superior golf (lake superior that is)

This photo, courtesy Grant Ross, depicts a recent outing at Peninsula Golf Course, in Marathon, Ontario.

Grant Ross, a member of the Ross-McAllister Hackfest Championship dynasty, displays his fine etiquette as witnessed by his deft touch on the pin. Dave, at left, looks on in amusement as mock-assault on an unsuspecting playing partner occurs in the background.

Interesting to note that the Peninsula Golf Course, a nine hole track, was designed by Stanley Thompson. Here are some noteable courses designed by Mr. Stanley that you might recognize.

• Banff Springs Hotel GC, Banff, Alberta (1927)
• Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia (1935)
• Capilano, Vancouver, British Columbia (1937)
• Cataraqui, Kingston, Ontario (1928)
• Jasper Park Lodge, GC Jasper, Alberta (1925)
• St. George's, Toronto, Ontario (1929)

In addition, Stan the Man designed the original nine at North Bay Golf and Country Club, a course that befuddles me to this day, despite having played it more than a few hundred times.

why golfsmack?

Why indeed. Why the need for another blog? Why force you to come all the way over here to read about golf from the perspective of a perpetually tortured mid-range handicapper who thinks he can better, if only he had the time to practice.

Quite simply, I noticed that micromcallister was becoming cluttered with golf content, I've decided to move all of golf related posts here. micromcallister will remain, and will focus more on those things that occur during daily life. For that reason, and because some of you really don't care about what I shot under what conditions or if I hit a knock down eight iron on the 11th.

Odd how some people are.

making comments

A couple of months ago I added Blogger's comment feature to my blogs. I enjoy getting your feedback - I'm always intested in hearing what you have to say about what I've written.

At this point, this site accepts comments on an anonymous basis from readers - a practise that I may soon curtail as a result of a recent comment made by a reader.

I'm the first one to call myself a moron in many instances, however, from here on in, I'm requesting that if you wish to add your two cents, please add your name to your comment. You are more than free to call me any name in the book, but please have the intestinal fortitude to put your name to your smack.

I'll have that much more respect for you in the morning.

memo to tiger woods: what not to wear

Yo, Tiger.

What up with the bad hats and the pleats? Don't play dumb. You know what I mean.

Let's start with the chapeau. The foamy peak atop your forehead (umm, which is quickly becoming a fivehead, which might explain your aversion to the in vogue visor). The near total lack of bend in the peak. I think your choice of headgear, along with the pleats in you pants are holding your game back.

Why, after seven years of sporting your lid in a definitively milquetoast fashion, do you insist on choosing a hat like the one pictured below, and then actually wearing it? I'll take it all back if you're actually going old school on us like these. But somehow, I doubt it.

Buy a hat like that, get a free bowl of soup.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised that you haven't lost that beanie during some of your breezier rounds, having it perched so perilously atop the coiffe. You'd think for $60 million per annum that Nike pays you that they would have the good sense to put you in a hat that doesn't look like it should be askew upon the noggin of the host of one of those cornball sunday morning fishing shows.

And those pleated pants! Please! I suppose if you stick with them long enough they'll come back in fashion. I hear that Nike employs a specific tailor on your behalf to provide you with exactly the cut you're looking for. I guess I should be pleased that I don't see my local muni full of Tiger pant clones. That would be just too much for any one man to endure.

So, two words dawg: flat front. With the shoulders of a prototypical NFL defensive halfback, you hardly need to make your waist look slimmer, so I'm not sure what you're thinking with the pleats. Maybe Elin likes them. If that's the case, you're off the hook. No more grousing. But I'm sure a fashion-wise Scandanavian ex-model knows better. SHE MUST.

Forget all the talk about needing to go back to Butch Harmon, and that Hank Haney is giving you bad advice. Your problem is clearly your fashion choices. Since 2000, your competition has looked to your swing and your dedication to fitness as the standard against which they should measure themselves. It's time you took a look at what your comrades are wearing, and then take it to the next level, a la one Mr. Ian Poulter.

Ian Poulter, setting an example for Tiger.

