GOLF NEWS
Hua Hin Golf Society
Congratulations to Adrian Salt for his ‘Hole in One’ at Lake View on 27 October. His 4 Iron Tee Shot on hole number 14 was good enough for him to win that hole in his match play match. Thanks Adrian for the drink(s) afterwards.
At the time of writing the annual Singles match play is at the semi-final stage with Trevor Firth to play Pekka Hogman and Bob Hilling to play Timo Ripatti in the Shield, and in the Plate section Tip Gouldby will play Bjorn Byman and Oon Heath will play Chuan Walker. The results will be published in the next issue. The annual Strokeplay/Scratchplay Championships (2 rounds) will be played on 27 November at lake View and on 4 December at Springfield. The results will be published in the next issue.
We are looking for sponsors for our Christmas Charity Day on 15 December. If you wish to contribute to sponsor a hole or perhaps donate a prize for nearest the pins, longest drives; give a raffle prize or to make a donation, please contact a member of the committee. The Christmas Charity Golf at Black Mountain & Dinner at the Dusit will be on Tuesday, 15 December. Look at the web site and the society’s notice board for more information.
Christmas Charity Concert will be at Thipurai City Hotel, Hua Hin On: Monday 28 December from 19.00 hours (7 pm) Featuring Swedish Folk Legend Mr. Goran Fristorp Guitarist and Singer. Ticket Price is 1,000 baht person. Tickets available from Thipurai City Hotel. All profits go to Hua Hin Golf Society Charity Fund. Enjoy a pre-concert dinner in Prime Restaurant at the Thipurai City Hotel — contact hotel for your booking. For Other Up & Coming Events - see the society’s notice board or the web site for further information as and when it becomes available. The AGM will be held at Lake View on 22 January, 2010 Members only and it includes a buffet meal. Society Shirts are for Sale, all varieties are 300 baht per shirt. Society Golf Balls are for Sale at 300 baht per sleeve of three balls.
Members web links: Should any member wish to have their local business web link added to our web site, please contact a committee member.
Fixtures for December 2009 Tuesday 1st at Banyan - 1st tee time 09.30 Friday 4th at Springfield - 1st tee time 11.04 - 2nd round of the annual Stroke and Scratch play Competitions Tuesday 8th at Royal Ratchaburi - Transport from the Bazaar 07.45 Friday 11th at Majestic Creek - 1st tee time 11.20 Tuesday 15th at Black Mountain - 1st tee time 07.00 Split Tees (1 & 10) Christmas Charity Day Friday 18th Lake View - 1st Tee Time 11.00 (A & B) Tuesday 22nd at Panuransi - Transport from the Bazaar 07.45 Friday 25th at Majestic Creek – Please sign up ASAP Tuesday 29th at Black Mountain - 1st tee time 11.28 Friday 31st New Years Eve - No Competition
Recent Results
13 November - Majestic Creek B & C - Yellow Ball Competition
32 Entrants - 8 Teams of 4
1st Usko Riovas, Pekka Hogman, Kari Matti & Kari (g) 107 points.
2nd James & Vivienne Barber, Michael & Marjorie 97 points.
3rd Simon Rouse, Trevor Firth, Paul Sandel & David Baird 87 points.
4th Rene Benard, Jill Moore, Dickie Bird & Bob Hilling 84 points.
10th November - Lake View
46 Entrants + 2nd & 3rd Round of the Matchplay Plate & Shield Singles
Group 'A' - 0-20 hcp 23 entrants Stableford Competition
1st Bjorn Byman 38 points 19 hcp. 2nd Jan (g) 35 points 11 hcp.
3rd Tip Gouldby 35 points 11 hcp. 4th Mario Biccai 34 points 20 hcp.
Group 'B' - 21-36 hcp 23 entrants Stableford Competition
1st Marjorie Sherlock 41 points 27 hcp. 2nd David Buchan 34 points 23 hcp.
3rd Sheila Dixon 32 points 29 hcp. 4th John Rea 32 points 24 hcp.
