course management

Adopting New Golf Strategies to Win

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

With the Military Ontario Regional Golf Tournament looming on the horizon, I now step up my focused intent every time I pick up a golf club. Now is not the time to take a laissez-faire approach to playing because I do not have any time to waste. Knowing I need to be at my best to win next week, I like to adopt my tournament practices to ensure they are ready for when I start playing this 54 hole event.

I won this tournament in 2009 at the same course as this year; so, some prior knowledge is beneficial. Here is a preview to the course next week. The Petawawa Golf Club officially opened its doors in 1963 as a 9 hole golf course with a small club house at the end of Ypres Trail . The design and construction were done exclusively by the military. In 1968 a new clubhouse was constructed at the top of the hill where members and guests still enjoy this million dollar view overlooking the Ottawa River and province of Quebec. The course was upgraded in 1990 when Graham Cook was hired to redesign the existing 9 holes and expand the course to 18. The resulting par 71 is a fun yet challenging golf course for all skill levels.

Continue reading →

Expectations Kill The Golf Experience

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

Are you a member of a golf course? Do you fork out which seems tons of money to play regularly at your local golf course? Canada is a golfing mecca that is often overlooked by many of the world travelers. “There are 34,011 golf facilities in the world. More than 18,600 of those facilities are located in 204 countries outside of the United States. Canada is home to 13% of that worldwide supply (excluding the U.S.), and is one of only seven countries with more than 500 golf facilities. Even when factoring in the United States, which has 15,372 facilities, Canada comprises 7% of the total world supply. While golf is certainly a worldwide game, supply remains largely concentrated among the most golf-developed nations. In fact, excluding the United States’ supply, 70% of all golf facilities are located in only 10 countries, and 85% of all facilities worldwide are located in 20 nations.” (Golf Canada Report 2015) This is great news for Canada, however can expectations of regular golfers have an affect on their golfing experience.

Continue reading →

Does Playing in a Scramble Tournament Help Your Game

/ The Grateful Golfer / 6 Comments

Last week, I had a stretch of 5 tournaments in 7 days. I played in 2 scrambles, 1 stroke play, 1 match play, and 1 scramble/match play formatted events. They were great fun and I really enjoyed meeting so many new golfers. Golf is a contact sport and I certainly achieved that last week. I do want to add that I have never played in this many competitions in such a short time and hopefully I can do it again in the future. However, I did notice that my game was not as sharp during the scramble events as the match play and stroke events and I think I know why!

Continue reading →

Playing Golf With Better Players

/ The Grateful Golfer / 17 Comments

If you are reading this post, you were probably intrigued by the title of this article. As a 5 handicapper it is difficult to consistently play against players who are significantly better. As with Osprey Links, that is a challenge at most public courses. However, I think it is important that all golfers, regardless of your skill level, play golf with better golfers as much as possible. And that is exactly what I did last Saturday when I played my Match Play round against Brooks. Continue reading →

Hitting the Ball With Gusto

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

Hitting the ball far is no great secret. It is a matter of swinging your club as fast as you can without any regard for balance, positioning or aim points. It must be that easy because I watch players on TV do it all the time. I mean really, how difficult can it be? Continue reading →