Dear Golfers Last week was Masters weekend and following on from that weekend of great golf, below are some interesting facts from Dale Hayes: Dale has been reminiscing about the Masters and one of the things he was amazed at, was where some of the players hit their drives. Dale played in three Masters tournaments and he can still remember where some of his drives finished. For example, on the first hole Dale could hit it level with the right hand bunker. Sergio was a good 30 to 40-metres past it. On the third, it was a good drive and a three-quarter wedge. Adam Scott hit his drive over the green. Let s not forget that over the years there have been many long hitters who would measure up with todays - given the new golfing equipment of course: - Jim Barnes was a tall man of well over 6 feet and he could really give the ball a good knock. He was reaching par 5 s of over 500-metres with hickory shafts. Babe Zaharias was one of the greatest lady golfers of all time. She hit the ball a country mile. Her secret was Loosen your girdle and let er fly. George Bayer was the longest hitter of the fifties and sixties. He could air mail the ball but he often didn t put the correct address on it! Jack Nicklaus played an exhibition match at Zwartkop in 1966 and drove the old +-340 metre par 4 with a 3- wood - in summer. I was never able to drive the green in summer with any Club. Greg Norman quite simply was the most accurate long driver I ever played with or saw play. He had the perfect combination of power and accuracy. Imagine John Daly s backswing with Arnold Palmer s follow-through. It would take them a week to get untangled. John was the longest hitter in professional golf for 20 years and he was also surprisingly accurate off the tee. Dustin Johnson is built like a brick toilet. One of the fittest and strongest players on Tour. Although his swing looks a little strange, it s long, powerful and controlled. This year was Gary Player s 60th visit to Augusta. He played in The Masters a record 52 times, so the advice that he got on his first visit by Mark McCormick was good Buy a home here you are going to spend a lot of your life here. This was also the 50th year since Roberto de Vicenzo lost the Masters because of a mistake on his scorecard. On the 17th hole his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, put a 4 on the card when he had made a 3. The card was signed and the 4 counted which meant that Bob Goalby won by one stroke. De Vicenzo, who won more professional tournaments than any professional ever, would only say; What a stupid I am. All I lose at The Masters is the green jacket. The prestige NO, my name is in The Masters forever. The toughest holes at Augusta this year were:
Every now and then the question pops up Who is the best player who has never won a major? Up until the Masters that was Sergio Garcia, but that s only counting the players who still play on Tour and who realistically have a chance of winning a major. Best Ever: - Colin Montgomerie 2nd in 5 majors Doug Sanders 2nd in 5 majors Bruce Crampton 2nd in 4 majors Christy O Connor Snr 10 Top 10 s in the Open Championship Miguel Angel Jiminez 2nd once and 3rd once Isao Aoki 51 wins and in the Hall of Fame Best Now: - Lee Westwood so close so often Matt Kuchar can t seem to get over the line Steve Stricker great player but not in majors Paul Casey still likely to win Hideki Matsuyama surely it s only a matter of time New Stars: - Rickie Fowler has come close already Jon Rahm could be the next big thing Justin Thomas super confident Brooks Koepka powerful player has it all Branden Grace great driver, good for the US Open and Open Championship COURSE 1 : GRAND OPENING AND CAPTAINS DINNER 1 MAY 2017 On Monday, 1 May 2017, we are having the Grand Opening of Course 1, with a Shotgun Start at 11am. The opening of the new Hole 5 will be done at 10am at the new 5 th Hole with Beers and Champagne. Look forward to seeing you all there. We have also decided to coincide the Grand Opening of Course 1 with the Men s Captains Dinner that same evening, so please diarise this important date, NOW! GOLF RULE FOR THE WEEK: Integral to the Course
A Committee has declared that the shelter in the photo is an integral part of the course, as per Rule 33-2(iv). Question 1: A player's ball comes to rest against the wall of the shelter. How should they proceed? Answer 1: The player must either play the ball as it lies, or deem it unplayable and take one of the relief options under Rule 28, with a penalty of one stroke. This photo is of the 17th at St Andrews, known as 'The Road Hole', possibly the most famous hole in golf. Old Course Trustees have declared the tarmac road to be integral to the course. Question 2: Having played their ball from point X a player's ball came to rest on the road at point Y. May the player... a)... play their ball as it lies at point Y? Yes b)... drop the ball at the nearest point of relief, point Z, without penalty? No. There is no relief without penalty from the road, because it is integral to the course. c)... drop the ball at the nearest point of relief, point Z, for a penalty of one stroke? No. Even if the player deems their ball unplayable this is not one of the available options under Rule 28. d)... drop the ball at point X for a penalty of one stroke? Yes. A player may always play a ball under penalty of stroke and distance. Rule 27-1a. Note: As the shelter in the first photo and the tarmac road in the second have been declared integral to the course, relief from an immovable obstruction under Rule 24-2b is not available. Rule 33-2; The Committee must define accurately:......(iv) obstructions and integral parts of the course. Question 3: In the photo of 'The Road Hole' there is a stone boundary wall to the left side of the road. If a player's ball lies so close to the wall that they cannot make a stroke towards the green, may they play the ball against the boundary wall in the hope that it will rebound to the green?
