Tag Archives: Golf coaching west London

Is Clarke The Right Man To Captain Europe?

Well as you all know by now Darren Clarke has been appointed European Ryder Cup Captain for 2016 which seems to be a popular choice among fans and player alike, and no doubt his current sponsors will be very happy with the publicity.

Clarke has won the Ryder Cup 4 times as a player which will stand him good stead as he prepares for seemingly one of the biggest weeks of his life next year in America. He has been victorious under the captaincy of Seve, Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer and lastly Ian Woosnam in which Darren Clarke bravely lead Europe to victory in Ireland after the death of his wife a week earlier.

Next September the event will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Minnesota, and Clarke will be up against good friend and opponent Davis Love III who will be trying to heal the wounded tiger that is the US team, after many years of domination by Europe.

The last time Europe were defeated in America was under the captaincy of Nick Faldo who didn’t conduct himself amazingly well in Valhalla in 2008. I really we hope we see a professional approach from Clarke as he is known as a bit of a ‘boy’ on the tour and does like to party, but I guess we will only find this out as time goes on…

I’m sure it will definitely be as fiercely contested as ever and will be another great spectacle for this game we all love. It’s a long time to wait, but I remember thinking that when I was waiting for the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, and look where that time as gone!

How to book a golf lesson in London

If you like me are looking for a new hobbie to get your teeth into this year, then why not come to Dukes Meadows and try your hand at golf?

Dukes Meadows Golf really is a little gem only a few miles from Central London and very accessible by public transport. When you arrive here, you wouldn’t believe where you were as you walk from the car park onto the beautiful terracing that overlooks a beautiful lake full of ducks and Canadian geese, and beyond that, a beautiful challenging 9 hole golf course.

The golf course was built in 1996 and has matured into London’s finest and is even a test for professional golfers with it’s fast and slopey greens. It is also host to the Middlesex small course championship every year.

Although it’s a test of golf, it is also the perfect place to come start learning and even have a coach like me take you out there to give you some tips. It only takes about 90 minutes to play 9 holes which allows you time to relax and have a drink outside on the beautiful promenade afterwards.

If you want to find out more about having a golf lesson on a golf course in London then please contact me and view my lesson prices and we can arrange a time for you.

 

Lyoness Open Agrees A New Five Year Deal With European Tour

The European Tour have agreed a new five year deal for The Lyoness Open to feature in the Race To Dubai until 2019 .

The tournament held in Austria will see it’s tenth consecutive staging next year but also held the event between 1990 and 1996 in the past and has had famous winners with the likes of Bernhard Langer and Paul McGinley.

The prize money has increased a bit since those days, and as part of the new agreement the 2015 tournament will see the prize money increase by 50% from €1,000,000 to €1,500,000. Diamond Country Club will be the host again next year as it has been since 2010.

This years event was won by Mikael Lundberg after holing a 40ft putt in a play-off against home favourite Bernd Wiesberger who was the winner of the event back in 2012.

This is a really excellent tournament and to have it as part of the Race To Dubai until 2019 is a great thing for the tour and for the players.

Adam Scott and Caddie Steve Williams Part Company

It’s come to light that after a three year long working relationship Adam Scott and Steve Williams will no longer be working together.

Australian Adam Scott made an announcement this morning saying that Williams’ dedication and professionalism have been without question and that he highly valued his friendship, but their priorities at this stage in their careers were different.

Williams joined Scott after Tiger Woods fired him in 2011 and after winning 13 majors. He then helped Scott to win The Masters in 2013 which Williams calls his career highlight.

It appears that Williams wants to spend more time with his family in New Zealand and is looking for more of a part-time role with a player.

Is there something fishy going on? Could Williams be getting with Tiger?

I’m sure we’ll find out sooner or later?

The PGA Tour Season Comes To An End This Weekend In Georgia

This week is basically the top 29 golfers in the FedEx Cup battling it out to win a lottery of $10m. All 29 players (Dustin Johnson ‘decided to take a break from golf’) can have the chance to win the bonus pool of money but only a few have it in their own hands, which include Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson.

East Lake  in Atlanta plays host again to this showdown which is always entertaining. The course is 110 years old this year and hosted the Ryder Cup back in 1963 which ended in an American victory where they smashed us 23-9.

Let’s hope with the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles so close, that a European player can take the Tour Championship and carry that momentum onto Scotland and give the whole team a boost with only two weeks to go.

Henrik Stenson was victorious last year and took the jackpot home with him with a score of 13 under par.

The winning score is normally between 8 under and 13 under par, so if you can get into double figures in the red you are going to be there or thereabouts come Sunday evening!

Interested in reading my other blogs?

