one is made to their exact specifications.

Tip: Luke Donald is going about this season

under the radar but I think he’s coming into

some good form so he’s who I’m hoping will

break his Major duck.

Outsider choice. The South Africans are

playing well so I’ll go for George Coetzee.

Alan WhiteWorldwide Golf Reader

Tip: Phil Mickelson. He is playing well, and

putting better. Butch has him ready.

Outside choice. I’d like to see Fred Couples up

there in one of the last 3 groups on Sunday.

Mark ChapleskiArea Managing Director/

Vice-President

Troon Golf Middle East

Tip: Tiger’s confidence is returning and it is

almost 5 years since his last Major win,which

is a long time for a player of Tiger’s ability…

the law of averages says he has to win one

again soon!

Outside choice. Ian Poulter has a good

record at Augusta and confidence is never

an issue!

Christopher MayDubai Golf Chief Executive Officer

Tip: Snedeker – seems to be the all-round

package. Back from 5 week layoff due to

injury but recent winner of ATT at Pebble.

Tied 19th last year, tied 15th 2011 – Fed

ExCup winner and due a Green Jacket.

Outside choice. Branden Grace – first

Masters, an exciting talent who would love

to follow in Schwartzel and Immelmen’s

footsteps.

Chris WhiteGeneral Manager

Yas Links / Aldar Golf

Tip: Justin Rose has three top ten finishes

already this year; never missed a cut at

Augusta and has finished in the top 10 the

last two years.

Outside choice. Fred Couples. He’s has also

finished in the top 20 the last three years

at The Masters.

D. J. FlandersGeneral Manager, The Royal

Golf Club, Bahrain

Tip: Tiger Woods…in form and really

understands how to play well and win at

Augusta.

Outside choice. Thorbjorn Olessen – long,

good short game and fearless!

Wayne JohnsonDirector of Instruction PGA,

Jumeirah Golf Estates

TOP TIPS

www.wwgolf.biz40

Caddies Who Carry the Can

TRAVIS WILSONTRAVIS WILSON has got to be one of the most laid back, easy-going caddies in the game. His modest personality belies the fact

that he has helped his ‘player’ Stacy Lewis all the way to the No.1 spot on the LPGA Tour with recent victories at the HSBC Women’s

Champions in Singapore and the LPGA Founders Cup in Arizona. His efforts brought him the well deserved accolade of HSBC

Women’s Champions Caddy of the Year and there could not have been a more popular winner. Lewis, a four-time winner on the

LPGA Tour in the 2012 season and the only American and non-Asian player after Cristie Kerr to top the World Ranking, commented:

“I think Travis is a pretty good caddie and when you find a good one you just don’t let him go.”

Mike Gallemore talks to the likeable Travis about his bizarre introduction into becoming a caddie and the remarkable success he has

enjoyed since.

WWG: How did you first get into golf?

TW: I started playing at our local course at

Perry County CC, in Ohio, when I was 8 years

old. My whole family played golf and I thought

that everybody else in the world did, too! I still

live only a few miles from there now. Just

about everyone in the family played. My

grandfather, Joe Wilson, taught me so much

about the game. My father, Dave, and

uncle, Mike, were both good players who won

multiple club championships, along with my

mother, Toni.

WWG: Did you have any desires to be a

professional golfer when you were growing

up?

TW: Not really – I knew that wasn’t going to

happen. Playing in college was the highest I

went. A handicap of around 12 or maybe a bit

better was the lowest I got. I can shoot even

par when I get off the road and play a round

with my buddies every now and then but

I never really track the handicap. I just play for

fun.

WWG: How did you get into caddying?

TW: It was through my mother’s sister, Tammie

Green, who played professionally on the Tour. It

was kind of weird. I took off for a summer break

after my first year at college and she needed

someone to fill in as a bagman for a week. It

was only meant to be one week. We drove up

to New York and met with her coach and she

told me what I had to do out there. I’d caddied

for my dad and stuff like that but only for fun -

it wasn’t at the same level.

WWG: How did it work out, caddying in a

Tour event?

TW: At the tournament I learned a few things

about her swing from her coach – basic sort of

set up stuff. Then my aunt said: ‘I’ve gotta go

get some yardage books, just hang around

here by the putting green.’ She comes back out

www.wwgolf.biz 41

and I’ve got the putter out, smashing balls

across the green. She said, ‘What are you trying

to do, get me fined on your first day as a

caddie?’ I said, ‘Ah, well, I was just seeing how

fast the greens are rolling!’ Somehow we ended

up finishing seventh in that event.

WWG: Where did you go from there?

TW: After the tournament her usual caddie

wasn’t happy about getting the week off so he

quit. Tammie said she needed a caddie for the

following week in Michigan so I said, ‘Yeah I

guess I can do that one, too!’ We came in

second there. She was desperate to get

another caddie for the LPGA Championship (a

Major) that was coming up but she couldn’t

find one. So I did that, too, and we finished

fourth. She asked me to do the next week

in Rochester as well - and we won! It kind of

just went from there.

WWG: Was it then that you were resigned to

becoming a full time caddie?

TW: When we’d won I’d pretty much got the

grass between my toes at that point. I really

didn’t understand it all but it just kind of

happened. I remember coming up the

18th about to win that first tournament. I must

have had a pretty serious look on my face and

my aunt said, ‘Hey, smile and enjoy this,

it doesn’t happen every week!’ I guess at the

age of 20 I was kind of naïve. In my head I was

thinking, ‘Well you’ve won this week, why

doesn’t it happen every week – it should!’ I

thought it was easy! Fourteen of the first 18

starts we had were top 10s. It wasn’t because I

was a great caddie. It was because she was a

great a player. It was because I was so new to

being a caddie, it made her concentrate more

on what she was doing in the process of hitting

shots.

WWG: What sort of caddie-player

relationship did you have with your aunt?

TW: It was a very natural, easy-going

relationship. We knew from day one we could

always count on one another. When I first

started as her caddie she had to think more! I

reckon that’s what made it click – that and the

fact that we were very close. We were really

tight growing up. She was the youngest of my

aunts and uncles and I was the oldest of the

grandkids so we were only like 11 years apart.

She used to babysit me and I remember really

looking forward to her coming back to the

farm because my family all live within about

two miles of each other. Tammie taught me so

much about pro golf and how to play

tournaments. I managed to get two educations

– college and caddying.

WWG: Did she acknowledge the role you

played in that early success?

TW: Yes, of course. But I was just out there

carrying the bag and cracking jokes – I didn’t

really do a whole lot. I mean, I could read putts

OK – I remember doing that right from the start

– but I didn’t do that much. Whatever I did

definitely worked. We were together 12 years

and to be with someone for that long is saying

something.

WWG: Did you look for another player after

your Aunt retired?

TW: When Tammie finished, I worked for

Kelli Kuehne and Rachel Hetherington for

a couple of years. It was an eye-opener

because with Tammie, we never really

practiced that much – she had been out there

for about six or seven years before I came

along. She knew the courses, and we’d play

practice rounds sometimes but basically we

just got out there and played it then went

home. It wasn’t a big deal. After she retired, I

had to learn how to work practice rounds and

try to prepare my players for the upcoming

tournament. I was kind of used to showing up

Monday, walking the course and meeting an

hour before the Pro-Am on Wednesday. You

have to adapt the way you work to each player

because they’re all different and they all require

different things from you. There was one time I

was caddying for this girl and she said, ‘I need

someone to pump me up and be like a

cheerleader for me.’ I was like, ‘Are you kidding

me?’ I couldn’t really adapt to that one!

WWG: How long have you been with Stacy?

TW: I met Stacy when she was an amateur. Her

dad used to caddie for her. We both came from

Ohio and when we saw each other at an event

we used to chat about stuff like that. I said if

she ever needed any help, she should give me

a shout and her agent did. This is our fifth year.

Since she turned pro I’m the only caddie she’s

had. She’s funny about that fact! She had a few

events at the end of 2008 and we had a top 10

in the second week out. I could really see a lot

of game there.

WWG: You’ve obviously struck up a good

relationship to still be together?

TW: Yeah, we get along really well. We see a lot

of the same shots, and agree on strategies very

easily. When she first came out, she was a little

bit shy but she’s changed so much, even with

stuff like giving interviews and speeches and

that sort of thing she’d struggle with. But like

anything she does, she worked hard to get

better and she’s really good at it now. I’m

really proud of the way she

has progressed both personally and

professionally. She’s an amazing person with an

amazing talent and a great future.

WWG: What were your other players like

before Stacy?

TW: Rachel Hetherington is an Australian and

pretty laid back like me so she gradually fitted

in with what I was used to. But she was on the

verge of getting married and starting a family

so it was in a period where I was looking for the

next job. Some of my friends had moved over

to the men’s tour and I was considering some

openings there for me until I got the call. I

figured I could help Stacy more than a guy

purely because I knew the courses and that she

was going to play so much better. As a rookie

coming out on Tour, it’s such a big

transformation because you’re used to playing

your home course at college and some shorter

tourneys. Whereas on Tour it’s week in and

week out, and it’s quite a big change for the

players.

WWG: The Asian players have dominated

the LPGA Tour in recent years. How do you

feel about Stacy flying the flag for the US

players at the top of the World Ranking?

TW: I’m proud of her, of course. Stacy is a great

ambassador for the game, a model of what

hard work and determination can do. Give

credit to the Asian players for changing the

game. When they came on the scene in the

mid-to-late 1990s their practice and work ethic

really was quite rare in the existing crop of

players. It certainly made everybody start

working harder. I guess the same thing

happened in the men’s game when Tiger

Woods came along. Everybody realised they

needed to get into better physical condition in

order to compete. That was happening at the

same time in the ladies game and it kind of

changed the face of golf. It made people

appreciate they needed to up their game.

WWG: What’s the funniest thing you’ve

seen at a golf tournament?

TW: I see funny stuff all the time. Just the other

day in a pro-am there was a segway tour going

on in the desert around the 17th and I saw

www.wwgolf.biz 43

Caddies Who Carry the Can

somebody wipe out. There’s always something

going on. I saw an amazing shot by an amateur

who was teeing off on an elevated tee. He

topped his drive down this bank and the ball

actually ended up in a bird house! I once saw a

guy shank it and the ball hit a cart tyre and

went whizzing back over his left ear! Going

back to my first week, during a practice round I

was told to keep an eye on the bag and don’t

let anyone mess around with the clubs or bag. I

had to go to the bathroom and when I came

out there was an older gentlemen lifting up the

bag and checking out the irons. Somewhat

surprised, I said, ‘Can I help you?’ He said, ‘I’m

just checking out the clubs.’ I thought, ‘I’ve got a

job to do and here’s this guy messing around

with the clubs, great!’ It turned out that the guy

was the astronaut Neil Armstrong.

WWG: What’s been the best moment of

your career so far?

TW: Last year one of my best friends out on

Tour, Adam Woodward, was caddying for Sun

Young Yoo when she won the Kraft Nabisco

Championship, and I was standing on the

bridge and watched him jump in the water.

That came a year after he’d watched me do the

same thing when Stacy won the same

tournament, so that was a good moment.

Being on the bag for Stacy when she won it

was a great moment, too. I passed on the same

advice to her that my aunt Tammie had given

to me during at that first win I had with her.

Stacy was looking kind of annoyed as she

walked up the 18th as she wasn’t happy with

her approach shot. I caught up with her and

said, ‘Hey, pick your head up and put a smile on

your face and enjoy it because this doesn’t

happen to everybody.’ She always mentions

that in interviews. Sometimes you’ve got to

take them out of that moment when they’re

nervous. Celebrating Stacy’s victory in the LPGA

Founders Cup last month that took her to No.1

in the world was definitely a high point.

WWG: What are your recollections of Stacy’s

Major win?

TW: It was a funny old week because I hadn’t

been in that position for a while either. Walking

up 13 I was thinking, ‘How am I going to jump

in the lake? What kind of dive am I going to do?’

Within three more steps I grabbed hold of

myself and said, ‘Don’t even think about that,

pull yourself in and do what you do, and just

take it shot by shot – you’ve got to do all the

little things right to make the victory happen.’ I

knew all that from previous experience yet I let

myself get away for a few seconds – but I

pulled myself back in and we got it over the

line.

WWG: You’re a pretty laid back character,

but do you ever get nervous at those

crunch moments?

TW: Not really. I think that’s a kind of a good

attribute to have because the player would

feed off it if they knew I was nervous. I used to

get nervous just being in front of big crowds

when I first started at the age of 20. But now I

think the cooler I can be under pressure, the

better it is because it feeds into the player. The

beauty of being a caddie is that it’s not me who

has to putt!

WWG: How important is it to have a sense

of humour and a thick skin if you’re a caddie?

TW: It’s weird but in the 12 years I worked for

Tammie, we had only two arguments and in

the five years I’ve worked for Stacy we’ve had

none. I know it’s rare because I watch the other

guys getting their ears chewed off every other

hole! If we make a mistake we’ll talk about it

and reason it out. Instead of going the other

way and unravelling it all, she learns from it.

She’s one of those people who would be

successful whatever she did because she

continually learns from her mistakes. It’s scary

what she’s capable of achieving.

WWG: How good do you think Stacy can

be?

TW: Well, she’s World No.1 but I don’t think

there’s any limit. She just keeps on learning and

working on her game, which I think is

an impressive attribute. She’s so grounded, too,

so she’s not going to get caught up in all the

hype. She’s not going to change. She’ll find a

way of coping with all her success. I’ve got no

worries about that for a second. She’s not like

the typical player who has come out at age 18,

who’s been pushed into the game too quickly.

Stacy stayed at college and got two degrees –

finance and accounting – so she’s good with

numbers and stuff like that. She’s non-typical.

She’s logical in everything she does and she

can reason things out – which is rare for a

golfer!

WWG: Who would be in your dream four-

ball? 

TW: Just some of my friends from home, to just

play and have a couple of beers on the course.

WWG: What do you like most about being a

caddie?