Answer 3: Yes. Here is a link to a short video of Miguel Ángel Jiménez making just such a stroke in the 2010 Open Championship. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygib4txu3ra WEEKLY MEMBERS / VISITORS CLUB COMPETITIONS: WEDNESDAY: 19 APRIL 2017 RESIDENTS GOLF Played every Wednesday Afternoon This is open to all Residents and Members at MECC. If you would like to play please be at the Putting Green on Course 1 by 11.15am. Place a Golf Ball into a Bag ready for the draw at 11.25am. THURSDAY: 20 APRIL 2017 Course: Course Two (2) Club Competition Format: 4 ball Alliance Shotgun Start - Midday SATURDAY: 22 April 2017 Course: Course Two (2) Club Competition Format: Betterball Stableford LEAGUE 2017: Our Men s Senior League played at Mount Edgecombe C2 on 11 April and ended 1st overall on the day. Well done to Chaps!! This win at home, has now lifted MECC to 2 nd overall only 29 points behind Bluff. Keep it up guys!
MEMBERS GOLF COMPETITIONS: Thursday 13 APRIL 2017 : Course 2 Competition: Individual Stableford Winners: : A DIVISION 1 st Place: Ralph Collins : 39 points 2 nd Place: Steele Slater: 37 points oco 3 rd Place: Mike Houston : 37 points 4 th Place: Derek Scullard : 36 points 5 th Place: J Kennedy : 35 points B DIVISION 1 st Place: Andre Torr : 41 points oco 2 nd Place: John Patlansky: 37 points oco 3 rd Place: Brad Holmes : 37 points 4 th Place: Ray King : 36 points oco 5 th Place: Brian Wilkie : 36 points C DIVISION 1 st Place: Yacoob Omar : 40 points 2 nd Place: Basil Hollister : 39 points oco 3 rd Place: Malcolm Mounter: 39 points 4 th Place: Suren Chetty : 37 points oco 5 th Place: Denzil Bourne : 37 points Saturday 15 APRIL 2017 : Course 2 : 4 Ball Alliance Winners: Morning Field 1 st Place: Chad Bushnell, Ross Koekemoer, Reece van Straaten, Neil Tovey : 89 points 2 nd Place: Wally Lees, Govindsamy Govender, Peter Sykes, Don Dewar: 86 points oco 3 rd Place: Dale Burraston, Kieran Connell, Neil Tovey, Ben Janse van Rensburg : 86 points Afternoon Field 1 st Place: Graham Joseph, Roland Hillier, Robin Singh, Desen Naidoo : 91 points 2 nd Place: Alf Maytham, Kurt Kessler, John Stewart, Dave Buxton: 85 points oco 3 rd Place: Leon Buchner, Rodger Shillaw, Rob Cloete, Andy Williams : 85 points SENIOR MEMBERS COMPETITION: Monday 10 APRIL 2017: Competition: Betterball Stableford Winners: T Tory & M Bennett 46 points Two Clubs: R Hillier & P James Wednesday 12 APRIL 2017: Competition: Ladies vs Madalas Winners: Ladies: M Kent & W May 46 points Men: W Saroop & N Kent 45 points
Feedback: If you have any ideas or suggestions please send them to feedback@mountecc.co.za Please remember to play more rounds of golf, so let s see you out there playing on both our beautiful courses. No Excuses!! Thanks and see you on the Course!! Peter Taylor MECC Men s Captain Cell: 0832300566