Course - ReviewCenterton Golf Club

By Steve Gordon

Let's put one thing right up front about the Centerton Golf Club. It isn't a northern version of Augusta National as someone quipped in the club house when a friend and I paid our first visit there recently. However, this Ed Cameron design has been a staple of local public golf since 1962 in the South Jersey area.

A glance at the scorecard shows you that by the numbers it isn't a long track measuring a shade under 6300 yards from the back tees, but numbers don't tell the whole story. The course is a well thought out mix of long and short holes much like that of the early designers.

It winds it's way through the trees on the property that line the fairways on most every hole with straight holes, right to left holes and left to right holes. There isn't much in the way of water hazards but what there is can't be ignored.

The 7th hole is kind of an innocent looking 150 yard par 3 from the white tees but it's got some challenge to it. The first thing you notice is a small lake left of the green but what you don't readily notice at first glance with some bushes that line part of the water is that it borders the green.

If you take a harder look you will notice the green is long and narrow and it slopes right to left towards the water. What that means any shot towards the left side of the green is in danger of not staying on the green. If the pin is there my suggestion is not to go flag hunting. This turned out to be one of my favorite holes on the course even though it is the 18 handicap hole. It plays 184 yards from the back tee.

To transition to the top rated hole on the course I refer you to my opening statement that this is a course made up of long and short holes. Number 16 weighs in at 413 and 388 yards from the Blue and White tees respectfully. It is a dogleg left but you don't want to flirt with cutting it unless you are confident of how far and straight you can hit it. A miss left or short of finding the fairway isn't likely to leave you a shot to the green and if you get lucky the green is guarded by two bunkers from that angle.

The scorecard reveals that the 17th hole is a medium length par 3 of 156 yards (169 Blue tee). It is however all over water so a mishit or misclub results in your ball taking a bath. Be sure to read the wind direction correctly at the tree top level as well.

A short distance through the trees will bring you to the 427 yard (444 Blue tee) finishing hole. It is dead straight between the trees lining the generous fairway with one lone fairway bunker on the left that is in play.

Two of the par five holes are less than 500 yards but on the day we played with soft turf from overnight rain they both played as legitimate 3 shot holes while the other par 5 (number 11) was a beast from the 555 yard white tee (578 Blue tee).

The par 4 holes vary in length from 288 to 388 yards from the white tees (302 to 444 Blue tees). Much of the course is tree lined but it's fair and not confining for the most part. OK, the tee shot on the  sharp left dogleg 9th hole can be a tight fit with the wrong ball flight. There are a couple open links like holes on the course for a different look but those holes are within the design concept of the rest of the course, they just don't have a lot of trees on them.

Centerton is an affordable quality golf course in South Jersey. It is about an hour from Philadelphia and Atlantic City areas. For more information call 856-358-2220 or go to www.CentertonGolf.com.

Forward Tees

By Steve Gordon

I was in attendance at the Media Day for the ShopRite LPGA Classic. It is a scramble golf outing for the media people then a luncheon and press conference with the previous years tournament champion. This is all in advance of the tournament played on the Bay Course at the Stockton Seaview Resort in Absecon, NJ on June 2, 3 and 4th.

After all the media participants were rounded up they read the rules for the outing which were the normal for scramble play and they included the provision that anyone over 55 could play the forward gold tees. That's me folks.

The Bay Course is not a long course situated on the bay across from Atlantic City. Its defense is the always present wind, tall fescue grass and small fast undulating greens. It's a fun course to play and it is a test of shot making and that is why it attracts many of the big names to come play in it.

If the wind is up as it was in 2014 when Karie Webb won with a score of -1 the course is all you can handle. One commentator on the Golf Channel remarked on air that year that the players came to the ShopRite and a US Open broke out. The course was playing that tough. Last year the wind was moderate and the winning score by defending champion Anna Nordquist was -17.

Back to the scramble. Here were one playing partner and myself and the other two components of our scramble team didn't make it in for the early start time. You might think it would make for a long day and a disadvantage with only two guys playing in a four man team format. The rules allow for four balls so it meant we could each hit two shots. Advantage or disadvantage?

As both of us were upwards of 55 by more than a decade we did have the forward tees to look forward to. The course plays a shade over 6000 yards from the white tees that we normally play when we go there. The forward gold tees on this day would give us about 1000 less yards to play with on a mostly normal wind condition day.

