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Southington
Berlin
Connecticut native World Class Golf Pro Mike Colandro has championships including the Air New Zealand Shell Open in 1987, the West Australian PGA, 2 Connecticut and Maine Open Victories, and a playoff win in the Victorian Open on the Canadian Tour. Mike brings his expertise and experience to CTGolfTips to help you improve your game, keep up on the latest info on Golf, Courses, and Equipment.
Weekly Golf Update for June 3, 2006
The Beautiful Golf Club at Oxford Green
As we drove out to Oxford, just west of Waterbury, it was like driving out into the country. Recently rated the 3rd best public golf course in Connecticut, General Manager Steve Keating has put together a great staff that greet you with a smile along with first class service. Now with their new practice facility open, the course is complete and the new Head Professional can help you with your swing with a private lesson.
Brian, Maria, and Mike
It was a media day and Steve Washer, my photographer and videographer, joined me along with Brian and Maria of Golf Styling Magazine. They start you off with an easy par 4 of 380 yards, then you face their “postage stamp” hole #2. It is a beautiful downhill par 3 of 218 yards. The third hole is a strong 630 yard uphill par 5; the longest par 5 in Connecticut. It is pretty tight off the tee with a unique two leveled fairway to an undulating big green. The par 4 454 yard fourth is a great long hole, well bunkered off the tee to a narrow diagonal shaped green. Both five and six are fairly straightforward par 4’s but seventh is a great 415 dogleg left par 4 with a carry over a water hazard off the tee to a long green Eight is a good par 5 of 570 yards, then you finish the front at nine, a 221 yard par 3 to a narrow green.
2nd Hole
The back nine starts out with a nice 562 yard downhill par 5 and a short 374 yard par 4. The twelfth is a 420 yard uphill par 4 to a big 2-tiered green, then the 185 yard thirteenth is a well bunkered par 3. The fourteenth hole is a great par 4 of 457 yards with water all along the left side, a real pretty hole. The fifteenth is another good par 4 of 398 yards and the short sixteenth of 170 yards is well bunkered around the green. The par 5 seventeenth and par 4 eighteenth are great finishing holes and make you think off the tee.
3rd Hole
The course is in great shape and the greens are close to U.S. Open speed. Bring you’re a-game to Oxford Greens or you may have a long day, but either way, you will enjoy this new classic New England course.
18th Hole
A Tour-Eye’s View
Making a Hole-in-One
In my career playing golf, I have been pretty lucky, and combined that with a little talent, equal 10 holes-in-one. Make a hole-in-one is not something you plan on but something that just happens. I’ve been fortunate enough to make 10 aces around the world and here’s where they went:
It all started in high school in a match. I knocked in a 9-iron from 125 yards that hit a leaf on the way off the tee and went in (1). The next ace came in Arizona on another short par 3 of 145. I made it with an 8-iron (2). I moved to Vegas in 1988 and made a 5-iron at the old Sahara Golf Course, eleventh hole, 180 yards (3). After a short stint on the PGA Tour, I made a 4-iron from about 195 yards in Florida (4).
Then I went down under to play for 16 years and made 4 aces there. Playing in the Tack Newton Celebrity Classic in Noosa, Queensland, I holed a 6-iron from 166 yards (5). Then it was my claim to fame when I holed a 5-iron from 187 yards at the eighteenth hole in the Greg Norman Classic at the Lakes Golf Club in Sydney. It was caught on film, and I got “Shot of the Week” on ESPN but no money (6). See the Hole in One video below
Then a couple of years later, I holed out in the Victorian PGA Championship in Melbourne, Australia. It was a 4-iron from 192 yards and still only got a big bar bill (7). Then I made one in New Zealand during Pro-Am at the New Zealand PGA. It was another 5-iron from 182 yards (8). Then I moved out to Nogales, Arizona and did some teaching but playing a practice round in Phoenix, I aced a 167 yard par 3 with a 7-iron (9). Finally, only a couple of years ago, playing Quarry Ridge Country Club, on the sixteenth hole from 150 yards, I holed out an 8-iron (10).
You cannot plan on it but you can practice hard because Ben Hogan said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
Click Here To Watch Mike Colandro Shoot A Hole In One
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Golf Tips The weather is warming up and after a wet May, all the courses, public and private are in great shape. The rough is up at most courses here in New England so one needs to drive the ball in the fairway to score. Same Snead always said, “The tee shot is most important because it sets up the hole.” He was dead right. The key here is to not only drive the ball well but use your fairway wood or hybrid off the tee on certain holes. You see, distance is not the only way you can score better, accuracy is sometimes more important, combined they are a lethal weapon. Always tee off on the side of the tee where the worst trouble is and hit away from it. With the new deep face drivers, tee the ball high so that you will hit the sweet spot and get maximum distance with your driver. If and when you do find the rough, make sure you take a lofted enough club so that you can move the ball forward. You may not get to the green but it’s better than topping the shot. You can move a W – 9-iron about 100 yards out of the rough and that usually can set you up with a short pitch to the green. When using your driver off the tee, try to keep a smooth accelerated tempo and watch your grip pressure. Feel the weight of your club in your hand and practice some pre-shot routine waggles. They Work! Everyone wants to “Grip it and Rip It”, but this can lead to miss hits more times than not. Drive the ball in the fairway and you will find it a lot easier to improve your score. |
There are many other tips that we will go through each week. I hope these tips will help and visit CTGolfTips.com next week for more Golf, and check our Archives for past Golf Tips.
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See you on the course! - Mike Colandro
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Enter The Weekly Trivia Contest Congratulation to last week's Trivia winner - John Piazza of Wallingford, CTThis Weeks Prize: Winner receives 1 any day pass to the Buick Championship, a lesson with Mike Colandro and 2 ball pack of Titleist balls
This Week's Question: Who shot the lowest score in any ICO, GHO, Buick Open, in Hartford, and at what course? |
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