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Cleveland’s clever Golf Bag

March 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Cleveland has launched a new high-tech Golf Bag which includes technology that counts the number of clubs.  The V-14 includes electronic sensors (or “club count technology” as Cleveland is calling it) which takes stock of the number of clubs and will alert the player when one has not been replaced.

Cleveland say the bag will be particularly useful when a player takes a wedge and a putter to the far side of the green and inadvertently leaves the wedge behind when holing out.  I guess it could also save that embarrassing situation when a member of the group behind you is good enough to return the your club and you run toward one another like something from a romantic Hollywood, beach scene.

As well as the usual pockets and storage you would expect from a golf bag the system is activated with a simple on-off switch which then chirps and emits an LED light when a club is not returned.

My only question is will the bag detect if you have more than the permitted number of 14 clubs? If so, would this technology have saved Ian Woosnam at the 2001 British Open, when he was forced to call a two-stroke penalty on himself, after his caddy helpfully pointed out they were carrying two Drivers…….in addition to 13 other clubs?

Lorena Ochoa and Ernie Els Triumph

March 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The world’s top woman’s golfer, Lorena Ochoa was in a class of her own as she claimed the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament, held in Singapore, by an incredible 11 shots. In her first tournament of the year the Mexican posted a four-under 68 to finish the at 20-under 268. Ochoa led from start to finish at the Tanah Merah Country Club and was at her imperious best as she dominated the field, beating Annika Sorenstam in to second place with Paula Creamer claiming the third spot at 7 -under.

Ochoa claimed her 18th LPGA Tour victory despite the rain delays on the final day and became the inaugural winner of Asia’s richest women’s golf event, with a winner’s prize of $300,000. The manner of her victory was so emphatic that her dominance drew comparisons with Tiger Woods.

Another Golfer who would welcome those comparisons is South Africa’s, Ernie Els who claimed his first victory on American soil for nearly 4 years when he won the Honda Classic. Els fired a three-under-par 67 for a six-under total of 274 at Palm Beach Gardens, one shot in front of England’s Luke Donald.  Els ended his drought with his first PGA Tour win in 47 starts and admitted that it had been a long time coming.

Monty sweats it out

March 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Colin Montgomerie will be studying the world rankings more closely than most, after his participation in India came to an abrupt end at the Johnny Walker Classic.  Monty could only manage rounds of 74 and 76 to leave him trailing at the back of the field.  After success in reaching the last 16 at the Accenture World Match in Arizona, Monty climbed to 54 in the rankings but his India trip failed to help with his bid to qualify for the Masters on April 7th and he has dropped back to 59th.

Monty has just two more events - in Korea next week and then the WGC-CA Championship in Florida - to improve his ranking, from to a top-50 spot and cut-off point for qualification in Augusta.  He said of the Masters: “I’m desperate to be there. I think about it last thing at night and when I wake up in the morning.”

Latest world rankings: 1 Tiger Woods 20.88pts, 2 Phil Mickelson 10.18, 3 Ernie Els 6.90, 4 Steve Stricker 6.66, 5 Adam Scott 5.83, 6 KJ Choi 5.83, 7 Justin Rose 5.72, 8 Jim Furyk 5.61, 9 Rory Sabbatini 5.53, 10 Padraig Harrington 5.21 11 Vijay Singh 5.09, 12 Henrik Stenson 5.01, 13 Sergio Garcia 4.37, 14 Luke Donald 4.33, 15 Angel Cabrera 4.22, 16 Stewart Cink 4.04, 17 Geoff Ogilvy 3.79, 18 Aaron Baddeley 3.72, 19 Zach Johnson 3.67, 20 Lee Westwood 3.54

Key Reasons to get a Golf Handicap

March 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Most players who take golf lessons from me don’t have an official golf handicap. That comes as no surprise to me since most recreational golfers don’t have a golf handicap anyways. Of the more than 26 million golfers in the United States (adults who played at least one round of golf during a season), less than 20 percent have a handicap, according to statistics provided by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in 2003. And that’s just the U.S.

Reasons exist for not having a golf handicap vary. Some players feel they’re not good enough to have one. Others feel that having one is pretentious. Then there are those who feel that going through the effort to get one is just too much trouble or are intimidated by the paperwork involved. Despite how these golfers feel, the benefits of having a handicap far outweigh the reasons not to have one.

A Golf Handicap Defined

A golf handicap measures a player’s potential ability to achieve a certain score compared to an expert-amateur’s ability to do the same. Defined by a number, a handicap allows golfer’s to compete on an equal basis, which is great when playing in tournaments or other golf venues.

The key, of course, is that a handicap creates a level playing field, so players of unequal ability can play at the same course on equal footing, making the match fairer and the game more enjoyable. Nothing in golf, however, says you must have one to play. Golfers who don’t have one violate no rule of the game.

