QLD PGA Emerald Lakes - Day 2

[fore]

Took a day off work to watch proceedings, thought I'd post some observations. Saw Rod Pampling down there with Gary Edwin, doing some socialising at the range. Asked Edwin later (just to be sure I hadn't imagined it) and he said that Pamps was coming off an almost complete 6 week rest to play in China next week.

I followed the group of Euan Walters, Scott Draper and local amateur Ray Beaufils. None of them had brought their A-game along, with the latter two suspect around the greens - Draper undid a promising start with a double bogey at the shortish par-3 5th (from a tee shot not too far off the green) and bogey at the par-5 6th after drowning his tee shot. The big surprise to me was Walters; for a player not long off the PGA tour (so Gary Edwin said, I couldn't recall why his name seemed familiar...) his game was pretty ugly, though undeniably effective. The others provided more fireworks, but sprayed it about a lot more too.

Draper was using a full set of Nikes (SQ woods, Pro Combo irons?) but I got a hell of a shock when I snuck a look in Walters' bag ... alongside Srixon metalwoods of recent (though probably not contemporary) vintage was a set of graphite-shafted Ping G5 shovels :shock: Yup, that's right: the monstrously-offset, massively sole-weighted hacksticks. Which, amazingly enough, he still hit on a really low trajectory. Getting even weirder, he'd swapped a couple of them out (9 and PW, I think) with some ancient Tommy Armour 845s. I'll be having nightmares for weeks ... ;) :lol:

[gazgolf1]

Took a day off work to watch proceedings, thought I'd post some observations. Saw Rod Pampling down there with Gary Edwin, doing some socialising at the range. Asked Edwin later (just to be sure I hadn't imagined it) and he said that Pamps was coming off an almost complete 6 week rest to play in China next week.


Its funny,Pamps is in an ad in the latest Golf Digest for Merrill Lynch who supposedly handle his money.Maybe he lost some dough recently with ML losing a fair bit of dough according to the news.

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2007-11-01-voa3.cfm

[markTHEblake]

bogey at the par-5 6th after drowning his tee shot.

very pleasing to know that some of the pro's are having trouble on this &^$#@ of a hole. hardest 445m par 5 in Australia :-)

[fore]

very pleasing to know that some of the pro's are having trouble on this &^$#@ of a hole. hardest 445m par 5 in Australia :-)

Euan Walters rolled his drive up onto the bank that runs along the water on the right hand side. With the ball 8" above his feet, 200m still to go, he put a cut swing on a 3-wood - the ball never got any higher than 15' above the ground but flew arrow straight to the front of the green, leaving a 12' putt for eagle :shock: (which, as with almost every other putt all day, he missed).

Beaufils just cracked a 300m drive straight up the middle. Second shot didn't look too scary from there!

See, Blakey, there's 2 strategies to guarantee you make birdie next time out ... ;)

Incidentally, I should just mention that Emerald Lakes clearly hasn't got on top of their drainage problems - there were some patches of standing water on the fairways today and apparently it was worse yesterday ...

[Tigh82]

It has come along since Monday! The course was very wet after the showers on the Sunday night and was almost unplayable on the Monday :shock:

[Deano]

"with some ancient Tommy Armour 845s"

I followed Walters over a few holes at Coolum a couple of years back.
He had a bag full of 845's....the oversize model.

Deano

[AndyP]

It has come along since Monday! The course was very wet after the showers on the Sunday night and was almost unplayable on the Monday :shock:
Are you playing? If so, how did you go?

[markTHEblake]

See, Blakey, there's 2 strategies to guarantee you make birdie next time out ... ;)

Well hitting a 300m drive on that hole is plain stupidity, but Beaufils doesnt play anything but full steam ahead.

I make plenty of birdies on that hole and the odd eagle, just more bogies :roll: In fact laying up carries more risk than going for the green (for me)


Incidentally, I should just mention that Emerald Lakes clearly hasn't got on top of their drainage problems - there were some patches of standing water on the fairways today and apparently it was worse yesterday ...

that would be 2 and 9. Dunno what you mean by 'on top of' there has never been any attempt to address any drainage issue. The golf course has actually been designed to hold water, so what you see is what it is :-)


The course was very wet after the showers on the Sunday night

Harden up! You havent seen nothing yet, click here (http://www.theblake.net/golf/course.htm);-)

[fore]

that would be 2 and 9. Dunno what you mean by 'on top of' there has never been any attempt to address any drainage issue. The golf course has actually been designed to hold water, so what you see is what it is :-)


Can't remember exactly, but it was more than just those two holes - I do recall stepping in a puddle on the 6th fairway! If memory serves the drainage problem was REALLY bad 10 or 12 years ago, anything much more than a shower and it went under, but when they did the major redesign/renovation I heard that one of the main aims was to fix that, and it does seem to have improved. Am not a regular visitor though, so certainly not disputing what you say. :)

[markTHEblake]

I do recall stepping in a puddle on the 6th fairway!

yeah, 6 has a soggy spot. There can be a couple of huge ponds on 2 and 9, at about 100m and 30m from the greens respectively. you cannot get your ball out of them unless you go for a swim.


If memory serves the drainage problem was REALLY bad 10 or 12 years ago, anything much more than a shower and it went under,

they actually made the new course around 1 metre lower than the old one. This was a necessary part of the DA to satisfy the requirments for building on flood plains, and to give them more landfill for the residential (1m i think, i reckon G69 might know for sure)

Even though it is designed to flood. the pics i linked to were a bit out of the ordinary. at that time council works down the road had blocked the flow of water, so that there was actually a man made dam that caused this (though they wouldnt admit it)

We were playing golf within 4 days of that flood, and it actualy repeated the scenario 2 days later, which was the sunday before the 2nd Qld PGA

[shavey]

I must say it has improved over the past ten years.. I used to drive past it every day when going to school (some years ago) and you couldn't even see the flags!

I played in the pro-am with Kim Felton and the course was looking pretty good. And no doubt that spot of rain yesterday afternoon isn't going to help things for the weekend.