Duffer's Dream Tour at Dragons Fire

Considering we played the course before almost anyone in the world, the course was in decent shape. The greens were the slowest I have ever played on but most of the fairways were playable and the sand in the bunkers were nice.

One thing that does concern me about this course is the pace of play. With eight minute tee times, a short Par 4 to start followed by a tough Par 3, it is a recipe for a long day. I was proud of the Tour members and how well we maintained the pace of play, always keeping up to the group ahead.

Jason Gibbons looks to be trying to distance himself from the pack in the Norman flight with another great round of 75. Close on his heels this week was Tony Albino who tied for low net with a gross score of 80. In the Weir flight, Bill Rushton shot an impressive 93 with flight leaders Gaffney and Warner right behind. In his first season on Tour and playing golf really, Ryan Wilson carded an incredible net 72 to finish in second place and already qualify for the season ending Tour Championship.

Some notable shots from this weekend: Jason Gibbons had to chip back onto the fairway on the 4th hole but ended up dunking his 3rd shot from the fairway for an unlikely birdie. Vince Bull, a Weekday Tour member playing on Saturday, chipped in for birdie on the 15th hole from another tee deck !!

The Weekday Tour saw long time Tour member Heiner Rogge post his best round ever, an 87 and easily took the low net win. Low Gross honours were shared by Nils Granholm and Larry Withyman at 86.

This day also saw its share of remarkable shots. One that won't soon be forgotten was the player who hit the wrong ball from the middle of the fairway. On the Par 5 thirteenth hole, three of the four in the group all hit great drives in the fairway. On approaching the balls, I naturally thought I was the shorter one and proceeded to hit the ball just short of the green. After hitting the shot, I walked up to the ball ahead and realized it was mine. I declared the two stroke penalty, hit my correct ball and ended up with a 7, which would have been a fine par if I hadn't of hit the wrong ball. Let the needling begin.

Next up is one of my favourite courses of all time, Grey Silo. Check the tee times that will be posted tomorrow to make sure your name is on it as you don't want to miss this gem of a course.

The U.S. Open on Sunday

The USGA got it right. The set up at Torrey pines was tough but fair, there were par fives that players could use to mount a charge and change the leaderboard with, gasp, birdies. Once again Tiger led a major championship going into the final round, in which he has never lost, 14-0.

It looked early in the round, as Tiger started double-bogey, bogey, that his time had finally come to lose one. Westwood seemed on cruise control and Mediate was there too. Suddenly, over par seemed to be a possible winning score and Mike Weir gave us Canucks something to think about for a bit there.

As the back nine unfolded it was apparent it was a three horse race between Tiger, Lee and Rocco. Not one of those players took control of the Championship and they all had their chances. Number 13 came into play again but for all the wrong reasons. Mediate missed a short putt for birdie and Woods and Westwood had brain cramps in trying to reach or get near the green in two, on a 614 yard hole, and put their shots into a lateral hazard, each dropping a shot.

With Rocco in at -1, both Tiger and Westwood needed to birdie the last hole to force a playoff on Monday. Westwood landed in a fairway bunker on the left side of the fairway, Tiger went into one on the right side. Both laid up on their second shots with Tiger going into the rough. A very good third by Tiger left him with about a 12 footer for birdie. Westwood was first to go and just missed his birdie and it set the stage for Tiger. In this age of "reality" t.v. nothing can compare to an all or nothing moment like this. Make the putt and you continue on, miss it and you lose.
And in typical Tiger fashion, he sank the putt.

Now we can all call in sick tomorrow so we can see what they will do for the encore.

Watching the U.S. Open this Weekend

Thank goodness the in-laws have a satellite and an understanding of my obsession. My Father-in-law cannot fathom why anyone would want to watch “paint dry” as he calls it. But on Saturday, Tiger, Rocco and Westwood showed all of us why we are riveted to golf’s major championships.

Even Mickelson’s nine on the par 5 thirteenth reminds us of how we all can be humbled by the game at any time. Tiger Woods looked ordinary for most of the day on Saturday until the Par 5 thirteenth. After hitting an awful tee shot way right, a spectacular second, that he almost holed, ended up some 50 feet from the hole, still on the green. What followed will be on every hi-light reel on every newscast across the world. Yes, he made the putt for eagle.