TW: The camaraderie that exists with the other

caddies. We’re a pretty tight group. It’s a little

different on the LPGA Tour than on the other

tours. We all travel together and we all know

each other. I went to the bar the other night for

a beer and there were 25 other caddies all

standing at the bar chatting – I don’t think it’s

like that on other tours. The LPGA has more of a

family-type atmosphere. Everybody knows

everybody else’s business and if someone

needs something, the others are quick to help

out. One of the girls was having trouble with

her putting the other day and I saw one of her

competitors helping her after the round – that’s

what it’s like. If it ever changes I’ll be

disappointed. They’re a great bunch of people.

The travel element has changed a lot since I

first started. Back then we pretty much played

solely in the US and Canada but now we’re all

over the world so it’s pretty cool to get out

there and see all these places first hand. Stacy is

now sponsored by Omega so I’m looking

forward to going to the UAE towards the end

of the year for the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters

at Emirates Golf Club. Jump for joy: Travis Wilson (far left), Stacy Lewis (second from left), Stacy’s sister Janet Lewis (C), mother Carol Lewis

(second from right) and father Dale Lewis take the traditional jump into the pond after Lewis won the Kraft Nabisco

Championship in 2011.

www.wwgolf.biz 45

INSTRUCTION

ON THE RANGE WITH LEE WESTWOOD

Arguably one of the best ball strikers in the game Lee talks you through hitting better drives and working out the correct yardages.

To watch Lee’s video tips go to Facebook/WorldwideGolf and go to the video section.

Learn to work with your scoring data to help you in-point the areas that need work and lower your score.

Master the knockdown shot and enjoy controling the ball in blustry conditions.

Brought to you by

VIDEO TIPS

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PETE COWENPGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL and coach to the stars, such as McDowell, Harrington, Kaymer, Stenson ... if Pete doesn’t know

it, it isn’t worth knowing!

FREE-FLOWING PHIL MICKELSON

THE ACADEMY AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB in Association with PETE COWEN

7 8 9

1 2 3

Swing

Phil Mickelson has worked hard with Butch Harmon over the years to shorten his swing but he will always be an arm-dominant player as you will see in this sequence. His powers of recovery are second to none, as he’s one of the best manipulators of the ball and just a joy for the crowds to watch. Phil is brilliant at what he does and you can’t knock someone who’s won as many Majors and tournmants as he has.

1. Phil’s posture is fine but a little strong in the left side, which means he needs to rotate his upper body hard. This can been seen cleary in frame 2. where he’s trying to maintain width.

The body rotaion means he’s very late in setting his wrists which can been seen in frames 3. and even in frame 4. he’s still not set his wrists hard.

The over-rotation of the body stops in frame 5. and then he sets his wrists, which causes the over- swing.

www.wwgolf.biz 47

Pete Cowen checks out the swing that won the 2010 Masters

10 11 12

4 5 6

4. The wrists haven’t been set and there’s a lot of body movement.

5.The body movement means he loses control in his shoulders as he over-turns the body.

6. Here he pulls hard with the body in the change of direction. This causes his left arm to fall out of position which you can see in frames 6. to 8. As a result, the left armis in what we call a stuck position .

9. Phil is a great manipulator of the club which can be seen in this frame. Here the left arm and shoulder are chasing down the line. The best players are brilliant at doing this and you don’t get any better than Phil.

10. The hips are clearly too level and shoulders too angled in this frame which means he’s crushing his lower back. I know this through my own experince and have suffered a bad back by doing just the same move in the swing. Instead, the

left hip should be lower down to match the shoulder angle.

11 In the followthrough his body stops and his arms continue, as it will always be an arm-dominant swing.

Being late in setting his wrists Phil generates his distance through arm speed. He pulls the arms down hard and throws them at the ball. He’s a big guy and he’s always managed to make this work for him.

Improve your game with The Academy at Emirates Golf Club

Stephen Deane Head Academy Professional The Academy at Emirates GOLF CLUB

INSTRUCTION

Control The

Turn! With driver in hand it’s very

tempting to over rotate the

shoulders in an effort to hit that

big drive as shown in picture right. 

From this position you can see my

left shoulder has become way to

high resulting in a loss of posture

and club head control.  My weight

has shifted to the right but my

upper and lower half have swayed

away from the ball rather than

rotate. This action requires a lot of

unnecessary movement resulting

in a less efficient swing and a major

loss of speed and power.

ofessional The Academy at Emirates GOLF CLUB

Follow this simple tip and watch your drives not only fly further but consistently straighter.

BY- Bryan Smyth, Golf Professional at Emirates Golf Club

This image shows a controlled turn. My left shoulder

is lower than the right as we reach the top, therefore

good posture and club head control is maintained.  You

can see my lower half is much quieter and my entire

body has stayed more with the ball rather than swaying

unnecessary away.  From here simplicity and efficiency

are maximized with less wasted movement. My shoulders

have loaded nicely, ready to drive down and around into

a powerful impact position.

Follow this simple tip and watchyour drives not only fly further butconsistently straighter.

This image shows a controlled turn. My left shoulder

is lower than the right as we reach the top, therefore

good posture and club head control is maintained.  You

can see my lower half is much quieter and my entire

body has stayed more with the ball rather than swaying

unnecessary away.  From here simplicity and efficiency

are maximized with less wasted movement. My shoulders

have loaded nicely, ready to drive down and around into

a powerful impact position.

www.wwgolf.biz 53

TOP GEAR

FootJoy have launched their

new M:PROJECT shoe, taking a

revolutionary step in golf footwear.

The M:PROJECT is a lightweight shoe

created from years of research and is based

around the philosophy that ‘Minimum

Construction’ delivers ‘Maximum Feel’ during

all phases of the golf swing.

This athletic-infused shoe is available in

both cleated and spikeless versions, along

with a variety of fresh and vibrant colour

options to suit the tastes of the modern,

dynamic golfer. The M:PROJECT has already

been worn in competition by a number of FJ

brand ambassadors, including Hunter Mahan.

Precision constructed from proprietary

M:SPEC lightweight leather by Pittards of

England, this cutting-edge shoe has been

designed to deliver a full range of motion,

while getting the golfer as close to the

ground as possible.

A host of technologies include an

MP:627 last that allows for a generous

forefoot shape so toes can easily spread and

maintain grip, a ProTekt toe guard which

provides additional abrasion resistance in

key wear areas and an industry-first Laser

Thin Duramax rubber compound that acts

as a low-profile and a highly flexible conduit

from ground to feet.

The shoes also feature an exclusive

new Stealth cleat by Softspikes that when

attached delivers the ultimate in low-profile

performance.

“M:PROJECT is an exciting new category

for FootJoy and the result of years of in-

depth testing and research to deliver an

incredibly lightweight and athletic shoe

that gives golfers maximum feel and

flexibility when they step out onto the

golf course,” commented Russell Lawes,

European Marketing Manager for FootJoy.

“With an array of contemporary colour

options and both a cleated and spikeless

version, feedback from retailers has been

extremely encouraging towards what

I believe will be a game-changing golf

shoe.”

M:PROJECTFOOTJOY

Lightweight, excellent feel and flexibility.

Callaway XHot drivers and Hex balls deliver scorching distance.

Titleist 913 Hybrid gains extra yardage and reduces spin to reel in those long par4s and 5s.

Bushnell delivers pinpoint accuracy with slope adjustment with the new V3 Tour model.

White/Black; White/Lime;

White/Orange, Black/

Charcoal & White/Charcoal

(cleated); White/White;

White/Navy; Charcoal/

Black; White/Silver as well

as a mesh version in Blue/

Grey (spikeless).

Colours:

www.wwgolf.biz54

XHot and XHot Pro

ADD EXTRA BANG

LIGHTER WEIGHT AND OPTIMISED CG WITH ULTRA THIN WALL CASTING TECHNOLOGY, FAST BALL SPEED FOR MAXIMUM DISTANCE WITH SPEED FRAME FACE – A COMBINATION OF VFT AND HYPERBOLIC FACE TECHNOLOGY, CREATING A LARGER SWEET SPOT AND MAXIMISING BALL SPEED.

THE CALLAWAY X HOT DRIVER OFFERS

CALLAWAY

TOP GEAR

MOST major equipment companies offer at

least two drivers in their new product line-

ups. There’s usually a larger, more forgiving model

aimed at average golfers and a more compact

model with lower-spin characteristics for players

who have more swing speed.

Along with Callaway’s RAZR Fit Xtreme driver,

Callaway has released the X Hot and X Hot Tour

drivers for this season which take individualisation

a step further. Not only was each head made

specifically for a certain type of player but each loft

was engineered with a specific player in mind as

well.

The X Hot is the most forgiving driver of the pair.

At 460cc, it is 20cc larger than the Pro version. It’s

also 14 grams lighter than the Pro, which could

allow slower swing-speed players to increase

clubhead speed. Dr. Alan Hocknell, Vice President of

R&D for Callaway, said data from Callaway’s fit bays

across the country showed that most golfers who

need more loft also need more draw bias, which is

why the X Hot and X Hot Pro drivers have a centre

of gravity that moves toward the heel as the lofts

increase, helping golfers square the club at impact.

That draw bias is more severe in the X Hot driver

line than it is in the X Hot Pro drivers, which are

aimed at players who need less help squaring up

the clubface.

The X Hot Pro driver features a smaller head

(440cc), with a deeper face that helps golfers reduce

the spin on their tee shots. Unlike the X Hot, the

X Hot Pro driver does not have any alignment

markings on the crown, providing a clean dark grey

matt finish.

HEX HOT

BALL TECHNOLOGY HOTS UP

CALLAWAY

BRING on the heat with every swing. HEX Hot provides all-out distance with scorching hot ball

speeds and re-engineered HEX Aerodynamics. Its 3-piece construction features a Trionomer

Cover that’s built for maximized speed and low driver spin. Its Tech Mantle converts energy into

distance to help the ball fly off the clubface. HEX Hot redefines the word “LONG”.

The mantle is designed to help the golf ball jump off the face and convert the impact energy

for more distance. It’s highly resilient and built to be the perfect intermediate layer between the

high technology core and the resilient Trionomer Cover.

The Trionomer Cover is a unique cover blend of three ionomers that maximizes ball speed

and promotes low driver spin for longer, straighter drives.

Callaway’s proprietary surface pattern has been re-engineered to produce even better

low-speed lift for more distance while maintaining the stable, penetrating ball flight that’s a

trademark of HEX Aerodynamics.

www.wwgolf.biz 55

THE Niion line blends striking fluorescent

colours with innovative new textures and

unique patterns to deliver unmatched feel

and moisture channelling performance,

and is sure to set golfers apart from the rest

of their foursomes.

Niion features five uniquely vibrant

colour combinations (Blue/Neon Yellow,

Bright Orange/White, Lime Green/White,

White/Neon Green and Bright Yellow/Blue)

all constructed from a firm, tacky rubber

compound suitable for both serious and

recreational players. In fact, Niion has the

distinction of being Golf Pride’s firmest

and most durable all rubber grip, thanks to

the proprietary newly developed rubber

curing process used in its production.

The new line also utilises an advanced

tri-texture surface pattern to deliver superb

traction and all-weather control.

In addition, the proprietary Hexagon

technology pattern provides increased

stability and torsion control throughout

the swing, leading to one of Golf Pride’s

most responsive and easy to control grips

ever produced.

THE Titleist 913H hybrid takes over from the popular 910H model,

and is designed to offer longer distances with outstanding

ground contact and ball flight.

A slightly more rounded 117cc (112cc in the 27 degree

model) head shape has been designed by Titleist to offer a

more appealing view at address. Additionally, the SureFit hosel,

allowing independant loft and lie adjustments, is lighter and

more tapered than before, which allows more weight to be

redistributed to create an optimal centre of gravity, creating

higher ball speeds with less spin.

The entire range of 913H clubs, offering lofts of 17, 19, 21, 24

and 27, have been designed individually to deliver the proper

distance and forgiveness. Progressive loft, centre of gravity and

offset designs mean that each club will be specifically suited to

the shot it is required to hit.

The shafts offered with the Titleist 913H will include the

Fujikura HB, along with 5 stock shafts: Mitsubishi White (D) and

Blue (S), Aldila RIP Alpha and RIP Phenom and the Bassara W shaft.

Titleist have developed a lower spinning 913Hd model, but for

now that model is for Tour players only.

913 Hybrid

MORE FAIRWAY DISTANCE

TITLEIST

H b id

TITLEIST

mpound sui

reational players. In fact, Niion ha

RANGE FINDER V3 TOUR

DIAL IN THE EXACT YARDAGE

BUSHNELL

WITH its new ergonomic design and its award-winning PinSeeker with JOLT

Technology, the Tour V3 sets the standard for being the complete laser rangefinder

package – design, performance and feel. It features Bushnell’s patented Slope

Technology that provides the golfer with compensated swing yardage depending

on the degree of incline or decline.

ADD COLOUR TO YOUR GAME

NEW RANGE OF NIION GRIPS

GOLF PRIDE

www.wwgolf.biz 57

TIME TO UNLEASH THE ‘BIG DOGS’

TEST PILOTSTHE recent line-up of fairway-busting drivers has got

everyone talking, as the leading manufacturers continue

to push the research and development limits to give both

the touring pros and club golfers more control and length.

The materials used in construction haven’t changed but

ty in which the user can adjust the

individual setting.

Making sure the shaft and loft are paired to your swing

characteristics and data is half the battle to better control and

distance. Once that process has been done, you can work

on the face alignment to counteract any unwanted hooks or

slices. But, taking all the science and engineering aside you

still can’t beat good old looks and feel f e. The

computer might say a certain one is for you but if it’s hard on

the eye and feels lifeless at impact you will struggle to part

with your hard earned cash.

This is where the big names battle for your a ection. In

this test we’ve taken the hottest drivers on Tour that are also

geared for the retail market and put them in the capable hands

of our test pilots, a group of amateur golfers with the same

desires – more distance and more control.

The testers are regular golfers and solid ball strickers but it

was interesting to hear their feedback on each club, which

proves that we are not all the same and that tastes do di er.

Turn over the page to see how they got on and how the big

brands designed their clubs in the battle to be the ‘top dog.’

