Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Compleat Golfer

BRANDON STONE Our playing editor is producing a list of the best events he has attended over his almost 30 years. This list will vary from golf events to concerts to other sporting events This month: Cricket at SuperSport Park Those who know me well know of my love for the old game of cricket. So when I get to spend some time at home I love to find myself on the grass embankments of SuperSport Park. I can’t even remember the first time I went to the stadium, but I know I was a little kid, playing our version of championship pavement cricket, behind all the embankments and grandstands. My more recent visits have become a lot less physical. I’ve found myself glued to a camp chair with a…

REINARD KILIAN RULES With the new year well underway now, hopefully you’ve grown accustomed to the updated rules. Although this revision has not been on the scale of the 2019 changes, it has been interesting to see that, so far at least, the changes have not made the news for the wrong reasons. Ons interesting Model Local Rule that has been adopted by all the major professional Tours is the local rule reducing the penalty for not signing your scorecard. In the past, there have been some famous incidents where a player has inadvertently neglected to sign his scorecard, and the penalty has been a disqualification. Under this local rule, which is only intended for use on professional Tburs, if the player’s scores are recorded on the scorecard correctly but…

SIGNATURE HOLE 17th hole, par four, 411m It is a hotly-contested debate as to which hole holds the status of ‘signature’ at Erinvale, but the 17th has several features to make it stand out. The hole is 411m from the club tees and a massive 440m from the championship tees. At first glance it is a straight-forward down hill par four, but its length dictates the need for a driver off the tee Suddenly the out of bounds fenceline along the right-hand side becomes a little more noticeable. At the same time a row of pine trees run from just short of the green, moving up towards the tee box and pinching into the fairway on the left and seem to appear bigger and more imposing just before teeing off…

Callaway Apex Pro 21 This is a hollow-body iron with a Flash Face Cup. Callaway has inserted a tungsten energy core low in the head. This is to improve the launch characteristics and forgiveness. Patented microspheres have been used to improve sound and feel at impact. Cobra King Tour This is the first golf club to use MIM (metal injection moulding) technology which Cobra believes is the best way to make a precise iron. This contributed to the softest and purest feeling club Cobra has ever produced. There is a tungsten weight in the toe of the club to put the centre of gravity directly behind the hitting zone. Mizuno JPX 923 Tour Mizuno launched five new models of irons at the show. This JPX 923 Tour, with a compact…

Cleveland RTX 6 These wedges have even more spin than their predecessors. Whether it’s sand or turf, shots will stop quicker due to the ZipCore grooves. These precision instruments come in a variety of lofts and bounces to suit every golfer. Titleist Vokey SM9 There are six grinds and a variety of lofts and bounces in the new Bob Vokey-designed SM 9 range, The Vokey wedge comes in four unique finishes. The centre of gravity has been raised higher to get a more controlled ball flight. Cobra Snakebite These have a new groove design that is 11% deeper and 40% sharper than previous Cobra wedges. The head also features a full-face groove. They are available in different lofts and also in the one-length configuration. Mizuno S23 Mizuno uses the one-piece…

REPLAY Lee-Anne Pace birdied the second extra hole in a sudden-death playoff against Holly Clyburn to claim her ninth Ladies European Tour victory in a dramatic finish to the South African Women’s Open at San Lameer Golf Club. Playing in front of a home crowd in the third-last group, the 33-yearold from Mossel Bay birdied the 18th in a final round of five-under-par 67 to set the clubhouse target. She then waited before Clyburn, playing in the last group, sealed her round of 70 to tie at five under par. They both narrowly missed birdie putts from around 10 feet at the first extra hole, the 351-yard par-four 18th, and pressed the reset button. On the second playoff hole, Clyburn hit her second shot heavy and her ball found the…

Midway through last year, a group of golfers at Zwartkop Country Club, outside Pretoria, set a world record for the fastest round of golf. Verified by Guinness World Records, the team spread out across the 18-hole course and took turns hitting shots, in order. They completed 18 holes in 11 minutes 55 seconds - shaving almost a minute off the previous mark. Like most endeavours, golfers have come up with some truly bizarre records that will in all likelihood be challenged and beaten. Here are some of the strangest. Fastest Individual Round Speed golf is a sport of its own and scores are calculated through shots taken and the time it takes to finish 18 holes. However, the fastest round of golf played by one golfer was set by Irishman…

PATRICK REED As the expression goes, ‘that escalated quickly’. That golf’s latest controversy involves Patrick Reed is probably the least surprising aspect of this year. These days you’re half expecting the feisty American to ‘do a Mario Balotelli’ - the Manchester City footballer who celebrated a goal by lifting his shirt to reveal an undershirt on which was written, ‘Why Always Me?’ Balotelli was a tabloid journalist’s dream and his protestation of innocence came after reports that fire crews were called to his first-floor flat when he set off fireworks at lam on a Saturday morning and started a substantial blaze. The Italian claimed that it was a friend who had caused all the fuss. Reed is as close to Balotelli as a golfer can be. He attracts controversy like…

