HK Golfer August 2010 by Times International Creation Ltd

HKGolfer

HK Golfer Clubhouse: Tesla Roadster, Cartier and MB&F watches in review

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HONG KONG GOLF ASSOCIATION ISSUE 47

HKGOLFER.COM

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2010

$40

RYDER CUP PREVIEW

GMAC's Pebble Beach Breakthrough DISPLAY UNTIL OCTOBER 15

PLUS: SOUTH AFRICA TRAVEL, THE OPEN CHAMPS

contents

HK Golfer

Issue 47

32 On the Cover:

Irish eyes are smiling. Graeme McDowell with the US Open trophy. (Photo by AFP)

Features

Plus…

34 | A-Z of the Ryder Cup

13 | Tee Time – The Brand

What do Peter Alliss and Ignacio Garrido have in common? What is the ‘War of the Wardrobes’? And who on earth is Alf Padgham? You’ll find all the answers in HK Golfer’s guide to the Ryder Cup By HK Golfer Editors

40 | Captain Fantastic

In spite of the weight of expectation, Colin Montgomerie will not be allowing those famous shoulders of his to slump during Ryder Cup week. We’ll be seeing the best of him during at Celtic Manor By Lewine Mair

50 | Pethes Makes It Three

Joe Pethes overcame a sluggish start to win the MacGregor Hong Kong Seniors Close Championship in brilliant style at Fanling By HK Golfer Editors

58 | South Africa: By George It’s Good

George, situated on the picturesque Garden Route, is home to some of South Africa’s finest courses. HK Golfer reviews By Alex Jenkins

64 | Design Q&A: Martin Hawtree

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

August/September 2010

HK Golfer sits down with the noted architect to discuss his ongoing work at the Hong Kong Golf Club, his results at Royal Birkdale and St Andrews, and his much publicized new course – The Trump International Scotland Interview by Alex Jenkins

Cartier’s quest for luxury supremacy: how a sprawling new facility and nine exceptional timepieces attest to the brand’s excellence By Evan Rast

18 | Tee Time – In Review

A close look at MB&F’s Horological Machine No. 4 “Thunderbolt” By Ariel Adams

20 | Driving Range

HK Golfer gets behind the wheel of the Tesla Roadster, the world’s first electric supercar By Ben Oliver

24 | 19th Hole

A review of Otto e Mezzo, Umberto Bombana’s new Alexandra House establishment By Birdie Golf

26 | Liquid Assets

As wine drinkers have come to identify wines increasingly by grape rather than region, HK Golfer looks at the re-emergence of long neglected varietals By Robin Lynam

74 | Final Shot – My Favourite Course

Internationally-renowned architect Brian Curley, whose portfolio includes Mission Hills Hainan, recalls his childhood memories playing Cypress Point By Alex Jenkins

HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golfer Mailbag

HK Golfer

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HONG KONG GOLF ASSOCIATION AUG/SEP 2010 • Issue 47

Danang Direct?

I thoroughly enjoyed your story on the two new courses in Danang. They really look tremendously good. I have been to Vietnam on many occasions, and while there are some very enjoyable courses, these two look like the cream of the crop. I hope a direct f light from Hong Kong can be established soon.

Yawn, it’s the US Open

A m I the only reader who f inds watching the US Open a hugely dull experience? While Graeme McDowell was a very worthy champion – he was impressive under pressure and was the only player in the field who didn’t finish over par – I feel that the way the USGA sets up their courses is detrimental to the game. I see enough bogeys and worse at my club on the weekend without having to tune into America’s national championship.

Marcus Chan Pokfulam Editor’s reply: Thank you, Marcus. We can’t confirm it yet, but there is a strong chance that one of the major airlines in the region will commence direct charter flights between Hong Kong and Danang in the very near future. Fingers crossed that it goes ahead; to have a brand new golfing destination, barely two hours away, would be excellent news.

New Watch Editor Announcement We are delighted to announce that Ariel Adams is the new Watch Editor of HK Golfer. Adams is a world renowned timepiece journalist and the most popular watch writer on the internet. In addition to his work with HK Golfer, Adams publishes the luxury watch review website, aBlogtoRead.com

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

Playing Editor: Jean Van de Velde Contributing Editors: Lewine Mair, Ariel Adams, Robin Lynam, Evan Rast Published by:

TIMES INTERNATIONAL CREATION Times International Creation Limited 20/F, Central Tower 28 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong Phone: +852 2159-9427 Fax: +852 3007-0793 Publisher: Charles McLaughlin Art Director: Mimi Cheng Office Manager: Moira Moran Accounting Manager: Christy Wong Advertising For advertising information, please contact: ads@hkgolfer.com For purchasing information contact: sales@hkgolfer.com For subscription information contact: subs@hkgolfer.com Hong Kong Golf Association Suite 2003, Olympic House 1 Stadium Path, So Kon Po Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Stephen Francis Tai Tam Editor’s reply: We see your point Stephen – and it’s well made – but we actually quite like the pros suffering for once. Now that Augusta National is back yielding birdies and eagles, the fact that there’s one major that sees the best players in the world record the kind of scores that we recreational players do is somehow enjoyable. Obviously this view isn’t shared by everyone, but never mind: enjoy your bottle of Louis Roederer!

Editor: Alex Jenkins email: alex.jenkins@hkgolfer.com Editorial Assistant: Joey Mok

Phone (General): +852 2504-8659 Fax: +852 2845-1553 Phone (Handicaps): +852 2504-8197 Fax: +852 2504-8198 Email: hkgolf@hkga.com handicaps@hkga.com HK GOLFER is printed in Hong Kong.

We Want to Hear from You! Have something to say about an article in HK Golfer or a topic affecting golf in our area? Send your thoughts and comments to letters@hkgolfer.com. Please also include your address, contact number, email and HKGA #. The winner of the best letter will receive a bottle of Champagne Louis Roederer courtesy of Links Concept. HK Golfer is available onboard all Cathay Pacific and Dragonair First and Business Class cabins and in Singapore Airlines First and Business Class lounges.

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Major Focus Last Man Standing It had been 40 years since a European had won the US Open. But down the stretch on a breezy Sunday afternoon at Pebble Beach, after Tiger, Phil and Ernie had let their chances fall by the wayside, only two men had a shot at victory: Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and Gregory Havret of France. McDowell (pictured here lagging his approach putt at the par-five eighteenth) did just enough to edge out Havret with a final round 74, the highest last day score by a winner since Andy North prevailed in 1985. CONTINUED OVERLEAF...

Photograph by AFP

McDowell, known as GMAC to his European Tour chums, was the only player who didn't finish the event in black numbers. His winning level-par total of 284 – a score that would have delighted the powers that be at the USGA – was sufficient to claim the first-place cheque of US$1,350,000. As befits America's national championship – without question the most gruelling tournament on the international golf calendar – it was a frustrating day for many players. 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson, arguably the PGA Tour's longest hitter, imploded after a triple bogey at the second and a double on the third. Ernie Els, who led for most of the first nine, struggled around Pebble's fiendishly difficult coastal holes, racking up bogeys like they were going out of fashion. Phil Mickelson knocked in a birdie putt from off the green at the first, but soon spiraled out of contention. While Tiger Woods, whose brilliant birdie-birdie finish to his third round the night before vaulted him back into championship contention, failed to find any rhythm to his swing nor touch with his putter to slide back down the leaderboard and into a share of fourth. All of which suited McDowell absolutely fine. While it would be wrong to suggest that the 30-year-old was entirely nerveless over the tumbling fairways and tiny, angled greens of the Monterey Peninsula layout, the hard and fast conditions at Pebble suited the Ulsterman down

Monterey Moments: Tiger Woods (top) reacts after nailing a spectacular three-wood into the eighteenth green of his third round; 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson (bottom) attempts a shot lefthanded after finding himself in trouble at the second hole on the final day. Johnson would make a triple bogey at the hole.

The US Open

Pebble Beach Golf Links, June 17-20, 2010 1 2 3 4= 6= 8= 12= 14= 16= 10

Graeme McDOWELL (NIR) Gregory HAVRET (FRA) Ernie ELS (RSA) Phil MICKELSON (USA) Tiger WOODS (USA) Matt KUCHAR (USA) Davis LOVE III (USA) Brandt SNEDEKER (USA) Martin KAYMER (GER) Alex CEJKA (GER) Dustin JOHNSON (USA) Sean O’HAIR (USA) Tim CLARK (RSA) Ben Curtis (USA) Justin LEONARD (USA) Peter HANSON (SWE) Scott LANGLEY (USA) Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) Jim FURYK (USA) Russell HENLEY (USA) Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA)

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71 68 71 74 73 71 69 72 73 68 72 73 75 66 73 73 74 72 66 75 74 72 74 68 75 74 68 71 75 74 69 71 74 71 72 72 70 72 74 73 71 70 66 82 76 71 70 73 72 72 72 74 78 70 75 68 72 73 73 73 73 76 74 69 75 69 77 71 74 71 76 71 72 75 74 71 73 74 72 73 74 71 74 73

284 285 286 287 287 288 288 289 289 289 289 290 290 291 291 292 292 292 292 292 292

$1,350,000 $810,000 $480,687 $303,119 $303,119 $228,255 $228,255 $177,534 $177,534 $177,534 $177,534 $143,714 $143,714 $127,779 $127,779 $108,458 $108,458 $108,458 $108,458 $108,458 $108,458

to the ground. Reared on the famous links at Portrush, a hour's drive north of Belfast, he used his extensive links course knowledge to great effect. While others faltered when chasing the game, McDowell played educated, near risk-free golf, safe in the knowledge that pars would earn him a maiden championship victory. "Pebble Beach is a links course, it plays like an Irish course, which helped me a lot this week," said McDowell in the winner's press conference. Later that evening, long after he had been swamped on the final green by his father Kenny upon sinking the final putt and long after the ensuing presentation ceremony and media obligations, McDowell lifted up the weighty US Open trophy to read the names of champions past. As a self-confessed golf trivia nut, McDowell already knew whose were inscribed, but the act was enough to send a shiver down his spine. "Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and, erm, me," said McDowell. "I'm not quite sure if I belong on that list. But, hey, I'm there." HKGOLFER.COM

divots

Augusta National Green Jacket: Suits You!

New KSC Catamarans: A Greener Journey Compared to other courses, travelling to the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course has always been an experience – the 54-hole facility is one of the few world-class venues that you can't drive to. But now that experience has been given a technological and environmental upgrade with the launch of a fleet of four solar-hybrid catamarans to replace the previous diesel-powered ferries. The catamarans, which were developed by Australian technology company Solar Sailor and are infinitely quieter and more comfortable than their predecessors, are part of the Jockey Club's pioneering environmental commitment. Last summer, the Club installed solar panels to all of its 205 golf carts, making it the first golf course in the world to do so. "Apart from energy saving, this makes the ocean cleaner, as well as creating fresher air in Hong Kong," said Brian Stevenson, Deputy Chairman of the Jockey Club. "We hope we can raise awareness for environmental protection and encourage more people to participate in it." The catamarans, each of which has a passenger capacity of 100 and a crew of three, are expected to achieve a 50% reduction in fuel usage, which will translate to an approximate annual cost saving of HK$2.5 million. –Joey Mok

The ninth Foreign Correspondents' Club Annual Charity Ball, to be held on October 9 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, features one auction item that will be of great interest to lovers of golf memorabilia: a replica Augusta Green Jacket signed by Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson and 24 other Masters champions. If you're interested but cannot attend the Ball you can still participate i n t he auct ion by emailing Ms. Hoi-Lo Chan at ad m i nof f ice@ fcch k.org. The jacket will be on display in the FCC Main Bar from September 6.

NUMBERS GAME: Public Golf

130 495 500

The cost, in Pounds Sterling, of a green fee at the Old Course at St Andrews during high season. The price drops during the shoulder seasons of late October and April to £91, while winter play (using mats) is £64 a round. The cost, in US Dollars, of a green fee (including cart) at Pebble Beach Golf Links for resort guests. Non-resort guests are charged the same but have to pay extra for cart usage.

“ I'm stunned. I'm known as a guy who finished second. Now I'll be known as the guy who shot 59.” - Paul Goydos, who became only the fourth player in PGA Tour history to record a sub-60 score by firing 12 birdies in the first round of last month's John Deere Classic. Goydos, who shot to prominence when he lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia at the 2008 Players Championship, ended the event one stroke back of eventual champion Steve Stricker.

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

Robin Moyer (Jacket); AFP (Goydos)

The cost, in Hong Kong Dollars, of a weekday green fee at the North Course, Kau Sai Chau for a Hong Kong Identity Card holder. The cost for non-HKID card holders is HK$690. Junior and senior golfers (at certain times) are entitled to discounts.

HKGOLFER.COM

CLUBHOUSE Away from the Fairways

Calibre de Cartier Tourbillon

 TEE TIME - The Brand

A Calibre Of Its Own

Evan Rast examines Cartier’s quest for luxury supremacy: how a sprawling new facility and nine exceptional timepieces attest to the brand’s excellence

CONTINUED OVERLEAF HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010

I State of the Art (clockwise from above): the Manufacture Cartier in La Chaux-de-Fonds; the Tortue Perpetual Calendar; Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon 14

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t was a high-stakes gamble that paid off, when the indomitable watch and jewellery house, Cartier, launched its first collection of Haute Horlogerie last year. Eager to show its watchmaking capability, the manufacture released a range of timepieces that displayed its seriousness about joining the ranks of the watchmaking elite. The collection was well received not only by fans of the brand, but perhaps more notably by those considered to be the Warren Buffets of watch industry, especially when it came to the obvious quality of the products and their price points. In order to achieve this, the first order of business was to establish a vertically integrated and state-of-the-art manufacturing arm. Cartier has a total of five facilities in Switzerland, but watchmaking is now centralised at the Manufacture Cartier in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Built in 2000, the 33,000sqm facility has more than 1,000 employees, engaged in every aspect of watch production. While many firms continue to subcontract parts and processes for their timepieces, the brand has decided to produce movements and many of its parts inhouse, be it for the Astrotourbillons to the more common Santos 100s. This is an edge that not many manufactures have, which effectively leads to better quality control, greater production flexibility and, to us Cartier watch owners, the assurance that all the parts and service needed for the timepieces are readily available.

Technical savvy is invaluable when it comes to machinery and high-tech gadgetry. But in the mechanical watchmaking world, traditional craftsmanship is still an important aspect of the game. Fortunately, Cartier has managed to preserve artisan skills, like enamelling and decorative finishing, in its state-of-the-art facility. Workshops are dedicated to these crafts, with capability for high-end finishes and stone setting. And of course, possibly the most significant requirement for any company to triumph is its people. Carole Forestier-Kasapi is the head of the company’s high watchmaking movements at Cartier, and under her leadership, the brand has launched some of its most innovative pieces. Her expertise comes from more than a decade of watchmaking experience, four years of which was spent as head of the technical bureau at renowned complications maker Renaud & Papi. Last year, the team presented Cartier’s first range of in-house movements, and fuelled by its success, she has continued to push the brand’s creative boundaries. At the end of 2009 Cartier presented a concept watch called the ID One, a showcase of the advancements that the manufacture had been working on: a watch with no regulation, no lubrication, and an escapement with a minimal +/-1 second daily deviation for the life of the movement. Yes, apparently the company had discovered the ‘elixir of life’ for mechanical watches. Fitted in the Ballon Bleu case, the ID One features highly unorthodox materials and HKGOLFER.COM

construction including the use of carbon crystal (synthetic diamond) and Zerodur (a zeroexpansion glass ceramic) for the main regulating organs, and patented designs for the hairspring, pivots and wheels. Although Cartier has denied plans of ever mass-producing this watch, it is certainly a sign of things to come, not only for the brand but for the industry as a whole.

brand five years to make, and entirely at the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The watch features an orbital tourbillon, which, positioned above the movement, makes one sweep around the dial every minute. The centrally mounted tourbillon cage comes in lightweight titanium, and the case, very large at 47mm, comes in white or rose gold. All in all, very attractively laid out and well finished. A new release that pays tribute to a pocket watch from 1929 is the Rotonde de Cartier Heure Sautantes. It features a jumping hours window at 12 o’ clock and a rotating disc for the minutes display. At 42mm, the watch is an ideal size, and cuts a smart, elegant line on the wrist. One is also drawn to the very attractive decoration of the bridges, with the interlocking “C” which was an original design of the Cartier Collection Privée line, which has now been replaced by the Fine Watchmaking collection.

