Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club has opened up sponsorship for their monthly medal competitions. This opportunity only comes up once per year so local organisations and business owners should jump on for some great exposure. Below is an extract of the brochure put together by the Club’s committee …

MESSAGE FROM SANCTUARY LAKES GOLF CLUB

Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club located at the Sanctuary Lakes resort in Point Cook is a premier Golf Course. The Greg Norman design is currently ranked No 52 by Golf Australia, this is due to both the layout and continued top condition of the course. The Links layout is a challenge and the club’s monthly Medal Days utilising the “Black” markers make for a great day’s golf. Sponsoring the Medal event would give exposure to a wide market and enhance the standing of any local business within the club’s membership. The A/B demographics of Sanctuary Lakes residents and members make a decision to sponsor the event an easy one. Below are the necessary details to enable you to make sponsoring the Medal Day an easy process and give you an insight into what we can do for you. Look forward to seeing you on the course.

Dermot Heron, President Sanctuary Lakes Golf Club

CONTACT

To confidentiality discuss the available sponsorship options please call Danny, Dave or Theo at Sanctuary Lakes House of Golf. Alternatively send an email by clicking the following link …

SANCTUARY LAKES GOLF MEDAL DAY SPONSORSHIPS

SPONSORSHIP CATEGORIES

There are three grades of sponsorship, being Gold ($1200), Silver ($1000) and Bronze ($850). Each offers various levels of prizes to the Club members and exposure to the Sponsor.

Prizes on Medal days are allocated as 1st, 2nd and 3rd for A, B and C grades with additional prizes allocated to “Nearest the Pins (NTP)” on all 4 of the PAR 3′s and a “PRO PIN”, which is a NTP for the 2nd shot on the 15th, which is a short PAR 4. The overall winner of the Medal will be allocated the major prize for the day and proclaimed the Monthly Medalist¹.

There is a total of 14 prizes awarded on each Medal day.
¹Medal Winner taken from the first in Grade with the best Net Score.

The benefits for the Sponsor offered are:

• Two Players in the field playing with the Captain or President –your choice²
• Free use of the Driving Range before your game
• Signage at the Clubhouse and at the Practice Green
• Signage in the members “Norman” room at Prize giving.
• Brochures may be offered on each member’s tables in the Norman room prior to Prize giving.
• Reserved table with snacks for you and your playing partners.
• Offer to give a brief overview of your company in the community at Prize giving.
• Hand out the prizes to the winning golfers.

²must have Golflink handicap of 32 or less.

Your logo and company name will be highlighted around the course on Medal Day. Hundreds of golfers and visitors will see YOUR COMPANY NAME highlighted.

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SIGNAGE IN THE NORMAN ROOM AT PRIZE GIVING

Discreetly placed signage will allow for even more exposure for your company as golfers come in to celebrate or commiserate!!!

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RESERVED TABLE & SNACKS YOUR BROCHURES ON EACH PLAYERS TABLE

SANCTUARY LAKES GOLF CLUB LOOKS FORWARD TO SERVING YOU AND PUTTING YOUR INTERESTS FORWARD IN THE BEST GOLFING COMMUNITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.

I found this “unique” gadget on the Internet and hence I am spreading the word! Is this the answer to everybody’s prayers? Will it revolutionise the way we play golf?

NO!

Destinations include China, New Zealand, Thailand, Vietnam, Bintan and destinations in Europe for more traditional golfing experiences.

Recently a local Melbourne group introduced a tour into Laos. Headed by George Begg this organisation is trying to bring the virtually unknown of golf in Laos to the Australian market. It is a bold step considering the anonymity of Laos. From what I have heard the golf courses are first rate, I doubt they are Augusta incarnate, but they are of a high quality that golfers of all levels can enjoy. Reputedly the people of Laos are also very friendly and open to golfing tourism so the experience will be one for the memory banks.

But is it worth the cost?

GBG would love to hear from you on the golf trips that you have experienced whether they be an organised tour, guided, regardless of destination or cost. Please share with us your trip including photos if possible.

This explains it all.

After his performances at the Presidents Cup and his latest win at the Chevron, I think yes. you can almost bet that a lot of players are shaking in their spikes at the thought that Tiger looks a little like his former self. All of this despite his driving stats.

Read this article by Steve Guiliano and let me know your thoughts.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1gdC3L/www.sggc.com.au/2011/04/01/294/

Whacker

Annoy is probably a bit strong but I certainly think of the poor gullible souls that fall for these online golf marketing tricks.