CallawayXHOT$407/ AED 1495

PINGG 25$538/AED 1975

TaylorMade R1$503/

AED 1845

Titleist913 D2$598/

AED 2195

NG25

TaTT ylorMade R1$503/

tleist3 D2

598/

ED 2195

CallawayXHOT$

CallawayRAZR XTREME$543/AED 1995

Golf House is the leading golf retailer in the Middle East

in associationwith

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TEST PILOTS: DRIVERS

913D2TECHNOLOGYACUSHNET’S engineers created the face using a Forged Variable Thickness Insert with a central thick portion combined with thinner, variable tapered thickness. The new forged face is 2 grams lighter than previous models and increases ball speeds on off-centre hits by up to 2mph. There is an 11% increase in the maximum ball speed area versus the 910 driver.

Very long, amazing feel and workability for the lower handicap players. Classic looks.

Some generated too much spin and found the club too dark and plain. Not the easiest to set up.

TITLEIST

R1

TAYLORMADE

TECHNOLOGY

THE TaylorMade R1 driver can be tuned 168 different ways, including 12 loft settings and 7 face-angle settings, designed to allow you to find the perfect fit to optimise distance and accuracy. A key aspect of the adjustability in the R1 is that loft and face angle can now be adjusted independently of one another.

Very forgiving and easy to adjust the wide range of settings. Workability and solid strike.

Too much choice and the graphic on the head wasn’t to everyone’s liking.

CALLAWAY

Distance, feel and forgiveness with off-centre strikes. What more can you want?

Some found the club too light and the matt grey head was far from exciting.

CALLAWAY

CALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAYAA

CALLAWAYAA

TECHNOLOGYBILLED as the longest fully adjustable driver the company has ever tested the face of the driver features a new Speed Frame Face that optimises stiffness and stress distribution across the face. By removing weight on the crown, the R&D team were able to lower the Centre of Gravity (CG) on the club to further promote higher ball speeds and less spin.

Traditional look, great distance and 440cc head inspires shot making. Easy to adjust and set up.

More of a Tour driver than a game improver. Low spin and launch means it’s geared towards the players with high ball and swing speeds.

RazrXtreme

TECHNOLOGYTHE hot new face technology promotes more consistent distance and forgiveness. By decoupling the face from the clubhead, Callaway’s R&D team were able to boost ball speed off the face without impacting the clubhead or sacrificing optimum trajectory. The Speed Frame Face saves weight and transfers energy to the ball more efficiently by optimising stiffness and stress over the entire face.

X HOT

Golf House is the leading golf retailer in the Middle East

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www.themontgomerie.com

G25TECHNOLOGYTHE Ping G25 driver has a 460cc head with a larger profile design. The ultra-thin crown and aerodynamic design redistributes weight along the perimeter of the clubhead, moving the CG (Centre of Gravity) farther back and lower than any previous Ping driver. This new CG position increases the club’s MOI (Moment of Interia) and makes it extremely forgiving.

Very, very long! Strong ball flight – it’s just a rocket launcher. Easy adjustments.

Some found it too bland to look at and the clubface didn’t give as much feedback and feel as some of the others.

PING

G25TECHNOLOGYTHE Ping G25 driver has a

TEST PILOTS’ VERDICT

NAME: Gavin ReedHANDICAP: 14CURRENT DRIVER: TaylorMade R9

OPTION: They are all great clubs but I’d have to go with the Callaway XHot. It’s a little longer than the R1 and I manage to carry the ball farther than any of the clubs on test. It’s also the best value for money.

NAME: Peter StapletonHANDICAP: 12CURRENT DRIVER: TaylorMade R11

OPTION: I’m a big fan of it’s flexibility and how simple it is to set up. If it’s a windy day I can just crank the loft down and know how the club will perform. It’s ideal for playing at the Creek.

NAME: Duayne De Waal HANDICAP: 7CURRENT DRIVER: TaylorMade RBZ

OPTION: I was torn between this and the 913, but the G25 is just so long! The carry and overall distance is noticably longer than the rest and it’s just so well balanced.

NAME: Kaamil Hussain HANDICAP: 10CURRENT DRIVER: Titleist 910 D2 - 9.5o Stiff

OPTION: The R1 is the most consistent and even when I don’t strike it right the distance is still good. It has a strong ball flight and it looks amazing. I just love the white clubhead and the decals just finish it off.

NAME: Vaughn ReedHANDICAP: 8CURRENT DRIVER: Cobra AMP

OPTION: Being left handed I couldn’t test all the clubs on the day. I was instantly drawn to the Callaways by their looks but the Razr Xtreme was too hard alhough the design was one of the best. But the XHot had it all. I’d be tempted to swap my Cobra for one.

he ut the e best.one.

Worldwide Golf would like to thanks The Address Montgomerie Dubai for use of the facilities for the driver test.

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FINDING THE RIGHT SET UP

GET FITTED

RICHARD TEMPLE, Titleist European Golf Club Product and Fitting Manager, talks about the importance of getting your clubs properly fitted and explains some of the mumbo jumbo terminology associated with your weapons of choice.

WWG: With the driver limited to 460cc by the R&A would you say that

driver technology is at the limit or is there plenty of scope left?

RT: Driver technology has by no means reached its limit and we will no doubt

continue to see advancement in this product category. Titleist continues to

deliver significant improvements with each new generation of driver product.

The new 913 driver is a great example of how we are able to continually

innovate and develop our designs to deliver more performance for the

golfer. The 913 offers more speed across a wider area of the face than its

predecessor, the 910, as well as its enhanced distance through an improved

rear weight screw that delivers optimum launch and spin characteristics.

WWG: Matching your shaft and loft is an essential pairing – so how does

your system help the customer achieve the best results, considering the

vast range of shafts on the market?

RT: Titleist 913 metals feature patented SureFit Tour hosel technology which

is designed to allow the club fitter to deliver a truly precise fit – we like to call

it our ‘Tour van in a hosel’. SureFit Tour allows the fitter to easily interchange

heads and shafts to help identify the most appropriate combination

for the player. This technology also allows the fitter to

independently adjust the loft and lie of each 913

clubhead. Loft can be adjusted to tune launch,

spin and trajectory whilst lie can be adjusted to

tune ball flight for more, or less, fade or draw.

Simply put, the SureFit Tour hosel allows a fitter

to dial in the precise 913 specification to deliver

optimum performance for the player.

WWG: What do Centre of Gravity (CG), COR and

Moment of Inertia mean and how do they relate to

and benefit the club golfer?

RT: Adjusting the centre of gravity (CG) position within

the driver head will have a profound effect on the launch

conditions offered by that clubhead. With the new 913 driver

we have made significant improvements to the CG location by

utilising a new rear weight screw that places more weight low

and deep within the driver head. The result is optimum launch

and spin conditions for longer distance.

COR is effectively a measurement of how fast the ball comes

off the clubface and this is obviously something that is regulated

by the rules of golf. Titleist, like all other equipment

manufacturers, has been conforming to this rule

since its inception and if we look at the centre of the

driver face it has already attained the maximum COR

allowable under the Rules of Golf. With that said, one of

the key developments in the 913 drivers is a new forged

face insert which delivers more speed over a larger area of

the face. In essence, the COR value is closer to the maximum

across a larger area, which makes the driver significantly

longer on off-centre hits.

Moment of Inertia (MOI) in relation to golf club design is

generally used to convey the stability of the golf club. Drivers with

higher MOI properties are generally more stable in promoting

a straighter ball flight but, as a result, they offer less workability

which maybe a disadvantage for those who like to shape the ball.

Both 913D2 and 913D3 drivers are very forgiving on off-centre

hits thanks to the aforementioned forged face insert, but each has

tter to

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and

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www.wwgolf.biz 61

different MOI properties that deliver varying performance characteristics. The

460cc 913D2 has the higher MOI to provide greater stability and an inherent

draw bias, whilst the smaller 445cc profile of the 913D3 delivers a more

neutral set-up for greater workability.

WWG: What’s the best advice in terms of club fitting for a mid-

handicapper amateur looking to add more distance off the tee?

RT: Whilst it’s true to say that technical and physical improvements are ways

for amateur players to gain more distance, there can also be significant

distance gains achieved by having a proper driver fitting.

If you are playing a driver which does not compliment your technique and

that doesn’t offer you the appropriate launch conditions, you are unlikely

to be maximising your distance potential. However, a driver fitting not only

has the potential to offer distance gains but also improvements in ball flight,

consistency and accuracy. When we fit a player, regardless of ability, we are

looking for the complete package and a driver that will offer improvements in

all of these areas.

WWG: How does the process of fitting a Titleist driver for a club golfer

differ from fitting a Titleist staff player, such as Adam Scott?

RT: The process of fitting a Titleist Ambassador for a driver is largely the same

as that which can be experienced by the club golfer. The ultimate goal of the

fitting remains unchanged – finding a driver which will provide the player

with optimum performance. In addition, there is no difference between the

913 driver heads you see on Tour versus those available at retail so SureFit

Tour technology is utilised in exactly the same fashion for both the Tour player

and the club golfer. We firmly believe that every player, regardless of ability,

will benefit greatly from a driver fitting.

WWG: What’s around the corner for the Titleist driver? Anything

revolutionary?

The future for the Titleist driver is one of further development and continued

innovation. Our goal with any new product introduction is to deliver a

product that is truly better than the last, and this goal will continue to drive us

to design products that push performance to the next level.

ALAN WHITE, our Titleist 913 Facebook winner, spent some quality time with the Titleist club fitting team at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club:

WWG: After absorbing all the data, what were you needing to adjust? AW: Lowering the spin rate was a big factor that caused me to lose distance and the shaft needed to be a bit lighter also.

WWG: From the basic starting point how did you change the spec of the club to improve both performance and consistency?AW: Went from a 10.5 to a 9.5 degree head to achieve more consistency.

WWG: What did you find was the best characteristic of the 913?AW: It faces up to the ball well and feels very comfortable all the way through the swing.

WWG: What were you using before and how does it compare to your new 913?AW: I was using a Ping G20 which I still think is a good club but the performance of the 913 just feels that much better.

www.wwgolf.biz62

WynnPatrick

www.wwgolf.biz 65

April’s selection of local news

ARABIANGOLF

HARRADINE WINS THE INAUGURAL MEYDAN GOLF MEN’S OPENMICHAEL Harradine clinched the first ever Meydan Golf

Men’s Open title at The Track but he insists he did not

have an advantage in the competition because the course

was designed by his father, Peter.

“It was designed by the company in collaboration with

Meydan, but I don’t think it helped me,” smied Harradine,

who is a third generation golfer in a family synonymous

with the sport following his grandfather, Donald, who

launched the Harradine Golf company in 1929 and his

father Peter who is one of the most respected course

architects in golf.

Michael, whose win in the Meydan Open means he now

tops the Emirates Golf Federation Order of Merit, has only

played The Track twice, but had built up some knowledge of

the course during its construction. He admits, however, that

familiarity may have lulled him into a false sense of security.

“I thought it would be easier than it was because I walked

around it plenty of times when it was being built,” he said.

“I remember thinking that the fairways were wide and it

wouldn’t be too much of a challenge, so I was surprised

how tough it was. If I’m honest, I didn’t think I’d win,

because I played fairly poorly. Fortunately, everyone had a

shocker.”

Harradine carded a gross 156 over two rounds but won

by a remarkable seven strokes from Craig Forrest with Ricky

Dominguez third with a 164 total.

“I was eight over after the first round and then four over

after the second so I didn’t think I’d even be in the top

three,” laughed Harradine.

In the net category Nicolas Reincke topped the pile with

a superb two-day score of 148 which saw him complete a

huge 15-stroke win over Alban Des Brest. There were two

Nerest the Pin competitions – one during each round –

and they were won by Alistair Purves and overall winner

Harradine on days one and two respectively.

LOCAL NEWS

67 JOEL NEALE COLUMN

68 THE TRACK, MEYDAN

70 INTERNATIONAL PAIRS UAE

71 MENA TOUR

72 SHARJAH GOLF & SHOOTING CLUB

73 ‘PIC ‘ GOLF SOCIETY LEAGUE SHARJAH

74 EMIRATES GOLF CLUB

75 THE ELS CLUB

76 DUBAI CREEK GOLF & YACHT CLUB

77 AL BADIA GOLF CLUB

78 JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

78 AL AIN EQUESTRIAN SHOOTING & GOLF CLUB

79 ARABIAN RANCHES GOLF CLUB

79 THE ADDRESS MONTGOMERIE DUBAI

80 ABU DHABI CITY GOLF CLUB

81 YAS LINKS GOLF CLUB

83 ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB

83 SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB

84 AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB

85 TOWER LINKS GOLF CLUB

85 AL GHAZAL GOLF CLUB

86 MUSCAT HILLS GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

87 ALMOUJ GOLF, THE WAVE, MUSCAT, OMAN

87 THE ROYAL GOLF CLUB BAHRAIN

88 DOHA GOLF CLUB

88 BANYAN GOLF CLUB

89 DIRAB GOLF CLUB

Michael Harradine celebrates becoming the first winner of

the Meydan Golf Men’s Open last month.

LAST month saw some of the

UAE’s best amateur golfers battle

it out in the two qualifying rounds

and one national final round of

the world renowned 2013 BMW

Golf Cup International.

The UAE edition was organised

by AGMC, the BMW Group importer

in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern

Emirates.

Held at three different Golf clubs

in Dubai – the Els Club, Jumeirah

Golf Estates and Dubai Creek

Golf &Yacht Club – a total of 100

players participated in the 18-hole

Individual Stableford events.

Shahin Khojasteh took the spoils

in the Men’s Category ‘A’ and he also

achieved a hole-in-one on at the

Els Club on his way to victory, while

taking the Ladies Category was

Naema Maya.

Both winners were duly flown

out to South Africa to take part

in the BMW World Final and after

three rounds Khojasteh finished

in a share of 30th place while Maya

finished in a share of 20th.

RECORDBREAKING RESULTS IN BMW GOLF CUP

MAHMOOD Skaik was crowned

the overal winner of the Emirates

Golf Federation’s Ajyal Golf Cham-

pionship after he won Division ‘A’

of the fifth and final event of the

series at Yas Links.