This year, Cartier has continued its strong direction, with the release of five new in-house movements housed within nine different models: The Santos Dumont Squelette is fitted with the calibre originally used in last year’s Santos 100 Skeleton, which features a movement designed from the ground up, where the bridges and baseplate double as a skeletonised Roman numeral dial. The slimmer and smaller Dumont case obviously fits the movement better, making the dial appear larger, and the watch better balanced. A second skeleton watch was unveiled this year, the Rotonde de Cartier Flying Tourbillon. The 9455 MC calibre is pretty massive in its 45mm case, but the open space on the dial provides enough light going through the movement to produce quite a striking picture with the flying tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock. And since we’re on the subject of tourbillons, one that caught this writer’s fancy is the Rotonde de Cartier Astrotourbillon, which, according to Forestier-Kasapi, took the HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

News-makers: the Calibre de Cartier (above) has created a lot of buzz since being launched earlier this year; is the ID One (below) a sign of the future? 16

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Rounding off the new releases from the range is the Tortue Perpetual Calendar, a hefty watch at 45.6x51mm but with the size compensated by the open-worked dial that shows the levers of its perpetual calendar 9422 MC movement. This is the first time the brand is using the Tortue case shape in the Fine Watchmaking collection, and though a bit too busy from my point of view, it will definitely pique the interest of horological aficionados. And last, but not least, we come to the allnew design for 2010. The Calibre de Cartier. Judging from its 007-like commercial, this watch was designed with all ye dapper gentlemen in mind. A watch aimed resolutely at men – which really only means we will be seeing this watch on the wrists of many Hong Kong ladies as well – the Calibre is a stylish sports watch designed to match tracksuits, polo shirts and chinos, and even your average espionage suit and tie. There’s a lot of buzz around this particular watch because while it veers away from the look of the brand’s other lines, it has definite mass appeal. The manufacture has obviously made a serious effort to get all the details right for its target market, including offering a variety of case materials (steel or pink gold) and dial colours, including chocolate, black and white. The Calibre retains the brand DNA with the Roman numeral markers, sword hands and cabochon sapphire crown, yet looks very different, owing mainly to an entirely new large and sculpted case, and bold dial design. At 42mm, and slimmer than recent versions of the Santos, Pasha and Tank, the watch is an ideal size for everyday use. And for a timepiece which retails at about HK$50,000, the Calibre also has an edge in that

it uses the in-house 1904 MC automatic movement, which features ceramic ball bearings and the use of a pawl system over the reversers of the more common ETA alternatives. The basic version of the watch has hours, minutes, seconds and date, a 48-hour power reserve from two barrels and Côtes de Genève finishing on the bridges, rotor and mainplate. Two complicated Calibre models were also presented at SIHH. Last year’s Rotonde Chronocentral movement has been used to create the Calibre de Cartier Chronograph, and the Calibre de Cartier Flying Tourbillon completes the range. Both watches come in 45mm cases, in very appealing pink and white gold versions. As its CEO Bernard Fornas stressed when the brand revealed its first Fine Watchmaking collection, “Just as we have dominated the jewellery world, we are 100 percent committed to dominating the high watchmaking world.” Given the notable execution of the pieces at this SIHH, and the careful effort given to develop of a respectable range of complications, there is no doubt that Cartier is climbing the ranks of haute horologerie at breakneck speed. Expect to see it at the top very soon.

HKGOLFER.COM

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Ageas is committed to encouraging Hong Kong people to adopt healthy lifestyles. By actively supporting the local golf scene and becoming the title sponsor of The Ageas Hong Kong PGA Championship, it aims to promote interest in this healthy sport. The sponsorship will also stimulate the development of professional Hong Kong golfers who can compete at the highest level in the region.

 TEE TIME - In Review

Engine-uity

Ariel Adams takes a close look at MB&F's Horological Machine No. 4 “Thunderbolt”, one of the most visually stunning watches in existence

s it a plane? Gadget from the future (or past)? Or perhaps a watch? According to MB&F, the new Thunderbolt, along with the rest of MB&F’s products are ‘none of the above.’ In fact, if you ask MB&F founder Max Busser (pictured right), he doesn’t even claim that his brand really makes “watches.” Although his various luxury instruments do tell the time (among other things), he considers them each to be celebrations of the “machine", designed as works of art, imbued with his collective passion for mechanical devices and the items which have influenced his creativity over the course of his life. A bold claim, but one that has obviously resounded well with his clients. For the fourth major time, MB&F has wowed its legion of timepiece lifestyle-loving fans with a brand new Horological Machine. A s a boy, Bu sser wa s fascinated by planes – they even hung from his childhood room ceiling. A favorite fighter of his was the A-10 Thunderbolt. With its heavy armour and ordnance, the A-10 still sees heavy duty, and is universally recognized by its large topmounted dual jet engine turbine pods. These pods now make duty on the new HM4 watch – being the first thing you notice when looking at the wrist contraption. Oddly enough, this Horological Machine No. 4 feels the most like an instrument when compared with the first three MB&F watches. There is a sweet synergy between function and design. The pods are mounted to face the wearer, allowing for inspection without having to angle the watch towards oneself – perfect to see easily while driving or manning an aircraft. Functionally, the Thunderbolt is simple and straightforward. One pod has a dial which indicates the time, while another is a power reserve indicator for the manually wound movement. The power reserve indicator has a hand shaped with the iconic MB&F battleaxe motif in mind. It is easy to confuse the theme of the HM4 watch if all you have is the design to go off. However, nowhere is its aviation DNA more apparent than on the watch face itself. MB&F’s rendition of the classic pilot watch style dial is a refreshing allusion to the multitude of pilot watches out there – a brief connection by MB&F to the rest of the watch world, though rendered in MB&F’s signature style. The HM4 has an incredible relationship between case and movement. Each made to work exclusively together; they are still separable in their beauty. Like Ferrari with an open window over its engine, the Thunderbolt's engine window is comprised of five custom cut sapphire crystals, three of which are solely dedicated to showing off the movement within the case. An incredibly hard-to-manufacture tubular sapphire crystal is positioned in the middle of the watch, inside both of the pods. This feature 18

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demonstrates the apex of MB&F’s education in sapphire crystals, offering an amazing cross-section view of the inner workings of a luxury timepiece machine. There are also sapphire crystals over the top and bottom of the case, as well as over each dial. Nothing about the HM4 seems hidden. From all angles there is both a view of the case and the movement inside of it – as they are meant to be appreciated together. Can it be worn? Most certainly. At 54mm wide and 52mm long, you wouldn’t think the HM4 was fit for the wrist. However, MB&F crafted the watch entirely in highgrade light titanium. Note the complex lug structure for the forward facing strap – which allows for a better fit on the wrist. The tapered alligator strap assists with comfort, and like all MB&F watches, they feel daintier on the wrist than they actually are. Visually this watch is set apart from its rivals on many levels. The case is made from almost 65 highly detailed pieces, working together to form visual mass having contrasting polished and brushed finishes. Operationally the watch features two crowns for easy adjustment and winding. The crown on the power reserve indicator pod winds the movement which has a life of about 72 hours, while the other crown adjusts the time. Amazingly the HM4 Thunderbolt will not be a limited edition piece, merely a limited production that MB&F expects to produce in numbers of about 25-35 pieces each year. It is a very satisfying watch from the wonder brand who has redefined the image of the independent watch maker. Priced at $158,000 (approximately HK$1.27 million). Ariel Adams is a world renowned timepiece journalist and the most popular watch writer on the Internet. In addition to being the Watch Editor of HK Golfer, he publishes the luxury watch review website aBlogtoRead.com HKGOLFER.COM

Aeronautical DNA: Max Busser's love of planes, particularly the A-10 Thunderbolt fighter, inspired MB&F's Horological Machine No. 4

SCORECARD Engine: Three-dimensional horological engine developed 100% by MB&F Manual winding with two mainspring barrels in parallel Power reserve: 72 hours Balance frequency: 21,600bph/3Hz Number of components: 311 Number of jewels: 50 Functions: Hours, minutes and power reserve indicator Hours and minutes on right dial, power reserve indicator on left dial Separate crowns for time setting and winding Case: Grade 5 titanium and sapphire Dimensions: 54mm wide x 52mm long x 24mm high Number of components: 65 Articulation of lugs: 3Â° Sapphire crystals: Five sapphire crystals: 2 x dials, 1 x central case section, 2 x display panels (top and bottom) Strap & Buckle: Black hand-stitched calfskin strap with titanium/ white gold custom designed deployment buckle attached to articulated lugs

HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golferă&#x192;ťAUG/SEP 2010

 DRIVING RANGE

The Future is Here

Ben Oliver gets behind the wheel of the Tesla Roadster, the world's first electric supercar

t is, without question, the single weirdest experience you will ever have at the wheel of a car. The Tesla Roadster will outdrag a Ferrari, hitting 100kph in just 3.7 seconds, and the physiological effect on its driver is the same as in any other properly fast car; same raised pulse rate, same sensation of being pushed hard back into your seat, same schoolboy desire to stop and do it all over again. But everything else is different. You don’t have to make a rapid gear change every couple of seconds; you just stand on the throttle and go. You don’t have to wait for the engine revs to build before you really start to accelerate; instead, all the power is available instantly. And most bizarrely of all, there’s no deafening yell from the exhausts. We’ve always associated acceleration this fast with the noise of 12 hard-worked cylinders. But because the Tesla Roadster is electric, it does it in absolute silence, other than the faint hum of tyres on tarmac and your own insane giggling. The Tesla Roadster is one of the most important cars to be launched this so far this century. It is the latest project from PayPal founder Elon Musk, the 38 yearold South African-born serial entrepreneur who sold his first internet start-up for over US$300 million aged just 28, and three years later sold PayPal to eBay in a deal worth over $1.5 billion. Musk is a committed car-guy – he previously owned a $2 million McLaren F1 – but also a committed environmentalist. Convinced that the big car makers aren’t doing enough to develop new ways of powering our cars that don’t pollute and don’t rely on dwindling oil supplies, he decided to create his own. 20

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But while his green intentions are admirable, Musk is also well aware that the financial rewards for the company that finds a viable replacement for petrol will be so vast as to dwarf the sums made at the height of the dot-com boom. In June, despite only having made 1200 Roadsters and heavy losses, Tesla became the first American car company since Ford in 1956 to go public. Its IPO raised $226m, and valued the company at over $1.6 billion. Plainly, investors weren’t getting this excited over a handful of high-priced electric supercars. They were buying into Musk’s plans to build 20,000 of his new US$50,000 Model S electric saloons each year from 2012 in a huge Californian factory bought from Toyota and funded with nearly half a billion dollars in lowcost federal loans. And they were buying into the even greater potential for Tesla to licence its electric-car technology to the big carmakers; both Daimler and Toyota have taken stakes, and Tesla will work with both on new, affordable electric city cars. HKGOLFER.COM

So are electric cars the answer? For now, the technology is still hugely expensive; at a US list price of at least $101,500 it’s no surprise that the Tesla Roadster’s first customers included George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The first Tesla sold in Hong Kong went to Philip Liang, CEO of medical device maker General Sensing. The Hong Kong list price is HK$1.2m, but the first registration tax is waived, saving you around HK$1m. Tokyo will get Asia’s first Tesla store later this year, with Hong Kong likely to follow next year. As with any other new tech, the price will fall sharply. And one drive in the Tesla Roadster is enough to convince you that it’s worth the money. If it looks a little familiar, it’s because it’s based on a Lotus Elise chassis. This is no bad thing; the little British sports car has sensational handling. The Elise’s advanced lightweight aluminium chassis is substantially modified to cope with the extra weight of the batteries, which at 450kgs are around three times the weight of the drivetrain of a regular car. To cut weight further the Roadster body makes extensive use of ultra light, stiff carbon fibre, and gets a restyle to distinguish it from a regular Elise. The complete car minus its battery and electric motor is then shipped to California, where Tesla builds and fits the unique electric drivetrain. It claims the 288 horsepower electric motor has the highest power density in the world, and the 6,831 lithium ion cells in the battery pack will give a driving range of around 244 miles. The Tesla’s charging kit has a conventional domestic plug at one end and a plug-and-twist connector at the other, which connects to the car where the fuel filler would usually be, the area under the filler flap lighting up in different colours like a laptop as it charges. A full charge takes around four hours with a 63-amp supply. So what’s it like to drive the future? Oddly conventional at first. The door opens with a hi-tech hidden touch-pad, but once you drop down into the snug, low cabin the Tesla looks and works like an ordinary sports car. It ‘starts’ with a standard key, but instead of the roar of an engine behind you, there’s just a laptop-style bong to tell you it’s booted up. The dials in front of you give you engine and road speed, and by your knee there’s a touchscreen that tells you how many gallons of petrol you’ve saved, and crucially how far you have left to drive. When you’re ready to go, you just pull the conventional auto-style gearlever back to ‘drive’ and the Tesla takes off with a very Star Trek sigh. The reaction you get from other people varies. The fact that the Tesla looks like a Lotus means many ignore it, but others do a rapid doubletake as they realize that the car passing them is HKGOLFER.COM

making absolutely no noise. It might take you a few minutes to get used to the idea that it will pull out into traffic on demand without the sound of an engine to reassure you. But soon the lack of noise becomes a huge advantage. Petrolheads have long worried that silent electric cars will be dull to drive, but the reverse is true. At low speeds, the Tesla Roadster is the most refined car on the road. When you’re driving hard, the silence just makes the acceleration seem even more absurd, and constantly feeds your smugness about driving such a clean, clever car. But frankly, you can forget about the Tesla’s Roadster’s green credentials and its importance to the future of the car; its insane, unique performance alone justifies the price.

An inspriational spark: the Tesla's flash interior (top); a four-hour charge gives a driving range of around 244 miles (bottom).

SCORECARD How much? Engine: Transmission: Performance: Construction: How heavy?

HK$1.2m, exempt from first registration tax 375-volt AC induction motor, 288 BHP, 14,000rpm Single-speed 0-100kph 3.7sec, 201kph, 244-mile range Aluminium chassis, carbon-fibre panels 1237kgs

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

events

A Toast to the Ghost HK Golfer combined with luxury English motor car giant Rolls Royce to host a cocktail reception and dinner party at Shek O Country Club late July in honour of the Ghost, the manufacturer’s latest and arguably most elegant release. Daniel Balmer, marketing manager for Rolls Royce Asia Pacific, flew up from Singapore to attend and was joined by twenty-four of HK Golfer’s most enthusiastic auto fans, including Rolls Royce aficionado Dr Cecil Chao. –A.J.

