The City Golf Junior Tour is almost upon us…

The City Golf Junior Tour is literally around the corner, and I couldn’t be more excited about it!! This is the first of many monthly (possibly bi-monthly because of the massive interest already shown) junior events to be held at City Golf on Sunday mornings.

Please don’t be fooled by the word “TOUR”. This event is open to ANY junior from the age of 4 to 17 years old. Most of the kids will be absolute beginners, and I hope to turn them into great little golfers within a couple of months…

I will be hosting two clinics, and there will be 2 mini tournaments that your kids are here at City Golf. The TOUR is to provide a platform for growth in the game of golf over a long period of time. “City Golf Dollars” will be earned for a smart dress code (collared shirt etc.), achievements the mini tournaments, achievements in the Nearest the Pin and Long drive contests, rapid improvement awards, as well as verbal tests regarding the game of golf. I will strive to keep it is fair as possible and ensure that all kids are given a fair chance to earn their City Golf Dollars for all of the disciplines. This encourages the kids to learn more about the game of golf whilst competing.

Your kids will benefit from the following:

Professional Tuition

Safe, Air-Conditioned Environment

Emphasis on Rules and Golf Etiquette (which lead into life changing habits)

Camaraderie and Friendships made

Teamwork (some of the contests will require a partner)

Please make all bookings with Rick Currin at:

rick@citygolf.com.my

or, 019 278 1003

I look forward to hearing from you and turning your kids into SUPERSTARS!!!

Monthly Social Game @ Sungai Long – Friday 27th January 2012

GONG XI FA CAI!!!

I hope everyone had a nice bit of time off, and you are now ready to tackle the year with open arms!!

Our monthly outdoor game was held at Sungai Long on Friday 27th January. What a golf course!!! After much running around and fumbles with pairings for the game, we were off on what looked to be another cooker of a day in Malaysia. I personally loved the layout of this golf course as it allowed you to open your shoulders and give the ball a good swipe! The greens were lovely apart from being a touch slow, but rewarded good aggressive putting strokes.

There was some pretty decent scoring on the day, and it turns out that you needed to go pretty low to beat Karl Muir off his 16 handicap! He went around in 40 points to secure the win by a single point from my playing partner Iain Pearce. Had it not been for that little “10″ on the par 5 sixth hole, Iain would have been in the driver’s seat.

Final Results:

1st Karl Muir                                                      40 points    1 Dozen Titleist Pro V1

2nd Iain Pearce                                                 39 points    2 Sleeves Titleist Pro V1

3rd Gary Cane                                                    37 points    1 Sleeve Titleist Pro V1

Everyone else received a pat on the back and a couple of ice cold beverages. Thanks again to all who participated.

TNT SOCIAL – 18 JANUARY 2011

My first TNT Social was a success! As you know, City Golf is going through some changes and we are down to 3 simulators, so are only able to cater for 12 teams (24 players). I was in a flat panic because we had 13 teams down on the morning of the social, but fortunately (and unfortunately) a couple of guys pulled out. A few shuffles and shifts and we finally had 10 teams smashing it around Bay Hill’s back nine. The scoring was looking very good, but coming down the stretch I saw a few complete disasters. It really illustrates the importance of a swing that holds up under pressure. This will increase your consistency and confidence, especially under high pressure situations. The object of the TNT Social is to have fun, but it is still a competitive environment, and all players should really try and improve on their fundamentals of tournament golf. With my background in sports psychology, I have a number of little tricks to help you keep it together coming down the stretch. Book a lesson and come and pick my brain!

Guy Young and Steve Sablatnig were a couple under par with their alternate shot score, but as I mentioned there was a bit of a meltdown coming down the stretch. They finished on even par to win by 2 shots from Al Guthrie and Kevan Bartley. Mark Jones and Iain Pearce rounded up the top 3.

The “Nearest the Pin for Charity” event was won by Steve Sablatnig who knocked it to 1.35 metres. He was on fire on Wednesday night! Even wen we finished the evening with a quiet game of BINGO, BANGO, BONGO he couldn’t put a foot wrong! Sadly he is returning to New Zealand in a couple of weeks. We wish him all of the best and we’re sad to see him go, despite him winning everything he enters at City Golf! (apologies for the quality of the photo’s)

Once again, a massive thank you to Titleist for the kind sponsorship of Pro V1 golf balls for our prizes!

I look forward to the next TNT Social. Remember to book early to avoid disappointment!

- Happy Golfing

NEW YEAR OFF WITH A BANG!!

Firstly, may I wish everyone a Happy and prosperous New Year. I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas with family and friends and I hope that the overindulgence was worth it! Here’s to a great golfing year with heaps of laughs and new friendships made…

I landed in KL a little under 5 weeks ago, and it feels like I got here yesterday! It has been unreal so far and I have loved every minute of it. I’m sure there are many more great times to come.

