From the Tasman Sea shore
Golf Notes is coming to you from Blackball, New Zealand. Blackball is a small town close to the Tasman Sea shore, nestled into the western slopes of the Southern Alps.
The drive from the Landsdowne area was close to four hours across open sheep grazing plains, then winding up through the Alps through Authors Pass. My daughter, Alice, and I are visiting my, many moons ago, former wife, Lyndsey. She owns a lovely little house on the outskirts of Blackball,
a population of 276 people. Blackball is known locally as the center of the universe- the part where nothing moves. Looking out the windows of Lyndsey's house, you see lush tree-covered slopes with some leaves becoming fall colors. We are sliding into the fall down under.
Returning to golf, the Tai Tapu course, located close to my daughter's house, the course management has by-laws written by the Management Committee. Under the bylaws are written four basic principles introduced by this proclamation: As a member of Tai Tapu Golf Club, a certain standard of behavior (that is how behavior is spelled in NZ) is expected that reflects the basic requirements of sportsmanship, integrity, courtesy and respect to be shown to all other members, competitors, officials, employees and the public. Here are the four principles: Bad temper, club throwing, foul and abusive language. Failure to adhere to the rules and etiquette of the game of golf. Unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary gamesmanship. Physical violence and threatening behavior. Players are encouraged to report any violation of these principles. If a golfer is reported, their incident may be categorized as a
1,2 or 3-level infraction. A committee is assigned to review the reported violation, and depending on the level of the incident, the player might just get a talking-to, a warning, or a bye-bye.
Blackball, rich in gold and coal mining history, does not have a golf course. The course closest to Blackball is the Greymouth course. Green fees for the Greymouth Club are $40.00 for the eighteen. A set of clubs and a trundler goes for $10.00. Annual memberships go for $625.00. On June 27th and 28th, the Greymouth course is having a Hooley, a four-person team Stableford tournament, with
pool games. The league games start Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and usually end before 10 p.m. Tournaments, when held, are open for everyone.
Cue Tip: Information on how to improve your pool game, in books, on video, etc, is so plentiful that I can't think of an excuse for not knowing how to improve. Drills can be boring if you are not keeping a record. An example might include placing five balls randomly on the table and counting the shots to make all 5. Once you start keeping a record, it will stop being boring. It will become a competitive endeavor. The reason you are practicing is because you are competitive. When we practice by ourselves, it may mean just shooting balls randomly for a while. But playing for 3060 minutes once or twice a week, repeatedly playing just rail shots, kick shots, straight-in shots, or a combination of them, is different. Difficult shots played repeatedly, and your recording of hits and misses will show the actual improvement. Contact me at mcbohanon@ gmail.com.