Delightful Tralee By The Sea

The second hole at Tralee. Photo courtesy of the club.

The biggest problem you'll face when playing Tralee is keeping your mind on the game. The Arnold Palmer design in Barrow, County Kerry, Ireland, not only has a succession of excellent holes, but every one of them has a full view of the Atlantic and many have fascinating stories and features to go along with the views. Like the 12th century Norman tower behind the third green and the sandstone boulder between the fourth and fifth fairways allegedly hurled there by Cuchullain, one of the great heroes of Irish mythology, from the top of the Sliabh Mish, the mountain that can be seen to the south. Plus the smugglers' harbor behind the seventh tee box, the shoreline behind the sixteenth green where a ship from the Spanish Armada ran aground in 1588, and the beach along the second hole where scenes for the 1970 epic movie Ryan’s Daughter was filmed.

But pay attention! You're there for golf, right? You won't be disappointed. Tralee presents a fabulous links golf experience. As the club slogan goes, it was created by God and designed by Arnold Palmer. The front nine is fun, the back nine simply spectacular, with a parade of dramatic holes that equal the best you'll find anywhere in the world. In a country noted for great golf, Tralee should be at the top of your must-play list.

The first hole sets the tone as you drive your ball directly toward the ocean. By the time you reach the green 404 yards away, you've seen the water on three sides (although not in play) and tested the stiff Atlantic breezes, the quirky rolling fairways, and navigated around the stone wall that guards the green approach on the left. The course routing continues in that vein. A round at Tralee calls for strength, length, accuracy and touch, not to mention a bit of luck and a sense of humor capable of taking the funny bounces of links golf in stride.

The 12th hole at Tralee. Photo courtesy of the club.

A bit of tactical play comes in handy, too. At the surgical 399-yard eighth hole, for example, most players should leave the driver in the bag and lay up to the mound on the right side of the excruciatingly narrow fairway that drops off the cliffs on the left side. The eleventh hole, a 595-yard uphill par five, is simply brutal, while the twelfth, a 461-yard par four, can only be described as punishing, with a semi-blind drive followed by a a long second shot that must carry a deep gully on the left of the green to give you a chance at par.

The par threes on the back side are particularly exciting. The thirteenth is only 159 yards, but it's all carry to a shallow green and generally plays with a left to right wind that makes club selection and aim a test of nerves. The sixteenth, known as "Shipwreck," plays toward the ocean in a setting as dramatic as you'll find on the Monterey Peninsula. The tee shot must carry 185 yards over a yawning canyon in the dunes and the pin can be as deep as 216 yards onto the two-tiered green.

The finishing hole at Tralee, a 486-yard par five, gives you an excellent chance to close out your round with a birdie, which is always a nice touch. You'll need to be accurate, though, especially off the tee, since there are thirteen bunkers waiting to add a stroke or two.

Tralee plays par 72 at 6,991 yards from the championship tees. It's a good idea to consider playing the forward tees, though, since the golf is just as good and the views are still excellent.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Improve Your Game With Winter Work

Kevin Sprecher, Director of Instruction at Sleepy Hollow CC and a Master Instructor for Jim Mclean, reminds us that winter is a perfect time to make some meaningful changes in your golf swing.  "I promise you that any Tour Pro who lives in a cold climate is working on his or her game in a gym, in a dome, or at home, while occasionally flying to warm weather locations," he says.

The learning center at Sleepy Hollow is a great place to do it, too. Sprecher offers private lessons to members and non-members alike throughout the winter, using Trackman, a force plate, and many other devices to accelerate the learning process.  The heated facility allows students to work on both their short and long game.

Sleepy Hollow CC Learning Center

Sprecher also travels to Florida to lead golf schools for his students at Doral in Miami. If you can join him, you will not only have a great time, but should see an improvement in your spring game. Meanwhile, now is a perfect time to incorporate our training facility into your winter schedule.
For more information contact him at kdsprecher@gmail.com.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Golf Club Shines On Lake Mahopac

It's not exactly a secret course, but Mahopac Golf Club in Mahopac, NY, may well be one of the most under-appreciated golf opportunities in the Hudson Valley. The course is short but tough, with small, fast greens and vicious bunkering, not to mention gnarly rough and tight landing areas on most holes. The club has been around since 1898 and I think it's about time it got its due.