Which part of your game should you practice and consequently improve to reduce your handicap or scoring average in golf? Is it the drive? If you drove the ball 30 yards longer would it GUARANTEE that you reduced your score?

I know its fun to smash it down the fairway a long way but does it really make that much difference? Well let’s take a look at the statistics …

1st in driving distance … J.B. Holmes – 63rd in GIR, 89th in scoring average

2nd in driving distance …Bubba Watson – 9th in GIR – 51st in scoring average

3rd in driving distance …Dustin Johnson – 27th in GIR – 84th in scoring average

4th in driving distance …Robert Garrigus – 72nd in GIR – 111th in scoring average

5th in driving distance …Gary Woodland – 12th in GIR – 13th in scoring average

The world #1 Luke Donald averages 284yds is 147th on the USPGA Tour and he is 1st in scoring average. Webb Simpson was 2nd in the scoring average on the USPGA this year with 296yds off the tee, which tied him for 51st on the driving distance rankings, yet he averaged 69.25 shots per round.

The stats prove that the the important part of the golf game is NOT necessarily the drive. I know from my own stats that when I hit a significant number of fairways I do not necessarily score better. In fact, when I hit a GIR I have a tendency to not make the putt. I average 2.1 putts per GIR which is not good. If I improved my first putt performance I would probably improve my scores. But wait there’s more …

Is the problem my first putt or is it my approaches? OK so I can work on my first putts and my approaches to reduce the length of the first putt. Surely my scores will improve significantly if I improve these areas of my game. But wait there’s still more …

If my first putt length is too long or above the hole then I can work on my approaches but what if my drive is in the wrong place? What if the drive is on the wrong side of the fairway, which forces me to hit over a bunker or some other hazard? If my drive was positioned to attack the flag then maybe I wouldn’t have all of these issues. Maybe!

Here is a different approach for you. Forget the online quick fix it’s. Collect your statistics using one of the many tools available for your GPS or phone and then take that information to see your local golf pro. Even better, have a 9-hole playing lesson and discuss the issues first hand with your coach. You will benefit more in the short and long term.

Drive for show and putt for dough!

Recently this writer was privileged to make a trip to Laos to see firsthand the quality of the golf courses that are on offer there as a new horizon for the many people who like to play the game at new and interesting countries.

Not too sure what I would find, I was amazed at the quality of the courses in this beautiful land locked country and of the genuine warmth of its people.

I boarded a flight in Melbourne for Bangkok and after a layover for a few hours in the Thai capital I boarded another flight to the Lao capital Vientiane which took around 55 minutes. 

Visa’s for Lao are obtained at the airport and all you need is a recent passport size photograph and $30 (U.S.)

I was then heading by yet another short flight for the northern province of Luang Prabang and the spectacular and beautifully maintained Luang Prabang Golf Course on the edge of the Mekong River.

It has often been said that the first impression of a golf course and club can be gained by the welcome and the view of the course from the clubhouse and in the case of Luang Prabang that is so very true.

The club has around 340 or so people on its ground staff and this allows for some of the most beautifully maintained fairways and greens that I have ever seen.   The day that I visited many of the ground-staff had been working on the coring of the greens and many hands made light work. 

The signature hole on the course is the par three 152 metre 17^th which abuts the edge of the Mekong River which at the time was flowing fast and furious owing to the recent heavy rains in China and Tibet at the rivers source.

After an overnight stopover in the township of Luang Prubang the next day we flew by Lao Air the tiny nation’s national airline to Pakse the capital of the province of Champasak in the south.

The golf course here is very hilly in parts and it is suggested that you take a cart and caddy as many of the holes have blind shots that need care and caution for the visitor no matter how well they play.  Unlike Luang Prabang which is owned by a Korean syndicate Pakse has Thai owners and it could be as good as Luang Prabang given an influx of funds.

From Pakse and Champasak we flew back to the Lao capital Vientiane to round off our trip by paying a visit to the splendid course in the region of the country’s main city.

The SEA Games golf course is aptly named as it was built by the government for the 2009 South East Asian Games which boasts 27 holes and is flood lit for night golf on a similar basis to what is available in Dubai and other fairly warm climates. 

SEA Games is well maintained and although I was not able to play this course I can say that it has very smooth fairways and some water to navigate to add to its enjoyment. 

From Sea Games on the way back into Vientiane I was shown a billion dollar project that will have a resort style living area that will have no less than three superb golf courses as its focal point.

The first course has been planned by American golf course architect Pete Rousseau and that is not surprising as he has designed quite a few courses in neighbouring Vietnam and much of the funds for the new project come from that country.

