Category Archives: Blog Post

McIlroy joins best pal McDowell

Posted on October 25, 2011 by | Comments Off on McIlroy joins best pal McDowell

US Open champion Rory McIlroy has split with his manager Andrew Chandler.

The 22-year-old Northern Irishman has been with Chandler’s International Sports Management company since turning professional in 2007.

A spokesman for ISM said: “There has been no falling out, it is amicable. He is joining his great friend Graeme McDowell at Horizon.”

In a statement, Chandler said: “We have had a brilliant year. Rory has grown and he leaves us as a major champion.”

McIlroy became the youngest winner of the US Open since Bobby Jones in 1923 when he won by eight shots at Congressional in June.

It capped a remarkable  four years of golf for the world number three who turned professional after the 2007 Walker Cup.

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Sergio Wins First Golf Tournament For Three Years

Posted on October 24, 2011 by | Comments Off on Sergio Wins First Golf Tournament For Three Years

Sergio Garcia ended his three-year wait for a tournament victory by winning the Castello Masters by 11 shots in Spain.

The 31-year-old had taken an eight-shot lead into the final day and dominated again with a superb round of 63 on the Club de Campo del Mediterraneo course where he was boys champion aged 12.

Garcia, who was the tournament promoter, finished with his ninth birdie of the day for a 27-under total.

It gave the Spaniard his ninth European Tour career victory.

His compatriot Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano finished second after a 64 – although his round was spoiled slightly by two bogeys at the 17th and 18th while Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and Sweden’s Alex Noren were a shot further back on 15 under.

Garcia’s victory, his second in four years in the event, beat the previous biggest winning margin of the European Tour season by three shots.

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Taking Golf Lessons To The Course

Posted on October 21, 2011 by | Comments Off on Taking Golf Lessons To The Course

Your  first series of golf lessons will typically take place on the driving range, and one of our short game areas where balls can be hit successively in order to practise and hone your game. This is ideal for perfecting the different types of shots, learning about distance, distance control and being able to do this at your own pace.

The game itself is of course played on a golf course, and after the initial practise it’s here that the fun really starts, your be amazed how different it is playing on the course than on the range.

Dukes Meadows Golf Club has a superb nine-hole course, with fantastic greens, great scenery and some challenging holes – it’s perfect for beginners and experienced players alike, and it’s a great way to spend some time in the fresh air and with friends!

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The Putter With A New Face

Posted on October 20, 2011 by | Comments Off on The Putter With A New Face

Broomstick putters, belly putters, white drivers, thick handles. Just when you thought nothing else could be redesigned in golf comes along this little creation from MxVGolf.

I don’t know a lot about MxVGolf (Mass x Velocity) but it seems a curved putter face is what they do, and it’s a strange looking thing.

Based on the idea of Newtons Cradle, the putter supposedly gives you a more accurate strike towards the true centre of gravity of the golf ball. 

It appears that it will prohibit putts from striking the lower half of the ball, with the putter face having exactly the same radius as a golf ball.

The putter will be released in the US in December and it is not surprising to hear it comes in the belly putter variety.

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McIlroy & Bradley share lead at Golf’s Grand Slam Event

Posted on October 19, 2011 by | Comments Off on McIlroy & Bradley share lead at Golf’s Grand Slam Event

Rory McIlroy carded four birdies on the back nine in a four-under 67 to share the first day lead with Keegan Bradley on his quest to become the PGA Grand Slam Champion in Bermuda.

The 22-year-old US Open champion from Northern Ireland holed from 30 feet at the 12th in the two-day competition for the four winners of the year’s major Championships.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel shot a 74 and Open-winner Darren Clarke slumped to a 77.

McIlroy reached the turn at two-under, despite missing a series of short putts from inside 10 feet at the extremely tough Port Royal  Golf Course in Southampton.

He birdied the fifth after almost driving the 380-yard par-four but three-putted the 11th before his round was revived by the long putt at 12.

Bradley was out of the blocks quickly,  firing majestic six-irons to within two feet at both the second and seventh for his eagles to reach six-under but bogeyed the 14th and 16th to drop back to four under.

Today should make for interesting viewing, hopefully Darren Clarke can play some better golf and challenge the young guns for the title.

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Winter Golf Lessons And Practice

Posted on October 18, 2011 by | Comments Off on Winter Golf Lessons And Practice

It’s that time of year again where the fair weather golfers put their golf clubs back in the garage and decide that’s it over for 2011, but the hardcore golfers know that this is the time when they need to practice golf the most.

The winter is the perfect time to really hone your golf skills, even though it’s not the nicest conditions to practice in, but by the time spring comes around again you will be streets ahead of all your friends and fellow golf club members and ready to lift the Club Championship Trophy!

So see winter as an opportunity to practice more and a great chance to improve, it’s also a great chance to have golf lessons! Click here to see my teaching hours, and happy practicing!

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Golf Has A New Rising Star

Posted on October 17, 2011 by | Comments Off on Golf Has A New Rising Star

Englishman Tom Lewis birdied five of the last seven holes to win his maiden title at the Portugal Masters, in only his third professional start in golf.

