In one of my restless, think-about-being-the-bill-gates-of-golf, sleepness nights, I decided I'm going to be a little more daring in life, golf, business, and, ladies look out, love. I'm hitting driver off every tee, growing a goatie (difficult since I'm certain my condo air conditioning stunts facial hair growth rates), and have got some exciting new golf services for you. So exciting and top secret in fact, that not even I know exactly what they are yet. I promise to reveal them next month. Until then, stay out of the rough and play it down...
In This Issue
1. Mobile Golf - Golf Anywhere You Are
2. The Lesson Tee - Thomas The Tank Engine In The Zone
3. Golf Holidays - We Just Played Chuan Chuen Golf Club
4. Equipment Advisor - I Definitely Think This Song Is About Me
5. Mulligans, Shanks and Divots - The King of Aces
Mobile Golf - Golf Anywhere You Are
You're not gonna believe it, but the Miracle of Mobile, the Tyrannosauraus of Tech and Creme De La Creme of CRM - Mobile Vision, has pulled one out of the bag yet again and made booking tee times that much easier. We're calling it "Click To Call".
Connect to wap.golfthink.com on your phone, select "Course Directory" - Now just click on the name of the course and your phone will automatically dial the golf course.
But wait. That's not all. We've run out of Ginsu knives, but the first 10 mobile golf fans to visit the golf directory and tell me who the celebrity golfer is at the bottom of the page will get...wait for it...a brand-spanking new Footjoy golf glove.
Just SMS the answer to +66 1 485 5189 and wait for the good news. You'll also find an updated Golf Tips section so you can cure that slice when you're out on the course...
The Lesson Tee - He Thought He Could and By God He Did
Thomas the Tank Engine should of tried Monday qualifying for a few PGA Tour events. Ever stood over the ball and known you're going to make that putt or hit it in the water hazard? Visualization is used by almost every PGA Tour Pro and there's a reason for that. It works. Check out what a few players have to say on the subject:
Mancil Davis (See Mulligans, Shanks & Divots) - "I truly believe that my mind is as much of—if not more—responsible for my aces than a decent golf swing. ...several years ago, Sports Illustrated performed a study on my brain wave activity during my swing. The results showed that my par-3 waves were consistent with those produced by other golfers when faced with a 30- or 40-foot putt—a situation where the hole itself is the definite target. Visualization is a powerful tool. I implore you to use it"
Jack Nicklaus - "My last thought before I take the club away isn't a thought at all. It's a picture, a visualization, a sensation. If I think of swinging slowly, my last thought isn't "swing slowly." It's an image of me swinging slowly."
Annika Sorenstam - "I like to stand behind the ball, facing the line of the putt, and visualising the outcome in my mind’s eye. I like to ‘see’ the ball roll into the cup"
Golf Holidays - We Just Played Chuan Chuen Golf Club
We just played Chuan Chuen Golf Club, about 35 minutes from the city and close to Bangkok Golf Club. The verdict: I was pleasantly surprised and I'll definitely be back for a few more rounds. There's some nice holes and a good mixture of short, long, penal, pretty and otherwise holes.
Course conditons aren't the best, but the greens are relatively smooth, tee boxes for the most part are level and the fairways are relatively well-kept.
The only disappointing aspect was the locker rooms, which are a little primitive and the person in charge of purchasing needs to fork out for some of those
white things you stick in the dryer to make the towels smell nice. Green fees are cheap - 850 weekdays and 1,490 for weekends including caddie.
If you're looking to play a good course without the bells and whistles close to the airport, I'd make this your first choice. It beats Pinehurst hands down in almost every aspect and while they do get crowded on weekends, the pace of play is quite acceptable.
Equipment Advisor - I Definitely Think This Song Is About Me
The shaft is the most important part of the club and choosing the right one can make a noticeable difference to your game and scores.
Most golfers with big ego's like to think they can hit the ball further than they can and insist on buying stiffer than they need shafts.
First thing you need to consider is graphite or steel. If you can't hit your 7-iron more than 140 yards, than think about graphite.
You might lose a little control, but unless you play regularly, you won't notice the difference. Next thing you need to think about is flex.
Generally a more flexible shaft will allow you to hit it further but with less control. Try to find the most flexible shaft you can that allows you to maintain control of the ball.
If in doubt, choose the more flexible shaft. I use regular shafts and hit my 7-iron 165 yards under normal conditions and don't feel as though I'm losing any control because of the shaft.
Having said that, I've got a huge ego and use a tour-X stiff shaft in my 3-wood, so go figure.
Mulligans Shanks and Divots - The King of Aces
Show off's always get their comeuppance, and I got mine after boasting about my two hole in ones when I came across Mancil Davis - known as the King of Aces.
- 50 Official hole in ones (a world record)
- 10 double eagles (a world record)
- Made a hole in one with every club in the bag except putter, PW and SW
- In June 1967 he had three hole in ones in five days
- He had at least hole in one every year between 1967 and 1987
- He's aced the 2nd hole at Odessa Country Club five times
- His longest hole in one is 374 yards
And finally, a tribute to one of our students (who I'm sure, as a child liked to play with fire and use firecrackers to blow up spiders in matchboxes) who returned a suit given to him by his wife for Christmas because "For the price of that, I can go to Thailand, play three rounds of golf and buy a suit"...And he did just that...