Next hole was a bogey and on seventeen, a relatively short par four, Tiger once again hit his tee shot way right and his approach in the rough on the side of a greenside bunker. Role the video once again as Tiger holes his chip shot on a bounce. As if urged on by the applause for an encore, Tiger hit two magnificent shots to reach the par 5 18th in two and again made the eagle putt to lead the U.S. Open by a shot going into the final round. Even on one good leg, Tiger finds a way to elevate himself above the field and looks poised to do it once again.

Let’s just hope the traffic coming back from cottage country are golf fans and allow me to make it back to watch the final round.

It had to be this Weekend

What with the third event now in the books for both the Weekend and Weekday Tours and having to calculate everyone's handicaps, flights, net scores - for each event and year to date AND The U.S. Open started today, my wife informs me that she has "volunteered" us to help her parents move this weekend !!

Now I am not saying that I wouldn't love to help my in-laws, who have lived in the same house for 30 years, cart their stuff 200 kms to their oasis in the north. But I have things to do !! (see above) - I may have even snuck in a round tomorrow. However, they want to try and beat the traffic and leave early Friday morning.

What does this mean to you, The Duffer's Dream Tour Member. It means that I will be taking the laptop north with me to finish the website updates but cannot upload them to the website until I get home Sunday night. They don't have internet up north don't ya know.

Sit tight and check back here on Monday and I will have all the dirt on the events that were this past week. We had everything from miraculous chip ins to some knuckle head playing the wrong ball, from the middle of the fairway no less !! He will live in infamy come Monday.

Innerkip Highlands Golf Club

If there was a template of how to build a golf course, Innerkip Highlands would be it. Over the years, the owners have continually made changes and improvements to the golf course that only enhance the enjoyment of the game.

Always a local favourite, it seems the secret is out and Innerkip is no longer the hidden gem it once was. Weekday tee times are becoming scarce, never mind weekends yet the pace of play is fantastic, under 4.5 hours, almost always.

The most recent and most dramatic changes to the couse have come this past off season. There is a new routing, a huge new pond that comes into play on three holes and a waterfall. The first change golfers will notice is the lengthening of the Par 3 second. It used to be 100 yards or so, but they have moved the green back some 30-40 yards making it a little more difficult than the pushover it was.

The most dramatic change is the large pond that has been created with a stunning waterfall. The pond comes into play on holes thirteen (17), sixteen (13) and seventeen (14) - the number in brackets was the old back nine layout.

Considering these changes, including a pond, three new greens and two new fairways, were done since last October, the course is in fantastic shape. If you liked Innerkip before, you owe it to yourself to go back and fall in love all over again.

Mr. A's Coffee Service Shootout

First off, I would like to thank our sponsor Angelo Simeonidis for his generous donation of gourmet coffee packages to all our participants. In addition, the flight winners will also receive a prize package once the handicaps and flights have been determined.

Windy, tough conditions were the order of day on the Weekend Tour at the Oaks of St. George. The toughest hole of the day was clearly the Par 5 6th, playing into the wind, with an average score of 6.6 . Kudos needs to go to Mitch Oldenburgh who birdied number six and pocketed a skin to boot. Special mention should go to Trevor Gaffney who birdied the always tough 10th hole.

The low round of the day, by six shots no less, was recorded by Jason Gibbons (78). This is Jason's second year on Tour. His previous low round was 75 at, you guessed it, Oaks of St. George, must be something in the water. Honorable mention should go to Michael Quart. It wasn't his lowest score on Tour but in the tough conditions his 91 has to rank as one of his better rounds.

The Weekday Tour faired a little better what with the weather cooperating. Number six was still the toughest hole of the day and Jack Bolzan recorded the only birdie of the day on that hole. I would personally like to than Heiner Rogge for not playing in skins as he and I made the only Pars on #7. John Coy and Charles Orchard picked up three and two skins respectively.

Nils Granholm continued his stellar play and won Low Gross with an 82. Three shots ahead of John Coy and a resurgent Jim Hunter. Mr. Hunter has claimed for two seasons now that he belongs in the Norman Flight and now I can see why, way to go Jim.

In the "I have a good excuse" category, Charles Orchard struggled to an 88. When asked about his round, Charles replied that he had just finished a gruelling three day golf outing representing a Toronto Golf Forum (Toronto Golf Nuts) in their annual Ryder Cup match against an Ottawa Golf Forum. TGN did beat Ottawa to take the Cup and as I understand it Charles was one of the stars of the team, so kudos to Charles and the rest of the TGN crew for their hard fought victory.