6th November - Springfield
37 Entrants + 2 outside the competitions
Group 'A' - 0-15 hcp 21 entrants Stableford Competition
1st Keijo (g) 34 points 11 hcp. 2nd Chuan 33 points 9 hcp.
3rd Tim Dixon 32 points 7 hcp. 4th Roger Donaldson 32 points 6 hcp.
Group 'B' - 16-36 hcp 16 entrants Stableford Competition
1st Kurre 34 points 19 hcp. 2nd Bob Hilling 30 points 17 hcp.
3rd Paul Sandal 28 points 17 hcp. 4th Geoff Yarrow 28 points 20 hcp.
3rd November - Banyan
36 Entrants 1st & 2nd Round of the Matchplay Plate & Shield Singles
Group 'A' - 0-18 hcp 18 entrants Stableford Competition
1st Colin Devonshire 35 points 11 hcp. 2nd Tim Dixon 34 points 7 hcp.
3rd Kevin Fennelly (g) 33 points 12 hcp. 4th Nitha Dittkuhn 32 points 13 hcp.
Group 'B' - 19-36 hcp 18 entrants Stableford Competition
1st Hans van der Voort 35 points 29 hcp. 2nd Sheila Dixon 33 points 29 hcp.
3rd Kurt 'Kurre' Westerling 33 points 19 hcp. 4th Sheila Bird 31 points 22 hcp.
30th October - Majestic Creek B & C
Stableford Competition + Preliminary Round of the Matchplay Plate Singles
One Group Only - Stableford 32 entrants
1st Kari Matti 42 points 9 hcp. 2nd Kurre 41 points 20 hcp.
3rd Mod Rea 41 points 26 hcp. 4th Reto (g) 40 points 8 hcp.
27th October - Lake View
Stableford Competition + Matchplay 1st Round matches.
One Group Only 19 Entrants
1st Sheila Bird 39 points 23 hcp. 2nd Paul Sandal 37 points 17 hcp.
3rd Jan Lyngdam 36 points 24 hcp. 4th Bjorn Byman 35 points 19 hcp.
23rd October - Palm Hills
Stableford Competition.
One Group Only 32 Entrants
1st Hans Metzger 38 points 12 hcp. 2nd Usko Riovas 37 points 8 hcp.
3rd Neung Chueanil 36 points 10 hcp. 4th Mario Aiello 35 points 16 hcp.
20th October - Springfield
Stableford Competition + Preliminary Round of the Matchplay Singles
One Group Only - Stableford 32 entrants
1st Dicky Bird 40 points 8 hcp. 2nd Usko Riovas 37 points 8 hcp.
3rd Mike Staples 37 points 8 hcp. 4th John Walker 36 points 3 hcp.
16th October - Royal Ratchaburi
Stableford Competition.
One Group Only
1st Hugo (g) 41 points 11 hcp. 2nd Roger Donaldson 34 points 6 hcp.
3rd Mick Evans 33 points 10 hcp. 4th Wij 30 points 10 hcp.
For further updated information see the Society’s notice board or visit our Web Site: www.huahingolfsociety.com
You can contact us by email: huahingolfsociety@hotmail.com
On The Green
- Golf Tips - Head Movement During the Golf Swing
Does the head stay down and still? NO. If you look at the great players in the game, most have a slight movement of their head going back. It certainly varies from player to player, but it's still present in one form or another. Players like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have quite a noticeable head movement on the back swing - especially with their drivers. Other players, like Steve Elkington and Tom Purtzer, hold theirs a bit more stationary.
What's important to note with head movement, just as in the weight shift, is that it's not something you should think of. It is simply just a reaction to what you do with the golf club. When a golfer starts thinking of shifting their head a little bit here, and a little bit there, there is big time trouble waiting.
Here is the proper head sequence
On the back swing you have a little natural weight shift. Consequently, you have a little natural head move. This is perfectly OK. This is the same move that you would make if you were to throw a rock into a lake. You would never think of anything other than the rock and the lake, but your weight and head would shift automatically. If you throw it 2 feet, you don't have any movement. But if you throw it 200 feet, there will be a more noticeable move.
