Golfer. Golfer. Country. VOL 19 ISSUE 1 January, 2017

Transcription

1 R Country Golfer Golfer SIGNATURE COURSE VOL 19 ISSUE 1 January, Dear Member, Wish you a Very Happy New Year! With 2016 behind us we saw the Gary Player championship course mature beautifully in its second year of existence. Golfers too settled down and began to enjoy the challenge the GP course posed each time they went out and we started to receive positive feedbacks from them. Even the dreaded 17th green is now a tough dare but no longer a nightmare! It was remodeled and made a bit more receptive and this was liked by all including the ladies from the European Tour. We all are very excited to welcome back the tri-sanctioned Men's European Tour - Hero Men s Indian Open in March after a long gap. This Mega Event with a prize purse of 1.75 million USD will be beamed live into nearly 600 million homes across the globe. In order to present our golf course to the world on Live TV, may I request all golfers to help us maintain the course by ensuring that you diligently repair your divots and pitch marks and use the allotted tees only. The Championship tees are strictly Out of Bounds till the event is over. This will enable us to effectively do our course management and allow you to play throughout February. The course will only close for a week instead of the mandatory 3 weeks demanded for such events. Except for a few days, January remained mild allowing for good golfing. As usual, our Sunday Brunches were a hit this season as well. Ambient weather further ensured that our F&B team had their hands full with private parties and functions. As per tradition we held our DLF Cup on Republic Day, however the rain played spoil sport and the tournament had to be cut down to 9 holes. We would like to acknowledge Maruti Suzuki for sponsoring the tournament again. Off the golf course, the tennis season is on and the tournaments are in full swing. Enjoy the good weather while it lasts. Happy Golfing, Recall DLF LADIES MATCH PLAY 2016 The 2016 edition of the DLF Ladies Match Play witnessed a slim but weighty field with the likes of Astha Mittal, Puja Batra, Monica Jajoo, Sonia Gupta and Latika Khaneja throwing their hats into the ring for the coveted crown and title of the Best Club Lady Golfer. Vishal Bharti Asst. Vice President Runner-up Aruna with the new Champion Astha Mittal Making their way up on both sides of the draw were hard hitting Astha Mittal and steady and experienced Aruna Sharma. They decimated their worthy opponents one by one to finally face each other in the Finals on 13th December! Initially, Aruna put up a good fight and the first half was evenly balanced. Then Astha took over and wrapped-up the match on the 14th Hole to win the trophy and the title.

2 The Joy of Giving... a heart-warming story Never be afraid of giving. There is a deep joy in giving, since what we receive is much more than what we give Taking a cue from these golden words of wisdom by Mother Teresa, three kids from Gurgaon came together this winter to bring a smile on the faces of their less fortunate compatriots. It all started around Christmas when Siya Tayal (11, Sri Ram Aravali) and Saniya Saraogi (14, Sri Ram Maulsari) came up with the idea of Santa Cause! They were joined by our young club member Aditya Pande, (13, Pathways Gurgaon), a resident of the Aralias and soon the philanthropic plan was set rolling. They designed a beautiful poster exhorting people to open their hearts and donate used toys and dresses to be given away as Christmas presents to underprivileged children in the neighbourhood. As word got around through posters and social media, toys, clothes, chocolates and stationery kept pouring in from all across Gurgaon. Together with a bunch of enthusiastic volunteers, the kids celebrated Christmas with students of Nayi Disha, a school for underprivileged children in Phase 5 and with children undergoing cancer treatment at the St Jude s Home. The marvellous Christmas show included poetry recitation, dance, story-telling, some art & craft and of course, sharing of gifts and a whole lot of fun! The highlight of the show was the singing of Christmas carols with Siya on the melodic, Aditya strumming his guitar and Saniya doing the vocals to the beat of the Tambourine. Joyful gifts! The Mandatory Christmas Cake Siya, Aditya and Saniya regaling the kids with Christmas Carols Nayi Disha kids enjoy a musical evening with Siya, Saniya and Aditya The smiling faces say it all... Kids of St. Jude's say a huge Thank You The response was so overwhelming that even after the gifts - stuffed toys, board games, educational games, Lego, remote-controlled toys, colour boxes, biscuits, juices etc - were distributed to underprivileged kids from: Nayi Disha, St Jude s Home and Mehaan Foundation, there were sacks full of goodies left over..and more just kept pouring in till the New Year. Siya, Saniya and Aditya packed them neatly in eco-friendly paper, along with more goodies such as, popcorn, til laddoos, rewari, groundnuts and handed them over to slum kids across Sikanderpur, DLF Ph 2 and Chakkarpur as New Year and Lohri gifts. The balance was finally deposited at the Sushant Lok centre of Goonj. Truly, giving is often motivated by chasing that inner voice which pulls us to something bigger than ourselves. It starts with our Family and then spreads to the world around us. If you could think of another individual, family, child as your own.. what would you do? Wouldn t you want to reach out to them in their challenges and problems and do what you can to make their lives a little better.. that's exactly what Siya, Sanyia and Aditya did this winter. For them the joy of giving was way more than the joy of receiving. An experience they will cherish forever.

