WA CHAMPS 2011 APRIL 15 -17th!

[Yossarian]

Bit of chat about next years champs at Araluen on Sunday. Thought a thread with some rough dates and ideas would be a good idea. Not trying to usurp anyones rights or responsibilities just getting this ball rolling.

Been looking at some houses in Binningup that house up to about 15 I think. Also there is a hall that is available for hire but I can't seem to find much about that... Thought maybe could be a good place to base ourselves. Makes for an easier drive ect. Bunbury with food not too far away.

Do what we did on Friday last year again and then "The Champs" on the Sat/Sun maybe playing Bunbury and Busselton or somewhere.

Probably March pre easter again?

[MegaWatty]

No. 0.

[Bruce Dickinson]

I'm the first to say The Cut is not perfect and i can slag it off if i chose, in fact no course is and until I shoot a 65 on a course, any couse I play is not perfect... that's how coorses usually rate isn't it?
I like Kennedy as a desgin, great, but not an overly enjoyable day out- golf experience is so so. Having played there only a few times I get penalised by great shots that roll down wind, hard fairways into pot bunkers that are so penal. I know that is links and I like to play those sort of courses and if I play it a lot i would enjoy it more, but not having the opportuntiy to play it that much, at the moment it doesn't float my boat as much as it probably should but hopefully that will change.
I can't see a comaprison that we compare course to KB, like othr to to RM. The course here on the west can't even be put in the same sentence as some of those sandbelt courses. the best par 3 in WA would not rate in he top 50 over there.
I would certainly use Lake Karrinyup in the sentence with daylight 2nd in the west.
I would change this post over but I'm not that advanced... sorry

Kennedy Bay is a much, much better golf course than Lake Karrinyup

[The Cut]

My problem with Kennedy ( i do rate it) is the bunkering and considering the strength of the wind here can make the difference up to 4 clubs. Throw in the hard fairways and great shots that don't deserve to be punished and at PK it is harsh, it's ok if you know the course like the back of your hand but a regular punter who doesn't expect the bounce you get, the roll and what a 30 knotter can do.
IMO, Karrinyup can't be beat- firstly conditioning faultless and the design is great, no tricks or over the top bunkering- the strong par 4's 2,4,6,13,16,18 only have 1 fairway bunker in total. It relies on the ability of a player to play the right shot for the hole. A great drive will be rewarded with a 9 iron in, good drive 5 iron and bad drive 3 wood. the damage is the ability to play your 2nd and how aggresive you can be thus effecting score, not like so many courses where the good or average drive is penalised by a hazard and in many cases making the next shot impossible. even the Par's 5's have little bunkering and it relies on your ability to hit your tee shot well in the right place to have the ability to improve your next shot, it's not just about avoiding the bunkers.
Russel/ MacKenzie designs where just brilliant and I must admit that I do favour their work.

[Yossarian]

For mine when describing KB you are highlighting the main fault of The Cut. Only it is far harsher in places being far narrower and probably more exposed to the wind. It does however have some pretty views to make up for it.

[The Cut]

ur right yos and i don't disagree. the new owners are aware and increased the semi rough to soften the edges and put more grass on the fairways which all help to reduce the luck and unfair factor. 3 bunkers have been removed.

[simmsy]

I'm oot for the champs.

[TourFit]

ur right yos and i don't disagree. the new owners are aware and increased the semi rough to soften the edges and put more grass on the fairways which all help to reduce the luck and unfair factor. 3 bunkers have been removed.

PLEASE tell me that one of them is bottom of the hill, left, on 17...

(and that a 10ft brick wall has been built there instead to keep balls in play !!!)

[Pieface]

I love 17. I almost killed Adlo and Yoss with my second shot there

[MegaWatty]

Why are you out Simmsy? Because someone stitched you on WRX?

[Johnny Canuck]

KBay is not penal if you play it smart.

Lake K is a nice track. You reference that there are minimal fairway bunkers, yet fail to acknowledge that many of the greens are overly bunkered. Too many holes go right to left and an average tee shot can get 100m roll out if it catches a hill. #1 is one of the worst opening holes in Perth.

#16 at Kennedy rates up with some of the best par 3s in Melbourne, easily. The 3rd on the Joondy quarry is awesome.

KBay used to rank #1 public access in Aus. 2 years ago, it came back in at #4. It gets better reviews than you realise.

[Golfnut]

Now I know The Cut is not JC.

[TourFit]

But JC is still The Cu*t...