On the downswing is where the key is. YOUR HEAD MUST REMAIN BEHIND THE BALL AT IMPACT. If you look at the first picture you will notice how my head has remained behind the ball even just after impact. This just creates a more powerful, underneath, impact position. If you get your head moving laterally left BEFORE you strike the ball, you basically have no chance. You will be way steep, way over the top, and way far from hitting a good shot!
Post impact, your head will follow the rest of your weight to the left side (picture2). You don't want to hang back through the entire shot and snap your spine in half, or at least finish in a reverse-C.
Just remember that a good impact position will make it easier for this natural head movement to happen.
The Bottom Line
With regards to head movement, the idea is to hardly ever think about it. (Maybe to hold it still to start your downswing is okay). Just try to let it take its’ natural course. Also, keep in mind to not freak out if you see it move slightly on the back swing, because Tiger Woods does it also. As I've said, if it's good enough for Tiger, chances are that it will be good enough for you, too.
John Wither is a PGA Golf professional and former Asian Tour player. He is currently head at the Hua Hin Academy of Golf at the Tavimook Driving Range. For bookings, please call 0811 426 216
More info: Hua Hin Golf Lessons
Banyan win Golfing Award
(by Stacey Walton, General Manager and Stuart Daly, Director of Operations for Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin who attended the three-day Summit and scooped the award for ‘Best New Golf Course in the Asia Pacific Region’) Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Peter Thomson attended the Asia Pacific Golf Development Summit in Kuala Lumpur with the golf industries leaders to reflect on the past, present and future of the game.
The third annual Asia Pacific Golf Summit was staged at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur from 26 to 28 October. Most of the golfing industries ‘big guns’ were in attendance as the region’s golf industry leaders, developers and architects gathered for their annual conference.
In The Old Days
Australia’s Peter Thomson opened with a reflection on the past. He made reference to the golf clubs made with a wooden shaft made from hickory, and a hand-wrapped grip from linen with an iron head. Bobby Jones averaged the longest drives of about 248 yards in his days. He was inspiring and provided the audience with a journey of golfing history which appropriately set the scene for the new age of Golf.
Asia Pacific – The New Golf Frontier
South Korea's Yang Yong Eun became the first Asian-born player to win a major golf championship, coming from behind to beat world number one Tiger Woods at the US PGA Championship this year. Yang, shot two-under-par 70 and finished the tournament at eight under; which was three strokes better than Woods. He also became the first to defeat Woods at a Major in which the American held a lead entering the last round.
It was obvious from the amount of golf course developers, architects & operators, that the Asia Pacific region is the new frontier for the modern golfing industry. To put figures together to support this growth, Brian Curley estimated that 1,000 new golf courses will be designed, constructed and opened in China alone before 2025. The government in Vietnam has also received approximately 120 applications for licenses to construct golf courses.
Golf Life Cycle and Development of the Game
Mike Ripley of Kitson & Partners laid out his view of the economic life cycle of typical golf markets. The USA is at stage 4 with a considerable amount of golf clubs alarmingly closing down.
We attended the session dedicated to discussions on the best way forward to expand junior golf and women to the game in the Asia Pacific region. Presentations from programs such as ‘First Tee’ & ‘First Golf’ were insightful regarding the future. Statistics indicated that the population of Asia is approximately 4 billion with a total golf course population in Asia (including Japan) estimated at around 6,000 clubs, serving 17-20 million golfers. Golf course operators can do much more for junior and lady golf development. Golf operators in the USA and UK collectively agree that the greatest growth in golf is in the area of women and children. But the fastest group to exit the game is also women and children!
Thailand’s Tony Meechai provided an update on the government support towards junior golf development programs currently underway in Thailand with the Prayad Markseng ‘Rising Star’ program and the amount of support provided to Thai Junior development from Singha and Chang is significant in comparison to neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.
