"Give the man a gold star for six-out-of-six."

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Sounds like we really missed a lot with Tiger's presser yesterday. Only thing missing was an "it's all right in front of you" endorsement of Victoria. John Huggan writes:

Which is not to say that Tiger didn't try at all during the 20-minutes or so he spent in front of the gathered media. He did make an effort, a little bit more than normal, if truth be told. But still, much of what went on was little more than an insult to the collective intelligence of those with posteriors in the cheap seats. It was also utterly predictable.

One late-arriving journalist, who missed the Tiger show by a good two hours, was asked to speculate on the content of the world number-two's oratory. He came up with the following:

1) "I love the Sandbelt."
2) "The bunkering here is just fantastic."
3) "I always enjoy coming here to play."
4) "This is just a great course."
5) "We just don't get to play these sorts of courses in the U.S."
6) "The fans here are just tremendous."

Give the man a gold star for six-out-of-six.

"We definitely want to set the record straight."

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Mark Hayes reminds us that this week's Australian Masters host Victoria, which looks sensational and is ready to go, was home to a green speed debacle the last time it hosted in '02.

As the famous Cheltenham Sandbelt club puts the finishing touches on preparations for next week's Masters, Victoria general manager Peter Stackpole said it was the perfect time to exorcise the demons of the 2002 Australian Open debacle.

The Australian Golf Union's push to quicken the course's greens backfired when they became too crusty and unplayable midway through the first round.

After a player revolt, the round was cancelled in a major embarrassment for Australian golf. While the club was not to blame, Stackpole said the Masters was redemption time.

"In 50 years' time, history will look back on that and make its judgment," he said.

"All we can do is make sure that the 2010 Masters is looked on favourably.

"We definitely want to set the record straight."

"Expectations were high for Lost Farm, and Coore has delivered with a course that is top shelf."

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Darius Oliver files the first review of Lost Farm, the companion course to Tom Doak and Mike Clayton's Barnbougle Dunes, and not surprisingly it sounds like a winner. Thanks to reader Jon for this.

Expectations were high for Lost Farm, and Coore has delivered with a course that is top shelf. It does need a growing season or two before the fescue grasses mature and provide golfers with the sort of firm surfaces ideal for this type of layout, but preview rounds will not disappoint. Golfers who have been putting off a trip to Barnbougle Dunes since it opened in 2004 now have no excuse.