Golf Instructor Dave Pelz's Backyard

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Dripping Springs isn't very far from here, either. I should go see him! I've already studied his putting theory. The guy is a legend.

The World's Craziest Golf Course Ever?

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There's a ground-breaking new golf course under construction at Mission Hills in China. It combines elements of miniature golf, great wonders of the world, and a fantasy-world setting only experienced in video games. Several of the holes announced are one with a Great Wall of China theme, a par-3 with the green situated inside a gigantic noodle-bowl, as well as one with a Bird's Nest Stadium theme, in which the green is concave. It looks both difficult and exciting!

Here's the full CNN article from Paul Gittings.. (includes more images)

Via: PGA.com, and PGA's Facebook

Golf Preparation

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Old Head Golf Links #4, Kinsale, Ireland

Source: Reddit's moosebagel

Old Head Website..

Google Maps location..

There's Soon to be a Floating Golf Course

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The powers that be of the Maldives Islands are going to build a golf course on one of their newly constructed man-made islands! It's expected to cost more than a half-a-billion dollars, and will be -essentially- the world's first floating golf course.

Click here to go read the full article at UK's Mail Online..

Via / Sources: PGA.com, and Mail Online

Hot

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Yeah, you don't wanna go to the Del Rio area...

The U.S. Open Begins Today!

And here are my TWO foursomes for the ESPN Majors Challenge.


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Entry 1:
Phil Mickelson - 15.0
Dustin Johnson - 13.6
Webb Simpson - 13.3
Blake Adams - 8.0

Entry 2:
Lee Westwood - 14.9
Jason Dufner - 14.1
Davis Love III - 11.5
Stewart Cink - 9.4

< - 50 point cap - >

Here is the full list..

Augusta National - Then & Now

What a cool little interactive graphic to view all of the changes made to Augusta National Golf Club over the years! Here's historyshots dot com's introduction:

Augusta National Golf Club has undergone continuous modification since hosting its first Masters Tournament in 1934. This graphic depicts the more than 100 major changes made to the course over the past 79 years. At the top is a visual side-by-side comparison of each hole for 1934 and 2012. Below the hole comparisons is a timeline that maps tee, fairway and green area changes year-by-year. The combination of visual comparison and detailed timeline provides a sweeping overview of all the major changes made since 1934. (Source)

Click the banner image above to go check it out! Ordering information is also provided for the 40" x 24" poster.

Via / Source

The 9 People You'll See At Every Golf Course

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The Misogynist
Description: He doesn’t so much enjoy golf as he enjoys having an environment where it’s acceptable to complain about women and crudely talk about sex. Leave a putt short or hit a weak drive? “Come on, Sally! You hit that like a pu***! Nice skirt! Does your husband play?” Hit a putt past the hole or crush a drive? “Whoa! Someone’s wife isn’t giving him enough of the ********! Look at all that extra aggression!” Whatever The Misogynist shoots in a round, put him down for double that number on uses of the terms “old lady” and “ole’ ball and chain.”

Fun Fact: The Misogynist has been banned from 12 courses for trying to feel up the beverage cart girl.

The Rules Official
Description: He has read the USGA rules book two dozen times and has a copy of it in his golf bag that he will display at a moment’s notice. You better not be trying to move your ball out of that mud patch in the middle of the fairway because, according to Rule 13-b(1.4), that particular mud patch, due to its lack of distinguishing marks, does not fit the criteria for “ground under repair.” I mean, sure, if you want to play that way, fine. But if this was the US Open you’d be getting a significant penalty.

Fun Fact: The Rules Official received a severe beating in 8th grade after reminding his math teacher that she had forgotten to assign homework.

The Mulligan Man
Description: He is the complete opposite of The Rules Official. To him, it’s always winter rules … wherever his ball lands, he just finds the nearest and best lie without any sort of obstruction between him and the hole. And then he props it up on a cluster of grass like a tee. Golf’s not so hard! Whoops! Hit one out of bounds again? Just like on the last four holes? Nope! Not really! He didn’t use his 5th hole mulligan yet! And that’s a gimme from 10-feet, right? Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s going to count the putt whether it goes in or not. Put him down for yet another par!

