I went to practice 3 or 4 times this week and am happy to say that I am not the only crazy person in Switzerland. It must be said however that its generally the same crazies out there (the rest of you are chicken!) and I hope that we all see the positive in our golf this coming season.
One other thing I have noticed. There are some people who really believe that its possible to achieve my goal and there are some that think its never going to happen. Interestingly the ones that are negative don’t actually ask how I think I am going to do it and rarely believe that some hard work and self belief will see me get there. Those that believe, ask the best questions, and really do show an interest in how to get there. Goes to show, it takes all sorts and I hope to prove the nay sayers very wrong by slaying a few dragons on the way.

Till next time and thanks for the support.

Cheers

Geoff

I spent most of the Monday practicing on the lovely practice facilities which they have and Hans and I had about an hour chipping competition which really helps to sharpen your short game. It also teaches you to deal with the stress of having to put it closer than your opponent. Hans beat me 10 and 5 on the putting green as I was shutting the putter face on the short putts and he was better than me overall.

On Tuesday we played a round with another cousin of mine Michael Oliver joining us to make up the 4 ball. Mike and I have threatened to play a round of golf together for about 5 years now at least so it was great to get this done eventually. We had a good laugh on the way at how this game can take you from highs to lows in the matter of 2 shots. He does not play that often but is naturally athletic so when he hits the ball it stays hit and kept reminding me each time he outdrove me just how old and weak I am. I of course simply responded by saying ’see you on the green’ which invariably was what happened. I managed a respectable 78 on a par 72 golf course and this after going 6 over on the 1st nine and finishing with a crucial par putt on the 18th to shoot level par on the back 9.

So today, 25th February, was a day that I have looked forward to for a long time. I finally got to play on Blair Atholl probably one of  the most exclusive golf courses in South Africa and only by invitation of a home owner. The entire estate is built on the old Gary Player farm north of Johannesburg and was designed by Gary Player himself who still lives on the estate.

The day started cold and very very wet. Yes it does rain in South Africa sometimes and today was cold and wet. We had to start an hour after our scheduled t time and were only allowed out after much negotiation. I played with Hans, Walter and Anton Kruger. Anton and Walter both went to school with me and it was fun talking about our school days. I managed to shoot 86 and say managed as the conditions were not good and we played off the back tees which measure to an incredible 7 500 metres with two or three par 3’s over 220 metres and one par 5 an incredible 607 metres long. Walter thanks again for arranging it and Anton many thanks for the invite to this awesome golf course.

Today I played Parkview Golf Course in Johannesburg with my nephew and some of his friends. Its a well established course on the outskirts of Johannesburg and after playing Blair Atholl seemed very short even from the back tees. I shot a respectable 77 and though it’s fairly short it has narrow fairways and small greens. We got caught up in a massive thunderstorm with a lot of lightning around but soldiered on and managed to live to tell the tale. There were a few moments where I wanted to run for cover but the locals told me to not be  a sissy! Last round for this trip and I played with my cousin Bev, Kerr her husband and Dylan. We played on Jackal Creek Golf Course which is a golf estate aimed at the up and coming in that the houses are more like apartments and not massive homes for the extremely wealthy. It is a lovely course but a round that I would prefer to forget. I have no idea what I shot, suffice it to say that there was not enough space on the card to write my score in. This raises an interesting point in why does this happen in golf and how best does one cope with it. I have been reading a very good book on the mind and golf and how best to make what we have to work best in all circumstances. The book is titled ‘The Inner Game of Golf’ and is written by W. Timothy Gallwey. I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy. Below a photo of the shot of the year at Jackal Creek which is a par 4 of 290 metres. The ball on the green next to the hole is Dylan’s drive!

So now it’s back to the real world and I will keep you posted on my progress with regard to achieving my goal and hopefully get to play a round or two with all of you that are following this quest. I am also planning a trip similar to this one for next year so let me know who is joining me so that we can arrange it.

I will be uploading all my photos from the entire trip to the web and will share the link with my next post.

Cheers for now.

Geoff

So I took off the 12th to have a day of rest and to do some training at the driving range at Lost City Golf Course. I spent a lot of time working on keeping myself swinging ‘inside the barrel’. This basically means that you try to keep yourself swinging around your spine so that there is not too much lateral head and body movement. The way it was shown to me by Wayne Westner is that you stand between two chairs both touching your hips on your left and right side and swing without moving them laterally. What I use on the range is two steel iron shafts which have the same effect. This has helped in keeping my core more solid resulting in better contact into the ball. I will be happy to show anyone this tip if they wish me to.

