Golflogic.ca

I had the pleasure of playing in the Viatec Golf Tournament last week. I’ve played the tourney for the last 4 years now and it’s always a great day. This year they moved the tourney from Bear Mountain to Cordova Bay, which just happens to be my favourite course in Victoria, which made the day that much more enjoyable.

The tourney is a scramble format and our team brought in a respectable -10 but I knew it wouldn’t be enough to win and sure enough the winners shot -15.

What made the day even better were all the great people I met, from the group I was playing with to the various hole sponsors. One of the sponsors I enjoyed talking to was William Oliver, a young Uvic student with a 2 handicap. William is just finishing writing his first book “Law of Attraction for Golfers”.

William is running a contest that offers a chance to win an iPod while supporting his book launch. All you need to do is answer a few questions in his online survey. So if you’re read this far, take another 30 seconds and support William’s book launch by taking his survey.

My favourite golf hole in Victoria… number 17 at Olympic View Golf.

The 17th hole is a slightly uphill par 4 that plays 417 yards from the blues (men’s HCP 12). It’s a picturesque hole with a Japanese garden just off the tee and a majestic 60-foot waterfall directly behind the green.

Aside from being a simply gorgeous and challenging golf hole, I think the reason I like it so much has to do with the last time I played it in late October 2007. We teed off late in the day so the sun was setting by the time when made the turn at 10. By the time we were teeing up 17 we could just barely make out the silhouette of the rock walls that run the length of both sides of the 17th fairway.

We drove by sound and luckily enough we all found our balls in the fairway. My second shot was a full 7 iron which landed at the back of what is a very large green. That left me with a 55 foot putt in the pitch dark. One of our foursome hand a pen light which he used to guide my putt right into the hole for a birdie. We all laughed our asses off. I’ve never come close to birdieing 17 in the light of day.

What’s your favourite golf hole?

Sand Save: when a player gets up and down from a greenside sand bunker, regardless of score on the hole. Sand Save percentage is a player statistic kept by the PGA Tour.

Not only is the sand trap my favourite golf shot, it’s a metaphor for my life. Go for the green in two, low percentage shot or not, end up in a hazard or trap more often than not, and then snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a sweet up-and-down from the trap.

A good friend and golf buddy taught me how to shoot out of the trap. One of the keys to getting out of greenside bunkers is to keep the club face open (assuming the lie is good). Open stance-dig feet in well. Ball towards the front of the stance. Hit about an inch behind the ball and blast through on the fore swing. Works for me.

What’s your favourite golf shot?