Ytterligere nivåheving i feltet

Fire ganger mester Per Anders stiller likevel til start i Nøtterøy, det gjør ikke konkurransen om heder og trofeer særlig mindre

Lenge så det ut til at Per Anders prioriterte Holmenkollstafett fremfor TGA, et åpenbart utslag av mental utilregnelighet i beslutningsøyeblikket. Heldigvis har PA og hans knær kommet på bedre tanker, og velger mykt gress i Vestfold foran hard asfalt i Oslos jungel. Sosialt er det utvilsomt et pluss, konkurransemesig er det imidlertid noe dritt. PA samler ikke på andreplasser...

Vi er nå 8 mann (to fulle baller) i turneringsrunden, nemlig Steinar, Per Anders, Ove, Trym, Trond, Preben, Morten og Hans Jørgen. Sistnevnte kommer neppe nedover før på selve konkurransedagen.

På golftur for tjuetredje gang

Så er det på tide å ta farvel med de aller nærmeste, pakke ned tørre sokker og stake ut kursen mot smått idylliske Nøtterøy. Etter at Øystein kastet inn håndkleet gjenstår syv håpefulle påmeldte med våte drømmer om å bringe trofeet hjem

Medkonkurrentene må selv besørge individuell avreise fra storbyen en gang i løpet av fredag ettermiddag.

Fullstendig veibeskrivelse (fra Asker) til endelig destinasjon forefinnes HER. Men om man følger skilting fra E18 mot Tønsberg og Nøtterøy, for deretter å ta av mot golfbanen ved Borgheim, skal det ikke være mulig å kjøre veldig feil. Eventuelt ta en titt på oversiktsbildet nedenfor (klikk for større) for å se turens aller siste etappe fra oven.

Mens Trym reiser direkte og forbereder pomp og prakt for øvrighetens ankomst til hyttepalasset, har flere ytret ønske om en hel eller halv golfrunde langsmed veien sydover. Solum i Holmestrand er trolig førstevalget, selve turneringsbanen på Nøtterøy er et interessant alternativ. Uansett bør man beregne sin ankomst for endelig inlosjering senest halv åtte, der reiselederen vil møte oss i døråpningen med utstrakte armer og en herlig selvkomponert tapasbuffet i bakhånd.

Alle som medbringer 1700 kroner i unummererte sedler, slipper umiddelbart inn i varmen. Pengene vil dekke hytteleie inkl utvask, samt middag fredag/lørdag og frokost lørdag/søndag. Pils og vin til eget forbruk er definitivt høyst valgfritt, men åpenbart å anbefale. Sengetøy og håndklær likeså. Etter inntak av fast og flytende samt den pinlige innledningssamtalen, arrangerer Trym puttekonkurranse med hodelykt ved hull #5. Værforbehold, men absolutt ikke valgfritt.

Lørdag er turneringsdagen, selvsagt håper vi på strålende vær, selv om metrologene ikke melder shortsvær. Dagen innledes imidlertid med en ikke tellende åpningsrunde for de mest ekstremt overtente fra kl 0850. God tur til Steinar, Trond og Trym.

Etter lunsj i klubbhuset kl 13, blir det offisiell tee-off for V12 i to baller, hhv klokken 1420 og 1430 (sjekk Golfbox for din starttid). Premieseremoni og bankett på hytta rett etter hjemkomst, grillmiddag med innleid kokk fra klokken 20, husk sømmelig antrekk. Når vi går tom for medbragt drikke en gang utpå kvelden, er det alldeles mulig å avrunde lørdagen på bryggene i Tønsberg. Trond er obligatorisk selvutnevnt nattklubbguide.

Helgen avsluttes med en golfrunde med løs snipp på Borre GK ved Horten. Umiddelbart etter frokost (ca 10) setter vi oss i respektive transportmidler og kjører halvtimen til neste golfbane, med teeoff 1130 og 1140. Og når også søndagsmestertittelen er vel dedikert til den med minst hangover, er vårens vakreste eventyr dessverre ved veis ende for denne gang. Men du verden så moro det blir!

Endelig showtime på Nøtterøy

Sjelden har vel noen destinasjon vært mer omtalt, Nøtterøy stod på programmet allerede for to år siden. Denne gangen blir det endelig en realitet, nå begynner også deltakerfelt og touropplegg å ta form. Vi har høye forventninger - og vi tror de vil innfri!