[Nuffie]

Haven't played Lake Karrinyup before, but the opinions about it seem to be a very mixed bag. Lots say it's overrated, including one of Hartfield's tour pro's last week that I had a discussion with. They believed the old design was far better, and a bit like what the designers did with The Lakes in Syd, they messed it up a bit. I'll have to play it one day to know for sure... He likes MCC more and I can understand why. I loved that course.

I wont dispute how good Kennedy Bay is though. Everytime I go there I like it even more, maybe because you can learn from each experience and play it more successfully each time you go back. For everygood shot you play, most of the time you reak good reward.

The Cut will be interesting to examine again, with the new rough and with the extra local knowledge acquired from my first round there two years ago. It might be a better experience next time round (according to what the Cut is saying). The Cut explained earlier also about the importance of keeping the ball low on those sorts of courses, playing linksey type shots and using the contours to useful effect. Only thing is, on par 4's that are over 380m long (e.g. the 10th and 12th and 14th holes) it takes a lot of skill and local knowledge to get accuracy out of those shots, take the perfect line (due to the snakey, narrow fairways) and so not run too far into the thick stuff. It is the trickiest course I've ever played for this very reason and it would take more rounds than at Joondalup, to become a master of The Cut IMO. Local knowledge there is everything. Some first timers (like myself) on some holes would have no idea what to do.

[Bruce Dickinson]

If you can't a high draw of the tee Nuffie at Karrinyup, in my opinion its a bit of a grind

[Nuffie]

If you can't a high draw of the tee Nuffie at Karrinyup, in my opinion its a bit of a grind

JC said the same thing to me about LK after he played there in pennants. I find these sorts of courses a challenge if you are lacking confidence off the tee in hitting a high-draw with driver.
Hartfield has a few holes like this, at the moment the teeshot on the 17th has got me screwed. So tomorrow I'm just gonna get up there with 3-metal (forgetting about driver), aim slightly left and just crunch a hard-fade to land short of the middle-far bunker...time for something different.

On somedays, the draw works well with the driver and you can just swing away and trust it. Other days I have to revert back to a smaller club and not take as much of an aggressive line.

It might be a summer thing with the extra carry/run distance you get, but 3-metal ends up getting used a heap more on doglegs at this time of the year during my rounds.

[Bruce Dickinson]

I could stand and hit 100 balls and deliberately draw 5 of them with any club, and LK has a number of holes where a powerfade isnt going to be the shot to hit. I like LK but it always ends in tears

[idgolfguy]

Have played LK twice and if conditioning is not a factor, I think it is overated. One of the reasons is mythology - not enough people have played it to form a general opinion.

Playing it first time, I found too many blind shots that also ran out of fairways. Excessive bunkering detracts from it's playability.

[Veefore]

Hartfield has a few holes like this, at the moment the teeshot on the 17th has got me screwed. So tomorrow I'm just gonna get up there with 3-metal (forgetting about driver), aim slightly left and just crunch a hard-fade to land short of the middle-far bunker...time for something different.

On somedays, the draw works well with the driver and you can just swing away and trust it. Other days I have to revert back to a smaller club and not take as much of an aggressive line.

It might be a summer thing with the extra carry/run distance you get, but 3-metal ends up getting used a heap more on doglegs at this time of the year during my rounds.

17 is such an easy hole off the tee. Do like Tiger and use a 3 wood to draw it around the corner (3wood always draws easier than driver) or try to draw a hybrid. If you accidentally hit is straight it stops short of the bunkers (for most of us), if you catch it just right it will hook around the corner and finish up where a straight drive over the trees would have.

During one of the Pennant practices everyone stepped up and tried to bomb it over the corner. Only T Hughes put it on the fairway by hitting a 3 wood around the corner.

[MegaWatty]

I hit 3 hybrid around the corner. Sometimes 3 wood in winter.

[simmsy]

I shank 3 hybrid around the corner. Sometimes 3 wood in winter.

tell the truth.

[simmsy]

i liked LK but yeah def overrated too many tee shots the same, blind uphill r to l.

i did love the conditioning but like idg said forget conditioning and it is not the mesiah!

liked it around the greens but off the tee it's a yawn.

give me KB 8 times LK 2 even though i prefer parklands golf.

[MegaWatty]

Shank? WTF are you talking about. Back in your box Internet Shopper!

[Cosmopolite]

tell the truth.

classic!

[simmsy]

you should see him cosmo,

everytime he gets into a shot that's important you just know his swing thought is "DON'T HIT THE HOSEL YOU HOMO!"

[idgolfguy]

True dat!