I have always said that par three holes were the key to low scores.  Often overlooked, and rarely mentioned when we watch professional golf on TV (with the exception of #17 at TPC Sawgrass and #12 at Augusta), par three’s are definitive in the outcome of almost every round of golf played.
For most players, par three holes afford the opportunity for a lower number on the scorecard, because almost every player is capable of getting the tee shot on, or near the green.   The better players (particularly the pros) however, are most often faced with hitting a longer iron to hit the green in regulation than on the par fours and fives.  This obviously leads to a higher “average” score on the par threes than on the other holes.
One only needs to look at current Masters champion, Bubba Watson, for proof of this scoring analysis.  For his PGA tour career, Bubba Watson has played the par four holes at 249 shots over par, the par five holes at 768 UNDER PAR, and the par three holes at a staggering 253 OVER PAR!!!  While this still leaves him at minus 267 shots to par, imagine what his stats and wins would be with playing just those four holes per round at par or better.
National Hole in One Association has long known the importance of par three holes, and the excitement that faces each player every time they play one.  Maybe it’s this drama and potential “shot of a lifetime” each golfer of any ability faces during the round that has made the par three shot the KEY TO BETTER GOLF!

-written by Mancil Davis “King of Aces”

The World of Golf Hall of Fame will honor its inductees on May 7, 2012.  Considered golf’s highest award, the indoor ceremony will be held in St. Augustine, FL at St. Johns County Convention Center at the World Golf Village at 6 p.m. Tickets are $150.00 and will include hors d’oeuvres and an open bar.
Inductees are always those among golf’s elite that have accomplished something noteworthy in the world of golf. The list includes:

• Sandy Lyle
• Peter Alliss
• Dan Jenkins
• Hollis Stacy
• Phil Mickelson

Sandy Lyle’s achievement includes winning 29 golf tournaments worldwide, including those in other countries and our own PGA. Peter Alliss, who became a professional golfer at the very young age of 15, has won more than 23 golf tournament worldwide, including the British PGA Championship.  He has been going strong since 1961.#
Dan Jenkins is being honored for his many years of reporting the highs and lows of golf and having the reputation as America’s greatest sports writer.  He has also authored many best- selling sports books. Hollis Stacy, the only female inductee, is being honored for her achievements in the USGA events and for wining many other golf tournaments including the U.S Women’s Open.  Phil Mickelson has won many major championships on the national and international level, including the Masters and the PGA.#
While these ceremonies and golf tournaments are great to watch and be part of, getting to this level of success for these golfers are a great feat.  It takes more than talent.  It takes countless hours of hard work, endless practice, constant improvement and total dedication to being and staying the best of the best.  Our heartfelt congratulations go out to these five high achievers.
It also requires a lot of behind the scenes work to make these professional golf tournaments happen.  It’s important to be able to gain the funding and receive the exposure needed to ensure each tournament is a successful one.  This is where contest insurance for golf contests comes.  Contest insurance ensures events, such as a professional golf tournament or charity golf tournament, no matter how large or small, ends on an upswing.
National Hole-In-One Association is an international leader for golf contest insurance, hole-in-one insurance and much more.  With over $50 million worth of cash and prizes being paid out thus far, it’s obvious why most golf tournament planners turn to National Hole-In-One Association to successfully cover their professional and non-profit golf tournaments.   We also offer coverage for other events such as tradeshows, corporate functions and much more.
Visit us and contact us today for more information:  Golf Contest and Contest Insurance