The Future of Golf Course Design
Of the many golf course designers present, Robert Trent Jones Junior, Ron Fream, Brian Curley, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Peter Thomson and Arnold Palmer collectively presented a view that new golf courses do not have to be focused on becoming the new Augusta National. They must become shorter, less severe, more environmental and less dependent on high levels of irrigation, excessive soil sulphate and eco-system disturbance. Jack Nicklaus stated that “Golf Courses do not need to be longer than 6,600- 6,700 yards, and these can be as good as the world’s best. We should sometimes refuse to design Augusta type golf courses.”
Quality Improvement
Ron Fream from Golfplan, Fream Dale & Ramsey, spoke openly about the current state of affairs of the golf industry in Thailand. He believes that Thailand does not need any more golf courses at present. “Thailand has a handful, of well designed, well maintained and well managed golf clubs. The others should sit up and look at what is being done and then take some drastic action to improve”
Fream continues to add that the current interest of golf course development in Vietnam is unsustainable. He advised that of the 120 golf course construction licenses applied for in recent years, only ten should be allowed.
Jean Pierre Schneider, General Manager of Thai Country Club, spoke of the urgent need to provide long term training for all workers at golf clubs. “Golfers have high expectations of service from their clubs. These needs and expectations need to be understood first and provided with a smile.” He mentioned that it only takes a 1 or 2 minute poor experience at the golf course to ruin a 6 hour golfing day.
Golf an Olympic Sport in 2016
R&A chief executive, Peter Dawson, spoke about the recent announcement that Golf will be included in the 2016 Olympic Games. “This is possibly the greatest day the game of golf has had for many years”.
Olympic golf will ensure government backed public courses, junior developments & training programmes. Olympic Gold medals will become the greatest of golfing achievements. He thanked Jack Nicklaus for his global support of Olympic Golf and outlined the format of play for the 2016 Games. Olympic Golf will feature 60 men and 60 women. The worlds’ top 15 will automatically qualify, and the remaining 45 will be made up from the world rankings with a maximum of two players per country. Medals will be won following a 72-hole stroke-play event on an individual basis.
The organisers had planned the closing speaker to be perhaps the most inspiring. Seventy-four year old South African legend, Gary Player gave a one-hour address, echoing the views of his course design colleagues in calling for shorter, less thirsty courses. He also called for the USGA & PGA to standardise the golf ball used by golfing professionals.
“With the constant technical evolution of the golf ball, it will not be long before we see Pros hitting 400 yard drives on a regular basis. This adds to the demand for longer and more expensive courses to be designed. The golf ball manufacturers can easily design a ball to travel 50 to 60 yards less”. Luckily for us amateurs, Player only recommends this standard golf ball to be used during professional tournaments.
Player commented, “You cannot compare Jack Nicklaus with Tiger Woods. They have used completely different equipment (clubs & balls) to ply their trades. Jack was a long hitter in his days on tour. Now he wouldn’t even register!”
The Asia Pacific Golf Summit 2009 was brought to a close at the Gala Dinner & Asia Golf Monthly Annual awards. These are considered as Asia’s golfing Oscars amongst the regions industry professionals. Thailand was very well represented and awards were received as follows
Best new course in Asia Pacific: Winner: Banyan Golf Club, Hua Hin
Best maintained course in Asia Pacific: Winner: Siam Country Club, Chonburi
Best clubhouse in Asia Pacific: Winner: Thai Country Club
Best course in Thailand: Winner: Thai Country Club; 1st Runner up: Black Mountain Golf Club Hua Hin; 3RD Chiang Mai Highlands Golf and Spa Resort
Best Golf Course Architect in Asia: Nicklaus Design
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gary Player
A Winter Breeze Golfing Package
From The Imperial Lake View Hotel & Golf Club
The Imperial Lake View Hotel & Golf Club invites you for a winter golfing at the First 36 Holes championship golf course of Hua Hin - Cha-am, with the ‘Winter Package’:
- 1 Golfer @ 3,500 baht/room/night/18 Holes OR
- 2 Golfers @ 5,000 baht/room/night/18 Holes
throughout the whole week. Conditions: this price includes accommodation and green fee for 2 for 18 holes, continuous golfing on Day 2. Supplements - an additional 1,000 baht/Golfer/18 Holes during 31 December 2009 to 5 January 2010 supplements an additional 1,000 baht/room/ night; service charge and Tax included. Caddy fees and golf cart rentals are excluded. Until 28 February 2010
For more information or booking, please contact; Bangkok Office Tel: 0-261-9000 Ext. Lake View Sales; Cha-Am Office 032 456 233-40
SAGA Tailor Tour
As the latest event at Banyan the par 3’s proved too difficult, the Par 3 challenge (2,100 baht) carries over to the next event. The Banyan Open was won by one of our senior star players Choompol Cham Chemn, scoring a steady 73 (1 over par).
