PGA- Hits and Memories

November's Tour Tales and True article harks back to the mid 90's and an unusual run-in at the Australian PGA Championship.

A Club of One

"The taste of extraordinary privilege is rarely savoured, and for the few who’ve momentarily dined at this table, it’s a flavour likely to prove both addictive and tantalisingly out of reach."

Player of the Year 2009

In Sydney now for the 2009 Australian Open. Today was taken up with shooting 'The Pro Shop' for tomorrow night and grabbing as many interviews as possible with the array of stars on show. We managed to grab Steve Bowditch, Michael Campbell, Stephen Leaney, Greg Chalmers and a bunch of others which will be shown in weeks to come.

Tonight, a quick trip into the city to Ottoman Cuisine for the Golf Digest Player of the Year dinner. Geoff Ogilvy was a deserved winner, and being the classy guy that he is, turned up on the night to receive his award. He gave a great interview as well, a credit to himself and the game of golf.

The food at Ottoman was very nice. Mod Oz with a Turkish twist. Aside from this positive impression, the other thought I left with was that the phenomenon of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is showing some cracks around the edges. Another faceless, characterless, under-ripe and overly acidic Marlborough savvy as the wine of the night, and the default position of simply accepting these features as a part of quality wine will not go on forever. A good night however, with the company and professionalism of the production top notch, along with an excellent MC role performed by Luke Elvy of FOX.

The Next Level

Well, the Masters is gone, and it must be said that regardless of what you thought about Tiger's 3 million buck appearance fee it would be hard to argue that he didn't bring value for money.

Record crowds, great TV ratings, a boon for Victorian tourism and a lot of people talking about golf once again. What the lasting effect of it is we will have to wait and see, but he has given things a shot in the arm and one badly needed.

This months article is a story about the fine line that separates success from failure in professional golf, and the tightrope that many people walk in trying to cement a future in an extremely competitive field of endeavour.

It is mainly about a talented guy named Stuart Bouvier, but in reality I could have substituted any number of outstanding players who are out there grinding away trying to take their game to the next level in the face of insurmountable odds.

When Norman ruled the World

In Golf Digest this month, a look at the Masters of old, the man who made the tournament his, and the approaching visit of Tiger Woods for the 2009 event in November at Kingston Heath.

The Exchange

Each month, Golf Digest poses a challenge for two of its writers to debate, dubbed "The Exchange". This month, I had the task of going up against senior writer Rohan Clarke (senior in experience, not years) defending the Ryder Cup as a spectacle against the Presidents Cup. We got stuck in.