One of my guests for two weeks was Tamara Tremp who I met in Sankt Gallen and is a physiotgerapist. She came with at the last minute and  helped me by doing much of the video shoots that I intend to upload once I am back in Switzerland. She spent 2 weeks here and I think knows my swing pretty well by now. I believe she has also got the golf bug! On this particular day I stopped after hitting 3 buckets in the very hot African sun. I had one bucket left and she asked very politely whether she may hit a few balls. She ended up hitting the entire bucket and somehow managed to hit the bucket with the last ball which then hit her on the knee. So perhaps the bug will not bite as she may think that golf is a contact Sport.

On Saturday I had an old school friend Walter Kruger and his lovely wife Karen join me and we played the Lost City Golf Course. It was really nice to see him after more than 28 years and we had a good round of golf.  I shot an 80 and was happy with my golf. We played against 2 other guys and managed to win the princely sum of R1.00 and this only on the last hole. Having said that Walter and I did give them 9 strokes based upon our combined handicaps so we did well. Thanks Walter it was great seeing you again. Sunday was spent partly on the range practising my short game and just taking it easy.

On Monday I played the Lost City Course again and met a very nice young couple,Lindsay Combrink and Ronald Wichman. Man talk about talent! And relax Ronald, I am referring to Lindsay’s golf. It is a long long time since I have had the privilege to play with someone that is so naturally talented. She hits the ball a long way, most times longer than me(yes I did cry a little inside) and straight as an arrow. Of course the gods did bring her down a peg or two as they are wont to do but I cannot begin to really explain how great it was to see. Lindsay I will say it again, use this talent and as long as I have space for you in Switzerland to come out and try the ladies tour in Europe my family will welcome you with open arms. Yes Ronald, you are more than welcome too. It was a pleasure meeting both of you and I wish you all the very best. Ronald and Lindsay spent the night with me as I was an old man and told them that they could only leave the next day on their 8 hour homeward journey. I shot an 80.

Hans was back with me on the 18th and I shot the best round thus far with a really nice 74 on the Gary Player Golf Course. I was so happy with my round on one of the most challenging courses in South Africa. We met and played with Michael (a South African living in Sydney and moving to Dallas Texas) and his wonderful wife Cindy. It was just one of those rounds when it all came together and if I hadn’t dropped one shot on the 17th and 18th it would have been level par.
My sister Jenny arrived the evening of the 18th and Hans and Tamara left on the morning of the 19th .
No golf on the 19th but roll on the 20th.
I played LCGC with my cousin Beverly and her husband Kerr, my sister and my good friend Harold Frey who is Swiss and working currently in SA for SAP. We had a great round and experienced many interesting things on our round from the crocodiles on the 13th to Impala on the 11th and a Black Mamba on the road up to the 17th t box. The Mamba is one of the fiercest snakes in the world and we were only too happy that it left us alone. Estimated size was around 4 to 6 foot so not something you want to mess with. We played as a 5 ball (only in Africa) and sadly it took 7 hours. I managed to shoot an 80 and lost some money as I was convinced that I would shoot a par round and bet against myself. So I paid up and shut up after the round!

On the 21st it was back to GPCC for my final round in Sun City on this trip. I played with Bev, Kerr and Harold and it was a perfect day again weather wise. A good 30 degrees at least and a perfectly blue sky. 2 over after 9 with a bogey on the 9th and managed to shoot a 77 with a birdie, par, birdie finish.

What a great way to finish up at this amazing place. It is filled with happy and very friendly and warm people, from the caddy’s through to the management and I cannot thank them enough for their hospitality and all the effort they went to to make the stay for Mr Saayman a very memorable one. In particular I wish to thank my caddy from GPCC Peter who is amazing as well as William from the LCGC. I am sure that I will miss out many people that I should thank but will try all the same. In no particular order, Antonie Els and the ladies Emma and Olga that were most helpful with my t times, Frans and Alpheus from the two golf courses, Lu, Moses, Peter N, Reuben, Victor, Abbott, and all those whose names I cannot at the moment remember – you are all wonderful people and I wish you only the very best. I will be back and we will have many laughs together again I am sure.

