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Madill Golf - Two Sisters. One Sport. One Passion.
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Our Journey
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    The Masters 2016
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  • Home
  • Our Journey
  • People
  • Tournament Travels
    • The Masters 2016
  • Coaching
  • Other Stuff
Our Journey

Augusta’s High-Handed Helping Hand

It’s been niggling me for a while, this announcement of the grandly titled Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, hailed in some quarters as a massive breakthrough for women’s golf.  Perhaps it is.  Fred Ridley, Augusta National’s rookie chairman, who has three daughters, is by all accounts an intelligent man with his heart in the right place, who undoubtedly means well.  But did he really think through all the implications?  He’s buggered up the ANA Inspiration for a start – or at best thrown the first women’s major of the season into a bit of a tizzy.

The leading women amateurs who used to think that an invitation to Mission Hills Golf and Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, the week before the Masters was as good as it got must now think again.  Some of the leading women professionals are saying that they might apply to regain their amateur status just so they can have a chance of playing at Augusta National.  They’re only joking but their thunder has been well and truly stolen without so much as a by-your-leave.

Scott Michaux, well-informed and thoughtful, writing in the Augusta Chronicle the day after Fred Ridley’s announcement.

I don’t know how widely Ridley consulted before making his announcement but from what I’ve read Mike Whan, commissioner of the LPGA, wasn’t involved in long and detailed discussions; I’m not sure who was.  “We are always looking for new ways to benefit and impact the game,” Ridley said in his inaugural chairman’s address on the Wednesday of Masters week.  “We start with the premise and reality that we are very blessed to have the resources to do that…..I thought this was the right time to do this, right time for the women’s game.  I wanted to do this and I wanted to do it here.”

‘This’ is a 54-hole event for 72 of the top women amateurs in the world.  The first 36 holes will be played at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Augusta, a course with which I am unfamiliar, with the leading 30 players moving on to Augusta National for the final round on the Saturday before the Masters, the day before the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.  That’s a lovely event for juniors, who have the time of their lives mixing with the game’s elite and competing at a venue that has now gained iconic status.

The golfing world is in awe of Augusta, regarding it as some sort of cross between Mecca, the Vatican and the Kremlin and the danger is that the members of Augusta National, a disparate but privileged bunch, start to believe their own publicity, forgetting their humble origins and overlooking the fact that their exclusive, invitational field makes it arguably the easiest of the four majors to win – unless you’re Rory McIlroy.

Now the women are salivating at the thought that 30 of the best of them will get to play one round on the hallowed turf.   That’s 18 holes, as a tag-on, not just before the Masters itself but before the Drive, Chip and Putt.   Thank you Fred, that really helps us know our place.

Eight women – well, some of them are still girls – who will fancy their chances of making that trip to Augusta, will be heading to Quaker Ridge, Scarsdale, New York, at the beginning of June to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup.  They and their captain Elaine Farquharson-Black will be trying to retain the trophy won at a soggy Dun Laoghaire two years ago.  Winning in America is not easy.  By my reckoning, we’ve (I’m going to be shamelessly partisan here) only done it once – at Prairie Dunes in 1986 when we mangled the Americans 13-5 in the middle of Kansas in 100-degree heat (Fahrenheit in those days).  It was wonderful and I thank Diane Bailey and her team for one of the best golfing experiences of my life at a fantastic golf course that is more than worth the considerable detour.

 

Cheering GB and I to victory in Dun Laoghaire two years ago.

So good luck to Elaine and her team:  India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa), Annabell Fuller (Roehampton), Paula Grant (Lisburn), Alice Hewson (Berkhamsted), Lily May Humphreys (Stoke-by-Nayland), Sophie Lamb (Clitheroe), Shannon McWilliam (Aboyne) and Olivia Mehaffey (Royal County Down Ladies).  We’ll be cheering you on.  We’d rather not have a BBU (brave but unavailing) but would settle for a draw – there’ve only been two of those in America, at Brae Burn in 1958 and the Honors Course in 1994.

