Teeing-off in the pink!

The ninth annual charity Think Pink Bahrain charity golf events, hosted at the Royal Golf Club, were once again a huge success with nearly 100 golfers supporting Bahrain’s breast cancer awareness month.

The women’s 18 hole Texas Scramble on the club’s challenging Montgomerie championship course was won by the team of Hanne Hansen, Dena Wales, Anne Quintino and Debbie Lane with a team nett score of 64.40. An additional prize for the best dressed team and golf carts was won by the Oktoberfest team comprising Karin Lutz, Pauline Jeakings, Sara Thompson and Cristina Fantechi.

A 9-hole tournament for newer lady golfers took place on the Wee Monty par 3 course and was won by Mary Gallagher and Geraldine Corbally with a score of 29.

The 9-hole night golf competition for gents was played on the back nine holes of the Montgomerie championship course and was won by the team of Steve Middleton, Wayne Giles, Murtuz Zamanly and Don Warren with a nett score of 26.10.

A prize-giving ceremony and sponsored lunch took place in the club’s Majlis function room after the two ladies tournaments.

The funds raised from all three golfing events will be directed towards Think Pink Bahrain’s education and diagnostic funds. These funds have successfully seen Bahraini healthcare professionals travel abroad and receive internationally recognised qualifications, and return to the kingdom to support the community. They have also enabled the donation of the digital MRI to Salmaniya Medical Complex.

“We are delighted to be associated with such an important and worthwhile event,” said Bernie Morgan, the Royal Golf Club’s director of golf. “The fun format for the day’s golf is enjoyed by everyone and we would like to thank all the players for their participation. Keeping this awareness going is just as important as raising funds and we look forward to growing the event over the coming years.”

Speaking on behalf of the charity, founder Jules Sprakel added: “Events such as these would not be possible without the support of volunteers who work tirelessly to provide prizes and sponsorship for the charity event, along with corporate businesses and private sponsors are truly appreciated.

“To the Royal Golf Club who has supported the charity for the last nine years, we thank the team both back and front of house who have rallied together once again. The mission behind the charity events should not be lost, and we would like to encourage all to remember to support and encourage women to undergo monthly examinations; saying icheck is not just for the month of October.”

The 2014 Think Pink Bahrain platinum sponsors were the Royal Golf Club for hosting the event, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Seef Dental for providing shirts for all the players in all three tournaments and Aqua Cool and Gulf Brands International for providing refreshments for all the competitors on course and during the prize-giving lunch. Hole sponsors included SICO, GPZ Group, Reza Hygiene, Seef Dental, Gloss, URS, ASRY, Cebarco, and BBBF.

Results:
Ladies 18 Holes: 1 Hanne Hansen, Dena Wales, Anne Quintino & Debbie Lane (64.40 nett), 2 Blandie Mills, Araceli Deakin, Dagfrid Berge & Caroline T D Roodenbeke (70.80). Nearest the pin: Dagfrid Berge (hole 16). Land on the green: Anne Quintino. Best dressed: Octoberfest (Karin Lutz, Pauline Jeakings, Sara Thompson & Cristina Fantechi).

Ladies 9 Holes Wee Monty: 1 Mary Gallagher & Geraldine Corbally (29). Nearest the pin: Mary Gallagher.

Gents 9 Holes: 1 Steve Middleton, Wayne Giles, Murtuz Zamanly & Don Warren (26.10 nett). Nearest the pins: Rob Lane (hole 12) & Steve Middleton (hole 16).

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In October 2011, Gulf Weekly’s editor Stan Szecowka visited professional Matt Chalmers for a series of lessons at Awali Golf Club. Iron play, driving, chipping, bunkers and putting were tackled followed by an on course lesson to put the new skills into practice.

Throughout the series, Szecowka worked hard to correct some of his ‘stubborn’ tendencies and apply some changes designed to improve his golf and facilitate more enjoyment. Three years on, marred by bad playing habits picked up along the way, he went back on Chalmers lesson tee to repeat the process
This series of articles written by Chalmers is designed to demonstrate how small changes can make a huge difference in your game.

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Lesson 3 - CHIPPing
AS a golfer, smashing long drives down the middle of the fairway is particularly satisfying. Long drives allow you to be more aggressive with your approach shots, hopefully resulting in more birdie putts. However, when you do miss the green, the ability to chip the ball close (and hole the putt!) has a greater influence on your overall score.

In comparison with the complexities of the full swing, chipping technique is relatively straightforward. A well-struck chip shot requires two key ingredients; a slightly descending blow to the bottom of the ball and gentle acceleration of the club head. In order to encourage these impact factors, it is important to set up to the ball correctly.

Ball position should be fairly central, weight distribution should be 70:30 in favour of the front foot and it is advisable to grip down the club for greater control.

I was pleased to see that Stan had remembered these keys from our initial sessions and was setting up to the ball very well indeed.

In terms of the technique for the basic chip shot, we are looking to use the bigger muscles in our chest and shoulders to initiate the take away and then accelerate the club down and through the ball. In the follow through, we should do our best to continue rotating our chest towards the target and try to eliminate any excess wrist movement through the ball.

If we look at Stan’s initial finishing position (left photograph), it is noticeable that he has flicked his wrists at impact, his body has stopped turning and the club head has travelled past his body significantly.

This means that the smaller muscles in his wrists and hands are in control at impact and unfortunately, this is not a recipe for success.

Golfers who flick their wrists at impact when chipping tend to struggle for consistency in terms of strike and distance control. Once Stan was aware of this fault and made an effort to utilise the bigger muscles in his upper body, his quality of strike and distance control improved rapidly. His chip shots started to fly on a better trajectory and many of them finished pin high.

In the right hand photograph showing the improvement, you will notice that he has rotated his body more towards the target and has retained the angle between his right forearm and club shaft, suggesting that his wrists were far less active.

When you approach the basic chip shot in the correct way and make an effort to utilise the bigger muscles throughout the shot, you will begin to strike the ball more consistently which will only do good things for your confidence.

If Stan can continue to be disciplined in his approach to the shot, he has all the skills to lower his scores.

For more information on golf instruction at Awali Golf Club, contact Matt Chalmers on 38890246 or email mwsc23@hotmail.com