Quiet on the Golf Front

Things have been ridiculously busy on the home and business front of late, so blogging has fallen by the wayside. And it is likely to be that way for a while really, I'm heading off to Sth Africa to Haskell Vineyards to do some work for a few weeks so the schedule is flat out for the forseeable future.

After Sth Africa though I am off to Thailand for the Thailand Open, held in Pattaya this year, and then the last part of the ONE Asia season kicks off in earnest with a lot of action through September, October and November.

I'll keep my eyes and ears open for anything that is happening in and around the game in the meantime.

The Open Championship 2010- Round 1

It's here. The biggest golf tournament of the year. The best. The one that every golf lover wants to attend, and every pro wants to win. I still look forward to it every year, and it's about the only time now that I feel a slight pang of jealousy for the guys who have the privilege of teeing it up.

I played in the 1997 and 1998 Open's at Troon and Birkdale and they are two of the fondest golfing memories that I have. And I have a feeling that this year may throw up an unusual winner- no real rationale for it, just one of those hunches.

It is going to be a great week.

The Year of the Kid

If the golfing year of 2009 was defined by a late night car crash in a moneyed Florida enclave, what moniker will be assigned to 2010? With the emergence of a raft of precociously talented youngsters, chances are it will be remembered as "The Year of the Kid".
This months Golf Digest article can be read here.

"You know, for everything in life, there is always a beginning and there is always an end"

Golf writing may be under seige at the moment, but there seems no end to the wonderful array of talent still prepared to apply themselves to the noble art.

And it is always good to stumble upon a brilliant piece of writing that cuts to the core of the value's that this great game has been founded upon. Passion, tradition, resolve and endeavour are a few of them. So is tragedy, an element explored beautifully in this story from the U.K's Daily Telegraph.

Golfers doin' the HAKA!

A great moment at the end of the Indonesia Open on the weekend, as a group of Kiwi golfers in the field paid respect to Michael Hendry's great win by greeting him with the traditional Maori 'Haka' as he walked off the 18th green.

Great win, great week. Expect to hear more about and from Michael Hendry in the near future.

Billionaires Row Pt II

More of the 'other half' alongside the 17th fairway at Damai Indah Golf, the Pantai Indah Kapuk course.

Billionaires Row

Currently at the Indonesia Open in Jakarta, and couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures of the houses surrounding the course this week. The local lore suggests that these houses aren't even lived in, which is mind boggling on any number of levels given the size and opulence of these modern day palaces.

The final round is about to tee off here. Kiwi Michael Hendry leads Liang Wenchong by one, and has the chance to fundamentally change his career path by playing well over the next 5 hours.

The Open Championship 2010

I still get excited every year by the thought of The Open drawing closer. The greatest golf Championship on the planet deserves to be held in such regard, and my memories of playing in the 1997 and 1998 Open's remain amongst the fondest reminiscences that I have.

I love this picture, and what it represents. Only two weeks to go!