And good luck and congratulation to Suzann Pettersen, the combative Norwegian who has been one of Europe’s Solheim Cup stalwarts for many years.  She’s expecting her first child and has withdrawn from next week’s GolfSixes shindig at Centurion Club on medical advice.  “This is a very happy time for me and my family,” Pettersen said, “but my pregnancy hasn’t been the most straightforward.  I have taken the advice of my doctor and will sadly not be able to compete in GolfSixes this year, which is a real shame as I know it would have been a lot of fun.”

Carlota Ciganda, of Spain, has been drafted in to partner Mel Reid and they’re in a group that includes the formidable Thai pairing of Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.  England’s Georgia Hall and Charley Hull are also playing and they’ll be taking on their compatriots Eddie Pepperell and Matt Wallace in a needle match.  Should be worth watching, not least because there’s no hanging about in a 6-hole sprint.

Carlota Ciganda (left) and Mel Reid, Solheim Cup soulmates [Tristan Jones]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 27, 2018by Patricia
Our Journey

Flying High In South Africa

It’s hard to find something new in golf these days but I’ve just discovered something that’s going straight on to my bucket list.  I heard about it from a guy who is going to do some work on our house over the next few weeks and, knowing I was about to visit South Africa, he sent me a link to the Legend Golf & Safari Resort in Entabeni Safari Conservancy in the Waterberg mountains, three hours’ drive from Jo’burg.

You know that conversation we’ve all had at one time or another…..”What would you do if you won the lottery?”  Well, I am set to wonder no more and I may even start buying the odd ticket.  Two of my favourite things – going on safari and going golfing – are combined under one umbrella in this fabulously scenic country but here’s where my interest is really piqued.  The 18-hole golf course has each hole designed by a different designer, starting at the 1st with former Masters champion Trevor Immelman and ending with another South African, two-time US Open champion Retief Goosen.  In between there are holes designed by Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, K J Choi, Raphael Jacquelin and Padraig Harrington, to name but a few and collectively these holes make up the Signature Course.

Irresistible as that course may be, it is their 19th hole that I want to play.  The Extreme 19th is a par 3 measuring 391 yards and the tee, perched precariously on a ledge of the aptly named Hanglip Mountain, is accessible only by helicopter.  The hoped-for destination of your golf ball is a green, shaped like Africa, which sits in a valley nearly 400 metres below you.  If you’re lucky, it takes thirty seconds for your ball to find its way to the putting surface from the tee.

The longest, highest par 3 in the world. [Courtesy of Legend Golf & Safari Resort]

Anywhere in Africa will do! [Courtesy of Legend Golf & Safari Resort]

“This is the most unique spot that I’ve ever hit from in my 55 years as a pro.  It’s quite a thrill,” was the verdict of Gary Player.  Harrington – that’s him on the tee in the featured picture at the top of this piece  – was the first person ever to record a par on the hole and said, “It’s a real fun golf hole.  You can’t get over how long it takes for the ball to come down.” 

I have to admit I’d just love a go at it, notwithstanding suffering from a touch of vertigo.  And one of the really cool things is that every person who tries it has their score recorded – even the No Returns.  To date the highest score returned (apart from the NRs) is 76 but I did notice that Lynette Brooky, the talented New Zealander who used to play on tour with me, recorded a 4.  Pretty creditable, I’d say.  There have been a few birdies but no holes in one – yet.  The resort says the first person to get a hole in one will receive $1million.  Another good reason to have a go.

Postscript:-

A few weeks ago I wrote about my goal of climbing Table Mountain, which was quite a challenge not least because of a few health problems last year.  Well, I’m happy to report that the challenge was met head on – and attained!  Thanks to all of you who inspired and helped.  You know who you are – we’ll have a glass when next I see you. [No water for me – ed.]

 

The start of the climb and the work is done… but is it enough?!

 

It is!

April 27, 2018by Maureen

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