Cheers for now

Geoff

Below is the challenge that I have set myself for 2010 in more or less a nutshell. Please let me know what you all think.

My goal is to pass the so called Swiss PGA’s ‘playing ability test’ by the end of 2010. This test requires you to shoot a max of 8 over par per round in an accredited professional tournament over 3 days. This is only the start of the quest, thereafter I will need to find a good job as an apprentice at a golf course and be mentored by an A graded teaching pro. After completing the 3 year course successfully I will become a registered teaching professional with the right to play pro tournaments in Switzerland and some in Europe with the senior tour being the realistic goal.

So all in I have given myself 6 to 8 months to jump the 1st hurdle, then the next 3 years are all about fun and hard work until I reach the ultimate goal. I have already set a goal thereafter. It’s to find a talent in Switzerland that I can turn into a great success in the world of golf, hopefully getting this person to the top ten in the world. Pie in the sky perhaps, but without a dream and the desire to do something about it, nothing will ever happen and we will never know. There are times when I think it will never happen and times when I think it will be easy as pie! I am sure that if we put it to the vote then the outcome would be divided. I will by nature side with those that think it’s possible and play on until it’s done.

Let me know what you guys all think, auf deutsch, or in English.

Thanks and I am off to the practice range now…………..

Cheers

Geoff

I joined a group on Sunday 7^th February for 18 holes at the GPCC. In the 4 ball were 2 South Africans and one guy from India. Ranjar and Kobus, (left and 2^nd from left in picture), are in business together and 1 other player. We had a great round of golf and I managed to shoot 10 over par 82 on the GPCC. These 3 guys made the round lots of fun and I hope that our paths cross again sometime.

On the 8^th February I played a round at Lost City Golf Course with my nephew and his father in law Gerhardt. The pressure was on me to perform as Dylan knows that I want to play serious golf and am here to get the handicap down so I can start the PGA course. So all this added pressure caused me to play like a complete banana! Not too sure if bananas play golf but if they did I can only imagine this is how they would play. As we were playing stableford and not stroke play I was able to hide the really bad holes by simply picking up and taking a scratched hole! Not quite the way I like to play golf but there you have it. Had I scored each and every shot there is a possibility that we would still be out there.

Roll on 9^th February and there was light at the end of the tunnel. Playing a much tougher course in the Gary Player Course at Sun City I shot a credible 10 over par 82. After the bad round the day before this seemed almost as good as winning the Nedbank Challenge which is played each December in Sun City.

10^th and 11^th February saw me with my very good friends Hans and Maude. I have known them for around 20 years and am known to them as T bone Geoff. Hans and Maude are the owners of a very successful butchery/supermarket in Johannesburg and are part of the reason I have such a big stomach….. We played GPCC on the 10^th and I shot par, birdie, sting! In case you think I have lost it I was bitten by something after a pulled tee shot off the 3^rd tee box. Neither my caddy Peter nor I saw what had bitten me but man did it hurt. I still managed to chip out to the fairway but was in a lot of pain. ‘Taking your medicine’ on the golf course took on a whole new meaning suddenly. My left wrist became very swollen and it was decided that it would be best if I got back for medical attention asap. I was picked up by the medics and taking straight through to emergencies at the local doctor. He was also uncertain what had bitten me but was fairly confident that after around 30 minutes after the incident that it wasn’t a snake. He gave me 2 injections in the butt which I think hurt more than the sting. I was told to take it easy but realized that if I could get a lift back to the course then I would be able to finish the back 9 at least. Not wanting to give up the chance to play golf I quickly arranged my medicine from the chemist and got my lift back to the course. Timing was perfect as my playing partners were just leaving the 9^th as I arrived thus allowing me to play the back 9 with my swollen wrist. Not too sure what I shot as I was a bit spaced out on the medicine that the doctor had given me. On the 11^th we played Lost City and I shot 77. Things are really starting to look good but I don’t want to get my hopes up. The golfing gods much be left in peace.