We started on the 8th hole in the shotgun start. It was playing 288 yards from the forward tees and a good drive put us less than 100 yards from the green and we started with a birdie as my partner has a very good shot game. Moving on to the 411 yard par 5 ninth hole playing into the wind another birdie was the result.

This was fun.

The bottom line is that as we were putting our tee shots out there in good positions and didn't have to hit medium and long irons or hybrids to the greens there were birdies to be had. In the end we finished 12 under par with a score of 59 that included two eagles.

We did fudge a little however on the first hole where we crossed paths with Nordquist for a photo op and some light conversation. The defending champ was out and about around the course just greeting all the media people and hitting shots here and there. She didn't have her clubs but said if we gave her a club and a ball she'd hit a tee shot for us. Without a practice swing she roped one for us.

We equated ourselves well with solid shots in front of the pro from the 345 White tee box but guess whose tee shot we used there to make a par from about 80 yards away?

Where I am going with this is that the rules allow for senior and women players, who don't hit the ball as far as younger players, to play from a more reasonable distance. Both my partner and I still hit it OK, but playing with younger, more athletic and more agile players our tee shots are sitting on the turf looking up at their balls flying past in the air.

I see players various places I go who just put ego in front of reason and insist on playing golf courses from the wrong set of tees. Why not take what the rules give you and go out and have fun. For our round on the Media Day we had a blast and it was so much fun not to be standing out in the fairway wondering if we had enough club to reach greens in regulation or having to hit woods in where others were hitting medium irons.

The recommendation from this retired mind is move up to more forward tees from the traditional regular or White tees. Play a yardage that suits your game. I guarantee it'll be a more rewarding experience.

Steve Gordon, Anna Nordqvist and Bob Oliver

Viewer call in penalties

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(Bob is an occasional contributor to this blog)

By Bob Oliver

I called into Major League Baseball offices and let them know a ball called in yesterday's Washington National’s game was actually a strike. 

To my surprise, MLB didn't change the call.  

Interestingly enough, a wrong call was made on for holding in the Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers hockey game over the weekend on a play which led to a goal. I e-mailed the National Hockey League offices and let them know, but they too didn't change the call.

But some yahoo burro calls or writes the LPGA Tour and drops a dime on Lexi Thompson in the ANA Inspiration and before you can say “bingo” the LPGA penalized the tournament leader and ultimately cost her $154,509 in prize winnings as well as a championship.

What did Thompson do? Kick her ball out of the rough? Roll a putt by throwing instead of using a putter? Start handing out mulligans? Wear uncoordinated clothing colors?

Nope, none of the above.

The 22-year-old was: 1) given a two-shot penalty Sunday for incorrectly marking her golf ball on a green during Saturday’s round, and, 2) given a two-shot penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard. The penalties were given a day later.

Thompson did not knowingly replace her ball on the green incorrectly, her playing partners saw no violation, and rules officials walking with the players said nary a word. But a day later words like “ridiculous”, “unbelievable”, “wrong” and “stupid” were uttered by professional golfers when informed of the situation.

For years viewers have called in potential rules violations and the practice has got to stop.

Last year the blowhard callers nearly cost Dustin Johnson the U.S. Open Championship and may have cost Anna Nordqvist the U.S. Women’s Championship.

A couple years ago Mrs. LPGA, Juli Inkster, was in one of those endless waits on the tee (about 30 minutes) wanted to stay warmed up in an event. So she inserted a weighted attachment (a "doughnut" similar to what baseball players use in the on deck circle) and took some practice swings. That's it. She could just as easily lifted her golf bag 10 times, and that would have been perfectly legal.  

A television viewer contacts the LPGA, and Inkster, just a couple shots out of the lead, gets to leave the course on a walk of shame.

Give me a break. I know, I know, rules are rules. I know Dustin Johnson was in a phantom bunker at the PGA Championship and grounded his club (where was that rake, anyway?). I know that because after the tournament they took a picture of it, and sure enough, it was a bunker. But in the heat of battle, with people standing in the "hazard" all day, nobody could tell.

There was a rules official right there, watching the whole escapade, and he didn't think it appropriate to say anything to Johnson.

Give me a break.

Years ago a caller reached the PGA Tour office (don’t they have better things to do) and informed that Craig Stadler violated a rule by kneeling on a towel before hitting a shot from soggy ground. Maybe this was right after playing partner Judge Smails threw a ball onto the green, but it was Stadler who was penalized.

Say what?

