Indianwood Tickets for Senior US Open Now Available

The Indianwood Golf and Country Club has hosted two women's U.S. Opens nearly two decades ago and they are now back in the hunt and will  golfers 50 and older this summer. The U.S. Open will be held at the Scotish style course from July 9th through the 12th and they are offering a holiday package special. Right now you can purchase two grounds tickets (valid any day) and a championship hat for only $75.00.

This offer is good only through December 31st. You can purchase tickets online at www.2012ussenioropen.com

This should be an exciting tournament with the best chance to see the former stars of the PGA Tour locally.

Taking Your Club Back Needs to be Done Properly

     There is nothing that says you are getting ready for the 2012 season by hitting balls at least occasionally at a local golf dome or instruction center. If you are not but want to there are domes in virtually every community and chances are you pass one at least once per week and maybe every day. I like to find the top instructors in the area and watching a lesson at the Bob Krause Golf Academy in Commerce Township, he spoke about the takeaway. Imagine you are standing over your golf ball and you are going over your check list of your do's and don'ts. The takeaway needs to not only be close to your body but the shaft of the club where your hands are should go over your right shoe. Taking it outside of the shoe or straight back will cause you to over correct your downswing and will result in shots that will result in shots that finish with worse results less than what you are capable of. A second area that you should check and practice is to have your hands in front of the club. You should not break your wrist. Your hand should set when the club becomes parallel to the ground. The golfer hitting the ball was hitting soft iron shots that whistled off their club and was much more consistent. Try it for yourself.

   Bob can be reached for a lesson @: Bob Krause
Director of Instruction
Telephone:(941)773-1339

2012 Golf Tournaments are Announced for Amateurs

ESPN is hosting a tournament looking for America's best twosome.

www.espngolf.com

11^th Annual National Amateur
2 person better ball eventLongest running National Amateur Tournament3 Divisions: Gross, Net, and Senior Net

The ESPN National Golf Challenge will crown the best two-person teams
in America during the National Finals event to be held in Las Vegas. The event is open to male and female golfers with a USGA approved handicap.
Teams will consist of two amateur players participating in either the Gross,Net, or Senior Net divisions. No individual player may use a handicap higher than 24.
Golf courses nationwide will be designated as
 "Local Qualifying Sites" for the ESPN National Golf Challenge

Local Qualifying Sites will be located geographically through out the United States and qualifying will take place during the months ofJanuary 1 through July15,2012. The Regional Finals will be held in
August and the National Finals will be held October at Paiute Golf Course in
Las Vegas, NV.

The National Final will be filmed and produced as a special DVD for all participants

Cost of the Event - $40.00 for Members
                                      $65.00 for non-members
(Cost includes registration fee to ESPN,
Carts / Green Fees and Prizes)
Optional Team Super Skins for $20.00
Web Site for Event 

A second opportunity exists for golfers in August of 2012. The World Golf Championships is a five day event and for $399 you can enter the event. Included are some cocktails and this pays for the greens fees and your share of the prize money. It sounds like fun and occurs over the weekend before Labor Day.

www.espngolf.com

worldamgolf.com  Have fun.

Win 12 Free Visits to Myrtle Beach

The title says it all.

   While the chances of winning the trip is based on the total number of entries, the opportunity to golf with Dustin Johnson and have 12 visits complete with round-trip airfare, lodging, car rental and golf sounds like an awesome contest to win.

It also includes a set of custom-fitted Taylor Made Clubs and golf lessons from a Top 100 golf instructor.
Here is the link to the contest. Good Luck.

http://www.golfholiday.com/fall-family-golf/?adcode=705&sourcecode=13&cmpid=Print_GH280

PGA LPGA Tour Caddies Talk Off the Record

     This past fall when Steve Williams was shooting off his mouth about his former employer Tiger Woods he broke the golden rule about putting himself as the main story instead of his former boss, it was seen as taboo by pretty much everyone in the game. Golf Magazine in its January 2012 edition asked caddies their opinions on a wide variety of subjects from PGA professionals cheating to doing the deed with female members of the gallery.

   In the case of anonymous caddies spilling the beans on their bosses or other PGA and LPGA bosses, they had plenty of interesting things to say including things we expected such as pay and whose bag they would really like to carry.

     Remember when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and others said that golfers are all full of integrity and are honest enough to call rules infractions on themselves and this includes times when no one could possibly know but the player might not recognize today’s Tour player.

 A whopping 54% of current professional caddies have witnessed at least one incident with another two percent saying no comment. The most common offenses are players who mis mark their golf balls on the greens by a couple of inches. A difference of two inches on a putt less than two feet can be huge and one commenter said that some players do this. Another offense is using the club wedge where a player takes a three iron into the rough to knock the ground down behind their ball and then the player hits a nine iron out. Can you imagine Jack Nicklaus doing that? Another wild card infraction for players is to take drops that are justified in their minds but are not legal. I always thought that PGA Tour rules officials were around to make sure the hanky panky was taken care of but it looks like this is not the case.

   One thing that is obvious and confirmed in this poll are which course has the toughest greens to read? We have always heard that Augusta’s greens are very tough to read as they are to be studied rather than read.

     A total of 14% of caddies said the greens are collectively the toughest on the PGA Tour. While the percentages may seem low, they are double the total of 8% that the second closest course tallied at four different Tour stops.

   Caddies on the PGA Tour said if they could pick one player to caddie for for one tournament it would be for Tiger Woods at the Masters. The total of 46% was far and above the ten percent that Phil Mickelson also tallied at the same tournament.

     As for which player-caddie relationship do you admire most, Mickelson and Jim (Bones) Makay finished number one as they earned nearly fifty (46%)of the total. Jim Furyk and Mike (Fluff) Cowan finished second at 12%.

   As for the defection of caddie Joe Lacava from Dustin Johnson’s bag, 48% of caddies would have done the same. “ I’m in my 60’s with grandkids. If you caddie for Tiger, you’ll play fewer events and make the same money so I’d chose him,” said one anonymous poll participant.

   As for the teaser of players doing the deed with female members in the gallery, the caddies said 52% of the caddies have been either propositioned or went one step further and had a relationship with an admiring fan. While this story may be heresy, caddies say LPGA players sometimes mix business with pleasure and it has left a smile on the faces of more than one card carrying bag puller.    

What Metro Detroit Courses Give You the Best Bang for the Buck?

The question above is very subjective and unlike your local art gallery, you might get into a heated discussion. If you do, at least have a beer when having the discussion of which courses are not only excellent to play but have some monetary value for you to play. Sean O. of Beverly Hills has moved into the area and would like a heads up for inviting some friends out to some fun golf courses to play next June. The obvious answer is there are too many to count but I will whittle the list down and invite readers to name their courses with a sentence on why they made that selection.

Some of my choices in no particular order are as follows.


In Oakland County... a great bang for the buck course is Pontiac Country Club. It is only 6,300 yards from the tips but it is valued at $35 or less depending on when you go. The strategy is excellent at this course. It seems that every tree and sand trap is there for a reason. It is the home of the Syron Invitational and also hosts numerous golf outings during the summer and the boys and girls County Championships each spring and fall. I do advise that you call ahead as this course gets very busy.

This picture with the clubhouse in the background is typical of the scenic views you will find.

       A second Oakland County course I find enjoyable is Fieldstone in Auburn Hills. Voted as one of the top three course in Southeastern Michigan by the Detroit News, this Arthur Hills design is not overly long but well played tee shots are a must on this 6,400-7,200 yard layout. Poor shots will find the woods or fescues. The service is outstanding and will set you back about $50 to play.

Another Oakland County Course to recommend on a short list is The Sanctuary which is operated by the City of Troy. With its rolling hills and scottish feel,
Sanctuary will take you for a winding journey where it looks like you will have trouble placing your ball and will hit many of the mounds surrounding the landing areas and green but it simply is not the case. Sanctuary has a golf acadamy, plenty of golf specials including the frequent player special and in my mind is a super course to play. Some of the holes are tight but give it a shot. Eighteen holes of golf will set you back no more than $45 and from the tips plays no more than 6,500 yards.

     Among the Metropark courses, all of them are excellent. My personal favorite is Kensington Metropark in Wixom but Indian Springs in Independence Township and Stoney Creek in Macomb County near the Oakland County border are all well maintained. All Metropark courses costs around $26 to play plus a cart.

     A final tax payer funded course that I really enjoyed was Springfield Oaks in Springfield Township. (My apologies to Lyon Oaks as I have yet to play it). This course is short but there are several memorable holes. The front nine will be an up and down climb but with the woods on top of you on several holes and beautiful weeping willows among the well maintained course. The cost to play this 6,300 yard course is only $29 and that includes a cart.  

     For complete course information, check out my course reviews on this blog and also their websites.
If your course was left out and you want to make a case, by all means do it.