The 20-year-old, who shot to fame by leading The Open as an amateur in July, beat a field that included Padraig Harrington and Martin Kaymer.

Lewis, who entered the closing stretch only in seventh spot, shot a closing 65 to finish with a 21-under-par 267.

“If you said that I’d finish 21 under, I’d have said ‘no way’,” he said.

“I’m a long way behind Rory in the Order of Merit so I’ve got a long way to go. But I’m really pleased.

“To shoot 65 in the last round, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be able to do that.”

Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello was the nearest challenger, finishing two shots adrift.

Tiger Woods needed five tournaments to land his first professional title, while McIlroy did not taste success until his 38th European Tour event.

Lewis two-putted the long 12th and then had four more birdies in a row from the 14th. He kept his nerve to par the dangerous final hole and had to wait the best part of an hour before victory was confirmed.

Instead of facing a trip to the Tour school in December – he entered the week 234th on the Tour money list and 621st in the world – he is now exempt for two seasons because of his win.

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Golf Courses Suffering In America

Posted on October 14, 2011 by | Comments Off on Golf Courses Suffering In America

Phil Mickelson is the beneficiary of an over-populated golf course market in Arizona.

The golf star and his agent recently purchased Sanctuary golf Course in Scottsdale for a cool $2.2 million. Not a bad price considering five years ago that course was probably valued near $20 million.

Golf clubs all over Arizona, from Superstition Mountain in Gold Canyon to Seven Canyons in Sedona, have been hurt. But the economic fallout is especially noticeable in Scottsdale, the pinnacle of the Valley’s sprawling golf landscape of close to 200 courses.

There are far too many golf courses for the metropolitan Phoenix market, an InsightLand and Investments partner who has sold golf courses for 25 years. Mississippi has just over 200 golf courses in the entire state. In metropolitan Phoenixalone, there are 200 courses. Granted, there are more people in Phoenix than in the entire Magnolia state, but you wonder how they ever thought they would be able to support all 200 plus golf courses.

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Harrington With New Golf Coach Pete Cowen

Posted on October 13, 2011 by | Comments Off on Harrington With New Golf Coach Pete Cowen

British coach Pete Cowen believes he can help his latest pupil Padraig Harrington put his recent woes behind him and return to the top of the game.

Three-time major winner Harrington has plummeted down the world rankings to 78th, from a high of third in 2008.

He turned to Cowen in August, hoping the Englishman could help him improve his swing and once-potent short game.

“With time, he’s now capable of getting back to being the best short-game player in the world,” said Cowen.

In July, Harrington parted company with his coach of 13 years, Bob Torrance – father of former Ryder Cup captain Sam – after hitting a new low by missing the cut at the Open and Irish Open.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON SELECTED 2011 RESULTS

  • Masters: 75th (missed cut)
  • US Open: 45th
  • Scottish Open: 14th
  • The Open: 72nd (missed cut)
  • Irish Open: 107th (missed cut)
  • Bridgestone Invitational: 59th
  • US PGA Championship: 64th
  • Dunhill Links Championship: 8th

This followed an alarming slump in form since winning the last of his majors, the 2008 US PGA Championship, which resulted in the Dubliner seeking out the advice of Cowen, whose many pupils include world number two Lee Westwood.

Harrington has already shown signs of improvement with an eighth-place finish at the Dunhill Links Championship two weeks ago, which he will be hoping to follow up with a strong showing at this week’s Portugal Masters.

“Padraig came and asked me at the Bridgestone [tournament] if I would give an opinion on his swing and what I thought might improve it,” said Cowen.

“He thought he was spending far too much time on his long game, to the detriment of his short game. Padraig won two majors in 2008 with the best short game in the world. He felt as though he’d neglected that and when you looked at the stats it proved it. He’d become almost non-competitive.

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The Open golf championship to return to St. Andrews in 2015

Posted on October 12, 2011 by | Comments Off on The Open golf championship to return to St. Andrews in 2015

The Open Golf Championship is set to return to the home of golf after it was confirmed the tournament will be held at St Andrews in 2015.

The announcement means the Old Course will have hosted the competition a total of 29 times, which is the most any course has ever hosted the event.

Golf’s governing body, the R&A, said St Andrews had proven itself a worthy host for the championship, which was last held at the course in 2010.

The sport is big business in Scotland, worth £220m to the economy.

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said: “St Andrews has proved time and again that it is perfectly equipped to host The Open and I am certain we will yet again see a worthy winner lift the claret jug.

“Players, spectators and officials alike will welcome a return to the game’s spiritual home and I fully expect that we will witness another thrilling championship.”

The open will take place between 16 and 19 July 2015

Euan Loudon, chief executive of St Andrews Links Trust, said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming The Open championship back to the links.

“There is always a special sense of anticipation when The Open is played on the Old Course and it promises to be no different in 2015.

“Almost every great champion in the game has played here and there is no more fitting celebration of the rich heritage of the home of golf than hosting golf’s oldest major championship.”

South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen won the 2010 Open by seven shots with a 16-under par total of 272.

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