ARNESTAD ON GOLF

The 2016 Dubai Eye Executive Golf Day -- Tower Links Golf Club in Ras Al-Khaimah

2016-04-15T10:33:00.001+04:00

I was fortunate to be invited to play in the Dubai Eye Executive Golf Day, held at the Tower Links Golf Club in Ras Al-Khaimah on 13 April 2016. The event started off with a night’s accommodation at the wonderful Hilton Double Tree in Ras Al-Khaimah, followed by the golf day on Wednesday. I drove from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday morning, spent the afternoon relaxing at the hotel, followed by dinner in Umm Al-Quwain.

The day was overcast to start, followed by glorious sunshine later in the day. Unfortunately one member of our four-ball did not arrive, ruling us out of the competition right away, since the competition was decided on a two-ball betterball stableford format (although the winners only had three players).

With the best two of three scores to count, as opposed to the best two of four, we stood little chance of making the prizes. This was not helped by the fact that the remaining three players, myself included, did not play particularly well. But as they say ‘A bad on the golf course is better than a good day at the office’. The course was in tremendous condition, proving a difficult challenge to most of the players.

All in all the event was a GREAT success, as is customary for the Dubai Eye Executive Golf Day – this was the second one that I have attended, following the event last year at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course. A BIG thank you to all the sponsors for the wonderful gifts – the 12 Titleist golf balls will come in handy to replace the ones claimed by the bushes on Tower Links – and to Al-Tayer Motors, RAK Bank and Swiss Air for their sponsorship of the day, to name just three.

From me, a special word of thanks to Sue Parry who took the time to personally deliver the sponsored items to my hotel room, since I checked in early, as well as to Mathew Johnson for his personal e-mail to me inviting me to apply for the golf day.

I look forward to being invited to the Dubai Eye Executive Golf Day in 2017.

Listen Now to Dubai Eye online here.

Review of Performance Golf UAE

2015-05-05T08:09:00.000+04:00

Have you ever wanted to play Pebble Beach, PGA National, Harbor Town, Doral or Kettle Creek. How about some other championship courses? How about all in one day? Or just one morning? Well that’s now possible with Performance Golf’s new golfing facility located in Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. With a selection of 26 different courses and over 60 closest to the pin challenges your spouse may have to send out a search party for you.

An investment of USD 100,000 has been made by the owners of the facility to create a world-class indoor golfing experience. Not only do you have the opportunity to play a selection of 26 different courses, playing the actual course layout, including putting the greens, but the facility provides top class instruction facilities where your game can be perfected, or, in my case, made a little less cumbersome.

While playing the various courses offered through the system, or just practicing, the system video tapes your swing. The operator then highlights your golf swing and compares it to the swings of professional golfers, highlighting areas for improvement on which you can work at the facility or at the driving range. Performance Golf staff will even provide customized lessons for you, tailored to your weaknesses, with links to YouTube videos of training lessons that will have you lowering your handicap in no time. An example of a customized lesson may be found be found here.

Do you want to know your shot distance? Your carry? The bounce and roll? The ball speed, club speed, the shot efficiency, the launch angle, the horizontal angle, the club path, the club face angle, the spin, the spin axis, the impact position or the shot type? That’s all catered for by the system, helping you to perfect your shots and get the yardages for each of your clubs. What I like most about the system is that the ball is returned to your feet each time it’s hit. So there’s no walking around collecting your golf ball after each shot.

Want to have a little fun? How about breaking some windows by aiming your golf ball? How about aiming for a tractor on the driving range? How about entering a long-drive competition? These are all possible using the various features of the system. You can even compete against your friend alongside each other. A fun way to spend a few hours when the summer heat becomes too much to bear.

Should you be interested in learning more about Performance Golf, you can visit their website here, follow them on Facebook here, or follow them on Twitter here.

I enjoyed my brief visit to the Performance Golf facilities and look forward to returning to take my handicap from its current 22 to where I believe it could and should be. Thanks for the introduction guys!!

2012 Masters preview

2012-04-05T07:54:00.000+04:00

Well it’s that time of the year again. The azaleas are blooming and some of the world’s greatest golfers have descended upon Augusta for what promises to be a thrilling Masters tournament. The world’s greatest golf tournament, and I say that with all due respect to the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (J), kicks off today in what is one of the most anticipated Masters tournaments in recent years. With Tiger’s victory at Bay Hill just two weeks ago moving him back into the world’s top 10, and with Rory finding winning form, the prospect for an exciting week’s golf is upon us.

My only disappointment this year is that Ernie Els failed to qualify. While his form certainly seems to have improved it is a shame he was unable to win a tournament to qualify for the Masters or at least move into the world’s top 50 in time to qualify for the tournament.

I had a really tough time this week choosing my European Tour Fantasy Team. With their being so many quality Europeans in the field, the choice was really tough to make. Finally I settled on Donald, Fisher, Garcia, Hanson, Karlsson, Quiros, McIlroy, Oosthuizen, Rose and Westwood. I made an educated guess leaving out Martin Kaymer, given that he has not made the cut in four previous visits to Augusta. My toughest call was omitting Charl Schwartzel, the defending champion, from my fantasy team. With him having won last year he is not under as much pressure to perform this year. Although I believe he will do well I suspect that other players will do better.

Who would I like to see win? I have predicted here that Alvaro Quiros will win the Masters. Otherwise I am quite happy to see Rory win to gain some sort of closure on what happened last year. Beyond that I would love to see Luke Donald or Lee Westwood take their first major. That would be much deserved after the careers that they have had so far. Otherwise a win by any European would be most welcome, especially if they just happen to be in my fantasy team this week.