3 The DLF CUP Presented by N E X A Overcast skies ushered in our 68th Republic Day with predictions of heavy rainfall. Undeterred, our diehard golfers turned up in full strength to play the DLF Cup Golf Tournament. As per tradition the senior most golfer present unfurled the Indian Tricolour, accompanied by the National Anthem. This year, Mr. Basant Kumar did us the honour of hoisting the flag. It was a heartening sight to see it proudly fluttering in the wind and brightening up the otherwise dull and gloomy morning sky. Fortified by a hearty breakfast, the golfers defied the weatherman s report and eagerly teed off to a shot-gun start. The rain stayed in abeyance for most part of the morning allowing us around twelve holes play, then the Rain Gods played spoil sport and pulled the plug and the game had to be abandoned. We were then given a full blown show of their might and fury with a bolt of lightning striking the ground behind the 18th green. Mercifully, all golfers were off the course and inside the pavilion. Everyone lingered around hoping against hope that the rain would stop and they could get to finish the round but when it became evident that the heavens would not clear, disappointed, they retired to an early lunch. Anuj Khanna - One of the Team Winner Mukta Malhotra - Ladies Winner Vishal Bharti presents the plaque to Rajat Biswas winner of the Men's Longest Drive Closest-to-Pin winner Siddhant Rekhi with Vishal Bharti One for the Album It is a fun event with the Double Peoria format allowing friends to play together and yet compete for the Individual prizes and Lady Luck deciding the winning team. The tournament was truncated and scoring was done over 9 Holes. In the overall Spot Prize segment, Siddhant Rekhi won the Closest-to-Pin prize, J.S. Ranger the Straight Drive, and Mukta Malhotra and Rajat Biswas won the Longest Drive competitions. In the Individual category Mukta (Ladies section) and Yoshiki Kamihara (Men s section) won the Individual trophies. This edition saw Lady Luck favour Anuj Khanna, Arvind Mayar, Manish Tandon and Manoj Saran, together they picked up the Team Trophy. A.V. P. Operations - Vishal Bharti gave away the Prizes and raised a vote of thanks to our sponsor Maruti Suzuki, for the event was presented by their NEXA.

4 DLF-IJGA National Qualifiers, India-2017 The DLF IJGA Junior National Qualifiers(India) 2017 of the ALBATROSS Junior Tour, India were held here from 11th to 13th of January. 36 young boys and girls 11 to 18 years of age in three categories made it to this final round. Their mettle was fully tested over 54 holes on the Arnold Palmer course and they came out with flying colours. Young champions with Rama Chawla The Boys A category saw a tight contest for the top spot with Digraj Singh Gill (224) pipping Harshjeet Singh Sethie (225) by just one stroke. The Girls A category was won by Shagun Narain (245) and Tanirika Singh came in second. The Boys B category saw great scores. Saurav Rathi carding a great 218 and Raghav Chug came in a close second with a score of 222. The Boys C Category was won by young Akshath Sharma (231) and the runner-up spot was taken by Jai Bahl (246). Hitaashee Bakshi topped the Girls C category with a great score of 225 and Kriti Chowhan(256) took the second place. In May the winners will represent India in the Bridgestone Tournament of Champions in Florida. Tennis Tournaments The Tennis season is in full swing and on weekends one finds the courts abuzz with excitement as the tournaments are in progress. Junior Tournaments out of the way, the seniors have taken over the courts. Through January, matches were organized on all weekends and one witnessed some serious ball bashing in the Men s Singles & Doubles Tournaments. Nitish Bhasin, Ashutosh Muni, Nitin Sharma & Jasmer Kapani Preliminary rounds are over and matches are now at the quarter or in semi-final stages and will culminate on 19th February. In the Men s Open Singles Vishal Verma, Anirudh Krishna, Adesh Minda, Nitin Sharma, Jasmer Kapany, Nirvaan Bhatia & Gurjeet Sohi beat their respective opponents to reach the quarter -finals and will be vying for the semi-final berths. The Men s Doubles Tournaments are being played in the Round Robin format. The top two players from each group will directly enter the semi final and fight it out for the two final berths. These players can be seen in action in the semi-finals on 21st, 22nd, 28th & 29th respectively. At the time of going into print matches were still in progress. Look out for the final results in the next edition of Country Golfer. Better still come and enjoy these matches at the Tennis Courts.