Known as the distance golf leader, Pinnacle has launched the Going the Distance Awards program to honor those in the golfing industry involved in the fight against breast cancer. Pinnacle’s requirements for the nominees are that they have a personal tie to breast cancer, a strong and active dedication to fighting breast cancer, that their efforts have a positive effect on the lives of others and that they are involved in the golfing community. Pinnacle will narrow the final nominee list down to ten honorees.
Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, the largest and most successful non-profit in the fight against breast cancer, will have representatives on the judging panel along with others from the golfing community. The final ten honorees will have donations made in their names to Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure in the amount of $10,000 each. These donations will go towards cancer research on a national level. The honorees will also receive Pinnacle Gold Ribbons, white and pink golf balls and a custom Pinnacle hat. #
Pinnacle hopes to shed light on breast cancer, being that it is one of the leading health threats to women. Many golfers have been impacted by it and Pinnacle hopes this effort will not only shed light on it but will also motivate others in the golfing world to get involved and join in the efforts made to find a cure for this horrible disease. “By honoring and sharing stories from those in the golf community, we hope to inspire others to join the fight to find a cure,” said Mary Lou Bohn, Vice President, Golf Ball Marketing and Communications.#
If you know of someone active in the golfing industry you’d like to nominate you can do so by going to PinnacleGolf.com. Just do so quickly. Nominees are only accepted through the end of this month (March 30, 2012). Be sure to check back in May to see who made the final ten honorees. May is selected since that is the month of Mother’s Day.
If you are unable to nominate or follow this effort until May, there are other things you can do. Perhaps you feel motivated to rally others through the sport of golf and feel the desire to host a hole-in-one contest where you can give hole-in-one prizes covered through hole-in-one insurance. Many charitable golf tournaments have been quite successful when being covered by hole-in-one insurance and offering golf prizes. It seems prizes motivate others to donate, participate and sponsor more so than if nothing was offered.
For more information please see Hole-In-One Insurance. National Hole-in One Association is the leader in hole-in-one insurance, hole-in-one prizes and coverage for charitable and non-charitable golf tournaments. With over 50 million worth of cash and prizes being paid out thus far, you can rest assured trusting National Hole-In-One Association to successfully cover your charitable golfing event. We also offer coverage for other events such as trade shows, corporate functions and much more.

Mention Cypress Point Golf Course around a group of golfers and watch their eyes light up like a child’s eyes at Christmas time viewing a tree adorned with twinkling lights. Rated among the top three golf courses ever created by all major publications, playing Cypress Point is a golfer’s dream come true. As a private club, the course remains a bucket list item for many golfers.

Located on the Monterey Peninsula in California, Cypress Point is a legacy from world famous designer Dr. Alister Mackenzie. Dr. Mackenzie designed the course in a way that pays homage to the natural beauty of the area. The course winds through coastal dunes to the Del Monte forest in the front nine and out to the rugged rocky coastline with views of the Pacific Ocean in the back nine. The magnificent artistry of Mother Nature is best displayed at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes.

The 16th hole, considered the signature hole, requires a 231-yard tee shot over the Pacific Ocean to a mid-sized green framed by rocks and studded with strategically placed bunkers. Four hundred year old Cypress trees stand as course sentinels at the 15th and 17th holes. The 15th and 16th holes are Par 3. The 17th hole is a Par 4.

The entire course is 6,536 yards with a Par 72. Greens are bent and tees and fairways are blue with a course slope of 136. Handicaps range from 1 at hole 2 to 17 at hole 3 in the front nine and 2 at hole 12 to 18 at hole 15 in the back nine. The front nine has a Par 37 with a back nine Par 35. The course averages about 20 golfers per day with an average score of 88.

Opened in 1928, Cypress Point is a private course and considered one of the most exclusive in the world. A call from the Grim Reaper is about the only way a membership opens. Membership fees are determined by dividing operating costs by the number of members. Dress code is strict requiring a collared shirt and slacks for men. It is forbidden to change shoes anywhere except in the locker rooms.

Playing Dr. Mackenzie’s Cypress Point Golf Course is a desire of most golfers. Only a few will experience his artistry at this golf course.

One of Yogi Berra’s greatest sayings has proven to be quite true for the last three weeks of play on the PGA Tour. Guess they play four rounds for a reason…..leading after just three rounds didn’t seem to be a recipe for success recently, as record (or near record) comebacks on Sunday gave us some truly unbelievable finishes.
Brandt Snedecker got it all started at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines when Kyle Stanley couldn’t maintain a 7 shot lead. Instead of folding like a $2 suitcase, Stanley came back the very next week at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix, and under immense scrutiny, overtook 54 leader Spencer Levin. Levin started the day with a 7 shot advantage over Stanley.
Perhaps the most exciting finish of the three week run was this past Sunday. At the AT&T Championship at Pebble Beach, Charlie Wi teed up with a 6 shot lead over Phil Mickelson. Mickelson, paired with former world champion Tiger Woods, simply shook off the six shots and held a two shot lead after just seven holes on the final day. The final total of the day at 64 left Mickelson a two shot win, and Tiger in his rear view mirror. Overlooked in this finish was the fact that Charlie Wi managed to hold it together after four-putting the very first hole, finishing second alone. Most rounds that start with a four-putt end up looking pretty nasty. Can’t wait to see what unfolds this week in Los Angeles and the fabled Riviera Country Club (hard to imagine that Fred Couples is making his 30th career start at that event). The third round leader this coming Sunday will certainly be looking over his shoulder!
While it’s hard to claim the number one spot until it’s over, we are proud of our record here at National Hole In One Association. We’ve seen a fair number of hole-in-one contests and insured our share of golf tournament prizes as the 32 year leader in the hole-in-one insurance industry.
And just for the record Yogi……IT AIN’T OVER!