Actually, the course has its roots in a 1,291 yard six-hole course laid out on the eastern shore of Lake Mahopac by Thomas Bendelow in 1893. It moved to the north shore in 1900 as a nine-hole layout that was later built out by Devereux Emmet to a full 18 holes in 1913. Extensive renovations guided by Ken Dye took place a few years ago to produce today's 6,514-yard track. Par is 70, course rating 72.5, and the slope is 133 from the tips.

Tiny green at Mahopac Golf Club. Photo courtesy of the club.

Ask for advice in the pro shop, and the first words from head pro Terrence Hughes or assistant Billy Ashford will be "stay below the hole." In fact, they recommend landing your approach on the front (or even IN front) of nearly every green to avoid some really ugly downhill putting disasters-in-the-making.  Many of the greens--including the first four--actually slope from front to back, so great, great care is called for if you're in the mood to go pin hunting.

The total course yardage may not add up to today's supposedly necessary 7,000-plus yards, but there are more than enough long holes to keep your driver busy--and that may include one of the par threes!  There are five of them, with the shortest listed as 163 and the longest at 218 yards. That monster, the twelfth hole, plays solidly uphill and usually into the wind, though, so don't be ashamed to pull the big stick and hit it with conviction.

The par fives are challenges, too. Two of them, the 487-yard fifth and the 479-yard eighteenth, look like birdie push-overs. Both are heavily bunkered, however, and play uphill, so you can't take them for granted. The other par five, the seventh, is a brutal test at 601 yards with a fairway that slants big time right to left all the way to the hole. Even a center-aimed drive (and second and third shot) will likely end up in the left rough, which makes the hole play even longer.

Tricky 15th hole at Mahopac. Photo courtesy of the club.

Most of the par fours offer something to think about. There are a couple of long ones, including the 460-yard sixteenth, a classic dogleg (the 390-yard ninth), and a four-putt possibility at the 403-yard thirteenth hole, which has a steeply-sloped green with several nearly-impossible pin positions. Even the short 330-yard fifteenth hole calls for a strategically-placed 200-yard tee shot and an approach pitch that must navigate around, over, but probably not through a big tree guarding the left side of the green.

There's a lot to appreciate at Mahopac Golf Club. The scenery is spectacular, particularly in the fall, and there's both a range and a short-game area to tone up your scoring potential. Members also enjoy a generous slice of beach on Mahopac Lake.  The club has a fairly small but very active membership that competes in as many as 60 club events every year.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Last Chance For Free Grand Slam Today

Today is the last day to read Grand Slam for free! Don't miss this Halloween opportunity to download the Kindle edition of this tongue-in-cheek tale of a werewolf with moonstruck swing thoughts who pursues the biggest prize in golf, the Grand Slam.

Bobby Jones did it, Tiger Woods almost did it, but if the moon were full during the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship, could a werewolf win the elusive Grand Slam of golf? Find out in this tale from Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf.

Kindle owners can download Grand Slam with a single click. You can also read it on your iPad or other device using the Kindle app from Amazon. But if want to read it for free, you have to act today!

Michael Breed Golf Academy Opens At Manhattan Woods

You've seen him on the Golf Channel's Golf Fix, heard his expert color commentary about the Ryder Cup and PGA Championship, and soon you will be able to experience Michael Breed's intensely energetic teaching style up close and personal.  Next year, he will launch the Michael Breed Golf Academy at Manhattan Woods in West Nyack, NY. Best news of all: it's not just for the high-end club's members. You're invited too!

Michael Breed on the lesson tee at Manhattan Woods

"I've always wanted to expose more and more people to the great game of golf," Breed says. "That's what led me to the Golf Fix and now it's what I'm doing with the academy."

Breed is leaving as head pro of Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, NY, a position he's held for twelve years, so he can devote full time to extending his reach as an instructor.  “I couldn’t have done any of this without Sunningdale," he says. "Without them, I couldn't have done the Golf Fix and without Golf Fix, I couldn't do this. But there was a limit to what I could do at Sunningdale.”

There are apparently no limits to the arrangement with Manhattan Woods. "The idea is to create the best golf learning experience you can have at a club," Breed says. "I’m a big dreamer and this is a big dream."