5 DLF Medal Round Jazz, Kunal & Ken with the Longest Drive winner Vikram Sharma Manoj, Kulvinder & Puneet with Gentleman Golfer of the Month Sukhbir Singh Mona, Lady Golfer of the Month Monica & Longest Drive Winner Astha Feathered friends on your course by Raghav Dhall The Indian Pond Heron is a dull brown bird that you must certainly have sighted at the Club. Typically found perched at the edge of a water body, this 40 to 50 cm sized bird has a stocky short neck. Nonbreeding birds have greenish bills with black tips, a white plumage with brown streaks, and legs that are greenish. Interestingly, the colour of their legs changes in the breeding season (March to September) from green to a bright yellow, or sometimes even red. In flight, the bright, pristine white wings of the Indian Pond Heron are always a delight to see. They eat aquatic insects, fish, tadpoles, bees etc. and usually feed themselves from the edge of the water body Raghav Dhall though they sometimes also use floating plants as a perch. The Indian Pond Heron is usually quiet, though it might give a harsh croak once in a while. They live in colonies shared with other species. Their nests are usually simple platforms built on trees or shrubs, and are built jointly, with the male collecting the material for the nest and the female building it. The Indian Pond Heron The Indian Pond Heron is widespread around shallow water bodies, paddy fields and marshes all over the Indian subcontinent. Did you know? The Indian Pond Heron is also called the Paddy Bird since it can be usually spotted in paddy fields foraging for crustaceans and insects. The Indian Pond Heron s behaviour of sitting absolutely still and flying only seconds before being approached, has led to folklore that it is partially blind! Abhijit Dey From Chef Abhijit s Kitchen Salmon potato fish cakes Ingredients 250 gm potato cut into chunks 150 g salmon fillet 1 tsp English mustard 1 tsp Lemon juice 1 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tbsp chopped dill 3 tbsp plain flour 1 egg, beaten 100 g dried breadcrumbs Method 1. Place the potatoes in a pan of water, bring to the boil, cover and cook for mins until tender. Drain and leave to steam-dry, then mash. Meanwhile, season the salmon and grill for 5-6 mins until just cooked. Cool for a few mins, and then break into large flakes. 2. Mix the potato, mustard, lemon juice, herbs and some seasoning. Lightly mix in the salmon, taking care not to break it up too much. Shape into medium fish cakes. Salmon potato fish cakes 3. Make the batter with mixture of flour and eggs. Dip the cakes into the batter, coat in breadcrumbs. Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the cakes over a medium-low heat for 3-4 mins each side until deep golden and heated through. Note You can serve hot with steamed plain jasmine rice and buttered snow peas.

6 Academy News DLF GOLF ACADEMY Karan's Tips Play the long bunker shot One of the most feared shots in golf is the long bunker shot. It is particularly difficult as you have to make a big swing to generate the speed needed, yet hit at a precise spot on the sand. Players will either often hit the sand too deep leaving the ball in the bunker, or catch the ball clean - flying the ball much further than required. Here is a way to reduce the miss hits. This Month's Achievers Neha claims the first title of the season Set up as shown in picture 1 ball positioned just a bit forward of centre and weight favouring the front a bit. Use a PW or 9-iron instead of a SW. This reduced loft will ensure a shot that flies longer. Neha Tripathi carded one over 73 in the final round to win the 1st leg of the Hero Women s Professional Golf Tour 2017 at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens. Gaurika Bishnoi finished in fourth position. In Pic 2 - I have drawn a line in the sand to show the target line. Normally you would swing out-in for a green side bunker shot. However, for a longer shot, try swinging in-out (to the right in line with the club on the ground). This will ensure a shallower angle of approach into the ball and the club will dig less into the sand. This will also help fly the ball further. You may adjust the club face angle to cater to the lip of the bunker in front. Hope it helps! Hitaashee Bakshi receiving her trophy Hitaashee Bakshi closed the season with an IGU record of 6 under on day two at ITC Classic Golf Course winning the All India Junior Girls Championship. She is now ranked 1st in C Category in the National Order of Merit 2016.