At this point Tiger, with a majorless streak approaching double digits, and the ever looming threat that you'll be recruited for the first celebrity edition of What Not to Wear, you've got nothing to lose. Heck, go pantless if you have to.

this is one sick witch

Whistling Straits that is, where they are playing the PGA Championship this week. This looks like an absolute beast of a course. More than 1,400 bunkers? Longer than 7,500 yards? It's a pitch and putt really.


Whistling Straits. Yikes!

Apparently Vijay, after playing a practise round there yesterday, bemoaned the fact that he had to hit 3 irons into a few par fours. Boo-freakin'-hoo. This isn't the John Deere Classic Vij.

Lorne Roberts sez that 10 OVER par might win. Egad. Somehow, I doubt it.

The more sober among us will recognize that the pampered touring pros tend to whine without just cause most of the time. Once they get into it, and if the wind doesn't howl off Lake Michigan, the winning score should be under par. I'll say 7 or 8 under.

The winner? Glad you asked. If the course is as tough as everyone seems to be saying it will be, and if the wind /weather is a factor - which apparently it always is at this venue, then the winner should be: Tiger.

Tiger is probably the only one who can mentally endure the torture that this course / condition combination can dish out. Not that it matters who finishes second, but I'm picking Weirsy. After seeing an interview with him last night where he said he feels better about his game now than he has in a very long time. Mike usually doesn't blow smoke about the state of his game, and he's as tough as nails - but he just won't be as tough as Tiger this week.

pga championship validation

From micromcallister, 8/30/2004.

Ok. So I was off with my Woods / Weir prediction.

Way off.

Please note however that a score of -8 was good enough to get Leonard, Vijay, and Dimarco into a playoff.

Luke warm props to me.

it's tuesday so it must be raining

From micromcallister, 8/10/2004.

Martine is having horrible luck with her Tuesday golf league this year. Looking out the window, ignoring the fine industrial park view that my office location provides, I see a dark, dank looking sky that is said to be carrying copious amounts of moisture. This would make the second time this year that an outing of hers at The Marshes will (read might) be cancelled.

Hopefully the skies will brighten later in the day. But if they don't, at least I won't have to endure another Tuesday night of McDonald's / Pizza Pizza for dinner with the kids.

what i did on my next summer vacation

From micromcallister, 8/4/2004.

Look at this picture.

This is the ninth green at the Carne Golf Links in Belmullet, County Mayo, Scotland. If you squint your eyes, you can see me hitting a knock down 8 iron from 126 yards there in future summer, just beyond the hillock on the right.

Now, read this.

Understand? Thought you might.

new grips

From micromcallister, 8/4/2004.

I have these new grips on all my clubs. They're not the ones I asked for, so they gave me a bit of a deal by regripping my 7 wood, 4 wood, and driver for free. They're weird looking grips. Distracting. Very sticky. Too sticky? Almost. I'm not sure if I'm keen on the new grips.

gulbis

From micromcallister, 7/29/2004.

Golf's answer to Anna may be this young lass. Honestly, I think she has more talent than that, but she has her own calendar that deserves a glance.

Note that this post has been made based on demand from readership only and in no way objectifies the individual nor expresses any desire on the writer's behalf to purchase the aforementioned calendar.

weekend update, with round review

From micromcallister, 7/27/2004.

I drove to North Bay early on Saturday morning, spending some quality time with my girlfriend* along the way.  I arrived at Dad's around 9.30 am, where upon we went directly to Tim's, without passing go. We always see someone we know when we hit Tim's on Trout Lake Road, and this time was no exception as Jerry Stewart dropped by to say hello. For those of you I play hockey with, and who therefore know Jeremy and Graeme, that's their Dad.

(Almost forgot! Dad likes the new girlfriend very much. He thought that I had hooked up with another sporty number in blue that I was eyeing while he was in Kanata a few weeks back. I think he likes this one much better.)

Next we headed downtown to run an errand (an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the much-sought after field tomatoes at a makeshift farmer's market that had been set up in a vacant lot between Oak and Main).

Now home for lunch. Some manner of turkey with non-field tomato on white. And a beverage. Now off to Osprey Links, a newish course just south of North Bay. Not a bad track at all, though the fairways on the linksy-style front nine could use a little love / luck with its winters.

Our host for the day was John Marshall, father of Cam, with whom my Dad and I had an annual father-son thing going for a while. Cam moved to BC to work for Ballard four or five years ago, so it's been hard to keep it going.

