“Colin Montgomerie is still firmly in the Carnoustie camp, insisting “this is the best of the nine courses on The Open rota with no weak hole out there”. But Tom Watson, the man who has a strong affinity with the Angus venue after making a winning Open Championship debut there, has had his eye turned by the “new Turnberry”.

Turnberry is tougher now
Martin Dempster’s Colin Montgomerie/Carnoustie comments comes under his headline, “New’ Turnberry shoots to top of Tom Watson’s Open venues,” and he also includes the following remarks from Tom Watson.
“They have added beauty and length to it. One of the knocks on Turnberry in the past was it was too short. In a sense, it was. Do you know the total yardage of the golf course now? 7,489. And that’s on seaside winds. It can never be called too short now. They’ve built tees that you won’t use unless the wind is a factor. It can be played in any wind and still be a very challenging golf course for the Open Championship.”

America versus Angus
Geoff Shackelford courtesy of the Donald had the opportunity to play the revamped Turnberry and Geoff writes, “Turnberry makes no apologies for being an Americanized version of an authentic links. Trump added the same 10 foot wide ryegrass walkways that he insisted on through the dunes at Trump International in Aberdeen. While perhaps too clean and carpet-like for most, they do add an elegance to walks as your approach Ebert’s square tee boxes (which fight the landscape a bit).”

On the other side of Scotland and not across the pond there’s Carnoustie in Angus where they’ve just finished playing the Senior Open Championship and I’m thinking, “Which course would I play given that I could only play one of them?”

For sure I’d love to play what Geoff describes as, “Turnberry’s dramatically revamped 9th, 10th, and 11th holes are comparable to the best trifectas in golf: Pebble Beach (7th-8th-9th), Cypress Point (15th-16th-17th) or Augusta National (11th-12th-13th).” However I’m going for Carnoustie’s 16, 17 and 18 and also playing the famous “Hogan’s Alley”.
Just like the Old Course, Carnoustie has a sense of history that Turnberry has yet to match.

Link to Martin Dempster and Geoff Shackelford

Quote of the Day
“I don’t like the glamour. I just like the game.”
– Ben Hogan as recorded on the plaque at “Hogan’s Alley” Carnoustie.

“Sport psychologist Torsten Hansson sums up Stenson's subsequent Terminator Period by saying, "For a long while, Henrik couldn't hit the fairway, he couldn't hit the golf course, he couldn't hit the planet." It took almost two years working with Hansson and Cowen -- in part, by hitting long irons with his eyes closed” That’s quoting Franz Lidz in his February 2014 Golf Digest article headlined, “The Unsinkable Henrik Stenson”.

Raising of the dead
Franz Lidz covers Henrik’s loss of form and also details his loss of a fair amount of money when, “… he had learned that one of his sponsors, Stanford Financial Group, had been shut down by the feds for operating a Ponzi scheme. Stenson ultimately lost a significant chunk of his savings, perhaps as much as $7 million.”

As to Stenson’s comeback from the golf graveyard, Franz writes,  “The "raising of the dead" is what Cowen calls Reboot No. 2. Until Stenson's health improved, no substantive changes could be made in his swing. "His mind was scrambled," says Cowen. "He was trying to do all sorts of things, none of them productive." Team Stenson tried to use "quick fixes" to get him through. Remade and remodeled, Stenson began to get back into the swing of things in the summer of 2012. Cowen, thrilled, says: "You can see how much control he has 'in the ground.”

So who’s Pete Cowen?
The previously mentioned “Cowen” is none other than Pete Cowen and the Derek Lawrenson headlines his article, “Pete Cowen is the Brit who coached Henrik Stenson to greatness after a journey of 15 years through poor form and financial ruin.”

Derek writes, “Forged in the dirt of despair in 2001, this partnership between player and coach has known virtually every trial and tribulation imaginable, plus plenty of good times, before reaching the ultimate of realisation at Royal Troon. So forgive the Yorkshireman who taught his sixth major champion in seven years on Sunday, and has a coaching c.v. surely unrivalled in British sport, if this one felt just that bit different.”

If you’ve never heard of Pete Cowen you’re not alone and partly due the fact he keeps a low profile compared to Hank Haney and his like. No disrespect to Hank I’m simply observing that Pete doesn’t put himself forward at the finish.