The 2012 Masters is bound to bring back fantastic memories of my trip to the Masters for my 40^th birthday last year. I was pleased to attended six days of the tournament in 2011, including two practice rounds, the Par 3 competition and all four tournament days. My review is here and the photo's are here if you are interested. Unfortunately I am likely to miss the final round of the tournament as we will be on the Titanic Memorial Cruise, leaving Southampton on Easter Sunday, the day of the final round, and arriving into New York on April 19.

Enjoy the 2012 Masters, it should be a cracker!!

2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic

2012-02-15T17:10:00.002+04:00

Yet another successful Omega Dubai Desert Classic has come and gone, bringing to a close the ‘Desert Swing’ for another season. Golf in Dubai did a fantastic job yet again of putting together a world-class tournament. Even the weather played along, allowing golf fans to have four days of fantastic sunshine watching the best golfers in the world do battle for the trophy. The Dubai Desert Classic started in 1989, and this year marked the 23^rd playing of the tournament (no tournament was played in 1991). The list of past champions may be found here.

Day 1 started in blistering fashion with an opening round of 63 from Rafael Cabrera-Bello. That set the stage for some excellent golf for the remainder of the tournament. The tournament favorites were not too far behind, with Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer making their presence felt after Round 1. Day 1 concluded with a golf clinic hosted by Fred Couples and Mark O’Meara, both previous winners of the Dubai Desert Classic. Mark O’Meara is also a ‘Golf in Dubai’ ambassador. It is always great to see major champions gracing a tournament of such high stature. Golf in Dubai has done a superb job of securing top ambassadors to support the cause of golf in the United Arab Emirates.

Day 2 concluded with a cut of -1, allowing 81 players to make it into the weekend. It was great to see all Golf in Dubai ambassadors (Mark O’Meara, Thomas Bjorn, Soren Hansen, Jeev Milkha Singh and Noh Seung-Yul) making the cut, a reflection of the quality of player chosen by the organizers to represent their organization.

Day 3, the second day of the weekend in Dubai, saw the biggest crowds of the week. Spectators took the opportunity to follow the World Numbers 2, 3 and 4 in large numbers, only too pleased to welcome them back to the prestigious tournament.

Day 4 promised to be an exciting final round, with Westwood leading and McIlroy and Kaymer close behind. As it turns out, the Dubai Desert Classic was, for the third year in a row, won by a Spaniard. Following victories by Miguel-Angel Jimenez in 2010 and Alvaro Quiros in 2011, Rafael Cabrera-Bello won the 2012 tournament. I was pleased to be able to meet him at the end of round 3 – a nice fellow indeed, and a well-deserved victory. Follow him on Twitter here if you like.

WELL DONE to the organizers, Golf in Dubai, for a fantastic 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and a special words of thanks to them for arranging hospitality tickets for Aletta and me for all four days, including clubhouse access and special parking. Thank you guys – hope to see you at the DP World Tour Championship – Dubai in November, otherwise at the 2013 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

All golf fans in Dubai now look forward to the DP World Tour Championship – Dubai, where I once again plan to volunteer as a TV scorer, as I did during the 2011 Dubai World Championship (article here, unless another organization would like to offer me some corporate hospitality tickets?). J

Emirates Airline Invitational - 2012

2012-02-02T13:17:00.008+04:00

Having played in the Visa Infinite Golf Day on Thursday, January 19 (details here), I was pleased to receive tickets for the Emirates Airline Invitational Golf Tournament. The tournament was held on the Monday following the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. The tournament, hosted by Abdullah Al-Naboodah, was played at the Yas Links Golf Course, recently voted as one of the top 100 golf courses in the world.

With gates opening at 9AM, I arrived reasonably early in the morning. George Coetzee and Stephen Gallagher went off at 9:30AM and, following a bacon sandwich and hot chocolate for breakfast, I caught up with them on the fourth hole. What is nice with the Emirates Airline Invitational is that spectators have the opportunity to walk in the fairways with the players, as opposed to being ‘behind the ropes’. This allows for a great deal of interaction with the players and their caddies. In addition, there is no restriction on cameras and cell 'phones on the course, though obviously photo's should not be taken when the players are playing their shots.

I was pleased to be able to chat to George Coetzee’s caddy, Alan Burns, quite extensively, gaining an insight into what life is like as a professional caddy. I chatted to George Coetzee briefly as well. I walked 14 holes with George and Stephen, enjoying their interaction with their amateur playing partners as well as the spectators who were following their group. Being such a lovely day, and with Yas Links being in such good condition, I was able to take some great photo's of the players as well as on the course.

Following the completion of the round by George Coetzee and Stephen Gallagher, I caught up with Thomas Aiken and Graeme Storm on the second hole, their 11^th hole of the day. I walked the final eight holes with Thomas and Graeme. I was pleased to see Thomas Aiken once again wearing his Rhino Revolution hat (my article here).

After a long walk around the course – around 27 holes in total – I was able to relax on the grass in front of the clubhouse. I had the opportunity to have my photo taken with Graeme McDowell and Sergio Garcia before heading home. Perhaps next year I will be able to secure an invitation to the dinner following the event (hint, hint!!).

I would like to extend a special thanks to Abdullah Al-Naboodah for hosting the event. It was well organized and well attended. I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the players and the condition of the course made the day just that more relaxing. All in all the day was most enjoyable. I have already mentioned to my golfing buddies that they should make an effort to attend next year.

My Proposal: I am a member of the Jiggers Dubai Golf Society (blog here and Facebook page here). On behalf of Jiggers Dubai, I would very much appreciate an arrangement whereby the winner of the annual competition for Jiggers ‘Player of the Year’ is rewarded with a place in the Emirates Airline Invitational. Please contact me at charlesarnestad@gmail.com if such an arrangement is likely to be possible.

