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July 1, 2004 |  |
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Divot Mix He makes more bad shots in a single season than Harry Vardon did from 1890 to 1914, but he beats more immaculate golfers because, 'three of those and one of them counts four,' and he knows it. --A.C. Croome, on Walter Hagen who won the Western Open five times. Take Your Daughter To The Course WeekNext week, July 5-11, is the 2004 "Take Your Daughter to the Course Week."
The week is a part of the National Golf Course Owners Association player development effort, and is conducted in cooperation with the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, LPGA, Executive Women's Golf Association and Golf for Women magazine. According to national spokesperson Suzy Whaley, “Young women who learn to play the game build self-esteem and confidence through their participation. It is a game that spans generations and professions that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.” Golf courses across the country are offering special programs designed to get young women involved in golf, including a free clinic during the week, and a free green fee to any young lady accompanied by a paying adult. Many courses will offer additional special promotions. Last year, more than 600 courses and 15,000 girls participated in this event. NGCOA expects nearly 1000 courses to participate in 2004. Billy Casper Golf has announced that all of its courses will be participating in the event. Casper Golf owns or operates more than 45 courses from Connecticut to Hawaii. For a national database of beginner-friendly courses, visit http://www.getlinkedplaygolf.com. GCSAA offers new "golfer" articles The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America has added six new golfer-oriented articles to its Web site for use in publications, Web sites or for broadcast. The articles are intended to provide useful and interesting information for golfers that will enhance their experience on the golf course and help educate them on maintenance activities and the superintendent profession. They can be used in golf course or golf association newsletters, GCSAA chapter publications, or even printed for posting on golf course bulletin boards. Please credit the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America in the publication, Web site or broadcast. Should you desire to localize the articles by quoting and/or interviewing a golf course superintendent in your area, please contact Jeff Bollig, GCSAA director of communications, at (800) 472-7878, Ext. 4430, or jbollig@gcsaa.org .
For additional articles, visit GCSAA's online newsroom at www.gcsaa.org/news. R&A notes unusual Rules incidentMost golfers never have a reason to hit a pitch shot from the surface of a carefully manicured putting green. Even thinking about it is enough to send shivers up the spine of a golf course superintendent. Nevertheless, there are times, and courses, where it's the only way to play a shot. The Old Course at St. Andrews with its 100-yard wide double greens is such a place. According to the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, an incident during the recent final of the British Amateur on the Old Course highlights a provision of the Rules that most players never think of. Eventual runner-up Lee Corfield was playing the 14th hole and had little option but to play a pitch shot on the wide expanse of its double green. His approach at the par-five was hooked to the far end of the green shared with the fourth hole and he faced a shot of some 45 yards with a deep bunker between his ball and the hole.As he prepared to play, match referee David Pepper, chairman of the Championship Committee, reminded him that he needed to have the flagstick attended. Rule 17-3 clearly states that a ball striking "the flagstick in the hole, unattended, when the stroke has been made on the putting green" incurs loss of hole in match play and a two-stroke penalty in stroke play. Corfield hit a superb shot close to the pin, but missed the short putt and lost the match on the next green to Stuart Wilson. There have been similar incidents at St. Andrews during The Open Championship. In 1995, Australian Peter Fowler was on the front of the second green and pitched over the intervening slopes to within three feet of the hole. Corey Pavin, who was playing on the other side of the double green at the 16th hole, congratulated Fowler on a fine shot, but added a note of warning. "Next time have the flag attended. It's a two-shot penalty if you hit the stick." Five years later, during the Millennium Open, Jack Nicklaus hit his approach to the second hole well to the left on the putting surface, but with a bunker between himself and the flag. His pitch shot was almost holed and when reminded of the potential penalty he admitted: "It never even entered my mind." The Rules of Golf do not require the use of a putter for strokes on the putting green. |
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Take Your Daughter To The Course Week