As I was saying golf is all about the people that you meet on the course and the fun that you have with them. The world is also a very small place. I was not planning to play on the 12^th February but managed to find a spot at 0810. After booking in I was walking out of the pro shop and saw someone that I knew from Switzerland. Someone that had been a good customer of mine when I worked in the golf shop in Zurich. Man were we surprised to see each other. Heinz Schneider and his wife Ingrid are on a world tour and were only in Sun City for 2 nights. What are the chances of this happening? We arranged to play together and it was once again a great round for me shooting 77 with the chance again of making a far better score had just a few putts dropped. My caddy and I worked out that I missed 6 birdie putts so it was a great round on the Gary Player Golf Course. They come around for a braai at the unit I am staying in and brought a friend of theirs Mike Loewke who had just arrived from the US. They are off to the coast tomorrow and I wish them a safe trip.

A very proud great uncle pictured with Thomas James, the future of golf looks bright.

Well that’s all for now.

I will have a new post end of next week and hope that all is well with all of you? Further to this I will be spending more time with Wayne Westner and will upload the training videos we have done in the hope that they help you as much as they have helped me.

Cheers for now.

It’s been just over a week now since I landed in South Africa and I wanted to share my week with you.

I have been able to play a total of only 4 rounds thus far with some good and some really bad ones. In addition to this I had 3 hours coaching with Wayne Westner. Man did he work me. I was allowed to hit a total of 8, yes 8, balls in those 3 hours! And that was in the 1^st 10 minutes. What he wanted to do was film the swing to see where I was and where I needed to be. We changed my grip marginally and really worked on me swinging around my core (looks a bit like a barrel on the video clip). Then getting the club on plane and making sure that I rotated my shoulders to fully complete the swing.  I am quite honest in saying that in those 3 hours I really leant a lot and will share the video with you on the blog once I get back to Switzerland.

Sadly all these changes had a major effect on my swing (that’s my story) and my first round at Roodepoort Country Club was disastrous. I shot 20 over par which equates to a 92. I was not a happy bunny.

 Next up was the Gary Player Country Club (GPCC) at Sun City. This is perhaps one of the best tests of golf in South Africa. It’s a masterpiece created out of the African bush by Gary Player which is very long off the back tees (7162 metres) and has narrow but receptive landing areas. The greens are lightning fast but like carpets to putt on. If the line is correct, it’s in, if not it may run way past the hole. I shot a dismal 18 over par playing off the back tees which equates to a 90. Wow a 2 stroke improvement, what an easy game…….

The following day we played the Lost City Course (LCGC) which is more forgiving and designed I believe for the hotel golfer.  You have to take a cart; the fairways are wide and the greens slower than GPCC. Walking is not allowed because it would take at my best guess at least 6 hours to walk. There are some major changes in elevation on this course as well and the landscape is far more dramatic than GPCC. So off we went early in the morning me expecting to keep up the better by 2 shot routine I had established now. I shot 7 over after 9 and felt I was in with a chance. Suffice it to say the next 9 really beat the living s… out of me. In fact it was so bad that I simply picked up on 4 of the 9. This is really not something I often do but trust me if I didn’t there was every chance that I would have driven myself to the 13^th hole and jumped in. The water hazard here is full of Crocs and they could have had me as a play thing instead of all the golf balls that have been lost there. So bang went the ‘my score will improve by 2 each time I play’ theory. This course measures 6549 from the back so a walk in the park compared to GPCC.

What we had done (Etienne Wehrli and his wife Suzanna) is take photos and videos of each other during the round and I took a good look at this after my dismal round at LCGC. I am a great believer in video or photographic assistance while helping someone learn more about their swing. As we cannot see ourselves when we play any kind of sport it’s really difficult to see what you are doing wrong. I immediately noticed that I was falling back at impact. I had, in thinking about all the things I was trying to perfect, forgotten to swing through the ball and complete the swing. I was literally swinging myself off my feet and ending with all my weight on my right side as opposed to the left side. I was determined to see if this was a part of the problem. Etienne Wehrli, who is currently the number one rated amateur in Switzerland and works for Ping, made a few suggestions on how best to get through the ball and complete the swing. He also made a few suggestions to make my putting and chipping stroke smoother and through the ball and more consistent.  He shot around par on each day; I stopped writing his score, as it depressed me too much. He has been coaching Suzanna who has one of the best all round games for anyone I have ever seen playing off 36.