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship

2012-02-02T09:25:00.001+04:00

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship was held between 26 and 29 January 2012 at The National Course in Abu Dhabi. With Abu Dhabi being just an hour’s drive from Dubai, and with Tiger Woods in the field, we just had to attend. HSBC offered its customers free entry to the tournament. In addition, Premier members were entitled to entry into the HSBC hospitality tent on the 17^th green.

We arrived reasonably early on the Friday morning, and spent some time in the championship village playing the various games that HSBC had arranged. Having not managed to hole the long putt or get the rugby balls through the holes in the walls, we headed out to watch the golf. With Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald going off around midday, we headed out in search of the South Africans in the field. We then waited at the 5^th green for Tiger, Rory and Luke to play through. It really is difficult to follow each hole with such a popular pairing, so we selected some holes and waited on the tees or greens for them to play through. The green on the Par 3 12^th hole offers a good viewing spot. Aletta and I sat on the rocks behind the green and waited for around five groups of players to play through, before we headed to the 18^th tee. After Tiger, Rory and Luke had teed off on their final hole, we made our way to the HSBC hospitality tent on the 17^th green. We enjoyed their complimentary food and beverages before heading home, in anticipation of another long day on Saturday.

With the cut having been made on Friday afternoon, we arrived a little later on Saturday. With Tiger Woods playing in the third last group, we first watched the South Africans in the field. James Kingston was even kind enough to throw us a ball after he had completed the 5^th green. We adopted the same strategy as on Friday, i.e. selecting a number of tees and greens and watching various players play through.

We did not attend the golf on the final day, Sunday, choosing instead to watch it on TV. Congratulations to Robert Rock who played exceptionally well to hold off Tiger and Rory in yet another memorable Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

All in all it was a most enjoyable tournament, with a deserved winner (despite Robert Rock not being in my European Tour Fantasy Team for the week!!). A special word of thanks to HSBC for sponsoring the event. I am hopeful of securing an invite to the hospitality tents on the 18^th hole in 2013.

Thomas Aiken and the Rhino Revolution

2012-01-24T10:30:00.003+04:00

I was pleased to meet Thomas Aiken during the 2011 Dubai World Championship, when he kindly signed my flag that I brought back from the 2011 Masters tournament (my review here and photo's here). We chatted briefly – a nice fellow. During the recent Volvo Golf Champions at the Links at Fancourt I was pleased to see him wearing a hat warning of the dangers of rhino poaching. The hat was in support of the ‘Rhino Revolution’ (website here and Facebook page here).

As Thomas noted (here) when asked about his hat – he does not yet have a hat sponsor for 2012 and wanted to bring attention to the cause by wearing a hat that supports his foundation. Thomas has established the ‘Thomas Aiken Rhino Fund’ to bring attention to the harm caused by rhino hunting. He mentioned during the interview that he met Trevor Jordan of Jordan Properties, a friend of my mom, from whom he received the hat.

Rhino poaching is a huge problem for the South African game parks, with rhino horns apparently fetching up to USD 1 million. My mom lives in Hoedspruit, South Africa (her website is here), and I own a vacant piece of land in the Balule Private Nature Reserve on the road between Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa. We know firsthand the challenges faced to combat this growing problem. I for one appreciate the efforts of all persons, Thomas Aiken specifically, to bring attention to this matter.

On another note, in my predictions for 2012 (here) I support Thomas to play well enough in 2012 to make his first appearance at the 2013 Masters. He is regularly a member of my European Tour Fantasy Team (my 2012 team is here), as he was when he won his first tournament on the European Tour in 2011, the Open de Espana.

BEST WISHES to Thomas for the 2012 European Tour season, and thanks to all persons involved in combating the rhino poaching problem.

Preview of the 2012 Golfing Year

2012-01-24T10:10:00.001+04:00

The 2012 European Tour season is off and running, with three tournaments already having been played. This week marks the start of the European Tour Fantasy League for 2012 (I have no idea why they choose to start the Fantasy League at the fourth tournament of the year, but that’s a whole different issue), with the first counting event being the Abu Dhabi Championship. So with the ‘start’ of the new season in mind, I make my predictions for the year, including what I believe will and will not happen, and what I would like to see during the 2012 golfing season.

What I would like to see in 2012:

o Ernie Els qualify for The Masters. As of today, he is ranked 57^th in the world and has not yet qualified for The Masters. I would then like to see him go on and win the green jacket, securing lifetime exemption at The Masters.

o And how about Ernie winning the US PGA in August to make it a career Grand-Slam?

o Thomas Aiken play well enough to end the year inside the top 50 in the world, and qualify for the 2013 Masters

o A major victory by Luke Donald and Lee Westwood

o A victory by Team Europe in the Ryder Cup

o A clean sweep of the majors by members of the European Tour

o A return to form by Tiger Woods – his presence is always good for the game

o At least one major victory by a South African during 2012

Predictions for 2012:

o Winner of The Masters: Alvaro Quiros, otherwise Rory McIlroy

o Winner of The Open Championship: Thomas Bjorn, otherwise George Coetzee

o Winner of the Ryder Cup: Team Europe, by a victory margin of two points

o Winner of the 2012 Race to Dubai: Rory McIlroy

o World Number 1 at the end of 2012: Rory McIlroy

o There will only be one US winner of a major this year, as was the case in 2011

o 2012 will not be the year that either Luke Donald or Lee Westwood wins their first major

o Thomas Aiken will play well enough in 2012 to move into the Top 50 in the world, and qualify for the 2013 Masters

o George Coetzee will play well enough in 2012 to move into the Top 50 in the world, and qualify for the 2013 Masters

o George Coetzee will win his first tournament on the European Tour

o Tiger Woods will win just one tournament worldwide in 2012

Here’s hoping for another enjoyable year on the European Tour. I look forward to working again as a TV scorer for the 2012 DP World Championship, Dubai at the end of the Race to Dubai.