Pine Valley Golf Course has been around since 1913. The idea for the course was formed by hotel-owner George Crump. He sold his hotel in order to build this dream course. However, he was met with some serious challenges in the beginning. Because of the pine barren terrain and how he wanted to the course laid out, the construction costs and obstacles were much greater than he expected. In regards to how he wanted the course laid out, he wanted to make sure that no two holes ran parallel to each other, that you could only see the hole you were currently playing on and that every club would be required during your round. At the start, the public began to refer to the course as Crump’s Folly. This is ironic considering Golf Magazine listed it as the #1 golf course in the world in 2009. Pine Valley Golf Course has also received numerous rave reviews from Golfweek and Golf Digest.

Pine Valley Golf Course is also interesting and unique for other reasons. For instance, you can’t play there unless you’re a member or if you’re invited by a member. What makes this interesting is that members are scattered throughout the world. It’s not easy to find someone to offer you an invitation. At one time, two members were suspended for charging guests $10,000 for a round of golf. Another interesting aspect of Pine Valley is that women are only allowed to play on Sunday afternoons. If you fit into the public category and you would like to see this course with your own eyes, this is possible every year in late September, which is when the Crump Cup takes place. This tournament features many elite amateur golfers, which is an added bonus.

As far as the course itself goes, let’s take a look at some of the numbers. The Championship Course has a 155 slope and a 75.6 rating. It’s 7.057 yards and a Par 70. The Regular Course has a 153 slope and a 72.8 rating. It’s 6,532 yards and a Par 70. The average score on the Championship Course is an 88.

The Pine Valley Golf Club has many amenities, which include a clubhouse with great room and bar, a pro shop, several dining rooms, a private board room, lockers, a lounge, a patio and airport shuttle service.

Pine Valley Golf Course is located in Clementon, New Jersey.

The sport of golf has always been open to the concept of technological advancements. Many innovations have come along in the past few decades, allowing novice golfers to swing clubs that are fit for a professional. In the midst of this constant progression forward, an important debate has arisen. Are graphite shafts better than steel shafts? Here is what we found when we put that question to the test.

Steel Shaft Pros & Cons

Steel shafted clubs have been in the hands of hundreds of PGA tournament winners since their advent in the mid-20th century. Consistent and durable, steel shafts are less expensive than graphite as a result of the abundance and availability of steel. They are also a bit heavier than graphite, which makes them a good choice for shorter players who may not be able to produce swing speeds that exceed 100 miles per hour.

At the advent of graphite shafts in the 1970s, steel shafts were regarded as more durable and longer lasting, but recent advancements to the manufacturing of graphite have leveled the playing field. Even so, an estimated 20% of PGA pros have at least two steel shafted clubs in their bag. Steel shafts are the perfect choice for a novice golfer or someone who is just picking up the game, as they are inexpensive as compared to graphite and will essentially produce the same results. Many players whose bags are filled with graphite shafts have gone through coaching and swing analysis and have a set of specifically tailored clubs. For the person just looking to go out and have some fun every week or two, steel is just fine.

Graphite Shafts Pros & Cons

Graphite shafts came into prominence in the 1990s, as PGA professionals who cared not about price began to realize that a graphite shaft has some serious advantages over steel. The biggest and most profitable advantage of graphite is its flexibility, which allows the club head to make its way through the point of contact with a substantially greater amount of speed than a steel shaft would allow.

Graphite is much lighter than steel, so the clubs weigh less, which puts more control in the hands of the golfer. Graphite shafts transmit only a fraction of the vibration to the hands that steel shafts do, making life easier on your hands and wrists.

Many people enjoy playing a round of golf with their friends every weekend, but many of them become confused about which club to hit. All golf courses indicate how far it is from the tee box to the middle of the green, but these numbers are not always accurate. Most local golf courses hire high school or college kids to mow the course, and a lot of times the tee markers do not get put in their proper spot. This means that a par 3 that is supposedly 170 yards can suddenly be substantially shorter or longer. Now, when the golfer comes up short, they will immediately begin questioning how they hit the green during last weekend’s round. The golfer who clears the green will be thinking that they gained a lot of distance over the week, but the sad reality is that the tee marker was moved up 10 yards. Fortunately, golfers can always know exactly how far it is to not just the middle, but the front and back of the green by purchasing an SkyCaddie SGXW.