Jock Mackie and John Bruce

Roy Lee

Charles McLaughlin and Dr. Cecil Chao

Rene Theil, Charles McLaughlin and Pierre Legrandois

Rocco Paduano

Eddie Ahmed

Dr. Cecil Chao and Robin Hammond 22

Gordon Lee

Warren Primhak and Alex Jenkins

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

Dan Balmer, Eddie Ahmed and Max Lummis

Phillip Straley and James Fallon

Robin Hammond and Neil Orvay

"Toast to the Ghost!" HKGOLFER.COM

Peter Aherne, Simon Ruckert and JP Cuvelier

Planning a golf event ? With over twenty years’ experience, HK Golfer Events is Hong Kong and southern China’s premier golf tournament and event organizers:

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Bespoke golf days Corporate hospitality Tournament management Sponsorship Media exposure Access to tour pros Range of packages available

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(852) 3590-4153 or email

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HKGolfer Leon Roy, Dr. Cecil Chao and Dan Balmer HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

 19TH HOLE

The Return of Umberto

Birdie Golf reviews Chef Umberto Bombana's newest creation, Otto e Mezzo in Alexandra House Di n ner cont i nued w it h t he marinated beef tenderloin (HK$190). Essentially this was beef Carpaccio but with the traditional shaved Parmesan cheese replaced by large crispy flakes. Accompanied with sun-dried tomatoes, this was good but not spectacular. However, t he ma i n cou rse , braised veal cheek and veal fillet on porcini mushroom and barley risotto (HK$280), was first-class. The veal cheek was so tender and soft, it just melted in our mouths. And the barley risotto was exactly how I like it; no Arborio rice here, just barley. A nice twist that worked to perfection.

W Courtesy of Otto e Mezzo (restaurant); Birdie Golf (food)

hen the Ritz Carlton closed its doors in 2008 it brought with it the end of Toscana, a restaurant I truly loved and still miss to this day. But worry not! Chef Umberto Bombana has opened Otto e Mezzo, his new operation in Central, so after securing a table a week beforehand it was with great excitement that my partner and I made our way over to Alexandra House. Otto e Mezzo, or 8 ½ as it is also known, Otto e Mezzo (8½) features thoroughly modern decor, with an Shop 202, 2/F, Alexandra House irregular-shaped mirrored ceiling that makes 18 Chater Road the dining area seem larger than it actually is. Central, Hong Kong Unfortunately, it does little for the acoustics Contact: (852) 2537 8859; of the place. Conversations from other diners otto-e-mezzo.com echoed loudly in the background, making it rather more noisy than I have come to expect of a restaurant of this grade. While this might not be ideal for those in search of a private romantic dinner, it didn't bother us – the romance fizzled out years ago; we came exclusively for the food. We began immediately with the amuse-bouch – it arrived before we had even ordered! Now that's efficiency for you. We're not incredibly enamored with beans of any description, but the blended lentil soup with mozzarella proved to be a good way to start. The bread offerings were also superb; straight from the oven, we had to refrain ourselves from over stuffing ourselves with it. Our sommelier was spot on in recommending the 2000 Grattamacco Bolgheri Rosso Superiore, which fulfilled our requirement for a full-bodied wine. Closely resembling our favourite Bordeaux, this smooth Tuscan went down extremely well. 24

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For dessert, we tried the Coffee Trio, which included Tiramisu, a warm coffee tart and a crunchy coffee ice cream. This tasty triumvirate's strong flavor almost made us skip our habitual cappuccino. Of course our dinner would not have been complete without ordering Chef Umberto's famous crispy pear tart. This was our favorite dish back in the Toscana days, and although it was still wafer-thin, it could have used a few more minutes in the oven. It wasn’t undercooked, but a slightly browned crust would have made it more appealing. Make no mistake, the food was very good, but we walked away a tiny bit disappointed. Rightly or wrongly we had been expecting perfection but it wasn't to be. Nevertheless, we shall return. I'm sure they'll spend the intervening period by ironing out the small kinks of what is otherwise a flawless dining experience. Score: 17.5/20 Read more from Birdie Golf at birdiegolfblog.com

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 LIQUID ASSETS

Beyond the Obvious

As wine drinkers have come to identify wines increasingly by grape rather than region, Robin Lynam looks at the re-emergence of long neglected varietals

Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

efore New World wines began to have an international impact in the 1970s, the most important information on a wine label was to do with where the content of the bottle came from rather than from which grape it was made. In Europe terroir had long been deemed to determine quality. Partly because of strenuous objections on the part of the French to the use of the names of delimited regions such as Burgundy and Champagne to describe foreign wine styles, the new producers started to highlight the grapes, and a generation of wine lovers grew up knowing not that they liked white Burgundy and red Bordeaux, but that they enjoyed Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The grape had become the thing. The problem was that not all Chardonnays or Cabernets are created equal. Some of the New World wines made exclusively from those grapes, or from blends which they dominated, were and are wonderful, but many more are generic and dull. As a consequence the 1990s saw the beginning of the ABC movement – “Anything But Chardonnay/Cabernet” – and although this has led its adherents to miss out on a great many superb wines, it has at least led to the exploration of other grape options. The great wines of the Old World have been largely unaffected, because they are still thought of as terroir rather than grape defined. Very few ABC militants would decline a glass of Montrachet or Krug Clos Du Mesnil, both of which are made exclusively from Chardonnay. T h e N e w Wo r l d however has become increasingly subject to wine trendiness. Cabernet Sauvignon was the world’s most extensively planted red grape until the 1990s when Merlot came into vogue and overtook it. There was a concurrent vogue for Syrah – or Shiraz – which remains Australia’s most widely planted red grape. The whimsicality of popular grape preferences was thrust into the spotlight in 2005 with the success of the film Sideways, released towards the end of 2004. Set in Califo rnia wine country it features a character played by Paul Giamatti who throughout the movie praises Pinot Noir wines extravagantly, while being equally emphatically dismissive of Merlot. The character is a wine snob, and the opinion is an ignorant one. Chateau Petrus, one of the greatest and most expensive wines in the world, consists mostly of Merlot. Nevertheless in both the United States and Britain in the months following the film’s release sales of Pinot Noir wines – from the New World but also from Burgundy where Pinot is the principle red grape – rose sharply, while those of Merlot fell. What that mostly illustrates is that a great many wine drinkers in Britain and America are insecure in their opinions, but the increasing popularity of many 26

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lesser known grapes tells a more encouraging story of a healthy curiosity on the part of consumers and winemakers alike about the potential of a growing range of different grapes. Many of these have flourished in the past and are now being rediscovered. Malbec has been declining for many years in France, but has acquired a new lease of life in Argentina where the grape has emerged as a particularly suitable match for the terroir. Riesling has never fallen out of favour in Germany, but thanks to new, drier styles, German Riesling is now gaining popularity in many export markets – especially the United States – and better and better results are being obtained from the grape in Australia and New Zealand. Sauvignon Blanc, particularly from New Zealand, was the main white beneficiary of C h a r d o n n ay ’s f a l l f rom g race , but i s now contending with Riesling and Albarino (Alvarinho in Portugal) from which Iberian producers are making refreshing white wines w it h a n i ncrea si ng international following. A nother grape from Spain coming to the fore internationally is Tempranillo, which is the main grape of Rioja but also now being taken seriously by growers and winemakers in Australia and California. In France, the wheel has come full circle. After centuries of reverence for terroir, a number of producers have taken to citing the grape variety prominently on their labels, accepting that they have a better chance of selling their wines in international markets that way. This trend seems set to continue for low end to middle market wines, although it is hardly likely to catch on in French wine’s upper echelons. Wine consumption, however, has long been driven by fashion. Now the trend is towards different grapes, and wine and fashion are both subjects France understands pretty well. HKGOLFER.COM

events

Le Grand Day of Indulgence IWC and partners to present an unmissable vertical wine tasting event with Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Bettane & Desseauve

ews of a very special wine tasting event has reached HK Golfer. Taking place on September 18 at the Grand Hyatt, Independent Wine Centre (IWC) and its French partner, Bettane & Desseauve, are hosting Le Grand Day of Indulgence, the first ever tasting of its kind designed exclusively for wine enthusiasts in Hong Kong, Macau and China. Featuring a vertical tasting of seven Chateau Mouton Rothschild, a back vintage tasting of five Chateau d'Yquem, eight deluxe vintage Champagne and many more, participants will also get to meet and learn from Chateau Mouton Rothschild owner Mr Philippe Sereys

Event Schedule September 18, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Special Guests of Honour: • Mr Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Owner of Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A. • Mr Hervé Berland, Managing and Commercial Director of Château Mouton Rothschild Speakers:

Mr Philippe Sereys de Rothschild and Mr Herve Berland are the special guests of honour at Le Grand Day of Indulgence

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• Michel Bettane, the most respected French wine critic • Thierry Desseauve, international acclaimed wine writer and critic • Simon Tam, Greater China's foremost wine and food pairing expert Price: HK$18,000 per person (40 seats only)

HKGOLFER.COM

de Rothschild and Chateau Director Mr Hervé Berland, guests of honour at the event. The tasting will be lead by Michael Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, two of the most respected French wine experts in the industry. The duo are the organizers of another exclusive exhibition – Le Grand Tasting, which takes place at the iconic Louvre each year in Paris. They will be joined by Simon Tam, director of IWC and the foremost Asian food and wine pairing expert in Greater China. S a i d Ta m : T h i s event fits perfectly with the lifestyle of wine con noisseu rs. T hey

can taste and appreciate all these great wines in a relaxed environment, plus they have ample interaction time with our guests of honour, Mr Rothschild and Mr Berland, and of course our renowned speakers Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve. This is a small group function as we want to make sure that all participants are being taken care of."

11:00am: Deluxe Champagne and caviar brunch • Bollinger La Grande Année Brut 2000 • Louis Roederer Cristal 2002 • Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 1999 • Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1999

• Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 1995 • Mumm Cuvee R. Lalou 1998 • Salon Blanc de Blancs Brut 1997 • Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1998

2:15pm: Château Mouton Rothschild vertical tasting Guest of Honour: Mr Philippe Sereys de Rothschild, Owner of Baron Philippe de Rotschild S.A, and Mr Hervé Berland, Managing and Commercial Director of Château Mouton Rothschild • Aile d'Argent de Château Mouton Rothschild 2007 • Le Petit Mouton de Mouton Rothschild 2005 • Château Mouton Rothschild 2006 • Château Mouton Rothschild 2005 • Château Mouton Rothschild 2004 • Château Mouton Rothschild 2003 • Château Mouton Rothschild 2000 • Château Mouton Rothschild 1996 • Château Mouton Rothschild 1986

HKGOLFER.COM

5:00pm: Château d'Yquem back vintage tasting • Château d'Yquem 1962 Magnum • Château d'Yquem 1998 • Château d'Yquem 2004

• Château d'Yquem 1989 • Château d'Yquem 2001

7:15pm: French wine and Chinese Celebration dinner • Modern Chinese cuisine paired with great French wines from historical vineyards • Exclusive French wine and Chinese dishes selected and compiled by Bettane & Desseauve and IWC Reservations and enquiries: Website: www.iwinecentre.com email: indulgence@iwinecentre.com Tel: (852) 2549 0081

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

 YACHTING

China Match Play With the World Match Racing Tour heading to Qingdao in October, Cameron Dueck examines its likely impact on sailing’s popularity in the Middle Kingdom

C Brendon O'Hagan/Subzero Images

hina is once again spending big to bring sailing to its shores. This time it is the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), set to arrive in Qingdao later this year. While the event will put China on the sailing map, it doesn’t change the fact that yachting in China remains an event, a business and a promotional exercise – but not a thriving domestic sport. The WMRT is a professional racing series that travels to 10 ports around the globe, using different boats in every port. The series is based on the same match racing format used in America’s Cup, with two identical boats facing off against each other. Races are held close to the shore in order to attract spectators. International television and sponsorship deals as well as port fees of €60,000 paid by the hosts provide handsome prizes for the winning crews. China is the latest venue to be added to the tour, with the Qingdao Match Cup set to take place from 19th-25th October. The local Qingdao government has signed a five-year deal with WMRT to host an annual stage of the tour. The Cup offers US$500,000 in prize money, the highest on the tour. WMRT says the size of the prize will become the new benchmark for other host ports to aim for. The WMRT already has strong Asian ties. In September, 2009 Regal Faith, a Hong Kong-based company led by Malaysian businessman Patrick Lim, bought the 30

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rights to the tour. Lim, a real estate developer and now chairman of the WMRT, got involved with sailing in 2005, when he founded the Monsoon Cup as a WMRT regatta in Malaysia’s Terengganu state. He’s not a sailor himself, but Lim saw the world of professional yacht racing as a way to turn a Malaysian backwater from a sleepy fishing village into an international resort and marina centre. He appears to have succeeded. The Monsoon Cup was named the best tour event last year, and this December it will host the final leg of the tour as well as the crowning of the new World Champion of match racing. There’s no doubt that the WMRT offers an exciting spectacle. The tour attracts some of the top names in the sport, including the likes of Ben Ainslie, Ed Baird, Dean Barker, James Spithill and Chris Dickson. But there is growing criticism that hosting racing events in countries eager to get involved in the business end of HKGOLFER.COM

sailing without having a real yachting culture has undermined the spirit and mass appeal of the tour. Critics say the level of racing has declined in recent years, and that it is now little more than a training ground for higher profile events such as the LV Trophy and America’s Cup. Lim has defended his goal of pushing the business side of sailing, saying that more money brings better sailors. He also says that in order for yacht racing to grow its fan base it has to expand beyond its traditional waters in the United States, Europe and Britain. The tour has also made forays into other Asian countries, none of which are strong sailing centres. South Korea hosted its third WMRT event this summer, and Vietnam was scheduled to host a race but its participation has now been delayed until 2011. It is hoped that the Qingdao event will attract thousands of spectators and once again promote the seaside city as the heart of Chinese sailing. The marina infrastructure built for the 2008 Olympics has already been used for stopovers of the Volvo Ocean Race and the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Beneteau will provide ten First 40 yachts, a popular production boat with weekend club racers, as the race boat in Qingdao. Beneteau was also the supplier of yachts for the China Cup International Regatta, selling about 30 Beneteau First 40.7s to the organisers. Most of the boats sold for the China Cup International spend the majority of their time

bobbing in the marina, as there are few sailors to take them out on the water except for on the race weekend itself. That’s the story for many yachts sold into China. The glitz of the yachting lifestyle appeals to far more people than yachting itself. The WMRT may help put Qingdao on the map of professional racing, but the port is not yet marked on the charts of the average sailors who form the backbone of the sport. If China really wants to create a yachting culture it needs to start from the bottom, not the top. Open the coastline to cruisers, and make it easier for them to visit all the colourful ports along China’s shores. Create a feasible legal structure for yacht licensing and ownership instead of treating them like commercial vessels. Once these steps have been taken t he sport of sailing will begin seeing real sustainable growth in China, creating a genuine market for the government’s lavish yachting events.