Visa Infinite Golf Day

2012-01-22T09:34:00.003+04:00

I was fortunate to be invited to attend the Visa Infinite Golf Day, held at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club on Thursday, January 19. This was the second annual Visa Infinite Golf Day, and the first that I have attended. The event was exceptionally well organized and well attended by golfers of all abilities. There were numerous on-course competitions, including closest to the pin on the Par 3’s, longest drives on various holes, straightest drive on one of the holes, as well as ‘Beat the Pro’ on two holes. Prizes were awarded to the top eight players, with the top two qualifying to play in the Emirates Airlines Invitational golf tournament on 30 January – what a fantastic prize.

Tee markers were exchanged for Visa Infinite logos, professional photographers were around the course to take photo's of the participants, and refreshment stations were in abundance around the course, making for an excellent day of golf.

Following the tournament, players had the opportunity to play ‘Beat the Pro’ against European Tour player David Howell. David would play one wedge shot from the clubhouse to the 18^th green, following which the guests would play two shots to the same hole. If the guest’s ball was closer they would be entered into a lucky draw to win tickets to attend the Emirates Airlines Invitational Gala Dinner. Only four players managed to beat David – I bet the person who won is really looking forward to the Gala Dinner on January 30 – what an opportunity.

It would not be an understatement to say that the Visa Infinite Golf Day is the best corporate golf day that I have attended, and I have been fortunate to attend quite a few in recent years.

A special thanks to Visa for sponsoring the event, to the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club for hosting the event, and to Emily Howell for arranging the event. I look forward to taking part in the golf day in 2013.

TV scorer review of the Dubai World Championship

2011-12-22T14:43:00.008+04:00

I volunteered to be a TV scorer for the recent Dubai World Championship. I did not really know what to expect, other than knowing the position would have something to do with ensuring the TV coverage was as efficient as possible.

I attended the general volunteers meeting the week before the tournament, as well as the TV scorers meeting the evening before the tournament. The role of a TV scorer involves following a specific group of players, recording their scores, reporting the playing order for the next shots, and reporting to the controller, if requested, whenever a specific player is about to play a shot. Of the 29 groups of players at the Dubai World Championship, i.e. 60 players qualified to play, two chose not to attend (Justin Rose and Fredrik Jacobsen) and YE Yang retired during Round 1, TV scorers are only sent out with approximately eight groups, depending on I) the number of people who volunteered to be TV scorers, and II) the groups in which the key players would be playing.

For the first day of the tournament I was assigned to follow the group of Darren Clarke and Simon Dyson. This worked out quite well as I managed to get the autograph of Darren Clarke on the 2011 Open Championship flag that I purchased over the Internet. Unfortunately they did not play too well so my day was reasonably relaxed, i.e. given that they were playing poorly there was almost zero TV coverage of them during the round – all I had to do was report the scores for each hole to the TV control room. Simon Dyson ended up last of the 57 players that made it through the first round, and Darren Clarke was not too far behind him. After round 1 I was pleased to meet Gerry McIlroy, father of Rory McIlroy, in the clubhouse.

On day two I specifically requested to follow two South Africans that happened to be playing together, Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 US Masters Champion, and Hennie Otto, winner of the 2011 South African Open held a few weeks before the Dubai World Championship. Both played reasonably well so my day was a little more active than the previous day. Following the round I was able to catch Charl Schwartzel just as he was leaving the scorers’ tent. When I attended the US Masters in April this year I returned with two 2011 US Masters flags in the hope of getting one signed by Charl. He was kind enough to sign the flag with a personalized message to me, as shown in the photo below.

On day three I was assigned the group of Francesco Molinari and Shane Lowry. This was again a fairly busy day as both players played quite well.

On the final day of the tournament I was assigned the group of Charl Schwartzel and Sergio Garcia. This proved to be my busiest day, given that Charl was making a move early during the round. I had to provide shot warnings each time that he played a shot, as well as reporting playing orders and hole scores to the TV control room. The only hiccup occurred on the 17^th hole when, for some reason that remains unexplained, the players switched orders and I was unable to provide the shot warning in time. According to the scoring on the previous holes, Sergio Garcia had the honor on the 17^th hole yet Charl Schwartzel played first, causing confusion in the TV control room and resulting in his tee shot on the 17^th hole not being aired. I did not manage to chat to his caddie to find out why he played out of turn.

All in all it was a good experience to see what goes on behind the scenes, and being able to walk ‘inside the ropes’. Despite the numerous blisters on my feet from the 40 km’s that I walked in four days, I enjoyed my time as a TV scorer at the Dubai World Championship. The tournament ended with a fantastic victory by Alvaro Quiros, a member of my European Tour Fantasy Team for the week. I was pleased to finish 349^th out of more than 20,000 players in the European Tour Fantasy Game at the end of the year. Not a bad achievement considering that this is the first time that I have taken part in the game.

Once again, congratulations to Luke Donald on leading both the US PGA Tour Money List and the Race to Dubai – this was the first time that a male golfer has lead the money list in the USA and Europe in the same season. My comments are here.

The day ended with the announcement that once again, from 2012 to at least 2014, the final event of the European Tour Season will be held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. I look forward to working again in 2012 as a TV scorer.

Dubai World Championship preview

2011-12-05T15:21:00.002+04:00

UPDATE: According to Ernie Els' diary on his website – here – he will be playing at the Dubai World Championship. This is GREAT news, especially after his diary last week stated that his season was over for the year, and his schedule of events did not include the Dubai World Championship. It will be good to see Ernie playing in his third Dubai World Championship – that makes eight South Africans in the field this week.

