ShowMeTheGolf.TV

What's Up With Monty?

2010-08-12T23:58:00.002+01:00

So what is exactly is going on with Monty? There's the front cover of The Daily Telegraph to content with and a whirlwind of rumours going around. I first caught a whiff about ten days ago, and it's pretty rich stuff. But as I don't intend to get my arse sued off I am going to have to watch it. So I'm not exactly being a help to anybody. But the source was good, and the information took me to places I'd really rather not go to.

Anyway, better nip off to M&S as I need a sandwich.............

Launch of Disabled Golf Open at East Sussex National

2010-08-07T12:54:00.001+01:00

Just back from a cracking day at East Sussex National for the launch of the 2010 Disabled British Open, which will be played here on the 20^th and 21^st of September.

This is the events second year, and the event was filled with competitors within a week. There’s also been considerable interest from competitors from abroad. Spain’s reigning disabled golfer with be making the trip over, as will competitors from Germany, Pakistan, South Africa and Ireland.

So it’s an international field, playing on a quality track, with TV coverage provided by Sky Sports. Not a bad start.

The event is also part of a programme run by Accentuate, which gets its funding from the South East Development Agency and the Legacy Trust, which is Lottery Funded and focused on creating a cultural legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I didn’t think golf was in the Olympics until 2106, but if they’ve managed to get in under the radar good luck to them.

The hope is to help create a cultural shift in the way disabled people are perceived by celebrating excellence. And there was plenty of that on show today, as I received a fair old thrashing from one of the competitors, Roger, who plays off a very tidy 14. Roger has a prosthetic leg, but that didn’t stop him thumping out some quality drives with plenty of length; and he was the only one in our four-ball who got anywhere near to grips with the very slick greens that are a hallmark of East Sussex National.

Derek Howe, ESN’s General Manager, proudly told me that they’d recently got the greens running 13 on the stimp metre for a PGA event. So what we experienced today was a quietened down version, and one that followed a biblical downpour the day before which saw Mid Sussex getting 88% of its’ average monthly rainfall in an hour. I can’t even begin to imagine how you actually putt there when they’re properly juiced up. It’s the golfing Spinal Tap equivalent of turning all the amps up to eleven.

ESN is about much more than its greens – which I’d also add aren’t just slick, but tricky in every other regard as well. Take the Par 3 fourth. At 181 yards off the whites; it takes a decent long iron to get to what looks like a fairly straight forward green. But that’s only the half of it. You don’t fully appreciate the slopes until you get there and if you’re short and don’t putt it hard enough you’re going to find the ball right back where it started. Don’t ask!

Then there’s the unassuming 121 yard par 3 eighth. I sent up what I thought was a perfect 9 iron, which stayed up there forever before landing smack in the middle of the green, and then disappeared out of view. I found it hiding in the fringe; it hadn’t held and there’s a severe slope in the green which you just don’t pick up from the tee.

There’s a tough finish as well. The fifteenth is Stroke Index 1, while the 16^th only rewards if you can put the ball onto a tiny landing area over a lake. The 17^th is Stroke Index 3, and with good reason; you can easily run into the lake which makes you hesitate to take out a driver, and you’re second shot is then a long iron onto a well bunkered raised green. The 18^th offers another well-bunkered raised green, so there’s just no letting up. I had been hitting the ball pretty well, but found it really hard to actually put in a decent score.

So all I’ll say to the competitors on the 20^th and 21^st September is make sure you turn up for the practice round, try and get to grips with the pace of the greens, and have a really well thought out plan to get yourself around without too much damage. Good luck out there; you’ll probably need a bit of that as well.

Playing The Old Course at St Andrews with Tony Jackelin

2010-07-28T11:27:00.004+01:00

ODE TO A CADDIE:

I’ve had a few caddies over the years. When I lived in Jamaica, I had a regular man on my bag – Sonny. He often despaired of me and would normally resort to the weed by the 15^th. He also got badly distracted when the mangoes came into season, but at least this meant that he didn’t mind so ,much when I drove into the deep rough, as there were always better opportunities for a bit of mango harvesting than when I kept it on the fairway. He got a fair few mangoes.

I also like to carry my own bag, and enjoy finding my way around a new course. It’s a set of choices that rarely deliver good scores, but I’m relaxed. It’s not The Open!

However, when I was confronted with the caddie versus go-it- alone strategy at St Andrew’s Old Course, the day after The Open, it was time to think again. It was The Open – well almost. And I’d be playing a four ball with my business partner Tim; Malcolm, the CFO of SAB Miller, and one Mr Tony Jackelin. Gulp. So there was absolutely no pressure whatsoever! I signed up for a caddie straight away, and God in his infinite wisdom, gave me Susan.

Susan took a quick look at me, assessed my game and the situation and decided that a strictly enforced regime of one-on-one briefings and close course and club management was the only way that I would survive the rigours of this test, and emerge with some level of dignity and credibility intact. I had been put under the immediate scrutiny of a very well trained eye, and that eye read everything dead right.

Susan is not a person who will sit quietly by, and offer an occasional quiet word of wisdom. She took me and my game by the scruff of the neck. At first I was under the misguided impression that you sort of had a conversation with your caddie about route and club selection; that there was the potential for a dialogue, to which I could make some small meaningful contribution.

I didn’t understand all of this from the word go; the word go being driving off in illustrious company from the 1^st on the Old Course with all the stadia still in place. It’s a shot and club selection that I’d been rehearsing in my head for the past ten days, when I’d learnt disbelievingly that this is what I’d be doing at 12.30pm on Monday 21^st July 2010.

My preferred option had been a 5 iron – yes, I know it’s a bit pussy, but the best chance of a result and I’d still have a makeable shot over the Swilkin burn onto the green. But then I’d managed to lose my beloved 5 iron on the eve of departure, when I’d been practising for this exact eventuality. A four iron was simply not an option, and a six iron would be pushing the chicken-shit factor too strongly. I toyed with the 3 wood option, but in the end the moment and a bit of bravado caught me and out came the big dog. Tee it up to the left and let rip. There’s only two fairways to go for so what could possibly go wrong? Well, nothing as it turned out. Smacked one to the left, and left myself with a nine iron into the green.

Or was it? I was young and inexperienced. I thought we could talk about it. But no; in the kindest of ways it was suggested to me that the 8 iron should be my club of choice. I hesitated at first. I had a bit of a democracy moment, but by then a slither of doubt had entered my head. Maybe an 8 iron would be the safest option? Perhaps a nine wasn’t quite enough? And so it proved. Or rather, sense prevailed and I did what I was told. With a firmish 8 iron, I cleared the burn, and made the back of the green. Voila!

It was then that another part of my golf education was about to begin. If St Andrew’s about anything, and it’s about a vast amount of everything, it’s not about greens in regulation.

Under Susan’s careful ‘curatorship’ -or should that be dictatorship - I was to make my way around the front nine in 7 over par, which is a massive result for someone who plays off 20; and on this course, of all courses. And as for my lost shots? All on the greens; every single one of them!

The second was a classic example of this. A decent drive, and a slightly pulled 6 iron left me on the green, but confronted with a Himalayan putt. Two massive mounds before I got anywhere near the ‘real’ green, and then we were playing the final day pin placements which were diabolic. So I took three putts, and then another three and another three, and another three.

But at the turn, I was elated. I’d played below my handicap with one of the greats of British golf, and I’d not disgraced myself. And I’d even heard those magical words of ‘Great shot’ from Mr Jackelin when I’d nailed a drive on the 8^th. Very heaven!

In hindsight, I think my exertions and concentration on the front nine caused my downfall at the start of the back nine. It wasn’t complacency more mental exhaustion. But Susan assessed the situation, calmed me down, and got me back on the case. The double bogies on the 10^th and 11^th were soon put behind me. In fairness, one of them was caused by my inability to follow exact orders from Susan. She’s told me to drive towards a bunch of rough, which was nowhere near the ‘fairway’, such as it was. So I under-compensated, and kept it a bit left – into a lovely coffin bunker.

I then did exactly what I was told, and chipped out backwards. It was a classic take -your-medicine moment. Tony kindly offered to commentate, so no pressure there. But I got it out safely, only to go on and take my normal three putts.

St Andrew’s is simply the most extraordinary course I’ve ever set foot on, and TV just doesn’t begin to do it justice. Take the 14^th, and the opportunity to visit Hell’s Bunker. If it had not been for Susan, I would blasely have knocked one down the middle (ish), and only then discovered I was in very deep s....sand.

Instead, I was taken on a golfing safari which had more to do with the 5^th than the 14^th – but which was absolutely the right way to go for a, shall we say, ‘average’ golfer.

The skies now opened, and the final holes were spent hiding under umbrellas, kindly provided by The Open Beer sponsors, and our hosts, Pilsner Urquell. God bless ‘em! The 17^th was therefore an even harder challenge as I could barely hold onto my club, But I got one away, and cleared the hotel, only to find that there was still a long way to go, and the odd Road Hole Bunker to avoid.

The 18^th was also played in a deluge, and I duly managed to fit in a quick visit to the Valley of Sins. If only I’d had my trusty 5 iron, I’d have been fine! I think I’m going to be sticking up a snotty message on my local golf club news board to that effect; ”The thieving bastard who nicked my 5 iron doesn’t know the half of it....”

But I think I’m straying from my main theme, which is Susan my caddie. The service she provided was a totally personal one. She’d work out the right strategy for me on every hole, and then brief me accordingly. She’d give me a great read on the green, and sort my head out when I duly three putted. My playing partner, who’d chosen not to have a caddy, got nothing. Not a driving line, not a word of warning about hazards, not a read on the green. Zippo. And quite right too (sorry Tim). Caddying is after all an Intellectual Property business. And that IP is shared with you, the client, and you alone.

I don’t know her surname, but I do know that if you ever have the chance to play The Old Course, you should ask for Susan. She’ll get you round, make no mistake.

Rye Golf Club Gets What's Coming to Them

2010-07-07T00:06:00.004+01:00

I came across this today in the Brighton Evening Argus and thought what the f~~~~. I mean fair play, you can do what you like with your cash. But if there was ever an undeserving cause then it has to be Rye Golf Course. But they breed their members well. I'm not bitter. But posting this probably condemns me to never playing there, which will be a shame. Do they do magnanimity?

A wealthy golf fanatic left almost half a million pounds to one of Sussex's most exclusive clubs in his will.

Retired Treasury lawyer Peter Smith lived alone in Winchelsea, near Hastings, with his pet lapdog until he died aged 90 last summer.

The former Army Major used to visit Rye Golf Club - which counts former Prime Ministers David Lloyd George, AJ Balfour and Winston Churchill among its former members - at least three times a week.

Friends described him as a solitary, private man who never married and had no family.

But many were astonished to discover he had donated almost his entire fortune - £441,536 - to the wealthy club when he died.

Rye Golf Club raises more than £1m a year in membership subscriptions, bar revenue and sales of club ties, books and buttons.Last year it spent £3,590 from another legacy on tankards.

Rye is a traditional, members only club. It has 113 women among its 1,327 members.

Club president Tony Wesson - a long-standing friend of Major Smith's - said the donation was extremely welcome, but admitted they had no immediate use for the money.

I'd also add that when you get to their website the first message you get is that this website is primarily for club members. This lot don't like riff raff. It's as if they've got putting people's noses out of joint down to a fine art. It's everything that golf should not and isn't about. A plague on their house and fungus on their greens.

Mr Angry -Save our pitch and putt

2010-06-27T09:15:00.004+01:00

http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/14523/Latest-reader39s-letters--June.6368504.jp

Latest reader's letters - June 17

Published Date: 17 June 2010

THE latest letters from our readers

What are they thinking?

I WOULD like to try to unpick some of the various strands of your article on Beech Hurst, as I have to confess that I have no idea where the council is coming from on any of their thinking.You write that there are plans for a new mini golf course. Well, hang on a minute, I thought that's just what we had. You then refer to a crazy golf course. Beech Hurst isn't exactly Blackpool, or Brighton.

Does someone actually think that constructing a series of concrete holes with the odd windmill is a good idea for this beautiful site?

We then have the issue of its closure, without any announcement or attempt at consultation – normally a fatuous process anyway, but I have to say that a little bit of warning would have been appreciated. And what fantastic timing! Let's tell nobody until it's the beginning of the summer when we might actually want to go out and play.

Closing down the kiosk, which has acted as a booking hub for the tennis, golf and bowls, is also an award-winningly stupid idea. Yes, you can get more people to book online, and that's fine. But if you want to cut the place off at its knees, the best way to do that it is to make everyone have to book everything in advance.

It takes all spontaneity out of using the place, and instead wraps it up in bureaucracy and process. You'll get people who wanted to have a game of tennis of an afternoon because the weather was fine; or a quick game of petanque, unable to simply turn up, take their chances, pay and play.

None of the families who visit over the weekends when the sun comes out will have gone online the day before and made a booking. So in an instant you lose the opportunity to convert all these potential customers into paying users.

Nor can I grasp any of the underlying economics. According to Pru Moore: "The pitch and putt course and kiosk have been under-used for some time now." How exactly is the Kiosk 'under-used'?