Fun Fact: Despite losing 14 balls during the round, Mulligan Man still managed to shoot 78. Amazing!

Click HERE, or on the Stooges banner image to go see the rest of the article..

Source / Via

Breaking The Law

Via - (NSFW)

As a golfer I find this absolutely hilarious! I halfway expected to see him dig a hole or take a dump in the sand trap, or on the green. You know, the course marshals go nuts if you drive the cart within like 50 yards of the green.. or if you don't use the 90° rule with the cart. Etiquette says you rake sand traps to pristine condition.. fix your fairway divots.. repair your ball-marks on the green..

This little guy is like, "I feel good!" (Source), and, well Google, of course..

Good stuff!

Just a Little Mishap on the Course

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An Expensive Mistake, It Is

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The 93rd PGA Championship: Preparing Atlanta Athletic Club

Here is an incredible video showing the preparation of the golf course where next week's PGA Championship will be played. You'll see immaculate conditions, gorgeous scenery, and of course, a lot of information regarding course superintendents' task of preparing the spectacular golf course.

Click the image above to see the video.. (Via)

Other resources:
Atlanta Athletic Club's website
Home page of the PGA Championship

Himalayan Golf Course - Pokhara, Nepal

...the highest altitude golf course in the world.                                                                   Via

Pokhara may be well known for it's awe-inspiring mountain scenery but a great many golfers are now discovering that if you want a real golfing high , The Himalayan Golf Course, Pokhara is the place to head for in Nepal. It’s a must for the golfing connoisseur. Considered by many to be one of the 10 most unique golf courses in the world. In the Googles search for - "The most unique golf courses in the world", The Himalayan Golf Course gets 3 hits on the first page.

Adventure golf at its truest, the course’s includes some of the most visually dynamic holes known to golf.

Himalayan Golf Course has certainly been very successful in putting Pokhara in the golfer's map. The course was designed and constructed by an Ex British Army Sandhurst commissioned officer Major Ram Gurung MBE , and opened for play in January 1998. The course has been the venue for the Nepal Surya Western (professional) Open for the past twelve years.

Located just seven kms. away from downtown Pokhara, the twice played 9 hole course is well laid out for championships at 6,900 yards with a par of 73. It has 11 greens and different tee positions and lies for the most part inside a sweeping canyon created by the Himalayan snowed waters of the Bijayapur river. The course is now being upgraded to a 18 holes and is targeted to be operational from October 2011.

Source: Himalayan Golf Course website, which has a lot more pictures..

And here's another terrific article about the course..

Grand Theft Golf Cart

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Port Royal Golf Course - Southampton, Bermuda

Home of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf


16th Hole - Port Royal Golf Club

Ranked among the world’s best public golf courses by Golf Digest and named Bermuda’s finest course by the New York Times, Port Royal features 18 championship holes over 6,842 manicured yards, the longest and most picturesque course in all of Bermuda.

Designed by world-renowned architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1970, Port Royal has recently undergone a $14.5 million renovation, a complete makeover spearheaded by original design team member Robert Rulewich in preparation for the 2009/2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf. With the support of the Bermuda Government, Port Royal is now one of the world’s premier public golf courses boasting TifEagle greens, a state-of-the art irrigation system and sweeping ocean views from nearly every hole. Add to that its 300-yard oceanfront driving range and the course’s luxurious clubhouse—including 64º, its brand new bar and grill serving steaks and seafood daily—and your Port Royal experience is sure to be unforgettable.

In addition to welcoming you and your guests for a perfect day of golf, Port Royal is proud to host corporate, society or charity events and tournaments throughout the year. Your clients and colleagues will longingly reflect
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on a superb day in paradise made possible by our professional staff’s gracious hospitality and warm Bermudian charm.