Derek writes, “With his (Pete Cowen) work on the practice ground done on Sunday, Cowen drove home and listened to the final round on Radio 5 Live, “ and not for the first time farewelling his client and heading home.
This from Brian Keogh interviewing Pete Cowen and talking about one of Pete’s other star pupils, Graeme McDowell when winning a major title
“Where were you on Sunday at Pebble Beach?
I was at home. I left on Saturday. I don’t like standing behind the green and seeing it all unfold. That’s for parents, families. It’s never been my thing, running on the green. I’m not into that. I’m satisfied with the result.”

Here’s the links to Franz Lidz and Derek Lawrenson and Brian Keogh

Quote of the Day
“Let's finish this journey we've been on together.” – Henrik Stenson to Pete Cowen as they walked off the practice ground together before the final round.

“Like two different golf courses,” is how two-time major winner Martin Kaymer describes playing Royal Troon.

The short and long of it
Martin made a trip to Troon the weekend before the US Open and had this to say upon completion of his first-ever experience of the course, “It’s always difficult to pass comment on a course when you’re just playing for fun and not in a tournament but I was surprised by how short the first nine are and how long the back nine is. It’s like a completely different golf course from the front nine to the back nine.”

Tam Arte Quam Marte
Over at the National Club Golfer Joe Urquhart writes, “To say that Royal Troon is a course of two halves is an understatement. 'Tam Arte Quam Marte' – as much by skill as by strength – is the club's motto and another way of putting it is that your skill on the front nine determines how much of a cushion you can take into the homeward half when you will need all the strength you can muster.”

As for the first few holes, Joe writes,”… first four par 4s is drivable for at least some of the field, not just the likes of Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson but potentially many more.
In addition, there are two comfortably reachable par 5s. All of which means it is possible for these elite players to have a putt for eagle on six of the first seven holes.”

The inward nine
This from an AP wire in the New Zealand Herald.
“The inward nine turns back into the wind and is relentless with tight fairways and prickly gorse bushes.
"Probably the toughest finishing stretch," Paul Casey of England said. "Carnoustie is tough, I think Troon is a better set of finishing holes."
Troon is a tale of two nines. The wind is helping on the shorter outward nine holes. This is where players score, and it prompted Colin Montgomerie to say that "if you're not under par after nine holes at Troon, you may as well go to the clubhouse at Prestwick and have lunch." Prestwick, the first home of the British Open, is next to Troon.”

Why I’m going for Dustin
Lunching at Prestwick reminds me of last year’s trip there when we took the starter’s advice and hired a caddie for our foursome.
Having survived the “Alps” (17th) and heading for the “Clock” (18th) Terry our caddie happened to mention that he caddied for Dustin when he came to play the home of the Open Championship and he just loves the course.
Given that DJ has the length to carve up the Royal Troon’s back nine and he’s going to feel comfortable in this part of the Ayrshire coast he’s got my backing. 

Here’s the link to Joe Urquhart and the AP wire

Quote of the Day
"There's going to be carnage." - Graeme McDowell suggesting that the bunkers surrounding “Postage Stamp” will kill a lot of hopes.

“Golf is quite simple when you play caveman golf,” said the Edinburgh-based Aberdonian. “See target, hit ball, find ball and see target again. You just have to keep it simple,” so writes Martin Dempster who headlines his post, “Richie Ramsay chooses ‘caveman’ route at Scottish Open.”

No middle ground
Martin quotes Richie as saying, “I always believe the best golfers are either the guys who don’t think at all or really think about it and work out a proper plan. If you are in the middle ground, I think you are stuck. “

Ramsay pointed to on-form Dustin Johnson as the “perfect example” of someone who doesn’t over-think things. “He looks as though he plays golf under no pressure, which is a great ability,” he added. “Tiger [Woods] was more intense and obviously knew what he was doing, but DJ does it a different way that also works as he freeflows it. “It helps, of course, that he hits it 360 yards and straight as well.”

Caveman golf the answer?
Rob McGarr also picks up on Martin Dempster’s article in The Scotsman and writes, “Why thinking too much may be costing you shots – and caveman golf could be the answer,” and the proceeds to give further thought provoking information, “…that Ramsay intends to channel his inner DJ in the hope it will bag him a first win of the 2016 season. His last victory came in March 2015.

"I can get much too fiddly," says Ramsay. "I start asking how far it is to the back edge rather than just picking a yardage and swinging it.
"When I do that I am normally pin high. When you get too much information you can over-think."