Taking the spoils in Division ‘B’

was Ahmed Al Marzouqi, while the

Girl’s Division winner on the night

was Tara Al Marzouqi.

MAHMOOD SKAIK WRAPS UP THE AJYAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Mahmood Skaik is pictured with EGF Board

Member Darwish Al Qubaisi after his victory.

www.wwgolf.biz 71

LOCAL NEWS

MENA GOLF TOUR

ZANE Scotland got his 2013 MENA Tour

campaign off to a flying start with a superb

wire-to-wire victory in the season-opening

Royal Dar Es Salam Open in Morocco last

month.

The Englishman closed with an excellent

4-under-par 69 to finish with a 10-under-par total and

a five-stroke victory over home favourite Younes El

Hassani. Welshman Stephen Dodd shared the

overnight lead with Scotland but fell away, carding a

3-over-par final round to finish in a share of third

place on 3-under alongside Ian Keenan of England

and Kenya’s Greg Snow. Scotland’s win means he’s

now won the opening event on each of the three

Mena Tour seasons to date.

“I entered the tournament with no expectations in

terms of results since it was my first competitive

event after the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. I played

with a free mind and that probably was the key to my

success,” said Scotland. “I knew I had won the opening

tournament in both previous editions of the MENA

Tour but I tried not to think about it when I teed off in

the morning. The thinking was to remain relaxed and

that did the trick. “Obviously, I’m pretty delighted with

my efforts and hope to keep the momentum going.”

Much was expected of Dodd, but the three-time

winner on the European Tour failed to find the

rhythm he showed a day earlier when he shot a

second-round 68. “I played badly, it’s as simple as that,”

said Dodd. “I drove badly and putted even worse.

Nothing clicked for me. This is golf, you can have days

like this when anything can happen.”

Morocco’s El Hassani was pleased with his

runner-up finish which was his best ever finish on the

MENA Tour. “I think I played really well and could have

scored even better but I made some mistakes out

there,” he said, after carding a 1-under 72 in the final

round.

The home nation had more reason to celebrate as

young Ahmed Marjan took home the best amateur

title thanks to his 1-under-par 218 total – an

impressive effort which saw him card a top-10 finish

in a Tour event for the first time.

Zane Scotland is pictured with Saeed Muhayer, Al Ketbi of UAE Consulate in Rabat, Mustapha Zine, Chairman of the Moroccan Golf Federation, Bouftas, President of Royal Golf Dar Es Salam and Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Golf Tour.

ZANE SCOTLAND WINS MENA TOUR OPENER IN RABAT

DODD BOUNCES BACK TO WIN IN MOHAMMEDIAREIGNING Mena Tour Champion Stephen

Dodd bounced back after a poor final round

performance in the opening event of the

season to win the Royal Golf D’Anfa Open in

Mohammedia with a play-off victory over the

English pair of Zane Scotland and Ian Keenan.

The Welshman, who won three times on The

European Tour, rolled in a 10-footer for birdie on

the first extra hole to seal a wire-to-wire victory.

Scotland pushed his birdie putt inches wide and

had to settle for a par while Keenan, who closed

with a brilliant 66 – the tournament’s best score –

to get into the playoff, left his approach too short

and ended up with a bogey.

“It feels nice to get the job done,” said Dodd, who

finished regulation play on 6-under level alongside

Keenan and Scotland.

Starting the day three shots ahead, Dodd failed

to keep his momentum going and squandered his

advantage by the 12th hole when Scotland drew

level with him.

Keenan, who was five shots off the pace going

into the final round, made a stunning charge up

the leaderboard when he eagled the 16th to get

into contention. Keenan then set the clubhouse

lead on 6-under and both Dodd and Scotland

came home in pars to leave a three-way tie at the

top.

“Obviously, I can’t complain after winning the

tournament,” said the Dodd, who fell away the

week before to finish third behind Scotland in

Rabat. “The course was in great condition despite

some inclement weather. There are plenty of good

players on the tour who are potential winners so I

am returning home with some fond memories of

Morocco.”

Scotland’s Duncan Stewart closed with

back-to-back 70s to finish fourth on 3-under 213,

one shot ahead of Wales’ Matthew Dearden while

Morocco’s Ahmed Marjan comfortably kept up his

dominance in the Amateur Division with rounds of

73, 73 and 70. “I am really pleased with my

performance over last three days,” said Marjan. “I

struck the ball beautifully and rolled in some nice

putt. It feels great to win back-to-back titles in my

the Amateur Division.”

Winner Stephen Dodd is pictured with Fettah Mohamed, President of Royal Golf D’Anfa-Mohammedia, Mustapha Zine, Chairman of the Moroccan Golf Federation, Abderrahmane Boufetas, President of Dar Es Salam Golf Club and Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of MENA Golf Tour.

www.wwgolf.biz72

SHARJAH GOLF AND SHOOTING CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 6 548 7777

E-mail: info@golfandshootingshj.com

www.golfandshootingshj.com Sharjah-Golf-Shooting-Club

SGSC CELEBRATES ITS 5TH ANNIVERSARY IN STYLE

THOMSON IN CHARGE

Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club’s golf

course crossed its five-year

milestone on March 1st and the day

was celebrated in unique style.

Almost 100 golfers, comprising of

mostly current and former

members, participated in an event

which included nine holes of team

golf, shooting, archery, a quiz on

the first five years of golf at SGSC, a

three-stage skills test and a crazy

golf event!

The day was more about the

occasion and the company than the

competition but the 20 teams made

their way from event to event with

winners announced for the six

disciplines as well as the overall winner.

The Jean Pierre Simon team (named

after SGSC’s next Men’s Club Captain)

proved eventual winners and they

were represented by Peter Gutteridge,

James Brown, Rory Thomson, Arun Tuli

and Gil Nam Yang. Worldwide Golf

Editor Alex Gallemore and his

team-mates got in on the action by

ENGLISHMAN Rory

Thomson shot a net

31 at the recent

Centro Sharjah

midweek medal to

win by one from G.N

Yang and Ajit Bagga.

A countback was

needed to separate

second and third

place and the play-off

went the way of the

Korean as Yang took

the runner-up spot.

Fellow Korean

member Y.D Kim

continued his great

form to produce an

extremely steady nine

holes of 3-under net

33 and claim the

Division ‘1’ prize.

winning....the crazy golf event!

The main event of the evening was

undoubtedly the dinner attended by

His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin

Mohammed Al Thani, SGSC Chairman,

His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin

Abdullah Al Thani, Mel and Jacqui

Stewart, SGSC’s first Golf Club Captains

and Golf Course designer Peter

Harradine.

Sheikh Mohammed was the first

official to address the 100 plus

delegation as he commented on the

combined efforts of so many people

over the last seven years that made the

SGSC Golf Course a reality.

Sheikh Mohammed and his father

Sheikh Abdullah then presented long

service awards to eight SGSC staff

members who have been at the club

for over five years before then

presenting the 23 people who have

been Members over the five years with

their new Silver Membership status.

Their final act was to the present Golf

Club Captains Mel and Jacqui Stewart

H.E. Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani (L) and H. E. Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani (R) present the Stewart Trophy

to Mel and Jacqui Stewart.

BOYLAN AND GILLIAM TOO STRONG IN SOCIALPETER Boylan and his close friend

Anthony Gilliam proved the best

partnership at the BMW Members and

Guests Social held last month as they

came out on top with a great net score

of 65.1.

Salim Shaikh and Omer Safi scooped the

prize for the best front 9, which was played

over the Texas Scramble format, as their net

33.6 was good enough to win by one

stroke. The back nine better-ball medal was

a much tighter affair as two teams were

tied in first place on net 30.

Coming out on top after a countback

were long-standing Sharjah members

Vivien Verma and Sanjoy Das.

The day also included Longest Drive and

Nearest The Pin awards which went to

Simon Mmutle and Ove Pedersen

respectively.

with their Gold Membership status and

to also present to the couple the

Captain’s Day trophy which will be

played for, for the first time in May and

will be forever named the Stewart

Trophy.

The two Captains then presented the

day’s awards before Golf Course

designer Peter Harradine ended

proceedings with his own subtle views

on golf, golf in the UAE, the history of

golf in the UAE and in particular the

history of the golf course at SGSC.

Director of Golf Martin Duff closed

proceedings by thanking everyone for

their support of the club on the day,

over the past five years and for making

this special pioneering club what it has

become today and will become

tomorrow.

AKHTAR EDGES OUT DASPAKISTANI ace Imran Akhtar picked up last

month’s ERL Stableford by the smallest of

margins after he overcame Sanjoy Das in a

scorecard countback after both had posted 41

points for their rounds.

A fabulous round of golf saw Akhtar par an

incredible 16 holes – a great effort and after a

long stint on the academy the hard work has

finally paid off. Das was disappointed not to

topple Akhtar in what would have been his first

win individually on Sharjah soil, however he

managed to pick up the prize for winning

Division ‘1’.

The Division ‘2’ prize went to hard-working

Korean golfer J.J Kim who finished one clear of

Peter Gaskin with a haul of 40 points.

The gross prize went to Ian Plant after he

downed Hassan Yazdi on a countback after both

players finished with a gross 32 Stableford points.

www.wwgolf.biz 73

LOCAL NEWS

PIC GOLF SOCIETY LEAGUE SUPPORTED BY SNTTA TRAVEL, BMW AND WWG

www.golfandshootingshj.com

THE Dubai ExPutts are set to

defend their Professional

Investment Consultants Golf

Society League title on April 20th

after they won a truly epic semi

final against The Indian Expat Golf

Society last month.

The two societies finished with a

win each after the regulation

matches. Vivien Verma and Praveen

Sharma won their match 5&4 while

Mark Edwards and Mark

Cunningham mounted a historic

comeback from 3-down with six to

play to win on the final hole.

The tied match meant Captains

Phil Sharpe and Vivien Verma had to

nominate two players from either

side to play-off. Phil Sharpe

nominated Mark Cunningham and

Mark Edwards, who clearly had

momentum, while Verma selected

himself and A. E. Ravi over his earlier

partner Sharma.

The play-off proved to be the

longest in the event’s history as

seven extra holes were required to

decide a winner. Dozens of

spectators watched as the first and

second holes were halved in pars.

The third hole was then halved in

birdies from the talented pair before

holes 4, 5 and 6 were again halved in

par. Finally, on the seventh hole, it

was the Dubai Exputts who

prevailed with a tap-in par after

Ravi’s lengthy par save attempt

missed.

Both teams and their captains

were exhausted but thrilled with the

excitement as play finished at

around 7pm under the floodlights.

Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club Golf

Professional Joe Marshal, who was

officiating for the event, said: “That

was a thrilling evening’s golf. Seven

holes of sudden death golf is almost

DUBAI EXPUTTS AND MASSIN 1 TO FACE OFF IN FINAL

unheard of – you could see how

much it meant to all the players

when the winning putt was sunk.

They all deserve full credit as the

event was played in the best of

spirits and in the fairest of manners.”

In the other semi final MasSin 1

overcame Rimausinga also by the

narrowest of margins. One up and all

square results meant MasSin 1 have

the chance to follow in their

compatriots MasSin 2’s footsteps and

place their name on the converted

trophy. The Dubai Exputts 1 and the

Indian Expats had both safely

navigated through their quarter-final

matches with the Dubai Irish Golf

Society and the Sharjah Golfing

Buddies respectively while the

Massin 1 team downed the Sport360

team and Rimusinga clinched their

quarter-final tie with the Al

Naboodah Golf Society to progress

to the semi-finals.

KASHWANI STEALS THE SHOW AT RECENT JDP MEETMANSOUR Kashwani scooped the prize

in the youngsters tournament at last

month’s Junior Development

Programme meeting after beating off

eight of his young counterparts.

The Academy Course’s 5-hole

tournament winners were Frazer Hall (nine

years and older) and Maxwell Hill (eight

years and under) as both players posted

rounds of 20 strokes.

The elder and more experienced juniors

had to wait until the evening to get their

turn and over 30 juniors were out in force

to try and lay their hands on the winning

trophy played over four holes on the

Championship Course. With four different

teeing grounds staggered based on the

golfer’s driving distances the competition

was to be as fair as possible.

Coming out on top was Welsh whiz-kid

Max Hibbert who held his nerve with

some impressive short game shots to post

a score of 21 and defeat young German

Alex Beisenwenger on a countback.

Australian all-round sports girl Genevieve

Hall finished in third spot with Dominic

Manning picking up fourth place for the

second consecutive session.

www.wwgolf.biz74

EMIRATES GOLF CLUBwww.dubaigolf.com EmiratesGolfClub

AFTER two rounds of tense competition over

first the Faldo and then the Majlis course,

Cathrine Clark sealed the 2013 Ladies Club

Championship thanks to a gross total of 165

(86, 79).

The competition was hotting up as players

made their way down the stretch on the final

day but Clark forced her way up the leaderboard

with a superb birdie, par, birdie, par finish to win

by four strokes ahead of Najla Bartette.

Taking third place with consistent rounds of

85 over both courses was Rosemary Turlik.

The Net prizes were divided into Divisions and

finishing top of the Silver Division (0-20 hcp)

was Veronica Elias with a net 146 (64, 79) while

the Bronze Division was clinched by Gillian Black

with a 147 total (76, 71).

As in previous years a prize is given to the

player who makes the most improvement over

the two days and taking the honour this year

was Sandra Chia who improved her score by 22

shots.

CATHRINE CLARK WINS THE LADIES CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP IN FINE STYLE

Ladies Club Champion Cathrine Clark receives her prize from the Lady Captain, Glynis Hendry.

Left to right: Christopher D’abreo (Group Manager Rivoli Group), Jacklyn Quadras (Marketing & PR Manager Omega), Michael Saunders (Champion) and Club Captain Moshe Kohli.

SAUNDERS TRIUMPHS IN OMEGA EMIRATES AMATEUR OPENMICHAEL Saunders from Dartford

Golf Club in England put in a fine

display to triumph in the Omega

Emirates Amateur Open by a

four-shot margin.

