DAVID FAY (60) TO RETIRE AS HEAD OF USGA

FROM THE GOLF.COM WEBSITE 
David Fay is retiring from the United States Golf Association, his two decades as executive director marked by a steady push for golf's return to the Olympics and for the US Open to be held on golf courses that anyone could play at a reasonable price.
Fay's announcement today cam as  something of a surprise, although he turned 60 two months ago and said it was an important milestone for cancer survivors. He joined the USGA in 1978 and became its sixth executive director in 1989, serving under 12 presidents.
Mike Butz, the deputy executive director since 1995, will take over on January 1 until a national search to find Fay's replacement is successful.
"Things are in good order," Fay said in a statement. "Our senior staff leaders, each of whom I have put into place, are highly talented and motivated. And looking ahead, there are a number of multi-year projects on the drawing board ... which makes this, for me, a good time to move on. Leave on a high note, as Seinfeld would say."
Fay was most visible during the US Open, dressed in his trademark bow tie in the NBC Sports booth as possibly the premier rules expert in the country. His real passion, however, has been making golf more inclusive.
He showed that in the late 1990s when he resigned his membership from Pine Valley because he felt belonging to an all-male club would sent a mixed message in his role (the USGA had two presidents in the previous six years - Fred Ridley and Walter Driver - who kept their memberships at all-male Augusta National).
Even as US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem showed little interest in the Olympics a decade ago, Fay continued to lobby for the sport's return to the Olympic programme.
But his legacy might be public golf.
Never afraid to take chances, Fay was behind bringing the US Open to Bethpage Black in New York in 2002, a public-access course which costs no more than $50 for residents to play.
It was such a huge success that the championship returned there in 2009, one year after it was played at the at city-owned Torrey Pines in San Diego. The US Open is scheduled to go to Chambers Bay outside Seattle and Erin Hills in Wisconsin, two other public courses, all because of Fay's behind-the-scenes work.
In another bold move, Fay announced that the US Open and US Women's Open will be held in consecutive weeks in 2014 on the same golf course - Pinehurst No. 2.
"It's been a rewarding, satisfying and a fun run," he said.
David Fay will be a hard act to follow.

SWANSTON NEW GOLF CLUB

Snow/Ice Golf Club Championship 2010
In aid Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids Charity

MEMBERS' DAY - Monday, December 27.
OPEN TO ANYONE DAY - Wednesday, December 29.


• Venue: Six-hole lay-out of the Templar Par 3 Course.
•  Entry fee of £4 + £1 optional sweep.
• Players can enter via e-mail or by appending their name to the entry sheet in the bar at Swanston New GC (golf@swanston.co.uk) or by phoning the bar on 0131 445 2239
• The shotgun start will commence at 10.30 am, all players to assemble at the Clubhouse at 10:00hrs. In case we receive a large entry a second shotgun start will take place at 13:00hrs, assembling at 12.30 in the club house.
•The draw will be posted on the Swanston Website, on the Clubhouse notice board.
• Format :- Shotgun Snow Individual Stableford - 12 Hole tournament (2x6 holes)
• Handicap Allowance: - 2/3rds Greens Handicaps apply
• Equipment: - 5 clubs only, one of which must include a putter. (No Trolleys, Crampons or Ice Picks allowed) Sledges OK!
• Balls: -. If the playing surface is hard enough for a normal ball to stay above ground after landing, then players may use a normal ball of their choice (preferably coloured). If the snow surface is too soft on the whites then a tennis ball will be substituted. (Swanston Golf Shop will have both coloured Titleist ball and coloured Tennis Balls in stock).
• Tees: - all players will play from the Huxley tee mats provided.
• Rules of Golf: - The Swanston Snow/Ice Golf Club Championships will be played in accordance with the Rules of Golf as approved by the R and A 2010, and additional rules and conditions of competition as approved by the SNGC tournament committee.
• Mats can be used on the White fairways play for the snow rough is as the ball lies!
• Whites (Fairways):- white/ fairways will be defined; a ball lying outside defined area will be deemed in the snow rough normal golf rules apply. In addition no mats allowed the ball must be played of the white rough. Players playing from the snow rough - never mind replacing the snow divot!
• Players landing in a snow divot or a footprint on the whites fairways may take a preferred lie with in 6 inches no closer to the ice hole the ball may be cleaned! A ball plugged in the snow rough has to be played as it lies!
• If a ball is lost, a new ball may under penalty of one shot be put in play, at a point as close as possible to the spot where the original ball was deemed lost, (no loss of distance).
• Out of bounds is marked by whit posts, normal golf rules applies.
• Snow plug marks on the ice green must be repaired.(If you can!)
• Ties: - in the event of a tie for first place, the winner will be determined by a sudden death play off. All other ties will be determined by a count back in this order: best last 9, last 6 last 3 last 2 and last hole, net score.
• Fancy dress optional some fun prizes for best dressed, and best hat etc!
• First aider on hand to treat any frost bite etc!