The Dubai World Championship is upon us. The Top 60 golfers in the Race to Dubai have been decided and those who are playing in the Dubai World Championship have now arrived in Dubai (I understand that despite qualifying for the year-end event, Ernie Els and Justin Rose have decided not to play in the event (?!)). I attended both previous Dubai World Championships and am looking forward to this one for a particular reason. I have volunteered to be a TV scorer for all four days of the tournament. This will be the first time that I have volunteered at a golf tournament, despite having attended many tournaments in the past. From the time that I attended the Million Dollar Golf Tournament at Sun City when I was around 12, to when I attended the US Masters earlier this year, my visits to watch world class golf have been many. For the Dubai World Championship to be played in my home ‘town’ makes it just that little bit more special, and I look forward to what promises to be an excellent week of golf.

I was fortunate to play the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates just a few weeks ago with the Jiggers Dubai Golf Society, of which I am a member. The course is in fine condition, with the rough having been left to grow just that little bit longer in anticipation of the best golfers on the European Tour. I am pleased to see that of the 60 players who qualified to play in the Dubai World Championship, eight of them are South African, In order on the Race to Dubai, following the Hong Kong Open, they are Charl Schwartzel (4^th), Louis Oosthuizen (14^th), Thomas Aiken (20^th), George Coetzee (27^th), Retief Goosen (35^th), Jaco Van Zyl (51^st) Ernie Els (52^nd – though he has elected not to play (?!)), and Hennie Otto (58^th).

I look forward to what the week holds, specifically for my role as TV scorer. I look forward to seeing what goes on behind the scenes, as well as being able to walk the fairways with some of the world's greatest golfers. It is unlikely to improve my reasonably poor golf skill, but being a TV scorer should be a life highlight.

I will update, if known before arriving at the course, my ARNESTAD on Golf Twitter account with details of the group for which I am scoring. At the end of the Dubai World Championship I will post a summary of the event. Enjoy the week, and say nice things about Dubai!!

Donald wins the PGA Tour Money List and the Race to Dubai

2011-10-24T08:26:00.000+04:00

Well it has happened. Luke Donald has won the PGA Tour Money List for 2011. More than likely, barring some major comeback from his competitors, he will win the Race to Dubai and claim the European Tour Money List as well. Kind of what I had in mind when I suggested in my post of 25 July that Luke Donald would win the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup. I thought that the FedEx Cup and the PGA Tour Money List were one and the same – I guess not!!

Side Note – someone needs to please clarify for me, and many other golf fans, the relevance of the FedEx Cup, other than presenting the winner with some huge amount of money where even the players do not really seem to understand what they need to do to win the FedEx Cup.

So with Luke’s win of the PGA Tour Money List he become the first player history to win both the European Tour Money List and the PGA Tour Money List in the same season. Certainly a remarkable achievement. And surely a sure bet for PGA Player of the Year?!

What will I remember from Luke’s play in 2011? I was fortunate to attend the 2011 US Masters. I attended the full six days of the tournament, including the practice rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Par 3 competition (that Luke won – and I was at the 9^th hole). In addition, I was on the left side at the 18^th hole on the final day when Luke chipped in for par from off the green to remain in contention. I will remember my trip to the US Masters for many years.

I am now looking forward to the Dubai World Championship to be held in early December. I have volunteered to be a TV scorer for all four tournament days. This will be my first time volunteering so I look forward to experiencing what happens behind the scenes and inside the ropes. Perhaps by some fortunate coincidence I will have the opportunity to walk the fairways with Luke Donald – wouldn’t that be a wonderful opportunity?

So again, WELL DONE to Luke Donald (follow him on Twitter @LukeDonald) for this historical golf achievement – I suspect it will be a long time before, if ever, the achievement is repeated. See you in Dubai!!

Predictions: The 2011 PGA Championship

2011-08-10T15:11:00.006+04:00

After a great golfing year so far in 2011, the final major is upon us, the 93^rd PGA Championship, taking place at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Given that 98 of the top 100 players in the world are in the field, or so I heard on CNN the other night, it should be a fantastic tournament. I was pleased to visit the Atlanta Athletic Club when I drove from Atlanta to Augusta for the

Masters (details here) earlier this year, though I was unable to gain access to the grounds.

I have really struggled to put together my Fantasy Team this week. With there being so many quality players in the field, having to choose just 15 European golfers proved quite the challenge. I finally settled on Donald, Fisher, Garcia, Hansen, Hanson, Karlsson, Kaymer, Manassero, McDowell, McIlroy, Molinari, Noren, Rose, Schwartzel, and Westwood. Unfortunately I had to leave out Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuisen and Retief Goosen, three great South African golfers. With there being so many other great players in the field this week, choices had to be made. I am always reluctant to leave South African golfers out of my Fantasy Team, thereby creating a conflict between wanting all South Africans to do well, yet to the detriment of my Fantasy Team.

However, with that having been said, I would dearly like to see Ernie add a PGA Championship to his victories, leaving him just the US Masters to complete a career Grand Slam. Or how about Louis adding to his 2010 Open Championship, or Retief adding to his 2001 and 2004 US Open Championships, or Trevor Immelman adding to his 2008 US Masters victory? Even Thomas Aiken has had a good year so far and cannot be ruled out for a good performance this week. My Fantasy Team for the week is here if you are interested (that this link updates each week as changes are made during the course of the season).