SkyCaddie SGXW

The SkyCaddie SGXW is the best golf GPS, which is short for Global Positioning System, on the market. There are a lot of GPS units on the market, but none of them are nearly as sophisticated as the SGXW. This GPS unit will allow golfers to have access to course maps for up to 30,000 courses. Most golfers will only need to access a few of them for their weekend ventures, but if they ever did travel, they would really appreciate having the extra course maps available. When golfers get to the first hole with their SkyCaddie, they will be amazed at how realistic the graphics are. Golfer will be able to choose where they want to aim the ball, find that object on the GPS and know exactly how far it is to that point. Golfers will also be very impressed with the unit when it comes to making a layup shot because they will also be able to know exactly how far their target is.

The SkyCaddie SGXW will not turn an amateur into a professional in one round of golf, but it definitely can shave strokes off of nearly anyone’s game. People will actually know how far they hit each club, so they will not be short of the green nearly as often. Most PGA, or Professional Golfers’ Association, members even use a SkyCaddie SGXW during their practice rounds, so that shows how reliable the unit is. This would be an excellent gift with Christmas coming up.

As most of our readers know, CAVEAT EMPTOR MEANS “Let the Buyer Beware.”  This Latin term came to mind recently when I visited a local golf facility the day after their Member-Guest event.

The event was successful and enjoyed by most of the participants. There was some controversy and anger because of the hole-in-one prize offered during the tournament.  Against odds, the insured hole, featuring a new Mercedes Benz automobile saw not one, not two, but THREE aces scored during the official competition.  The controversy and anger came from the fact that the insurance policy paid for ONLY THE FIRST HOLE-IN-ONE!  The other two Ace-Makers® simply got to put a one on their scorecard!  The other point of contention was that the female golfers were required to play from just 15 yards in front of the regular and insured tee position.

Since National Hole-In-One Association pioneered hole-in-one insurance in the early 1980’s, almost every charity, corporate, or premier local event features a prize for holes-in-one scored during the competition.  We realized early on that each golfer pays an established entry fee, and should enjoy the same benefits the event offered.  In the event of multiple aces on the target hole, each ace should be awarded the prize.  In addition, we realized that many events include female golfers, and they are accustomed to playing from tees that are forward of the men’s tee box complexes.

In this case, the event was obviously not insured through National Hole-In-One Association.  Had they insured through us, the new Mercedes Benz automobile would have been awarded to each of the three golfers, and the ladies would have been able to compete from the standard Ladies tee positions.

It is now the time of the year when events are planning their 2012 tournaments.  Please make sure to include National Hole-In-One Association with your tournament agenda, and know that we have paid out over $50,000,000 in prizes and have successfully worked with over 300,000 events.

Call us at National Hole-In-One Association at 800 527-6944 and get the most complete coverage for your event and peace of mind.

Offering a magnificent hole-in-one prize at your event adds excitement and creates sponsorship opportunities.  A few dollars of savings are not worth what the fine print can take away.

The end of the golf season may be approaching, but TaylorMade has just rolled out its new R11 irons just in time for the holidays. Blending the aesthetics of a player’s irons with the technology to help high handicappers, the R11 irons are an excellent choice for middle handicaps who would like to add more variety to their games but aren’t quite ready yet for strict blades.

TaylorMade has included a number of technological features into the R11s, which help them to perform as well as they do. TaylorMade’s engineers have designed the R11s with a precision weight port in each iron that positions a 2.5 to 17 gram weight directly behind the center of gravity, creating a larger sweet spot, which will help to mitigate the effects of an off-centered hit. Each weight has been specifically calibrated and cannot be moved by golfers unlike in some drivers that offer adjustable weighting systems.

In addition, Taylormade has designed the R11 irons with its inverted cone technology. The inverted cone technology also increases the effective area of the sweet spot, allowing golfers of all handicaps and skill levels to achieve faster ball speeds and optimal launch angles, even on off-centered hits.

Another technological advancement TaylorMade has included with the R11 irons is manufacturing them with an ultra-thin face, which creates a higher coefficient of restitution, or greater springboard effect, which will help golfers to launch the ball higher and farther.

All of these improvements may make it sound like the R11 irons are game improvement irons, but they really are not. With a thin sole, slender top line, and minimal offset, the R11 irons will appeal to low handicappers and mid handicappers who want to add more precision, workability, and control into their games. It is this factor that really makes the R11 irons stand out. Better players who want to have a thinner sole and minimal offset can do well with the R11 irons simply because of the technology behind them, which will help to curtail some errant shots that one would normally get from traditional players irons that have a muscle back, blade design.