My first outing to “The Mines” Resort and Golf Course

Al Guthrie (owner of The Old Clubhouse – City Golf’s soon to be “on location” pro shop) managed to pry me away from City Golf for a couple of hours this morning to play my first round of the year at The Mines; a course that I have wanted to play for years. It was spectacular!! We were greeted with pristine fairways and greens of perfection, and everything that I had been told about the golf course lived up to my expectations.

Perfect weather with not a breath of wind allowed Al and I to make the turn at 4UP against our opponents. I managed to sneak in a couple of birdies to nudge our noses ahead. One of the birdies was on the 9th, with a delicate flop shot over a bunker that needed to land softly on the downhill slope. It kept trickling, and found the bottom of the cup. I hate blowing my own trumpet, but this was one of the finer shots I’ve played in a while and will be happy to teach you how to play it sometime! The back nine brought with it a bit of a fight back from the opposition, but some steady golf from Al and I held the opposition off for a reasonably comfortable win. Thanks to John and Julian for the round (and the lunch!!)

If you have been away, welcome back. If you have been away, and your golf was poorly while you were there, WELCOME BACK!!! Please be so kind as to shoot into City Golf to have a chat about your swing. I guarantee that I can fix whatever it is that may be bothering you. We have a new “lesson area” with a large screen television specifically for swing analysis viewing. I look forward to helping you get all that you want out of your game by working with your strengths and eliminating your weaknesses.

Keep an eye on this Blog for upcoming tips and cool stories from your local City Golf PGA Professional. Cheers for now…

New PGA Pro at City Golf. Come and say “Howzit” to Rick Currin

Greetings!! As you may have already heard, I am the new professional to be taking over from Hector as he is departing back to South Africa to join the married ranks. He has been a great asset to the City Golf team and he will be missed. We all wish him the best of luck, and I’m sure that we’ll see him and Mrs. Hector Nicou in Malaysia in the not too distant future.

A bit about me:

Well, I’m from Kwa-Zulu Natal South Africa, and played most of my golf out of Southbroom Golf Club (look it up if you’re bored!). I launched myself into the professional ranks at a +5 handicap. I have been teaching the game for a little over       11 years, and have taught from absolute beginner to tour professional, so I am more than capable of handing out some relatively handy information with regards to your golf swing!!

I spent three years working on cruise ships as a golf professional, so I am well travelled. I played on tour (part time) for 2 years with no massive amount of success, but I did make a couple of cuts, and loved every minute of it. Maybe with enough practice at City Golf I might just make an appearance in one of the Asian Tour events at some stage!

I look forward to meeting all of the members, and will do everything in my power to make every one of your City Golf experiences a memorable one. If the TNT Hole in One event that took place last Friday is anything to go by, I’m sure that this will be the case… Please feel free to come in and meet me if you haven’t already done so….

Cheers for now.

City Golf Members Outing at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club

The day started off a little shaky with a miscommunication or two with the club but we eventually where on our merry way and where teeing off on what looked like a great afternoon’s golf.

Unfortunately that idea was quickly shot down in its tracks as the sky began to rumble. The sirens rang and a typical KL storm hit hard stopping all play for over an hour. My four ball decided this was a great opportunity to crack into a few beers, and I must admit, I never thought we would go back out so I indulged myself as well! Below was my reasoning…

After about an hour the heavens cleared up and we made our way back onto the course. It was very wet and made play quite challenging and only had a couple of hours to complete 15 holes.

We where going strong, but not all the groups got the 18 holes in, my group only made it through 15 holes and we played the 15th in pitch black darkness! (we made 3 pars in the group which was quite impressive)All in all it was a good day out, spoilt by a little rain but we still all had a thoroughly good time. The points are totaled from where the last four ball completed play.

The below is the top seeds in the prizes:

1st: Geoff Mclaws – 34 points (He shot 38 off a 9 hcp on the front!)
2nd: John ‘Lefty’ Sigler 33 points
3rd: Dave Kelly and Sean Niven 32 points a piece, the prize will be split

1st prize wins 1 dozen Prov1 balls, second prize wins 6x Prov1 balls and 6x NXT tours and 3rd prize wins 3 Prov 1 balls and 3 Callaway Tour IS balls each.

Happy Golfing to everyone, keep your eyes peeled for more games to come!

‘Thinning’ your chips? Here’s the cure!

Hey guys, Please have a look at my video and give the drill a try. I have seen great success while using this on my students and their chipping around the greens has greatly improved because of it.

Stay tuned for more great tips to follow in soon! Have a great Golfing Weekend!

Stop catching it ‘FAT’ off hitting mats

Often I get asked, how do I stop hitting the ball fat, all I ever practice off is a hitting mat? There are a few reasons one hits the ball fat, one of which is incorrect angle of attack into the golf ball, either too steep or too shallow. Have a look at this basic drill I have recorded and give it a try!

Please let me know if it works for you!

Just for Fun:Greatest Hole in One ever?

This is dedicated to all those golfers that are cursed by a dreaded water hole. As they say, theres more then one way to skin a cat! Enjoy.