So who do I predict will win this week? I have a good feeling for Robert Karlsson – he is the winner of the 2010 Race to Dubai and has been playing quite well recently. Otherwise I am quite happy for another player on the European Tour to claim victory, and so much the better if they are part of my Fantasy Team. Certainly Luke Donald and Lee Westwood deserve a major, and it would be no surprise if they finally achieved that during the final major of the year. Ideally the winner will be a player from the ISM stable, allowing Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler to win all four majors in 2011. I would like to see a member of European Tour claim a 7^th consecutive major victory, allowing for a clean sweep of majors in 2011, and highlighting the powerful position in which European golf finds itself right now.

Here’s hoping for a most enjoyable 93^rd PGA Championship.

Tournament of Hope – South Africa

2011-08-01T08:24:00.001+04:00

INTRODUCTION

The Tournament of Hope is a golf tournament proposed to take place in

South Africa

. It is planned to occur annually starting in 2012. The Tournament of Hope will be the fifth World Golf Championship event with a planned purse of USD 10 million. At its announcement in April 2011 it was richer than any other golf event in the world, even beating the Dubai World Championship in terms of prize money. The initial contract for the tournament is five years. This would be the second active World Golf Championships event outside the United States, with the only other one being the HSBC Champions is held in China.

The World Golf Championship events are currently I) The Accenture World Matchplay, II) The Cadillac Championship, III) The Bridgestone Invitational and IV) The HSBC Champions (held in China).

As it is currently planned, the Tournament of Hope will conflict with the Chevron World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods as well as the Nedbank Golf Challenge (previously the Million Dollar Golf Challenge) held at Sun City each year.

Source: Wikipedia

MY COMMENTS

Do I think the event will be a success? Certainly the event will be the highlight of the South African golfing calendar. It will definitely attract a great number of the world’s greatest golfers. I have never quite figured out why the Nedbank Golf Challenge only has 12 players in the field. Perhaps having another more prestigious tournament around the same time will encourage more golfers to visit South Africa around early December.

My comments with respect to the timing of the tournament are as follows:

ONE: It is planned to be held in early December each year. This is the time of the year when golfers would prefer to take a Christmas vacation with their families, especially since the PGA season will be well over by that time of the year and the FedEx Cup will have long been decided. I strongly suspect that many golfers, particularly those based in the United States, will be unlikely to want to travel to South Africa for the tournament. Sure, South Africa has some fantastic weather at that time of the year. But why would golfers travel all the way from the United States, just for a four-day event, when they could spend time with their families after a long PGA tour season, and when they could be preparing for the season opening events in Hawaii?

TWO: As of 2011, the Race to Dubai only wraps up on the 11^th of December. This may conflict with the Tournament of Hope from 2012 unless either the Race to Dubai or the Tournament of Hope changes its date.

THREE: The first events of the European Tour season take place in South Africa, with the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the South African Open Championship, the Africa Open and the Jo’burg Open each taking place between early December and mid-January. This should encourage more players from Europe to travel to South Africa. But it seems that one of the tournaments may have to be moved or canceled depending on how the Tournament of Hope can be slotted in.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I suspect that the Tournament of Hope will mainly attract players from the European Tour. I expect that players on the PGA Tour will be unwilling to travel to

South Africa

for the event. With the amount of prize money of offer, I do, however, expect that the Tournament of Hope will be a success and a GREAT reflection on the ability of South Africa to host yet another world-class event.

Luke Donald wins the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup

2011-07-25T14:10:00.003+04:00

What are the chances of this being the headline on the 11^th of December at the conclusion of the Race to Dubai, following the Dubai World Championship? Given the performance of Luke Donald during 2011 there is a reasonably strong possibility of him winning both the Race to Dubai, previously known as the European Tour Order of Merit, and the FedEx Cup, the culmination of the PGA Tour.

As of the time of writing this article, Luke Donald was well ahead in the Race to Dubai rankings, with a lead of € 1.2 million over Charl Schwartzel (after the Nordea Masters in Sweden). He is currently fifth in the race for the FedEx Cup (after the completion of the RBC Canadian Open).

Victory in the Race to Dubai is all but assured. So Luke just needs a strong showing in the playoffs of the PGA Tour to capture the FedEx Cup. That would make the first time in history that one player has captured both the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup in one season.

What a remarkable achievement that would be. I certainly hope that Luke Donald achieves this goal.

Review – 2011 Open Championship

2011-07-18T12:59:00.004+04:00

Well the Open Championship has come and gone for another year. Despite the weather, the organizers pulled of yet another successful staging of golf’s third major of the year. CONGRATULATIONS to Darren Clarke for a GREAT victory. Who would have thought that there would be three different players from Northern Ireland as the five most recent major winners? So my prediction was a little off in terms of the overall winner, but at least I got the country of origin of the winner correct. J Also I was pleased to see yet another major winner from the European Tour, despite a strong showing from Phil Mickelson during the early stages of the round yesterday.

However, I was most disappointed to see most of the favored players eliminated by means of the cut. I find it strange that the cut would come with a difference of just eight strokes between the leader and the first group of golfers eliminated. As was shown by Phil Mickelson during the first 10 holes yesterday, it is very possible to make up four or five strokes (or even six in his case) in a day, yet the tournament organizers chose to eliminate most of the better known players by means of the cut. I think specifically of Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Ross Fisher, Padraig Harrington and Peter Hanson who were all eliminated by the cut on +4. Sure, everyone knows the rules when they enter the Championship but I fail to understand why players within 10 strokes of the leader/s are not included in the final field for the weekend. Certainly in such a case there is a potential for a large field during the final rounds, but then why not have a second cut after the third round?

Congratulations go to South African golfer George Coetzee who finished in 15^th position. I am pleased to have picked him for my European Tour Fantasy Team this week. But who would have picked George Coetzee to be the leading South African at the 140^th Open Championship? Very few people I am sure. I for one will be watching with interest as his career progresses.