Manhattan Woods President John Koh adds, “Our club is a hidden jewel. Our goal is to become THE club in this area and among the top 50 in the nation. Merging Michael Breed’s name with ours will help do that.”

Breed says he'll be offering every learning tool he can find, not to mention his own personal touch to every lessson.  "Our goal is to bring you to the highest level golf instruction that exists," he says. "Working with Titleist and other brands, we’ll have an entire fitting system for every club including putting, wedges, and full swing. We’ll have indoor bays with the latest and greatest technology. I’m also working with About Golf so we’ll have launch monitors, simulators, weight boards, and all of that, too."

The club is also going to make some changes to the existing short game area so it will have a wider variety of shots to practice. The range will also be updated to include places where you can hit fairway bunkers shots, practice uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies. The work will start this winter with a project to stretch the back range teeing area by 50% and to build a structure to house the bells and whistles. Other features will be added as time and demand permits.

Breed says he expects to offer not only individual lessons to Manhattan Woods members, guests, and the public, but to offer two-day golf schools for small groups at some point in the near future. He will be at the academy three days a week at the beginning and will add instructors who meet his standards in the near future. "The idea is to build it up so there will be instructors at the academy all the time."

Knowing Breed, you can also expect a few out-of-the-box events. "We’re hoping to shoot some Golf Fix shows from here," he adds. "I may do things like hang out on the seventh tee and play the hole with members and guests as they play through. I’ll also be available for outings at Manhattan Woods."

His ambition is to put Manhattan Woods on the map--the really big map. "We expect to draw people from as far away at Bejing," Breed says, pointing out that he does clinics in China every year.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Halloween, Werewolves, and Golf

You think golf is scary? Wait until you read Grand Slam, a tongue-in-cheek golf tale that will put a shiver in your swing. And for a few days--just in time for Halloween--Grand Slam is FREE for Kindle owners at Amazon.com!

The full moon is the key when an underachieving European Tour pro suddenly stalks the fairways at Augusta National, Shinnecock, Carnoustie, and Winged Foot with a chance to set the ultimate record in golf, winning the Grand Slam, while leaving behind a trail of bloody victims and sparking the ire of a golf-obsessed newspaper reporter who vows to stop him. It's a golf story weird enough to leave you howling at the moon.

Grand Slam is free through Halloween, so don't miss out on this chance to read one of the 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible and morally reprehensible golf in Weird Golf.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

New GoBe Golf Shoes Solve Spikeless Slips

So-called "spikeless" shoes are growing in popularity, but more than a few golfers are still a bit leary of their ability to provide a stable swing platform, especially on wet or damp turf--sometimes quite justifiably. Of course, a smooth, balanced swing can solve the problem of slippage, but who has one of those?

GoBe 5-point tread sole design

Another solution is the 5-Point Star Traction sole on the new GoBe Golf Shoes released this year by the new Austin, Minnesota company of the same name. Check out most other "spikeless" shoes and you'll find the sole covered with round nubs to give you some grip. They work fine, but nowhere nearly as well as the sharp points on the star-shaped lugs on the GoBe sole. I tried out a pair this week the day after a drenching rain and didn't have a bit of trouble on the wet grass.  Even with my normal lurching, lunging swing, the five-point star traction pattern gave me a good foundation. The sole also has non-slip vertical and horizontal traction stripes to complement the star treads and provide a little more stability. The company says that the sole is made of single density, Grade A TPU (whatever that is), which is more durable than rubber but just as flexible.

The GoBe Dry shoe liner has an interior moisture management system with drainage channels, aeration holes at flex points, and notches above the toe area to drain perspiration away from the foot. the moisture wicking fiber lining also aerates and has anti-microbial and anti-odor properties. I guess that means your swing may stink, but your feet won't. Speaking of moisture, the GoBe upper is designed to be roughly 20 times more water resistant than treated leathers. It promises to breathe, keep its color and shape, and resist stains.

GoBe Rebel

One point to keep in mind when it comes to fitting, the GoBe shoe is built on a European last, which has a deep heel cup and a wide toe area. I found my usual size slightly looser than I like, so consider ordering a half-size smaller if your foot is narrow or you like a more snug fit.

GoBe shoes come in four styles for men and women and the suggested retail price ranges from $139 to $159. I wore the "Prodigy" model and the styling so impressed my caddie he made a note to check them out himself.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf