Tag Archives: Golf COurses

Patrick Reed Claims Second PGA Title With Ease In California

If like me you stayed up to watch the conclusion of the Humana Challenge last night you will know that Patrick Reed held on to claim his second PGA Tour title by two shots in California.

The 23 year old American was in the form of his life heading into the final round after shooting three consecutive rounds of 63 giving him a seven shot lead.

The lead should’ve been unassailable but a couple of bogeys on the front nine brought him closer to the chasing back. He then made another two bogeys on the back nine with a birdie in-between to leave him with a three shot lead with three holes to play with Ryan Palmer and Justin Leonard on his tail.

He had a chance on the short par 3 17th to seal the tournament when he hit his sand wedge to six feet but failed to convert the putt giving him a two shot lead going into the last after Ryan Palmer had just made eagle on the final hole to at least make it slightly interesting.

Reed hit the 18th fairway with his 3-wood and wasn’t tempted to take on the green that is surrounded by water and bunkers as he didn’t need to take the risk, so he laid up down the right hand side of the fairway and left himself 100 yard pitch shot which he hit to 12 feet and went on to make par giving him a two shot victory.

Reed had a new caddie on the bag for his second PGA Tour win as his wife who normally caddies for him is 5 months pregnant with their first child, so Reed’s brother-in-law took the job on and I’m sure he will be happy with his 10% of $1,000,000! 

Next week we’re off to Torrey Pines for The Farmers Insurance Open where we will see Tiger Woods in action for the first time this year to defend his title.

Click HERE to read my last blog and to see the PGA Tour schedule for 2014

Stenson – A Major Bet For Next Season

Well it hasn’t been a bad year for Henrik Stenson, not only did he win the FedEx Cup, yesterday he went one better and won The Race To Dubai, the first time it has been achieved by someone in the same season.

Stenson had a dramatic loss in form a few years back due to losing a lot of money which he had invested and then he had a mysterious illness which took him a year to recover from.

His form over the last few months has been quite remarkable and he hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 in any tournament he has played.

The big Swede started the final round with a two-shot lead over Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and was four shots clear of good friend Ian Poulter.

Stenson though was a man on a mission and never looked like getting chased down, he played like he had the ball on a bit of string and was hitting every fairway and hitting it close on a regular basis, it was really was amazing to watch.

This year should see him in great stead for next year’s majors where he has to challenge in all four you would feel, I would get your bets on now for him to at least finish in the top 5 for three out of the four majors!

Donald Up To Sixth In The World

As we head into this weeks US Open which is to be held at Merion Golf Club, Luke Donald finds himself moving up to sixth place in the world rankings.

The top five remain unchanged as Brandt  Snedeker drops to seventh and the winner of the PGA Championship Matteo Mannassero moves up to 25th place.  Also moves upwards for Thomas Bjorn and Harris English. 

I wonder who is going to do the business this week? Will it be a walk in the park for Tiger, will McIlroy find some form and tear the field apart like he did back in 2011 or will we see a new major winner come from the pack? Who knows?

I can’t wait to find out!

 

Chinnarat Phadungsil Plays Best Round Of His Life

Something happened today that we don’t see that often. No not a round of 58 but a back nine of 28 from Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil who produced some scintillating golf in the opening round the Avantha Masters.

The 25 year old who won his maiden event at the age of 17 ended up carding a round of 61 and leads the tournament by five shots and said that it was the best round of golf he has ever played.

He managed seven successive birdies in a round of eleven birdies in total and with no dropped shots.

There are five players tied for second at the end of today’s play who will be hoping Phadungsil won’t have such a good day tomorrow!

 

Different Golf Lesson Options At Dukes Meadows

It’s coming to that time of year when people are looking to take golf lessons either as a beginner or as a golfer who wants to get their game into shape for the season ahead and work on getting their handicap down.

There are many different options when taking golf lessons. Some people like to just work on their swing on the driving range and sort out out a technical fault that they might have, while others like to work on different parts of their golf game.

Here at Dukes Meadows we have lots of different teaching areas to suit the needs of every golfer. We have a short game area where we can work on chipping, pitching and bunker play and also a separate putting green. These areas can be used by all standards of golfer to improve their game and is very much useful for beginners to get their game ready for the golf course.