 

Me and McIlroy are Both Winners!

Well I’m sure if you are a golf fan, you would have watch some of the golf from yesterday’s final round at The Open Championship, which saw Rory McIlroy claim his third major win in what no doubt is going to be a long and successful career.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the young Northern Irishman though as the players chasing him were all playing well and making lots of birdies, which really did put the pressure on him and at one stage his lead was cut to just two shots.

Garcia was looking the most likely candidate to catch him who was 5 under par through 10 holes after a fine eagle putt on the 10th, but his race looked to have been run after he left his bunker shot in the bunker on the par three 15th. But with birdies on 16 and 18 he was still in with a shout, but only if McIlroy was to falter.

McIlroy was to hold things together even if he did finish a little shakily after hitting his second shot on 18 into the bunker, but he still managed to make par and win by two clear shots over Garcia and Fowler.

If you had read my betting tips on Tuesday then you would have seen that I had backed Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. I had  an each way bet on both of them so made myself a nice tidy profit overall.

The final major of the year is only a couple of weeks away, and the PGA Championship is being held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

My Betting Tips For The Open 2014

The excitement is building as the third major of the season approaches, and in most peoples opinion, the biggest of them all (I might be a little biased.)

You great thing about The Open Championship is that you never quite know what to expect in terms of conditions as they can change so quickly within a matter of minutes, which makes it so hard to prepare for if you aren’t used to playing links golf.

Player’s like Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy have grown up playing links golf, but will only probably benefit if the wind gets up, then they could come into their own.

The conditions look pretty good for the next few days though and it could get hard and bouncy, and with the narrow fairways could prove to be a test, I think we will be seeing a lot of irons off the tee come the weekend.

So after all said and done, here are my betting tips:

Rickie Fowler 40/1

Tiger Woods 22/1

Sergio Garcia 25/1

Miguel Angel Jimenez 80/1

Get all of the latest odds from Paddy Power 

You can also look through my other betting tips to see my track record before you decide to bet.

Good luck if you have a bet, should be a great spectacle once again.

James

 

Kaymer Claims Eight-Shot Victory At US Open

Well if there was ever going to be a video made on how to win a major championship then they should use this one as an example.

It was quite simply a breathtaking performance from a player who has had his ups and downs in the past few years, but he is with no doubt back to his best once again.

It’s been an incredible few weeks for Martin Kaymer who claimed The Players Championship a few weeks back on Mother’s Day, and incredibly claimed the US Open on Father’s Day, he obviously didn’t want his Dad to feel left out!

This win will go down as one of the most emphatic victory’s in US Open history as the cool German never looked flustered, even when he did hit a wayward shot, he took his medicine and never tried to do anything clever. His touch around the greens was second to none, and he had the pace of the greens from day one.

This was how Tiger Woods used to win major championships. Get a strong lead after two rounds and then stay there, and just do what you have to do to win. If everyone is chasing you around a tough golf course it’s very hard for them to make birdies, and that was the case around Pinehurst No.2.

So that’s the first two majors of the season done and another month to go before The Open hits our TV screens.

The next event on the PGA Tour is The Travellers Championship, where Bill Haas will be looking to defend his title.

Mickelson Aiming For Career Grand Slam At US Open

The desperation for Phil Mickelson to win the US Open and to claim a career Grand Slam will make it even tougher for him as he heads to Pinehurst this week.

Mickleson has never won a US Open before but has been runner-up an amazing six times in his home Open, he will be looking to put things straight come Thursday.

Only a handful of players have ever managed to claim a career Grand Slam before, they are Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus , Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen and if Phil can win this week he will truly go down as one of the all-time greats in the game of golf.

Mickelson will be putting great expectations on himself this week like he always does, but there’s no reason why the big American can’t triumph at this tough golf course which is also hosting the Women’s US Open soon after.

If like me you are looking forward to watching the golf tomorrow night, don’t forget to tune into Sky Sports 4 from 2pm.

Enjoy!

Michelson Disqualified For Scoring Error In US Open Qualifier

Landon Michelson a 22-year-old amateur was trying to qualify for the US Open in a second qualifier at Quail Valley. The youngster had shot a pair of 71’s and was set to at least be in a play-off when it dawned on him that he had accidentally signed for a 70 in his second round.

Michelson then had to decide whether to admit the mistake or keep quiet about it and live with knowing what he had done.

He ended up doing the right thing and admitting his mistake and was subsequently disqualified which left him with no chance of chasing his dream any more.

It may seem a bit harsh on Michelson, but the rules are the rules, so next time you’re playing in a competition at your club or anywhere else, make sure that you’re signing for the correct score, otherwise you could be disqualified too!!