I skrivende stund teller startfeltet hele åtte personer, eller to baller. Foruten reiseleder Trym har Steinar, Hans Jørgen, Øystein, Morten, Trond, Ove og Preben anmeldt sin tilstedeværelse. Østlandsfolket satser på tidlig avreise fra storbyen fredag 11/5 for å rekke 9 eller 18 hull langsmed E18 på vei sørover, Holmestrand er vagt foreslått.

Offisielt program starter først ved ankomst til hytta på Nøtterøy ca klokken 20. Sjekk vedlagte kart for en detaljert veibeskrivelse, men ytterligere informasjon følger litt nærmere avreisetidspunktet.

Lørdag 12/5 blir det to runder golfspill på Nøtterøy golfklubb. Først en 18 hulls oppvarmingsrunde for de aller mest ivrige, deretter en full 18 hulls tellende TGA etter lunsj. De som kun ønsker å spille den offisielle runden, kan varme opp på treningsfeltet. Aftergolf og premieutdeling på hytta etter runden, bankett og grillmiddag med innleid kokk på kvelden. Natteravner kan sjekke ut Tønsberg by night, dog først etter mørkets frembrudd.

På søndag 13/5 forlater vi hytta i samlet flokk og følge umiddelbart etter frokost, for en avslutningsrunde med lave skuldre. Her er Borre golfklubb foreslått. Etter en valgfri matbit på dertil egnet sted, vil troppene atter splittes og returnere hvert til sitt.

Reiselederen ønsker asap tilbakemelding om hvem som skal delta på de ulike golfrundene, slik at han kan reservere starttider. Greenfee betales ved oppmøte. Alle deltakerne må egenhendig bringe med seg sengetøy og håndkle, samt drikkevarer for hele oppholdet. All mat som inntas på hytta (2 x frokost/middag) besørges av reiselederen, og inngår i pakkeprisen. Lørdagens lunsj inntas i klubbhuset.

Gearing up for Quail Hollow and TPC Sawgrass

With two fantastic fields, I look forward to competing

Tiger Woods skriver nok en gang et innlegg på TGA-bloggen

I have decided to commit to the Wells Fargo Championship, May 3-6, at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., and THE PLAYERS Championship, May 10-13, at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. I've been fortunate to win both tournaments -- Wells Fargo in 2007 and THE PLAYERS in 2001.

Both have fantastic fields, and I look forward to competing. Sean [Foley] and I have some work to do, but I'm going to take some time off and not look at the clubs for a while and then get back after it. I know what to work on. It's just a matter of getting out there and doing it. Just putting in the reps and the time. I just wasn't able to do it at the Masters.

It felt so good to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Not just to win, but also the way I did it. To go out there and earn it on Sunday under really tough conditions and obviously playing against Graeme [McDowell]. I knew it was going to be a tough match, and I really hit the ball well all day.

I had control of my game. People forget -- I've been there a number of times. I know what to do in those circumstances. It's just matter of doing it.

One cool thing about winning was my kids got to watch on television. They were at home rooting and were so excited when I was able to show them the trophy the next day. They were excited for about three seconds and then it was on to the next thing.

One thing I would like to say about the Masters last week is that obviously I got frustrated at times and know some of my actions were wrong, especially at No. 16. The Masters means a lot to me, and I was trying as hard as I could. I'm out there competing. I grind every day, and my expectations are to do my best. It's very disappointing when that doesn't happen.

I felt good starting out the week at Augusta. My practice sessions were good and so was my short game. My putting felt very solid, unfortunately I just did not hit the ball well. I fell into some of my old patterns again, which was frustrating. You can't play well every week, even though we would like to. Unfortunately, I had a bad ball-striking week at the wrong time.

Oh man, it was such a great atmosphere to play. The people were so fantastic, nice and supportive. They were trying to get me to play well. Unfortunately, I just couldn't quite get it done. The good news is that my left leg held up great, and I didn't have any problems.

Congratulations to Bubba Watson for winning. We used to play a lot of practice rounds together. If you think about it, for a lefty, that shot on No. 10 didn't sit up too badly for him. It was a hook lie, and on top of that, he's firing it into the hill, because that green goes from right to left. So whatever type of hook he hits is actually going to be killed into the slope.

The only thing I was curious to see was how far down there he drove it and whether he was going to have to hit a short iron or mid-iron. If he hits a mid-iron in there, he can't stop it because it's coming in there too hot. If it's a short iron, he can spin it even if you hook it that much. He makes the golf ball move a lot, which in this day and age is really hard to do because the golf balls just don't move that much. For him to curve it as much as he does, obviously he's got a tremendous feel for his shots. He plays a way that a lot of the older players used to do it, but they did it with a ball that moved a lot more. It's a lot harder to move the ball the way he does with this ball now. The golf ball just doesn't spin as much. You have to have tremendous club-head speed, and he's got that.