International Pairs Qualifier

Over the past five years, the International Pairs competition has become the fastest growing golf event both in Canada, and in more than 30 other countries around the world. It is a handicapped tournament for amateur golfers. It is a two-person event held at golf clubs across Canada with the winning pair from each club advancing to the Canadian Final. Winners from the Canadian Finals then travel to St. Andrews, Scotland to represent Canada in the World Final ...all expenses paid.

We're getting an early start on promoting our International Pairs Qualifying Tournament. We expect at least 25 teams this year with the possibility of 50 teams and sending TWO teams to the Canadian Finals. (One team for every 25 teams entered)

The Canadian International Pairs final is a two day event on September 29th & 30th at The Raven at Lora Bay, site of the 2007 Telus Skins game and The 2008 Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic as part of the Nationwide Tour.

Winners of OUR qualifier receive entry into the Canadian Finals, overnight accommodations, dinner, prizes and the chance to represent Canada in the World Finals at St. Andrews Scotland. ALL AT NO EXTRA COST !! Just pay the entry fee to the qualifier and winners don't pay any additional costs (maybe some souvenirs).

Our qualifier will be held Saturday July 26 at Victoria Park East starting at 10:00am. All present and PAST Duffer's Dream Tour members and their guests are eligible to compete. The qualifier is a Two-person Net Best Ball format, verifiable handicaps will be required for non-Tour participants.

If you would like to know more about the qualifier and how to register please e-mail us at duffersdream@sympatico.ca

Annika Sorenstam Announces her Retirement

At the ripe old age of 37, Annika Sorenstam announced she is retiring at the end of the 2008 season. Annika made the announcement during a press conference in New Jersey, site of this week's Sybase Classic on the LPGA Tour.

Annika's record is well known, the first female golfer to shoot 59, 72 LPGA victories (3rd all time), 10 majors (2nd all time), 8 player of the year honors and competed on the PGA Tour at the Colonial. Although she missed the cut by four shots, her demeanour and class was evident throughout the highly publicized and scrutinized event.

Sorenstam has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and will be enshrined into, agruably, the hardest to qualify for, the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. In 2008, she already has three wins, including last week at Kingsmill with world number one, Lorena Ochoa, in the field.

Annika said she wanted to devote herself to other interests and wants to start a family with soon to be husband Mike Magee. Sorenstam also has a line of clothing, a golf academy in Florida and an ongoing golf course design business.

Sorenstam has been the driving force behind the success of the LPGA in the century. Her domination of the sport has been rivalled only by Tiger Woods and now the reigns have been handed over to the new kids on the block. Don't be surprised to see Annika regain her number one ranking this year and go out on top.

The Duffer's Dream Tour - Weekday Edition

The first round of the Weekday Tour got underway today. The weather cooperated nicely as the light rain finished 15 minutes before our first tee time. With a smaller field, the gamblers were out in full force, only three players didn't participate in skins and a total of eight were won.

Low round honors were shared by Charles Orchard and John Coy who each carded an 83. Only one shot back was Nils Granholm who recorded his second lowest score in his four year Tour career. Nils' lowest was a 77 (in 2005) at Innerkip Highlands which beat me by a shot, but we won't go into that.

And in a tale of two nines, Tour rookie and my playing partner today, Ray Doucet shot an opening front of 52 and followed it up with a nice 41 on the back, for a nice recovery.

Duffer's Dream Tour - Round 1 Recap

The Duffer's Dream Tour 2008 season got underway at The Cairn Croft Niagara Classic at Peninsula Lakes on Saturday. While most players were trying to find their games, four of the Tour members were trying to find their way to the course. After traffic delays forced the entire foursome to find an alternate route to the course, they called Penlakes to get directions, they arrived about 20 minutes late for their tee time. Thanks to Peninsula Lakes for accomodating them and they even had time to warm up prior to their round.

However, the fun didn't end there. Because of the delay in teeing off there was three pay as you play groups between them and the Tour. After finishing the Hillside nine, the starter, who was not the morning starter, instructed the group to the Quarry nine instead of our back nine at the Orchard. The news gets better, one of the group carded a days best 81, but on the wrong 18 holes !! After much angst the Commissioner made the ruling that a two stoke penalty for each hole played incorrectly, to a maximum of four strokes, had to be applied to the round. The one bright spot is the player in question did win a skin on the correct front nine and won $65 for his troubles.