GARY LEMKE COLUMN In 20211 had the privilege of being in the Covid-19 ‘bubble’ at the Tokyo Paralympics, less than a fortnight after spending three weeks inside that same 4km perimeter zone for the Tokyo Olympics. I had come back to South Africa for a week and then went back to Japan as Team South Africa’s writer. At first. I didn’t know what I Had returned to. It was my first Paralympics and of the many tours and sports trips I have done over the years, this was the most inspirational. By far. Getting used to the visual element took me a couple of days The same ‘bubble’ that had been home to the best Olympic athletes now featured Paralympians. It was jolting to see paraathletes walking the same village…

If the 70th PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando could be used as a barometer, then golf is in a good place in 2023. The show was attended by over 30 000 people, at least a quarter of whom were PGA professionals. All the major companies that attended the show revealed a new product, with Mizuno releasing the most, with five new iron sets. Most of the companies put their focus on accuracy this year, with some boasting drivers up to 15% more accurate. This is what we determined to be the best of the best.…

MEN OPEN 1 (3) Jonathan Broomhead (Durban CC) 2 (2) Kyle de Beer (Port Elizabeth GC) 3 (4) Aldrich Potgieter (Pinnacle Point GC) 4 (7) Simon du Plooy (Krugersdorp GC) 5 (6) Daniel Bennett (Royal Durban GC) 6 (12) Altin van der Merwe (Humewood GC) 7 (9) Behn Heyns (Silver Lakes CC) 8 (5) Christiaan Maas (Pretoria CC) 9 (10) Jordan Wessels (Mooinooi GC) 10 (-) Warwick Purchase (Benoni CC) 11 (8) Ivan Verster (Pinnacle Point GC) 12 (17) Jordan Burnand (Ebotse GC) 13 (11) Jean Pierre van der Watt (Humewood GC) 14 (-) Francois van der Walt (Silver Lakes CC) 15 (16) Joshua Koekemoer (Silver Lakes CC) 16 (14) Reece McKain (Benoni CC) 17 (13) Fabrizio de Abreu (Woodhill CC) 18 (18) Johan Christian Kriek (Pretoria CC) 19 (20)…

ASHLEIGH BUHAI COLUMN My preparation for the 2023 season was a little shorter than I would have liked but all for good reason. I spent three weeks in South Africa, so missed a couple of events, but at least I had New Year at home. My season then started at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando Florida the second week of January. The tournament is a unique format with 30 LPGA winners from the past two seasons, with no cut. We played alongside celebrities and other athletes in a pro-am format. Having not touched a club for three weeks previously and having only a week’s practice going into the tournament it was a fun way to ease into the season. We got…

ANNIKA SORENSTAM Annika Sorenstam’s groundbreaking 59 came at the Standard Register Ping tournament at Moon Valley in Phoenix, Arizona. Since then there have been thousands of rounds played on the LPGA Tour, but only five golfers have come close and shot 60 - Meg Mallon (2003), Sarah Lee and Anna Acker-Macosko (2004), Paula Creamer (2008) and Jessica Korda (2021). Of those Creamer, Acker-Macosko and Korda were 11 under par, while Mallon and Lee were 10 under. Sorenstam? 13 under. On the men’s PGA Tbur, there have been 1159s - the last being Scottie Scheffler at the 2020 Northern Trust - and one 58, Jim Furyk at the 2016 Travelers Championship. The lowest scores at the Majors are 61 for the women - Jeongeun Lee6 and Hyo Joo Kim - and…

ANDY CAPOSTAGNO COLUMN A CORNER DEDICATED TO GOLF’S TRIERS Some clever person put together a video of one of the most significant rounds in golf history and it turned up on my Fhcebook page. Ordinarily, I can brush these things aside with aplomb, but even with the sound off, something about John Daly’s mullet drew me in to watch him win the PGA Championship at Crooked Stick in the August of 1991. Few golfers will need to be reminded that Long John got in as the ninth alternate, drove through the night from his home in Memphis, borrowed Nick Price’s caddy. Squeaky Medlin, and won his first Major title at 25. There’s one thing knowing all that stuff, but another altogether to see it unfold again, shot by edited shot,…

Around this time of the year, a list of South Africa’s top 100 golf courses is released. But I, like so many, question some of the evaluations, I sometimes wonder whether we need a course ranking system at all. I think a more appropriate ranking system would be SA’s top 100 golf clubs. One might think that this is the same thing, but I believe this subtle change in vernacular could make a massive difference. If we look at the entire make-up of a ‘golf club’ it allows those institutions that might have somewhat outdated facilities to climb the list due to other factors. Factors like affordability, customer service, atmosphere, golf day capabilities and even overall enjoyment could help some clubs soar up the ranking. There are two main reasons…