Saunders shared the overnight lead

with Ashley Rees (East Sussex National)

after they both fired a gross 74

(2-over-par) over the Faldo course.

Their closest rivals going in to the final

round over the Majlis were Bal Arnaud

(Rinkven Golf Club, Belguim), Sami Hajri

(Yas Links GC) and Ryan Riley (EGF)

who were all on the 3-over-par mark.

Saunders handled the pressure of the

final round well as he made nine

straight pars and he started the inward

half with a birdie on the par five 10th.

He suffered his first dropped shots on

the difficult 12th and the 16th holes

but by the 16th his challengers had

faded and he found himself with a

healthy lead going in to the final two

holes. He finished in style with a terrific

birdie on the famous closing hole to

claim the prestigious title with a 4-over-

par total. Rounds of 74 and 74 gave

him a final score of 148 and he

followed in the footsteps of European

Tour winners Michael Hoey and Peter

Hanson as champions of this event.

Sam Towler, representing Woburn

Golf Club, followed his opening 79

with a much-improved 74 to claim

second place while one of the stories

of the final round involved 12-year old

Jakub Hrinda from Doha GC as he

produced the best round of the

championship with a level par 72 to

claim third place overall on 10-over-

par.

The best net score of the

championship went to Bal Arnaud

(Royal GC, Bahrain) after he signed for

rounds of 72 and 76 and a two-stroke

victory over Mark Davin (Ashton On

Mersey GC, England) with Bilel Belaid

(Abu Dhabi) taking third place.

“As one of the most highly

anticipated golf events of the year that

attracts the top amateur players from

across the world we are delighted to

have been associated with this

tournament at Emirates Golf Club,” said

OMEGA Vice President and

International Sales Director Raynald

Aeschlimann. “We are confident that

the event will continue to grow in

stature over the years on the

international golf scene.

“Having been title sponsors for the

OMEGA Dubai Ladies Masters and

OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, it is

befitting for us to now be supporting

the largest amateur open in the region

with 123 competitors.”

SANDRA Chia and David Formas produced a stunning

score of 58.4 over the Majlis course to triumph in the

Wentworth Invitational event and win a prize that

includes rounds of golf on the West, East and

Edinburgh courses at Wentworth Club in England.

It was the sixth edition of the popular mixed members

event and over 108 players took to the course with their

eyes on the prize. Chia and Formas were comfortable

winners ahead of Ashish Nanda and Shravan Khanna who

fired a net 60.1 for second place.

Nina Larm and Pentti Tahvanainen claimed third place

with a 61.3 and along with Nanda and Khanna won club

house hospitality at The European Tour’s flagship event – the

BMW Championship in May courtesy of Wentworth Club.

CHIA AND FORMAS SEAL TRIP TO WENTWORTH

www.wwgolf.biz 75

THE ELS CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 4 425 1010

E-mail: golf@elsclubdubai.com

www.elsclubdubai.com TheElsClubDubai

LOCAL NEWS

CONTACT:Tel : +9714 380 2222

E-mail: info@dubaigolf.com

KEEGAN FIRES LOW TO WIN THE MARCH MEDAL

SANA Tufail dealt with high winds

and quick greens in consummate

fashion as she recorded a gross

70 to easily retain her Els Club

Ladies Open title last month.

Along with winning the title for the

third time in her short career, Tufail

also went home with the Nearest the

Pin prize on hole 4 and the Longest

Drive challenge on hole 13.

In the Net prizes Julia Alheoud took

the spoils with a net 70, one clear of

Monina Gudaca with Anastacia Bakal

third on 72.

TUFAIL DEFENDS HER LADIES OPEN CROWN

HUTCHINSON CLAIMS THE LADIES BLIND HOLESA RECENT ‘Blind Holes’ event was

played over the Faldo course by Lady

members at EGC and after

competitors completed their 18 holes

the 12 holes from which players’

scores were take were revealed.

With points accumulated on holes

1,3,4,6,8,9,10,12,14,16,17,18 added

together to form a total it was Chris

Hutchinson who took the spoils with

a haul of 32 points.

In the Silver Division (hcp 0-23) Mimi

Hoskin took the honours with a card

play-off over Annette Carstnajen with

both players locked on 27 points.

Sue Hopwood sealed the Bronze

Division (hcp 24-42) with a score of

25 points.

Overall winner Chris Hutchinson receives her

prize from the Lady Captain, Glynis Hendry.

CONNOR Keegan recorded the

best gross and best net scores of

the day to win the second event of

the Mashreq Medal Championship

in association with BMW.

The youngster, who plays off 5,

carded a superb gross 73 over the

Majlis for a net 68 and clinch the

title.

Mathys Oberholster continued his

excellent run of form with a 3-under

par net 69 to take the runner-up spot

in Division ‘A’, followed by Nawaf

Fawaz with a 71.

Kish Bandopadhyay returned his

best effort in a monthly medal to

triumph in Division ‘B’ (hcp 11-20)

with a 2-under tally of 70, one clear of

Haris Michaelidis with Iain

Everingham third on 72. Amr Salem

won Division ‘C’ (hcp 21-34) with a

2-under par 70.

Mashreq Bank is the title sponsor for

the 2013 Monthly Medals Series that

will be held across both Emirates Golf

Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht

Club.

Over a 12-month period there will

be a total of 22 monthly medals

across the two Dubai Golf managed

clubs. During the months of July and

August there will also be joint medals

where by Dubai Creek members

compete against Emirates members

and vice versa. Both clubs will run

separate Order of Merits and the top

36 players in both Order of Merits will

win a place in the Grand Final.

Amr Salem is leading the Emirates

Golf Club Order of Merit following

two events with a tally of 147 points,

seven clear of Connor Keegan.

Farhad Irani (Head of Retail Banking Group), Moshe Kohli (Club Captain), Connor Keegan (Champion) and Caetano Fernandes (Head of Mashreq Gold).

www.wwgolf.biz76

EMIRATES GOLF CLUBCONTACT:Tel : +971 4 295 6000

E-mail: dcgyc@dubaigolf.com

DUBAI CREEK GOLF AND YACHT CLUB

www.dubaigolf.com DubaiCreekGolf dubaicreekgolfandyachtclub

LAST year’s Lady Captain Mego

Han was presented a trophy by

current Lady Captain Maureen

Platt as a token of appreciation for

all the hard work Han does in and

around the club throughout the

year.

The competition saw regular

contender Harini White take the

spoils with a fine net 70 with Platt

and Swati Singh finishing in second

and third respectively after a

countback with both players locked

on 72. Najla Bartette finished one

shot back in fourth place with a net

73.

After being presented her prize

Harini commented: “I am happy to

have won today after I played very

well. I would like to thank our past

Captain, Mego Han and also our new

Captain, Maureen Platt for all their

effort and hard work with our events.”

After conducting the prize giving

Professional Craig Waddell

commented: “Once again a huge

thank you to all of you ladies for

making these events such a success

and it’s great to see them become

more and more popular. A special

thank you goes to Mego Han for all

of the hard work that she did in her

captaincy year and without her these

events wouldn’t be what they are

today.

“I know that Maureen will carry on

that success as new Lady Captain

and I look forward to seeing these

events grow throughout this year.”

BAKAL SEALS THE CREEK LADIES AMATEUR OPEN

PAST CAPTAIN THANKED AT LADIES MEDAL

Past Lady Captain Mego Hann and new Lady Captain Maureen Platt with Dubai Creek Professional, Craig Waddell.

TEENAGER Anastasia Bakal took

the spoils in the 2013 Dubai Creek

Ladies Amateur Open sponsored

by ProSports recently thanks to a

superb gross 6-over-par 77 to deny

the two-time defending champion

Sana Tufail a hat-trick of titles

“I’m delighted to have won such a

prestigious EGF Order of Merit title,”

smiled Bakal after lifting the trophy. “I

would like to thank Dubai Creek for

putting on such a great event and all

of the players who took part.

“In addition, thanks to my playing

partners today for all of their support

that helped me secure the win.” Tufail,

winner in 2011 and 2012, had to

settle for second place, two shots

back on 79.

Yuko Tsukiori came out on top in

the Silver Division thanks to a fantastic

net 67 while Serifa D’Souza finished

with a level-par 71 to take second

spot.

D’Souza shot a gross 79 and missed

out on second place in the overall

prize to Tufail who defeated her on a

countback.

In the Bronze Division H.H Choi

clinched the top spot with a

1-under-par net 70, one clear of

Emirates Golf Club member Gillian

Black.

After conducting the prize giving

Dubai Creek’s Head Golf Professional,

Stephen Hubner said: “It really has

been a wonderful day of golf and we

are delighted to welcome so many

players from around the UAE and

some from abroad.

“Congratulations to Anastasia on a

great performance and of course our

thanks go to Pro Sports International

for their kind sponsorship of the

giveaways and excellent prize table.”

Anastasia Bakal is pictured with Dubai Creek Lady Captain Maureen Platt.

PATRICK Morrow timed his return to form

impeccably as he sealed the honours in last month’s

Mashreq Medal in association with BMW with a net

67.

“I’m glad to be back in form having fallen a bit by the

wayside in recent months,” smiled Morrow after

collecting the trophy. “The course, tee to green, is in

truly great shape and along with the perfect weather it

made the win even more enjoyable.”

Rami Safadi took the Men’s Division ‘A’ title with a

countback win over Mark Joliffe after both players

returned a solid 1-under par net 70.

Ajay Goel also put on a great display as he clinched

the Men’s Division ‘B’ title with a net 67 having lost out

on a countback to Morrow for the main prize.

Vanessa North secured her second win of the series as

she took the Ladies title with a level par net 71 while

Ryan Riley was almost without fault as he fired a superb

72 to take the best gross prize. Two juniors – Adam

Savage and Rishi Nair – played extremely well and both

finished with score of net 67. However, it was Nair who

narrowly beat Savage on a better inward half to take the

Junior Division title.

MORROW MARCHES TO VICTORY

Head Golf Pro Stephen Hubner and Vice Captain Tejan Fadlu-Dean congratulate winner Patrick Morrow on his victory.

www.wwgolf.biz78

BILBO Perrot put the

disappointment of finishing third

at the 2012 Men’s Amateur Open

behind him by going two better

and winning this year’s event

thanks to gross rounds of 77 and

74.

Playing off a +3 handicap, Perrot

began day two in second place after

his opening 74 over the Fire course,

three shots behind his good friend

Martin Fernandez. Conditions

worsened during day two on the

Earth course and Perrot’s outward

tally of 40 looked to have cost him a

BILBO’S BRILLIANCE WINS OPEN

JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES CONTACT:Tel : +971 4 375 999

www.jumeirahgolfestates.com Jumeirah-Golf-Estates

AL AIN EQUESTRIAN SHOOTING AND GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 3 702 6400

E-mail: golf@aesgc.ae

www.aesgc.com Golfin Alain

CUNNIFFE CLINCHES THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPEOIN Cunniffe ran away with the Men’s

Club Championship last month with a

solid performance over two rounds that

left the chasing pack clutching at thin air.

A fine level par 71 on day one left him eight

shots clear of his nearest rivals and a

3-over-par 74 on day two saw him cruise to

victory with a 145 total, nine clear of Edwin

Scheepers. Scheepers’ score of 154 was

matched by Jason Neese but Scheepers took

second place outright after winning a

countback.

The net event was equally as one sided as

Eddie Garbutt shot two rounds of net 65 to

win by ten from Alex Tinson with Russell

Cash third. Gerard Dixon had the lead after a

64 on day one but couldn’t maintain his

momentum and tumbled down the

leaderboard on day two.

The Ladies Championship threatened to be

another event dominated by one player as

Michelle Sandford shot a 76 to lead by ten

shots from Sara Donovan and Marja Kohn

going into day two. However, a faltering front

nine on day two saw her lead slip and by the

time she teed off on the 18th her lead was

just one stroke ahead of Donovan. Sandford

held her nerve and clinched the title with a

par with Donovan also making a par to stay

in second place with Khon third.

Although Donovan missed out on the

Gross prize with her fantastic second round

score of 76 for a net 65 saw her take home

the net trophy.

Left to right: Michelle Sandford, Ladies Champion, Eoin Cunniffe, Men’s Champion, Shoaib Farooqui of Emirates, Eddie Garbutt, Men’s Net Champion-and Sara Donovan, Ladies Net Champion.

Bilbo Perrot is crowned the BMW AGMC sponsored 2013 JGE Mens Amateur Open Champion by Mark Bull, JGE Golf Operations Supervisor.

SHANKAR Majrekar saved his best

for last as he compiled 37 points in

the Grand Final of the JGE Yas Cup to

win by three points from t

ournament leader Paul Schwartz.

Schwartz held a two-point lead over

Martin Fernandez while Majrekar was

three back at the start of play. Under

normal circumstances an effort of 31

points would have been good enough

for Schwartz to etch his name on the

trophy, however it wasn’t to be as

Majrekar burst through the pack.

Finishing in third was Tania Gelasini

as her three-round total of 89 points

highlighted her consistency.

Majrekar also had the honour of taking

home a Nearest the Pin prize on hole 13

while the other NTP prizes went to Nhoot

Thongde, Nigel Pinto, and John Parsons

on holes 4, 8 and 17 respectively.

PAIR OF ACES

MARCH proved to be an excellent

month for the rarest shot in golf as

two aces were struck – one on the

Fire course and one on the Earth

course.

Lucas Carletti from Argentina

became the first junior to record a

hole-in-one at Jumeirah Golf Estates,

on the Earth course. He struck a superb

7-iron to the 13th and his ball nestled

in the cup for his most memorable

moment on a golf course to date

Gerald Harper is pictured with Golf Operations Supervisor Mark Bull after achieving his Hole-in-One on the Fire course.

Lucas Carletti is congratulated on his achievement by PGA Golf Professional Alasdair Danson-Webster.

SHANKAR COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN JGE YAS CUP

shot at redemption. However, as

Fernandez also struggled Perrot

seized the initiative and played out

the final five holes in 2-under-par to

come home in 37 for a 151 total and

win by one from Paul Moir and the

up-and-coming youngster Rayhan

Thomas. Fernandez dropped out of

the podium places after a costly back

nine.