The low round of the day belonged to Greg Watson who carded an 82. Special mention should go to John Warner who bested last year's round at Penlakes by 8 strokes for a 92. Although handicaps will be announced after the third round, John should be a contender for the low net win.

Thundering Waters

After bursting on to the scene with much fanfare and an attempt by the course's signature designer to hit one over the falls, Thundering Waters is still trying to find its way in a busy Niagara golfing market. The course itself has gone through major changes since it first opened in the fall of 2005, mostly due to condos being built on what was the first and second holes and the tenth. It does seem strange for a major re-design in only three years but course staff insist that was always the intention.

I first visted the course in the fall of 2005 covering the Candian Tour's Niagara Pro-Am and found that the course was not quite ready for prime time. The tees were hard as a rock and golfers had to use one to get their tee in the ground. The fairways on one and two were sparsely covered with grass but the layout and the greens were very good.

Jump ahead to my visit this week and things have changed dramatically. One would think that with John Daly associated with a golf course that the primary focus would be hitting it a long way off the tee. But the exact opposite is true at Thundering Waters. Precision off the tee is paramount to scoring well as is hitting to the correct side of the pin. Most greens sit above the fairway with fall offs to collection areas and if you short side yourself, getting up and down is going to be difficult. It is not a long course but it is a shot makers course.

The course is in very good condition for April and most of the greens have wintered well. There is one temp green in play at the moment but will be gone in another month. The layout is a bit confusing at times with the changes but can be navigated as long as you're paying attention. The Clubhouse is nicely appointed with good locker room facilities and a very nice grill room. All the carts have a GPS system that give eact yardage to the flag from anywhere on the hole plus distances to bunkers, hazards, etc...

Green fees are in line with other courses in the area that offer similar amenities and the customer service is excellent. From the bag drop, to the Pro Shop and on course staff they are all smiles. For more information and directions visit their website at http://www.thunderingwaters.com

Decorso has South Georgia on his mind

It was deja vu all over again on the Nationwide Tour. Bryan DeCorso held a one stroke lead going into the final round on the Nationwide Tour. If that sounds familiar, it is because DeCorso was leading last week by one shot going into the final round where he ended up in a Tie for fourth.

This week, at The South Georgia Classic, Bryan DeCorso looked in control during the final round. He had a brief scare after Bogeying the 10th that cut his lead to one but he quickly got that back with a birdie on 11. He cruised in from there posting the low round of the day (69).

Bryce Molder made the biggest move of the day, also posting 69, by firing at the flags trying to catch DeCorso but ended up in a tie for second with Greg Owen. The only other Canadian to play the weekend, Brad Fritsch, finished in a tie for 66th.

This is Bryan's first win on the Nationwide Tour and the Guelph native's first win since, since, let's just say its been a long, long time. He has toiled on the mini tours and has quit the game more than once. But in 2005, he dedicated himself to playing full time but his break through came just three short weeks ago. Bryan sought the help of Greg Towne, an Orlando based swing coach, and hasn't looked back. He felt so good about his game that he called Bill Paul, Director of The RBC Canadian Open, for an exemption. After this weekend, I expect we'll see Bryan DeCorso playing at Glen Abbey in July.

John Daly's Fashion Faux Pas

I heard John Daly was back in the news and went to check out what all the fuss was about. Apparently John has lost his apparel sponsorship. When you watch this video you'll see what I mean.

It's too bad his career has turned into a sideshow. Here's hoping he can turn himself around enough to get back out on the PGA Tour full time.

Watching Golf on Sunday

I watched the final round of The EDS Byron Nelson today and what a finish !! Over the last few holes Adam Scott and Ryan Moore traded birdies with Scott needing to birdie 18 to force a playoff. He put his approach to about 10 feet and made the putt. The play off went on for three holes with both players having a chance to end it until Scott made a 48 foot bomb on the 18th green (3rd Playoff hole) to win it.

I tuned in to Golf Central to see that Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer had to settle The Stanford International Pro-Am in a playoff as well. Sorenstam won it on the 1st playoff hole when Creamer missed a short putt for par. This is Sorenstam's 71st career victory.