The next day our party made a trip into the countryside to have a firsthand look at the Dansavanh Nam Gnum Resort which is part of the Dansavanh Casino complex.  Once again I was treated to view a quality course which although showing some growth from the wet season it has all the earmarks of being a future championship course for some of Lao’s planned tournaments.

On my final day, I was privileged to play at the magnificent Lao County Club which I consider along with Luang Prabang to be the jewel’s in Lao’s golfing crown.  This course has it all for the visiting golfer and it is a course not to be missed.

Unlike some of the other courses in Laos, this is a walking course and quite frankly it would be a shame to drive on its beautifully manicured fairways.  There are some splendid holes and the re-vamped course has welcomed the use of bent grass on the greens which gives them a tricky pace.

Everything about this course is professional and all concerned must be very proud of what they have.

Having travelled extensively in my pursuit of good courses to play, I can safely say that I cannot wait to return to this land locked nation of wonderful people, excellent golf courses and above all warm hospitality.  Lao is steeped in history but it is quickly becoming a must place to visit.

For golfers, this is even more so as I was quite taken by the superb state of the courses that I visited and the warmth that is shown to the visitor no matter where they are from.   With this in mind, Lao is truly the travelling golfers “new horizon.”                  

The par five fourth hole at the Lao Country Club in Vientiane LaoThe par three 16th hole at Luang Prabang Golf Club with the mighty Mekong River alongside.

Back then it was a wonderfully natural golf course that was the highlight of a trip where me and friends played Sanctuary Lakes, 13th Beach, Portsea, Moonah Links, and St Andrews Beach.

Look back early next week for a full course review.

An Indoor Golf Simulator is a suite of computer software and hardware, sensors, visualization components (projector and screen) and simulation components (mats to simulate lies and putting), which are created specially to replicate a real golf course experience indoors. The simulator manufacturers capture the playing characteristics of the golf course, which are presented in different forms via the projector. The intent is to provide the golfer with a realistic golfing experience without the time and weather constraints that can affect a “real” game of golf.

A golf simulator can take several forms but at the basic level it is a stall where the golfer hits a real ball with a real golf club. Swing characteristics are captured using a series of sensors that detect club path, club head speed, and impact zone on the clubface, ball speed, trajectory and more.

The golf courses that you play are mapped using a variety of methods and portrayed via a projector onto a large home theatre style screen. Each hole on the course is visualized using a graphic developed by the manufacturer.

The golfer plays the game by simply playing golf. He hits the real ball with the real golf club into the screen. A computer receives the information from all of the sensors and calculates the path, etc., and maps the information in real time onto the screen providing a simulated ball flight based on the characteristics measured by the sensors. It included collision detection whereby if you have hit it into the trees then the ball will ricochet.

A golf simulator offers some major advantages over real golf play including:

• Save time – you do not have to chase balls down the fairway or look for them in the rough.
• Save money – you will never lose a ball or tee again,
• Play anytime – day or night, windy, rainy or sunny, doesn’t matter,
• Play world famous courses – play Pebble Beach, Augusta, St Andrews and Pebble Beach to name a few with more being added frequently,
• Save more money – the cost is most likely reduced as the maintenance of the facility costs significantly less than a real golf course,
• Play with all of your mates – play a round, practice, play a tournament with a friend who lives in another part of the world – Internet play
• Low cost of entry – most Indoor Golf Centres will rent world class golf clubs and other components for play at a reasonable price

However, there is a downside, including:

• Exercise – with a simulator you will lose the exercise component of a round of golf
• Putting – for the simulators I have tried, which are about 4 different makes, putting is not that realistic. The manufacturers will work on this and it will improve over the next few years,
• Different Lies – the simulators provide different mats that simulate the rough or sand but they are not the same, they are very good but the real golf experience is too varied to simulate. Some manufacturers now provide “lie change plates” that simulate uphill and side hill lies. Again, manufacturers will work on this over the coming years.

Each of the simulators I have seen varies in their technology. The components are needed to track the club and the ball with varying technologies existing to provide for:

• Clubface direction and angle – this measures how you hit the ball, focusing on whether the clubface is open or shut and the determining the loft of the club at the moment of inertia.
• Club head speed – this measures how fast the club head is travelling at impact and the velocity the balls leaves the club.
• Club path – this measures the angle and direction with which the club approaches the ball prior to impact. It also measures the angle of descent into the ball which affects launch angle.

Different manufacturers use different technologies to capture the data for processing. The sensors used include video, infrared and laser to measure and track the various club and ball flight characteristics.