I had a great time at the Champions Dinner. There are no good stories I can talk about, but there was a lot of grief being given.

Charl [Schwartzel] did a nice job with the menu and everyone enjoyed it. As always, each and every year, it was very relaxed. I always sit next to Mark O'Meara, and Jack [Nicklaus] sat next to me. Jack always sits next to Arnold [Palmer], so he was a couple seats away.

Everyone congratulated me for my win at Bay Hill. It was fantastic. Some of the guys watched the entire weekend. It was nice to hear the comments from the guys who have been there and done that and understand.

That's all for now. Hope you and your family had a great Easter.

Alle gode ting er tre

To ganger tidligere har TGA forsøkt å avvikle en høstturnering på sommerperlen Nøtterøy utenfor Tønsberg. Like mange ganger har komiteen måtte hasteflytte arrangementet til svensk territorium i aller siste liten, for å unngå tett snøfokk og høye brøytekanter

I et krampeaktig forsøk på å inkludere Nøtterøy GK til listen over TGAs mesterskapsbaner går vi all in for golfspill i vårlige omgivelser med lysegrønne fairways og en umiskjennelig eim av jasmin i luften.


Som ved begge de foregående forsøkene i henholdsvis 2010 og i 2011, er det fortsatt regjerende mester Trym som håndplukker troppene til vårens utflukt den 11-13. mai.

Programmet oppleves relativt uforandret fra tidligere invitasjoner. Medlemmer med uvesentlig fremskreden demens kan nok derfor vagt minnes et hytteturkonsept med grill og innleid kokk. Ytterligere detaljer om banespill og andre konkurranseformer gjennom helgen, vil presenteres i god tid før avreise. Weekendpris for kost og losji avhenger av antall deltakere i spleiselaget, men reiselederen antyder ca 1200/pp, greenfee og drikkevarer utenom.

Send en mail til reiselederen og meld deg på vårens vakreste eventyr allerede i dag. For annen særdeles unyttig informasjon frem mot avreise, anbefales som alltid å følge med på TGAs facebooksider.

Følg TGA på Facebook

TGA etablerte seg første gang på Facebook for noen år siden. Sist høst valgte vi å åpne oss mot verden, og har erstattet den lukkede gruppen med en helt åpen og offentlig side som hvem som helst kan følge. Klikk liker på TGA's facebookside og delta i nettdebatter før, under og etter de halvårlige tourene.

Closing the season with a win

Best part about winning was the reinforcement that my training and hard work paid off



Leserinnlegg på TGA-bloggen, skrevet av Tiger Woods

It's hard to believe 2011 is almost over, and it was sure nice to get a victory! I played a lot of golf late in the year, and it was extremely satisfying to close out the season with a win at my own event, the Chevron World Challenge.

I basically did an exhibition tour right before the Australian Open. I played in Japan, Singapore, Perth and Melbourne, and then I went up to Sydney for the Australian Open. I did some clinics, and it was fun because I had to concentrate a bit because I was putting on exhibitions and had to play well. It was nice to have a semi-competitive environment before I played in the Aussie Open. In Japan, I did an exhibition with JLPGA players that benefited earthquake relief and tsunami relief. The women played great, and it was rewarding doing this event for such a good cause.

The great thing about the Australian Open and The Presidents Cup was that's basically how I've been hitting the ball at home. It was nice to be able to take what I had been doing into a tournament situation and play well. Although I didn't win the Australian Open, I finished third and hit a lot of quality golf shots.

The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney was very challenging. It's very modern and has a good mixture of short and long holes. Royal Melbourne was definitely an old-style course where you can run the ball up, throw the ball up in air and do a variety of different things. And with the green speeds being what they were -- especially the first day when they were running at 14 -- it was a little tough.

When I got to Royal Melbourne for The Presidents Cup, it was quite interesting because the people who questioned me being on The Presidents Cup team were not the players; they wanted me on the team. So when we came together, it was pretty neat to receive a warm reception and see how excited they were to have me be there with them.

It was great for Fred Couples, too. Fred stuck his neck out for me, and I was very grateful that he made me a captain's pick. To be able to secure the clinching point for the U.S. and play as well as I did down there was special for both of us.

As for the team room, it was a great mix of younger guys and older guys. It was pretty interesting to have Fred and assistant captains Jay Haas and John Cook. I've been on Ryder Cup teams with those guys, so it was a different perspective and was pretty cool.

