Tag Archives: Golf coaching west London

Noren Hopes To Defend Title In Wales

Alex Noren is hoping to re-create the form that he showed last year as he looks to defend his ISPS Handa Wales Open title tomorrow.

The 29 year old Swede romped to a fantastic victory at The Celtic Manor Resort 12 months ago after also coming through US Open Qualifying on the Monday.

Noren is three-time winner on the European Tour,  he took 14th spot in The Race to Dubai last season, and finished joint top of this year’s US Open qualifier at Walton Heath  to book his place in San Francisco.

“It was pretty much exactly the same how it happened last year,” said Noren. “I was so pleased to get into the US Open, so I took this week as I was on a high, and then winning here was fantastic and it just went on from there.

For tickets and the tournament schedule please click here

My Day Out At The BMW PGA Championship Practice Day

I went to watch the practice day of the BMW PGA Championship today at Wentworth, Virginia Water and what a lovely day to choose to go.

The sun was out for the first time in about 6 weeks and some of the top players in the world were in touching distance as it’s normally pretty quiet on practice days.

Watching these guys on the range and chipping green is a real treat and makes you appreciate how good these players really are.

If you are new to the game then going to watch tournament golf on a practice day is a great experience as you are generally allowed to walk a lot nearer  to the action than you would normally be allowed to, and you can learn a lot by listening to what the player’s and caddies are talking about and what they are thinking.

They’ve got course looking great this year and the new greens are looking much better this time around after a few complaints over the last couple of years. They’ve also dropped the 18th green by about 18 inches to make the long approach a little easier.

Tomorrow is the pro-am, so why don’t you get yourself down there and enjoy watching the golf without the big crowd!

Here are some of the pictures that I took today!

Golf Lessons West London
Golf Lessons West London

Golf Lessons West London

Golf Lessons West London

 

Ice Cool Dufner On Winning Streak

Jason Dufner holed  a superb 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to claim a dramatic one-stroke victory at the Byron Nelson Championship yesterday.

It rounded off a memorable few weeks for Dufner who won his first PGA Tour title in New Orleans at the end of April before getting married to wife Amanda.

The American is only the second man to win multiple titles on the American circuit this season, and is set to make his Ryder Cup debut in September when America host the Ryder Cup.

Dufner who led by a shot overnight started poorly in his final round and surrendered his lead after dropping shots at the second and third.

He bounced back with birdies on the fourth, fifth and seventh to take his score to nine-under through seven holes, but that was  still only sharing the lead with playing partner JJ Henry who made an ace at the fifth.

As the tournament was reaching a close a host of players were  fighting it out for position at the top of the leaderboard with Dickie Pride making an unlikely par on the 18th be tied with Dufner.

Dufner hit his best drive of the day on the last leaving him 109 yards to the hole. He didn’t hit the best approach and left himself a downhill right to left putt which he brilliantly holed and left veteran Dickie Pride alone in second.

 

Poulter Defeats Senden But Faces Tough Next Match

Ian Poulter began the defence of his title in style at the Volvo World Match Play Championship with a victory over Australian John Senden.

Poulter who won his first match 3&2 faces a tough test against Portugal Masters champion Tom Lewis in his second and final group game tomorrow.

Poulter who has also won the WGC-Accenture Match Play, went three ahead with a ten foot putt at the ninth and five footer on the short 12th.

The Englishman admitted that the half he got on the fourth  hole was a turning point in the contest.

“I said John was going to be a very steady opponent, and he was on front nine,” he said.

Can Poulter defeat Tom Lewis tomorrow? I think it will be a really tough test as young Tom Lewis is fearless and has a very old head on a young pair of shoulders. Should be an interesting contest!

Great Golf Courses | Number 8 | Walton Heath

Walton Heath Golf Club is a located just outside Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, England.

The golf course was founded in 1903 and open in 1904 and comprises two 18-hole championship courses, the Old and the New.

First to be opened was The Old Course and as of 2009 is 7,462 yards in length and is well known for it’s heather which covers most areas of the rough.

The New Course was originally a 9-hole course back in 1907 but was later extended to an 18-hole course by the end of 1913. It is now a 7,026 yards in length and also boasts large amounts of heather to make it even tougher!

Both the Old and the New were designed by Herbert Fowler who was later to become a designer of a number of courses in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The courses have held many a competition including the US Open qualifying rounds. But is better known for hosting the 1981 Ryder Cup  and hosting five editions of the European Open between 1978 -1991.

It also hosted the Senior Open Championship last year.

 

 

Kuchar Holds Nerve To Win The Players Championship

Matt Kuchar kept his cool to win by 2 shots at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

The American, who teed off in the final round one shot behind leader Kevin Na, overcame an uncertain start and a nervy 3-putt  on the 17th to fire a two-under par 70 and claim golf’s biggest prize – a cool $1.71m – with a winning total of 13-under 275.

Rickie Fowler was looking good until finding a bad lie on the front nine and carding a double bogey, followed by another bogey but fought back well and if he and Martin Laird could’ve holed 5 footers on the last hole it might have put  Kuchar under a bit of pressure. But it wasn’t to be.

A well deserved victory for one of golf’s consistent players and a guy who is always smiling, which is great to see.

Luke Donald carded a final round 66 to finish on nine under and just failed to regain that ever changing No.1 spot from McIlroy.

Irish Open To Hit Record Sales

Today the European Tour announced that it’s taking the unprecedented step of telling all fans who are planning to attend the Irish Open to buy their tickets in advance to avoid disappointment of missing out on the action at Royal Portrush Golf Club in June.

At the Northern Ireland Tourist Board headquarters in Belfast, the European Tour, as event organisers, also told about detailed Traffic and Transportation plans including adding a Translink coach, rail and Park & Ride services. These are designed to ensure that spectators have ease of access to the event, and to minimise the disruption to the neighbouring community on the roads surrounding Portrush.

Pre-tournament ticket sales for the event, being staged in Northern Ireland for the first time in nearly 60 years, have exceeded all expectations.

The first day of the tournament is on the 28th June,

McIlroy Says Missing Last Years Players Championship Was A Mistake

Rory McIlroy (who is at number one again) is keen to improve on  a poor record at the £5.8m Players Championship, which starts at Sawgrass in Florida tomorrow.

The Northern Irishman has yet to brake par and has  missed the cut on two previous visits on the 7,215-yard par-72 course.

McIlroy and Westwood chose to miss the event off their calender last year but both have returned to the so-called fifth major.

“It wasn’t one of my brightest moments,” McIlroy admitted. “I’m glad to be back, it’s a very big tournament and one that I’d love to win one day.”

McIlroy lost in a play-off at last week’s Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina, as American Rickie Fowler won his first PGA Tour title. So he is keen to put that behind him and come out all gun’s blazing on Thursday. Another interesting week ahead!

BMW PGA Championship – Strong Line-Up Announced

The world’s number one and number two golfers Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy will compete against a strong field at the forthcoming BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The line-up at the Surrey course boasts a host of major champions, including Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal and South African Ernie Els.

Donald beat Lee Westwood in a play-off to win in 2011, a victory which saw him lead the rankings for the first time.

The tournament starts on Thursday 24th May 2012 and runs across the weekend.

Wells Fargo Latest Scores

Rory McIlroy has returned to action for the first time since The Masters at The Wells Fargo championship in North Carolina.

You can check out the latest leaderboard by clicking here…