Warmest July on Record...

Hello Golfers, It's official, Eastern Australia experienced it's warmest July on record, according to the experts. Some of the numbers are unbelievable. Sydney in July is normally 12.2 degrees at any given moment (calculating average day and night temperatures together). Last month it was 14.6, 2.4 degrees above the norm. Melbourne is usually 9.8 in July, last month it was 12.2, and it continues for all the other major capitals along the eastern edges. What does this mean for golfers? Well it means we are able to play pretty much all year round. No Joke Aussie champion golfer and good bloke Steve Elkington has become the latest Australian sports figure to be at the centre of a racism row for alleged offensive Twitter messages. The 1995 US PGA champion was referring to a situation involving two tournament caddies and some local residents whilst competing at the Senior British Open at the Royal Birkdale course in Southport, a coastal town near Liverpool in north-west England. “Couple caddies got rolled by some Pakkis (Pakistanis), bad night for them”, Elkington posted. This followed a Twitter post on Friday in which Elkington said: “Things about Southport - fat tattooed guy, fat tattooed girl, trash, Pakistani robber guy, shit food.” Steve said he had no idea 'Pakki', more commonly spelt as 'Paki' and long regarded in Britain as a highly offensive term, was an objectionable word. “In my tweet I was referring to an unfortunate incident involving a caddie earlier in the week. Being Australian, I was unaware that my use of language in relation to the Pakistani people would cause offence, but having been made aware I now deeply regret the use of that terminology." “Southport is a beautiful place and I have enjoyed playing at Royal Birkdale, as my positive content on Twitter has shown. My comments were born out of frustration over what had happened to a colleague.” Racism has long been a thorny topic in golf, with clubs such as Augusta National, the home of the US Masters, once having a policy of banning non-whites from becoming members. And further to that we can track back to Fuzzy Zoellers comment made at the 1997 Masters, Fuzzy found himself having to apologise for remarks he made about Tiger Woods ordering fried chicken for the champions' dinner. Sort it out boys! One to Watch Branden Grace (25) South African golfer Grace had already announced his presence when he shot an even-par 288 at the Masters this year and that allowed him to tie for 18th in the first major championship of the year. It also earned him $116,000. Grace is capable of some very low scores, including a 69 in the final round at this years Scottish Open, where he lost out to the one and only Phil Mickelson, watch out for him on your screens. What's in the bag Name: Ángel Cabrera Age: 43 Professional Wins: 50 Clubs: Ping Driver: G25 Irons: i20 Wedge: Tour SS When Cabrera was 10, he became a caddy at the Córdoba Country Club, which he says almost became his home. He learned golf playing against other caddies for money. With his stocky figure and habit of smoking at every hole, Cabrera cut a distinctive figure on the course. He is also acknowledged as having one of the biggest swings in the game. Golfing Facts We have compiled some fun and interesting facts about our great game, some facts really took us by surprise, whilst others we smugly knew about! Golf was invented in Scotland over 500 years ago, however the Chinese claim to have developed a similar game as far back as 943 A.D. Golf was banned by the Scots Parliament of James II. Golf was prohibited on Sundays because it interfered with military training for the wars against the English. Golf-great Billy Casper turned pro in 1954 during the Korean War. While serving in the Navy, Casper was assigned to a special athletic unit in the San Diego area. This allowed him to keep his golf game sharp. Golf is the only sport played on the moon. On February 6, 1971, Alan Shepard hit two golf balls while on the lunar surface. Five-time World Long Drive Champion Jason Zuback (Canada) can drive a golf ball an incredible 468 yards. He also holds the record for the fastest ever golf drive at 204 miles per hour. Up until the mid 19th century, golf balls were typically made of feathers that were boiled and then stuffed into a leather pouch, which was subsequently sewn up into a ball shape. The first golf balls used in the 16th century are believed to have been made of wood. Not all golf balls have the same number of dimples. Golf balls have anywhere from 330 to 500 dimples depending on which company designs the ball. The ideal ball will usually have between 380 and 432 dimples. Americans spend $600 million on golf balls every year. Apparently many Japanese golfers carry “hole-in-one” insurance. In Japan if you hit a hole-in-one it is customary to share your good luck by throwing a party complete with gifts for all your friends. And my favourite fun fact, the word caddy comes from the French word for student, cadet, which is pronounced cad-DAY. Old clubs? We'll buy them from you... Golf Traders offer our customers a fantastic service whereby we can purchase, part exchange or swap your equipment. With the golf season in full swing, we all have clubs lying around that are basically redundant. Instead of letting them collect dust in the garage, turn them into cash... or at least let them go some way to buying the new clubs you so desperately want. View all of our stock here or come in store and have a hit in our brand new practice net and try before you buy! Golf Traders 02 9517 3471 33 Nelson Street Annandale, NSW 2038 Australia Golf Traders PRO TIP: Read the Signs Every golf course you play will almost without doubt have distances marked out on the fairway, tee boxes or sprinkler heads. Pay attention to these distances, as they are usually correct. Clubs spend time and money getting these facts correct for you, all the hard work has been done, so take advantage of this and read the markers. Knowing the exact distance is one of the key fundamentals of good golf shot. Happy golfing David Fearns (PGA) Golf Traders