In the Net Division Michael Pearce

took the title with rounds of 72 and 70

for a 36 hole total score of 142. Barry

Cotter claimed second place, three

shots back, while Daood Ali Jaffal

finished third with a 147 total.

Shankar Majrekar is congratulated by Neal Graham, Acting General Manager Operations of Jumeirah Golf Estates.

Shortly after Carletti it was 84-year-old

Gerald Harper’s turn to bask in the

glory as he struck a fine 5-hybrid down

the throat of the par-3 eighth on the

Fire course and into the hole. It pitched

roughly ten yards short of the flag and

trundled up to the hole before

disappearing from view.

www.wwgolf.biz 79

LOCAL NEWS

SAQIB Mahmood and Florence Corgini were crowned Champions

in their respective divisions at last month’s Ecco Individual

Stableford as a field of 72 players battled it out in the third staging

of the event.

Mahmood (pictured right with Golf Pro Scott Clelland) dominated the

Men’s division when he posted his best score to date at Arabian

Ranches as he gross 78 was worth 48 points which saw him complete a

masterful nine-point win over Bryan Banner.

In the Ladies Division Corgini (pictured far right) returned a

well-balanced card of 38 despite scoring no points on three holes

during her round. Finishing runner-up on 35 points was Kaeren Evans.

MAHMOOD AND CORGINI WALTZ TO STABLEFORD VICTORY

ARABIAN RANCHES GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 4 366 3000

E-mail: info@arabianranchesgolf.ae

www.arabianranchesgolfclubdubai.com ArabianRanchesGolf1 arabianranchesgolfclub

MURPHY AND MCKELVEY SEAL THE MARCH RIVOLI MEDAL HONOURS IN PERFECT CONDITIONSRON Murphy returned a gross 1-under

par 71 to win the March Rivoli Monthly

Medal supported by Speed Cleaning

but only after a narrow countback win

over Max Burrow.

Murphy, one of the club’s Scratch

League players, had a steady round and

got the job done on a day perfect for

scoring.

Having started on hole 10 he posted

nines of 36 and 35 and it was his back

nine of 35 that was the difference

between first and second place.

“I’m happy with my performance today,

it is a special event to win,” said Murphy

after his round. “My thanks go out to the

sponsors for their support and

congratulations to all today’s winners.”

The best net round of the day in the

Men’s division belonged to Division A

Champion Carl Night who posted a net 67

while Adele McKelvey pipped Kim Chiang

to the title on a countback after both

players signed for a gross 80.

Ladies Best Net went to Emma Rooms

with a net 68 leaving Beatrice Galeppini in

the runners up spot for the second

consecutive event.

Men’s winner Ron Murphy is pictured with Lady Club Captain Anne Hainey.      

Ladies winner Adele McKelvey accepts her prize from Anne Hainey.

THE ADDRESS MONTGOMERIE DUBAI CONTACT:Tel : +971 4 390 5600 

www.themontgomerie.com theaddressmontgomeriedubai

PITMAN PUTS IN PEERLESS DISPLAY TO

CLAIM BMW CITIZEN’S STABLEFORD

PAUL Pitman scored 40 points to

win last month’s BMW Citizen’s

Stableford by just one point from

Mike Roberts while Salil Dungawarl

blew away the competition in

Division ‘B’ as a haul of 44 points

gave him a five-point win over

Valeriy Zabrodin.

The Ladies Division ‘A’ winner was

Ji Won Bae as she secured 40 points

for a two-stroke win over Jo Higgins

while Sam Salem scored 45 points

to win the Ladies’ Division ‘B’ by two

from Jane Gray.

Kerry Fitzpatrick won both the

Ladies Longest Drive and Nearest

the Pin prizes while the men’s

Nearest the Pin on hole 13 went to

Davil Millar and Charlie Simpson

boomed the men’s Longest Drive.

PHILMORE SHINES IN ECCO MEDALPAUL Philmore won last month’s Ecco Monthly Medal after a superb gross

77 gave him a one-stroke victory over John Millar while Angela Calvert

won the ladies gross prize after her 87 saw her win by one from Jo Higgins.

In the Men’s Division ‘A’ David Russell compiled a net 75 and topped the pile

after a countback victory over Russell Yeomans with Richard Taylor third on 77.

The Men’s Division ‘B’ was topped by Myoung Kyu Shin with an excellent 65 for a

three-stroke win over Valeriy Zabrodin with James Haupt third.

The Ladies net prize went to Elsie Bruce after she shot a 68 for a five-stroke win

over Fiona Linn.

www.wwgolf.biz80

ABU DHABI CITY GOLF CLUBwww.adcitygolf.com adcitygolf@adcitygolf

CLUB Captain Tim Munnerlyn

wrapped up an historic victory in

the 2013 Men’s Open last month

after shooting a gross 80 to win

by three shots from Sergio

D’Souza, Martin Smith and Sim

Kyo Lee.

The event was the first staging of a

Men’s Open at the Club and

Munnerlyn duly stepped up to win

in impressive fashion.

The Net Champion was Jamal

Sahl after he recovered from a

shaky start to post a gross 88 for a

net 67. His score was matched by

Quintana Martin, who shot a 95 for

his net 67, but he had to settle for

second place after losing the back

nine countback with Sahl. Sahl’s

superior inward tally of 31 strokes

saw him take the title.

Despite missing out on the

overall Net prize Martin was

crowned champion of Division ‘B’

with his net 67 as he edged out

Yashvant Chavan by one stroke.

In Division ‘A’ Alan Thomson shot

a steady gross 86 off his 16

handicap for a net 70 to seal a

one-stroke victory over Daniel Van

Dyke who in turn pipped Elie

Chiha to the runner-up spot on a

countback.

The Scoring was tough but fair

with only three Players breaking

the Par of 70 all day but despite

the tough but firm conditions

MUNNERLYN SEALS THE FIRST CHIVAS MEN’S OPEN AT ABU DHABI CITY GOLF CLUB

Champion Tim Munnerlyn (centre) is presented with his prizes by Adam Pomeroy, Chivas representative

and Account Manager (left) and ADCGC General Manager Rhian Lobo (right).

many players – some of which who

were playing the couse for the first

time – left with positive views. An

oversubscribed field of 98 players

took to the course and after play

everyone was treated to a

prize-giving dinner at the Pavilion

Terrace.

Speaking at the prize giving

ceremony, ADCGC General

Manager Rhian Lobo said: “It has

been a pleasure hosting you all

here today and this evening and

we sincerely hope that you have

enjoyed yourselves as much as we

have. Our Golf Course is playing

beautifully and our Greens

Superintendant, Jojie Cruz, and his

team deserves huge credit.

“Thanks to our sponsors GMP and

Chivas for a truly memorable day

and well done to Tim Munnerlyn

and Jamal Sahl for being our Men’s

Open inaugural winners.”

A representative from Gray

Mackenzie and Partners on behalf

of Chivas, Adam Pomeroy went on

to say: “Today has been a very

special occasion for ADCGC and

Chivas are delighted to have been

a part of it. We have thoroughly

enjoyed seeing so many of you

here at this wonderful facility,

making time to enjoy each others’

company with Chivas throughout

the day.”

www.wwgolf.biz 81

CONTACT:Tel : +971 2 445 9600

Fax : +971 2 443 225 

GOLF HOUSE TEAMS UP WITH ABU DHABI CITY GOLF CLUB

PROGOLF International LLC has continued

the expansion of its retail arm, Golf House,

by adding the proshop at Abu Dhabi City

Golf Club to its portfolio.

“Golf House is a golfer’s paradise. Whether

you are a scratch golfer or someone looking

to get into the game for the first time, we

offer the best selection of the biggest brands

in a truly unique environment,” said Scott

Sullivan Progolf International’s GM. “Today’s

hi-tech clubs offer more features than ever

like adjustable loft and shot shape options.

Our Sponsored Pro’s at Abu Dhabi City Golf

club are experts in helping golfers of all skill

levels find the right gear for their game.”

The new Golf House store will carry a variety

of equipment and apparel brands such as

Callaway, Cobra, Taylormade, Mizuno,

Cleveland, Srixon, Wilson, Puma, C&B, SWAGG,

and Annika

“Abu Dhabi is a growing market and one

where we don’t have much retail presence,”

continued Sullivan.

“Other than a small shop in Mushrif Mall,

this will be our first stand alone store in many

a year.

“Our store supervisor Sandy, along with his

team, and our retail manager Johan du Bruyn

who is also a PGA professional will provide

plenty of experience, support and knowledge

to all golfers looking to better their game or

in need for some friendly advice.

“Along with Abu Dhabi City GC we want to

help grow the game of golf by offering

custom fitting with re-shafting and repair

options coming in the near future.”

With nine stores currently in the UAE, Golf

House will be bringing over 15 years of golf

retail experience into the Abu Dhabi region.

The deal is over a three-year span bringing

many new golfing brands and experience into

the region.

The new store is part of a continued growth

strategy by Progolf that is bucking an industry

trend of golf store closures in many parts of

the world. The Dubai-based golf retailer will

continue its expansion in 2013 with three

planned stores across the UAE.

YAS LINKS GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 2 810 7777

E-mail: info@yaslinks.com

www.yaslinks.com YasLinksGC YasLinksGolfClub

PAUL Prince fired a net 70 and won a back-six

countback with Lincoln Mardel to win last month’s

Cadillac Medal. Competition was fierce and

finishing third with a net 71 was John Thompson

while the gross winner was Kang Ho Rho with a 79.

Second place in the gross category went to

youngster Ronan Hall who shot an 85 with Ryan

Hunter taking third after losing out to Hall on a

countback.

PRINCE CROWNED KING IN CADILLAC MEDAL

Champion Paul Prince is pictured with PGA Pro Victoria Hassett.

BURNELL SEALS THE MARCH ETIHAD OPEN STABLEFORDSTEPHEN Paul Burnell clinched the honours

in Division ‘B’ of last month’s Etihad Open

Stableford as his haul of 35 points gave him

a two-point win over Chris Archibald.

Archibald came in with 33 points and he

sealed second place outright ahead of Tiina

Vuorenmaa after a countback.

Taking the honours in Division ‘A’ with a

countback win was Ahmed AlMazrui as he

defeated Jonathan Craig with both players

locked on 39 points.

LOVES SUPREME IN ECCO CHALLENGE

NICK and Anita Love proved too hot to

handle on a scorching day at Yas Links as

they won the Ecco Challenge with a

39-point haul ahead of Willian Royce and

Gareth Denninson on a card countback.

Winner Stephen Paul Burnell (centre) is congratulated after his win.

www.wwgolf.biz 83

ABU DHABI GOLF CLUBwww.adgolfclub.com abudhabigolfclub

MICHAEL Harradine held his nerve in the

final round of the ninth annual Abu

Dhabi Men’s Open, sponsored by Titleist,

to clinch the top spot on the National

Course which designed by his father,

Peter Harradine.

After a steady round of 71 on the first day,

Michael ‘scrambled’ through the second in 74

blows to take this year’s title with a one-shot

victory from PGA professional Gary Knight.

“I played very solid on the first day but

couldn’t really convert the solid play into a

good score which I was slightly disappointed

with,” said Michael. “It isn’t every day you give

yourself a lot of birdie chances and only to

convert a few of them was frustrating.

“On the second day I didn’t play anywhere

near as well and scrambled a lot to try and

keep things going whilst dropping a few shots

here and there. Luckily Gary Knight, who was

only one or two shots behind me at certain

points, made some errors too so it was enough

to stay ahead.”

The overall best gross score was won by

Clemens Dolinar who beat a high-class field

with a 6-over par total of 150.

Last year’s Champion Dino Varkey took

second place with a score of 152 closely

followed by Bayhaan Lakdawala who narrowly

lost out on second place on a countback.

In the Net Division, John Millar took first place

with steady rounds of 75 and 71 for a 146 total

to beat his closest rival Ian McDowall by just

two shots.

Third place went to Coner Keegan with a

total score of 149 over the two days.

HARRADINE CROWNED MEN’S OPEN CHAMPION

CONTACT:Tel : +971 2 558 8990

E-mail: info@adgolfclub.com

@ADGolfClub

STEVE Martin scored an impressive

net 76 to win last month’s

Rosewood Bowl by one shot from

Colin Mann. Martin put his turn of

good fortune into his recent golf

lesson and said afterwards: “It’s

been a very long time since I won

anything, perhaps that golf lesson

was worth it after all!”

Mann is a two-time Rosewood

Bowl winner alongside Ken

Johnstone and both are battling it

out to become the first three-time

winners of the event.

MARTIN CLINCHES THE MARCH ROSEWOOD BOWL

SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 2 557 8000

Email: info@sbgolfclub.ae

www.sbgolfclub.ae Saadiyat-Beach-Golf-ClubSaadiyatBeach

Champion Michael Harradine is pictured with Club Captain Ken Graham

after his victory.

TROON GOLF LAUNCHES INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME UK COLLEGE

ABU Dhabi Golf Club has launched a competitive

internship programme in partnership with

Myerscough College in the UK which sees three

students spend a full term working at the golf

club in a range of roles.

Spearheaded by Phil Waine, a former Myerscough

student himself, the programme offers talented

students the opportunity to gain real, hands-on

experience whilst adding the prestige of the Troon

Golf brand to their CVs. In conjunction with Troon

Golf, internationally recognised as the world’s leading

golf course management company, Abu Dhabi Golf

Club is providing the students with accommodation,

catered meals and an allowance for the duration of

their internship.

“The industry is becoming more and more

competitive, and it is challenging to get that first job

without vital experience on your CV,” said Waine, Golf

Operations Manager at Abu Dhabi Golf Club. “We are

committed to growing talent, not just at a regional

level, but internationally too. The initiative aims to

give talented youngsters the chance to learn about

working in a golf club from the inside out,

experiencing roles in retail, operations and events.”

Currently interning are Simon Borley, Steven

Hewitt and Scott Wood, who will finish in May to

return to their studies in the UK. Hewitt, 23, said:

“The move to the Middle East could not have

come at a better time for me and I can honestly

say it’s the place to be.”