We have a great par 3 course at Dukes Meadows which is a good test for any level of golfer, it’s great for beginners to get to know how to play on a course and learn about the rules and etiquette of golf.

It is also very challenging for the better golfer with it’s undulating greens and deep bunkers.

So if you’re interested in starting to play golf or just improve your game then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with here and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

James

My Major Betting Tips Coming Soon

Well it’s coming to that time of year again, the sun is trying its best to come out, the golf clubs may have made an appearance on the course and you’re all wondering what my betting tips are for the majors!

This is a very exciting time for golf fans, all we can think about is the first major of the year, and for me The Masters is one of the greatest golf competitions in the world. It really is a pleasure to watch the best players in the world playing on the most beautiful golf course in the world, and because the BBC have some of the coverage as well it really does attract new golfers to come and try out this wonderful game, purely because they are mesmerized by the beauty of Augusta.

Those of you that took advantage of my betting tips last year will know that I backed Webb Simpson to win the US Open and nearly got the winner of The Masters! So keep your eye open for my tips that will be posted this Friday!

Take a look at last years betting tips for the four majors here 

 

McIlroy Continues To Get Frustrated By Current Form

The story on everyone’s lips ( apart from the ongoing putter row ) is that of Rory McIlroy, and his sudden loss of form since the equipment change at the start of the season.

It certainly didn’t get any better at the Honda Classic for McIlroy after he withdrew from the tournament in his second round after finding himself seven over par through eight holes.

He said it was because of pain in his ‘wisdom teeth’ that caused him to walk off the golf course, but only he will know the real reason why. Was it just the frustration of  playing awful golf? Was it petulance? Or was it more ‘I’m not going to win this golf tournament so I might as well call it a day and stop the embarrassment”?

Eighteen time major winner Jack Nicklaus believes that McIlroy is frustrated with his current form but will come good for the first major of the year at Augusta.

The Northern Irishman has had it pretty easy since he turned professional, so it will be interesting to see how things develop over the next few tournaments and whether he will get some more wisdom tooth pain if things don’t go his own way over the course of the next couple of months.

 

Play To Get Back Underway In Arizona

Play is to get back underway in Arizona after yesterday’s amazing snow deluge as the snow is starting clear. Players  will be heading out to get there matches finished from yesterday with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods still yet to tee-off.

The snow was quite a sight as you’re not used to seeing  it happen in the desert or on live television golf coverage, but the snow is still visible today and will make it harder for the players.

Garcia will be hoping to close out his match quickly as he is 2 up with three holes still to play and Ian Poulter will be hoping to do the same being 3 up with six still to play.

Conditions will be suiting the European players more at the moment, so don’t be surprised to see an all European final come Sunday.

Which Golf Ball Should You Use?

Choosing the right golf ball for your game is as important as choosing the right clubs.

There are quite a few different types of golf ball on the market now and is quite difficult to choose the right one for your game so can you can shoot your best scores.

We all have different swing speeds and all need help in certain areas; distance control, spin control, what type of feel we like off the clubface.

Most people just want the golf ball that goes the furthest, but it’s important to choose a ball that can help you in all areas of your game if you want to bring your handicap down.

To find out more about ball fitting, visit this page on the Titleist website by clicking here  and also find out more about how the Titleist make their golf balls by watching the video below.

If you need help in selecting the right golf ball for your game then please feel to contact me here and I will be happy to sit down with you and help you chose the right ball to help improve your game and get your scores down this summer!

Fichardt Wobbles To Victory In Africa

Well it wasn’t all plane sailing for South African’s Darren Fichardt, after looking like he was on his way to a comfortable win he managed to make hard work of it by bogeying three of the last four holes, but finally came away with a two shot victory over Jaco Van Zyl and  Grégory Bourdy to keep the African Open trophy firmly in South African hands for another year.

Fichardt started the day tied at the top of the leaderboard with Van Zyl but found himself four shots clear midway through the round but Van Zyl couldn’t capitalise on Fichardt’s late bogey run and it was a comfortable victory in the end.

This week it’s the WGC-Accenture Matchplay in Arizona where a 64-man field will battle it out at the Ritz-Carlton golf club where Rory McIlroy is bidding to win his first World Golf Championship title and look to put the bad start to his season behind him.