I've heard people question whether Fred would be a good Ryder Cup captain, and I just don't get it. I think that Fred is a great captain. Whether it's The Presidents Cup or the Ryder Cup, it doesn't matter.

The way he keeps us loose and how much fun we have -- it's just great to play for him. He's a lot more competitive than people realize. He just doesn't show it. He shows it with us around, but the public doesn't see it.

Matt Kuchar dominated in pingpong again. It's not even close. He is far and away the best player. Nobody can beat the guy.

I came home and played in my Foundation's tournament at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and I'm so excited to have won for the fifth time. Equally important, I gave the $1.2 million first prize to my Foundation's programs, which will help get more underserved kids into college.

Coming into the week, I was basically just trying to continue doing what I was doing in Australia, and I did that. I hit the ball just as well and made a few putts. It was tough playing against Zach Johnson on Sunday afternoon because he doesn't back up. He put a lot of heat on me and had the lead starting the final round, so I had to go and get him.

Zach hit an absolutely great shot on the 14th hole on Sunday, where he nipped a 60-degree sand wedge on the green and was able to save par. It was a big momentum switch. If he had tried to putt it, he can't keep it on the green. If he goes at the hole, there's a little fall-off on the left part of the green. If he had played short with a putt, the best he could do was about 15 feet. I thought if he made bogey there and I made birdie, it would be a two-shot swing. It was a big moment.

The shot that he played -- that little spinner in there -- he had to cut it to hold the hill. When he made contact, I could tell from the sound that he pulled it off. Man, that was impressive. You have to expect him to pull it off, especially a guy with his talent.

I felt very comfortable in the tournament from start to finish. Golf doesn't change. You should be all-systems go on the first day until the last day. I felt nervous coming down the stretch -- absolutely! You want to feel nervous because it means you care. When I stop getting nervous, it's time for me to quit.

I really hit three nice shots the last two holes. And then I made two nice putts on top of that. The best part about winning was the reinforcement that all the training and hard work I have put in with Sean Foley paid off.

It was also nice to get my first 'W' with Joe LaCava on the bag. He's been awesome. He's definitely very calm out here. That's why it's fun to be out there with him. We just have a great time. We do talk a lot of sports. We talk a lot about the New York Yankees and New York Giants, his favorite teams. We just have a ton of fun out there. Joe also spent some time with one of our Earl Woods Scholars who was serving as a course reporter at Sherwood. She wanted to interview a caddie, so we set her up with Joe, and I am grateful he took time to do that.

Speaking of Sherwood, one of our participants -- Keegan Bradley -- was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and Luke Donald was picked as Tour Player of the Year. I'd like to congratulate them both. They're two outstanding players and equally good guys. Well done.

I just visited our newest Learning Center campus at Murray Middle School in Stuart, Fla. It's our fourth campus, and our first in Florida. It was a great afternoon, and I'm very pleased with how this model is allowing us to expand. Plus I always enjoy getting to spend an afternoon focused on science -- especially our Forensics class.

I did want to say the response I have received from the fans during my recent travels has just been fantastic. The people in Asia have always supported me my entire career. There's a level of excitement over there in golf; it's growing rapidly in these countries and other areas I went to, so it was great to be a part of it.

And of course, the fans in SoCal were tremendous. That's where I grew up, and it's always nice to play well in front of the hometown crowd. The reception I received coming up to the 18th green on Sunday at Sherwood Country Club felt very good. Really, since I've turned pro, fan support everywhere has been amazing. I want everyone to know how much that means to me. Needless to say, we did a little celebrating.

I debuted my new golf bag sponsor at my event in California. I'm very excited about Fuse Science and obviously the patents they have coming up and level of technology they're going to introduce. They're a game-changer in the energy, medicine and vitamin field, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it on the ground floor. Look for their new products to be introduced early next year.

I going to take a couple weeks off and let my body recover a little bit. And then I will start getting ready for 2012. My first event will be in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. HSBC has been a big supporter of my Foundation, and it sounds like they're going to have an excellent field. I've been to Dubai quite a few times, but never to Abu Dhabi. I'm looking forward to the experience.

Before I begin the new season, I will attend the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2 in Arizona to watch Stanford play Oklahoma State. Cardinal head coach David Shaw asked me to be an honorary team captain, and I happily accepted. For Coach Shaw to think highly enough of me to be involved in the game and be able to talk to his kids is very special.

I'm very close to Stanford. They've done so much for me in my life. Everyone knows Coach Shaw and I had a class together. We go way back. It's neat to be able to come back and help him any way that I can.

That's it for 2011. Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

Happy holidays and best wishes in the new year.