It's there to help deliver services, and if you close the pitch and putt course then it certainly will be under-used. It only really needs to be staffed over the summer months, and it's the perfect job for a student. Four golfers an hour will probably be enough to off-set their costs, and then any impulse tennis or bowls bookings are incremental revenue.

And in time, fewer and fewer people will use these facilities, and the next press release from the council will be an announcement that they are closing them because of lack of demand.

We then get another couple of award-winningly stupid ideas. A wild flower meadow! Beech Hurst is a prime piece of cultivated recreational space for people to enjoy. We're surrounded by wonderful, natural, countryside if they hadn't noticed. So let's recreate some faux meadow land; at least it will keep the grass cutting bill down.

This will also finish off the chance of using this area as a golf course, as you'll have no chance of finding a golf ball if you're surrounded by deep meadow grass. So how you "explore the possibility of creating a mini golf course" whilst at the same time "encouraging the development of a wild flower meadow" beats me.

We then get another piece of fatuous council speak: "The council takes the issue of data protection seriously and when customers book online, information is encrypted to ensure that it is secure." Well, whoopee do! But what's that got to do with anything? Of course you've got a secure payment system. Everybody has. But I just want to be able to pay a couple of quid when it suits me to use your facilities, and I don't want to have to book in advance.

All in all, I'm left none the wiser by the council. I simply suspect that they are looking to run down what should be a wonderful place for the town.

New Kernow St Mellion Course Opens

2010-06-10T22:28:00.005+01:00

Word is out that St Mellion have just opened their new Kernow Course after two years and a couple of million quid to boot.

And it sounds much more than a quick face lift. There's nine brand new holes which have been added to the best nine holes of the original course.

The Par 70, 18-hole Kernow Course now complements the mighty Nicklaus Signature Course, which also winds around St Mellion’s spectacular wooded valleys. And is a right pigging b***** of a challenge, make no mistake.

Standout holes include the new 1st, a tricky par 5, which demands an accurate first tee shot of the day, and the new 6th, the hardest on the course, which features an unusual approach to the green over a traditional ‘Cornish hedge’. There is a brand-new sequence of holes to start the back nine, where the 10th, 11th and 12th, while relatively short, all ask golfers to make a series of exciting risk-and-reward decisions. But not all is brand new – the picturesque all-or-nothing par 3 14th hole, an old favourite featuring a drop shot across a lake, still adds its charm to the latter part of the round.

I've played the Nicklaus Signature course, and it's a grand course. So the idea of being able to play two quality courses in one great spot really appeals. Better see if I can blag a round before too long.

JohnD

Borth Golf Club

2010-04-20T21:31:00.000+01:00

I’m driving down to Borth on the Cardigan Bay coast, and listening to Toby Stephens play James Bond in a radio dramatization of Goldfinger. It’s the classic scene where Bond takes Goldfinger down the 18^th, misses his putt to save the hole, the match and $10,000 only to ‘find’ that Goldfinger has been playing with the wrong ball and therefore looses the match by default. They are, of course, playing to the ‘strict rules of golf.’

Bond plays off 9, which is Ian Fleming taking the opposite of the Kim Yong IL approach. It’s the ’I could have been a contender’ handicap – ‘but what with the day job and my work abroad, it’s just hard to get in the practice.’ It’s nicely judged.

I arrive at Borth Golf Club to find myself taken from the 1960s world of Bond to the 1880’s, as everyone is playing in turn-of-the-century dress – long dresses for the ladies and proper tweed coats and plus fours for the men. What’s going on? I’ve already been given a golf sensory overload and I haven’t even hit a ball. What’s going on is part of Borth’s 125 anniversary celebration. Fair play, as the club claims to be the oldest in Wales, ahead of Tenby by three years, and they are rightly proud of this claim, against which no doubt Tenby will fiercely counter claim.

But let’s get back to 2010: I’m here to play some links golf, and find out if the rumours that this is an under-rated golf gem are true. I’ve chosen a late afternoon tee-time on a fresh but clear Easter weekend to find out. There are still patches of snow on the distant hills, and a rainbow stretches across the Dovey Estuary behind me; but it’s not raining, and I’m just so grateful to be out in this beautiful landscape. And at £20 for an evening round, that represents great value as far as I’m concerned to play any decent links course.

The wind’s coming in from the north, so as I tee off at the first I’m thinking the front nine’s going to a long walk. The first three holes hug the coastline, so the sea is a constant hazard companion. There’s trouble on the right as well, as a hook will put your ball onto the road that dissects the course on the first, and a hook will do the same on the second and third.

Insurance is actually compulsive on this course, and is included in your green fee. So the hazards are very real, and you can imagine that there has been more than the odd cracked windscreen over the years, as a steady flow of cars makes their way to and from the seaside town of Borth.

You’ve also got to get your golfing gears moving pretty sharpish here as the 2^nd is a par 4 13 yard stroke index 1, which plays 454 yards off the whites. I find the opening holes a little unremarkable, but still manage to drop quite a few shots.

It’s at the 6^th that the course really comes into its own, and the run from here through to the 12^th is just so much fun; quirky, entertaining, varied, and dramatic.

The 6^th is par 4 341 off the yellows, with a drive that requires you to avoid gnarly trouble on the left. But the hole’s all about your second shot, which is a mid iron onto a green which sits at least 30 feet above the fairway. You can afford to go long, as chances are you’ll get roll back onto the green; but leave it short and your ball will be rolling straight back to you.

By the seventh you are entering into the course’s heartland of high dunes and deep rough. The 7^th is played from the side of a steep dune-like hill for the ladies, and the white tees. But for some strange reason the yellow tees are on rather flatter, less dramatic, land 45 degrees to the left of the other tees.

The 8^th is 471 yards off the yellows par 5, which takes you out to the furthest point of the course. On the turn is a lovely downhill 170 yard par 3, with high dunes to the right hand side which obscure your view of the sea. Stoke index 2 follows with the 10^th, which as classic a links hole as you’ll find anywhere. Your second shot needs to drift in from left to right to find a green which is well protected by high dune banks.

This fantastic sequence isn’t over yet. You’ve then got a gorgeous little 132 yard par 3, where you shoot from the sea wall down onto a tight little green, with dunes to the sides and back. Not hard but very easy on the eye.

The 12^th is wonderfully idiosyncratic – it’s not long at 281 yards, but I couldn’t for the life of me see where the pin was as I stared out over a sea of contorted humps and mounds. There’s quite a carry, and trouble everywhere. But if you can land it safely, you’ll then you a short iron onto the green, which occupies a little hollow at the far left of the hole.

By the 13^th your back out onto the main, more open, links and a return to golfing normality. The 14^th is a fine 188 yard par 3, with the sea in play, whilst the fifteenth is a slightly mundane par 4.

You then re-cross the main road to play the final three holes, which are a gentle come down after the delights of the mid course run. The course has its critics for its relatively weak opening and soft landing of a finish; but it just proves that you can’t please everyone all the time. I loved every bit of it, and I’ll be back in the shake of a lamb’s tail.

Sky Caddie Launch

2010-03-08T20:48:00.004Z

It’s an early start. Five bloody thirty. But the streets of Landan Town are free from traffic, and I blast through to the M4 and get onto the road to Celtic Manor, obeying the speed limits at all times, of course.

I’ve been invited to the launch of SkyCaddie’s new SGX, and the chance to play the back nine on the 2010 course. Who in their right or even their wrong mind could refuse?

I pay my £5.50 tax to get into Wales – the Severn Bridge Toll – and then head off at the next junction to work my way up the hill to the imposing building that looms over the motorway that is Celtic Manor. And then it’s all up hill to the main resort, passing by a fetching pink poster for their forthcoming Bridal Gown show.

It’s my first time at Celtic Manor, and I’ve not seen the like of it in England, Scotland or Wales for that matter. It has really has scale in a way that you’d only really think the Americans can deliver. I pass by the main, gargantuan, hotel and follow the signs to the 2010 course, which is a fair way, no pun intended, from the hotel and the two other courses - The Montgomery and The Roman Road.

I’m met by an imposing set of iron gates with the 2010 Ryder Cup course logo emblazed upon them. I press the call button, and am admitted to the brave new world of the 2010 course. I’m impressed, and even a bit intimidated – and I haven’t even seen the club house or the course yet.

The club house doesn’t disappoint, nor does the welcome. “Drop your clubs, and I’ll park your car sir.” In an instance I’ve been transported from the valleys of Wales to downtown LA. As I’m driving my dad’s old Mitsubishi Charisma, a car so utterly lacking in charisma that they had to try and inject some with the name, I hope that he gets it parked before any of the other golf journalists arrive and witness my wheels.

The clubhouse sits high on the side of a valley, next to a complete ruin of a building, which is apparently listed rather than just listing. I’ve no idea why, as it has no architectural merit whatsoever. Is it part of a cunning plan to confuse the Americans?

The Club House doesn’t disappoint, nor does the breakfast, which includes a fine piece of black pudding. They’ve got to keep this on the menu for the Ryder Cup; this could be a secret weapon. “You English / Welsh / British / Europeans- delete as politically appropriate-eat pig’s blood? Are you kidding? What are you guys made of?”

It’s then presentation time, and our introduction to the new SkyCaddie SGX. The message is that other range finding devices simply use satellite imagery, and haven’t actually bothered to walk the courses , so most of their information is a bit hit and miss, which is not exactly what you’re looking for from a golf range finding device. The SkyCaddie SGX is grown up stuff, not some dodgy iPhone GPS app, and it’s rich with features.

The new SGX stores up to 30,000 pre-loaded, ‘ground verified’ course maps, so it’s ready to use straight out of the box. One of the features they’ve worked particular hard on is the new ‘transflective’ TFT-LCD screen. This has been designed to provide brilliant colour images even in the brightest sunshine, which will be useful in the UK on at least two days a year.

The SkyCaddie SGX also has a new, intuitive user interface and has been specifically designed for single hand usage without blocking critical screen information with fingers and smudges. All in all it’s a pretty impressive package, and one that the SkyCaddie team is rightly proud of.

The main event is playing the back nine of the 2010 course, using the new SkyCaddie SGX to help us navigate this beast. And it is a beast. I’m actually quite grateful that we miss out on the 9^th, as this is the course’s uber beast. 666 yards of the back tees; no one’s going to get on in two surely?

The back nine starts on the level, and then works its way uphill, so you have to manage water, slope, a bit of mature forest, some Welsh weather, plenty of distance and a whole load of risk and reward.

It’s a curious location in that you’re playing in a perfectly formed Welsh valley, with an ancient church atop one side, an impressive 18^th century Palladian style mansion across the way, and dense mining village terraced housing to the west – a complex social history of wealth and relative poverty all in one vista.

Enough of that; back to the golf. The course divides into three different sections. A links like start, followed by lake dominated holes supplemented by the River Usk which flows through the valley, followed by the uphill section, which some say doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of the course, but which I loved, especially the par four 15^th.

The 15th was part of the original Wentwood Hills course, which was the foundation of the new 2010 course - the first course ever to be specially built for a Ryder Cup. There are two routes – route one requires you to carry 270 yards of woodland to make it safely over. So I take route two, and knock my ball into perfect position at the peak of the fierce dog leg right. Then I hit a six iron up to the green, which mercifully holds leaving me an eight footer, which I duly miss. But it’s a par, and I’ll take anything I’m given on these holes.

There will be some great spectating to be had on these hill holes when the Ryder Cup finally rolls into town, and you’ll get panoramic views of the rest of the course, but bring your binoculars as well as your SkyCaddie SGX.

The 18^th takes you downhill from the side of the valley, and with a good drive you can get into position to make the green in two. But if you’re second shot isn’t long and perfectly judged you’ll hit into the steep slope before the green, and your ball will gently roll back into the water. Or if you’re not accurate, there’s plenty of bunkering to give you a headache.

My playing partner used his SkyCaddie SGX to great effect on this hole – he absolutely knew he had 132 yards to the pin for his third shot, and this knowledge translated into a really confidently struck 8 iron shot which made the middle of the green. We will be hearing about that shot for months to come.

With match play, who knows how many games will make it down to the 18^th, but those that do will be a complete treat to watch. For the Pro’s it will be 613 yards, so it won’t give itself up easily. But this is a ‘who dares wins’ course, so be ready to hold onto your seats. I can’t bloody wait.

For more information on the SkyCaddie SGX check out www.skycaddie.co.uk.

Ping Eye 2 Wedges

2010-01-16T16:35:00.004Z

So John Daley and Dean Wilson have been rummaging around their garages to dig out their old Ping Eye 2 wedges. And apparently there has been a rush to Ebay to buy old Ping wedges that pre-date the 1990 Ping settlement with the USPGA. I'd better get out and have a rummage in the garage myself and raid the www.showmethegolf.com store-room. Who knows what might be lurking there gathering dust.

The other alternative is to keep an eye out in charity shops, which is actually where I got my current golf bag from - a classic 70's MacGregor bag. Hardly been used and a total design icon.

So it's back to Oxfam for a root around.

JohnD

We've gone all environmental

2010-01-05T11:30:00.003Z

Tim, Show Me The Golf's Editor, has had a pang of conscience about golf's impact on our green and pleasant land, so has been looking under the bonnet at how golf courses can be managed in an eco-friendly way.

I buy it.

JohnD

Leeds, Leeds, Leeds

2010-01-04T09:48:00.004Z

I feel I would be disloyal to my business partner this morning if I didn't skip the golf this morning - it's minus something low outside at the moment and there's nothing stirring in my personal golf world - and mention, just in passing mind you - that Leeds beat Manchester United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford yesterday.

http://www.itv.com/sport/football/news/facup/matchreports/report-man-utd-v-leeds-882089107.html?cmpid=nl_100104sport

That should do the trick.

JohnD

Tiger Redemption

2010-01-03T19:30:00.005Z

Fox News' Brit Hume has been giving Tiger a bit of advice - stop all that Buddhist nonsense

and turn to Christianity for a full recovery. I never knew Jesus was a golfer, although I have suspected

it for some time.

JohnD

We're on't telly again

2010-01-02T22:49:00.001Z

http://www.showmethegolf.com/video/464/SHOW_ME_THE_GOLF_ON_SKY_NEWS

It's what we've been thinking about what Tiger's been up to.........

JohnD

Jay Townsend's Review of The Golf Year

2010-01-01T13:27:00.003Z

Palma Golf Escape

2009-12-07T11:22:00.008Z

Easy Jet may have a bit of a reputation for landing in obscure airports a day’s forced march from the host city, but thankfully this is anything but the case when it comes to Palma, the capital city of Mallorca. Within half an hour of landing we are clean through customs and deep in the heart of Palma Old Town, supping an icy cold beer at the friendly Hotel Saratoga. So far, so very good.

We’re here to check out Palma’s latest offering – Urban Golf. No, we aren't going to be knocking it about in the town centre ‘Clerkenwell Open stylie’. Rather, we’ll be staying in the heart of the Old Town, and then travelling out to sample two of the 20 golf courses that are within an hour’s drive of the centre which make Palma an ideal base for a quick golf-escape from the UK.

Over 22,000, 000 people flew into Palma Airport last year, so there can be no doubting the enduring popularity of the island. I arrive with some pretty heavy and contradictory baggage about Mallorca, and zero knowledge and expectation about Palma. How can one Balearic island be famed for the beautiful people – the Beckers, Nadals, Schumachers, Schiffers and Zeta Jones of this world – and in the same breath the Brits on the piss in Magalluf, a.k.a Shagalluf? And will Palma be a built up 70’s concrete jungle, complete with straw donkeys, HP Sauce and pints of John Smiths? This baggage also includes my golf clubs, which cost me £18.50 pre-paid each way. If you are playing more than a single round, it’s definitely worth bringing your own sticks as rentals are E30 a go.

Palma Old Town catches me by surprise. The view of the Old Town is dominated by La Seo – Palma’s magnificent 16^th century Gothic cathedral. Started in 1230 by Jaime 1, it then took some four hundred years to be completed. But they did a great job in the end, and it really sets the tone of the place.

The Cathedral is flanked by a Moorish castle – the Almudaina Palace - whose battlements now protect the Old Town from the hordes of yachties who park their floating gin palaces in the busy port. From there you can dip down and wander through the maze of backstreets that make up the heart of the Old Town. There are hundreds of little independent shops and boutiques, which remind you of how dismal our British High Streets are. The sweet shops alone are worth a visit in themselves – proper confectionary that isn’t just a collection of ‘e’ numbers.

The first course we are to play is San Gual, a 20 minute drive from the centre, and on the other side of the airport. Despite only being open for eighteen months, it hosted the Mallorca Senior Open this year (won by Mark James since you ask), and you’d be very hard pushed to realise that it isn’t a much more mature course.

The thousand or so Olive trees that they’ve planted look like they’ve been in place for centuries; they’ve obviously settled in so well to their new home that they’re already producing wonderful black olives. When the vines that they’ve also planted start to produce, there’ll be wine to go with them.

San Gual has already made it into the Golf World’s Top 100 European Golf courses, and the club’s ambitions don’t end there as they are looking for a Top 10 finish in the next few years. I’ll be surprised if they don’t get there, as they are taking their golf course very seriously indeed. When we were playing, a small army of green keeping staff were on the march looking for the odd un-manicured blade of grass, and making sure that the greens were as firm and fast as anything I’ve ever played on. Woosie has compared the greens favourably to Augusta’s, which should tell you the kind of territory we are in. It’s definitely worth getting here early for some practice on the putting green to get a feel for the pace and the types of breaks and borrows you’ll be faced with. There are plenty of three putts out there.

The course is 5983 metres off the yellows, so adding ten percent for yards it comes in at a fraction under 7,000 yards. The greens are uniformly generous, and some are approached by vast green-like aprons which you can chip off, but feel you shouldn’t, such is their perfect condition.

The outward nine takes you on a tour of the extremities of the estate, whilst the inward nine takes you on a journey into the heart of the course. There’s plenty of the wet stuff as well, with water coming into play on twelve of the holes, including the card-wrecking par 5 sixth where you’ll have to carry at least 140 metres to make it onto dry land.

On the subject of the wet stuff, all the water they use is recycled using state of the art equipment, so there are none of the environmental problems associated with many Spanish courses, which suck the life out of the surrounding land, and piss off all the locals.

San Gual is going to be a course to watch over the coming years. At E150 a round this is a golf-treat, but as you can get on as a non-member make sure it’s on your ‘Courses to play before I peg it’ list. For your E150 you get a bottle of water, a ‘3D’ course guide, access to the practice facilities and use of the sauna in the locker room, so make a proper day of it.

Back to Palma for a quick spruce up and then it’s time to see what goes on when the lights go down. Dinner is at Es Baluardo which serves very upscale modern tapas. We’re just finishing our starters when we get the news that Tiger has been injured in a car crash, and everybody starts putting two and two together and generally making eight or nine. I think we might even have had an eleven in the group. Then it’s off for some Latino style Jazz and drinking back on the top floor of our hotel, The Saratoga – going easy of course to keep the brain intact for day two on the golf course.

Our second course is Son Muntaner, part of the Arabella Golf & Spa Resort, and a twenty minute drive due north of Palma. There are three courses to play at the resort – Son Vida, Son Quint and Son Muntaner.

Yes, we’d been spoiled rotten at Son Gual, and in many ways we don’t expect Son Muntaner to compete with it. But we are to discover that it’s far from being just a relaxing-holiday-golf kind of course. The Mallorca Golf Island Skins Game was played here recently with Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer, Jose Olazabal and Robert Karlsson competing for a purse of E204, 000 which works out to about E35 a yard.

Opened in 2000, and designed by Kurt Rossknecht who has worked with Bernard Langer, the course plays 5968 metres off the yellows (again just short of 7,000 yards) and starts with a serious dog leg right around the practice area, which can be a bit disconcerting when you see the odd range ball flying your way. Before Son Gual came along this was considered the best kept course in Mallorca, and whilst the greens have been given a good weekend beating by the time we play, they’re pretty good for all that and slippery as eels.

The course settles itself into the valley floor before taking to the hills; an important part of the course’s attraction is the variety of elevations which it offers, as well as the beautiful pine forest clad hills that it takes you into on the back nine.

We play for a bit less than E35 a yard, and we all really enjoy the course and its setting before we head back into town for a final night of carousing. This kicks off with dinner at the excellent Caballito de Mar, which serves the local delicacy Pescado a la sal (fish cooked in rock salt). Other stuff then happens, but it’s all a bit of a blur now.

I flew with Easyjet, and stayed at the Hotel Saratoga, and the Hotel Tryp Bosque.

For more info go to www.visit-palma.com.

JohnD

Walker Cup kicking

2009-09-14T10:44:00.002+01:00

A severe arse-kicking was handed out to GB&I in Merion Pennsylvania in the 2009 Walker Cup.

We lost all four sessions and got stuffed by seven points. I have to say the whole event was pretty well nigh invisible - I think it crept into the Sky golf coverage somewhere, but really didn't get the respect that it should be given. It's a perfect bit of BBC content. I remember watching Rory McIlroy play the last time, and I followed it avidly. But this time it got shunted into the back end of beyond on the schedules. OK, so it was in the US so that might have had a bearing on scheduling. But it should be a great showcase for all the young talent we have coming through - even though this lot of young talent was on the wrong end of a good beating.

There's also issues around our younger golfers turning pro so early. Chris Wood, Shane Lowry and Callum McCaulay were all lost to the competition in the run-up by turning pro. But with Chris Woods' recent performances, not least of which was his fifth in this year's Open, and that on the heels of his great performance as an Amateur at Royal Birkdale, who can blame him.

May Show Me The Golf should bid for the rights next time!

JohnD

Ryo Ishikawa at it again

2009-09-07T10:46:00.003+01:00

Another young blood as has been winning again. Ryo Ishikawa has claimed his fifth Japan Tour title with a victory at the Fujisankei Classic. And he ran away with it with a five shot lead.

I've been doing some online digging around about the new boy wonder, and have come up with a couple of interesting snippets:

He's so polite that his nickname is Hanikami Ohji , which means "Bashful Prince" in Japanese.

He started playing the age of 7, with his dad as his teacher.

His ambition is to become the youngest ever Masters champion . Ryo will be 17 years, six months and 24 days when he hits his first drive at Augusta. So he's plenty of time to put one over Tiger.

He's just opened his own private practice range. There will be four greens seeded with the same strain of bent grass found at Augusta, and the sand was chosen because it is similar as well.

He's sponsored by Yonex - driver, fairway wood and irons. Titleist wedges, Odyssey White Hot No 5.

We that kind of ambition and attention to detail, I think the Show Me The Golf fiver for the next couple of Masters might have to invested in his direction. And now. Will have to look what you can get



	s widely regarded as the player who will revive interest in the Japan Tour, and he commands Tiger-like attention at home.

The Omega

2009-09-06T11:10:00.003+01:00

An eventful moving day in Crans, Switzerland. Bradley Dredge is three behind in third place after a 68. I'm looking forward to following across the course of this year, because if anyone wants to play Ryder Cup it's him. He won here in 2006, so the course must suit his eye.

Chris Wood was a big mover as well, charging from 30th to 6th place thanks to a 65. I saw him at Royal Birkdale last year as an amateur, and at The European this year as a fully blooded pro. That's not to forget his good work at Turnberry, which saw him finish joint third with Westwood. You've got to think that with Wood with have another potential Major winner. It's not going to be all McIlroy that's for sure.

Sadly day 2 leader Thomas Aiken from South Africa didn't fare so well. Couple of nightmare 7's for a 75. Nice fellow. He's sponsored by Puma and we played a couple of holes with him earlier this year at The Puma Open at The London Club.

I'm off out to play before settling in to watch the climax this afternoon. I've got to get ready for Show Me The Golf's up and coming Berk Central tournament. Not that's a prestige event.

JohnD

Race for The Ryder Cup

2009-09-03T12:36:00.004+01:00

And so, at last, it begins. The race for the Ryder Cup is off and running. But by the look of things, other priorities are on the minds of Westwood and McIlroy. Westwood is desparate to become the European No 1 again, so needs to get back to winning ways. Hard as it is to believe, it is almost two years since he actually won outright.

McIlroy has some real motivation to win as well at Crans Montana, where the Omega European Masters kicks off today. He's third on the European Tour money list, and victory would take him above Martin Kaymer, who's out of action after a g-carting accident. Berk! He'd also be ahead of Paul Casey, who is at last back in action after his rib injury.

So it's all warming up nicely. And the count-down to the Ryder Cup has begun in earnest.

Jack for The Masters

2009-09-01T10:28:00.005+01:00

Jack, sorry Mr Nicholas to me, will be appearing at next year's Masters as an honorary starter alongside Arnold Palmer. Jack last played at The Masters in 2005, and had his last Open at St Andrews. I was there for his amazing farewell on the 18th. Well, in truth I was in the pub next door, having my first ever Magners Cider. So it was a doubly memorable moment.

Anyway Jack in now the 8th Honorary starter in the history of the Masters - a traditional that was started back in 1963, when he played his first Masters. I like the symmetry there.

JohnD

Gleneagles Final Show Down

2009-08-31T21:40:00.004+01:00

So Peter Hedblom has managed to charge back in and beat his fellow Swede Martin Erlandsson to win the Johnnie Walker by a single shot.

But what a round by Erlandsson - a 10 under 62 thanks very much! Which no surprise was the best round of his life. But he'd started from six behind, so it wasn't quite enough as Hedblom wasn't exactly marking time with a tasty 67.

Paul Lawrie shared third place with Gregory Havret, the defending champion. So not a bad week for him, although he couldn't quite find the form he had for the first two days.

Right back get down the range. Working on the handicap for the forthcoming Show Me the Golf Berk Central. Lots of golf, several Berks, some beer. What possible harm!

JohnD

Scores on the doors Gleneagles

2009-08-29T18:12:00.004+01:00

So much for my post this morning. Paul Lawrie won't be joining Paranvik and that other fella whose name now escapes me, in not scoring under the card through the whole round.

A 73 today, and he's back to earth with a smallish bump. But given it's moving day, he still in good position for a shot at the title tomorrow. It's getting tight at the top though, with 16 players bunched between the leader, Peter Hedblom, at 8 under and the back of the following group at -4.

So it's anyone's tournament, and anyone's guess. Hedblom, O'Hara, Bland and Hevret all shot low today, and need to carry that form into the final day.

I'm going to check in our golf bet guru at Show Me the Golf to see if he can offer me some wisdom, and more importantly, some value.

JohnD

Paul Lawire hitting form & Golf Pub Ammo,

2009-08-29T10:59:00.007+01:00

So far so good. 8 under after two days, and leading by two at the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles, Lawrie hasn't actually dropped a single shot on the course yet.

OK, so there's a fair bit to go, and we shouldn't get over excited at this stage, but it's an interesting fact that only two European players have ever completed a European Tour tournament without dropping a single shot. David J Russell in 1992 and Jesper Parnavik in 1996.

I have to thank Andrew Lomax of the Daily Telegraph for that one. But as far as quality golf pub ammo goes, this is out the top drawer.

A trawl around the web for other bit of glorious info have so far yielded the following:

1. There is a Putting Green on the Whitehouse front lawn

2. The US military operate 234 golf courses

3. There are 24 golf courses in Alaska.

Not quite up to the same standards as the 'not dropping a single shot' contribution. That could be coming to a fiendish pub quiz near you before long, so make sure that you've got that one firmly in the locker.

I think a Golf Pub Ammo section could be coming to Show Me The Golf before too long. Any contributions warmly welcomed....

JohnD

Thomas Bjorn Brain Scan

2009-08-27T22:35:00.002+01:00

Thomas has been feeling a bit off colour recently. So what to do? Well, get a brain scan of course.

The great news is that a a brain was discovered - his words not mine.

That shouldn't come as too great a surprise as he is the Chairman of the Players committee of the European Tour , so there must be something going on.

But then again, appointing Monty as Ryder Cup Captain might suggest otherwise. I'm very much looking forward to being proved wrong, but I'm sure someone in the media is going to get Monty's goat, and it's not going to be trouble free.

But after Faldo's opening ceremony speech last time, I'm confident that Monty will be an improvement. And we all know just how much he loves the Ryder Cup.

Anyway, I'm a great fan of the volcano dust eating Dane, and bore personal witness to his shocker at the 17th at Royal St George when he blew up in the 2003 Open. It still pains me.

Better get the Whiskey out.

JohnD

Christina Kim Calm Down

2009-08-24T20:52:00.002+01:00

I've read a few comments going around about Christina Kim over the last few days. We've had

GolfDigest's John Huggan read on the matter, and he wasn't impressed.

One other lowlight -- at least some of the time -- was the behavior of Christina Kim. The extrovert American clearly has a big heart and a kind heart given her obvious affinity and loud interaction with the spectators. But there is a line that must never be crossed with this sort of thing. And, at the risk of being portrayed as a bit of a fuddy-duddy, it must be pointed out that Kim, on occasion, veers into a place where opponents are -- however inadvertently -- treated with something less than proper respect. The time to gee up crowds is between holes, not while a competitive situation exists.

Personally, I think that's kind. Far too generous. I think she behaved like a brattish teenager who'd been on the vodka and Redbulls.

JohnD

Solheim Cup done and dusted

2009-08-24T11:15:00.003+01:00

After an exhausting day in front of the TV watching England triumph in the Ashes, it was time to come back down to earth, which I was comfortably able to do by tuning into the last session of the Solheim Cup.

For a moment there was hope, but suddenly the board turned red and it was all over. It had been a great effort to get to level points after two days, but from the moment Angela Stanford put the first point on the board for the US, it was all one way traffic.

Paula Creamer followed up with a point from a comfortable 3 an 2 win over Suzann Pettersen. And Michelle Wie stepped up to the plate with a one hole victory over Helen Alfredsson. It had really been Wie's week, and there's been a lot of talk about her finally coming out of her shell and truly engaging with the grown-up game.

Laura Davies was going along nicely taking a two hole lead to the 17th, where she proceeded to lose her ball. She then left the door wide open on the 18th for Lang to come through and grab a half point.

So it was not to be. Even Christina Kim beat Elosegui by two holes. I shouldn't really say even - it's just Kim's general behaviour over the course of the tournament really got my goat. According to her Twitter profile.. HI!! I'm LPGA Tour player Christina Kim (duh) and I love golf, photography and working to conserve and save our planet and all those that inhabit it!!!

Enough said I think.

Our master plan for next time round is to bring back Melissa Reid! That should do the trick.

JohnD

Solheim Cup Day Two

2009-08-22T12:19:00.003+01:00

Oh dear, it's looking like a familiar story. The European team managed to share the afternoon foursomes with America but the American's still have a very comfortable 4 1/2 - 3 1/2 lead after the first day of the Solheim Cup.

A 20-footer for par on the 17th by Paula Creamer gave her and Juli Inkster a 2 and 1 victory over Europe's Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie in the afternoon's last foursomes match - giving the Americans their one-point lead.

That spells trouble for Europe. Only once in the previous 10 of the USA v Europe tournament has a team come back and captured the trophy after trailing after day one.

And the Europeans didn't field Melissa Reid, who is Show Me the Golf's resident female golf pro. Well, she lives near Derby actually.

JohnD

The Official GolfGym Golf Fitness Blog: Congratulations to Y.E. Yang on His Impressive Victory at the PGA Championship

2009-08-20T23:41:00.000+01:00

The Official GolfGym Golf Fitness Blog: Congratulations to Y.E. Yang on His Impressive Victory at the PGA Championship

And so say all of us. Opps, sorry Tiger.

Prince Andrew shock horror

2009-08-20T22:27:00.002+01:00

Oh my gawd. The modernization of golf could be put back by several generations if the news I'm reading on Yahoo is true. Prince Andrew to go pro! Let's calm down a minute. The real news is that he is now playing off 4, which needs some kind of good work recognition. But that's about it. I never liked the way he muscled his way into the R&A, and his golf free loading, whilst something to be admired by any golf junkie, has just not felt right. I'm not going to go all indignant of Tunbridge Wells on his arse, but I wish he stick to polo or stag hunting or ping pong - no one can harm ping pong. Golf just doesn't need the Royal endorsement.

So we've decided to go Royal free on Show me the Golf. We've torn up our Royal Warrants, and are now adopting a nobility free membership policy. We are still accepting memberships from minor European royal houses, but no one with a Windsor post code of SL4 1 is getting in.

Windsor - it's really Slough isn't it!

JohnD

Solheim Cup

2009-08-20T16:08:00.002+01:00

Well that's it for Majors this year, but thankfully there's a Solheim Cup to enjoy.

It's being played away at Rich Harvest Farms, near Chicago.

The event was set up by Karsten Solheim of Ping fame, and the US are leading 6-3. And they've never been beaten on home soil.

I'll be keeping a watching brief for Show Me the Golf as the tournament progresses.

JohnD

Tiger and the end of an aura

2009-08-19T14:18:00.002+01:00

I think the media have been going a little bit over the top about Tiger's recent performance. He's getting it in the neck for not being gracious enough in defeat, and now rather than being Mr Invincible, he's 'Vinny Vincible.' Steady lads. He just had a bad day on the greens. OK, a very bad day. But if that putt on the 1st had gone in and think we'd have seen a different story emerge.

Nothing, but nothing happened for him on the Sunday. He either couldn't read them, or he hit them badly. But how much can you read into one bad day on the dancefloor? I think he'll back to his best before too long, although the recognition of his own golfing mortality has to spur on other players when they've got the chance to toe to toe it with him.

On the Yang front, he already being called the Tiger Killer in Seoul. It's been a long time coming for an Asian player - 38 years from when Taiwanese Lu Liang-Huan came within one shot of winning at the 1971 Open at Royal Birkdale. Bit before my time.

And before I forget, there's an opportunity to win Justin Rose's watch - just go to Show Me the Golf for your chance to win.

JohnD

Yang Time

2009-08-17T10:34:00.002+01:00

Now that was a bit of drama! Great composure from Yang to see off The Tiger. And what a fantastic second shot at the 18th. And in the end a convincing 3 shot win. And, and , and. And in the end the Show Me the Golf didn't all go down the pub to watch. Instead we booted up Twitter, cracked open various different forms of alcohol ( I went for Sainsbury's Irish Single Malt Whisky), and got stuck into some serious golf consumption. Jay Townsend was our extra pair of eyes on the ground, and we Twittered away with him and other companions. It really added a different dimension.

And what a great final round - Westwood and McIlroy hung in there to come joint third, and Padraig blew up in the most spectacular fashion.

But when push comes to shove Tiger just didn't get the putter going. A 75 in a final round has to be a bit of a disaster by his standards. He was pretty much faultless tee to green - the odd voyage to the undergrowth, but it all went wrong - or just didn't happen - on the greens.

Cannot believe that we are all majored out until The Masters next year. Just doesn't seem right. I am going to have to find something else to do with my life. Well, maybe not. I'm very patient.....

JohnD

PGA Shaping Up Nicely

2009-08-16T11:09:00.002+01:00

At the start of the third round there was no one within 3 shots of Tiger. It seemed a done deal. But after 9 holes, there were six.

By the end of play Stenson's had gone round in 68, Yang had a 67, and Harrington's had charged through with a 69.

So Tiger goes into the final round with a 2 shot lead from Harrington and Yang, which sets up everything for round 2 Tiger v Harrington. That's something I'm not about mix. Liverpool v Tottenham will just have to wait.

But in my heart of hearts, I can't see anyone else picking up the Wannamaker Trophy. It's what everyone, including the US PGA, seem to want. So I'm thinking 15 down, and 3 to go.

The Show Me The Golf team will be assembling in the pub to cheer on Harrington for all his grit and determination, but I think we are all looking for Tiger to take another step along the fairway to ever-lasting golfing greatness.

JohnD

Bigger Hitters Only Need Apply

2009-08-15T14:02:00.002+01:00

The mighty Alvaro Quiros of Espana is clearly the man for the job this weekend. At 6 foot 3, he is without a shadow of doubt one the big hitters on the European Tour. He topped the Driving Distance Category in the stats in both 2007 and 2008. I watched him dismantle one of the long par 5's. I think his length is even staggering Tiger. But for all that artillery, he's nowhere near Mr Woods.

What's all this being long, Tiger proofing nonsense about? At 7,674 yards Hazeltine is the longest ever track to host a US PGA Championship. And therefore, as we all know, perfect for Tiger. Just tighten up the fairways, and shorten the holes and viola - Tiger proofed. It's not really difficult is it?

Anyway our man in America, Mr Jay Townsend, will be reporting back to us at Show Me The Golf. He called Tiger, of course. If you missed his preview its here.

More Olympic Stuff

2009-08-14T12:22:00.003+01:00

It appears that golf wasn't a shoe in to the Olympics. In fact anything but. Rugby 7's won a comfortable 9 out of 15 votes from the second round secret ballot of the IOC executive. Golf on the other hand nearly went out in the first two rounds - polling only one vote. It then benefitted from tactical voting from rugby supporters to win through in the fourth round. So thanks rugby - or rather rugby 7's. Bit of an odd one in itself, as 7's is the first sport to get in without the main form of the sport being present.

Tiger has got to be the other factor. He's just that bit too hard to ignore.

Format will be 72 holes for men and women, with 60 players in each field. The world's top 15 will qualify automatically. No idea how anyone else gets in though. Pre-Open style qualifying competitions?

Anyway, back to the USPGA. Jay Townsend's out there for Show Me the Golf, and has done us a brilliant piece for us.

Golf in the Olympics

2009-08-13T17:14:00.002+01:00

So we're in - well golf I mean. Alongside women's boxing and 7 a side rugby. What a fitting place to be. At least the Olympic committee won't have to insist that the organizers build a new course for it specially - well, I take that back. Anything's possible with that lot. If it had been bought forward to the London Olympics, where would it have been? Would they have insisted on carving up Hyde Park, or could the London Club have got its hands on? or would the R&A have muscled in and insisted on St Andrews? I guess we'll never know, but some intriguing possibilities.

I guess we'd better take our poll down on Show Me The Golf now that this burning question has been answered.

JohnD

Olympic Decision Day

2009-08-13T13:37:00.003+01:00

So the big day has dawned. Will golf become an Olympic sport by this evening? Or will it be Women's Boxing or Squash or baseball, or roller sports (?) or Karate? You can still vote in our Olympic poll at Show Me The Golf. We're still in two minds as it might interfere with the Gymnastics. Have your say now.

JohnD

Ryder Cup Ticket Draw

2009-08-12T18:38:00.002+01:00

Well, the hotly awaited news has come through, and I am now almost the proud owner of 4 Ryder Cup tickets. For the Tuesday. For £120. For f***'s sake. £30 to watch a practice day! And that's before the car parking, petrol, beer ration ( very limited as driving), programme (bet that's a tenner), and something to eat. And, of course, because it's a Ryder Cup I'll have to get something from the merchandise tent, even if it's only a poxy tea towel or some such rubbish.

So I think my day in Wales is going to be about £100 - to watch them practice. Now, I'm keen, don't get me wrong. But I think I'm going to prefer to invest that money in having a few beers in the pub, and getting stuck in that way.

So if anyone wants 4 tickets to the Tuesday practice day, just let me know. Actually, don't bother you'll need to be my doppelganger as it's all ID'up.

Grumble over.

Will cheer myself up by watching our new video, lovingly shot in La Manga - now that's somewhere I'd save up for.

JohnD

Playing not Blogging

2009-08-06T14:25:00.002+01:00

Busy week on the golf front with 2 games played and it's only Thursday. Playing again tomorrow, then 36 on Saturday, followed by a warm down 18 on Sunday. At which point I will be completely golfed out. The aim this summer is to do some work, and get down to a 16 handicap - a drop of 8 shots in 2 months. It's not exactly up to the work of John Richardson and his new book, 'Dream On'. He couldn't break 100 and set himself the challenge of beating par in a year. 363 days later he shot a one under par 70 at this local track. The title 'Dream On' actually came from our Sam - sorry, Mr Torrance to me. And Darren Clarke told him it would take three years. So 363 is no bad shout.

JohnD

Last Day of the Ryder Cup Ballot

2009-07-31T10:05:00.003+01:00

I've just woken up the fact that its the last day to sign up for The Ryder Cup ballot for next year’s contest in Wales. It closes at midnight tonight, Friday, July 31 (BST).

Go to www.rydercup.com/tickets to sign up for the ballot, which will take place early next month.

Better get on with it.

JohnD

Czech Open

2009-07-30T10:33:00.002+01:00

Jay has been racking up the Air Miles this year - he's done 249,000 miles to date - and he's only just half way through. We used to call Jay Townsend our US Golf Correspondent, but the truth of the matter is that he's really becoming our Global Golf correspondent, as this week he's in the Czech Republic, reporting on the Moravia Silesia Open, at the Prosper Golf Resort.

It's an event I can say without fear of contradiction, that I have never been to.

News from the course is that the Argentine Tano Goya is leading at 6 under going through 15, and that Oliver Fisher has retired injured with a +7.

I think Tim has Oliver Fisher in his fantasy 5 Ball, so he will be narked.

JohnD

Getting in the Golf

2009-07-28T12:17:00.002+01:00

This is turning out to be a proper golf week. 9 holes today at Haywards Heath Golf Club, which is always a tricky track - tight and hard to score on. Never mention the insecticide incident to them is my only word of advice. Damaged a couple of fairways last year, and made the national press. It's all better now though.

Then it's up to Lindfield Golf Course for a round on Friday and another one on Sunday. Lindfield is the home of The Golf College, where you can get some A levels under your belt and learn how to be a pro. Not an option I had in my youth - lucky bleeders.

Think it's time I unleashed my swing on a largely unsuspecting world. So look out on Show Me The Golf' UGC page for a swing that will make Furyk orthodox.

Senior Open Finish

2009-07-26T18:46:00.002+01:00

A fine 67 from Sam to take him to fifth and now a play off on the 18th at Sunningdale. Fred Funk's out, so McNulty and Roberts are battling it out. McNulty has just missed to the left and Roberts has a very makeable putt. And he's missed it.....tried to steer it in. He'll be kicking himself for weeks after that one. McNulty now as a missable one....and phew it's in. So it's back to the 18th hole again. Third time lucky.

JohnD - live from the sofa.

Fred The Funk

2009-07-25T11:35:00.002+01:00

Day two at Sunningdale, and Fred the Funk has been busy putting together a pair of tidy rounds - a 64 and a 65. A run of 18 putts for 12 holes on Thursday set him off in the right direction. And then yesterday he completed his round with an eagle on the par 4 18th - a very rare event for this hole. It's 420 yards, up-hill to a green that cannot be seen from the fairway. Funk hit an 8 iron in from about 170 yards, and that was that. Job done. No wonder he's 11 under par with that kind of a performance.

Sam had, in the words of John Hopkins of The Times, an 'enchanting' round. The Show Me The Golf team are hoping that he can keep the enchantment going, and take out Funk with a spell as well.

JohnD

Sam's in there

2009-07-24T20:18:00.002+01:00

A bit of local knowledge, great form, and massive appetite and hey presto Sam is right in there with at 7 under. Fred Funk is still out in front with a 4 shot lead, but with two days to go and Sam's inside take on everything Sunningdale and you'd have to be hopeful. His delightful Manager, Vicky Cummings, warned us that Sam was totally up for winning this. And now I'm asking myself why I didn't put down that fiver at 25-1. Doh....

The Letterman Show and Stewart Cink

2009-07-24T11:19:00.006+01:00

On the Letterman Show on Tuesday they ran a spoof feature entitled: 'Top ten surprising things about Stewart Cink.' And the number one item was the admission by Cink, the new Open Champion, that "even I wanted Tom Watson to win." What a top man. Just going to sort out the link. It will be on Show Me The Golf shortly......But if you can't wait....try this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsvB9_j0V3U

Senior Open Day One

2009-07-23T21:54:00.002+01:00

So with only a couple of days off, Tom Watson was at it again with a three-under 67 in the first round of the Senior British Open. Steady on lad. But that still wasn't enough to lead, as Fred Funk shot a 64, with Jay Haas and Loren Roberts both shooting 66's to share second place with Des Smyth and Christopher Williams.

Our Sam - sorry, Mr Torrance to me - shot an excellent three under 67 as well, so he's toe to toe with Tom Watson, Tom Kite, Greg Norman and Jerry Bruner.

Can't wait for tomorrow. Playing golf and then getting immersed with the second round. Can't be bad.

JohnD

Senior Open Time

2009-07-23T12:34:00.002+01:00

Tim and I had a full on golf day yesterday - 18 holes at Woking, followed by a trip up to Sunningdale. Woking is pure magic, with some of the best greens I have played on in a long while. My putter was so hot, it was burning up the greens - but I think it was as much to do with the honesty of the greens. You could really trust them.

Then it was onto Sunningdale to meet with Jay Townsend, Show Me The Golf's US correspondent and general golf guru. Jay has one hell of a travel schedule, and I've never met a man with the more airmiles. He's already racked up 249,000 miles this year, and he's only mid way through the season. He's covering the British Senior Masters, before taking off to the Czech Republic, Germany and Swtizerland.

It was great walking round Sunningdale, as there were more major winners and golf legends per sqaure foot than I've ever seen in my life. Oh, there's Craig Stadler. And isn't that Sir Nick practicing his bunker shots. And that was just minute one.

We also managed to meet up Show Me The Golf legend and contributor, Sam Torrance, as he was playing his practice round with Ian Woosnam and Greg Norman.

I'm going to get back for the Saturday's play if I get half a chance. The train station is right by, and for £25 you can see some of the greatest players who have ever trodden the green stuff.

JohnD

Open Calm Down Session

2009-07-20T15:21:00.002+01:00

It's the morning after, and time to digest all that occurred. Well, after watching England win at Lords that is. A Tom Watson or Lee Westwood victory would have made it a crowning glory of a weekend's sport - one that sticks in the memory long after. But it was not quite to be. So we are drowning our sorrows in a few pints of Stowford Press cider - not rocket fuel at 4.5% ABV, but more than enough for a Monday afternoon. And the verdict is that Lee should have made Tom putt with a safe two rather than go for it. Easy to say after the event, but that's the Show Me The Golf conclusion after our third pint and counting. Hardly revelatory I know, but that's where we have come out. Would Lee have won a play off against Cink - who knows? Cink played the 18th twice with birdies, and the 17th with an eagle and a birdie, so you can't argue with that. But not on the radar, and really did a creeper in. But lovely fellow, and there couldn't be a nicer American to win it. Other than Mr Watson. Hey ho. Another year to wait.

JohnD

Open Day Two Late Night Musings

2009-07-18T00:21:00.002+01:00

Was it my imagination or did the crowds look pretty thin at Turnberry? The normal army that follows Tiger around seemed a bit thin on the ground for a start, and then loads of space in the stands. Is this the credit crunch Open, or the too bloody difficult to get there Open? And can we blame Gordon Brown? The Show Me The Golf team didn't all manage to get there for a start. But that won't happen again. That said, I've seen more golf in the last two days than I've seen in my past five years going there - but that still isn't the point is it really. I should be there. Damn it to hell and back.

JohnD

And win a trip to St Mellion

2009-07-17T20:20:00.002+01:00

And there's more. Go to our competition page and you can win a trip to St Mellion, the most fabulous course in the South West of England, and a right hard one to boot. Designed by that nice Mr Nicklaus, it's as hard as hell.

JohnD

Competition Time - Win A Maurice Lacroix Watch

2009-07-17T20:04:00.003+01:00

We've got a brand new competition at Show Me The Golf - the opportunity to win a Maurice Lacroix watch, as worn by Justin Rose, worth £995.00! So if it's time to turn in your old Timex, step right up and come on in to our competition page.

And why does Justin Rose wear a Maurice Lacroix?

Here's the skinny..

Luxury must serve a purpose. In Justin Rose's opinion. Consequently the British golf pro likes the chronographs from Maurice Lacroix. This appreciation is mutual. "We could not desire a better ambassador for our company. We create watches for people who have the confidence to be themselves. Personalities who stand out from the crowd and are looking for more than social status." This is how CEO Martin Bachmann defines the people that Maurice Lacroix esteems. This profile fits Justin Rose perfectly. With his natural charisma and pleasant yet focused manner, the British golfer uniquely embodies the spirit of Maurice Lacroix.

"Authenticity is not a marketing slogan for us, it is a state of mind. Our fundamental desire is to create products that are genuine and true, whose actual value is not only in what can be seen," explains Martin Bachmann, CEO. Through the company's main design code 'less is more', Maurice Lacroix is constantly at the quest of creating the perfect object of desire merging perfectly design and function. This is why Maurice Lacroix has become one of the most exclusive and sought-after Manufacture brands.

For Justin Rose, 27 year old world class player, it is important to be in demand, and not just on the golf course. He lives his dream, yet keeps his feet on the ground, and is always conscious of what really counts in life. Loyalty. To himself and to others. Whatever he does, he does with passion. Justin Rose: "On the course I am a golfer and nothing else: absolute precision and accuracy of movement are all that count for me. In my private life I switch over and I am there for those I love, 100%. I am husband and father, friend and brother. I always try to live in the here and now."

The things with which Justin Rose, member of the 2008 Ryder Cup team, surrounds himself must reflect his attitude and provide meaningful accompaniment to his life. "I am interested in the best quality, because I want to have something from the things around me for a long time and I must be able to rely on them. For me the design is every bit as important as the function. Ostentation for the wrist and bling bling do not fit into my world." It is the hidden details that interest and fascinate the athlete.

The master watchmakers of Maurice Lacroix are experts in this field. Since the launch of the first watch model, the company has consistently introduced pioneering developments that have brought the company many patents and trademarks. The company achieved a worldwide coup with the invention of Memoire 1, the first mechanical clock with memory. Which model is Justin Rose's favorite? "The fact that I can only wear one watch at a time is a real handicap for me. Currently the 'Le Chronographe' is my favorite companion."

Details:

1. Movement: Hand-decorated mechanical, hand-wound ML 130 movement, based on the Peseux 7001 calibre, 17 jewels.

2. Functions: Small seconds.

3. Case: Stainless steel; domed sapphire crystal, screwed-in crown, screwed crystal caseback; water-resistant to 30 m (3 atu), dimensions 37 x 39 mm (3 o.clock / 9 o.clock / 6 o.clock / 12 o.clock).

4. Dial: Silver-coloured or black, applied index marks.

5. Watchband: Leather with folding clasp.

Available to buy from : Jura Watches tel: 0800 011 2704

Open Day Two and Counting

2009-07-17T14:56:00.002+01:00

So day two has kicked off, and already Tom Watson is back at the head of the leaderboard. It looks like Poults is going to be watching from home at the weekend, but he did a great piece on his Twittering for the BBC this morning. He’s really got into, and hats off to him for that. Funnily enough it was Stewart Cink how was the first golfer to Twitter, who is not the most likely candidate. But he’s on the case, and was Twittering as soon as he had got back to his hotel room yesterday after his round – trying to get some air circulating in the room. I know the American’s still can’t get their heads around our lack of air-conditioning or our plumbing. Remember meeting Pat Perez last year at the Vincent in Southport: he’d checked into his original Southport hotel room, taken one look it, and bolted to The Vincent – the only hotel in Southport to have entered the 21^st century, and by some margin.

Right, better get back to the TV. Everyone's struggling, but the Show Me the Golf fiver is still in play.

JohnD

Open Day One

2009-07-16T21:15:00.002+01:00

Knackered. We had a pre-Open celebration last night as the anticipation had just got too much for us. And as we are too busy with the site, we haven't been able to find the time to get up there. First Open I've missed since 2002. But I will actually see more by watching it on telly, but its simply not the same as being there.

Anyway, what a corking start. Tom Watson almost finished the day as clubhouse leader, a mere 32 years after the dual in the sun. What a weird game - a 59 year old can compete against an 18 year old and still come out on top. You'd have got 200- 1 for that, but as it didn't happen je ne regret rien.

The 16th certainly stuck it to a few players - not least Lee Westwood and Tiger. Tiger is often a slow starter, so I don't think he's too badly off the pace: but he needs to slot in a good one tomorrow or it could quickly get away from him. And the same goes for Poults. And some. Come on Poults, let's be having you.

Casey looked all set to go major on the course, and the touch-paper was well lit, only to be slightly dampened by the 18th. But he's still in position - just needs to get the putter working full-time.

I've had all day in front of the TV, but I've just worked out why there are no highlights tonight - apparently Setanta had the highlights rights and now they have gone under there hasn't been a new buyer - and so no highlights. Come on people, sort yourselves out.

And so to bed - I'm sad so will probably be thinking of Retief's bunker shot, which had to be shot of the day.

But the final word lies with Miguel AngelJimenez, the one and only wine drinking, cigar chomping Spanish golf maestro. His 64 is a record equalling first round for The Open, and he dedicated it to Seve. Of course Miguel doesn't have a website - not his style at all. But he's so unflappable that I think he could be in the mix on Sunday.

JohnD

Scottish Open...Kaymer Wins

2009-07-12T19:53:00.004+01:00

So Martin Kaymer has won the Scottish Open with a 2 under 69 for his second straight European Tour victory, after his play-off victory against Lee Westwood in the French Open. He's now gone to No 11 in the world, and must be feeling good about The Open, even though no-one seems to do that well having won the Scottish. It's not quite as bad as winning the par 3 event at The Masters, but I'm going to have to get the record books out to make any claims like that. But three wins in a row? How often does that happen? Need a word with Stato on that front, if he does golf that is. Like Martin Kaymer, Stato doesn't seem to have his own website either. They should get in touch as the Show Me The Golf team could whip one up for him in a couple of hours. And Martin, come on mate, I know you've been busy on the course and all that, but not having a website in this day and age is a bit luddite.

JohnD

Scottish Open...and another thing

2009-07-11T16:37:00.003+01:00

One burning question that we have been kicking around down at Show Me The Golf is why is the Scottish Open played at Loch Lomond - an inland course - when it could be held at a links course?

Is it because they don't want to overshadow The Open itself, which is always links? Would that be giving us too much links in too short a space of time? Wouldn't bother me, and it would mean that you'd get a great field attending, who wanted a bit of a links warm up before taking on The Open course. Padraig has had to go to Ireland to get his links practice in, but surely would have attended the Scottish Open if it had been held at one of Scotland's lesser links courses. Better for the crowds, TV watchers and sponsors I would have thought. Or am I missing something?

JohnD

The Open Run In

2009-07-11T13:04:00.002+01:00

Sad to hear the Phil Mickelson won't be at The Open. He will be sorely missed, just as Tiger was last year. Well, Tiger was missed before the event, but as soon as things got going and the weather blew in to create a golfing apocalypse, it was a bit of a case of Tiger who? Maybe exaggerating slightly, but the weather became the story, and then Greg Norman, and then Poults and then Harrington.

We spend a couple of hours each day on the 17th at Royal Birkdale, so when Padraig cracked his 5 wood on to the green on the final day, we appreciated just how great a shot it had been. In all the hours we had spent on the 17th before then, no body had managed to do much. We saw a lovely up and down from Lee Westwood from the green side bunker, but that was about it.

So, will there be a UK or European winner? Probably not. I hope Padraig will get in the mix; the hunger is so clearly there. Rory you would think could be in there - hits the ball high, which isn't great if the wind is up, but he grew up playing Northern Irish links golf, so he knows his way round. You'd like to think Poults will give it a go, but apparently he's never played Turnberry before, so might be at a slight disadvantage.

I'm just hoping it won't be an obscure American - no disrespect to Todd Hamilton or Ben Curtis, who I was delighted to see playing well at The European Open. Hats off again to the Heath Harvey at The London Club for putting on such as great show.

So no final decision as to where the Show Me The Golf fiver will be spent. Let's see what Padraig does today, and how the Scottish Open plays out.

JohnD

Scottish Open

2009-07-10T23:59:00.002+01:00

Adam Scott is coming good again, at last. We all know he's had a bad go of it recently, and that he's far too good looking for his own good. But we'll forgive him for that. Well, almost. He came and visited us on our tour bus when we were doing Golf Punk, but I think he may have been lured in by Nursie. But it's Retief who is looking in control with a round of 63. He's good at leading from the front, but if he gets this he's got no chance at The Open.

JohnD

Harrington On Course

2009-07-10T17:39:00.002+01:00

So the preparation work continues to go to plan, as Padraig takes a 4 shot lead into tomorrow's final round with a two over par 73, from England's Simon Thornton. OK, so it wasn't a perfect round, but there can surely be no better way of preparing for The Open than getting a win under your belt immediately beforehand, and having the day off on Sunday as well. And it worked for him in 2007 and 2008. This is looking like one hell of a cunning plan.

The Show Me The Golf fiver could be moving his way.

JohnD

Harrington Prepares...

2009-07-09T12:49:00.003+01:00

It's not been much of a year so far for Padraig, with five cuts in a row missed, including the French Open. But clearly he has got his eyes still firmly fixed on the big one - The Open. And appears to be adopting a cute strategy to get himself back in the swing of things.

Rather than play in the Scottish Open against the likes of Ernie Els, Graham McDowell, Angel Cabrera, Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomery, Padraig's teeing it up at the Ladbrokes.com Irish PGA Championship, playing against club pros and tour hopefuls. He's done this before - winning at The European Club, south of Dublin, in 2007 and 2008 and then going on to pick up the Claret Jug both times.

He's also been keeping the driver in his bag, and resorting to long irons and at most a 3 Wood off the tee. The rough is apparently pretty tortuous at Turnberry, and it's set up the same at the European Club - long, and tight to the fairways. So he's rebuilding his confidence of the tees, which has been letting him down of late.

So I'm thinking it's not time to write Padraig out of The Open picture. Class is permanent, form is temporary, or words to that effect. I think some Show Me The Golf money could still be going his way.

JohnD

The Legend that is Chubby Chandler

2009-07-08T12:32:00.003+01:00

Tim and I hopped in the motor at the crack of sparrow's yesterday morning to go and visit the legend that is Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler. We had some interesting video ideas for Chubby, and he gave us a fair hearing, so now we are sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring. Chubby has put together an awesome stable of golfing talent; half the Ryder Cup team, and half the England Cricket team as well.

His golfers include Lee Westwood, Rory Mcilroy, Ernie Els, Paul Mckinley, Darren Clarke, David Howell. I could go on, but I haven't got all day. And I won't even start on the cricketers.

Lee was very unlucky to miss out in France, but the ISM team were all pretty bouyant about his performance. Great to be finding some serious form coming into The Scottish Open, and The Open.

Then it was back in the motor, and another four hours of driving. So eight hours in the car for a one hour meeting. We must be committed or committable - or a bit of both.

Viva La Manga!

2009-07-04T18:08:00.003+01:00

I’ve just flown in from a glorious 4 days at La Manga, where I managed to play two rounds – one on the South and one on the North course – before getting down to work filming a couple of Hell Holes and a HILF for www.showmethegolf.com.

It was my first time at La Manga, so I didn’t really know quite what to expect. I guess I’ve grown up with La Manga always lurking somewhere in the distant background of my consciousness, but never knew what it was all about and whether or not it would really be for me. I’ve never really been one for a resort holiday, so I probably came in with a few preconceptions and a little bit of baggage. Well, not much baggage at all actually, as I took the golf club rental option, and an excellent decision it was too – a very nice set of Callaways, and a Big Bertha that I just kept on hitting straight. It’s always a good sign when the rental clubs are decent; it just shows that they take their golf seriously.

The South course is definitely the tougher of the two courses, and at 6,499 metres off the Whites and 6, 127 off the Yellows it’s not short. It’s the perfect course to play a competitive event on as it is fundamentally fair and transparent in that you won’t be at a disadvantage if you’ve not played it before. There are no significant elevations, but plenty of water to avoid as well as some massive ditches which are strategically placed to take your round apart. And lots and lots of palm trees – the resort’s emblem. Apparently there are over two thousand palm trees across the estate; my kind of tree really – not much foliage and therefore quite hard to hit.

On the subject of ditches, the 18th particularly comes to mind, and we’ve filmed it as a Hell Hole. It starts with a tricky drive – water to the left and right and a dirty great bunker slap bang in the middle of the fairway. Survive all that and you are then faced with a death or glory option – everything you’ve got to get over the ditch – well, more like a gorge – or lay-up. For me it wasn’t a hard choice, but if you’re got to post a score in a competition, you could be tempted. And there’s no margin for error. And if you get the distance, then there’s the odd bunker or 4 to avoid. But apart from that, no dramas!

The North Course is much more of a chill out course – a perfect remedy if you’ve been beaten up on the South Course, and want to remind yourself why you actually love golf. I shot the lights out on the front 9 – 21 Stapleford points I thank you - but lost concentration in the heat and limped in with an apologetic 11 more points. But I know there is a good score out there to be had, and at 5429 metres off the Yellows you don’t need to be hitting the ball long.

Between the three courses there’s plenty of variety, which is essential if you’re going to spend more a week at a resort. What I also loved is the fact that two of the courses start and finish right in the heart of the resort, so you really feel that golf is central to the whole experience, and not a side show.

On the non-golfing front I have to report that all is dandy. There’s a great pool, generous, modern and comfortable rooms with great beds – not something ever to be underestimated- and a wide choice of restaurants so you never have to eat in the same place twice – unless you want to of course, and the final restaurant of our visit is a place I’d go back to in a heartbeat.
The resort has a little beach area where La Cala serves some fabulous sea food – we had wonderful prawns and a Cuttlefish served whole and in garlic.

We flew out with Monarch Airlines, who fly into Alicante from London Gatwick, Birmingham, Luton, and Manchester. They also fly into Murcia from Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester – sorry Luton. Fares, including taxes, start from £46.50 one way and £76.99 return. I’d recommend the return option as my swimming isn’t up to much, especially when I am taking my clubs with me.

We were also joined on the trip by our new travel partners- www.yourgolftravel.com – where you can get more details on how to get yourselves out to La Manga.

La Manga Anticipation

2009-06-26T20:05:00.002+01:00

Off to La Manga on Monday for a couple of days to sample the delights of at least two of their championship courses. We are going to shoot a couple of Hell Holes and a couple of HLFs, which are for the uninitiated Holes I Would Like To Frequent. I'm keeping off the hole by hole guide to the courses, as I want to build my anticipation. I've had a glimpse at the website, but I want to get the real experience first hand and not have any preconceptions. Can't wait.....

JohnD

Ricky Barnes - The Ultimate Photo

2009-06-22T21:24:00.001+01:00

We’ve only got probably the only picture of any merit ever shot of Ricky Barnes in our library, courtesy of Mr Steve Read, golf photographer to the stars. Tim (Editor of www.showmethegolf.com) was up at Loch Lomond doing a photo shoot with Darren Clarke. When that was delayed the boys got their paws on one Ricky Barnes, and talked him into getting in front of the camera. The result – one of the most iconic golfer shots of the last decade. If only he had won, Steve would be rolling in it, and we’d be basking in some sort of reflected glory halo. But it was not to be; Mr Glover came through. And we never got a shot of him. Never mind. As this is a blog I can’t show you the photo in question anyway, which is more the pity, as you’d love it. Will have to get Steve Read to release it for our use on Show Me The Golf.

Ricky Barnes - Renaissance Man

2009-06-21T14:24:00.004+01:00

Just been doing some research (OK Googling) on Ricky Barnes, and have come up with this fascinating listing for his name - Ricky (Barnes) is passionate about Thinking, Writing, Reading, Learning, Languages, Linguistics, Philosophy, World History, and Cultural Anthropology. It's a wonder he's any time for golf at all! Maybe that’s why he held onto his amateur status for a while. With all that going on he might not get enough time to sit back and enjoy a few golf videos, or a session with Show Me The Golf. We hope he will. And best of luck this afternoon / morning your time.

Hard Times at the US Open

2009-06-21T12:55:00.003+01:00

It looks like the USPGA has been acting like a bunch of skin flints - $100 a ticket for the Thursday for 3 hours of play, and a soaking thrown in for free. Only now that the media and the odd Congressman have got up in arms has there been a bit of a step down by the boys in blue (jackets). You can come for free on Monday if it isn’t wrapped up on Sunday, but if not you’ll just get a 50% refund. Whoopie-do! Thanks a bunch.

Still, the USPGA don’t appear to be the worst offender – you’ll only get a refund for two hours at The Open. But in my past experience, nothing stops The Open. On the first day of the 2003 Open a gale blew in off the English Channel, and almost took our Motor-home for a spin – but play went on, and some incredible low shots were recorded – I seem to remember that South Africa’s Otto had a 69, even though he went out in the middle of it. Greg Norman also managed a 69, but had the benefit of a much later tee time.

And then last year at Royal Birkdale, we were storm-lashed for the best part of three days and nights, with tents collapsing, and one of our journalists throwing a fit of epic proportions at 4am. Everyone had been moaning that The Open wouldn’t be the same without Tiger but the weather came in and stole the show, well alongside Padraig, Poults and Greg. But even on the brutal first day, four players shot 69. Miraculously Ernie Els managed to make the cut with an 80 followed by a 69!

Otherwise, all I‘ve been hearing on this side of the pond is good stuff about the organization. I liked the pairings – French playing with French, Spaniard with Spaniard, Swede on Swede - plus the Supergroup of Woods, Mickelson and Cabrera.- the PGA’s equivalent to Cream, or The Travelling Wilburys - god forbid.

And when the US Open is all done and dusted, you can apparently play on Bethpage Black for the normal public green fee, rather than at a corporate daylight robbery price. Maybe there will be a bit of global recession upside after all. It’s only $50 for a weekday tee time if you are a New York state resident, which is pretty amazing for the quality that you are getting.

Our man on the ground, Mr Jay Townsend, is still recovering from Thursday’s trench foot, and has some way to go yet if his prediction that Tiger will win is to come off. It’s a shame when an event is so biased by the weather. Ricky Barnes, bless him, has yet to hit a single shot in the rain, which must have been a factor in his 8 under par performance – the lowest 36 score ever in 109 years of the US Open. Ricky Barnes was also playing as an Amateur in the 2003 Open, but didn’t make the cut, racking up a 79 and a 74, so he would appear not to like the rain!

As for my Paul Casey, £5, enough said. I’m now turning my Anglo- Saxon attentions to Lee Westwood, Oliver Fisher and the indefatigable Poults, who kicks off his third round Sunday 7.46am Standard Eastern Time. Can’t wait....

It's a Washout

2009-06-19T12:59:00.003+01:00

Well, an inch of rain is going to put a bit of a dampener on things I guess. It sounds like BethPage Black has turned into Long Island’s equivalent of Glastonbury. And looking at the weather forecast, I can only see further delays ahead. So maybe a Monday or a Tuesday finish. My money is on Tuesday – with or without a play off.

We’ve got www.showmethegolf.com’s US correspondent working for us on the ground there. Mr Jay Townsend. Just press here for his take on what's going to occur.

We're really grateful to Jay getting trench foot on our behalf, and he’s backing Tiger – if he continues to hit the ball straight, which is exactly what he was doing at The Memorial. Jay reckons that if he hits 70% of fairways he will win by at a pace. I’m still rooting for Paul Casey, as I think he has the game for the course, and the form.

I was also delighted that Johan Edfors made such a strong start, as we meet up with him recently at the Puma Open, and he’s a totally charming man, who is also a dead ringer for Roger Federer. Tough life!

Here's hoping for some play today.

US Open Early Day 1 Musings

2009-06-18T14:26:00.001+01:00

I’ve read in the papers today that Poults is massively in to technology and specifically Twitter, while Justin Rose is just about keeping his head above water with email and texting. If we could get Poults out there at the US PGA Twittering away, that could make for some fascinating copy. I’m thinking more club selection info than” F....King shanked that one”, or “Stopping for a banana.” I’d better get signed up and see what’s occurring.

We’ve already done some filming for www.showmethegolf.com with Poults, where he was interviewed by Valderama. We also had a good look at his new fashion collection.

Now won’t a major for Poults or Casey be something? We’ve not had a US Open winner since 1970 with Tony Jacklin for goodness sakes. I’m hearing that the course set up isn’t quite living up to its Death Page nickname, and it should suit Casey’s long game in particular. I think a fiver might be going his way for a top five finish.

The Great Machrie

2009-06-17T18:10:00.002+01:00

The Great Machrie.....

The Machrie. Mmmm. Savour those two words. T...h...e...M..a..c..h...r...i..e...

Swirl them around your mouth. Get the taste. This is full flavour golf, bought to you from the Isle of Islay, one of the most chilled out places in the UK, which is also drenched in the fine art of Whisky making.

Golf + whisky? Could it work? I think so.

This is a proper walk on the wild side – a journey into a golfing nirvana, with a cast of lovely people, who are so; agreeable, pleasant, share the time of day with you, calm, relaxed, charming, wave at you from their car, hospitable, and without side- that it takes you time to get it. I was way too Londoned-up for the place, and it was more than a day or two to before I even start to get on their wavelength. Maybe there is a dark side, but if it’s there I missed it.

I was wandering around the Laphroaig distillery, when I wasn’t playing golf, and chatted with one of the guys who ran the ‘Maltings’– he looks after the whisky, and then nips out to do a bit of lobster fishing. Now that works for me. He’s also travelled around India – so any idea that this is some insular, hate incomers, environment is completely dispelled. These are great people, with an amazing golf course in their midst, or rather at the edge – it is links after all.

The Machrie is a golf wonderland. The setting is sublime – a seven mile sandy beach, with the course deeply set into the dunes behind it. If you don’t like this you have no soul. Simple as. So go, go, go, now, tomorrow, just as soon as you can.

At 6250 yards off the whites, it’s not long, but who cares about length when you’ve got a serious links course to contend with? 6250 yards of The Machrie is more than enough for me, and it has to be walked – you’d need shooting if you wanted to cart this baby, and you’d have to be one hell of a cart driver as well.

I have to say that this fetish for length is totally irrelevant, unless you are Paul Casey. I hate it when great courses like this start to get almost apologetic about their perceived lack of length. There’s no need for any golfing Viagra – it’s all here already.

And as for the course itself, it’s links as I love it. Fast running, undulating fairways – of course - and a great variety of green placements – some raised; some sunken into great sand-duned punch bowls. Because of the challenging terrain, there’s no real need for other defences, so there’s little in the way of bunkering. And that’s before I even mention the wind, which can add a whole new dimension of difficulty.

Some complain about the number of blind shots, but that’s a part of what gets me going -knocking one out into the unknown, but with the hope that there’s a safe place to be found, which is sometimes the case.

I also have to say hats off to Simon Freeman, the Head Green keeper. We bumped into him on the 10^th, and he is one of the most committed and engaging people I’ve met in golf. He’s totally on top of this place, even thought he doesn’t have an army of staff to help him keep the place in shape.

Right, I need to calm down and maybe have a quick Laphroaig, or maybe a Lagavulin, or an Ardbeg, or a Caol Ila, or a Bunnahabhain, or a Bruichladdich.

‘This is not a love song’ sang Mr J. Rotten, back in 1983 - well, I’m not sorry to say, this is. And I'm longing to get back up here for Show Me The Golf, and shoot some proper golf video of this place so everyone can see what it's about.

JohnD

St Mellion - the New Nicklaus Signature Course

2009-06-15T15:24:00.002+01:00

I’m just back from trying out the newly revamped Nicklaus course at St Mellion, now rechristened as ‘The Nicklaus Signature Course’. Trying is the word – very trying. I’d originally wanted to call this piece Dye Hard, as Pete Dye was a big influence on Jack’s early course designs, and this just about summed up my feelings for the course once I’d been battered by it.

As this was Jack’s first ever signature golf course design in the UK, I was keeping an eye out for the Dye influence, and it is there in abundance –noose-tight fairways, and bikini-top small greens. But this doesn’t really do justice to what Jack (sorry, Mr Nicklaus to me) originally bought to the party – high tees with good views of the fairway, oceans of water, and the absolute need to think your way round the course, and position yourself accurately on the fairway.

This might sound like common sense, but if you turn your course management brain off here for more than a nanosecond, then you’ll be in deep....rough, water, sand, whatever. There’s a ‘wealth’ of different hazards to be endured – streams, lakes, ravines, rivers, the odd tree in the middle of the fairway (the 10^th), and that rough I mentioned; nasty, deep, ball-loosing, club-clenching stuff.

We were sent off on our round with 3 shiny new balls, and in hindsight a rather knowing ‘Good Luck’ by David Moon, St Mellion’s Director of Golf and the South West’s leading Wolves fan. I’d had a premonition that I was in for a bit of a roughing up, so had loaded myself up with some spares, and if you’re not all over your game, you’ll need them. Especially if you try and muscle your way round this course – it simply will not be overpowered.

My single piece of advice is to put that driver away until the 15^th, unless you’re really feeling super-confident. And certainly leave it well alone for the 1^st which, unusually for a Nicklaus design, is a blind drive. This is a real RTFM course (‘Read the F**** Manual’ for the uninitiated), or otherwise you’ll be off to a nightmare start. I missed the fairway by a yard at most, but ball number one had already gone into permanent hiding. This is not a course that tolerates any lapse of concentration or failure to pay attention to detail.

The first nine just doesn’t let up as it winds its way through some stunning Cornish valley scenery, with no two consecutive holes following the same direction, and never a sight of the hotel. You feel if you’re out there on your own to do battle with the course, uninterrupted by the cares of the real world, or other golfers for that matter.

By the time you’ve emerged onto the 10^th, you’ll be in need of some therapy. A quick burst of electro-shock treatment and a banana was all I could manage before setting out again on my quest to amass a grand total of 18 woeful, but hard fought for, Stapleford points.

I’m told by David Moon that the downhill Par 3 11^th – 145 yards of the yellows – ‘echoes’ the 12^th and 16^th at Augusta, and that holes 10-13 are often referred to as Britain’s Amen Corner. These are a testing run of holes for golfers of any standard, and it’s only when I get to the 15^th that I feel that I can start to open up my shoulders, and drive with any confidence. 16^th and 17^th – no sweat, but then there the 18^th to contend with, and this doesn’t disappoint either.

It’s a 431 dog-leg right off the yellows, which should suit my game – OK, my slice. But the reality is you have to be long off the tee here, and keep it left to have any realistic chance of making the green in two. Oh, and the green is protected by a lake. Thanks Jack. Thanks very much. No, really, thanks.

I was a guest of the St Mellion International Resort, which has just spent a whacking great £2.5 million upgrading and reconfiguring The Nicklaus Signature Course and the Kernow Course at St Mellion.

I’m reliably informed that £2.5 million buys you:

· 1,000 metres of new drainage

· 1,000 tons of sand used in bunker replacement

· 4,000 tons of rootzone for use on new trees and greens

· 13,000m2 of cart path resurfacing

· 1,100 new sprinklers.

And, while they were at it, they dropped another £20 million into creating a brand spanking new 4 Star 80-bedroom hotel, with gym, spa, Brassiere, top notch restaurant and a new driving range – where I’d suggest you spend a few hours practising your long irons before taking this beast on.

London Golf Show

2009-05-06T11:06:00.002+01:00

To the London Golf Show on Friday at Excel. Year No 5 for them, which is pretty good going in this environment I would have said. More travel focused this year I found than before, and as always plenty to buy at The American Golf stand. One of our gang managed to buy himself a single Ping 4 iron, which I thought was a bit of a result. We were a bit distracted from the main event as we had to deliver a speech on the future of Golf broadcasting. Now that we've been going for a few months we are industry experts. Well, I think we had a few point to make. The arrival of gary Lineker is hardly a palace revolution. But we liked the new iPhone app that allowed you to watch Amen corner on your phone - well, your phone if you have an iPhone that is. And that ain't me yet. So Sky, BBC and Setanta will continue to hold onto the broadcast rights as we haven't got a few hundred million at hand, but they are still not exactly moving the game on in terms of coverage. Peter Alliss is 78 for heaven's sakes. No disrespect of course. He is an essential part of the viewing experience. But they will need to plan for an Alliss free future at some stage.

JohnD

Royal Ashdown Forest West Course

2009-04-28T20:21:00.003+01:00

So the Old Course tends to get all the plaudits, but the par 68 West Course at Royal Ashdown Forest is more than worth a look at. At 5606 yards off the whites it's not long, but it's a great test, with a fantastic closing run of holes. In fact it's a complete joy pretty much from start to finish, although it's the turn and the back nine that really grabbed my attention.

It was all going so well for me until the 18th. 5 skins being played for, and I hit a decent enough drive to the right of the fairway. But this is where the trouble starts. At 435 yards you need a bit of length to be in position to get a chance at the green, as there's a dirty great stream 30 yards in front of the green, and water to to the left. Tried to play safe and lay up but hacked it into some rubbish on the left. No dramas as my rival had found some water early on. Got it back in play, but a little too near the new foot bridge that they are building over the stream. Managed to chip straight in the water. Dohhh! Worst shot of the day, 5 skins lost to a bleeding 6. But I'm certainly going back.

It's also easy to get onto, even at the weekends, and doesn't cost a fortune. At the moment you can play for £21 after 1.30pm on a Saturday or Sunday. I think that's until the end of May, so I'd suggest you get on with it.

This has to be some of the best golf to be had in Mid Sussex - and like the Old Course it doesn't have bunkers either, which always gets my vote.

JohnD

Golfing at Machrihanish

2009-04-17T15:15:00.005+01:00

I'm just back from a wonderful and remote corner of Scotland, which is in parts nearer to Ireland than England.

From Glasgow you head up to Loch Lomond, and then take a sharp left which takes you over to Inverrary. Then keeping on going and you will come to Campbeltown. It's only a 138 miles from Glasgow, but it will take at least 3 hours - the scenery is stunning though, so it's a wonderful drive.

Then a bit of a left and a right and you'll find yourself at Machrihanish Golf Club, one of the finest links courses to be enjoyed in Scotland - or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

Its most famous feature is the first, where you have to drive out over the sea to reach the fairway. Classic risk and reward shot - you can just chunk it over and find the generous fairway, but be miles from the pin, or you can try and take in on and flight your ball over the water to get in position for a better second into the pin. The one advantage within all of this is that it favours a slice, so I wasn't too troubled. Started it way out and sure enough my consistent slice bought it back in and in fine position for a chance at the green.

