2014 Memorial Tournament Predictions - Weekend Update

The weekday rounds have now concluded at the 2014 Memorial Tournament, with the cut being set at even par (E), and the leader going into the weekend being Englishman Paul Casey, who is at 12-under (-12) and has a three shot lead over American Bubba Watson. As for our picks, here's how they did:

1) Rickie Fowler - CUT
2) Keegen Bradley - T37 at 2-under (-2)
3) Jason Day - T24 at 3-under (-3)

And our player of note, Canadian Mike Weir, unfortunately just missed the cut at +1. Other players of note were, Irishman Rory McIlroy who shot a 63-78 and it at T24. During today's round, Rory went double-double-double on holes 13-15, to much surprise.

Stay tuned to see how our picks fare out on the weekend,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 Memorial Tournament Predictions

In less than 12 hours, the 2014 Memorial Tournament will begin. This tournament, created almost 40 years ago by golf legend Jack Nicklaus, is played at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio and is one of the few events on the PGA tour that is an "invitational". This usually means that there is a smaller playing field and, for the Memorial, the top-75 players on last year's PGA Tour Money List are automatically invited. Due to this, the tournament features high-profile golfers from both the European and PGA tour. Here are our picks on who will win it this year:

1) Rickie Fowler
2) Keegen Bradley
3) Jason Day

We're also going to keep an eye on Canadian Mike Weir, who is hopefully in the midst of a career revival

Stay tuned to see how our picks fare out,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

The Best Golf Ball for High Handicappers?

 Toronto Golf Reviews©

There's no doubting that there's a very large variety of golf balls on the market today for golfers of all skill level. Many of these balls feature technology that's designed to increase this or decrease that and so on.

For high-handicappers, the process of choosing the best ball for their game is made even tougher due to the fact that some golf ball manufacturers, such as Titleist, claim that high-handicappers can play the same golf ball as tour professionals, whereas brands such as Bridgestone claim that the ball you play should relate to your swing speed and ultimately how good you are. Given this, it's almost impossible to choose a ball without getting torn between several options.

Let's look at this from a realistic perspective however. If you're a high handicapper (maybe 20+), then the odds are that aspects of your golf game like your swing fundamentals and strike aren't really too consistent. So, the golf ball you play isn't really going to make too much difference, at least, this is what I've noticed from experience. And if it does, how would you know for sure if it was the ball making the difference or you making the difference in your swing? Ultimately, your swing has a greater influence on your shot result than any ball ever will.

For example, say I'm a high-handicapper who slices shots often and I tee up a new top-of-the-line golf ball for the first time. I hit the ball and it's dead straight. How would I be able to tell if it was the ball that made me hit it that straight, or if it was because by chance I hit the sweet spot on my driver with the correct swing path? The bottom line is, while golf balls do make a difference in your golf game, I've found over the years that these differences are overshadowed by differences due to inconsistencies in your golf game; a consequence of being a high-handicapper.

Personally, I found that the major inconsistency in my golf game was not being able to hit the ball straight. I'd used to end up with at least 5+ lost balls during a round of 18 holes, on a good day. I'd keep buying brand-name golf balls from the golf stores like Golf Town and end up losing them all. From a financial sense, it was a waste of money, and it was also frustrating.

So if golf balls don't matter that much for high-handicappers, then wouldn't it make sense to buy cheaper golf balls, ones the won't make a dent in your wallet if you lose a few (or more)? That's exactly what I've started doing, even though I'm getter better and not losing as many balls. I've ditched the high-end brand name golf balls and have started to buy recycled golf balls in bulk. Walmart sells a bag of 60 assorted and recycled balls for $20 and that's what I've been buying. This way, I don't feel too bad about losing a few balls at the course and I won't get hung up over losing any, which is less than I can say when I was using high-end balls. Plus you'll find the occasional high-end ball in the bag.

So if you're a high-handicapper frustrated about losing money on golf balls or frustrated about which ball to buy, consider saving your money and buying in bulk.

This is just my opinion, but I am speaking from experience. Feel free to comment below on what you think the best balls for high handicappers are.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 

(Mesh Bags 60 Golf Balls available at Walmart Canada)

2014 BMW PGA Championship Predictions - Results

The final round of the BMW PGA Championship has concluded and the winner is Irishman Rory McIlroy, who birdied the 18th hole to win with a one shot lead, 14-under (-14) over fellow Irishman Shane Lowry. Before the tournament started, McIlroy was in the news for calling off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. Despite this however, he emerged victorious.

As for our picks, here is how each of them fared:

1) Lee Westwood - T35 at 1-under (-1)
2) Padraig Harrington T61 at 4-over (+4)
3) Alvaro Quiros T57 at 3-over (+3)

And our person of note, Miguel Angel Jimenez went T35 at 1-under (-1)

Stay tuned next week for more coverage of PGA/European Tour tournaments,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Rory McIlroy Wins the 2014 BMW PGA Championship

(Richard Heathcote - Getty Images)

2014 BMW PGA Championship Predictions - Weekend Update

The weekend is here and the cut has now been made at the European Tour's largest event at 3-over (+3). The leader going in to the weekend is Shane Lowry at 10-under (-10) with a two-shot lead over Thomas Bjorn. Here is how our predictions turned out:

1) Lee Westwood - T29 at 1-under (-1)
2) Padraig Harrington T56 at 2-over (+2)
3) Alvaro Quiros T48 at 1-over (+1)

And our player of note, Miguel Angel Jimenez, is T42 at even par.