 BOOKS

St Andrews: The Home of Golf

f you’re only going to buy one golf book this year, make sure it’s St Andrews: The Home of Golf. Published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Open Championship, this is a lovely, illustrated tribute to golf’s birthplace; and unlike many other books on the subject, it doesn’t focus exclusively on the Old Course. While the Old Lady is featured – and beautifully captured by the lens of specialist golf course photographer Kevin Murray – authors Henry Lord and Oliver Gregory take readers on a tour of all St Andrews’ courses, its clubs and societies, its university, its cathedral, its cobbled lanes and agreeable watering holes. What’s more, Seve Ballesteros, who won the 1984 Open at St Andrews, contributes a heartwarming foreward. Appropriately, proceeds from the book’s sales benefit brain cancer research. St Andrews: The Home of Golf by Henry Lord, Oliver Gregory and Kevin Murray is published by Corinthian Books, priced £30 with 80p from every sale donated to the Seve Ballesteros Foundation in partnership with Cancer Research UK. The book is on sale through amazon.co.uk.

HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

The 2010

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

HKGOLFER.COM

Ryder Cup There’s nothing quite like the Ryder Cup. By far and away golf’s premier team event, this year’s edition, which takes place from October 1-3 over the purpose-built Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor in Wales, will see European skipper Colin Montgomerie lead a side desperate to revenge their loss at the hands of the United States in Kentucky two years ago. He’ll have his work cut out however, because as our resident tipster Archie Albatross points out, in Corey Pavin the US has a wily and astute leader, one more than capable of rousing his troops and ensuring that the Cup remains in American hands. Elsewhere in this issue, HK Golfer European correspondent Lewine Mair profiles Monty, a man for whom the competition means so much, while our A to Z Guide to the event covers both the lighter and historical sides of the biennial matches…

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HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

A to Z Ryder Cup

What do Peter Alliss and Ignacio Garrido have in common? What is the ‘War of the Wardrobes’? And who on earth is Alf Padgham? You’ll find all the answers in this, the HK Golfer guide to golf’s greatest spectacle. COMPILED BY ALEX JENKINS

IS FOR ALF PADGHAM, who holds the unenviable record for worst winning performance in Ryder Cup history. Padgham, winner of the 1936 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, was considered one of Britain's leading professionals of the era, but failed to produce his best form in the biennial event. Representing Great Britain in three Ryder Cups (1933, 1935 and 1937), Padgham failed to earn a single point, losing all seven of his matches. Other notable players with terrible Ryder Cup records include Max Faulkner OBE, the 1951 Open champion, who won one and lost seven of his eight matches.

B AFP (Barnes/Woosnam)

I S FOR BRIAN BARNES, who famously defeated Jack Nicklaus twice in one day at the 1975 Ryder Cup played at Laurel Valley, Pennsylvania. Back then, the format was such that two sets of singles matches were played on the final day. In their morning match, the colourful Barnes, who struggled with alcoholism throughout much of his playing career, thumped the Golden Bear 4 and 2. Eager for a rematch in the afternoon, Nicklaus had US captain Arnold Palmer ask European skipper Noel Hunt to make it happen. The English-born Scotsman won again, 2 and 1. "The bigger player you played him against, the more of a chance you'd get a [good] result," said Bernard Gallacher, Barnes's teammate in '75. "Brian needs that type of challenge to get him going." 34

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IS FOR THE CONCESSION, t he occa sion when Jack Nick lau s conceded a two-foot putt to Tony Jacklin on the last green of their singles match at the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale. It resulted in the first tie in the matches' history and the US retained the Cup. That singular act of charity is considered one of the grandest gestures of sportsmanship, although US captain Sam Sneed wasn't particularly thrilled with Nicklaus' generosity. "All the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt," said Sneed at the time. "We went over there to win, not to be good ol' boys."

IS FOR DEBUTANT. In 1999, Sergio Garcia became the youngest golfer to play in the Ryder Cup at the age of 19 years, eight months and 15 days. Despite his lack of experience, Garcia earned three and a half points out of a possible five, including a memorable first day foursomes win with Jesper Parnevik over the highly fancied American pairing of Tiger Woods and Tom Lehman. HKGOLFER.COM

IS FOR EUROPEANS. The first time the Ryder Cup was contested between Europe and the United States as opposed to Great Britain and the United States, was in 1979 at The Greenbrier in West Virginia. Between 1959 and 1977, the Americans had won all but one outing (a tie in 1969) and it was obvious that something had to be done. Jack Nicklaus approached the PGA of Great Britain about the urgency to improve the competitive level of the matches, saying "It is vital to widen the selection procedures if the Ryder Cup is to continue to enjoy its past prestige." The PGA clearly thought so too and expanded the selection procedure to include continental players from the European Tour. The first Europeans to make the overseas squad were a pair of Spaniards â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Seve Ballesteros and Antonio Garrido.

IS FOR IGNACIO GARRIDO, the Spanish player who qua l if ied for t he 1997 European team, and his father Antonio, who played in the 1979 matches, became the first father and son combination from the Continent to play in the competition. Only Percy and Peter Alliss, who each played in the Ryder Cup when it consisted only of British and Irish players, have previously achieved this feat.

IS FOR JACKLIN (TONY), arguably the greatest European Ryder captain of them all. Skippering the team on four occasions during the Eighties - 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989 - two-time major champion Jacklin was single-minded in his approach to the role.

Toasting Success: Ian Woosnam (below) celebrated his side's win in 2004 with one of the fastest pints in Ryder Cup history; despite his own problems with alcohol, Brian Barnes (left) recorded one of the biggest upsets off all time when he defeated Jack Nicklaus twice in one day in 1975

IS FOR FALDO (NICK), the finest British player of the modern era, who holds multiple records at the Ryder Cup. Faldo has made more appearances than any other player (11), won more matches than any other player (23) and won more points than any other player (25). Undoubtedly a fine exponent of the art of match play, Faldo's playing accomplishments failed to translate to captaincy success however; his 2008 stint as skipper ended in the first European defeat in nine years and he was widely derided for his cringe-making speeches and decision to only have one vicecaptain.

IS FOR GUINNESS. Plenty of the "Black Stuff " went down during the event's 2006 edition at the K Club near Dublin, but no-one chugged Ireland's national drink harder than European Cup captain Ian Woosnam. One of the lasting images of the event was the wee Welshman, flanked by jubilant vice-captain Sam Torrance and fan favourite Darren Clarke, on the clubhouse balcony, necking a pint in literally nanoseconds in celebration of his side's fine victory. While no-one could begrudge him his moment, his ridiculously rapid consumption (complete with unfortunate nasal outflow) wasn't exactly the classiest act in Ryder Cup history.

IS FOR HOLE-IN-ONE. There have been six aces recorded in the competition. Peter Butler (1973), Nick Faldo (1993), Constantino Rocca (1995), Howard Clarke (1995) and Paul Casey (2006) accomplished the feat for the Euros, while Scott Verplank became the first American to do so at the 2006 match. HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golferă&#x192;ťAUG/SEP 2010

IS FOR KIAWAH ISLAND, which hosted the infamous "War on the Shore" Ryder Cup of 1991. The event, which will be best remembered for Bernhard Langer missing a six-foot putt on the final green which would have won his match with Hale Irwin and retained the cup for Europe, was played in the wake of the Gulf War and was hotly contested by both sides. Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger renewed their on-course squabbles, Corey Pavin wore a camouflage hat and a local DJ urged listeners to ring the European team's hotel rooms in the early hours of the morning. What shouldn't be forgotten, however, is the brilliant comeback staged by the United States on the final day- which won them their first Ryder Cup for eight years - and the quality of architect Pete Dye's beautiful brute, the Ocean Course at Kiawah. After the massacre of Walton Heath (see O FOR ONE-SIDED), Jacklin demanded that changes were made; the most significant being that the needs of his players as opposed to those of the officials be paramount. As a consequence, Jacklin's teams were finally treated to the same privileges as their American counterparts. His players flew first class (with Concorde), were allowed to travel with their caddies and had all their expenses covered. The result: a first Ryder Cup win in 28 years at the 1985 event and – of holies – a maiden win on American soil two years later at Muirfield Village.

AFP (Langer/Concorde/Leonard/Ballesteros)

The Agony and the Ecstacy (clockwise from right): Bernhard Langer's missed put on the final green at Kiawah Island in 1991 concluded a gripping encounter; Concorde was the aircraft of choice for both teams from the mid-eighties; Justin Leonard's putt at the 'Battle of Brookline' is one of the event's lasting images; Seve Ballesteros was arguably the most influential player to have ever represented Europe 36

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IS FOR LEONARD (JUSTIN), whose scarcely believable 45-foot birdie putt on the seventeenth hole in his singles match against Jose Maria Olazábal was the defining moment of the 1999 edition at Brookline Country Club. Leonard's putt won him the hole, enabling him to halve his match and earn the Americans a 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 victory. The win was not without controversy however. After he holed his mammoth putt the on-looking members of the US team and a number of supporters began celebrating on the green before Olazábal had taken his putt to halve the hole, and in so doing sparked a debate surrounding the spirit in which the game should be played. HKGOLFER.COM

IS FOR MONTY, the 2010 European team skipper, who despite never having won a major, is nevertheless considered one of the finest Ryder Cup players in the history of the event. See Lewine Mair's feature story on the big Scot in this issue.

IS FOR NERVES. Remember Tiger's yanked 3-wood into the water at the first hole on the first day at the 2006 match at the K Club? Make no mistake, even the world's best are affected by Ryder Cup butterflies. As Hale Irwin once said: "It's totally different playing for the team than playing for yourself – nothing comes close to the pressure of the Ryder Cup."

IS FOR ONE-SIDED. Europe's biggest victory came in 2004 at Oakmont Country Club when Bernhard L a n ger's tea m wh ipp ed Tom Lehman's Americans by 18 1/2 to 9 1/2, a score they replicated two years later at the K Club. America's finest hour came at Walton Heath in 1981. Fielding the likes of Trevino, Crenshaw, Miller, Watson and Nicklaus, the US, captained by Dave Marr, cruised to an 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 point thrashing. European captain John Jacobs knew his team were up against it from the start. "Go easy on us, Dave," he said to Marr during the opening ceremony.

IS FOR PLANT POT. The 1993 match at The Belfry ended in a narrow win for the Americans, but only after a bizarre nighttime incident that ruled out European Sam Torrance from the final day singles. Torrance, who sank the winning putt at the same venue eight years previously, managed to crack his sternum after sleepwalking into a stone plant pot the night before and was forced to sit out the all important final day.

I S FO R “ QU I E T, PLE A S E ”, t h e traditional call for calm by marshals and caddies after the crowd reacts to a made or missed putt at the Ryder Cup. It’s a next to useless gesture however. Ryder Cup galleries are as partisan as they come, and while the spirit in which both the crowds follow the proceedings is now considered very good, there roars that go up whenever a home team player does something spectacular are louder than at any other tournament in the game.

IS FOR RYDER (SAMUEL), the golf-mad English entrepreneur for who the Ryder Cup is named. Ryder, whose wealth stemmed from his idea of

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selling garden seeds in "penny packets", donated the Ryder Cup, a solid gold trophy, for the first biennial golf championship between the best professional golfers in the United States and Great Britain in 1927.

IS FOR SEVE BALLESTEROS, the focus of the European team for two decades and one of the driving forces behind their rejuvenation. The passionate Spaniard won five majors, but his competitive fires burned brightest when facing a team of 12 Americans. He won 20 matches and halved five out of a total of 37, but it was his 11 wins and two halves from 15 matches with countryman Jose Maria Olazábal that he will be best remembered for. Ballesteros was so enamoured with the Ryder Cup concept he instigated the Seve Trophy between Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland in 2000 and the event has gone from strength to strength.

T U

IS FOR TIED. There has only been two tied matches in the history of the competition – in 1969 at Royal Birkdale and in 1989 at The Belfry, with the Americans retaining the Cup in the former and the Europeans in the latter. I S F O R U N L I K E LY H E R O E S . A characteristic of Europe's wins over the past 20-odd years has been t he emergence of litt le-k nown players making a name for themselves in pivotal last day singles matches – with Irish journeymen providing a remarkable number of the highlights. In 1987 it was the not-so-sweet swinging Eamonn Darcy who held off Ben HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

1997, Valderrama became the first course in continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup, which was won by a strong European side captained by Seve Ballesteros. While considered one of the finest layouts in the world, Valderrama's par-five seventeenth hole came under scrutiny due to the severity of the putting surface, which repelled umpteen balls into the greenside lake.

IS FOR WAGS, the wives and girlfriends of Ryder Cup players. Although they don't receive as much press attention as the WAGS of England's footballers, Ryder Cup WAGS are an important component of each side and vie against each other in what has become known as the 'War of the Wardrobes'. WAGS are also known as Stepford Wives: all white teeth, blonde hair and matching outfits. Sunglasses are optional. Crenshaw in the deciding match; two years later, Christy O'Connor Jr's brilliant 2-iron to the last hole earned a crucial win against Fred Couples which helped the Euros retain the Cup; while Philip Walton (1995) and Paul McGinley (2002) both stroked home Cup-winning putts. Another unknown who was thrust into the spotlight include Welshman Philip Price, who whipped Phil Mickelson at The Belfry in 2002.

IS FOR VALDERRAMA, the Robert Trent Jones-designed course located in Sa n Roque in t he sout hern Spanish region of Andalusia. In

IS FOR X-FACTOR, not the hideously awful television talent show but the unknown quantity that determines successful Ryder Cup sides. While one team may look weaker on paper than the other, that doesn't always translate into on-course failure (see the European sides of the eighties and the United States team of two years ago). Team spirit, camaraderie, luck, the sheer will to win â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whatever it is, the X-Factor is sure to once again rear its head at Celtic Manor in October.

IS FOR YIPPED PUTT, the most obvious example being Craig Stadler's mindboggling miss from less than two feet on the final hole of his and Curtis Strange's second day fourball match against Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle in 1985. The miss resulted in only a half point and Europe would take advantage, claiming the Cup the very next day for the first time since 1957.

