Historically Speaking
Mike Stevens, Rob Alschwede and Jay Harris of Team USA
Wrapping up the week was the Swedish Hickory Championship. To say that Sweden is crazy about hickory golf would be an understatement. There were 182 players in the field, and I am told they had over 230 applications. I was in the second-to-last group, teeing off at 3:00 p.m. In spite of the record field, we rarely waited. One of the other things I love about hickory golf – it’s fast.
I played very well going out (they said things like that in the old days), turning in 36 strokes. I also hit the ball well coming in, too well, as I flew the ball over several greens, resulting in a string of bogeys. Still I was one shot out of the lead heading down fifteen. Then, I pulled a wedge shot…a wedge shot…mother of mercy, a dumber bogey was nowhere to be found. On seventeen, I three-putted for a double that turned a fourth-place finish into a tie for 7th.
The game has no favorites. It’s a battle to the bitter end, requiring constant focus, and mine blurred with the championship staring me in the face. As I trudged downtrodden toward the clubhouse, my playing partner, Adam again, said, “Come on, I’ll buy you a beer.” All was not lost.
After a pint and some good conversation, we donned our caps and watched the playoff between Fulke and Per Nyman. Nyman won with a birdie putt on the second hole. All in all, it was a great week with an exciting finish and camaraderie that is always a part of this wonderful game, be it hickory golf or titanium golf. It was a time and place I will not soon forget.
Author Curt Sampson, Pierre Fulke, Mike Stevens and Adam Mednik
Added to this, we have great weather (year round), sunny skies, warm oceans and friendly people. World-class hotels, incredible safari lodges and game reserves are to be found throughout the country. As a tour operator serving the international market, I have seen that our golf courses are less well-known than our other, more famous attractions. It is my aim to highlight the country’s top golf destinations and best-kept secrets to you over the months to come.
As I write this article, Sun City (the country’s main golf destination) is preparing to host the Nedbank Golf Challenge – previously referred to as The Million Dollar Challenge. It is being marketed as ‘Africa’s Major’ and the field includes Hunter Mahan, Henrik Stenson, Nick Watney, and Tim Clark. At the same time, the country is gripped with FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup fever.
Golfing tours can be tailor-made to suite different traveler’s pockets as well as tastes, and South Africa is a good destination for the US market, as one dollar tends to buy you 7-8 rands (South African currency). Itineraries can include a Big 5 Safari mixed with a trip to Cape Town, the Winelands, a cultural tour, and a great golf track. The tented Lodge I mentioned above is Gorah Elephant Camp, my favourite Safari destination – you can have a look at the website at http://www.hunterhotels.com/gorahelephantcamp/ and Bushman Sands can be viewed at http://www.riverhotels.co.za/bushmans/. The boat cruise and golf track can be viewed in the gallery link.
Please feel free to e-mail me on ron.mackenzie@neoafrica.com. 
Michelle Wie has reached the top of her wide, well-coiled, and majestic top of backswing position. What happens next to get her started in delivering all this power to that teed up ball? I will answer that question shortly. Right now, I think it is crucial to first present the three popular theories or arguments about what happens to complete the backswing and start the downswing.
Theory #1
There is no overlap movements in the two halves of the swing. As the player has just about but not quite finished turning his or her body, while the hands and the club have not quite reached their highest point in the backswing, the player actually starts the downswing by shifting the hips later – ally toward the target. This lateral move of the hips puts so much stress on the coil of the upper body, that it is automatically forced to begin uncoiling, like a taut rubber band whose tension is released, snapping the band back. (I disagree with this movement-in-two- directions-at-the-completion of- the-backswing concept. I don’t think it is physically impossible for any golfer to consciously and successfully make a lateral move with the hip toward the target while the hands and the club are still going up to the top of the backswing.)
Theory #2
The player winds the hips and shoulders so far around in a clockwise direction that the force of the windup catapults the arms, body, and club down, due to centrifugal force. In other words, the downswing is triggered automatically. (Although I agree that centrifugal force plays a key role in the downswing, by virtue of the arms and club swinging outward from the body’s center toward the ball, I don’t agree with the theory that the downswing just happens by some form of houdini-like magical spring-back action. On the contrary, it must be triggered by a specific move.)
Theory #3
The theory of synchronization calls for the player to first start the backswing by rotating the left knee inward, turning the left shoulder under the chin, coiling the left hip clockwise, and pushing the club away with the left hand on the backswing. Second, to trigger the downswing action by doing the opposite – simultaneously turning the left knee outward toward the target, rotating the left shoulder up and away from the chin, uncoiling the left hip in a counterclockwise direction, and pulling the club down with the left hand. (I disagree with this theory on the basis that it is un-natural for a right handed player to employ left hand triggers. In fact, you’ll soon be hearing more on this subject.)
I’ve just cited the three main theories when, in fact, the list goes on and on; it’s so exhaustive that you can appreciate why so many amateur golfers are befuddled. The reason: I believe many teachers are too hung up on left side golf than right side golf.