Three current interns Simon Borley, Steven Hewitt and Scott Wood are

pictured with Golf Operations Manager Phil Waine (right).

Hole 5 Top Tip Martin Robinson, Head Teaching Professional.

The visually stunning par-4 requires a well placed tee shot due to a well protected fairway. Once on the fairway a confident swing to the right side of the green will ensure a birdie putt. Be careful though, as the green slopes towards the water on the left hand side. The ‘Dolphin Hole’ is amongst the most beautiful in the UAE with Turquoise Ocean views and stunning surrounds.

www.wwgolf.biz84

AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 7 244 7474

E-mail: enquiries@alhamragolf.com

www.alhamragolf.com AlHamraGolfClub AlHamraGolfClub

MAKI-PETAJA AND ENGELBRECT CROWNED CLUB CHAMPIONSJAKE Maki-Petaja secured the Men’s Club Championship title by a stunning

14-shot margin after a gross 150 after two days of play. Maki-Petaja shot an

opening 76 and followed it with a 74 for his two-round total, well ahead of

second-placed Steve Rayment with third place going to Simon Williams on 165.

Wrapping up the Ladies Championship was the impressive Rita Englebrect as she

won her third Club Championship in succession with a 172 total with second

placed Ma Li Min second on 202.

Andy Spavin won the Men’s Net Division with a two round total of 147 after

beating Paul Tipping in a card play-off while the Ladies Net champion was Paula

Svensson with a 151 tally and a two-stroke win over Rabab Al Haj.

YOON STORMS TO CLASSIC VICTORYDAE Young Yoon clinched the RAK

Seniors Classic last month with a

come-from-behind victory over

overnight leader Sergio D’Souza.

After day one at Al Hamra Golf Club

D’Souza held a one-stroke lead over

Yoon thanks to a gross 77 but on day

two at Tower Links Golf Club Yoon

came to the fore, shooting a superb 72

to turn a one-stroke deficit into a

five-stroke victory.

In the Net category Jimmy Miller

proved untouchable as he fired rounds

of 66 and 70 for an 8-under-par total

and a ten-stroke win over Eric Eric

Engelbrecht.

The Ladies champion was Yuki

Pellerine as she followed an opening

89 with a 96 to finish on 185 and win

the gross prize while the Net champion

was Sheila Alban as her rounds of 76

and 81 gave her a 157 total.

In the Super Seniors (over 60s) Steve

Rayment posted rounds of 80 and 83

to win the gross title while Chris Redley

was crowned the Net champion wth a

144 total.

Bob Messham of sponsors Gulf Coast

Engineering said: “I’ve had a fantastic

weekend of golf. The competition was

a huge success as I hope it would be

and everyone seemed to enjoy every

part of the competition. I’m already

excited for next year when hopefully I

will have the opportunity to Support

another fantastic event.”

MAKI-PETAJA AND AL HAMOUD SEAL VICTORY IN STYLEAFTER Two days of play over at Al Hamra

Golf Club and Tower Links Golf Club the

Black and White Tee Challenge was

decided with Julia Al Hamoud winning

the Ladies White Challenge and Jake

Maki-Petaja clinching the Men’s Black Tee

Challenge.

Al Hamoud won the ladies’ gross with a

171 total while the net winner was Rita

Engelbrecht with a 167.

Maki-Petaja shot a gross total of 160 to

win by a stunning 13 strokes from Douglas

Gemmell while in the net competition

Zhendong Tan secured the title with a 143

total, four clear of Derek Fisher.

SUPERB SU WINS HIS FIRST MEDALZI HAO Su won his first Monthly Medal

at Al Hamra by recording a 79 to finish

with a two-stroke winning margin ahead

of Paul Tipping with Jake Maki-Petaja

finishing third place a shot further back.

Sealing the Net Division was Rabab Al

Haj who followed a 1-under front nine

with a level-par back nine to win by one

from Annie Marriot with Zhendong

Tan taking third a shot further back.

NO STOPPING DARWISHMOHAMMED Darwish continued his

dazzling form by wrapping up the

recent Open Stableford with 38 points,

one clear of Simon Sinclair. Darwish

compiled nines of 20 and 18 for his

total which included six net birdies.

Sinclair unfortunately blew his winning

chances by not recording any points

on the difficult 18th after he had earlier

posted two net eagles and six net birdies.

Finishing two points behind Sinclair

on 35 points was Dave Hoggins, who

had to beat fellow competitors Bill

Grosser and Sekhar Thodla in a card to

clinch third place outright.

www.wwgolf.biz 85

LOCAL NEWS

BILL Buchanan could not have

started life as a Tower Links Member

in better fashion after he cruised to

victory in the weekly Wednesday

social competition.

Partnering Simon Payne in the two

player scramble format was just the

way be introduced to golf in Ras Al

Khaimah and after starting from hole

10 the pair made five consecutive

birdies and two birdies by Buchanan

on their final two holes saw them sign

for a gross 29 and a net 28.73.

Roger Floyd and Yuki Pellerine were

hot on their heels but came up just

shot while Mark Regan and Greg Maddox

took third place with a solid net 31.90.

Finishing last and taking home the

wooden spoon were Par Mottershead

and Rick Wilson on net 38.45. Jeff Glasgow

and Roger Floyd won the Nearest the Pin

prizes on holes 12 and 16 respectively.

RAMPAGING REGAN AT IT AGAINMARK Regan is fast becoming a Social Specialist as he triumphed in the

midweek Stableford recently with a stunning 20-point haul.

Regan has formed some formidable partnerships of late in the pairs competitions

but with this result he proved that he is more than capable of flying solo

when needed.

S.P. Hong goes about his business with minimal fuss, finding fairways and

greens with supreme regularity and he was rewarded on the night with a

second place finish after scoring 19 points.

Four players finished with 17 points and taking third place outright after the

countback was Pat Mottershead as her last three hole score of eight points

clinched her the last place on the podium.

SEAN Quinn and Greg Maddox decimated the field in the recent Wednesday

Social 2 Player Daytona with a wonderful score of 342. The Daytona format

had never been played before over the Links and turned out to be very

enjoyable – once the players got their heads around the scoring.

Second place went to Tobias Fernstrom and Steve Finn with a score of 352 with

Ajay and Anupma Kotwal finishing third with a 361 score. Maddox took home the

Nearest the Pin prize on hole 16 with Young Nam Chang winning the same

prize on hole 12.

TOWER LINKS GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 7 227 939

Email: membership@towerlinks.com

www.towerlinks.com towerlinksgc

BRILLIANT BUCHANAN WINS ON HIS DEBUT

MUNRO WINS THE 40TH ABU DHABI OPEN GOLF CHAMPION

AL GHAZAL GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +971 2 575 5044

E-mail: golfclub@adhc.adac.ae

www.alghazalgolf.com Al-Ghazal-Golf-Club

Abdullah Al Shamsi [NBAD] is pictured with overall winner Steve Munro and Club Captain Rupert Evans.

LAST month’s Abu Dhabi Open sponsored by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD)

celebrated 40 years of sand golf in the UAE’s Capitol and after two spectacular days of

play coming out on top was Steven Munro after he downed Simon Dunn in a tense

play-off.

Munro posted a first round score of 78 and was in third place behind Mark Ireland

with 77 and Dunn who led with a 75.

After nine holes on day two Munro had picked up two shots with a one under 34 against

Dunn’s 36 and a final birdie 3 on hole 10 saw him pull level with the struggling Dunn. Dunn

faltered down the stretch, dropping shots on holes 11, 13, 14 and 15 to fall behind but a

birdie on the 17th pulled him level with Munro. Both players closed with a par to force a

play-off on the 10th hole which was presided over by Al Ghazal Club Captain Rupert Evans.

Munro hooked his drive and from the rough he found the back of the brown, 20 feet past

the pin. Dunn, who was in the middle of the fairway, stuck his approach to 18 feet. Munro

was to putt first and his attempt rolled down the bank, took the break and nestled firmly in

the cup for a superb birdie – worthy of winning any tournament. With the pressure on Dunn

gave his birdie putt a firm strike but it proved too firm as it lipped out, handing Munro the

championship.

Rob Jennings won the Amateur Gross Divition with a 152 total, two clear of Jonathan

Jeffrey with past winner Alex Charawani in third.

The Overall Best Net went to Faris Al Azzawi on 150 with Kevin Darroch in second, one shot

back after being Bernie Blanchard on a countback.

MADDOX AND QUINN DOMINATE WITH EASE

www.wwgolf.biz86

SACHIN Bawa won the Men’s Club

Championship after a stellar performance

while Sanjoli Singh won the Ladies

Championship for the third successive year

after another supreme two-day’s play.

After day one Vikas Dixit was leading the way in

the Men’s event but Bawa proved too strong on

day two as he followed a 79 with an 81 to win by

one from Humayun Kabir with Dixit falling out of

contention. Kabir was forced to settle for the

runner-up spot in the main event but he did win

the overall Net prize thanks to a 145 total.

Singh dominated proceedings in the Ladies

event, winning by a staggering 24 strokes while in

the Ladies Net Category Sarah Whitelaw took the

spoils with a 152 total.

BAWA AND SINGH CROWNED CLUB CHAMPIONS

MUSCAT HILLS GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +968 245 14080

E-mail: bookings@muscatgolf.com

www.muscathillsgolf.com MuscatHills Muscat-Hills-Golf-Country-Club

OVER 100 GATHER FOR MEMORIAL GOLF DAYTHE second annual Memorial Golf

Event for HH Kais bin Tarik Al Said

took centre stage with over 100

golfers taking to the course to pay

their respects to the avid golfer

and former member of the Royal

Family who passed away two

years ago.

His son HH Rawi Al Said, now CEO

of Muscat Hills Golf Project LLC,

gathered Muscat Hills’ members and

special invitees to honour his father’s

memory with a golf event which has

now become an annual tradition.

His Highness Kais bin Tarik al Said,

one of the pivotal visionaries of golf

in Oman, pioneered the Muscat Hills

Golf project which became the first

Green Golf Course in the country.

His hard work and dedication of

the project now allows the Oman

golf community to play a fantastic

golf course 365 days a year.

The event was played in teams of

four and taking the top spot with a

haul of 117 points was the team of

Bob Whitelaw, Sarah Whitelaw,

Jordan Whitelaw and Carl Tular as

they edged out Anchum Melina,

Flora Rabar, Peter Salleh and Monica

Jugah by one point. Finishing third

after losing out on a countback for

second place was the foursome of

Khalil Al Wahaibi, Mohammed

Khawar, Talal Al Balushi and Eddy

Mawali.

PRESCOTTS VICTORIOUS AT 2013 AUDI QUATTRO CUPTHE Oman edition of the Audi Quattro Cup ended with plenty of

action and a crowd-pleasing result as partners John and Shirley

Prescott clinched first place in the competition.

During the prize giving ceremony Abdel Karim Awwad, National Sales

and Marketing Manager for Audi Oman, congratulated the winning duo

for their outstanding achievement and thanked all the other participants

in the tournament.

“On behalf of Wattayah Motors – the official dealer for Audi in Oman, it is

my pleasure to congratulate the winning team on having proven

themselves as champion amateur golfers,“ he said. “The concept of the

Audi Quattro Cup is to help raise the profile of golf in Oman and to

recognise the finest golfers in the Sultanate – and today we have done just

that.

“We wish John and Shirley Prescott the best of luck for the World Final at

Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles later this year.”

After winning the Muscat tournament the Prescott proceed directly to

the World Final at Trump National Golf Club, Los Angeles, USA from

October 7th –11th, 2013, where golfers from over 50 different countries

will compete for the title of overall Audi Quattro Cup winner.

“The Audi quattro Cup is a globally renowned amateur tournament,“ said

John. “We were keen to participate, but it was such an achievement to

actually win the tournament!”

Shirley added: “We really enjoyed the atmosphere of the tournament and

are grateful to Audi Oman, Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club and Oman

Golf Committee for organising this tournament.

“It raises the profile of the sport here. To be travelling to the World Finals

in Los Angeles is a dream come true and we’re both stoked to be

competing in this international competition.”

www.wwgolf.biz 87

ALMOUJ GOLF CONTACT:Tel : +968 2200 5990

E-mail: info@almoujgolf.com

www.almoujgolf.com almoujgolf

ALMOUJ Golf helped raise over OMR 2,500 at

the inaugural Al Fair Charity Golf Day with all

the money being split between the J9

Foundation and a local charity based in

Oman.

The J9 Foundation was formed by the

legendary South African rugby player Joost van

der Westhuizen, who was diagnosed with Motor

Neuron Disease in 2011, a degenerative disorder

which effects normal muscle activity. Currently

there is no known cure for MND and the J9

Foundation not only supports MND patients and

their families financially and emotionally, but also

teaches them how to live a quality life.

The format of the day was a Texas Scramble 4

ball for OGC Handicap holders and coming out

on top with a score of 67 was Nicky Charlton’s

team.

Fay D’Abo achieved success with the ladies’

Nearest the Pin prize on the penultimate hole

whilst Tenzin Tsarong won the men’s Nearest the

Pin title on the second hole.

”We are delighted to host the Al Fair Charity Golf

Day,” said Simon Duffield, General Manager of

Almouj Golf. “We are always keen to support good

causes and this event gave us and our members

the opportunity to take part in a successful

golfing event in support of a great charity. It is an

important cause and we hope events like these

help to raise awareness for such illnesses in

Oman.”

Commercial Manager of Al Fair, Marthinus

Hendrikse said: “The course was in peak condition

and everyone enjoyed the inaugural Al Fair

Charity Golf Day. We got great support from our

suppliers and partners here in Oman and

together we raised just over OMR 2,500. 50% of

the proceeds will be donated to the J9

Foundation, which will make a big difference in

the lives of MND sufferers. The other 50% will be

donated to a charity based in Oman.”runner-up

on 35 points was Kaeren Evans.