IS FOR ZINGER, nickname of American Ryder Cup stalwart Paul Azinger. Praised for his captaincy skills when leading the United States to victory in 2008, Azinger's never-say-die attitude was enhanced at the 2002 match at The Belfry when he played one of the finest shots in the match's history. With the Cup still hanging in the balance late in Sunday's single matches, Azinger found himself one down against Sweden's Niclas Fasth with only the treacherous eighteenth to play. Finding a greenside bunker with his approach, the feisty New Englander proceeded to brilliantly hole his sand shot for a winning birdie and a halved match. It was to no avail however, as Europe went on to claim victory. 38

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AFP (WAGS); courtesy of Valderrama Golf Club (Valderrama)

Sideshow: WAGS of the US team (above) in 2006; the controversial seventeenth hole at Valderrama, the first course in continental Europe to host the Ryder Cup

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Captain Fantastic

In spite of the weight of expectation, Colin Montgomerie will not be allowing those famous shoulders of his to slump during Ryder Cup week. This larger-than-life character may be a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde but we can be pretty sure that we will be seeing the best of him at Celtic Manor, writes Lewine Mair

rofessional golfers, by the very nature of their work, are apt to put t hemselves f irst but Montgomerie has always been a grand team man. The meerkat in him will be constantly on the lookout on behalf of his men, while he will be no less intent on doing the right thing by Corey Pavin’s team. If, say, an element of the crowd were to hassle the visitors, Montgomerie would make sure something was done about it. By the same token, if a photographer were suddenly to step out of line, the Scot would take a personal interest in the fellow being hung, drawn and quartered. We can rely on Montgomerie to make a thoroughly professional speech at the opening ceremony and, at the same time, to provide the media and the television people with plenty of information. Given the right circumstances, all of it will be entertainingly delivered. From the day his captaincy was announced, there was the feeling that the Scot would force himself to handle even the most difficult elements of his captaincy correctly, starting with the wildcard selections. He promised, for instance, that he would make every effort to speak personally to those players whom he had to disappoint. HKGOLFER.COM

When Montgomerie missed out on Nick Faldo’s team for Valhalla, he had a message left for him on his mobile phone. In fairness to Faldo, this six-time major winner had tried to speak to the Scot but was unable to get him at the first time of asking. Montgomerie appreciated the message but it made him doubly determined to talk to everyone in person. “It’s what they deserve,” he said. Mind you, he recently made it abundantly clear that he was not going to enjoy it. “It’s made my job extremely difficult to have to select only three wildcards when we’ve got around twenty men who could cope with the pressures of the Ryder Cup,” he volunteered. He said as much in the week prior to the Open, a time when his concerns were magnified by a new rush of European success. Montgomerie’s four players on the World Points list were Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter – all of which meant that Justin Rose, who had just won twice in the States, had not qualified for an automatic place. The same applied to Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington and the impressive young German Martin Kaymer.

Supreme Scot: Monty after holing the winning putt at the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills

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Euro Summit: Colin and the Cup in 2004 (top); Montgomerie celebrates with skipper Seve Ballesteros (bottom) after his and Bernhard Langer's foursomes win in 1997.

“I don’t think any captain has had this dilemma before and I am unfortunately going to have to leave out some very, very good players. We are talking about champions,” he added, shaking his head in disbelief. Montgomerie had plenty of sympathy on that particular front. Neil Coles, Chairman of the PGA European Tour, was chuckling mischievously at just what an extraordinarily difficult job Monty had on his hands. Coles mentioned all three of Donald, Rose and Harrington, and then he asked, “And what’s he going to do about Sergio Garcia?” Garcia, of course, has had his poorest year as a professional and has said that he would not pick himself. Yet everyone knows that Montgomerie has always been hugely admiring of the Spaniard in a Ryder Cup context. Even when he was still a teenager, Garcia had what it takes to lift an entire side. True, he had a poor match under Faldo at Valhalla, picking up a paltry two half points but, up until then, his record was one of played 20, won 14 and halved two. In spite of the gaffes made by Montgomerie across the years – these include this summer’s unhappy revelation of a dalliance with an old flame only months after his 2008 marriage – he is still accorded plenty of respect. The aforementioned Kaymer illustrated to perfection how the younger players see the captain. “He’s a gentleman. You want to behave that bit better in front of him and you want to play that bit better,” he said, prior to playing alongside him in the Scottish Open at Loch 42

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Lomond. (Like Montgomerie, Kaymer missed the cut on that occasion). That Montgomerie has a natural air of authority probably has most to do with his on-course success. Despite never managing to collect that elusive major championship title, he won seven Orders of Merit in a row in the 1990s and followed up with another this century – in 2005 to be precise. As for his Ryder Cup record, that is nothing short of magnificent. He was the top scorer with four and a half points out of five in 2002, while he holed the winning putt in 2004. Again, his victory over David Toms in 2006 ensured that he remained unbeaten in the singles over eight Ryder Cups dating back to 1991. He also played the major role in one of the more arresting come-back stories in Ryder Cup history… On his first outing, in the 1991 match at Kiawah Island, he was four down with four to play against Mark Calcavecchia before emerging with half a point. There was some dicey golf played by both down the stretch – Calcavecchia followed Monty into water at the 17th – before Monty was approached by Tony Jacklin on the 18th tee. “If you can stay standing,” said the former Open and US Open champion, “you’ll win this hole.” Montgomerie duly caught the green in two to Calcavecchia’s three and did what he had to do. “I had finished double-bogey, par, doublebogey, par and won every hole,” he recalls. It is a story he has told over and over by way of getting across the message that no game HKGOLFER.COM

of golf is ever finished “until the last putt has dropped.” Presumably, the tale will get another airing at Celtic Manor. And it is not just the players who believe that Montgomerie will make a good fist of his role in Wales. Spectators can sense the same. As per usual, they will be on red alert lest Montgomerie catches them sneezing at the wrong moment but, one way or another, they love the feeling of being involved. He can be their friend as often as their foe and there was that lovely instance of the latter during the most recent match at the Belfry. As he was warming up for his singles a spectator made some crack as to how he could do better. Rather than ignoring the jibe or firing back with something worse, Montgomerie good-naturedly called him down to the practice ground to give him a first-hand demonstration. The gesture loosened up the crowd and it loosened up the Scot, who won his match with room to spare. With Montgomerie being the person he is, it was crucial for him during the months leading up to this match to be able to let his prospective team members know that he could still play a bit himself. None of them needed reminding – but

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the reminder was issued just the same. It came at Sunningdale when he handed in a 62 over the New Course to qualify for what was his 21st Open championship in a row. When it comes to the big week, he will be happy to let his men get on with things. Though he will have the necessary insight be able to dish out gems of advice in an appropriate manner, he will not be doing as the much-loved Seve Ballesteros in champing at the bit to hit his players’ shots for them. There was that famous day at Valderrama when Bernhard Langer and Montgomerie arrived at the last with a one-hole lead against Lee Janzen and Jim Furyk, but were worryingly placed after Montgomerie had hit into the trees on the right. When they got there, Ballesteros was lurking in the shadows and planning their escape. He told Langer, “If you keep it over this branch and under that one, you could hit a low draw on to the green…” It was as Ballesteros was turning to Montgomerie for support that Langer, with Teutonic good sense, went behind his back and chopped out sideways. (They won their match.)

“It’s made my job extremely difficult to have to select only three wildcards when we’ve got around twenty men who could cope with the pressures of the Ryder Cup.”

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“I want my team to see themselves as favourites and I want them to go out and play that way.”

Ever the bridesmaid: Monty (seen here finishing second to Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2005) has five runner-up finishes in major championships.

The Monty File DATE OF BIRTH: 23 June 1963 PLACE OF BIRTH: Glasgow, Scotland TURNED PRO: 1987 RYDER CUP RECORD: Played 36: Won 20, Lost 9, Halved 7 PROFESSIONAL WINS: 40 (including 31 victories on the European Tour) MAJOR HEARTACHE: Three-time US Open runner-up (1994, 1997, 2006); Open Championship runner-up (2005); PGA Championship runner-up (1995) ACCOLADES: 1988 Rookie of the Year; eight-time Order of Merit winner (1993-1999, 2005); awarded OBE in 2004

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Montgomerie’s belief in his team is inevitable given the results they have been bringing home. In fairness to him, though, that belief was in place even before the heady rush of summer success. From the outset, he made it plain that he had no intention of pushing for Europe to be seen as underdogs just because they had been thrashed in Kentucky two years before. “The days when we could pass ourselves off as underdogs have long gone,” he said in January. “I want my team to see themselves as favourites and I want them to go out and play that way.” It would be a massive anticlimax if Europe were to fail to recapture the cup but, as Monty has warned, even that runaway European win – 18 ½ - 9 ½ – at Oakland Hills in 2004 included a staggering 11 matches that finished at the 18th. Meanwhile, whatever the result, there will be one question which will go unanswered that week. Namely, how is Montgomerie going to cope in the aftermath of the Ryder Cup, especially when he has no intention of playing on the seniors’ circuit. He maintains that he will be at anything other than a fidgety loose end. He has pointed to how there are courses to design and how there is plenty of work to be done for the cancer foundation he set up in honour of his mother. Simultaneously, he has owned to thoughts of riding across America on a motorbike. The latter will probably never happen but, equally so, it is difficult to picture this engaging but enigmatic figure sitting contentedly at home. HKGOLFER.COM

punting

Cracker at the Manor Only the inevitably wet Welsh weather can dampen enthusiasm for what will be another close match in this historic series, writes the ever frank Archie Albatross

unting on the Ryder Cup is notoriously tricky so let’s start with some certain predictions: • The US team’s wet weather uniforms will be garish and worn

by players and WAGS alike

• Tiger and Phil will under no circumstances be paired together

in either the foursomes or fourballs

• European skipper Colin Montgomerie will have at least one

incident where he storms away, red-faced and indignant following some perceived press, official or opposition offence

Sadly, no bookie would bother pricing such ‘banker’ bets, so some serious thinking is required to find the value punts…

The European Team

With European golf in such good nick at the time of writing (immediately after the Open Championship at St Andrews), it is tempting to go very long with the Blue team at Celtic Manor. With home advantage counting for a twoto-three point difference and the latest ‘golden’ generation’ of British golf coming to maturity, it is common wisdom that the Europeans will justify its favouritism. But favouritism can be a big burden in the Ryder Cup. True enough, the European ‘veterans’ led by Lee Westwood and Paul Casey look to be in fine collective form. With those two backed by fellow top-20 ranked 46

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players Ian Poulter, US Open champ Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald and Justin Rose, the top of the order looks almost unprecedentedly strong. Throw in the exciting emerging talent epitomized by Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and the Molinari brothers, and the European team looks very well balanced. One false note is that they may sorely miss a traditional talisman figure; both Sergio Garcia and Darren Clarke could both miss out on selection, despite providing an emotional core for the team in past matches. And then there is the captain problem. Unlike my fellow HK Golfer contributor, the esteemed Lewine Mair, I worry about Monty. What do you do with a girl like him? He is so fragile, so divisive, such a figure of ridicule that this team will have to win despite him, not because of him. Where Seve willed his team to victory at Valderrama in 1997, Monty could harrumph his team to defeat in 2010.

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in the qualifying rankings, the Kentucky native would have to be high up on the list as a captain’s wildcard pick. 3/1 on him wearing a ghastly red, white and blue windcheater is a decent price.

Predictions

Top European: Top American: Singles Winner: Overall Winner:

Rory McIlroy Phil Mickelson Europe United States

American Dream: Archie believes that Captain Pavin will guide his team to victory, althouh don't expect to see Woods and Mickelson paired together

The United States Team

If it were a straight shoot out between the two captains, Corey Pavin would win it by the thirteenth hole. An uber-controlled competitor, he can certainly perform a Seve-like role for his team. Media-friendly but fiercely competitive, Pavin will have his team nicely wound up for their Welsh adventure. And more to the point, the US team showed serious passion at the 2008 edition. Wearing their hearts on their sleeves, the Americans showed a desire not seen in eons to win in Valhalla. The likes of Anthony Kim, JB Holmes and Hunter Mahan certainly do not treat the Ryder Cup with the sort of bemused indifference that categorized their compatriots’ attitude in the late 1990s. When you balance the depth of this young talent pool with the experience and (stroke play) talent of Mickelson, Stricker, Fuyrk and – surely now – Woods, the US will deliver a formidable team. The best current outright price for an ‘away’ victory is 2/1, which will surely shorten nearer the time. At 10/1, the USA to win by a point looks a very fair price. Lastly, an attractive novelty bet is for Kenny Perry to make the team. The old fella would be a great asset, and although currently twentieth HKGOLFER.COM

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From the President It is a great honour to have been elected as the new President of the Hong Kong Golf Association and I am looking forward to working with the Executive Committee, the junior development staff and all our sponsors over the next 12 months to further enhance the role of the HKGA in local golf. I would like to thank William Chung, our immediate past president, for his efforts over the past year. He has presided over a period of undoubted progress, and together with former president Rick Siemens (2008/2009), we have set our sights on ways to further improve the exposure of the HKGA over the coming years. With golf set to make a comeback as an Olympic sport at the 2016 Summer Games, this is an extremely interesting and exciting time for us all, and it is my great hope that the strides taken in recent times means that we will be able to send a team to participate in Rio de Janeiro. While it is still a long way off, the Olympic Games represent an achievable target for Hong Kong. The recent results at the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships in the United States underline the vast potential that our current crop of young golfers have. You can read more about the HKGA junior golfers' tour of the US on page 54. One major tournament closer to home that Hong Kong golfers will be participating in is the 2010 Asian Games, which will be played at Dragon Lake Golf Club in Guangzhou in November. The HKGA has been given approval to send a men's team of four and a ladies' team of three to the region's most significant

sporting spectacle. I would like to thank HKGA Chief Executive Iain Valentine and others within the HKGA for bringing this to fruition and can assure you that both teams will make every effort to bring back medals to Hong Kong. It's certain to be a wonderful opportunity for our young players to compete against Asia's best amateur golfers and I'm sure National Coach Brad Schadewitz will have our representatives fully prepared for the tournament. Another key objective of the HKGA is to bring more world-class golfers to Hong Kong. While the UBS Hong Kong Open, to be played from November 18-21, is our flagship event we would like to see top-rate professional golfers playing in Hong Kong at other times during the year. To that end, we have applied to the Mega Events fund to host an LPGA Tour event here and are currently working with a promoter to seek a title sponsor. I hope to be able to report more on this in the near future. On a final note, I would like to express my appreciation to the new Island Golf Club driving range in Tseung Kwan O for their generosity in allowing the HKGA junior squad to practice there on a complimentary basis. The support of golf facilities in Hong Kong – as well as our key sponsors like EFG Bank – has proved pivotal in Hong Kong's rise as a golfing force within Asia.

—Ning Li President HKGA

through donations and our sponsors thoroughly enjoyed playing with some of Hong Kong's most talented young golfers." EFG donated an additional HK$300 for every birdie and HK$1,000 for every eagle made during the round. Such was the standard of play that 35 birdies and two eagles were recorded. As an added incentive, EFG has announced that whenever a HKGA junior makes a birdie during selective international tournaments when representing Hong Kong, an additional HK$100 will be donated to the Foundation.

EFG Hosts Successful Charity Day at KSC EFG Bank and the HKGA held a joint charity function at The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course at the end of June, with the proceeds going to the EFG Bank Young Golfers Foundation, the charitable trust that supports the HKGA's Junior Development Programme. EFG is a key supporter of junior golf in Hong Kong – the Swiss bank sponsors the Programme to the tune of HK$1 million per year. Over 20 sponsors (both corporate and individual) and 60 golfers turned out to play on a sunny day at Kau Sai Chau's South Course, with sponsors being paired with a selection of the HKGA's junior squad. "It was a very successful day," said Albert Chiu, EFG chief executive for Asia (pictured). "We managed to raise our target sum 48

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An intelligent filter The judgement to spot talent early; the expertise to nurture it. Blending the finest solutions for clients.

Proud sponsors of the EFG Bank Hong Kong Golf Association Junior Golf Programme.