Bottom line is that there are playing partners observing the play with the opportunity to question a situation. Rules officials generally travel alongside the leading groups to offer help and expertise. And the tours monitor the life feed from the event.  There is absolutely no reason for a Tour to be taking phone calls and e-mails from viewers of an event.

Lexi Thompson is an honorable, rules abiding, upstanding lady. If she broke the rules, she should be disciplined. But this idea that a random caller, a member of the armchair sitting television police, can simply call in and affect the outcome of a tournament is ridiculous. Incredible. It would never, ever happen in other major professional sports.

Golf is supposed to be a gentleman’s game, a gentlewoman’s game. There are rules officials all over the course, but none of them had problems with the above situations. No, some yahoo watching a TV or mobile device in their underwear becomes arbiter and drops a dime on a player. Have to call BS on that one.  

Players regularly call penalties on themselves. Bizarre calls and e-mails should not. Brian Davis did call a penalty on himself and it cost him victory at Hilton Head a couple year’s back. So it's not like players are cheating and getting away with it. They police themselves. By allowing callers, emailers, whatever to call the game is a sham. This is not American Idol, where you call in to an 800 number and make your feelings known. It is professional golf and it looks amateurish.

Here's an idea. Create a the new FWL: Fantasy Watchers League. Participants can watch sporting events and call in infractions. They get points for each time they uncovered a dastardly deed. At the end of the year the winner could pick his or her sport and actually wear an official's outfit and "work" a game. The comedy of that would be priceless.

Until then, shut up.

No other major league sport offers such a venue for millions of armchair rules officials to call in and change the outcome of a tournament. Period.

This boorish behavior has got to stop. Now.

Put viewers on a Do not call list. Don't answer e-mails. Establish a new rule that anyone calling in a violation be permanently barred from the game for a year and all e-mailing and telephoning privileges revoked. Stop the insanity!

2017 Masters

By Steve Gordon

I like underdogs. Always have. That is a big reason why I was happy to see Sergio Garcia put the green jacket on. I didn't have a favorite player of all the final round contenders so any of those guys would have been a fine champion for me. As the tournament unfolded however Garcia became my guy. Apparently the Patrons felt the same as they gave him a big roar when that last putt dropped making it official.

Because Sergio has been a very good player for so long, I guess you could make a case that it was just time to get his first Major. Was it a coincidence that it came on the day that would have been his idol Seve Ballesteros' 60th birthday? Was it a coincidence that the only other player to eagle 15 in the final round and win was another countryman Jose Maria Olazabal? I can't speak on that but it was pretty cool.

There is no question that there were a lot of very good players in contention as the final round started as each of them set up and propelled their opening shots from the first tee. It was game on as they began to duel it out on the manicured fairways at Augusta National.

The announcers were saying, anyone within a handful of shots, even 5 or 7 back, could get hot and win. As good as one single player was in past years and how he once dominated and how we marveled at his talent, it was great to see a field of players fight for the coveted trophy.

Now, as the final round unfolded, things did not go well for all of the top contenders and as opportunities were missed and shots were dropped one by one they fell out of contention. The tournament was boiling down to the final pair of Justin Rose and Garcia. Rose looked solid while Sergio had a few hiccups, but he was hanging in there.

And then...and then...they got to Amen Corner.

I was texting with a friend during the round and as things were playing out I admit I jumped the gun. When Sergio's tee shot hit that tree limb and kicked left and into the base of an azalea bush I thought that would be the end of his chances. I texted "He's done." I couldn't have been more wrong and I should have known better. I've been watching this tournament for more years then I'm going to admit to and...well...I just should have known better than to make that call.

Garcia did exactly what he should have done instead of letting the emotions of the moment take over. Besides had he attempted to hack at the ball in that bush, how would that sit with the grounds crew and members of that beautiful place? How dare he do that?

But seriously folks, there was no other realistic option because there was a minuscule chance he could have hit safely out of there even if he could have gotten a club on the ball. Why risk potentially dumping it into the hazard? That would have brought something like a nine into play. He smartly and coolly accepted the situation and he skillfully punch the ball out to the fairway and valiantly made a par out of nothing.

Generally par on the 13th hole in Amen Corner on Sunday at The Masters isn't going to help your cause when you are in contention.

The back nine on Sunday at The Masters rarely goes conservatively by the book and it is often said that the tournament doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday. Once you survive 10 and 11 the real fun starts at the par 3 12th hole. From there a whole scenario of things can happen between it and the par 3 16th, with a very accessible traditional final round pin placement.

