18April2008
Posted by BQ Browning under: Golf Chat.
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Power Play Golf is rapidly becoming one of the top amateur competitions and with the launch of the new season competition I suspect lots more golfers will be taking part - you can read more about it in the press release from Power Play Golf below:-
Cricket hero Sir Ian Botham this week launched the first PowerPlay Golf British Championship - a competition to find the nation’s best exponent of the new game described as ‘Twenty20 cricket for golf.’
More than 2,500 golf clubs in Britain have been invited to take part in the championship, which is endorsed by Botham and former football star Les Ferdinand and will culminate in a grand final at The Belfry this autumn.
Any golf club can stage a qualifying event, with its winner going through to play in one of nine regional finals. The top three golfers from each of those will fight to become the first ever PowerPlay Golf British Champion on the Belfry’s famous Brabazon Course on October 14-15.
Botham agreed to become the face of the championship after discussions with Peter McEvoy, the co-creator of PowerPlay Golf - the 9-hole game which uses two flags on each green. In the innovative format, golfers earn bonus points for successfully taking on the more difficult black flag pin positions.
Said keen golfer Botham: “I was immediately taken with the exciting risk and reward element of PowerPlay Golf. Throughout my cricketing career I faced numerous occasions when I had to decide whether to defend or attack and in PowerPlay Golf players are faced with that choice on every hole.
“It brings whole new dimension to competitive golf and is pure sport. I hope clubs respond and stage qualifying events to help me find the first ever PowerPlay Golf British Champion.”
Since launching in 2007, PowerPlay Golf has become a worldwide hit, with courses around the world – including South Africa, Australia, Ireland and Denmark – setting up for golfers to experience the innovative format.
Peter McEvoy OBE, the distinguished amateur golfer and the driving force behind the event, said today: “I am delighted we have launched the British PowerPlay Golf Championship.
“The eventual winner will not only have exhibited good golf skills, but they will have shown they have great mental toughness – because the format of the game means they have to perform under self-imposed pressure three times in their round.
“Golfers have told us that the added pressure and excitement they feel when they go for the black PowerPlay flag is something they don’t really experience in a normal game of golf. This edge is what makes the competition unique – without straying too far from the traditional game.”
In PowerPlay Golf there are two flags on each green – one white, one the black PowerPlay flag. Golfers must take three ‘PowerPlays’ in their first eight holes and score double Stableford points for net birdies or better.
They have an optional fourth ‘PowerPlay’ on the final hole, but face a two-point penalty for net bogey or worse, so decision-making plays a crucial role in the enjoyment of the game.
McEvoy expects around 500 golf clubs will join the 145 existing Official Venues in the British Isles in staging a PowerPlay Golf British Championship qualifier between May 1 and 29 August this year.
The nine regional qualifiers will then take place throughout September at Hampton Court Palace GC (London); Abbotsley Hotel, Golf and Country Club (East Anglia), The Westerwood Hotel and GC (Scotland), The Hertfordshire GC (South East), The Bristol GC (South West and Wales), St Anne’s Old Links GC (North west), Aldwark Manor GC (North east), Cotgrave Place GC (East Midlands) and Shirley GC (West Midlands).
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20March2008
Posted by BQ Browning under: Golf Chat.
It’s Easter, and Golfer’s like chocolate too so what about these Chocolate Foil Golf Balls as an Easter gift for the golfer in your life. It’s nice to do something a bit frivolous from time to time and these definately fall into that category - but what fun to have a ‘Hunt the Golf Ball’ instead of the Easter Egg for a change!
They come in one pound bags and each bag contains about 70 - 80 balls so there will be plenty for everyone to find!
On a slightly more serious note, they make great golf tournament gifts or favours for a post tournament dinner….
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18March2008
Posted by BQ Browning under: Golf Techniques.
When you hit the ball do you make a short analysis of what you did? This can be one of the most valuable of golf techniques. Look where the ball went and question yourself as to how you got that result. With practice this should only take a few seconds and won’t hold up play - which would be a cardinal sin!
If your shot is not quite what you intended you can gather a great deal of information as to why it has gone astray. If the ball has not gone in the right direction, check your alignment and see if your final stance is correct, are you standing how you thought you were? Take a look at your divot or any marks on the ground and check the path of your club. Is it following the path you thought it was? Look at the position of your feet after the shot. - are they where they should be and pointing in the right direction? Look at the final position of your golf club - is it where it should be for the shot you wanted to produce? What is the position of your hands - is your grip right?
It isn’t wise to over analyze during a game but if you find you are consistently making the same mistake in your shots just run through those five questions and see if you can spot a common fault. It shouldn’t take you more than a couple of seconds after each shot. If you do notice something - make a change, just one at a time, and see what happens. Using simple observation you can spot small flaws that can be easily changed and help you improve your game.
If you do find something, make sure you practice that when you are at the driving range. By working on a known fault you can soon eradicate it and go back on the course with confidence for your next game, knowing you have improved your golf technique and that you won’t be making the same mistake again.