Practitioners of the craft of private banking

Hong Kong: 18th Floor, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong, T +852 2298 3000 s Singapore: 25 North Bridge Road, #07-00 EFG Bank Building, Singapore 179104, T +65 6595 4888. Also in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Seoul and Taipei. EFG Bank is part of EFG International, which operates in 55 locations in over 30 countries. www.efginternational.com

hkga

Pethes Makes it Three Stunning 68 the catalyst as Joe romps to home course win

oe Pethes shot one of the finest rounds of his amateur career en route to clinching the MacGregor Hong Kong Seniors' Close Championship at Fanling late May, his third win at the event in four years. Pethes, who also triumphed in 2007 and 2008, carded a three-day total of 228 (15-over-par) to take the title by five shots from Hong Kong Golf Club member Donald Moore and outgoing Hong Kong Golf Association president William Chung who tied for second. Defending champion Matajiro Nagatomi, of Discovery Bay, produced back-toback rounds of 77 before slumping to a final-day 83 to finish in solo sixth. HK SENIORS' CLOSE OVERALL RESULTS Opening with a lackluster Hong Kong Golf Club, Old Course 81, 64-year-old Pethes took May 26-28, 2010 control of the tournament thanks to a brilliant performance on the second 1 Joe PETHES 81-68-79 228 day. The penultimate round 2= Donald MOORE 77-78-78 233 of a tournament is known William CHUNG 75-78-80 233 as "moving day" and Pethes 4 Isamu TAKEMOTO 82-77-75 234 rocketed up eight places and 5 PANG Yat-wai 75-78-82 235 into the lead thanks to a 6 Matajiro NAGATOMI 77-77-83 237 three-under-par 68. Firing 7= Peter AHERNE 84-76-79 239 four birdies and just a solitary Eric LEUNG 80-80-79 239 bogey over the tricky Old Course, Pethes' magnificent Ted LING 80-76-83 239 effort gave him a comfortable 10= KAN King-ting 78-82-80 240 four-shot cushion heading Wilson CHAN 84-76-80 240 into the final round.

"It wasn't particularly pretty out there at times but I did enough to win," said the Canadian-born Pethes after closing out the event with a 79. "The 68 in the second round was probably the best I've ever played in a competition. I've had the same score in this championship before [at Clearwater Bay in 2008] but this one was a better round. It feels nice to have my title back." â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Alex Jenkins

DIVSION RESULTS Age 55-59 1 William CHUNG 2 Isamu TAKEMOTO 3 Peter AHERNE

75-78-78 233 82-77-75 234 84-76-79 239

Age 60-64 1 Joe PETHES 2 Donald MOORE 3 Matajiro NAGATOMI

81-68-79 228 77-78-78 233 77-77-83 237

Age 65-69 1 PANG Yat-wai 2 NG Kwok-kuen 3 Tommy SHIU

75-78-82 235 86-86-81 253 85-85-84 254

70 & Above 1 Ernest EVANS 2 TONG To-fuk 3 Martin CLINCH

86-85-79 250 93-90-92 275 92-90-WD 182

"The 68 was probably the best I've played in a competition."

Stellar short game (right): Pethes used his remarkable greenside skills en route to victory at Fanling. 50

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Senior Showdown (clockwise from top): Joe Pethes receives his trophy; Peter Aherne at the sixteenth; Don Moore just misses out; defending champ Matajiro Nagatomi tees off; William Chung had a solid week; Monotobu Yanai in action

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HK Golferă&#x192;ťAUG/SEP 2010

midsummer classic

Cheng Prevails at Bolle Midsummer Classic Impressive 71 earns HKGC member title; junior Christy wins Ladies' division

Men's Gross Strokeplay Results 1 2 3= 5= 8 9=

Paul CHENG Winston WU Lucas LAM Evan YUNG Euniaki INO Michael LAWRENCE Lyndon GIFFARD Wilson CHAN CHAN Yeun-kow CHAN King-hang

71 72 76 76 80 80 80 81 83 83

Ladies' Gross Stableford Results

Winston Wu

Paul Cheng

he largest field in Hong Kong amateur golf assembled late June for the Bolle Midsummer Classic. Played over the New Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club, over 300 local golfers took part in the annual two-day event, although thunderstorms on the first day meant the high handicap tournament had to be curtailed. No such worries for the lower handicappers on day two however. As is usually the case at the Midsummer Classic, the tournament was played in extreme heat and humidity but despite this, several players put in notable performances. Hong Kong Golf Club member Paul Cheng used his local knowledge to record an excellent one-over-par round of 71 to take the Men's Gross Strokeplay title from Winston Wu (72) by a stroke. Lucas Lam and Evan Yung finished a further four shots back on 76. In the Ladies' Gross Stableford division, juniors Christy Chong and Michelle Ho both carded 28 points, with Chong prevailing on count back. Bonnie Yen placed third following her 25 point haul. "The Bolle Midsummer Classic is always a highlight on the local golfing calendar," said HKGA Chief Executive Iain Valentine. "Our thanks to Andrew Cheung and his team at Bushnell Performance Optics Asia for their continued tremendous support of the tournament." 52

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1= 3 4 5= 8=

Christy CHONG Michelle HO Bonnie YEN Ruby YIM Christine KWOK Winnie YIM Gillian LAI Vivian CHU Carol HO LUN Hau-yee

28 28 25 22 21 21 21 20 20 20

A full list of results can be found at www.hkga.com

The ladies' winners with Andrew Cheung

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junior golf

HK Juniors Making Waves in the USA Each summer, a selection of HKGA junior golfers embark on a tour of California with National Coach Brad Schadewitz and Golf Development Manager Michael Ip, where they play in a series of competitive events – including the prestigious Callaway Junior World Golf Championships. Here's a report of the trip so far.

Callaway Junior World Golf Championships

3rd Annual Oak Valley Cup

Held over multiple courses – including the two famed layouts at Torrey Pines – for the different age divisions, the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships is quite simply the pinnacle of global junior golf. Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have all won titles here, so the standard is second to none. Although the older boys struggled – Liu Lok-tin, Terrence Ng and Steven Lam all missed the cut over the difficult South Course at Torrey Pines – Tiffany Chan rekindled memories of her fourth place in a lower age division two years ago to finish in a tie for 16th in the Girls' 15-17 age group. With rounds of 78, 72, 73 and 77, Tiffany will take a great deal of confidence from her display, which bodes well for the rest of the tour, said National Coach Brad Schadewitz. The highlight of her performance was playing the final eight holes of her third round in a brilliant five-under-par. Tiffany's result caught the eye of many college coaches who were in attendance, with many already asking about her future university plans. Tiffany's close friend Stephanie Ho also impressed in the same division. Closing the week with back-to-back 76s, she claimed a share of 27th. Isabella Leung (14th) and Michelle Cheung (tied 18th) notched up good results in the Girls' 13-14 age group, as did James Inge (tied 56th) in the Boy's 13-14 division, who opened up with an inspired one-under-par 71 at Riverwalk Golf Club. A full list of results can be found at www.juniorworldgolf.com

Hong Kong joined forces with players from China and Taiwan to represent the Chinese Team at this Ryder Cup-style event. Playing against a strong Southern Californian side, the Chinese found themselves down after the first day's play, but a gutsy performance on the second day saw them come through with a 17-15 victory. Tiffany Chan, Stephanie Ho, Steven Lam, Liu Lok-tin, Shinichi Mizuno and Terrence Ng were Hong Kong's representatives on the winning team.

July 13-15, 2010, San Diego

SCPGA San Bernadino Summer Championship July 1, 2010, San Bernandino GC

A great start to the tour for Hong Kong, with Michelle Cheung (Girls'15-18), Mimi Ho (Girls' 12-14) and Ambrose Tam (Boys' 12-13) all winning their respective divisions. Indeed, with Tiffany Chan claiming second spot and Isabella Leung finishing third, Hong Kong made it a clean sweep in the Girls' 15-18 age group. Sebastian Cheng and Linus Lo also did well, finishing second and third in the Boys' 14-15 and Boys' 12-13 divisions. In the Boys' 16-18 age group, Terrence Ng's 2-under-par round of 68 over the short but narrow San Bernandino layout earned him second place, one shot ahead of Hong Kong's Liu Lok-tin. Steven Lam (72) and Shinichi Mizuno (73) placed fifth and sixth respectively. All in all, a dominating display by Hong Kong players. 54

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July 5-7, 2010, Oak Valley GC

SCPGA Jack Kramer Memorial July 8-10, 2010, Los Serranos GC

Another strong display by Hong Kong players, but unfortunately no winners' silverware to take home this time. With rounds of 71, 72 and 77, Tiffany Chan missed out on claiming the title by only one shot. It was a slightly disappointing way for Tiffany to end but she can be proud of her overall performance. In the Boy's division, Shinichi Mizuno fired three successive rounds of 71 to end the event in fourth place, one shot ahead of Liu Lok-tin, whose second round of 67 was the lowest on the tour to date. Steven Lam placed sixth, while Terrence Ng, who opened with an excellent 68, faded late in his final round to finish in a tie for seventh.

Tam Siblings' Scottish Adventure While the HKGA's other talented young golfers were making their presence felt in America, Anthony and Kitty Tam were representing Hong Kong at the R&A's biennial Junior Open, which was held over the links at Lundin Golf Club. Played immediately prior to the Open Championship at St Andrews, the duo battled windy conditions and performed admirably. Kitty recorded rounds of 81, 79 and 82 to finish in a share of 36th, while elder brother Anthony sandwiched a solid round of 76 with scores of 83 and 88 to end in a tie for 48th. A full list of results can be found at www.randa.org

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results

Around the Clubs The Hong Kong Golf Club

Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club

Monthly Medal – Gross Section June 12 Tim Orgill won the Monthly Medal Gross Section played over the New Course with 71.

Ladies Section

Monthly Medal – Nett Section June 12 Clarence Leung won the Monthly Nett Section played over the New Course on 12 June with Nett 67. Shanghai Visitors Cup June 13 Albert Mok / Ken Ko won the Shanghai Visitors Cup played over the Old Course with 63. Hugh Staunton / William Stone were the runners-up with 64. High Handicappers Competition June 27 Michael Ma won the above competition played over the Eden Course with 32 points. Gordon Yen was the runner-up with 31 points on count back over the last nine holes from Raymond Chiu.

June Medal June 23 Division 1 Gross Winner: Nett Winner: Division 2 Gross Winner: Nett Winner:

Pia Fung (85) Madoka Murayama (77 C/B) Miki Motogui (92) Mose Mak (71)

July Stableford July 7 Division 1 Gross Winner: Nett Winner: Division 2 Gross Winner: Nett Winner:

Mei Fung (93 C/B) Sue Hadaway (79) Lily Lau (91) Miko Kudo (66)

Men’s Section

Captain's Cup June 19 Gross Winner: Nett Winner:

Cheung Kim (79) Cheung Kim (69)

Chairman's Cup June 19 Winner: Runner-up:

TY Chow (40 points) Simon Poon (37)

American Cup – Nett Section July 4 Brandon Ma won the American Cup Nett Section played over the Old Course o with Nett 63. Eric Saxvik was the runner up with Nett 69.

JK Lieu Cup July 4 Winners: Runners-up:

Eugene Pak & Peter Chan (38) Ryan Li & Glenn Yee (37 C/B)

Monthly Medal – Gross Section July 18 Erick Saxvik won the Monthly Medal Gross Section played over the Eden Course with 68.

Captain's Cup July 18 Gross Winner: Nett Winner:

Stuart Gethin (71) Stuart Gethin (68)

Monthly Medal – Nett Section July 18 Isamu Takamoto won the Monthly Medal Nett Section played over the Eden Course with 69.

Chairman's Cup July 18 Winner: Runner-up:

Andrew Nowak (40) Takahashi Yasuyuki (37)

American Cup – Gross Section July 4 Eric Saxvik won the American Cup Gross Section played over the Old Course with 70. Tim Orgill was the runner-up with 73 on count back over the last nine holes from Brandon Ma.

Julius Baer Inter-Club League Standings As of July 17

Premier Division HKGC SOCC CWBG&CC DBGC

Tim Orgill, HKGC Monthly Medal champion for June.

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PLAYED 4 5 4 3

First Division DBGC HKGC CWBG&CC

PLAYED 2 2 2

WON 4 1 1 0

LOST 0 3 2 1

HALVED 0 1 1 2

POINTS 8 3 3 2

WON 1 1 0

LOST 0 0 2

HALVED 1 1 0

POINTS 3 3 0 HKGOLFER.COM

lcs championship

Deng Claims Inaugural LCS Championship Hong Kong's Boulet denied victory following playoff loss

ominique Boulet bogeyed the first extra hole of a sudden death playoff to lose out to China's Deng Yong-hong at the inaugural Le Coq Sportif Golf Championship in mid-June. The Hong Kong veteran, who carded rounds of 70 and 73 over the North Course at Kau Sai Chau to tie Deng in regulation play, failed to get up and down from in front of the eighteenth green to narrowly miss out on the HK$100,000 first prize. Deng, a China Tour player, scooped the title after making a gutsy par save from a fairway bunker. "It was a disappointing way to finish," said Boulet, who now spends more time commentating on the Asian Tour than he does playing. "I didn't putt particularly great coming down the stretch, but Deng did well in the playoff. He made a great par when it mattered most." In a closely fought finish to the HK$800,000 championship, Chris Tang was one shot out of the playoff after ending on a two-day total of 144 (level par). Derek Fung and Grant Gibson placed fourth, while Hong Kong Professional Golf Association President Wilson Choy earned solo sixth. Amateur Steven Lam tied for 12th, alongside HKPGA trainee Jimmy Ko. In addition to the prize money, Le Coq Sportif, represented by Hong Kong Descente Trading Ltd, the event organizers, donated HK$15,600 to the HKPGA's Junior Golf Programme.

Leaderboard 1 2 3 4= 6 7= 9 10

DENG Yong-hong* Dominique BOULET Chris TANG Derek FUNG Grant GIBSON Wilson CHOY WONG Woon-man YAU Siu-ming YUAN Tin TANG Man-kee

69-74 70-73 73-71 73-72 73-72 74-72 73-74 77-70 75-73 73-76

143 143 144 145 145 146 147 147 148 149

A full list of results can be found at www.lcsgolfchampionship.com

Kau Sai Chau Climax (clockwise from top): Dominique Boulet in action; Deng holes the winning putt; the champion receiving his trophy; Jimmy Ko and Wilson Choy shake hands on the final green. 56

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THE JOCKEY CLUB KAU SAI CHAU PUBLIC GOLF COURSE 27th - 30th September 2010

Derek Fung

Dominique Boulet

2001 Champion

1995 & 2004 Champion

Wayne Grady

1990 USPGA Champion

GOLF TRAVEL

A Player’s Guide

Alex Jenkins

The par-three eleventh at the Gary Player-designed Links Course at Fancourt 58

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By George, It's Great The courses in and around the South African coastal town of George are so good they'll make a major champion out of you, reports Alex Jenkins

hen Louis Oosthuizen took the halfway lead at The Open Championship last month, most assumed he would quickly relinquish his advantage to other, more famous folk. Not I. The reason was quite simple: the wind blows mighty hard in South Africa's Western Cape. Oostzhuizen, aside from being a first-rate ballstriker, is from Mossel Bay, a pleasant town overlooking the Indian Ocean, about a 45-minute drive from the regional centre George. You simply can't grow up playing golf in the area without being particularly adept at handling the odd hurricane or two. Oosthuizen, nicknamed Shrek by his mates for his gap-toothed grin and angular ears, is more adept than most: he once shot 57 around his home course â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it certainly wasn't flat-calm that day. Little wonder, then, why little Louis was more than up to the task when the rest of the field at St Andrews was under the cosh of a little North Sea breeze.