So we had Garcia in the trees and taking an unplayable lie and Rose sitting pretty. It looked like a two shot swing for sure. Maybe that's what filtered through Roses mind, just for a fleeting second. As a top player you try not to let those things get into your head, but we are all human. You never want to take anything for granted playing this game but you have to agree that Rose was in a very good position to grab this tournament by the throat and take control.

With the two pars on thirteen I wonder that as they both walked to the 14th tee if one player had his spirits uplifted a bit and the other saw an opportunity missed? It could be that hole is where The Masters was decided this time around even before the eagle that just fell into the side of the cup on 15 for Sergio? Of course there was no question that leaving 15 the eventual winner was on adrenalin overload while Rose had to be back on his heals a little.

To his credit Rose didn't crack. Sixteen and Seventeen certainly didn't go as planned for either player but the result took the final pair to 18 tied. You all watched it unfold and the playoff and it was just fitting that Sergio drained the birdie putt to seal the deal.

Looking back at the tournament as a whole, who could maintain a dry eye with the Arnie tribute on the first tee for the ceremonial opening tee shots. And who didn't have a little voice inside hoping that 57-year-old Fred Couples could muster up some youthful energy and give us some real magic?

I also have to make a comment about the people who phoned in that they saw Garcia's ball move after his drop on the 13th hole. They are not golf fans in my opinion and I echo a comment I read from a story on another site that said they should be banned from watching golf.

All things considered this had to be one of the best Masters tournaments.

Course Review - Royal Manchester

By Bob Oliver

Well, there’s some controversy about the Royal in Manchester, but other than that nitpicking statement there isn’t much to dislike about this challenging, fun and eye-catching 18 near York, Pa. designed by Timothy Freeland.

There isn’t a tree which comes into play on the course, which is built upon Pennsylvania Power and Light land near the Susquehanna River along rolling hills. Wind is a hazard which can change day to day, and while the greens are sizeable being in the wrong position brings three-putting often into play.

The course winds over the countryside like it has been there for decades but it’s a relatively new course. It has as much teeth a player can want, and shorter tee boxes allow players of all abilities to accept the challenge.

Numbers 4 and 7 are drivable par four tests, and the par-5 ninth is as much a golf hole as you’d like. A perfect drive brings the green in play in two shots, but miss short or to the sides and water is in play, and a long shot gets one into a collection area that means nothing but trouble for a third shot.

Golf Advisor ranked Royal Manchester 42^nd as it’s places to play in America, so the golfing public clearly likes the course. At the most recent PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando the course received an award for its conditioning and playability. Why? Royal Manchester’s greens were destroyed in 2015 when a contaminated batch of fungicide was applied.

“It was awful,” explained General Manager/PGA Professional Kieron Moony, who closed the course on June 15, 2015. “Looking back, it was a terrible time, but I made the decision to close the course and take care of the problem full on rather than piecemeal. We had to flush out the bad chemical from the greens, using a charcoal liquid. Then we waited for it to work, and about a month later we cross slit the greens in two directions and dropped A1/A4 Bent grass seed.

“About ten days later we saw germination and we oversaw heavy irrigation schedule to give the grass a chance. It is obviously difficult to grow healthy grass in July and August, so we had to take great care. We continued to overseed until we had full grow in coverage by late October. It was a great deal of work, but the team did a great job and we reopened March 1, 2016.”

A stellar job was done, as the course is better than ever and one wouldn’t notice there had been a problem with the greens. They roll well, and are as dastardly as ever. The time off allowed a couple new tees to be built, adding even more challenge.

“From a design standpoint, our course flows so very well. There are no gimmicky holes, and we attempt to have the course in great shape” added Moony, who advised the York Open is held at the course through 2025. “I believe in stellar customer service, and we do our best to make the visitors happy.”

Visually, Royal Manchester is right there in front of you. There are a couple blind shots…if your tee shot doesn’t crest a hill for instance. But it is not some tricked up layout. The course rewards good shots, and what you see is what you get. An outstanding test worthy of a drive from Bucks County.

Royal Manchester is part of the Raspberry Golf Trail, a reasonable drive from Bucks County and a Must Play destination. It rated 4.2 stars on our 0-5 point scale. Details found at www.royalmanchestergolflinks.com

(Photos by Steve Gordon)

Clubhouse from eighteenth fairway behind the green

Iconic waterfall on the 18th hole

Course Review - The Links at Gettysburg

By Steve Gordon

General George Meade and his union army at Gettysburg expended great efforts to fortify the left and right flanks from attack back in 1863. When Lindsay Ervin was designing The Links at Gettysburg, just minutes from the famous Civil War battlefield, the designer paid great detail to protecting the flanks of the holes he designed on this South Central Pennsylvania gem.

