Current News & Conditions

The Sun shone - on half of us.  The other half were kept in the dark about where our games had gone.  Round 1 of the  Partners' Best Ball tournament pitted us against opponents and our own swings.   Last year's champions were defeated and the day's big win was posted by a new pairing, Sakala/McNaughton.  More results on the PBB page.

We also got our first hint of just how nice the course could be in good conditions.  The greens, almost healed from the aeration, were fast and firm.  How about that pin position on #2?  Anyone past the hole was lucky to keep his putt on the green.  As things dry out they won't be able to use placement very often.    Even #6 is starting to be puttable - not that you can get on the green very easily, but once you're there it is possible to sink a scoresaver.  I think we'll have to find a way to move this hole even farther up in the handicap rankings.  It's a bear.

And on a personal note - I have yet to hit #7 from the back tee.  How far is that anyway? With a little wind it just seems too far.  I can go over the back or plug it in the trap, but can't seem to find the club that stays on.  Last year a wedge/9 iron, this year it could be a hybrid.  

Faster greens, farther pins - so far this season, it seems like the course is winning.  Better go back next week and whomp it.

   This Week At A Glance

From the First Tee	Saturday, May 14th	Matches This Week
	First Tee Time: 5:40 Weekly: Birdie Master Forecast: 60's & Showers	PBB Round 1:      Eisenberg/Greenberg vs      Power/DiLeo

Last week I recommended checking out Bill Pennington's section in the New York Times.  On Wednesday the 9th he made the front page with a non-tournament golf story.  I haven't seen that, well, ever.

A Golf Ball That Won’t Slice Comes With a Catch: It’s Illegal
By BILL PENNINGTON Published in the New York Times: May 9, 2011

 EDGEWATER, N.J. — Ducks quack, dogs bark, cab drivers honk and golfers slice. Among the basic truths of the planet: 80 percent of golfers cannot hit their tee shots where they aim.  But what if there were a golf ball that went only straight?

“That would be a miracle,” Dion Cooper, 26, of Brooklyn, said as he swatted balls last week at the Edgewater Golf Range in northern New Jersey.  Mr. Cooper was hitting his driver toward the Manhattan skyline, the balls tailing off in the familiar arc of the classic golf slice. Then he was handed the new Polara golf ball and took a healthy swat.  “Straight as an arrow,” he yelped with a mix of awe and surprise. For the next five minutes, he rarely hit a ball crooked.

A golf ball that won’t slice? It sounds like an old joke: guy invents a ball that won’t sink in water hazards, then loses it in the woods. It sounds too good to be true, sacrilege to the golf ethos of eternal struggle.  Or, as Mr. Cooper asked, “Is this magic?”

It is physics, not magic, but there is, of course, a catch. The Polara ball has an irregular dimple pattern that means it does not conform to golf’s official rules. The ball, which is designed to reduce slices and hooks by 75 percent or more, would be illegal to use in the Masters, for example, or any other competition, local or otherwise, sanctioned by the United States Golf Association.   read more...

Sneaking in a mid-week round our own Larry McNaughton captured the 3rd green in all its spring glory.  Thanks, UnkaLarry.