19 October Black Mountain
Place Name Score OoM Baht Sen Baht
1 Simon Yates 67 40 3100 - -
2 Yossapol Attavanich 69 34 2300 - -
3 Pattraporn Silawanna 73 29 1700 - -
4 Viroj Naumpanaid 75 22.3 800 8.5 750
4 Jeff Chapin 75 22.3 800 8.5 750
4 Varavutt Chotikapanich 75 22.3 800 - -
19 October Black Mountain ‘The Sofitel Championship’
Place Name Score Prizes
1 Yossapol Attavanich 69 2 room night at Sofitel + visor
2 Pattraporn Silawanna 73 Dinner for 2 at Sofitel + shirt
3 Jeff Chapin 75 Dinner for 2 at Sofitel + visor
4 Kamalas Kanha 76 Sofitel Shirt + umbrella
5 Ken Geering 78 Sofitel umbrella
6 Martyn Howett 83 Cap
There were 5 skins at Black Mountain, value 800 Baht each.
Yossapol 1 skin Hole 1
Varavutt 1 skin Hole 4
Roger D 1 skin Hole 15
Pattraporn 1 skin Hole 16
Simon Y 1 skin Hole 18
9 November Banyan GC
Place Name Score OoM Baht Sen Baht
1 Choompol Cham Chemn 73 40 3250 10 1100
2 Ed Thiale 75 29.3 1850 7 800
2 Varavutt Chotikapanich 75 29.3 1850 - -
2 Prapan Markaeng 75 29.3 1850 - -
5 Suwit Pahulo 76 22 1150 5 500
9 November Banyan GC ‘The Banyan Open’
Place Name Score Prizes
1 Ed Thiale 75 Room night at Banyan Suits
2 Kamalas Kanha 77 2 Greenfees at Banyan
3 Jeff Chapin 79 2 Greenfees at Banyan
4 Janjira Tiensa-Ard 81 Dinner at Banyan
There were 4 skins at Black Mountain, value 1,050 baht each.
Larry Kitt 1 skin Hole 2
Choompol 1 skin Hole 10
Jorgen 2 skin Hole 15 & 16
Order of Merit 7th Season
Pl Name OoM Points
1 Suwit Pahulo 201.5
2 Choompol Cham Chemn 200
3 Jorgen Persson 175
4 Viroj Naumpanaid 156.8
5 Prapan Marksaeng 148.8
6 Boonsawad T 144
7 Jeff Chapin 123.8
8 Kenny Walker 121
9 Supavit Tainsomboon 93.5
10 Simon Yates 77
SENIORS Order of Merit 4th season (2009/2010)
Pl Name OoM Points
1 Suwit Pahulo 56
2 Choompol Cham Chemn 49
3 Viroj Naumpanaid 40.5
4 Boonsawad T 32
5 Jeff Chapin 29.5
Tournaments coming up:
The 7th season of the SAGA TAILOR Tour
Date Event _____ Registration Venue
Mon 14 December Sofitel Heritage 11.00 Black Mountain
Mon 4 January 2010 11th SST tournament 11.00 Lake View (C+D)
To stay updated visit our web-site:
www.sagatailortour.com
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