My front nine started well, as I birdied the first and parred the second. Somehow though, I ended up shooting 49 on that side. I will attribute a few of the strokes in this ungodly number to our host John, as he prodded me into cutting some corners I shouldn't have and taking some risks that were ill-advised at best. Nevermind. I'm quite good at making my own mental errors on the course. John just happened to be there to facilitate.

Happily, the back nine was a different story. Here's my card for the shorter, yet much tighter and more undulating of the two nines.

Par      5 3 4 4 4 3 5 3 4  Total 35
Score  5 3 4 4 5 3 4 3 5  Total 36

I caught a nice break on 11, as the rock outcropping to the left of the green bounced my ball back onto the green. My bogey on 14 was a result of not getting up and down from just off the green. The birdie on the par 5 16th came after almost holing my greenside bunker shot for an eagle. The long par 3 17th (195 over water) looks okay as a 3 on the card, but my 7 wood ended up just 3.5 feet from the hole, so I can't help but think that I should have been -1 with one hole to go. That thought was the kiss of death, as this is what I was thinking while standing over the putt - and of course, I missed the putt. It wasn't a misread, but poor alignment that caused the miss, as I felt that I hit a perfect putt, only to have John tell me that I was aiming that way.

Anyway, on to 18. A smooth 4 wood to 128, and then a crisp yet not overcooked 9 iron to an elevated green. I hit a solid shot that landed just on the front fringe, but, due to the angle of descent, released to the back of the green. 40feet and two putts to an even par 35. Easy! Except I three-jacked it. What a dope!

An odd way to end up with 85, but I'll take it.

On Saturday night Dad and I were invited to John and Jane's for dinner. The Marshall's have an amazing house on Trout Lake - love that house, and if they ever decide to move one day, I want first dibs. Suppose I'd have to be able to get a job in North Bay and uproot the family unit. Details! It had been four years since I saw Jane, and it was pretty special to see her - she was always very motherly to me and Cam's friends, always making us feel welcome and like part of the family. After a few before-dinner drinks and a couple of hours of catching up, John sparked up the Jacuzzi (his circa 1977 bbq, not a spa / hot tub) and put on the steaks. After second helpings of both dinner and desert (Jane broke out the cobbler for the occasion!), we tapped into the Zambuca. Dad did not partake as he wanted to take the girlfriend home himself.

I promised Jane and John that it wouldn't be four years before I visited again. Hopefully Martine and I will drop by there when were up with the kids later this summer.

I won't get into such a blow-by-blow account of Sunday's round, unless you want me to that is...

It was just Dad and I up at NBGCC on Sunday morning. I felt like I was entitled to shooting 75 or less after the previous day's back nine. Entitled I was not. Ended up with 86 - 44 front, 42 back. Finishing on a positive note is always a good thing, and I did just that going one over for the last six holes. I birdied 16 and nearly holed a chip for another birdie on 18 - still can't believe it didn't go in. Those of you who know the 18th at NBGCC (formerly the 9th prior to the re-routing that took place a few years ago) will attest that it is nearly impossible to stop a ball from rolling off the green from above the hole.

Based on Dad's performance with the driver (my old Accuform behemoth), I've taken it to get reshafted. While he hit's it well, everything is off to the right. I fear that he's gonna quit the game if someone or something doesn't straighten him out. Hopefully a bit more whip in the ole shaft will do the trick and help get that face squared up.

*girlfriend = bmw

crazy golf, online

From micromcallister, 7/23/2004.

Here is a nice little online diversion.

tremblant spring golf trip

From micromcallister, 7/8/2004.


Martine, me, and our SpringCreek neighbors Joe and Lisa on the first tee at Geant on June 22, 2004. 


Big hitter the Lama. Long. 

masters approaching

From micromcallister, 3/2/2004.

It's just a little more than a month now until The Masters - the first bankable sign that spring has arrived. Keep in mind that weekend prior to the Masters, we put the clocks forward one hour. Daylight until 7 PM. Everybody out of their caves!

golfobserver.com

From micromcallister, 2/19/2004.

Since pgatour.com has become little more than a very fine live scoring tent, peddling little more than "these guys are good" "articles", I have been yearning for a central location on the web where one can find a compendium of the days golf-related articles from around the globe.