AUSSIE PGA TOUR Q SCHOOL GOES BACK TO BASICS

FROM THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
Neven Basic has sent an ominous warning to fellow competitors with an emphatic victory at the 2010 PGA Tour of Australasia and OneAsia Qualifying School Final Stage held at Peninsula Country Golf Club.
In warm sunny conditions, the New South Welshman shot an impressive 2-under 70 to finish 9-under and claim the victory by four shots.
The best final scores of the day were shared by Victorian, Leigh Deagan, and Sam Brazel from Queensland who both finished with a 5-under 67 to tie for 18th.
Other notable final rounds included Brad Shilton and David Klein who both shot 69 to move into a tie for 5th and 10th respectively.
The top 10 players from todays final round will now have the opportunity to further progress their career on the OneAsia Tour in 2011. The final spot in the top ten was decided with a sudden-death play-off and finally came to a conclusion on the fifth playoff hole with Tony McNaughton taking the final spot.
All 72 players that made the final stage have earned their PGA Tour of Australasia Tour Cards and are now eligible to compete in upcoming Tour events, The Victoria Open and The Victorian PGA Championship in January.

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OOSTHUIZEN OPTS FOR AFRICA OPEN INSTEAD OF HAWAII

FROM THE SUNSHINE TOUR WEBSITE
Open champion Louis Oosthuizen will make his debut in the 2011 Africa Open, making him the third Major Champion to tee it up in this tournament.
Oosthuizen has confirmed that he will start his 2011 season in the €1 million tournament at East London Golf Club from January 6-9, which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour and The European Tour.
His presence makes for a strong field that will also include double US Open champion and 2009 Africa Open champion Retief Goosen, defending champion Charl Schwartzel, European Ryder Cup vice-captain Darren Clarke, 2008 Africa Open champion Shaun Norris, and talented English professional Chris Wood.
“I decided not to go and play the two tournaments in Hawaii because that won’t leave me with enough off time before the start of the new season,” said Oosthuizen, who follows Major winners Goosen and Angel Cabrera as having played in this tournament.
“I’ve never played in the Africa Open so I’m really looking forward to it. And the conditions are likely to be windy, which I like. I played the East London Golf Club course as an amateur.
“I remember the 18th and second holes, and I also remember it as being a fair test with plenty of birdie opportunities but also a lot of bogey opportunities.”
“And it will be nice for me to spend another week playing at home in South Africa before I start travelling.”

LONDONER WINS WORLD LONG DRIVE TITLE WITH 414.4yd HIT

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By James Achenbach
In 2010, it seems appropriate that the longest meaningful drive in golf (414.4 yards) came in the event with one of the longest names in golf (the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship Powered by Dick’s Sporting Goods).
That tape-measure drive was hit in the RE/MAX final by Killer Miller, otherwise known as Joe Miller, a 26-year-old fitness instructor from London.
Although the final was held November 5 in Mesquite, Nevada (elevation 1,600 ft), it is set for its traditional Christmas telecast on the ESPN family of networks (December 25, at 2pm Eastern time on ESPN2, and December 26, at 2:30pm Eastern time on ESPN).

