Author Archive

Where and how to Position a Rake: In or out of the Golf Bunker?

Posted on January 29, 2012 by in Opinion 0
Where and how to Position a Rake: In or out of the Golf Bunker?

Here’s a good question for all you lovers of the Rules of Golf and it is one that certainly had me stumped for a while; where and how do you position a rake at a bunker once you have finished playing your shot from the sand and have prepared the bunker for the next group?

My good friend Tommy Priest told me of a time when he was playing a shot into a green and slightly mishit it, the ball rolled to the side of the green, clattered into the prongs of a rake that had been left at the side of the bunker, deflecting the ball which rolled down, onto the green and into the hole. A freak occurrence this may be, but it does raise the issue of where do you store the rake when you have finished using it.

Bunker-shot-Lausanne-golf-club-switzerland

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Gorilla Golf Guru: My Christmas Golfing Wish List

Posted on November 30, 2011 by in Opinion 2
Gorilla Golf Guru: My Christmas Golfing Wish List

It is that time of year again, when golfers across the globe make their wish list of Christmas presents, most of them hoping that their wife will pick them up that superb new titanium forged driver, but safe in the knowledge that at best, you are going to receive a pair of socks with a stick-man golfer sewn into the weave.

Therefore, in keeping with the festive spirit, here’s my Christmas golfing wish list. They are not presents as such, but they are things that I think would benefit me, and fellow golfers, enormously over the coming weeks and months.

Practice-golf-balls

 

1. A couple of driving enclosures next to the first tee at golf courses

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Giroud Vins

A Golfing Lesson from a Disabled Golfer

Posted on November 9, 2011 by in Disabled 6
A Golfing Lesson from a Disabled Golfer

It is fair to say that at our local courses, coming across a fellow golfer who clearly has some kind of disability is a relatively rare phenomenon. I do know that there are locals with disabilities who play but on my all-too-rare sorties out onto the golf course to frighten the local wildlife, I seldom encounter anybody other than other able-bodied golfers.

The one marked contrast to that occurred several years ago when my brother and I were playing our local course. We had just completed the first eleven holes and were walking across from the 11th tee to the 12th, which facilitated a five minute walk across a couple of roads (our local course is in two distinct areas, separated by a small local road). As we arrived on the 12th tee, we could see a disabled golfer finishing off at the second hole just behind us.

Next-golf-course-tee

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Gorilla Golf Guru Advise: Lose the Golfing Ego and Make Par

Posted on October 26, 2011 by in Opinion 6
Gorilla Golf Guru Advise: Lose the Golfing Ego and Make Par

The two courses most local to me, and ones which I enjoy playing most frequently, are both similar in that their first two holes are relatively benign. This gentle opening is a nice warm up before you approach the third tee for the first really difficult hole of the round. I have absolutely no idea why these courses were designed this similar way, whether it was merely fate or intelligent design, but in both cases it is a quite brilliant way to begin a round of golf for the amateur.
 

Second-hole-golf course -Montreux-Switzerland

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The Golfing Dress Code: Part of Golf’s Rich Heritage or Elitist Nonsense?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by in Opinion 3
The Golfing Dress Code: Part of Golf’s Rich Heritage or Elitist Nonsense?

Here’s a quick one for you; how much of the R&A’s golfing bible The Rules of Golf, is devoted to the importance of the golfing dress code? One section? A chapter in its own right? Is it interwoven throughout the pages?

The answer is nothing, not even a single mention. There is no rule or law regarding golfing dress code in the Rules of Golf whatsoever.

Instead, what we perceive to be the “Rules of Golf” are actually more the “Rules of Golf Clubs”. There are two arguments for the implementation of a dress code on the course. The first is the line taken by golf clubs, which usually translates into something like this:

Golf dress code is a vital part of the club as it sets high standards in behaviour and appearance for all our members. Furthermore, it builds character, promotes responsibility and maintains the famous traditions of golf.

 

Golfers-on-Lausanne-golf-course
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The Ten Most Annoying Things on a Golf Course – Part II

Posted on October 13, 2011 by in Opinion 0
The Ten Most Annoying Things on a Golf Course – Part II

Part I of The Ten Most Annoying Things on a Golf Course 

 

6. Golf carts and trolleys on tees and greens.

Thankfully a rare sight nowadays is that of a golfer dragging his clubs, or a trolley or even an electric golf cart onto the green. Worse still is when they drop down their bag onto the putting surface and you know that where you wanted to aim your approach is now likely to be filled with pock-marks, dents and chunks of earth. There are those that decide to store their umbrella by sticking the pointed end into the green in between shots.

Golf-cart-Gorilla-Golf-Blog

Obviously, there are some golfers who do require carts to go on  greens, such as disabled golfers (These machines are designed to have approximately 20-40 kilograms per wheel so in no way can damage the green. They are often the same basic 3-point design as a green mower), but if you have no good reason to do so, leave your golf equipment at the side of the green or on the cart path. It’s highly unlikely they will be stolen by a passing gang of squirrels, nor will they start crying because they are not right at your side like a clinging child.

7. Temporary greens

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The Ten Most Annoying Things on a Golf Course – Part I

Posted on October 5, 2011 by in Opinion 3
The Ten Most Annoying Things on a Golf Course – Part I

What gets your blood boiling on a round of golf? Is it inner frustration, or are there external factors which can turn a pleasurable round of golf from being a stress relieving joy, into a slow descent into maddening fury? Listed below are the ten most annoying things you will come across on a golf course today.

1. Slow play

The bane of many a round of golf is when you and your partners, not to mention the 30 people behind you wait around at each hole for the four ball in front to finish. There’s the “after you Henry” groups of people who seem so intent on playing to The Rules, that they stand around applauding each and every shot, checking their yardage books, chatting about the weather, changing clubs three times before topping the shot 15 yards down the fairway to begin the process once again.

Slow-play-on-a-golf-course

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Just for Smiles Foundation