7 Callaway Demo Day Callaway India organised the Epic Challenge at the DLF Golf Academy on Saturday, 21st January This was to launch the Great Big Bertha Epic Drivers. Enthusiastic members took part in the challenge which included competing with their own drivers vs the Callaway Great Big Bertha Epic Drivers. Golf Academy Honour Board GOLD DIVISION - MEDAL ROUND Winner Runner-Up Category A Arjun Bharti - Category B Rakshita Singh Aditya Pande Category C Anhad Grewal Preitisha Gill SILVER DIVISION - MEDAL ROUND Winner Runner-Up Category B Tapvik Magan Ishaan Nakra Category C Alysha Dutt Cameron Virk *ACADEMY CALENDAR Junior Gold Division Medal Round: 9th (Thursday) Junior Silver Medal Round: 16th (Thursday) TrackMan Parameters -Face Angle Anitya Chand This month, let s have a look at the next parameter as measured by the launch monitor TrackMan Face Angle. Face Angle is the direction the club face is pointed (right or left of the target line) at impact. It is the angle of the part of the club that makes impact with and influences initial direction of the ball, relative to the target line (left-right). A positive value means that the face is pointing to the right (open relative to target for right handed player), whereas a negative value means that the face is pointing to the left (closed relative to target for right handed player). Most golfers refer to this as having an open or closed club face. Face angle is the most important value that determines the starting direction (launch direction) of the golf ball. As we know, the ball always starts in-between the face angle and club path and further research has shown us that the ball will launch more closely to the face angle than the club path. In general, the face angle makes up approximately 75-85% of the ball s launch direction with club path accounting for the other 15-25% (assuming centered contact). To hit a straight shot that starts and finishes at the intended target, the face angle as well as the path must be zero (assuming centered impact). Though this is the dream shot for golfers, hardly any of the top players try and play their golf this way. Every good player tries to move the ball either left to right or right to left in the air. The optimal Face Angle depends on the type of shot the golfer wants to play. A golfer may want to hit a 5-yard fade or a 10-yard draw. Each of these shots has its own optimal face angle. As a general rule of thumb, the ball will start very close to where the Face Angle is pointing. Therefore, a draw player will try and have his Face Angle on the positive side so that the ball starts to the right of the target and then have path more right of the Face Angle so that the ball moves right to left in the air. Similarly, a fade player will try and have his Face Angle slightly left of the target so that the ball starts left of the target and then match it with a path that is further left of the Face Angle allowing the ball to move left to right in the air and get back towards the target. Another point to note is that the Face Angle is not measured from the center of the club but where the ball impacted on the club. This means that due to bulge on the driver, face angle can be open relative to target for a toe hit even though the center of the club is square to the target. Anitya demonstrating the correct way to turn in backswing & the follow through to the juniors in the Gold Division

8 February Calendar F&B OFFERINGS PAVILION RESTAURANT New World Wines - Pavilion Bar 10th - 18th Weekly Cuisine Week 1 Indonesian Week 2 Italian Week 3 Coastal Week 4 Burmese Garden Cafe Dim Sum Promotion 17th - 25th A range of new world wines are here for all the wine lovers. Try wines from a range of grape varietal to match your palate... For Chef Dim Sum is an art which requires a delicate hand of a craftsman. Experience the wide selection of exquisite Dim Sum promotion from our Master Chef... EVENTS 6th - Monday onwards The DLF MIX MATCH PLAY th - Friday *DLF- MEDAL ROUND Double Peoria system Open through the Day 19th - Sunday TENNIS FINALS Men's Open Single & Men's Double 4 pm onwards *ACADEMY CALENDAR 9th - Thursday Junior Gold Division Medal Round 16th - Thursday Junior Silver Medal Round * The Golf Course & Academy open for regular Play. ** F&B Reservations will be held for 15 minutes only. Our Sponsors Country Golfer Vol. 19 Issue 1 Editor : Rama Chawla Club Phone No. : Fax : DLF Golf Resorts Ltd. Designed & Produced by Chiranjn Advertising, Ph