The simulator software accepts all of the feeds from the various inputs mapping speed, direction, etc., and then depending on the simulator software overlay climate factors like wind, terrain, rain and other factors to determine the flight of the ball. In other words, if it is uphill the ball will fly less and if it “hits” a tree will see the ball ricochet according to characteristics of the collision.

The computer maps the flight of the ball in real time, displaying it on a projection screen. These vary in size and shape with some using “3D” technologies to display the game experience. On one of the trial simulators I experienced, I was presented with real photos of the golf hole I played. This was impressive, as it presented you with a very lifelike experience, almost like being there.

The golf simulators seemed accurate to me in that I knew that I hit my drive between 220m-230m and my 6-iron about 150m. The accuracy is mainly determined by the speed of calculations and the projected image of the ball in flight. The superiority in this market is determined by the technologies used to track the flight of ball or club motion. These machines obviously cannot be 100% accurate but most of the simulators are 90-95% accurate and this gap seems to be decreasing day by day as new technologies are introduced.

With the advent of these brilliant technologies, people have been busy developing products to bring golf inside. No longer will golfers be in the hands of the gods when it comes to the weather. So put away your barometers, unsubscribe from Weather Zone and throw away your umbrella. Golf simulators are like playing real golf. The only weather affect is that programmed into the simulation.

So how do they REALLY play?

I played a simulated version of Augusta’s famous 18th hole where you must drive through a chute of trees. Unfortunately I blocked my drive, hit a nearby drive and the ball ricocheted hard left. Thankfully I was afforded that great American contribution to the game of golf, the mulligan.

I played several holes on different courses on different simulators including the last 3 at Augusta. I am not proud of my scores but at least I can say I have played the famed course. I also played the 7th at Pebble Beach, the 1st at Spanish Bay along with other notables.

I enjoyed the experience immensely as the simulation seemed quite real with my drive flying an average of about 225m and my midirons flying realistic distances. The reaction of the clubface seemed accurate with one attempted punch shot resulting in the golfers nightmare, a shank. The ball shot low and right, slicing into a lake.

On playing the beautiful 4th at Banff Springs, I tried various clubs and used different shot techniques to test out the accuracy. The Punch shot out low and hard and didn’t fly as far as a normal shot. Perfect! I attempted hooks and cuts, which given my ability, seemed to behave as you would expect of the shot type.

So are there any weaknesses? Playing the 16th at Augusta, you know the one; it is 154m with the green cut alongside a pond with a severely sloping green. I played the hole with Masters Sunday pin and subsequently plunked 2 balls into the water hazard. They were both well struck shots but on attempting to push a 6 iron all the way to the flag, the ball came up just marginally short and was caught up on the slope and propelled to the water.

My 3rd attempt faired much better and I hit the ball with a 5 iron onto the top plateau leaving a ridiculously quick put of about 40 feet down the hill. This is where the simulators cannot yet emulate real golf.

Without standing on a green and seeing the distance you must putt to a number. The simulator will tell you the length of the putt and you attempt to putt to that length using the onscreen slope and distance guides. It is a lack of realism that I am sure the smart cookies will sort out over the next few years.

The other area that operates similarly to putting is the short game with each vendor providing a rough and a sand-hitting mat. If you end up in a sand trap you must play your next shot from the sand mat. The feel is not like sand but the longer bristles of the mat sees the shot fly like a sand shot. Not bad!

How many different versions exist from many different companies?

Right now it seems like manufacturers are coming out of the woodwork with existing players emerging into the Australian market from Korea, the UK, Canada and the USA. A company headquartered on the Gold Coast also represents Australia.

Each of the company’s offers there own variant of a golf simulator, focusing on the area of importance according to their philosophy. For instance, one manufacturer focuses on game play offering a very realistic experience whilst another focuses on the visuals of each course providing real photos of each course that makes you feel like you are really there. Others focus on the real golf experience providing mats that tilt according to your lie, e.g., if the course map believes you are on an uphill lie, the mat will tilt to provide you with that specific lie.

Most of the simulators also provide coaching and practice modules.

Conclusion

BRING THEM ON!

I found all the simulators to be absolutely first rate. The courses provided meant that you could play the best courses all the time and challenge your mates to matches all within the comfort of indoors or at night.

I enjoyed the experience and could not wait to try “that shot” over again. A little bit of Tin Cup lives in us all and the simulators give you the ability to try those shots on world-class courses. Whether it is absolutely perfect or not is irrelevant as the experience is real because you use your clubs with real golf balls.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Aku from OptiGolf and Keith from High Definition Golf for showing me their technologies and for providing the images for this article.