Day 3 and back to GPCC with renewed enthusiasm and hope reborn. All I thought about on tee number 1 was to swing through the ball to complete the weight transfer so that I ended up on my left side. And bam, straight down the middle with a gentle draw. Could this be the start of something? Was I hoping for too much too soon and would I end up in that crocodile pit after all? 2^nd shot onto the green, long birdie putt and walked off with par. I will not bore you to death with a blow by blow account of my round (would love to but that might ruin the friendship) but suffice it to say the crocodiles went hungry. I shot a credible 81 (from the big boy tees again) with 2 double bogeys, one on the 9th and sadly one on the last. Both were a touch unlucky. If the golfing gods had given me about 1metre either way it would have been a round without any doubles.

 A quick note on the Caddy’s.

Sun City has some of the friendliest and most professional caddy’s that I have ever had the privilege to play golf with.  They are a joy to speak to and have you laughing more often than not at this wonderful game. Most play to a low handicap so know the game and importantly this difficult course. They also know where most of the snakes are but not all. Reuben who was caddying for Etienne nearly stood on a Mozambiquean Spitting Cobra but managed to jump back just in time. I thought that he would perhaps die of heart failure afterwards as he must have been pushing way above 200 beats to the minute. Happily we all were able to have a great laugh afterwards but beware.

Will keep in touch.

Wish you were here…………….

Cheers

Don’t buy a putter until you’ve had a chance to throw it.

Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls.

If you’re afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: a) You can immediately shank a lay-up, or, b) You can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about your golf swing.

No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.

The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for all of your many other errors.

Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot.

A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents’ luck.

It is surprisingly more easy to hole a fifty foot putt than a 10 foot one…

It’s not a ‘gimme’ if you’re still 5 metres away.

You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time.

If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three.

When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

If you want to hit a 7 iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.

To calculate the speed of a player’s downswing, multiply the speed of his back-swing by his handicap; ie. back-swing 20 mph, handicap 15, downswing = 300 mph.

There are two things you can learn by stopping your back-swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.

Hazards attract; fairways repel.

A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.

If there is a ball on the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint or embedded in the far sidewall.

It’s easier to get up at 6:00 a.m. to play golf than at 10:00 a.m. to mow the lawn.

A good drive and 2nd shot on to the 18th green has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.

Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up having to pray a lot.

A good golf partner is one who’s always slightly worse than you are… that’s why I get so many calls to play with friends.

If there’s a storm rolling in, you’ll be having the game of your life.

Golf balls are like eggs. They’re white. They’re sold by the dozen. And you need to buy fresh ones each week.

It’s amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.

If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight (or worse).

It takes longer to learn to be a good golfer than it does to become a brain surgeon.

On the other hand, you don’t get to ride around on a cart, drink beer, eat hot dogs if you are performing Brain Surgery!!!!

HAPPY GOLFING…

Wishing you all a great 2010 and may all your putts sink!

I have lost 1 kilo. 1 kilo in a month of riding bike and looking at the rowing machine! Must be what I am eating…..

And now the fun part. I am off to SA on the 27th for 3 weeks.

During this period of time I have arranged that Wayne Westner, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Westner will spend some time with me working on my swing and getting my mental approach to achieving my dream closer. I have been practicing a lot of putting, roughly 1.5 hours each 2nd day so am quite happy with it. My swing is an unknown at this present moment but according to various indoor systems I am playing better than Tiger (golf that is….)

I have listed below the courses that I will be playing on and will keep you updated on my progress from there and will upload pictures too.

While Johannesburg, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg, is not seen as a golfing destination, trust me if you know where to go you get the best value for money on offer in South Africa.

Have a look at these and lets plan a trip there next year.

http://www.blairatholl.co.za/

http://www.nedbankgolfchallenge.co.za/ (look at ‘hole by hole’, one of, if not the best course in SA that we all can play.)

http://www.roodepoortcc.co.za/

http://www.pecanwood.co.za/

http://www.gardenerrossgolf.com/

Hope that we get to play a round or two when I get back and the weather is decent.

Cheers

Geoff

Below you will see my scores for November 2009. These are all stroke play/medal scores.  You can also do this if you simply copy and paste the following link into your browser and set up your profile by following the simple instructions. I will be adding a new scorecard just as soon as I get to play again which I assume will only be when I get down to South Africa end January 2010.

http://www.golfdigestchallenge.com//profile.php

I have also started with a fitness training programme  and will keep you up to date on how this goes.

Cheers for now.

Geoff