A disappointing finish for Canadian Bryan DeCorso who entered the Nationwide's Henrico County Open tied for the lead going into the final round. But a 74 put him two shots out of a playoff with Henrik Bjornstad and eventual playoff winner Greg Chalmers. DeCorso did finish in a tie for fourth for his best Nationwide Tour finish and now has some success to build on.

The Champions Tour came down to the final hole on Sunday as well as TomWatson and Andy North hung on to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf over the team of Stadler and Sluman.
Even the Canadian Tour came down to the final hole in Mexico where John Ellis made birdie on the 72nd hole to beat Canadian Wes Heffernan at the Corona Mazatlan Mexican PGA Championship.

And finally, in a feel good story, Darren Clarke won his first tournament since losing his wife in 2006 to cancer. Clarke had a two stroke lead with three to play but Bogies on 16 and 17 put him tied at the top. Clarke dug deep and made a 40 foot bomb for birdie on 18 and the victory.

All five tournaments either went to a playoff or were won on the last hole, very exciting stuff and a good day to be a golf fan.

Lakeview Golf Club

My first round of the season was at a course, that in 25 years golfing, I had never played before. Lakeview is a wonderful, city owned course, in Mississauga. It has hosted The Canadian Open and truly is a bargain.
At this time of year most courses are just opening after a long winter and need time to get into shape. That was the case on many of the greens at Lakeview, they were dried out in spots and bumpy. The fairways were very green and in good condition as were the tee boxes. The bunkers were playable with the right amount of sand.

The Customer Service was incredible. I was late for my tee time so the Pro Shop called the Marshall who let me play the first hole but "chauffeured" me to my ball, allowing me to complete the 1st hole and catch up to my playing partner. As if that wasn't enough, after discovering my PW was still in my trunk, the Marshall offered and went and got it for me !!

Lakeview is not an overly long course but accuracy over brute force is the name of the game here. The tips are 6340 yards, whites at 6000 yards and the forward tees are 5193 playing to a Par 71 with a course and slope rating close to scratch (70.0/121). With rates during the week starting at $58 and $68 on weekends ($10 less until May long weekend), you had better book your tee time early. GPS carts are available but the course is a fairly easy walk. Lakeview is truly one of the best bargains in Ontario.

First Round of the Season !!

I took advantage of the great weather yesterday and played my first round of the season. It was not how I like to start however: I arrived late for my tee time, so my playing partner had already teed off. The Pro Shop informed me he was on the 1st green and that the Marshall would drive me to catch up. The Marshall actually let me play the first hole and drove me in his cart for the first hole, great customer service.
However, I am now REALLY rushed, barely enough time to stretch, no range, no chipping, no putting; not the recipe for a great round.
At the 2nd green, I realize that I have left my PW in my trunk. On the 3rd hole the Marshall came by and when told of my predicament, he immediately offered to go and retrieve it for me. I had my PW before I reached the 4th tee.
At this point I knew keeping score was not a good idea and started concentrating on hitting solid shots. This seemed to work as I had a decent back nine. The greens were bumpy and had quite a bit of winter kill but the rest of the course was in good condition and better than I thought it would be in April. Check out my next post for a review of this course.

Tiger Woods out 4-6 weeks

It was announced on Tiger's website today that the World's number one golfer would be out 4-6 weeks due to arthroscopic knee surgery performed Tuesday. It is the same knee that he has had two previous operations on, one in 2002 and again in 2004. Recovery from this type of surgery is expected to be 4-6 weeks.
This would mean he would miss The Player's Championship but should be ready in time to compete in The U.S. Open.

Spring has Sprung

For most of us in Southern Ontario, The Masters marks the countdown to courses awakening from their long hibernation. Some of the lucky few have already started their season early by heading south in March and April and took advantage of a strong loonie.

For me, this marks the beginning of an online journey that is starting with this Blog. In the coming months, I am hoping to add a regular weekly online radio show. For now it will be the Blog, commenting on things from the world of golf, course reviews, interviews and tips to help lower your scores.

If you read my profile, you know that I also run The Duffer's Dream Tour and we are still accepting memberships. The first tournament is on Saturday May 10 at Peninsula Lakes Golf Club. It is a fun but competitive league where golfers play with and against golfers of similar ability for points, pride and some prizes.


I am heading to the driving range tomorrow for my first swings of the season and will report back on how I did and how sore I probably will be.