Greetings Met Members and other Met Pro Shop news subscribers!

Great news! I am still here to keep you all entertained during this period of isolation, and I am going to do things a little different from normal to keep you all engaged and having fun. Let us all try and look on the bright side of all this and stick together like the family we are!

I am going to kick it off with a fun game of...

Comical Quarantine Tales!

How it works:

Send me your most comical stories from out on the Metropolitan Golf Course and change the names of those involved to keep us all guessing! Each week I will choose my favourite (possibly more depending on the response I get) to share in the newsletter! Remember, keep it somewhat clean and let’s have some fun!

Here is an example from the European Tour where Henrik Stenson tells a hilarious tale of a particular stunt he pulled on two of his countrymen.

Send your entries to metgolfshop@corporategolf.co.za

Good Luck!

The Metropolitan Summer
Handicap Competition

A big congratulations goes to Paul Danielz and Mitch Matthee for winning the 4 round Summer Handicap competition here at the Met! With three scores of 185 in the lead, Paul and Mitch came in at the back of the field with a total score of 184 to take the lead!

EOGA tip of the week

How to be better prepared off the tee
With John Thomson (EOGA)

Have you ever started practice with the driver and the first few went perfectly but then downhill from there?

The key is to maintain a positive attack/ launch angle with each swing with your driver and make sure your basics are good: neutral grip, ball position and body alignment parallel.

Step 1: Slow the swing down and create virtual parameters out on the driving range. This will help determine efficiency of launch angle and if ball flight is favourable.

Step 2: When practicing with your driver, alternate your shots with the 7 iron to try and bridge the two swings into one eventual swing.

Contact your closest EOGA coach for personalised help:
Yusuf Raidhan at yusuf@eoga.co.za or 081 867 0616

Get your golfing fix!

Lockdown is here but do not worry,
we’ve got you covered!

EOGA live classes are starting this coming Monday, 30th March. Check out this video and see what we have in store for you!

Some rules to live by

Misunderstood rules at the Met.

Penalty Areas:
• At the Met, we only have penalty areas marked with Red stakes.
• Our red stakes are moveable obstructions.
• You can now ground your club in a penalty area and remove loose impediments.
• That includes “loose” rocks on the sides of the 3rd and 12th holes.
• You may not dislodge a rock to improve your stance.
• Should your ball go into this penalty area, make sure you take the full 2 club-length drop.
• If you drop and the ball rolls down to a few inches from the edge of the grass (and you are now standing on the rocks), you may NOT re-drop as the ball is now in play.
• If you hit your tee shot on the 8th/17th hole into the penalty area on the left, you do NOT have the option to play a provisional ball. If you play another ball, it is the ball in play. Should you go and look for your ball and not find it, you have to go back and drop a ball within two club-lengths for one penalty shot and play from where the ball last crossed the margin of the penalty area. That could be 30 metres from the tee.
• You may NOT take relief from a staked tree or an electrical box in the penalty area.

Tree bowls around large unstaked trees:
• These bowls were put in to try and help some of the older trees to grow.
• We had to introduce a local rule that allowed you a free drop ONLY if the ball was in the bowl.
• Your “nearest point of relief drop” does NOT give you relief from the tree interfering with your swing. It is only relief from the bowl and must be within ONE club-length.
• Standing with one foot in the bowl is unfortunately one of the few bad stances you will have on the course.

Walls on the edge of the sloots:
• These “manufactured” walls are an obstruction and free relief may be obtained if you are standing on them, BUT your ball needs to be in play.
• There is no free relief if the ball is in the penalty area or on the wall.

Bridges crossing the water:
• A ball landing on the bridge between the red stakes either side of the bridge is “in the hazard”. You may ground your club and play the ball as it lies or drop for a penalty shot where it last crossed the margin of the penalty area.

Sprinkler heads next to the greens:
• It is a local rule on the back of our scorecard, that if your ball lies within two club-lengths and on your line, of a sprinkler head that is within two club-lengths of the green, you may take free relief and drop within one club length (not nearer the hole). At times, that relief may be from the rough and onto the apron. That is just your luck. The ball, when dropped, must stay within the one club-length drop area.

Provisional ball off the 18th Tee:
• As it is sometimes difficult to see if your tee shot has cleared the water, we have a local rule (on this hole only) to play a provisional ball.
• Should you find the original ball on the other side of the water, you MUST play it and pick up the provisional ball.

Ball rolling back into the water on the 18th hole:
• Should a ball that rolled back into the water be dropped in a position that can only be closer to the hole from where it entered, you lose that option and must either go back to the tee or to the drop zone.

Dropping procedure:
• The new knee-height drop is to avoid the ball rolling out of the designated drop area.
• If it does, then re-drop.
• A ball dropped in a drop zone can roll nearer the hole.
• A drop zone is an additional option when your ball goes into a penalty area.

Ground under repair (GUR):
• You may choose to play from GUR.
• Relief from GUR includes your stance.
• If you take relief from GUR, you must take complete relief which includes your stance.

Rules Committee

Stay tuned for next week’s Comical Quarantine Tales and a sneak preview of what’s new in the Pro Shop for your return!

Who's been winning?

Monday School
3 Ball Alliance – 2 X Scores to Count

James Mc Nab, Mike Bruton And Arthur Jennings - 79pts C/I

Wednesday Members Competition
Singles Stableford

Sue Moubray - 41pts

Thursday Members Competition
Betterball Stableford

Arthur Bisig And Eve Starke - 47pts

Saturday (PM) Members Competition
Betterball Medal

Robbie Van Sittert And Damian Whatley - 57 Nett

Saturday (AM) Members Competition
Betterball Medal

Grant Buser And Sam Roets - 59 Nett