Golfing goes on in Thailand with only a handful of courses affected by the floods - By Mark siegel Perception is one thing; reality is often very different. So it was with the flooding that affected a large area of countryside near Bangkok in October and November. To outsiders, the perception was that the inundation – as real and damaging as it was for many communities – had halted play on many of Thailand’s 260 golf courses and that it would … Continue reading →

Showcasing 18 superb golf holes from around the country that typify the adage that length does not matter. Length, in golf, does not always matter. You need not necessarily be a long hitter to shoot good scores, relying instead on astute course management and short game skills to tame courses no matter what their length. The same goes for golf courses. Sprinkled around the country are holes that more than make up for what they lack in yards with outstanding design features. Some … Continue reading →

January 11: Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines will start the new year by playing amongst the US PGA Tour stars at the Sony Open in Hawaii starting Thursday. The 17-year-old Tabuena, who narrowly missed out on a 2012 Asian Tour card by US$250 when he finished one rank outside the top-61 on the Asian Tour Order of Merit last season, will look to make amends at the second PGA Tour event this year. Inquirer Golf reports that Tabuena’s uncle Martin Nievera … Continue reading →

Kuala Lumpur, 10 January: World number four and 2010 US PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer of Germany and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa will headline the field in the 2012 Maybank Malaysian Open. World number four and 2010 US PGA Championship winner Martin Kaymer of Germany and 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa will headline the field in the 2012 Maybank Malaysian Open. “This marks the seventh year that Maybank is in association with the … Continue reading →

I’ve been having the yips for as long as I can bother to remember and it is the four-footers that drive the most painful stakes into my heart. To think that in the last 15 years, although the number of golfers may have exploded along with the advancement of golf equipment technology, the average score of the club hacker has yet to improve. Why is that? Now, try and digest this basic statistic that most tend to overlook: MORE THAN … Continue reading →

If Henry Ford was the man who set in motion the automotive trade and Alfred Nobel who ignited the explosives industry, then American lawyer Mark H McCormack can certainly be credited with pioneering a new field that today spans the globe – the sports management and marketing business, making millionaires out of modern sportsmen and women, bringing untold riches to sports bodies, exploiting each and every facet of sport where there is a profit centre or revenue stream to be … Continue reading →

Meet Germany’s best-kept secret, a six-foot bombshell with killer skills. By syama ramasamy Hers may not exactly be a name that immediately triggers bells (you may remember her from the ‘Babes & Hunks’ segment in ParGolf’s December 2009 issue), but once you’ve met the sweet yet incredibly alluring Sandra Gal (pronounced ‘gahl’), chances are you won’t forget her anytime soon. (And yes, I’m straight, really – cross my heart.) I’d never met her up-close before, so naturally I was pretty … Continue reading →

Best & Worst of 2011 To say it’s been an eventful year for golf is putting it mildly. ParGolf’s editors and contributors look back on a memorable season, selecting their best and worst moments of a year that threw up a slew of surprises from start to finish               Magnificent Masters I’ve seen some terrific Masters finishes. Jack Nicklaus’ final nine holes in 1986 was magical, just incredible stuff. As was Nick Faldo’s Sunday demolition of Greg Norman in 1996. Tiger’s win in … Continue reading →

Chonburi, Thailand, December 18 – England’s Lee Westwood romped to a seven-shot victory in the US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship at the Amata Spring Country Club, carding a final round 69 for a total of 22-under-par 266. Westwood started the final round four shots ahead of Charl Schwartzel and endured an early challenge from the South African before pulling clear on the home stretch. The win gave Westwood his eighth title in Asia and moved him up to number two … Continue reading →

The 35-minute route down the Cheras Highway was direct and unimpaired with cumbersome traffic. As we made our entry into the road connecting us to the clubhouse, the shade of lush overhanging trees provided us with a sense of serenity and we knew that we were destined for a delightful afternoon. I arrived at Impian Golf & Country Club with some anticipation as I had grapevine knowledge that the greens were touted as among the top five in Malaysia. Apart … Continue reading →

Natalie Gulbis not only looks hot but is one of the nicest and most approachable golfers on tour – and the LPGA’s ‘glam girl’ certainly enhanced that reputation when she visited the TaylorMade-adidas Golf Franchisee Store at 32 Square in Petaling Jaya a few days before the start of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Billed as “An Afternoon with Natalie Gulbis”, the event was put together with some style and panache by the hardworking team at TaylorMade-adidas Golf Malaysia. The … Continue reading →