Those left with any question might consider Port Royal’s signature hole. Widely regarded as one of the greatest par threes in golf, the 16th hole (the banner image above) is a 238-yard crescent-shaped beauty with nothing but the Atlantic Ocean between the tee and the pin. Experience it for yourself and you too will understand why Port Royal is indeed the number one golf course in Bermuda. (Source)

Here are a few more course pictures: (Source)












Click here for even more course images..




Mark Rolfing, host of Global Golf Adventure, visits the newly redesigned Port Royal Golf Course, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that offers breathtaking views of the ocean:


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Port Royal's Homepage -- Be sure to check out the hole-by-hole page (with enlargeable pics), the scorecard page, and the course map.

Cape Kidnappers Golf

at Hawke's Bay, New Zealand




Designed by legendary golf architect Tom Doak, the Cape Kidnappers par 71 golf course measures 7,119 yards (6,510 meters) and will challenge golfers of all skill levels.

Completed in 2004, our spectacular New Zealand golf course has been hailed as one of the great modern marvels in golf. Cape Kidnappers golf course is currently ranked the 41st best golf course in the world by Golf Magazine.

"Our goal in designing golf courses is to create interesting holes you wouldn't find anywhere else. That wasn't hard to do at Cape Kidnappers, because the site is not like anywhere else in golf. If it were any bigger or any more dramatic, it would probably be cordoned off as a national park. It's an overwhelming experience to stand up on the cliffs, 140 meters above sea level, and look out across the waves far below in Hawke's Bay." -- Tom Doak




More images

Even more images

Bonus pictures (more than just golf): 01, 02, 03 (there's a ton at this site)..



This is the book from which I learned of Cape Kidnappers.

Ko'olau Golf Club, Hawaii

No, I didn't go. But I have played there - on my Jack Nicklaus 6 - Golden Bear Challenge game. And it remains to this day one of the top-10 places in the world I would give an appendage to go see. Please click that image to enlarge it, and then go H E R E to see more from the "most challenging golf course in the world". I remember how it was on my game, and it was designed very, very well, by the way. You miss fairways there and you're looking at a big number.

But it's just so-o-o-o beautiful!

Here is the course's website, which has a very nice course tour if you haven't been able to see very many good pictures yet.

But if nothing else, go check out this guy's pictorial of Ko'olau. You'll thank me that you did!

Signature Hole #12 - La Cantera Resort, San Antonio

Par:4 - 415 yards


Click pics to get better views..

This hole is absolutely amazing. You must keep your tee shot between a rock wall and several church pew-like bunkers on one side, and a steep fall-off into rocks, weeds, rattlesnakes and, well... not a good place to be on the right. The view into the green is one of the prettiest I've ever seen. And OMG that green - It's about 5 feet from front to back and a half-a-mile wide. OK, that's an exaggeration. Probably closer to 8 yards deep by 40 yards wide. Needless to say it takes a very precise middle iron to avoid all kinds of trouble.

Hole #7 Tee - La Cantera Resort, San Antonio

Par:4 - 310 yards

Click to enlarge!

Played the resort course at La Cantera for about the 5th-6th time yesterday with my good friend Rick. I always try to take a bunch of pictures, since the place is just heaven on earth. I also went to every Texas Open from 1995 to 2003, but for some reason haven't gone back for the tournament since that year. It was during that 2003 tournament that I proposed to my wife at hole #16. This year was the first year they moved the tournament away from La Cantera, over to the new TPC of San Antonio.

Yesterday was, however, the first time I've played it since I've had this blog, so I'll post a few of the best ones I have. If you're ever in San Antonio, and you have only one chance to play some golf - you must go here.

This picture is the panoramic views from the 7th tee, which stands about 100 feet above the fairway below. Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme park is in the background, most notably "The Rattler" roller coaster is one of the better wooden coasters I've ridden. This hole is also named The Rattler. The green is driveable for the longest hitters, but as you can see there are easier ways to get your par.