ANTHONY KIM On the eve of the 2019 Masters Tournament, Rory Mcllroy was in an unusually reflective but typically articulate mood. ‘I miss Anthony Kim,’ the world No 4 admitted. ‘The Tour was a better place with him in it. He was exciting.’ Mcllroy’s mind had retreated to his first Masters, a decade earlier It was the 19-year-olds first Major start as a professional. Together with 23-yearold Kim and Japan’s 17-year-old sensation Ryo Ishikawa, he formed a ‘rising star’ trio that Augusta bosses had grouped for the opening two rounds. With a combined age of 59, they were 14 years younger than Gary Player, who was there for the last of his 150 Major championship starts. Mcllroy was Europe’s great emerging hope. Widely touted throughout his amateur career, he had…

Most people set a few new goals at the start of a year. If you’re anything like them, those goals went out the window before January came to an end! However, the scuppering of these well-intended goals does not lie with your lack of motivation but rather with the nature of those goals. When it comes down to the battle in your head between ‘Future You’, who wants to lose weight or get better at golf, and ‘Present You’, who wants to sit on the sofa watching sport on television, eating boerie rolls and drinking beer, ‘Present You’ will always win because the future is a dark and murky place where anything can happen. In other words, for most people, willpower is futile! What you need instead are new or…

COURSE OF THE MONTH Driving down Lourensford Road, the course appears on your left, surrounded by mountains, vineyards and the Helderberg Nature Reserve. It is truly a special place where nature abounds, and impeccable conditioning is the order of the day. As it is perched at the base of the Hottentots-Holland mountain range one can expect the course to have several holes rising up and down with the lie of the land. The entire course is held in the bosom of the surrounding mountains and down below is the urban sprawl of Strand and the Atlantic Ocean. Late-afternoon rounds on the higher back nine generally come with spectacular tangerine sunsets over the ocean. The area is rich in history, with British and Dutch settlers arriving in the mid-1600s. To this…

Titleist TSR 2 Of the four drivers that Titleist is offering in its TSR range, this is the most forgiving. The head is designed to allow for players who do not hit every shot out of the middle of the club face. It has a titanium head with a variable face thickness and also features Titleist’s Sure Fit adjustability. Cobra Aerojet Aerodynamically, this is the best driver Cobra has ever produced. It has a fully suspended PWR bridge weight, which is just behind the face, for maximum ball speed. The face was designed with AI, which allows for more forgiveness on off-centre hits. This is a low-spin adjustable head. Callaway Paradym This driver features a carbon chassis and an Al-designed titanium face. The weight saved by using carbon is placed…

KYRA VAN KAN N n 2020, Kyra van Kan was on course to become the youngest SA Amateur champion. Aged just 14, she eventually succumbed to the No 1-ranked Caitlyn Macnab, but not before giving her a huge fright by finishing the first 18 holes of the 36-hole final 2 up. Two years later Van Kan again fell at the final hurdle, but the 16-year-old has learned from her losses and has plenty of time on her side to secure the one that got away. With five wins and six runner-up finishes in 2022, Van Kan’s consistency saw her shoot up to second on the Open and Junior rankings and earn her national colours. By mid-January, she was No 1 in both categories. CG: You won the Ekurhuleni Open and…

2022 revisited: Cameron Smith earned the biggest victory of his career, outlasting Anirban Lahiri to capture the 2022 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Lahiri was unable to birdie the 18th hole, which sealed the result for Smith who finished at 13 under for a one-shot win. Paul Casey, Kevin Kisner and Keegan Bradley rounded out the top five. With the win, Smith received the biggest cheque ever for a golf tournament: $3.6-million. That was a significant bump over the $2.7m Justin Thomas collected for winning the 2021 Players Championship. The drama of the day intensified when Bradley birdied No 16 to halve the gap on Smith at the top. The Australian, meanwhile, hooked his drive on No 15 into the gallery and then deposited his…

RYAN CAIRNS COLUMN My wife and I recently opened a family-friendly restaurant in Harare. Built around creating ‘feel-good fun for everyone’, the Puttery Barn features an 18-hole putting course, signature cocktails by mixologists, an activities centre and a kiddies’ zone. The restaurant offers patrons a variety of wood-fired pizzas, craft burgers, mac ’n cheese ball starters, char-grilled steaks, half-chooks and, of course, sides of fries paired with a homemade aioli sauce, which has resulted in my belt-button starting to feel the pressure. Putting courses are, quite simply, at the heart of our game’s future. You don’t have to scroll too long on the internet before you spot Tiger Woods, who has invested more than $200-million into his own American putting-course empire, Popstroke. Designing and building our 18-hole putting course for…