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17March2008
Posted by BQ Browning under: Golf Chat.
The highlight of this weekends Tournaments has to be Tiger’s fifth win at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Invitational. After a slightly rocky start his game improved each day until that final round of 66 to win in regulation play. Sinking an incredible birdie put to put Bart Bryant into second place, it was yet another signal to the rest of the world that Tiger is at the top of his form and still eager to win. It brought to a spectacular end the Tournament which had earlier on threatened to be remembered for yet more shenanigans on the part of John Daly, hopefully they will be lost in the celebrations as Mr Woods extends his lead at the top of the FedEx Cup rankings.
The Ladies European Tour saw the first win for a rookie since 2006, with Louise Friberg from Sweden taking the title in Mexico. A spectacular 7 under par final round left her waiting for almost a couple of hours to see if anyone was going to catch her.
The European Tour saw Graeme McDowell take the title at the inaugural Ballantine’s Championship in Korea. Lengthy play-offs seem to be the fashion at the moment with three extra holes being played before McDowell’s spectacular approach shot on the eighteenth left him with a short putt to beat Jeev Milkha Singh.
The Champions Tour produced yet another three hole playoff when Denis Watson from Zimbabwe made his third Champions Tour win, beating Loren Roberts by sinking a birdie to take the A T & T at Valencia Country Club.
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12March2008
Posted by BQ Browning under: Golf Chat.
How about this for a competiton prize - Tiger Woods as your Caddy for the day! Buick are running a competition over the season with an enviable series of prizes.
Whenever Woods plays in a PGA Tournament competition entrants have to try and guess his score for each round of the competition. The closest to to the actual totals will win the Buick that Tiger has used during the tournament that week - in essence brand spanking new with just a few miles of careful driving on the clock.
But that’s not all, the best is saved for last. At the end of the season the top ten entrants from each tournament will be place into a draw and a winner will be chosen. The prize, your airfare to La Jolla in California where you and a friend will get to play the Torrey Pines Course with Tiger as your Caddy for nine holes.
You have to have a valid driver’s license and be at least 18 years of age to enter, but strangely enough Golf Skills are not a prerequisite! Tiger is quoted as saying “I’m looking forward to sharing some golf tips, maybe a few jokes and certainly a lot of laughs.”
For more details and to enter follow me to ‘Tee Off With Tiger‘
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11March2008
Posted by BQ Browning under: Golf Product Reviews.
I’ve been writing a number of articles for various publications about Putting Techniques recently. In my research I revisited Dave Pelz’ excellent Putting Bible. I had forgotten what an masterly work it is. There is so much high value information and guidance between those covers that it should be an absolute essential on every golfer’s bookshelf. Jeff Silverman wrote an excellent review:-
While you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to explain the forces at work in rolling a small, dimpled ball over changing terrain toward a cup that looks far too small for its purpose, Pelz was in fact a rocket scientist by trade. His approach is analytical, theoretical, mechanical, and systematic, brimming with graphs, charts, and illustrations. But don’t let that scare you–for all the science, Pelz and the gospel he preaches are as inspiring as a good sermon and readily understandable regardless of your skill level. Yes, advanced players will no doubt be more intrigued with the depths Pelz plumbs, but high handicappers can draw solace from the quality of the supplicants who’ve sought his counsel–Lee Janzen, Annika Sorenstam, Steve Elkington, and Colin Montgomery, for starters–and proceed from there. Numbers, charts, and graphs aside, Pelz preaches good grip and stroke, proper reading of lines and distances, the importance of leaving a ball in the best location (that only seems obvious), and the need to identify your putting weaknesses, learn why they’re your weaknesses, and address the proper fixes. “Never give up on putting well,” Pelz stresses. By studying his bible and heeding his golden rules, you’ll find yourself standing over those knee-rattling, downhill 4-footers with a lot more going for you than just a prayer.
but even more valuable perhaps are the testimonials from a number of the top golfers who willing pay a small fortune to attned his classes. That in itself speaks volumes.
“Do I believe in Dave Pelz? I paid full price to go to his school, and it was the best money I’ve ever spent. I could not have won my second U.S. Open without his help. I am a believer.”
–Lee Janzen
“Dave Pelz has added more irrefutable knowledge to golf instruction than any man alive.”
–George Peper, editor-in-chief, GOLF Magazine
“In one day’s work with Pelz, I learned more about putting than I had known my entire life.”
–Curtis Strange
“You cannot do more for your putting than to follow Dave Pelz.”
–D. A. Weibring
“Dave Pelz is the best. It’s pure and simple. If you want to play your best, you work with the best… that’s Pelz.”
–Steve Elkington
“Dave Pelz knows more about putting than Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, and Ben Crenshaw combined!”
–GOLF Magazine
If you are thinking about buying a book to improve your game at the onset of the new season I would strongly suggest that you make it this Putting Bible.
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