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African Aces (clockwise from opposite): The manicured perfection of Jack Nicklaus' Simola; the stunning seventeenth at Oubaai; caddies at Fancourt's Links

Louis aside, the region has produced a number of famous golfing names. Ernie Els is a resident, as is Trevor Immelman. Tim Clark practices in the area and Retief Goosen, when not tending to his nearby vineyard, tees it up at Fancourt Links – host to the 2003 Presidents Cup and one of the most ferocious (and brilliant) courses you'll find anywhere. But the figure that has made the biggest impact on modern golf in South Africa isn't a golfer at all but a former boxer. His name, of course, is Nelson Mandela. Following the isolation of the apartheid era, South Africa's return to the international community during his presidency ignited a boom in investment that transformed the country into a leading tourist destination. The hosting of the recent FIFA World Cup has certainly helped; golf has been a big part of this success story for years, as new luxury resorts take their place alongside the country's classic courses.

WHERE TO PLAY FANCOURT (THE LINKS) HHHHH

Quite possibly the finest golf resort in the southern hemisphere, Fancourt, situated on the edge of George, drew worldwide acclaim following the 2003 Presidents Cup, which saw the United States tie with the Rest of the World team following a memorable playoff featuring Tiger Woods and gallery favourite Ernie Els. Home to three excellent courses, it's the Gary Player-designed Links Course (which staged the President's Cup, among other notable events) that garners the most platitudes. By far South Africa's toughest course – and if it were situated on Irish or Scottish coastal terrain, it would be one of their toughest too – this former airfield features a landscape of high mounds and dunes swaying with tall fescue and rye grasses. Truly links-like in nature (although it's entirely manmade), the Links has a magnificent backdrop: the spectacular Outeniqua Mountains dominate the horizon on many holes. The next-best at Fancourt is the Montagu Course, a wonderful parkland layout that is kept in superb condition year-round. Don't forget your putting touch: green speeds routinely run in excess of 11 on the stimpmeter. YARDAGE: 6,958. PAR: 72 Designed by Gary Player Greens Fee: US$150 (hotel guests only) Contact: fancourt.co.za Part of the first-class Hyatt Resort, this is the first Ernie Els-designed layout in the country – and a magnificent addition to the three-time major champion's design portfolio. Occupying clifftop terrain to the south of George, making it one of the most windswept courses in the region, this is a fascinating mixture of linksland and parkland styles, one that plays naturally hard and fast. Opening up with a couple of manageable and – dare I say it? – forgettable par fours, Oubaai, which means 'Old Bay' in the local dialect, becomes considerably more fierce as the round goes on. There are numerous superb holes, although a special mention to the sixteenth and seventeenth - the former, a medium-length par-four, plays along a ridgeline, while the latter is a tiny hole, one of the best par threes in the land. Played into the teeth of the onshore wind, this spectacular short hole, which sits above the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean, makes a mockery of its diminutive yardage. YARDAGE: 7,125. PAR: 72 Designed by Ernie Els Greens Fee: US$75 Contact: oubaai.co.za

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Alex Jenkns (caddies); courtesy of Oubaai Golf Resort (Oubaai); courtesy of Simola Golf Estate (Simola)

OUBAAI GOLF RESORT HHHH

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HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

BEST OF THE REST

The Outeniqua Course at Fancourt is no weak sister to the Links and Montague courses, while Pinnacle Point (pinnaclepoint.co.za), a Darren Clarke and Peter Matkovich design might be the most invigorating of all, given its spectacular seaside locale. Other courses worth trying include Simola Golf & Country Estate (simolaestate. co.za), a wonderful Jack Nicklaus design that ranks among the best in South Africa, and Mossel Bay Golf Club (mosselbaygolfclub.com), Louis Oosthuizen's home track, which claims to be the friendliest in South Africa.

WHERE TO STAY

PEZULA GOLF CLUB HHHH

On the clifftop plateau on the Knysna Heads, with a lagoon on one side, the Indian Ocean on the other and the Outeniqua Mountains as the backdrop, Pezula packs as much scenery as any place. Formerly known as Sparrebosche, this Ronald Fream and David Dale design, which opened in 2000, is a loud, theatrical design. What it lacks in subtlety it makes up for with raw challenge and excitement, as at the par-four fourteenth, where the ocean has the leading role. A three-wood gains you a large landing area; waves crash on the cliffs below. It's hard to ignore the danger of sand around the small green – it's enough to shoot a scene from Lawrence of Arabia – but if you can manage to keep the wind from whipping your punch wedge into another time zone, you'll make par. YARDAGE: 6,517. PAR: 72. Designed by Ronald Fream and David Dale. Greens Fee: US$100 Contact: pezula.co.za

WHEN TO GO

The Western Cape has an almost Mediterranean climate, with mild changeable winters (May to September) when most of the rainfall occurs, and hot summers (October to April). HK Golfer visited in May, which, as we discovered, can be both warm and, if the weather comes from the south, bonechillingly cool during the day, Nighttime and early morning temperatures can dip below five degrees Celsius, so bear that in mind when packing.

GETTING THERE

South African Airways (flysaa.com) flies daily between Hong Kong and Johannesburg – flight time 13 hours; from there it's a two-hour hope to George. Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific. com) flies five-times weekly.

Courtesy of Fancourt (Montagu); courtesy of Pezula (Pezula)

Western Wonderland: The water-laced seventeenth at Fancourt's Montagu Course (top); rugged Pezula is one of the most spectacular courses anywhere

In order to play the Links (or its sister courses, the Montagu and Outeniqua), one must stay at the encompassing Fancourt resort (fancourt. co.za). The 150-room hotel offers first-rate luxury in both the manor house and its garden suites. Another good base is the Hyatt Regency Oubaai Golf Resort & Spa (hyatt.com), smack bang on the Ernie Els-designed Oubaai Course, only 30-minutes from the centre of George.

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EXPERIENCE

VISION

Luxe Hills, China Hole 2 Par 3

WORLD CLASS RESULTS Mark E. Hollinger ASGCA

Address: 1513 Folger Drive, Belmont, California 94002 USA Tel: 1-650-620-9670 Fax: 1-650-620-9707 China: (86)136-6018-6366

www.jmpgolf.com HKGOLFER.COM

HK Golfer・APR/MAY 2010

interview

Design Q&A:

Dr Martin Hawtree One of the most significant names in golf course architecture, the Hawtree firm has been in existence since 1912. Starting life under the command of FG Hawtree, the company been responsible for over 750 courses around the world and now works closely with the R&A in tweaking classic courses for Open Championship play. Alex Jenkins sat down with FG's grandson, Dr Martin Hawtree, to discuss his ongoing work at the Hong Kong Golf Club, his results at Royal Birkdale and St Andrews and his much publicized new course – the Trump International Golf Links Scotland

K: You were asked to produce an audit of the three courses at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Can you explain what that entails? MH: When I become involved at a golf club for the first time I try and work my way into the course by producing an audit, which in this case is a substantial piece of work. An audit is essentially a detailed assessment of the golf course. In addition, we do an audit commentary, which is a range of recommendations that I prefer to call options or opportunities. A spot analysis highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a course. When I do this kind of operation, people think we're going to make recommendations regardless, but I've been in the business long enough now to know that it's not always necessary to change things. HK: What were your first impressions of the Hong Kong Golf Club? MH: I was here four years ago, just after the Hong Kong Open. I was very impressed with the whole site. It really is magnificent. There are stretches of holes that I found not so good and there are some holes that I found to be outstanding. What I found was a lack of homogeneity between the styles of the golf courses. I'm very impressed with the look of the eighteenth on the Old Course. It reminds me of a number of great holes in England. Certainly, the courses here are far from typical Asian layouts. I've spent a lot of time working through the layouts at Fanling, particularly the Eden. That course has a wonderful series of early holes but there are some things there that I'm 64

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

not entirely happy with. Overall, I feel there is immense potential. It's a very interesting piece of detective work. HK: Is it fair to say that most of your work now is restoration? MH: We've always done a lot of restoration, but we needed the new work to help subsidize that. Restoration work isn't always remunerative. But I've always enjoyed working on existing golf courses. There are two that have given me the most pleasure and satisfaction – largely because I was given immense freedom to do what was needed. The first was Lahinch and the second was Toronto Golf Club, which we worked on last year. Toronto is a [Harry] Colt course. I could see him in the layout but not in the detail of the course. It wasn't a total renovation but we changed the changed the green surrounds, the bunkers and had all the roughs regrassed to get away from the Bluegrass syndrome. The Bluegrass only ever provided one type of shot – the lob, so we changed that. HKGOLFER.COM

HK: When you do restoration work, are you putting yourself into the shoes of the original architect? MH: Very much so. I found criticism of my work at Toronto on various websites and blogs extraordinary. I was criticized for being late Colt and not early Colt. If I reproduced a Colt circa 1913 I don't believe any of the members would have been at all happy with what I had done. The same with Lahinch. I wasn't slavishly trying to copy [Dr Alister] MacKenzie as we had no plans to work from. It's more about looking at the golf course for the next thirty to forty years but with the architect over my shoulder. At Toronto there are constant reminiscences of Colt – the style and position of the bunkers, the slopes at the back of the greens. So there's a bit of me in it and a bit of Colt in it and now the members are very happy with it. I'm doing it for them and not to please a whole lot of critics on the internet. HK: You've done a lot of work with the R&A on several Open courses, including installing the new back tee on the seventeenth at St Andrews, which has received some scrutiny. MH: I assisted. It wasn't my original idea; I simply designed the tee. I understand why the R&A wanted it. Whether or not the R&A allowed as much additional width to the fairway I'm not sure. My original suggestion was much more width than I think they allowed. But we work very closely with the R&A. We've just finished quite a lot of alterations at Hoylake [Royal Liverpool Golf Club, host of the 2014 Open Championship] and previously did work at Royal Birkdale. We added a lot of bunkers and new tees at Birkdale, but only changed one green – the seventeenth, which created a little controversy when the club held the Open in 2008.

HK: What's your view on the equipment versus golf course debate? Are modern courses unnecessarily long? MH: I'd quite like to see a tournament ball. For the vast majority of players and club members new equipment has probably given them more enjoyment. I'm not against that at all. What distresses me is the number of wonderful courses that have faded out of the circuit because they're not long enough. Toronto Golf Club is an example. It was designed as 6,400 yards in 1911. That would have been some challenge back then, the equivalent of over 7,000 yards today.

Colt in Canada: Hawtree's recent restoration work at the Toronto Golf Club, a Harry Colt Design, has been highly praised by the club's membership.

HK: You seem to be one of the few architects that has a lot of work on – in Europe especially. You haven't felt the need, like many other designers, to head into mainland China in search of new projects? MH: No. We did look at China seriously a couple of years ago and came out to the golf show in Guangzhou, but as you say, we've got quite a lot of work already. We have a project in India at Lucknow and we have a new one near Orleans in France. And of course we have the Trump course, which is certainly going to keep us busy. HK: The Trump course – or to give it its full title, the Trump International Golf Links Scotland – has received an enormous amount of publicity, with Trump himself coming out and saying that he expects the course to host an Open Championship. What do you make of that? MH: It's a race for him to get the Open or the US Open on one of his courses. He's certainly going to have space for an Open. It's a huge

Courtesy of Hawtree Ltd (Hawtree & Toronto GC)

HK: Many of the players reacted quite strongly to the severity of that green. MH: Some of the players didn't like it and some of them loved it. But you're right, there were strong reactions. There are a few things I'd like to change there – the removal of the spectator mounds at the back of the green being one. The hole played as one of the easiest during the Open because the R&A were terrified of putting pins in difficult locations. They put them in easy places, which was reflected in the scoring. HK: Was there a feeling of vindication when Harrington hit that 5-wood to set up eagle there to win? MH: Absolutely. HKGOLFER.COM

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site. He ca n i nt roduce t he infrastructure and he has all the length and space in the world to produce a very challenging and very dramatic site. But it's up to the powers that be if that ever happens. It's not going to happen for the next few years, that's certain. I think it might get tested out by hosting some of the major amateur events once it opens in 2012.

HK: What is Mr Trump like to work with? MH: I get on very well with him. Our characters and temperaments are at the opposite ends of the spectrum, which seems to work. I find him a good client. He's always asking questions and he has huge energy. Last time he was there – at the

HK: Given his public persona, which comes through on programmes like The Apprentice, you're not scared of saying 'no' to any ideas he comes up with? MH: No - I have said 'no' to him. He did have an idea of having a nineteenth hole. Because of the tee site on the eighteenth it left the green a fair way from the clubhouse, so he thought of having a nineteenth hole to get back to the clubhouse. I gave a firm, "No, Mr Trump!" and he said, "OK, OK." HK: How excited are you by the project? MH: Very. It'll either make or break me [laughs]. The site is magnificent. It's like Royal Aberdeen, Royal Birkdale and Cruden Bay all rolled into one and times two. I'm constantly amazed by the size of the dunes. They're bigger than anything I've ever seen.

AFP (Trump & TIGLS)

Trumped: The Donald (top) is a good client, says Hawtree; the site of the Trump International Golf Links Scotland, near Aberdeen

H K : H ow d i d yo u b e c o m e involved? MH: Through the R&A, which was a result of our work with Open courses. At the start, I wasn't the lead architect, I was really the consultant. But Tommy Fazio Jr, who has done many of Trump's courses in the States, became busy with other projects and it was handed over to me.

end of May – he came off the plane, did a number of press conferences and then we spent six hours on the site nonstop. In its current state, it's a pretty rugged site and he is 63 or thereabouts, so he has a huge amount of energy. But I enjoy working with him. He stimulates me and I give him ideas. I'm not very fond of working with planned consortiums who are just putting up the money for something. He [Trump] has definite engagement with the project.

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USA (303) 663-1000

China +86 10 6533 1967.