It's GolfObserver.com to the rescue!

If it's wintertime, rainy (rain is no excuse not to play mind you), or if you're just plain bored at work, you can get your eyes on a wide range of golf-related material - which makes the winter shorter, turns the rain into a mist, and shortens a tedious work day when you're procrastinating, yet again.

For a prime example, check out this really cool story about Pebble Beach from 1929, published in The American Golfer. The 18th hole looks much the same, if you can ignore the lack of new retaining wall they installed a few years ago to keep the surf from devouring the most famous American golf hole, along with the presence of the majestic pines in the right center of the fairway. Bet it cost less than today's $380 to have looped it back in the day.

michelle wie narrowly misses cut

From micromcallister, 1/17/2004.

While she didn't make the cut, Michelle Wie was awesome this week at the Sony Open. She shot 2-under 68 yesterday, missing the cut by just one shot. She beat or tied 49 men who play on the best tour in the world, including Stuart Appleby (who won last week at the Mercedes), Scott Hoch, Craig Stadler, and Adam Scott. Not bad for a grade 9 student, who happens to be female.

To put this in further perspective, when he was 16, Tiger played the LA Open (now the Nissan Open) and didn't come close to making the cut. Crazy.

All those who complained that a sponsor's exemption shouldn't be wasted on a 14 year old girl should be seriously reconsidering their words. If she's good enough to be out there full time, which to me she has proved that she is, she'll be there. She'll go through q-school or she'll use sponsor's exemptions to earn enough money to earn her card (as Tiger did in 1996). I'm convinced that she'll not only play on the PGA Tour as a regular one day, but she'll win. More than once. For those who say that women should play with women, and men with men are missing the point. The PGA Tour is for the best players in the world, regardless of gender.

no pins, good scoring

From micromcallister, 11/24/2003.

With temps hovering around 7 degrees, I drove out to the 'sippi around noon on Sunday to see tarps covering the tees and greens. Gate locked. Bummer. Then, drove up to Almonte, and across to Greensmere GC. No tarps, six cars in parking lot. A couple of twosomes visible in the distance. Decided to tee it up. Checked the clubhouse - no one home to take my money. Free round! No tee blocks out, no pins in holes. No matter! Played 18 holes in 2.5 hours. Had three birdies. Shot a completely unverifiable 78.

Here's my card, from memory:

Hole | Par | Score | Agonizing Details If Anyone Cares But Me

1 | 4 | 5 | short of green in two, chip, two putts

2 | 4 | 4 | good drive, 8 iron to 15 feet, two putts *GIR (green in regulation)

3 | 3 | 4 | 7 iron to 35 feet, downhill putt, three jacked it *GIR

4 | 5 | 7 | poor drive - toed hooked it a bit - yanked second from a ridiculously slice lie, blocked third into trap, exploded to 35 feet, three putts)

5 | 4 | 5 | drive barely in bounds, 8 iron missed green left, chip 8 feet past, two putts

6 | 5 | 4 | solid drive, 4 wood beside green in two, flopped it to one foot, birdie *GIR

7 | 3 | 3 | 8 iron to middle of green, two putts *GIR

8 | 4 | 4 | mediocre drive, 7 iron to back right of green, two putts *GIR

9 | 4 | 4 | solid drive, 9 iron over back of green, great flop to 2 feet, par

Out | 36 | 40 | a generally soggy front nine, played generally steady if unspecatular golf, but 5 GIR.


10 | 4 | 5 | booming drive of Forsbrandesque proportions, SW over back, good flop, two putts

11 | 4 | 5 | poor drive, chunky short with second, on in three, two putts

12 | 3 | 3 | crazy downhill par three, hit nice easy draw with PW to 20 feet, two putts *GIR

13 | 4 | 5 | good 4W off tee, short of green with second, chip, two putts

14 | 3 | 3 | middle of green with nine iron, two putts *GIR

15 | 4 | 3 | great drive up left side of fairway, settles in rough, perfect SW yardard, hit it to 10 ft, made right to left putt, birdie *GIR

16 | 5 | 4 | from extreme right side of tee box hit a great drive, 4 wood from 230 to 25 ft, two putts, birdie) *GIR

17 | 4 | 5 | crap drive, fattish 8 iron short of green, chip on, two putts

18 | 5 | 5 | poor drive forces pitch out to 200 yard marker, 7 wood to 15 ft, two putts, par *GIR

In | 36 | 38 | best round of the year, 10 GIR doesn't sound like much, but even those greens that I missed were not greviously missed.