The first shots were fired here in 1999 and the defensive line stands firm over all 7000 yards of it. I played with a long time golf partner and after nine holes head professional Jason Pandoli told us at the turn that the front nine was a warm up and the back nine was the real challenge. He wasn’t wrong.

As seniors we played a combination of white and green tees called Members tees which shrink the course to about 5800 yards with a hefty slope of 135. No matter the tees being played this course demands to be played with a combination of sound thinking and execution. This is not a course for beginners or players who spray the ball.

That said, I was in love with the course after three holes.

Many courses start you out with a couple of relatively benign holes before hitting you over the head with challenges to your abilities. Here the first hole is not really that kind of hole, and then the second hole is a 372 yard killer rated the third most difficult hole on the course. The Links at Gettysburg rocks you right out of the blocks.

Third hole from white tee

Third green with rock backdrop

I don’t want to go hole by hole in this narrative but the third hole is their signature hole. It is a downhill par three that is 160 yards from an elevated tee and all carry over waste area and a creek to a green set into the natural red rocks indigenous to the area. Miss short and you are wet. Miss long and there is a bunker between the rock wall and the green that runs away from you back towards the creek.

  

House with a view

The course winds its way through the natural terrain of the area and the homes built around it are there… but they aren’t. That is to say they don’t intrude or encroach on the golf course to be a distraction or come into play with an errant shot. The house pictured here sits atop a hill overlooking the 7th hole.

In addition to the outstanding layout and routing of the course there is a lot of water. It starts on the par 3 12th hole that features a picturesque stone bridge.

7th hole from whit tee

When I mentioned protecting the left and right flanks I had holes 13 thru 18 as well as number 7 in mind.

The elevated white tee on seven is dramatic and what you see (pictured right) is what looks like a ribbon of fairway squeezed between water hazards. The fairway is bigger than it looks but that doesn't mean it's easy to find.

The decision is how much do you want to flirt with or do you opt to play it safe. However if you hit a nice straight safe tee ball two things come into play. First is you have longer route to the green on this 560 yarder (it is 602 from the back tee). The second thing to consider is if you pound that straight drive you run out of fairway around 220 yards out.

As far as the six closing holes you better not be allergic to water. All of them have water and or 

woods on both sides with forced carries on the 161 yard par 3 15^th and the 393 yard par 4 16^th holes.

Par 3 12th hole from the tee

Overall I would rank this course in the upper tier of public courses in Pennsylvania and one I would go back to play without a second thought. The four par three holes are all very playable but beware of the 154 yard 12th that played longer than the yardage the day I was there. The water between the tee and green could have had something to do with that. 

Actually I think the entire course is very playable even with it's lofty slope rating of 136 from the 6277 yard white tees. As senior players my partner and I found it more playable and enjoyable from the Member tees with is a combination of white and green (senior) tees set at 5740 yards. 

There are a handful of par 4 holes like the second, ninth, thirteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth that play long. All of those holes are softened up using the green tees. The second and sixteenth especially with forced carries to the green that are basically hit the green or reload while on the ninth it takes a good tee shot to carry a chasm to get to the fairway before an uphill approach shot to the green.

The course closes with a shortish par 5 but that doesn't mean it's reachable at 454 yards (539 from the back tees). Once you find the fairway you have to decide how far you want to hit your next shot as the layup area is narrow guarded by water right and very little room to miss left. It is a fitting finishing hole to the round with another green carved into the natural landscape of the property.

The Links at Gettysburg is part of what is called the Raspberry Golf Trail that includes 16 top notch courses from central and southern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and down into Virginia. A membership gets you a free round after three paid rounds at these courses. You can explore that at www.raspberrygolftrail.com. 

If you just want to visit the Links at Gettysburg go to www.thelinksatgettysburg.com.

The 18th green with the clubhouse upper right overlooking this closer

Bridge on par 3 12th hole as viewed from the clubhouse

18th green and hole as viewed from the clubhouse

             
(Photos by Steve Gordon taken on a heavily overcast early spring day.)

By Steve Gordon

I thought I'd share some of my golf photos from 2016 and a few from 2015. Enjoy.