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GLOBALTOURNAMENTNEWS THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Old Course, St Andrews, July 15-18

Any doubts that Louis Oosthuizen had the game and the temperament to cope with the pressure of leading a major championship on the last day, having missed the cut in five previous attempts, were soon dispelled over the Old Course when he played with the confidence of a seasoned campaigner to win the game’s oldest and most coveted title by seven shots. After eight holes his lead was trimmed to three shots, but he responded instantly with an eagle at the ninth and Paul Casey’s spirited challenge fell apart with a wayward tee shot at the 12th that lead to a triplebogey seven and allowed Oosthuizen the luxury of playing the final six holes with an eight-shot cushion that he never looked like losing until a dropped shot at the famous Road Hole, the 17th. The chase for second place became a battle between old friends and adversaries Casey and Lee Westwood and it was Westwood who took the honours at nine under when Casey three-putted the last after driving into the Valley of Sin. It was Westwood’s second successive near miss following his third place last year when he was one shot short of the play-off between Stewart Cink and Tom Watson at Turnberry. Rory McIlroy, who set an Open record with his opening round of 63, recovered strongly from a wind-blown 80 on the second day to finish 69-68 for an eight-under total and a share of fourth place with Henrik Stenson of Sweden. One of the biggest cheers of the day rang out around the 18th green when 20-year-old Amateur Champion Jin Jeong completed his first Open Championship with an eagle putt after driving the green and finished at four under par. He followed young Italian Matteo Manassero in completing the double of Amateur title-holder and and winner of the Silver Medal as leading non-pro in The Open. As he stepped from the last green as the newly crowned Open champion Oosthuizen said: “My biggest goal this week was to keep calm. It became very difficult after the 12th hole on the back nine with an eight shot lead, but I was glad of those eight shots at the 17th. I cramped up a bit. But that was unbelievable.” Later he added: “I felt I needed something to get me going and the eagle was the thing that did it. During the final round I made good putts when I had to and rarely missed anything under six feet, but it was much tighter than it looked until that 12th hole.” The last hole still held its dramas. “Coming down the 18th I didn’t want to hit driver and thought about the threeiron, but that might have bounced on the road and finished anywhere. It was amazing when I saw the ball hit the fairway.” Of the great breakthrough in his career he said: “Everyone told me it was just a matter of me believing in myself and my first win on the European Tour really helped. But to win an Open is special. To win at St Andrews is extra special.” 68

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1 2 3 3 3 6 7 7 7 7 11 11 11 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

Louis OOSTHUIZEN Lee WESTWOOD Rory McILROY Henrik STENSON Paul CASEY Retief GOOSEN Robert ROCK Sean O’HAIR Nick WATNEY Martin KAYMER Jeff OVERTON Luke DONALD Alvaro QUIROS Charl SCHWARTZEL Rickie FOWLER Tom LEHMAN Ignacio GARRIDO Jin JEONG (A) Robert KARLSSON Sergio GARCIA

65 67 69 71 67 71 71 70 63 80 69 68 68 74 67 71 69 69 67 75 69 70 72 70 68 78 67 69 67 72 72 71 67 73 71 71 69 71 68 74 73 69 72 69 73 72 69 69 72 70 74 67 71 75 68 70 79 67 71 67 71 68 75 70 69 71 73 71 68 70 74 72 69 71 72 72 71 71 70 72

272 279 280 280 280 281 282 282 282 282 283 283 283 284 284 284 284 284 284 284

£850,000 £500,000 £320,000 £320,000 £320,000 £175,000 £150,000 £150,000 £150,000 £150,000 £96,250 £96,250 £96,250 £56,500 £56,500 £56,500 £56,500 --£56,500 £56,500 HKGOLFER.COM

GLOBALTOURNAMENTNEWS ALSTOM OPEN DE FRANCE Le Golf National, Paris, July 1-4

Miguel Angel Jimenez came out on top in a dramatic finish to the French Open after beating Alejandro Canizares of Spain and Italian Francesco Molinari in a playoff at Le Golf National in Paris. The 46-year-old Spaniard secured his 17th European Tour victory after holing a 15-foot putt for par at the 18th, the first extra hole. Molinari could only manage a bogey five after finding trouble off the tee, while Canizares' challenge ended abruptly as he found the water twice. "Experience is always important," said Jimenez. "These two guys are playing very well. But, you know, the experience, also, is one of the keys. On 18, I hit my ball in the middle of the fairway and both of them missed the fairway." The testing par-four 18th hole proved pivotal to the fate of championship with Jimenez holding a two-shot lead on the final tee in regulation play. But his second shot to the green found the water and the eventual double bogey six left him tied on 11-under 273 with Molinari and Canizares. It was his second playoff win of the year, having beaten European number one Lee Westwood to the title at the Dubai Desert Classic. 1 Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ 2 Francesco MOLINARI 2 Alejandro CAÑIZARES 4 Rory MCILROY 5 Danny WILLETT 6 Martin KAYMER 6 Peter HANSON 6 Grégory BOURDY 6 Oliver WILSON 6 Mark FOSTER *Won on first extra playoff hole

71 69 66 67 69 69 68 67 66 66 73 68 68 71 69 66 72 67 69 68 66 67 71 73 68 69 70 70 68 69 70 70 68 71 71 67 76 63 70 68

273* 273 273 274 276 277 277 277 277 277

€500,000 €260,565 €260,565 €150,000 €127,200 €79,440 €79,440 €79,440 €79,440 €79,440

THE BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN Loch Lomond GC, July 8-11

Italian Edoardo Molinari joined his brother Francesco as a European Tour winner at The Barclays Scottish Open. With Francesco looking on all the way – he finished joint fourth – the 29 year old from Turin won his duel with Darren Clarke to become champion at Loch Lomond. Edoardo, one ahead after his dazzling third round 63, closed with a 74 in the much tougher conditions and, with a 12 under par total of 272, took the €601,599 first prize by three. The compensation for runner-up Clarke was that he took the one Open Championship spot up for grabs. Winner Edoardo, who first hit the headlines by winning the US Amateur Championship title five years ago, is up from 11th to sixth on the world list from which the first four members of Colin Montgomerie's Europe Team will come. "I was very nervous to be honest. The last few holes are very difficult and Darren hit a great shot on 17. My five iron there was probably my best shot and the drive on 18 was great, "said Edoardo. 1 2 3 4 4 4 7 8 8 8 70

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Edoardo MOLINARI Darren CLARKE Raphaël JACQUELIN Stephen GALLACHER Peter HEDBLOM Francesco MOLINARI ShaneLOWRY Johan EDFORS Rory SABBATINI Ross FISHER

66 69 63 74 65 67 67 76 71 68 69 68 67 73 69 68 67 69 69 72 68 69 68 72 68 73 66 71 67 76 68 68 70 69 69 71 71 73 65 70

272 275 276 277 277 277 278 279 279 279

€601,599 €401,062 €225,960 €180,479 €180,479 €180,479 €108,287 €90,239 €90,239 €90,239 HKGOLFER.COM

GLOBALTOURNAMENTNEWS LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP Presented by Wegmans Locust Hill CC, June 24-27

1 2 3 3 5 5 7 7 7 7

Cristie KERR Song-Hee KIM Ai MIYAZATO Jiyai SHIN In-Kyung KIM Karrie WEBB Morgan PRESSEL Inbee PARK Meaghan FRANCELLA Jimin KANG

68 66 69 66 72 71 69 69 76 71 70 66 72 70 70 71 72 70 72 70 72 72 69 71 72 76 68 69 69 70 75 71 73 71 70 71 74 67 70 74

269 281 283 283 284 284 285 285 285 285

$337,500 $207,790 $133,672 $133,672 $85,323 $85,323 $54,323 $54,323 $54,323 $54,323

Cristie Kerr rocked the LPGA Championship Presented by Wegmans, winning by a commanding 12-strokes over SongHee Kim. Kerr captured her second major championship in style with rounds of 68-66-69-66 and broke the record for the largest winning margin in LPGA Championship history. The previous record of 11 shots was held by Betsy King in 1992. Kerr is now the owner of 14 LPGA tournament titles and became the first American player to top the Rolex World Rankings thanks to her win. Kerr held a share of the first-round lead with Stacy Lewis and Seon-Hwa Lee and never relinquished it. She stretched her lead to five after a second-round 66 and to an impressive eight shots after a third-round 69. Kerr started her professional career on the Duramed Futures Tour in 1996 and was an LPGA rookie in 1997. A tough inaugural season sent Kerr back to the LPGA qualifying school in the fall of 1998 where she earned comedalist honors with SeRi Pak and exempt status for the 1998 season. It took Kerr nearly five more years to become a Rolex First-Time winner at the 2002 Longs Drugs Challenge. She next won the Takefuji Classic in 2004 and proceeded to win two more tournaments that year. Kerr has not had a season without a win since. She captured her first major championship title with a two-shot victory at the 2007 US.= Women’s Open at Pine Needles Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C.

US WOMENS OPEN Oakmont CC, July 8-11

Paula Creamer held on to win the US Women's Open and claim her first major tournament victory. Creamer, only 23 but long considered the best women's golfer to not win a major, went into the final round at sunny Oakmont Country Club with a three-shot lead that never dwindled below two shots. She played 23 holes on the final day with a sore left thumb, including the final five holes of the weather-delayed third round. Her final-round, 2-under 69 gave her a 3-under 281 for the tournament. Na Yeon Choi of South Korea and Suzann Pettersen of Norway tied for second at 1-over 285. Limited to 40 practice shots before each round by a still-healing hyperextended left thumb that required surgery in February, the 23-year-old Creamer found the best possible way to limit the pounding on her hand: take as few strokes as possible. Creamer, known as the Pink Panther for all-pink attire, improved on the 75 she averaged during previous Women's Open final rounds. She faded badly near the finish the last two years, and missed the cut at last week's Jamie Farr Classic won by Choi. But this time she was as strong as her thumb is weak. "I was in pain, but I was trying to do everything to not think about it," Creamer said. Her lead briefly down to two strokes after four holes, her two biggest confidence-building shots of the day might have been long, par-saving putts on No. 7 and 8 – even as Choi was charging with the tournament's secondbest round. Song-Hee Kim had a 65 in the final round and finished 13th. 1 2 2 4 5 5 5 8 8 10 72

Paula CREAMER Na Yeon CHOI Suzann PETTERSEN In Kyung KIM Jiyai SHIN Brittany LANG Amy YANG Inbee PARK Christina KIM Yani TSENG

72 70 70 69 75 72 72 66 73 71 72 69 74 71 73 68 76 71 72 68 67 74 75 69 70 75 71 71 70 78 73 68 72 72 72 73 73 76 73 68

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281 285 285 286 287 287 287 289 289 290

$585,000 $284,468 $284,468 $152,565 $110,481 $110,481 $110,481 $87,202 $87,202 $72,131 HKGOLFER.COM

GLOBALTOURNAMENTNEWS JOHN DEERE CLASSIC TPC Deere Run, July 7-10

Steve Stricker broke the tournament scoring record by a whopping four shots en route to successfully defending his John Deere Classic title. "Anytime you can win three times in a row would be great," Stricker said. "You know, it's a long ways away. We've got a year to go, but it would be fun to come back and try [to make it three]." Stricker's 26-under par total was enough to defeat fellow PGA Tour veteran Paul Goydos, who finished two shots back at 24-under. Goydos made golf history in the first round when he became only the fourth player in TOUR history to shoot 59. Like Stricker, Goydos' final score also broke the previous tournament record of 22-under set by J.P. Hayes in 2002. Hayes won that tournament. Stricker, 43, shot a final round 1-under par on Sunday. He birdied his first two holes to take a seven-stroke lead over Goydos, who shot a 5-under 66. Stricker's victory was the first successful defense at the Quad Cities-based tournament since David Frost posted back-to-back wins in 1992-93. It was Stricker's second victory this year and his ninth on the PGA Tour. The native and resident of Wisconsin and University of Illinois alumnus shot rounds of 60-66-62-70 en route to the 26-under total of 258. Stricker recorded 31 birdies, which ties him for second on the all-time list for birdies in a 72-hole event with John Huston and Phil Mickelson.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 7 10 10

Steve STRICKER Paul GOYDOS Jeff MAGGERT Shaun MICHEEL Matt JONES Vaughn TAYLOR Charley HOFFMAN Tim CLARK Bredon de JONGE Brett QUIGLEY Troy MATTESON

60 66 62 70 59 68 67 66 66 65 63 70 69 66 63 67 64 67 66 70 71 66 64 67 65 69 70 65 71 66 66 66 67 65 68 69 68 67 68 67 69 66 67 68

258 260 264 265 267 268 269 269 269 270 270

$792,000 $475,200 $299,200 $211,200 $176,000 $158,400 $137,133 $137,133 $137,133 $114,400 $114,400

THE SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP Carnoustie Golf Links, July 22-25

Bernhard Langer held off the challenge of Corey Pavin to become the first continental European to win The Senior Open Championship presented by MasterCard at Carnoustie. The German kept his cool to compile a closing round of 72 for a five under par total, one better than the US Ryder Cup Captain, who finished his first senior major with a round of 70. Langer has enjoyed a glittering career since turning 50 and joining the Champions Tour almost three years ago, where he has won consecutive Money Lists and finished in the top ten in seven of his 12 Senior Majors, but incredibly this was his first major since winning the second of his Green Jackets at Augusta National in 1993. “This ranks very high," said Langer. "Obviously it was pretty close to my two US Masters championships and some of The Ryder Cup stuff I won - it's a thrill to finally hold this trophy. "Corey played very well all day, he's a beautiful ball striker and bends the ball both directions and he has a great short game. I knew he wouldn't go away. You still get nervous, and especially a Championship that means something to you. As you know, I've always wanted to win The Open Championship and this is the next best thing. I probably will not win The Open Championship, but I'm very pleased to win The Senior Open Championship on a great golf course like this.” HKGOLFER.COM

1 2 3 3 3 7 8 8 8

Bernhard LANGER Corey PAVIN Russ COCHRAN Fred FUNK Peter SENIOR Trevor DODDS Tommy ARMOUR III Jay HAAS Ian WOOSNAM

67 71 69 72 69 69 72 70 70 71 70 72 75 69 67 72 71 72 72 68 74 71 69 70 74 72 69 70 70 69 72 74 72 67 72 74

279 280 283 283 283 284 285 285 285

€242,639 €161,836 €69,140 €69,140 €69,140 €43,669 €32,690 €32,690 €32,690

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

final shot

My Favourite Course By Brian Curley The internationally renowned architect, whose design portfolio includes the newlyopened Mission Hills Hainan, recalls his childhood days playing Cypress Point

y favourite course? It's a tough call between Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. I was raised on the Monterey Peninsula – my father was a high school principal there – and I spent a great deal of my childhood on those courses. Both are supremely special places. I've always said that if Pebble was the private club and Cypress was the public course then Pebble would come out on top. But because it can take six hours to get around and there's marshals running all over trying to control the pace of play it's not quite the same atmosphere. Cypress is old money and, unlike Pebble, doesn't have any cart paths. For me, a truly great golfing experience means no cart paths, cool season grasses and a sandy site. Cypress ticks all the boxes and more. Pebble is still wonderful – how could it not be? – but it took a notch down when they introduced continuous curbed cart paths in the mid-seventies. While not a bad thing, it has the look and feel of a resort and doesn’t match the Cypress mystique and ambience. I must have played Cypress at least a hundred times. I snuck on that golf course more than anyone else in the world. My home was just over the dunes and as a teenager me and the other kids in the neighbourhood used to work at the local courses as cart boys and caddies. When we weren't working we were golfing. Back then it was far more relaxed – even at Cypress, one of the most exclusive courses in the United States – but we still had to keep out of sight from the club's security guys who would occasionally try and kick us off. I learned to play fast that way. It was during this time that I realized I wanted to become a golf course architect. The thing I love about Cypress is that it breaks all the rules. The only thing it does 'right' is that it has a par of 72. It's short, doesn't have returning nines (with pars of 37-35), and features back-to-back par threes and back-to-back par fives. It's the little odd and quirky features that make it so great. So many modern courses only 74

HK Golfer・AUG/SEP 2010

really get designed in an office; Cypress, which was the work of Dr Alister MacKenzie, was very much designed in the field. Everything you're not supposed to do from a course architectural point of view, MacKenzie did. That's what makes it the best. You even have to hit over a road – at the first, where you drive over 17 Mile Drive. There's not even a driving range; a little practice area is sufficient for the club's miniscule but extremely well-heeled membership. Even the clubhouse, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, is tiny. Cypress has three distinct microclimates. You start off with a run of treelined holes and then you're in among the dunes and native grasses for a stretch. Where Cypress earns its fame is at its closing holes – fifteen, sixteen and seventeen play over and alongside the ocean and are as spectacular as you can possibly get. The course is known as the Sistine Chapel of golf, and I think rightfully so. Playing it on a crisp fall afternoon with the waves crashing around you – I don't think there's anything that can approach it. It really is the most wonderful property you could possibly ask for and nowhere beats it on the memorability scale. Play it just once and each hole will stay with you for a lifetime. –As told to Alex Jenkins HKGOLFER.COM

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