Weekend play is always very exciting at this tournament so lets see how our picks continue and who will win it all,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Click Here for the 2014 BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard 

Bathurst Glen Golf Club Review #1

Name: Bathurst Glen Golf Club
Location: Richmond Hill, Ontario (~35 minutes north of Toronto)
Type: Public
Holes: 18 (2x9)
Length and Par: 3721-4551 yards / 63
Tees: (Shortest to Longest): Green, White, Black and shorter "Family Tees"
Website: http://www.bathurstglengolf.ca/

Located just north of Toronto, Bathurst Glen Golf Course is a family friendly, public, 18 hole golf course owned and operated by Toronto and Region Conservation. With an emphasis on environmental sustainability, Bathurst Glen offers a challenging yet fun experience, that golfers of all abilities will enjoy.

Course Layout:
Pace of Play:
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Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 5

Bathurst Glen is a fun course that I used to play many times over the years (a few times recently) and one that I find to be best suited for medium to high handicappers, or anyone who wants to work on their game without coming across to many difficulties. Playing-wise, they offer a good par 63 course (see more below) with a few good holes, a great driving range for practice/warm-up (although the driving range is a little far and somewhat separate from the course itself), and good warm-up greens. Off the course however is a different story and a different feel. There is a small clubhouse with food services, but no other "clubhouse" ammenities like a place to kick back after a round (other than a small outdoor patio). It doesn't really give off that welcoming/inviting clubhouse feel that some courses do, because that's not to kind of golf course it is. It's more of a course where you go to golf and that's it. Whether this is a good thing or bad thing is completely up to personal taste. The staff is friendly however, which isn't always the case at courses like this, but I have noticed that the marshals always seem to be watching you as you shoot (which might be intimidating to some).

Getting back to the course now, like I said it is a par 63, mostly made up of par three's and four's, except for the 18th hole which features a nice par 5. It offers three sets of tees (Green, White, Black) for various skill levels, but this year has introduced "family tees" which are shorter than the Green tees and designed for kids/families who are new to golf. The hole layout is okay, however on some holes, all that separates your hole from the hole beside you is rough and a few oddly places trees. Most of the holes are pretty straight forward, most being dead straight with slight elevation change, which makes the course easy to play most of the times. The course is also pretty open and there are few places where you ball is totally non-recoverable. However, given that the course is owned by Toronto and Region Conservation, there are several fescue areas which prohibit searching for balls. Course conditions are pretty good, however I noticed that the bunkers don't drain well after some rain.

Some holes of note are #14, a 332-yard par 4, downhill, and tree lined to the left and dense rough to the right (a great looking hole) and #17, a 125 yard par 3 over water and slightly downhill, and #18, a 446 yard par 5 slight dogleg right then left to a water and bunker protected green.

And now finally the price which, to put it bluntly, is bad. 18 holes will cost you $40 during the week and about $50 (tax-excluded) on the weekends, with an additional $30 for power cart rentals. Given that it's a par-63 course suited for high to medium handicappers, you're not getting your money's worth, especially when you consider that Bloomington Downs is just a 10 minute drive away and a cheaper par 72 course. It's due to the price that I don't play here too often now. Oddly enough though, the course is often pretty busy on weekends and depending on who's playing, wait times are to be expected.

Overall, this course is an easy fun course to play as a high to medium handicappers, but is overpriced, given what you are getting.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 BMW PGA Championship Predictions

Tomorrow is the start of one of the European Tour's most coveted tournaments, the BMW PGA Championship, played at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England. This tournament is the "Big One" when it comes to the European Tour, being known formally as the "Premier Event" for the Tour and due to the fact that it hands out a lot of World Golf Rankings points, as well as exemptions into this year's U.S. Open and the next three British Opens (Open Championships).

Despite being a field packed with the best of the best, come Sunday evening, there will only be one winner. Here are our predictions for the winner this year, in no particular order.

1) Lee Westwood
2) Padraig Harrington
3) Alvaro Quiros

We'll also be keeping an eye on Miguel Angel Jimenez, winner of last week's Spanish Open, and personal favourite around here.

Stay tuned to see how our predictions fare out,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Click Here for the 2014 BMW PGA Championship Leaderboard

What is the PGA Tour All-Around Ranking?

If you've watched a few golf tournaments on Tv before, then you may have noticed that during the commercials, a quick caption will pop up telling you what the All-Around Rankings for the PGA Tour as of this week are. But what is the PGA Tour All-Around Ranking? What does this mean? Here is a brief summary of what an All-Around Ranking is.

In short, the All-Around Ranking is basically a measure of how well players rank in several stats (Scoring Leaders, Putting Leaders, Eagle Leaders, Birdie Leaders, Sand Saves, Greens in Regulation, Driving Distance and Driving Accuracy) with respect to the number of events they've played. In essence, it ranks players by how well they've been playing over the season.