But one of the biggest reasons for having a handicap and the reason I encourage players who attend my golf instruction sessions to get a handicap is that it can help improve your game. By posting your scores whether by using an online tool or submitting them to someone in person you’ll have a highly effective tool for tracking your improvement and spotting playing trends. You’ll also have a goal to shoot for as you work on your game.

For example, let’s say you decide to improve your short game. If over the course of a year or so and after dozens of practice sessions, you see your handicap dropping you know you are on the right practice track. If you don’t see it dropping, either you’re not putting in enough practice, practicing correctly, or working on the right thing. You can then make changes to and see how that works.

How To Get A Handicap

Most players who join a private country club are automatically put on the handicap roster. But players who are not members of a country club must initiate the effort. The most likely but not the only way of doing that is through a sanctioned golf organization, like the USGA.

The USGA, for instance, calculates a handicap using a fairly complex formula that’s applied to the 10 best of a golfer’s last 20 rounds. Getting a USGA handicap requires membership in a club. But it can be a friendly golf group at your local public course or your own ad-hoc assemblage of 10 golfers, which would form a “club without real estate.”

There are other ways of obtaining a golf handicap, depending on where you live. Golf Record ,a Web site designed to keep track of your scores, provides the tools for you to generate a golf handicap, as does Elite Golf Solutions , another golf only Web site. Both require registration to join. Meanwhile About.com’s Golf section does a fine job of explaining how the handicap is calculated.

What’s important is not how you calculate a golf handicap or how you obtain it, but that you get one. It not only helps you improve your game by providing a goal to shoot for, but also provides direction for planning practice programs and basis for boosting your confidence every time you lower it. In addition, a golf handicap will provide some credibility to your playing ability and make it easer to compete in competitions and tournaments.

Article reprinted with kind permission from Jack Moorehouse, who has developed a unique and proven handicap slashing system. If you want to get your handicap down to a respectable level then he can help. Golf doesn’t have to be so difficult and his goal is to help you put the “fun” back in your game.

You can check it out at http://www.break80today.com

March 2008, Golfing Calendar

March 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment

March 2008
5th - 7th European Seniors Tour: DGM Barbados Open, Royal Westmoreland , Barbados.
6th - 9th European Challenge Tour: Tusker Kenya Open, Karen GC, Nairobi, Kenya.
6th - 9th European/Asian Tour: Maybank Malaysian Open, Kota Permai GC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
6th - 9th USPGA FedEx: PODS Championship, Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club (Copperhead Course), Tampa Bay, FL, USA .
7th - 9th USPGA Champions Tour: Toshiba Classic, Newport Beach Country Club, Newport Beach, CA.
10th - 16th Canadian Tour: 2008 Winter Qualifying School, Florida.
13th - 16th European/Asian Tour: Ballantines Championship, Pinx GC, Jeju Island, Korea.
13th - 16th USPGA FedEx: Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Bay Hill Golf Club and Lodge, Orlando, FL, USA .
14th - 16th USPGA Champions Tour: AT&T Champions Classic, Valencia Country Club, Valencia, CA.
20th - 23rd USPGA FedEx/Asian Tour: World Golf Championships-CA Championship, Doral Golf Resort and Spa (Blue Course), Doral, FL, USA .
20th - 23rd European Tour: Madeira Island Open BPI, Santo da Serra, Madeira, Portugal.
20th - 23rd USPGA FedEx: Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular, Coco Beach Golf & Country Club, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, USA .
24th - 30th Canadian Tour: 2008 Winter Qualifying School , San Diego, California.
25th - 26th Asian Tour: The Open Championship – International Final Qualifying (Asia), , Sentosa GC, Singapore.
26th - 28th Ladies Asian Golf Tour: DLF Women’s Indian Open , India.
27th - 30th USPGA Nationwide Tour: Chitimacha Louisiana Open Presented by Dynamic Industries, Le Triomphe Country Club, Broussard, LA.
27th - 30th European Tour: Open de Andalucia , TBC.
27th - 30th LPGA Tour: Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola, Supersition Mountain Golf and Country Club, Prospector Course, Superstition Mountain, A.Z..
27th - 30th European Challenge Tour: Abierto del Centro, Cordoba GC, Cordoba, Argentina.
27th - 30th USPGA FedEx: Zurich Classic of New Orleans, TPC Louisiana, New Orleans, LA, USA .
28th - 30th European Seniors Tour: Azores Senior Open, Batalha Golf Course, Azores, Portugal.
28th - 30th USPGA Champions Tour: The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach, Ocean Course at Hammock Beach, Palm Coast, FL.

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adjective:aspiring u'spIring - desiring or striving for recognition or advancement