Aron Snær Júlíusson (GKG), Bjarki Pétursson (GKB) og Gísli Sveinbergsson (GK) hefja leik á morgun á Heimsmeistaramóti áhugakylfinga í karlaflokki sem fram fer á Írlandi. Jussi Pitkänen, afreksstjóri GSÍ, er liðsstjóri. Jussi ætlar að halda áfram að skrifa ferðasögur frá Eisenhower Trophy – en það er nafnið á verðlaunagripnum sem keppt er um á þessu móti. Hér er 2. kafli ferðasögu Jussi.

Hér er hægt að fylgjast með skor keppenda: 

“Today was a day to try and put together the final pieces of the jigsaw for our tournament week, with a practice round on the O’Meara course. It is a vastly different challenge to The Montgomerie in that the first 6 holes have three par fives, all reachable in two and two short par fours. However depending on the hole locations, the tee shot strategy can vary drastically, between a driver to a four iron on the par four holes.

Watching our players, and other top golfers in action this week, it really reminds me how much the game has changed over the last 20 years. I would like to visualise some of the tee shot lines the guys are taking, but I find it hard to see myself hitting over bunkers at 270 metres.

This can and has lead to some interesting discussions with the guys and has forced me to change my approach to asking the guys to describe how they see a particular drive or strategy before opening my mouth and potentially contaminating their thoughts.

However one thing which has remained the same, is that a good course designer can send players over the edge with cleverly designed green complexes and subtle slopes which can help and hinder in equal amounts, depending on the quality of shots and planning involved. We have spent a lot of time these past days looking at the specific target areas on greens and how the approach angle to the green, preferred shot shape and amount of spin can alter the outcome very quickly. This then means reviewing the choice of club from the tee to hit to preferred areas, so effectively every hole is played backwards from the green before the tee shot is struck.

Tomorrow we have the pleasure of playing in the first three groups of the morning, beginning at 0745, on the Montgomerie, alongside Belgium and Colombia. Wake up at 0515-0530, breakfast and leave for the course at 0615. Bring it on, we are ready.