I should move the family to Scotland. I thrive in the bad conditions. Either that, or I just don't have the patience to play rounds that last longer than three hours. I think that the less time I have to think about my swing and where my score stands (which I should never do anyway), the better.

Also, there's something to playing without pins. Not knowing the hole location cleared my mind. Aim at the middle of the green and just swing away in a Zen-like state. No temptations to go for sucker pins. If I blocked it a bit I'd merely be on the right side of the green. If I pulled it a bit I'd be on the right side. Either way, my GIR (greens in regulation) stat went way up. If you can putt even just a little bit, you should be able to avoid the big number or two that always seems to ruin a good round.

Goal for next year: aim at no pin, no matter how tempting. I hope you enjoyed the account of my round. I am willing to post additional round reviews, dating back as far as Royal Troon, circa 1984.

never asking jamie to golf again

From micromcallister, 10/27/2003.

On request, I make the personal assertation that I will not ask Mr. Jamie to join me for a round of golf again. Ever. This promise stems from Saturday's round at Stonebrige, when, on or about the 8th hole, Jamie proclaimed that he "really didn't enjoy the game".

As difficult as this is for me to believe, I do empathize with Jamie, possessor of a fine looking swing that produces a modicum of decent results. These decent results only usually only eminate from his game when he is fully engaged in the moment, and not when he is concerning himself with next spring's arrival of his third child or with what to do about his obviously troublesome fall / spring jacket purchase.

I cannot imagine not enjoying the game of golf, even if I "underachieved" as much as Jamie - which I more than often do.

Jamie is a hearty sort however, so I must give him props for that. He did join us (his brother Jeremy, minstral Andy, and yours truly) for a round that could best be described as "crisp".

Jamie has found personal issue with this blog for his lack of but one early reference, which I trust has been rectified by this denunciation of his personage, if only for a short time.

If any of us learned anything from Saturday's round, it is this: I am the man to beat.

private course

From micromcallister, 10/20/2003.

Jeremy Boyes and I played The Marshes on Sunday. Great day! We basically had the course to ourselves... there wasn't much wind, and when the sun did decide to shine, any chill that was present was taken away.

I must say that The Marshes is a fine fine track, but, if the euro tour does play there next year, the pros will go low, very, very low. The fairways are way wide and the greens are large. I know they'll trick the course up a bit for the event (grow the rough, slick the greens), but really, 25 under won't be out of the equation.

Jeremy heartily agreed, but noted that Monty likely won't show for these very reasons as he likes his venues tight. That must be why he's won so many US Opens. Hmm.

golf balls, delivered

From micromcallister, 10/10/2003.

Being a bit of a snoot when it comes to my golf ball of choice, I surprised myself this week when I ordered three dozen "nearly new" golf balls over the Internet, from a retailer in Mississauga. Knet Golf delivered the 36 balls in 24 hours (1.5 balls per hour!).

The site assured me that these balls haven't been sitting at the bottom of a pond for a few months. Rather, they were logo overruns or balls with minor cosemtic blemishes (I noticed that the stamping of some of the logos was smeared on some). But, at $20 a dozen as opposed to $30 a dozen at the local golf store, why not give it a try?

If nothing less, I can blame my next round score on "wonky Internet balls".

a fine round

From micromcallister, 9/29/2003.

Hit the 'sippi with Jeremy yesterday afternoon for a little small ball on the big green field. I played like I didn't have a care in the world - nor a care for my score evidently - but I was heartened to see Jeremy push it around the front in just 39. Not bad a bad score for the recently defibbed one.

Shot of the day status goes to Jeremy for his interesting, never before seen Reverse Slingshot on the par 5 16th hole. On his second shot from the left rough, Jeremy had a few smallish pines to negotiate. Struck well, his three wood squarely hit the top third of one of the small pines, whereupon the pine bent like a firm noodle, and sprung back to vertical, sending Jeremy's ball arching back over his head. Jeremy was then lying two, 15 yards further from the hole.

eurotour ottawa

From micromcallister, 9/23/2003.

