2011 Golf Season Round-Up

This will be the final post of the year on Amateur Golfer. As such, here is a round-up of who won the Majors in 2011, as well as the amateur golf championships the Walker Cup and U.S. Amateur Championship.

• Augusta Masters  - Schwartzel
• UK Open – Clarke
• US Open – McIlroy
• PGA Championship – Bradley
• The Walker Cup – Great Britain and Ireland
• US Amateur Championships – Hills

As such, South Africa, NI and the United States have all celebrated Major golf championship victories in 2011. NI had two Major victories which was fantastic. In the amateur game Great Britain and Ireland were victorious in the Walker Cup with a 14 to 12 victory that was another highlight. Great Britain’s team therefore regained the Walker Cup after three American victories in the last three Walker Cups. 

55 posts have also been added to Amateur Golfer in 2011. As such, also consider browsing the archives of this blog. Or alternatively, check out the author’s Helium articles via the links included on this blog.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas this week, so why not decorate your Christmas tree with golf Christmas ornaments?  For example, you can decorate your tree with golf ball Christmas ornaments, and there are various other golf baubles that you could add to your Christmas tree. Check out the Golf Décor website which has a range of golf Christmas ornaments, or input the Google keyword, golf Christmas tree decorations. And finally, merry Christmas!

Great Coastal Golf Courses

The Monterey Coastline of Pebble Beach

Golf courses beside the coast are usually among the more exciting. They can have some great ocean holes along their respective coastlines. As such, there are some great coastal golf courses.

Pebble Beach

The famed Pebble Beach course is one of the great coastal golf courses on the Monterey coastline of California. This golf course has some fantastic ocean holes such as the 7^th par 3, and the 18^th hole which plays alongside the ocean that is rated as one golf's best finishing holes. Pebble Beach is a venue of the PGA Tour and has hosted numerous U.S. Opens as well as other golf championships. It’s also a resort course so should be great for a golf vacation!

Cypress Point

Another of the great golf courses on the Monterey coastline is that of Cypress Point, a great alternative to the Pebble Beach course that is ranked second in Golf Magazine’s course rankings. This is a 6,525 yard golf course that has some classic holes that play alongside the Pacific. Among them is the great 16^th hole, a 222 yard par three on headlands sixty feet above the sea that requires a tee shot over the sea to reach the green.

The Ocean Course

The Ocean Course is the highlight of the Kiawah Island golf resort on the eastern coastline. This championship golf course has formerly hosted the Ryder Cup. For further details on this course this previous Amateur Golfer post is worth noting.

The Mid Ocean Course

The Mid Ocean Course is scenic coastal golf course which is the best in Bermuda. The famed golf course is one of the older American courses that dates back to 1921, and has remained a great destination for golf. The course includes some great holes such as the 18^th which borders the sea. The 5^th long par 4 hole is another of the course’s highlights.

These are four great coastal golf courses and resorts at Kiawah Island, Pebble Beach and Bermuda. These courses have plenty of highlights and great coastal settings.

Golf Holidays in the Iberian Peninsula

When it comes to golf vacations the Iberian Peninsula is one of the hottest destinations. Spain and Portugal have a number of great golf vacation resorts on the coast and further inland that have a variety of golf holiday packages. Both for golf and more general vacations Spain and Portugal have plenty of highlights.

Among the notable golf resort in Spain is that of the Marbella Club Golf & Spa Resort on the Costa del Sol. This golf resort includes an 18-hole par 73 course that is located on the Mediterranean coast. It also includes a shorter 9-hole course. Further inland there is also the PGA Catalunya, a 7,200 yard course near Barcelona which has 36 holes of championship golf, and has also been ranked among the top 10 golf courses in Europe.

In Portugal there are also some great destinations for golfing vacations. The golf coast of Lisbon has numerous golf courses and some noteworthy resorts such as the Cascais golf resort.  Lisbon was also one of the IAGTO golf destinations of the year in 2007.

Among the best golf resorts of the Algarve region include Parque Da Floresta Golf & Leisure Resort in the Western Algarve. This includes the Parque Da Floresta course, a 6,295 yard par 71, which is set in rolling hills and is well placed to nearby beaches along the Algarve’s coastline. It also has various golf holiday packages.

So, you can be sure to find some great resorts in Spain and Portugal. The Marbella, Cascais, PGA Catalunya and Parque Da Floresta golf courses and resorts are just three of the noteworthy golfing destinations there. When the summer comes these resorts are meccas for golf vacations. 

End of the Golf Poll

The matchplay & strokeplay golf poll has now closed. While there were not a great number of votes in this poll, 66% voted for strokeplay as the best golf scoring format. As such, strokeplay wins the poll with two thirds of the vote!

Cold Golf Balls

When playing in the winter do not expect the ball to travel so far as in the summer. Not only will it rain more during the winter, therefore reducing ball roll, but colder weather will also reduce the distance of the ball further. As a former PGA technical director has stated in his book Dear Frank, “at 40 degrees, the ball will travel about 10 to 12 1/2 yards less than at 90 degrees," Thomas wrote.

As such, you can expect a 10 – 20 yard drop in distance.  Factor in damp courses and less ball roll and that can reduce yardages by an extra few yards as well. So, you may want to use slightly longer clubs during the winter than you might for the same tee shots in the summer.

There are also some cold weather golf balls that you might want to note such as the ColdFusion Cold Weather Golf Ball. This golf ball is a winter golf ball that is supposed to travel further during the winter season. For further details on the ColdFusion golf ball check out their website.

The Matchplay & Strokeplay Poll

At the moment Amateur Golfer's poll remains level at one one. There have not been many votes as of yet, so it would be good to have some more to ensure a winner at least. Please vote in the golf poll.

Golf Vacation Destinations: Kiawah Island

Kiawah Island is one of the hottest golf vacation destinations in North America. This resort is located off the coast of South Carolina, close to Charleston. This barrier island has five award winning championship golf courses to play at: The Ocean Course, Osprey Point, Cougar Point and Turtle Point. This will also be the venue for the 2012 PGA Tour golf championship.

Of its golf courses, the Ocean Course is probably the most famous. This is the golf course that has already hosted the ’91 Ryder Cup, and it will also be the venue for the 2012 PGA Tour championship. This is a golf course that is located on the coastline, and has lots of seaside holes along the coast. With its miles of sand dunes the course is reminiscent of seaside link golf courses in the United Kingdom. The course is some 7,356 yards long from the championship golf tees, and has one of the highest course ratings. So, it’s probably not an ideal course if you just started playing, but nonetheless there are still four other golf courses at Kiawah Island which are alternatives.