WHEN THE TEAM arrived at their luxury hotel in Garden City, 12 miles west of Bethpage, things were less than perfect. The bedrooms let in too much light, the bedding was less comfortable than expected, and Tyrrell Hatton and Shane Lowry said the shampoo did not smell fragrant enough. Poor old Peter Alliss, carrying his own soap to the bathroom at the end of the hotel corridor, would never believe it.
JAPAN’S ONE AND ONLY PGA Tour tournament has a new name and venue. The Baycurrent Classic, formerly the Zozo Championship, takes place 9-12th October at Yokohama Country Club.
There is probably nothing quite like golf in Japan. After nine holes golfers enter the dining room for a full, sit-down meal of typical Japanese delicacies. ルから歩いてすぐの浅草寿司 (I think this is a sample of the menu, although it might be “Please leave shoes outside”)
Lunch typically lasts around an hour, before which golfers are given a tee time for their second nine holes, avoiding difficulty if one player wants to get back underway while another is ordering a third round of noodles. Golf in Japan is savoured, not rushed, from the shoe cleaners on every tee box, the luxurious four-seater buggies, discreet ashtrays next to every green, and kiosks offering snacks.
Pity Hideki Matsuyama, his first game in England with a ham roll and packet of cheese and onion must have been one heck of a culture shock!
THE 2025 BRITISH Open Speedgolf Championships took place in September at Sunningdale Heath Golf Club, near Ascot. Winner James Hardy ran round the 18 hole course in 27 minutes.
In the Speedgolf Pairs Championship at Brocket Hall Berkshire, PGA Pro golfers Luke Bone and Luke Willett successfully defended their Foursome title. Armed with a single ball and 7 clubs each they completed their 18-hole round in just under 44 minutes. I’d like to see them do it out here in August.
AFTER THE Rage at Bethpage, a return to sanity in the Scottish glens with the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (2-5th Oct.) at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie, Tyrrell Hatton defending his title at St. Andrews, and hoping to become the first four-time winner.
The DP WORLD INDIA CHAMPIONSHIP takes place at Dehli Golf Club from October 16-19 with a record $4m purse. The championship forms part of the ‘Back 9’ on the 2025 Race to Dubai, leading up to the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs, with just the Korea Genesis Championship in between.
Rory McIlroy joins Tommy Fleetwood, who last played in India in 2016, a pairing that will draw the fans, although the members of the sniffy DGC will probably need smelling salts to cope with the invasion.
Opened in 1931 and set amidst historic Mughal-era ruins, the super-exclusive club was patronised by top government officials and social elite, but their summer exodus to Simla left only a few diehards to perspire on the course. A round of golf was interesting; hole 13 (Monkey Hole) was named because so many balls were carried off by a tribe of monkeys, and searching for your ball in the cobra-infested undergrowth was discouraged.
Fast becoming surrounded by the growing Delhi suburbs the course was re-designed in 1976 by Peter Thomson, who created the championship course (Lodhi) and a short course (Peacock.) Non-members are charged 6,000 Rupees a day, beyond the reach of most people. “Unfortunately, DGC is run more as a private club for the benefit of its own members,” the sports secretary commented.
The course looks exquisite with tropical flowers and trees, but a recent survey shows the air in and around Delhi is polluted by microplastics and deadly mercury poison from vehicles and industry and is the most harmful in the world. Perhaps Membership includes gas masks.
Billy Casper while on the Senior Tour. “Like a lot of the fellows round here, I have a furniture problem. My chest has fallen into my drawers.”
Until next time: Happy Golfing.
Contact Mick for re-gripping and repairs. Tel. 638 859 475