Schedule next summer's vacation time accordingly. SLAM! Sports - Golf Europe - Foreign exchange

Update August 31, 2004: this never happened.

props to tl1

From micromcallister, 9/24/2003.

TL1, aka Todd Landry, hung up an impressive 77 last Sunday at Greensmere. Unlike myself, who has the ability to turn a sub-80 round into an 85 on the last two holes, TL1 birdied 17 and parred 18. Well done Todd, you, are, the, man!

the royal is one sick witch

From micromcallister on 9/15/2003.

I did play golf this weekend - at Royal Ottawa Golf Club... a venue with greens so fast they both frightened and excited me.

I kept short-siding myself (missing the green to the side where the pin is located on a green), leaving myself very touchy flops to tight pins... ball-striking wise, the round was ok - but my short game was not nearly up to the test.

While I posted by far my worst score of the year (102), I can't begin to rate the round based on score - the course was absolutely phenomenal - old school - not long by modern standards (just a little of 6000 yards from the whites) - with postage stamp, slick-as-granite putting surfaces. I was giddy with excitement on every hole, and agape at how most of my putts ran happily past each hole. I counted four four putts and four three putts on my card.

Many thanks to playing partner and host Scott Thompson, who provided tips for me on every hole. Sadly, I was unable to execute on most of this good words, instead, finding the exact opposite location to what was instructed. Scott's 30 foot bomb in the gloaming in front of the patio of the 18th hole, proved to be the highlight of the day - a putt the did not go unnoticed by the appreciative diners looking on.

don't step in my line

From micromcallister, 9/8/2003.

I played golf on Saturday, at Stonebridge, with my father-in-law, and two of his friends from Val d'Or. This turned out to be my worst scoring round of the year, thanks to a horrible display of putting.

My putting stroke has actually been quite reliable this year, having recently gone 72 holes without a three-putt. I had six three-putts on Saturday, and avoided a couple of four-jacks by making an eight footer on East 6 and a six footer on West 4. I can say, without hesitation, that my putting, and my game in general, was thrown off by a glaring lack of courtesy and etiquette on the part of one of my playing partners. This gentleman (not my father-in-law), had the fury-inducing habit of stepping in, or on one occassion standing in the direct line of my putts on, from what I can accurately recall, 12 of the 18 greens. Michelle Wie got in trouble this summer for stepping in the extended line of a playing partner's putt. If it were simply that, I wouldn't have given it a second thought. But putting through footprints gave me a bad case of the yips. Granted, this wasn't the US Open, and I can be a bit of hard-ass when it comes to the common courtesies of golf. I shouldn't let crap like this bug me, but it does. This falls in the same category as the doode who won't turn off his constantly ringing cell phone at the movie theatre, or the tailgater who has his grill up your ass on the drive home.

I am willing to let the odd mis-step go on the greens, as people can make honest mistakes - for example, they may be so wrapped up in their own game that they don't realize where you ball mark is located for example. People who do this are usually quick to apologies for such an error.

After the third or fourth instance when someone walks in one's line however, it starts to become somewhat of a distraction, and you start to think that he might even be doing it on purpose. Happily though, I don't think he was doing it on purpose. Simply, and quite sadly, he just didn't care.

I'm quite willing to forgive ignorance, but not willing to forgive someone who just doesn't give a rats ass about how his actions on the golf course affects others. He either didn't think walking in a putting line impacted the roll of the ball (which it does) or impacted the concentration of his playing partner (which it did) - or, he simply didn't care. All of the above apply in this case.

It's not as though this gentleman was new to the game and unaware of the basic manners of golf - this person likely plays more than 100 rounds a year. I play golf for a few of reasons - for the cameraderie, to get outside, to walk around a nice setting for a few hours, and sometimes, to posting a decent score. At least I was outside in a nice setting on a nice late summer day.

Anyway, I've prattled on about this far too long, and I fear that I have revealed too much about how big a stickler I can be about these sorts things. Ah well, screw it. You've got to be passionate about some things in life, and as my father has often said, the way one plays the game of golf says an awful lot about what the person is like off the golf course.