A response to Richie’s comments.
Sometimes the best reads over at The Scotsman is the comments section and PJ Cameron is a classic example when he records this instance of Richie’s information overload.
PJ writes, “I have just picked myself up from the floor where I fell laughing hysterically at this from Richie.
Bear with me when I recite, almost word for word, part of a conversation I overheard between him and his caddie Ryan last year in the DP World Championship in Dubai.
RR. What's the front?
RM. 157
RR. Where are you getting that from?
RM. The front of the bunker here.
RR. What's front from the spot?
RM. 158.
How about from the young tree there?
RM. 156.
Where's the wind-is it coming from- 11 o'clock?
RM. yes Richie.
RR. Not 10.30?
RM. No, 11...
RR. what's front adjusted?
RM. 153.
RR. What's the pin?
RM. 173.
RR. Are you sure?
RM. Sure, Richie.
RR. I'm going to land it 162. Is that down grain, or into grain?
RM. ( looks puzzled) Er.. into grain, Richie.
RR. What's that wind doing now
RM. The same, Richie-11 o'clock.
RR. You sure?
RM. Yes.
RR. What is it to cover the bunker on the left?
RM. 147.
RR. It's getting cooler now, yes
RM. Yes Richie.
etc, etc, etc, ....

This went on for another minute or two, before Richie hit his approach which landed and stopped 3 yards short of the green.
Richie, I have every respect for you as a player, a gentleman and an ambassador for the game. Please, please swear that you will put this Caveman approach into practice!

Here’s the link to Martin Dempster http://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/richie-ramsay-chooses-caveman-route-at-scottish-open-1-4170118 And Rob McGarr http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/news-and-events/general-news/2016/july/why-thinking-too-much-may-be-costing-you-shots--and-caveman-golf-could-be-the-answer/

Quote of the Day
"David, my coach, always tells me one word: kiss. That means, 'keep it simple, stupid'. Sometimes when I am in a pressure position and I need to do well, I sometimes get a little over-complicated or overthink it. Rather than actually think about something, I try to not think about anything. Sometimes it is hard to not think about not thinking!" – Lydia Ko
FOR GOLF AND TRAVEL IN NEW ZEALAND http://www.golf-new-zealand.com/
TO VIEW PREVIOUS POSTS http://www.voxy.co.nz/blogs/stan-sutherland

“At just 19 years old, she already has 13 LPGA titles, yet still seems to fly under the radar. What else does she have to do to be properly recognized by the mainstream media?
Over at golf.com their regular panel discussions include the above remark regarding Lydia Ko’s media exposure.

Van Sickle’s simple answer
Gary Van Sickle comes up with his thoughts which I’d say are kind of on the ball.
“Did Inbee Park get what she deserved from the media when she was racking up major championships? The fact is, the public--and therefore the media--have far less interest in women’s golf then men’s. It’s not fair, it’s just a fact. If ESPN covered women’s golf, they’d promote the heck out of her, we’d all make a bigger deal out of her and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

Sex sells
Given that a couple of years ago the biggest number of hits I’ve ever had for a post headlined mention of a semi-nude female golf professional on the cover of a golf magazine.
Joe Passov’s remark struck a chord when he said, “Our August Lexi Thompson GOLF Magazine cover looks fantastic, but shouldn’t we do a Lydia Ko cover?” And of course it should but alas it appears that sex sells when it comes to selecting images and blog post headlines

For instance, “Lexi Thompson Goes Topless for Golf Digest (May 2015),” and who among us who have been around for some time can ever forget the emergence of Jan Stephenson who is described by Luke Kerr-Dineen as, “…the woman who brought sex to the LPGA Tour.”

Another case of being overlooked
Luke writes, “Jan says she started down her path as a way to boost interest for the tour when it turned into something bigger. Not that she’s complaining. She enjoyed the added attention, but it hurts her to think that may be why she’s getting overlooked.”

The reference to being overlooked is related to the fact Jan’s still not in The World Golf Hall of Fame but she’s still hoping that one day she’ll be acknowledged for her golf prowess and not posing.
As for Lydia being overlooked by GOLF Magazine maybe she will have to wait a wee bit longer.

Here’s the link to golf.com and to Luke Kerr-Dineen

Quote of the Day
“A lot of what I did was ahead of my time. People didn’t understand it and not everybody liked it. Remembering the old stuff, I’m sure that has something to do with it.” – Jan Stephenson searching for an explanation as to why with 16 LPGA Tour wins and three majors she’s still not a Hall of Famer