What viewers will see is Miller winning the title by defeating 16-year-old long drive prodigy Domenic Mazza of Concord, California in the final.
Miller, 6ft 4in and 279lb, possesses one of the most unusual golf swings in a sport overflowing with unusual swings. At impact, Miller appears to launch his body off the ground with a fierce rotational force.
Keep in mind that long-drive competition is not the same thing as golf competition. In each round, only the longest of six drives is counted (it has to finish inside a grid that is 60 yards wide). The other five balls can be miles wide of the target.
Regardless, there are obvious similarities between the two sports. For example, long-drive warriors now study their swings as carefully and expertly as do regular golf fanatics. This reflects a belief that improved technique means improved distance.
“The dedication among these professionals is tremendous,” said two-time World Long Drive champion Art Sellinger, now the promoter of the event. “Their fitness routines are pretty amazing, and they are achieving results that a few years ago were considered impossible.”
Technically, of course, not all of them are professionals. Mazza turned down a $70,000 second place prize to maintain his amateur status (Miller, the winner, got $150,000).
When Sellinger speaks of “results,” consider this: Measurements at this year’s RE/MAX showdown were taken with Trackman launch monitors, and some of the numbers were stunning.
For example, three contestants (Miller, two-time winner Jamie Sadlowski of Canada, and Ryan Louw of South Africa) achieved ball speeds greater than 224 miles per hour.
The highest ball speeds on the US PGA Tour are somewhere in the 185- to 195mph range. It’s a good bet that no touring pro reaches 200mph, although real golfers must swing with a measure of control because generally they cannot afford to sacrifice accuracy for distance.
Here are some corresponding swing speeds (in mph) from the RE/MAX: Sadlowski 150, Louw 148, Miller 147. These swing speeds are measured on the same hits in which they reached 224 in ball speed.
Most amateurs have swing speeds less than 100mph. The average is thought to be somewhere in the 85-to-95 range.
For golf watchers who analyse stats, it is interesting to look at launch angles (in degrees) and spin rates (in revolutions per minute) on the longest drives from the same three RE/MAX competitors.
Launch angles: Sadlowski 9.3, Louw 8.2, Miller 10.7.
Spin rates: Sadlowski 1767, Louw 2254, Miller 2111.
By comparison, most golfers need both a higher launch angle and a higher spin rate. This is because long-drive competitors sustain themselves with tremendous clubhead speed.
Without that kind of power and speed, the only way to increase trajectory, carry distance and hang time is with a higher launch angle and a greater rate of spin.
May all of us dream of 414.4yd drives

GILLETTE CUT TIGER (and others) FROM ADVERTISING PROGRAMME

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By Golfweek Staff
PORTLAND, Oregon:The Procter and Gamble Co. says it will not renew its endorsement deal with Tiger Woods after the end of the year.
The company used Woods and dozens of other athletes as part of its three-year “Gillette Champions” marketing programme. Gillette said Thursday that it is phasing out that programme and, in turn, not renewing the contract with Woods and several other athletes.
Tiger's management company, IMG, say that some of the lost £2.6million from Gillette will be made up from a number of potential sponsorships in the Far East.
Woods was once the most sought-after "pitchman" in sports and was the first athlete to earn $1 billion from endorsement agreements. However, many corporations cut ties or distanced themselves from Woods after revelations of marital infidelities that dominated headlines for months.
Accenture LLP, AT and T Inc. and Gatorade all dropped Woods in the weeks following the news. Companies such as Gillette and Tag Heuer didn’t end their relationships outright but stopped featuring him in advertisements. Nike Inc. and other companies that had more invested in his skills as a golfer stuck with him.
The company is also letting its contracts with other athletes, including soccer players such as Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and Ricardo Kaka, end as part of the conclusion of the marketing programme.
Gillette, however, is keeping some of the athletes from the programme – such as New York Yankees' baseball player Derek Jeter, tennis star Roger Federer and hockey player Alexander Ovechkin – for new local marketing campaigns.

THE RENAISSANCE RULED OUT AS SCOTTISH OPEN VENUE

FROM THE SPORT.SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
http://sport.scotsman.com/golf
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
The long-awaited decision on a venue for next year's Barclays Scottish Open now appears to be a choice between a move to Castle Stuart as part of a multi-year contract with the Inverness course or staying at Loch Lomond, its home for a decade.
It had been hoped an announcement would be made by the European Tour before Christmas but that has now been put back until early next month, although the reason for that is not entirely clear.

One thing for certain, how-ever, is that the 2011 event will not be staged in East Lothian at The Renaissance Club, which had been in the running along with Castle Stuart until recently.

"The Scotsman" newspaper understands it has been ruled out due to the fact it doesn't yet have a proper clubhouse, while the European Tour would also rather wait until three new holes in the pipeline there are not only built but also bedded in before hosting one of the biggest events on the circuit.
It had been suggested Castle Stuart could host next year's tournament before it then moved to The Renaissance Club for a spell, but a problem with that is the return of the Open Championship to Muirfield, its next door neighbour, in 2013.
Having two major events back-to-back in such close proximity is a situation both the European Tour and the RandA are believed to be keen to avoid.
As things stand, it appears Castle Stuart, which has earned rave reviews since opening its doors 18 months ago, is still the likely option for next year and, quite possibly, for another two years after that.

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ON THE SPORT.SCOTSMAN.COM WEBSITE
http://sport.scotsman.com/golf

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