I am now looking forward to the 93^rd PGA Championship in August, to be held at the Atlanta Athletic Club. I was at the front entrance to the Atlanta Athletic Club’s Eastlake Golf Club (the permanent home of the Tour Championship that decides the FedEx Cup) on my drive from Atlanta to Augusta for the US Masters. Unfortunately I could not get into the golf course to visit their ProShop and neither was there a sign at the entrance in front of which I could stand to at least have a photo at the location. I am hoping that during the PGA Championship my Fantasy Team will not be obliterated like it was during the Open Championship J.

Predictions: The 2011 Open Championship

2011-07-13T10:41:00.004+04:00

Well it’s that time of the year again – the Open Championship. Having attended the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews I am excited to see yet another installment of this great event. I suspect the spectators have already made a serious dent into the stock at the Merchandising Pavilion, having stocked up with hats, balls, ball markers, etc… (all the same items that I stocked up with at the 2010 Open Championship). Perhaps they have even secured the autographs of a few of their favorite players, like I was able to do in 2010 with the autograph of Sir Nick Faldo on my 2010 Open Championship flag.

So what is my prediction for the Open Championship? I, like many others, favor Rory McIlroy to be the winner. At the beginning of 2011 I picked him to win a major this year, though did not record this anywhere. So even though his win at the US Open fulfilled my prediction, that prediction is not recorded before the year’s majors. It’s always possible to have 20 / 20 hindsight so now I record my predictions for the 2011 Open Championship. So I say come Sunday evening it will be Rory that will be the 2011 Open Champion.

As part of my European Tour Fantasy Team for the Open Championship you may be surprised to hear that I have selected neither Louis Oosthuizen, the defending Open Champion, nor Charl Schwartzel, the

Masters Champion. I do, however, have three other South Africans in my team for this week – Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and George Coetzee. I have not included Louis – I have a feeling he will miss the cut this week. He has nothing to prove having won the Open Championship in the past. Also with Charl playing mainly on the US PGA Tour and not having played much links golf recently I have a feeling he will either miss the cut or be low down in the field. Not that I would wish that to be the case – it’s just the way I chose to make my team selections this week.

However, George Coetzee, an up and coming South African golfer, has been playing really well over the past few weeks. He was tied for third at the Barclays Scottish Open this past week, and had a good week before that as well. Having had good practice on the links course at Castle Stuart, and being in good form recently, I chose to include him in my Fantasy Team this week.

For the record, my full Fantasy Team this week are: Ernie Els (has won the Open Championship in the past and his weekly diary says he enjoys links golf), Retief Goosen (South African, played lots of links golf in the past and finished tied 10^th in the previous Open Championship held at this course), Martin Kaymer (World Number 3), Rory McIlroy (mentioned above), Graeme McDowell (World Number 9, has played extensive links golf), Lee Westwood (World Number 2 – he is certainly due a major victory), Edoardo Molinari, Ross Fisher, Padraig Harrington (previous winner of the Open Championship, and he had a good week at Castle Stuart), Peter Hanson (generally a member of my Fantasy Team), Paul Casey (not usually in my Fantasy Team, but he played really well in the 2010 Open Championship so I believe he has a thing to prove), Luke Donald (who would be so brave as to omit the World Number 1 and the winner at Castle Stuart?), Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia (his form has improved a great deal recently) and George Coetzee (mentioned above).

GOOD LUCK to all European Tour Players – let’s hope this major will be the sixth major in a row won by a member of the European Tour (the last major won by a member of the US PGA Tour was the 2010 US Masters won by Phil Mickelson). I look forward to seeing a member of the European Tour holding aloft the claret jug as winner of the 2011 Open Champion at Royal St Georges.

Huxley Associates Golf Days

2011-07-06T15:17:00.005+04:00

I have been fortunate to attend all four of the Huxley Associates Golf days held to date. Huxley Associates is an international recruitment consultancy operating in the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. From their Dubai office they provide bespoke recruitment services to the following sectors: I) Banking and Finance, II) Energy and Natural Resources, III) Engineering, IV) Human Resources, V) IT and VI) Legal.

The golf days provide an excellent networking opportunity for high-ranking business professionals based across the United Arab Emirates, not only on the golf course but at the lunch arranged afterwards. The events are always well attended and I for one look forward to the events months in advance. The golf days are expertly organized, with a smattering of professionals across industry lines in attendance. Huxley Associates go out of their way to ensure that the weather always performs to its peak as well. J

As they say, ‘a bad day on the golf course is always better than a good day in the office’. I look forward to being invited to attend Huxley Associates golf days going forward, and to meeting my fellow golfing colleagues. In addition, I look forward to working with Huxley Associates again in the future should the opportunity present itself. If you are looking for a recruitment consulting firm operating in the above-mentioned areas of expertise, please feel free to contact Huxley Associates.

NOTE: I work too with other recruiting firms, though have yet to partake in any of their golf days (not sure whether they even arrange golf days).

At the Huxley Associates Golf Day of 2 June 2011, held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates (Fire Course)

Golfers' Autographs

2011-06-26T16:25:00.003+04:00

This is my experience with seeking the autographs of various professional golfers, and specifically the three golfers mentioned below. I collect autographs for myself only, rather than with the intention of selling them on E-bay, etc… I have never been a particularly keen autograph seeker, at least not since I moved out of childhood. However, in recent times, I have had the opportunity to request the autographs of various players. My experiences are detailed below.

COMMENT 1 – GOLFERS IN GENERAL

I attended the 2011 US Masters Par 3 competition. I was pleased to be able to obtain the autographs of numerous professional golfers. It should be noted that I will frame the large US Masters flag for my personal collection rather than trying to sell it on E-bay. Most of the players were only too willing to sign the large flag, and some of them even made polite conversation with the fans. WELL DONE to the golfers that made an effort to interact with their fans in such a way. It was only Jhonattan Vegas with whom I had a problem, detailed under Comment 3 below.