OVER OMR 2,500 RAISED AT AL FAIR CHARITY GOLF DAY

RENIHAN RUNS AWAY WITH IT IN CHEDI MONTHLY MEDALHOT on the heels of the 17th GCC Championships,

the links course at Almouj Golf was in pristine

condition for last month’s edition of The Chedi

Muscat Monthly Medal.

The greens were running a little quicker than

normal and taking full advantage was Danny Renihan

as he was out in the first group and set a net target of

76 which was not net bettered by the rest of the field.

Renihan’s round was steady with halves of 48 and 45

giving him a gross total of 93 for his net 76. The gross

title was more a case of attrition rather than

spectacular golf. The wind had increased in strength

throughout the morning meaning every group on

the course had to meet the challenge at some point.

Ultimately it was 5-handicapper Aaron O’Hara who

kept his head and took the title with a gutsy 88.

Joining the winner’s enclosure for the first time this

season in the Ladies Division was Ladies Captain Kim

Davis after she scored a net 77 for a one-stroke win

over Sarah Morris. Kim Davis and Danny Renihan with their trophies.

THE ROYAL GOLF CLUBwww.theroyalgolfclub.com royalgolfclub theroyalgolfclub

CONTACT:Tel : +973 1 775 0777 

PROFESSIONALS EASE OUT THE MEMBERS

THE Royal Golf Club’s team of PGA

Professionals continued their winning

streak at the annual Professionals’

Challenge with a great 11-under-par

score of 61.

The team, consisting of General Manager

DJ Flanders, Senior Teaching Professional

Tim Backhouse and teaching professionals

Chris McDonnell and Craig Brown got off to

a slow start after only birdieing four out of

the first nine holes. Nevertheless, they

made up for it on the final nine holes with a

superb seven birdies to ease to a

comfortable victory.

The Texas Scramble tournament attracted

a field of 100 players and saw competitors

trying to better the Pros’ team score. Out of

the 25 teams that took part in the

challenge, the Pros managed to beat 21

teams, only losing to four.

The winning amateur team was the DHL

team represented by Ed Daly, Adrian

Morgan, Gary Owen and Andy Love, who

scored a net 59.7.

Professional Tim Backhouse (second from right) with the DHL team of (left to right)

Gary Owen, Adrian Morgan, Andy Love and Ed Daly.

www.wwgolf.biz88

THE inaugural Brookfield Multiplex Charity Golf

Day took place last month with all the money

raised during the day going to a local cancer

charity.

Prior to play competitors bought mulligans

and raffle tickets which went into the charity

pot and after play an auction was held where

electrical goods, barbeques and signed Qatar

Masters memorabilia was sold to the highest

bidder. On the course the prizes went to the

team of Anton Barry, Wade Dann, Mark Hervey

and Zamri Salim as they shot a superb net 56 to

win by one from the team of Brookfield General

Manager Reiner Breitenbach, Michael Izzy, Terry

Martin and Jon Brooks.

MONEY RAISED FOR CHARITY AT BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX GOLF DAY

LOW SCORES IN RASGAS MEMBERS DAYLAST month’s RasGas Members Golf Event was split into two shotguns

as over 175 players took to the course in a quest for honours.

Taking the spoils in Flight ‘A’ was James Corby as he fired a gross 71 for a net

65 while in Flight ‘B’ where the format was Stableford Ali Sager won with a

score of 34 points. Flight ‘C’ was also contested in Stableford and winning with

35 points was Brian Woodward while the Junior champion was Faisal Mir with

34 points and Annette Hansen won the Ladies Division with the same score.

BANYAN TO INTRODUCE GOLF CARTSSINCE its soft opening in October 2008 Banyan Golf

Club has welcomed thousands of golfers from across

the globe and to celebrate its fifth year of operation

next year the management have decided to make golf

carts optional from May this year.

“In general we believe our industry requires golf

courses to be affordable, accessible, economical and

sustainable,” said Golf Club Manager Stacey Walton. “Golf

facilities need to be financially viable as the investment

made in a golf course is significant. Also, members and

regular golfers will appreciate the change at Banyan Golf

Club as they can now play our course with their playing

partners more comfortably should they all decide to walk

the golf course or rent golf carts.”

Players that rent a golf cart can enjoy the GPS system

which is installed in them and it will be the only golf

course in Thailand to provide this technology.

BANYAN GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +66 (32) 616 200

email: reservations@banyanthailand.com

www.banyanthailand.com Banyan-Golf-Club-Hua-Hin

DOHA GOLF CLUBwww.dohagolfclub.com Doha-Golf-Club

CONTACT:Tel : +971 4 295 2277

SANG-ORN SECURES MARCH GUARDIAN WEALTH MEDAL

SOMPOSCH Sang-Orn captured last

month’s Guardian Wealth Medal

with a net 72 from his gross 79.

Sang-Orn had a tough start and

went out in 41 blows but he fought

back on the inward nine and came

home in 38 to post his victorious total.

In Flight ‘B’ Yushiro Ishige triumphed

with a net 68 from his gross 83 while

Flight ‘C’ was topped by Gerry Price as

he shot a gross 91 for a net 70. The

Ladies Division was won by the

upcoming junior Kimberley Stiegler as

she shot a net 73.

.biz 89

I was recently playing in Mediclinic Middle East's Golf Day. A day out of the office playing golf is always going to be a great day, but this particular round was made even better by the company - my buggy partners, Peter, Sean and Richard. Thank you one and all.

It was Around The Turn that the topic of conversation became Rory McIlroy's recent on-course dental problems, and his urgent need to abandon his round and his playing partners. The consensus was that this was pretty poor form; walking off mid round, unless injured, is unprofessional, irrespective of how bad you are playing. All his fans were very disappointed. I am sure his management team from now on will have a dentist travelling with them for all future events.I think this serves to demonstrate the differences between golf for fun and golf for a living. We "amateurs" are never going to earn our living playing golf and so are unshackled from the burden of having to win, win, win and can enjoy the game for itself. The "big boys and ladies" will only ever enjoy it when they are winning or earning well. If we ever storm off the golf course with "toothache" we should be sent straight back to the office, to our work! Mark Twain famously said that golf was "a good walk spoilt". But we know better, don't we?

So what about our teeth? There are well known and established links between our oral health and our bodily health. The biggest cause of losing your teeth is not tooth decay but gum disease. My dentist, Ian, has a great poster on the wall of his surgery. It shows a young boy asking if he has to brush all of his teeth every day, to which the dentist replies, "No, just the one you wish to keep". Many diseases can manifest themselves in the oral cavity and all good dentists examine the whole mouth and throat thoroughly as part of your routine dental check up and will often spot things which may be of concern, long before you would consider going to you doctor. Finally, there is good evidence that brushing your teeth twice each day in association with the regular use of interdental brushes (little brushes which go in between the teeth and clean the gums, reducing the bacterial load in the mouth) reduces your risk of heart disease significantly. How does it do that, you may well ask? Catch me on the course and I'll tell you.

Top Tip: Regular trips to your dentist catch problems early and may improve your golf.

BUGGY TALKAROUNDTHE TURN

www.mediclinic.ae

By Dr. Andrew Devine

DIRAB GOLF CLUB CONTACT:Tel : +966 1 812 6671

E-mail: info@dirabgolf.com

www.dirabgolf.com

THE annual Ambassador Cup took place recently and coming out on top

with a gross 65 for a net 55 was the team of Mujb Minhas, Byung Nyun

Kim, Rami Alsaihati and Susan Tessier. Finishing second, two strokes back

with a net 57, was the team of Mursidi Setia, Ralf Schiffer, Roedy Roetuin

Ahmad and Budi Atmoko as they shot a gross 68 for their net tally.

Rounding out the podium places was the team of Ibrahim Zailon,

Muhamed Fakhri Taib and Khasan Syukur as they compiled a net 60 from

a gross 71 while Shahid Rabbani won both the Nearest the Pin and Long

Drive prizes and Susan Tessier won the Ladies Long Drive challenge.

SUPERB SCORES RECORDED IN AMBASSADOR OPEN

WRIGHT AND DICKINSON THE WAY IN MARRIOTT MONTHLY MEDALCAROLINE Wright and Barbara Dickenson emerged as the big winners in

the recent Marriott Ladies Monthly Medal with Wright taking the overall

gross spoils with an 88 and Dickenson taking the net prize with a 68.

In Division ‘A’ Mi Jung Yoo took the spoils with a five-stroke win over

Claire Watter after signing for a 70 while in Division ‘B’ Susan Tessier also

scored a 70 to record a four-stroke win over Monika Schiffer.

The Omega Division was won by Christy Roe with a 91 with Chris

Buchner taking second, two strokes back.

Hole 10 Top Tip By Bouchiab El Jadiani, Golf Professional.

A long and straight drive is what is needed to take advantage on this this par-4. Should your drive pull up short of the fairway bunker you’ll be left with a 150-yard approach to a narrow, kidney-shaped green that slops from left to right into the fattest portion. Any approach that misses short right will find the sand leaving a tough up-and-down. If you find the green in regulation look back and enjoy the view back to the tee and beyond knowing only a three-putt can spoil it!

www.wwgolf.biz 91

STYLEActor Bill Murray on how a job as a caddie in his teens

gave him the taste for what has been a life-long hobby.

Dubai Duty Free give you the chance to win a 600hp McLaren MP4-12C. Weird name – amazing supercar!

LPGA star Morgan Pressel gets a grilling from WWG on her hobbies, favourite foods and her charitable endevours.

www.wwgolf.biz92

MurrayBill

STAR GOLFER

www.wwgolf.biz 93

Your brother Brian co-wrote

Caddyshack, your time working as

caddies must’ve provided some

inspiration?

BM: Brian knew that they needed a

character to be the balance between

the members and the caddies, and he

asked me to come down and do the

character that became Carl Spackler. It

was supposed to be a small role—

pretty much the scene with the head

greens keeper telling me that we have

to deal with the gopher. It became a

lot more.

You were at The Ryder Cup with the

US team all week last year, what are

your reflections now that the dust

has settled?

BM: It was in my home town so I was

proud of the city, the city did a great

job. It’s a beautiful city and I think the

players had a great time. You know,

when you come from that far behind

to win, like Europe did, it’s an epic day.

Even though I root for the Americans I

know a lot of the European players

and they’re good men so I couldn’t

root against them. It was something to

watch – a moment in golf that will last

a long time.

When did you first get hooked on

the game of golf?

BM: When I caddied as a kid. My

brothers and I worked at this club

where we grew up. We caddied

barefoot back in the old days. We didn’t

know there were pesticides on the

grass! I just loved the peace and quiet,

being outside. I fell in love with the early

and the late—being out early in the

morning with dew on the grass, or late

afternoons with the sun going down,

beautiful light, birds all around. It’s a

nice way to live.

You must have had some fun

caddying?

BM: It was my first glimpse of comedy.

When you see grown men near to tears

because they’ve missed hitting a little

white ball into a hole from three feet, it

makes you laugh.

What was the funniest thing you

saw?

BM: I guess I can tell you this, because

he’s long gone. I caddied for a guy who

had really bad gas. The gas was so bad,

there were colours coming out. I mean

actual colours. I haven’t seen anything

like it since. Extraordinary.

You’ve got some moves on the golf

course, what do you play off?

BM: I don’t really play very well. I played

off 5 at last year’s Dunhill Links

Championship but I didn’t get

anywhere close to that. I can’t play

anywhere near that any more.

What’s the strongest part of your

game?

BM: When I’m playing a lot, I can drive

the ball really well and hit it far and

where I want to hit it. But when my

swing is queer, I struggle with balance.

So I’ll hit 5-irons until I get right. I’ll say,

“OK, 5-irons off the tee from now on.”

It’s a good lesson—you learn it’s not

too damaging [to your score] to hit

5-irons, if you hit them straight. And I

can get them out there pretty good.

What about the weakest part?

MB: Long irons. I’m late to the

hybrid-club craze. I still carry long irons.

I’ll reach a long par-3, look at the card,

and you’re like, “Geez, I don’t have this

club. I’m gonna have trouble.” It’s

frustrating because I haven’t played

enough to really spank a 3-, 4-iron. And

if you hit a knock-down wood, you

have no idea where it’s going.

What makes you laugh when you’re

playing golf?

BM: I try not to laugh at other people. I

love playing with my friends.

Something happens on a golf course.

You’re able to talk about things you

can’t speak about at other times with

other people. You feel free. You can

open up a big can of something that’s

been shut off inside you – things

you’ve been keeping inside. Secrets

come out.

SOMETIMES you need a good sense of humour to play golf otherwise you’d cry and Bill Murray is probably the best

The 62-year-old American has been around golf his whole life and spent much of his teens caddying for rich

WWG STYLE

Murray Movie ClassicsCaddyshack (top)

Ghostbusters (midde)

Little Shop of Horrors

She’s Having a Baby

Scrooged

Groundhog Day

Rushmore

The Royal Tenenbaums

Lost in Translation

Zombieland

The Life Aquatic (bottom)

96 www.wwgolf.biz

WWG STYLE

WWG: What would you like to do for a living

if you are not a pro golfer?

MP: Work in fashion or something similar

where I can be creative.

WWG: Is there anything you’re addicted to?

Or can’t live without?

MP: Online shopping and retail in general!

WWG: Is there anything you won’t eat?

MP: That is an extensive list, and it begins

with seafood!

WWG: What do you feel is your biggest

accomplishment to date?

MP: Raising money for breast cancer in

honour of my mother and creating a

foundation.

WWG: What is your favorite activity you do

when you want to relax?

MP: Read a book or magazine.

WWG: What is your favourite time of year?

MP: Winter – when I’m home in Florida with

my family.

WWG: What beauty product can you not

live without?

MP: Bobbi Brown long wear eyeliner.

WWG: What invention do you wish you had

thought of?

MP: The Hair Tie!

WWG: What’s your favourite movie of all

time?

MP: My Fair Lady.

MorganPresselwhen in 2007 she became, at 18 years, 10 months and 9 days, the youngest player

on to add the Kapalu Classic the following

cancer at the age of 15 Morgan hosts the

DID YOU KNOW?

If Morgan could choose to be on a television

show it would be either Gossip Girl because she

loves fashion, or Glee because she loves music.

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