Selborne Weekly Tribune – 14 September 2024

1. Teeing Off: Welcome to the Weekly Tribune!

Welcome to the 16th Edition of the Selborne Tribune!
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has already paid their subscriptions and handicapping fees. If you haven’t yet had a chance to settle these, this is a gentle reminder that payments are due by the end of the month. Should you have missed your invoice, please don’t hesitate to contact Ryan at ryan@spge.co.za so we can ensure you stay updated with all communications from the Golf Club.

Thank you for your continued support!

2. Golf Course Update: Spring Treatment Update
Due to heavy rain forecasted we decided not to do a hollow tinning on the greens. The process of hollow tinning takes two and a half days to finish. Rain prevents us to put sand down and drag it into the holes. If weather allows it, we might still do a verti-drain treatment. So instead of pulling out cores (hollow tine) from the greens we only punch holes to increase drainage.
Following up to the week of Spring Treatment we have already completed scarifying the Tee boxes, Approaches and Fairways. This is done to remove organic matter, to improve air, water and nutrient flow.

Drainage on the 11th Green
Over the last few years, we have had endless battles getting the 11th Green on Par in terms of playability and overall coverage. It will tend to start recovering and after a few days the grass starts thinning out once again. We have noticed that this green tends to hold much more moisture than any of the other greens. Having too much moisture in the soil means the roots stay wet. Constant wet roots causes root systems to be shallow as it does not need to go deeper to find moisture. Secondly a wet soil profile causes root rot which affects the roots first before it can be observed on the grass surface.

As seen in the pictures below this green is always affected the most during floods.

The new way to hit wedge shots comes down to changing the sequence in your downswing so that the club moves faster than your arms in the transition, then learning how to support the movement of the club with your arms and chest.

To do this, try hitting shots with only your right arm (or your left, if you’re a southpaw). “I know it sounds simplistic,” says Sieckmann, “but it’s a powerful drill.” Why?
“Hitting solid shots this way automatically creates the correct sequence in your swing, without any thinking on your part.” In other words, you must swing in the proper clubhead- leading-the-body motion or you’ll hit fat or thin shots. As you perform this drill, focus on the following.

1. Get the clubhead moving first. The club accelerates first and fastest, followed by your arms, chest and, finally, your hips. (Yes, this sequence is the exact opposite of what you use in full swings).

2. Turn your chest through impact. This supports the release of the club and ensures that you don’t stop your arm swing at impact. Continue to swing your right arm past your body and smoothly accelerate the clubhead past your hands. You’ll know you did it correctly if, at the finish, the grip points at your belly and the face is slightly open.

3. Place your left hand on the grip while holding your finish. In order to fit your left hand on the handle, you’ll have to fold your left elbow and cup your left wrist (look for wrinkles on the back of your left wrist). These are key moves to correctly release the clubhead and optimize loft and bounce.

4. Tournament Results: Competition Results!

Tournament Results: Players That Rose To The Top!

30th August – Individual Stableford (9 Holes)
1st: Eric Bromley           15 Points
Eggs: Bob Hamil             6 Points

31st August – Monthly Mania (Alliance 2 Scores To Count)
1st: Brendan McIntosh               85 Points
Mark O’Connor
Hartwieg Du Rand
Kevin McIntosh

5. Golf Rules & Handicapping: Make The Rules Work For You

Rules/Course Knowledge Episode 16

In this episode, we are going to cover a couple of interesting situations that happened on tour and apply to our everyday games too.

Joaquin Niemann, Mayakoba, Mexico

Going into the final round in Mexico, Joaquin Niemann was given the general penalty (two strokes in stroke play) following an incorrect dropping procedure. When taking free relief from a cart path, Niemann dropped his ball clear of the path and played onto the green. After Niemann had returned his scorecard, it was noticed that he had played from more than one club-length from his nearest point of relief, and so he should have included a two-stroke penalty for playing from a wrong place on his score for the hole. However, as Niemann was unaware of the Rules breach, there was no additional penalty for signing for a wrong score (Exception to Rule 3.3b(2)) only the wrong place penalty.

For more information on how to take relief from a cart path, watch the video on the link (scroll down on the webpage to the applicable video):

https://www.randa.org/articles/rules-from-the-tours-24

Rahil Gangjee, Kolkata Challenge, India

Now over to India, and Rahil Gangjee playing in the Kolkata Challenge at Royal Calcutta Golf Club. A referee was called to the 15th green, where Gangjee’s ball had been moved by a bird on the putting surface. As a bird is an outside influence, the referee instructed Gangjee that the ball was to be replaced on the spot where it originally lay. However, as this exact spot was not known, the ball was replaced on the spot where it was estimated to have been before the bird moved it, with no penalty (Rule 9.6). Gangjee was able to continue his round and eventually finished in a tie for second. Meanwhile, some local assistance was sought to act as scarecrows on the 15th to deter further bird and golf ball interactions!

Rory McIlroy, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Perhaps a ruling you have seen or read about, involved Rory McIlroy and an unplayable drop at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California. On the 7th hole at Spyglass Hill, McIlroy’s tee shot found a low hanging tree and he decided to declare his ball unplayable. One of the relief options available under the unplayable ball rule (Rule 19) is to drop back on the line. This option allows the player to drop a ball behind the spot where the ball lay in the tree, but he is required to keep the spot of the original ball between the hole and the spot where the ball is dropped. The ball must then come to rest within one club-length of that spot. Unfortunately, McIlroy dropped one club-length to the side of this line rather than attempting to drop a ball directly on it, thus incurring the general penalty (two-strokes in stroke play) for playing from a wrong place.

For more information on how unplayable relief options, watch the video on the link (scroll down on the webpage to the applicable video):

https://www.randa.org/articles/rules-from-the-tours-24