COMMENT 2 – VIJAY SINGH

When I lived in Saudi Arabia I was part of a golfing group called the “20 Club”. I mentioned that I would be attending the 2006 Qatar Masters golf tournament in Doha. In order to raise funds for a local charity event I was given a golf shirt from the Arizona Golf Resort Pro Shop and asked to obtain the autographs of various players. Fortunately Aletta and I managed to obtain numerous autographs and the players were generally only too pleased to sign the shirt. However, Vijay Singh was nothing short of a pain when it came to requesting autographs. Not only was he extremely rude to the various children that asked him to sign golf balls, but people had to chase after him to receive his autograph. He refused to sign golf balls for the children, even throwing them away when they were presented to him for signature.

Shame on you, Vijay, and the way that you treated those kids that look up to you for your golfing ability. Given that this was in 2006 I certainly hope you are no longer like this. Aletta only managed to get your autograph after she followed you for five minutes after you came off the 18^th green and were on your way to the putting green. Shame on you for making your fans run after you. Surely you could spare just five minutes at the end of the round to sign a few autographs rather than being such a pain and making it really difficult for your admirers to obtain your autograph? Come on Vijay, these are just kids. Is this really the kind of attitude you want to convey to your admiring fans?

Unfortunately this kind of behavior seems to be a character trait of Vijay. One needs to just do a search on Google for Vijay Singh to read many negative articles that have been written about him over the years, including negative reactions to reporters and a range attendant that was trying to be helpful. Oh well, perhaps one day he will realize the position he is in to positively influence his many fans, rather than going out of his way to be unpleasant.

COMMENT 3 – JHONATTHAN VEGAS

As noted above, I attended the 2011 US Masters Par 3 competition. Players generally congregate around the 9^th green after their round and sign autographs for the children and adults. Even the likes of the greats Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and South African Gary Player made time to greet fans and sign autographs. However, Jhonatthan Vegas refused to sign a single autograph and just walked off the course as if he is God’s gift to the world of golf. Even those fans from

Venezuela

, his home country, were refused an autograph.

Shame on you ‘Johnny Vegas’. What makes you think you can act this way? You are not even a superstar!! OK, so you have won one tournament on the PGA Tour. So have many other golfers, most of whom are friendly and appreciative of their fans.

You lost a fan (me) that day by your blatant disregard for your fans. One can only hope that you will change and appreciate that without the fans you would be nowhere.

COMMENT 4 – TIGER WOODS

I can somewhat sympathize with Tiger Woods not wanting to sign autographs. As the world’s number 1 golfer for many years, everyone wants a piece of Tiger. I attended the golf clinic hosted by Tiger Woods and others during the Dubai Desert Classic on 1 February 2008. Following the clinic he was whisked away, while spending less than one minute signing autographs. I suppose such an event has the potential to become a long and challenging evening, especially seeing Tiger in Dubai so infrequently, and given the number of supporters that Tiger has in the Middle East that would love his autograph. However, I do believe that a few more autographs for his fans would be appreciated. Even if he apologizes nicely after a few minutes of signing autographs saying he has another engagement, I am sure his fans would be more impressed, and regard him in greater favor.

I for one would love Tiger Woods’ autograph to complete my signatures on my 2010 Open Championship flag from St Andrews – so far I have the autographs of Sir Nick Faldo (obtained at St Andrews), Louis Oosthuizen (obtained at the Dubai World Championship in 2010) and John Daly (obtained during the 2011 US Masters). It is just Tiger Woods that I would love to have sign my flag to complete the flag for winners of the Open Championship at St Andrews in recent years.

FINAL THOUGHT

As a final thought, I would like to thank the many professional golfers that go out of their way to appreciate their fans – that’s what keeps us interested in the game. We really only support the players that we like and respect. Players like those mentioned above will never have my support.

Major Golf Tournaments – South African Lucky Charm?

2011-06-20T13:29:00.004+04:00

I was fortunate to attend, with my mom, the 2010 Open Championship (the ‘British Open’) at St Andrews in July 2010. What a GREAT experience to attend the 150^th anniversary of the Open Championship at the home of golf. For the event to be won by South African Louis Oosthuizen was just an added bonus. We were right alongside the 18^th hole as he paraded the Claret Jug for the gathered spectators.

And then, as a present to myself for my 40^th birthday at the end of April 2011, I attended the 75^th US Masters at the Augusta National Golf Course. The event was won by South African Charl Schwartzel by two strokes in one of the most exciting finishes to the

Masters in recent history. Again, to be at the US Masters when the event was won by a South African was an added bonus, being the cherry on the cake for an excellent week of golf.

But that leaves me with a question. Given that I have attended two major championships, and they have both been won by a South African golfer, does that make me a lucky charm for South African golf? It seems too much of a coincidence to believe anything else. J

I certainly trust that South African golfers will continue from strength to strength, that Ernie Els will find his rhythm once again, and that my fellow countrymen will go on to win many more major tournaments. Perhaps I should attend a few more majors just to increase the odds of that happening?

Good Luck to all South African golfers in the major tournaments – you are always included in my European Tour Fantasy Team for the weeks of the majors. Also, you are welcome to invite me to attend a major golf tournament should you require additional good fortune. J

Review of SGH Golf and Magnolia Manor Hospitality

2011-06-20T11:51:00.003+04:00

Thank you for visiting my new blog. To get started you may be interested in reading my review of my trip to the

Masters in April 2011, at my other blog, ARNESTAD Insights. I will update this blog when I have something specific to add.