The rank is based on points, the lower number of points, the higher you rank in the All-Around Ranking. It is also updated weekly, much like the FedEx Cup and World Golf Rankings.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship Predictions - Results

Yesterday evening, the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship concluded, with American Brenden Todd taking the win with a final score of 14-under (-14), two strokes ahead of Canadian Mike Weir (see more below). Here is how our predictions fared:

1) Louis Oosthuizen T11 at 6-under (-6)
2) Graham DeLaet T7 at 8-under (-8)
3) Aaron Baddeley T29 at 3-under (-3)

Not too bad, but...

(Getty Images)

A few words must be said about Canadian and 2003 Masters Champion Mike Weir. Weir, who hasn't won on tour since 2007 and has been plagued with injury after injury over the years, finished a solo second; a result which propelled him to 238th on the World Golf Rankings, from his position last week of 605th. I was actually hoping that Weir would win, but considering what he's been through, a solo second is probably just as good.

Let's hope this is the comeback in Weir's career that we have all been waiting for,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship Predictions - Weekend Update

The cut has now been drawn at the 2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship at 1-over (+1). Here is how our predictions stand. Also, the leader going into the weekend rounds is Brendon Todd at 8-under (-8).

1) Louis Oosthuizen T15 at 4-under (-4)
2) Graham DeLaet T2 at 6-under (-6)
3) Aaron Baddeley T31 at 2-under (-2)

It's also worth noting that Graham DeLaet is a Canadian from Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Also, fellow Canadian and Master Champion Mike Weir is also at T2. It's good to see Weir back on top given all that he's been through with injuries and such.

For now, let's hope one of the Canadians can win it,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

(Click for PGA Tour Leaderboard)

2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship Predictions

So the first round of this years HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas is in the books, with Peter Hanson of Sweden leading the field at 5-under. After a quick look at the players competing in this year's tournament, here are my predictions for this year's winner, in no particular order.

1) Louis Oosthuizen
2) Graham DeLaet
3) Aaron Baddeley 

Stay tuned to see how these players fare as the week progresses,

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Banty's Roost Golf and Country Club Review #1

Name: Banty's Roost Golf and Country Club
Location: Caledon, Ontario (~45 minutes north-west of Toronto)
Type: Public with membership options
Holes: 27 (3x9)
Length and Par: 4845-6866 yards / 72
Tees: (Shortest to Longest): Red, White, Blue, Black
Website: www.http://bantysroost.com

Course Layout:
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Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Banty's Roost is probably one of the best all around courses for a medium to high handicapper (don't worry, it also accommodates lower handicappers). It simply has everything you want and need from a course. Off the course, services include a very good driving range, well kept practice/chipping greens, excellent clubhouse services such as a lounge area perfect for after rounds, indoor and outdoor dining areas, and a variety of excellent food. The staff is also worth mentioning, hands down they are the friendliest staff I've ever encountered at a golf course. They make you feel welcomed regardless if you're a longtime member or first-time player. All of these things, I find, put you in a good, positive, energetic mood that'll make you excited to play the course.

The course itself is made up of  three sets of nines, White, Blue, and Red, with longer holes on Red and White, and more water hazard holes on Blue and White. Each hole however is laid out nicely, and on only a few holes do you get the impression that a bad slice will end up in the adjacent hole's fairway. The course itself is very open which allows for easy ball recovery if you end up in the rough of off the hole. Despite this, each hole remains separated and on its own, via the use of hills and slopes to separate holes.

One thing that is common amongst all three sets of nines is the diversity and depth of each hole; each hole is different from the next in terms of layout and design and no two holes are the same. All the holes are laid out and designed well and are visually pleasing and fun to play (It's not made up of your typical straight and dogleg holes, but rather holes influenced by elevation and hazards. Due to this, the course changes drastically as you move forward or back tees. Add in weather conditions and you'll get a different course every time you play it. It's these factors that prevent the course from becoming boring after playing it multiple times. Some holes of note are White #6, an uphill hockey-stick-shaped left 219-306 yard par 4, with a tree-protected green, and over a 50-yard pond, Blue #7, a 269-324 yard straight par 4 that dips down to a green partially protected by bunkers and a pond running across the hole, and Red #1, a short downhill 85-122 yard par 3 over water (my personal favourite hole). The course also plays relatively fast and is not usually too busy.

Prices are also reasonable, with an average 18 hole walking round costing $40 from Mon-Thurs and $50 from Fri-Sun, with power cart rentals at 20$ (taxes included). Very reasonable specials are also offered, such as $56 for 18-holes and a power cart, and around $30-$40 for a walking 18, during the spring. You'll also find that this course opens for the season earlier than most courses

Overall, Banty's Roost is an all-around excellent course for golfers of all skill level and offers everything you need exceptionally well. I would highly recommend you play it, if you ever get the chance to.

 

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

**NOTE** 
If you are googling the location of this course, the first location Google will say is that this course is located in North York, when it is actually located in Caledon. There is no Banty's Roost located in North York, despite what Google says, so be cautious about this.

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