matt.heitto

I spent most of Saturday afternoon sitting around the beautiful and private King Valley clubhouse, waiting for the thunderstorms to roll through.  At first, there was so much rain that the course temporary suspended any playing due to flooded fairways.  We were ready to head out again, but yet another storm came through, but this time there was nothing behind it.

So, 2 hours after our originally scheduled tee-time, we started to meandered our way through the beautiful fairways (or in many cases, the rough).  One of the first things that caught my attention was the bunkering.  They seemed to be strategically placed through the fairways and around the greens.  The biggest attribute was the ability to penalize the golfer for entering said bunker.

The second thing I admired the most were the greens.  They weren’t overly large in size, and were very contoured.   They were often elevated with danger on at least one side, and a lot of the time two sides.  I believe they’re still fair given you always had a safe shot on your approach.

All in all, it’s an excellent course and considering it’s on the drive home from work, it only adds to the desire to join ClubLink.

Yesterday, I made my way out to the Pines of Georgina golf course up in Pefferlaw to play 9 quick holes. I’ve read somewhere that a magazine considered it one of the best hidden gem’s in Ontario. I would probably have to agree with that statement. For only $27 or $48 to walk 9 or 18 holes respectively during weekend primetime, it’s a pretty decent deal.

I’ll be the first to admit, it’s a pretty straight forward course, but it certainly doesn’t make it easy on you. The tight confines of holes 4, 5 and 6 put a big price on accuracy. Hole 4 has OB on the left and water hazard on the right. Not that it’s intimidating enough, you have to carry the ball 200 yards from the tips to hit over another water hazard.

Putting everything together with the price, the quality and the challenge; I feel POG is a worth a drive… to Pefferlaw!

For the record: I shot 42 with 2 doubles and 5 pars.

My pal Ryan, from Thunder Bay made his way down to the GTA for a local qualifier for the World Long Drive Championships. If you know anything about golf, you understand the urge to hit the ball longer and not so much straighter. He’s always hit a long ball, but I guess he’s been able to experiment with some actual long drive equipment.

What’s the difference you ask? Regular stock equipment (ie: Titleist, Taylor Made, etc) will normally set up well for the average golfer. For drivers specifically, this means a large head, large sweet spot and a standard 45″ shaft that will range from a ladies to a stiff flex. In the world of long drivers, you’ll come across 50″ shafts that range from Xtra Stiff to XXXtra Stiff and large club heads with flat faces. A great world to be in if you’re an equipment whore.

Either way, I was glad to show up to the event. I was able to demo a one of the drivers to knock a few balls around. It took awhile to actually get used to the difference in equipment, but I was able to grasp it after 6 or so shots. By the end, I was happy to hit it about 340 yards. You really have no option but to swing your hardest, otherwise your ball will go nowhere! By the end of the session, my shoulder was really sore. Well, my bud Ryan was able to jump into 1st place with a 394 yard shot. He was quick to call after he solidified his 1st ranking with a 408 yard monster.

It’s definitely tempting to perhaps join this crazy world of going big or going home. However, until I get my shoulder repaired and revamping my relatively simple swing – I’ll stick to knocking the ball around the course trying to keep out of trouble.