The second's not a bad either - drive up to a stream, and then hit a 7 iron into a green that's right on top of a hill. And then the third - you beauty land. Not long, but wonderfully protected by bunkers.

There's so much more to be said about this wonderful course, but that might have to wait a while. I'm back there in my head - it's a slightly gloomy afternoon, with the treat of a little rain on the back nine - and I'm now walking to the fourth......

More to follow.

JohnD

The Road to Scotland

2009-03-27T21:30:00.003Z

Journey starts 7.30am Haywards Heath time. Train to Victoria, blag lift with brother and head north. Overnight in York, and then onwards and onwards, and upwards to Scotland. I've got to say it's bloody miles. 337 miles from York alone. We may be some time! But it will be worth it. Machrihanish and Machrie are names I have been savouring all week. Niblicks polished, Srixon Soft Feels at the ready, and several sets of thermals packed just in case. In case - survival kit will no doubt be essential, and I'm not taling about a couple of Mars Bars and bottle of pop. I am expecting Scotland to throw everything at me in terms of weather. I've been fooled before by a few spring days. So I'm prepared, and ready for the off.

JohnD

Royal Ashdown Forest

2009-03-26T11:35:00.002Z

We got some golf lined up for tomorrow at the glorious Royal Ashdown Forest. It may be raining cats and dogs today but it's bound to clear up for tomorrow. Of course. Well just checked and the weathers no shoe in, but we'll be there in our waterproofs, unleashing hell - well, maybe the odd decent drive.

Royal Ashdown for those who don't know is one of those rare courses with no bunkers on it. It's no that long either, but that still doesn't make it easy. It has been a Open Championship Regional qualifying venue, so clearly the R&A are impressed. Just checked and its still on the list for 2009. I'm sure a part of its attraction for the R&A is that its still a really old school course, in the best sense. The old school test for me is if they have a load of combs in a jar of some strange mixture of antiseptic in the changing rooms. I'll have to get a picture to make my point, but it does hark back to a different era when chaps coming off the course would give their hair a good comb over before getting the blazer on and going for a livener in the bar.

Massive Upside

2009-03-25T10:45:00.003Z

I've just been invited on the ultimate road trip. Off to the Western Isles to play some golf and drink some whisky - playing Machrihanish and then the Machrie. Some of the best links golf in the world, followed by some fine whisky from the distilleries of Islay. Can't bleading well wait. Will be doing a daily blog and all of that to communicate the outstanding joys of playing golf and drinking grog.

JohnD

Come on Tiger!

2009-03-14T21:41:00.004Z

It's really not happening for Tiger at the moment - he's currently 3 under, while Michelson is cruising away at 13 under - 2 shots off Watney and 3 off young Mr McIlroy. Now Rory is really getting into boy-done-good territory. One win under his belt after a couple of nearly got there's and his confidence is clearly riding high. Will have to nip off and see what's going on. Would be great to see some Tiger magic, but it's great that the next generation which was Tiger inspired is fighting for his crown.

JohnD

Leeds Road Trip

2009-03-13T13:28:00.003Z

Friday at long last. Really in a bit of a TGIF mood as it's been a long old week, with an overnight trip to Leeds and back thrown in for good measure. We also got to see Leeds play Yeovil, and what a game it was. 4-o - and a hatrick from Beckford. There is a real nucleus of quality players there with Beckford, Delph and Beccio. Parker wasn't bad either and the new 'Young American' Michael Grella looked very promising.

Now what's this all to do about golf you may ask? Well, nothing. But you have to have the odd look at something else. The real purpose of our visit was to see the nice people at Direct Golf, over Huddersfield way. Great operation going on there, and a really friendly feel to the business. We are going to be doing a ton of stuff with them hopefully in the coming months. Including a competition for a set of John Letters clubs. Better get on and write that copy.

JohnD

What a show exlaimation mark

2009-01-23T22:21:00.002Z

Show number 3 and I like it , I like it, I like, it's only rock'n roll but .....actually it's golf, and stop being a golf and Stones loving grandad. Lost the plot for a moment. Composure now regained. But I loved it. I've been sweating away in the background, trying to get things moving on all sorts of fronts, and hadn't quite realised what was occuring front of house. They are having too much fun, which is probably why the Golf Magic crew hated it. All my buttons have been pressed, and now going for a lie down.

JohnD

Monday Morning

2009-01-19T11:11:00.002Z

This is apparently the worse day in the year. Monday, plenty of time away from payday, bad weather, banking crisis, credit card bills coming into be reckoned with. Heard this on Radio 4 this morning, and almost felt like rolling over and not getting up. Well with RBS posting a loss of untold billions, it certainly puts what we are doing into perspective. We've not quite reached that scale yet, and we are a damn sight more careful with our money than they appear to be. Just been checking out a new site I came aross at the weekend called wexo. Apparently it's the place to go and find up and coming young things looking for work experience - otherwise known as photocopying and tea making. Although I guess in these days, there's a lot less photocopying done than there used to be. So we've stuck a toe into that water to see if we can find some golf mad berks who know their way around the internet, and want to get involved with the good ship Showmethegolf. If anyone hears of anyone, let us know. We've got a couple of spare desks and extra mugs. We'll even stretch to the tea bags.

JohnD

And another thing

2009-01-17T21:41:00.002Z

Well it's Saturday night and I'll do anything to avoid Casualty. So it's time to talk to myself again on blog land. The question that I'm fretting my head about tonight is how to engage an army of golf mad bloggers to let the world know about Show Me The Golf? We've created some amazing content, we've got the good and great of golf all lined up, but we need to be able to shout our message to the world. I thought all you needed to do was fire off a quick email, do something virtual, and then the whole world would start knocking on you doorstep. But I'm coming to the view that it's a little trickier than that. Potentially quite a lot trickier. So it's time to get out SEO for morons and see where we go from there. Watch out world, we're jumping in.

JohnD

Show Number 3

2009-01-16T20:38:00.003Z

I can't believe it' not butter - sorry, where was I. I meant to say I can't believe that we have already been filming show number 3. What happened to shows 1 and 2? Done and dusted, and out there and hopefully being enjoyed. All the feedback has been so positive - people really are fed up with golf being presented in a dull way. And we are breaking the mold - I meant mould. Same thing really. Big thank you to those nice people at Bunker Mentality, Sky Caddie, Srixon amongst others. Being a previous about Srixon, but we love their soft feels and general approach to life. So who's next? It's all going on.....And Show 3 will be a real treat.

JohnD

We've only gone and launched....

2009-01-09T13:04:00.003Z

After weeks of frenetic activity we've gone and launched ourselves onto an unsuspecting world. Our first show went out on Setanta on Tuesday night, sponsored by those nice people at Bunker Mentality. The show's has been repeated across the week, and if you missed it can now be seen on our website - www.showmethegolf.tv. We then popped down to the Witch Inn for a large drink. Reminds me, we need to go and pay the tab....

Show 2 is now being filmed in the studio as I write - studio sounds a bit grand - our office in Haywards Heath. I'd better keep the noise down.....

JohnD

And not a mouse stirred

2008-12-24T17:50:00.005Z

Yes, it's now officially Christmas Eve, and it's time to down tools for 48 hours and listen to some carols, eat mince pies and play with my new online putting game....no, no, no. That will have to wait til I get back in the office and I'm now going to go into golf rehab for the next two days. But what if I get a Sky Caddie? Will I be able to stay in and just admire it? Or will I have to get out and give it a go? Now that could be a tricky one. Will probably have to fill my boots with whisky and a bit of port, and render myself generally imobile on the couch. Need a little rest as our Chairman has signed me up to run a 10km in Feb. I think he's trying to tell me something.

Over and out and back before the New Year runs away with itself.

JohnD

Down on the farm

2008-12-08T21:26:00.005Z

Another day on the farm that is www.showmethegolf.tv . When I say farm, I mean that in the nicest possible way. We're more organic and one onion at a time - not some sprawling tract of land out in East Anglia. But we are only at the begining of the growing cycle. Just planting the seeds, and putting down the fertiliser, so to speak. Anyway, enough of my arable parables. What's really been going on is that we've been getting heads round natural search optimization, key search terms, and PPC.

I'm in severe danger of turning into an SEO head - search engine optimization that is. But we have to let the world know we exist and care, so all these stones have to be looked under and thoroughly examined. Otherwise we'll just be talking to ourselves and what would be the point of that?

Right, that's quite enough of this random entry.

JohnD

Demise of the Western World

2008-12-07T01:12:00.003Z

Well, it's a bit of a pity that the whole of the western world is falling into rack and ruin. I almost agreed with Jeremy Clarkson for the first time - he was predicting doom and gloom on Radio 2 the other day, and for once was probably right. But that's as far as I will come to agreeing with his world view. He's really the Daily Mail in disguise. But here at www.showmethegolf.tv life goes on - lots of work going on with the website, new content springing up everywhere. What's not to like.

JohnD

First Outage

2008-12-05T23:52:00.002Z

Well crisis struck - the f****** site went down for a few hours. The CTO was in the pub - Friday night so fair play - but being a trooper he got it sorted and I was able to get on with my evening - making improvements on the site, or rather recommendations. Can't do the proper tech stuff yet. I have such an exciting life. I think I'm in danger of becoming a tech head. Well, that might be pushing it. In fact our CTO would belly laugh at the very suggestion. But here at www.showmethegolf.tv we will not be detered by such matters. We will golf and we will generally prevail, even though the western world has decided to have a bit of melt down. But our Gordon will sort us all out - www.number10.gov.uk.

Will linking to Downing Street scupper us, or is it an amazing move that will build us an audience of frustrated golfers operating within Whitehall. Only time will tell.

Right, better get on with it.

JohnD

NEC Golf Show

2008-11-21T22:50:00.003Z

Just back in after a long day in Birmingham at the NEC Golf Show. Show runs for another two days, so get in there. There was some brisk business being done, especially at the American Golf stand - or should I say superstore - a massive bit of retail space at the heart of the show. There's no sign of a golf recession in the West Midlands from what I saw.

I was impressed by the visitors - real hard core golf junkies.

Less impressed by having to pay £8 to park.

Bit of a liberty if you also have to pay and entry fee. Didn't realise that the NEC is really a car parking business. That's ok for a trade show, but it's asking a lot for punters. So we drove straight through the barriers as an act of defiance. Well, we thought about it. For at least 30 seconds.

We also hooked up with some old friends, including Andy Hiseman of Hiseman Ltd, and Nicole Wheatley of Medi8ltd. Amongst many others of course - we've got lots of friends, really.

We also unleashed the wonderful Sophie Horn on an unsuspecting golf world. She will be a superstar on ShowMeTheGolf.TV.

Right to bed. 7 hours of driving, one McDonalds, 4 pints of bitter and I'm done. I wasn't doing the driving I would add.

JohnD

It's all Kicking off

2008-11-20T20:48:00.002Z

Tomorrow we are off to the NEC for the golf show. We'll be talking to everyone and giving them the full showmethegolf.tv low down, whether they want to hear it or not. We make no apologies. Lots of other exciting things happening, but it's still a little early to write about them here. How annoying! But have to keep mum until things are properly sorted. But it's all looking good in the SMGTV world.

JohnD

Doh

2008-11-18T20:09:00.002Z

Well this whole fund raising process can be a little frantic, and occasionally things get the better of you. We had a great scam email today - high quality and not your normal Nigerian rubbish. A whole lot more cunning, well referenced etc etc. We had 30 seconds of blimey and an hour of get off my case. But you still feel a little tarnished by the whole thing, especially as you are totally serious about getting things done, as we are.

But the www.showmethegolf.tv ships sails on in a stately manner, ready to bob around a bit on the waves of fund raising madness. We'll get it sorted.

JohnD

Sky Caddy

2008-11-17T21:14:00.004Z

I've been trying to get my paws on a Sky Caddy to offer as a competition prize, but guess what - stock is impossible to get hold of. Everything they've got is out waiting to be gobbled up for Christmas. So that's good news -either there's not a recession going on or golfers are putting a little extra on the mortgage to squeeze out a bit more competitive advantage. Think I know where my money is. It's like this Abbey National....sorry, Santander. And I'm not linking to them!

JohnD

All Quite On The Golfing Front

2008-11-16T21:32:00.002Z

It's been an almost golf free day. Didn't even make it down the driving range to refine that piece of art that is my swing - more influenced by Picasso in his blue period than anything else.

Doesn't yet quiet have the refinement of an Octopus falling out of a tree a la Mr Jim Furyk. That's phase two. Well, probably phase 85 and then I'll be a rich Tour player, which is in the grand scale of things quite unlikely.

So now I'm going to sit and review my Swing Zone motion analysis video. It's a bit of a video nasty, but at least I now know the truth and have got a way forward to sorting it out. Then I'm going to settle in for a bit of Alien V Predator - walk in the park after watching my swing.

JohnD

Old Friends

2008-11-16T12:10:00.003Z

Had a catch up with one the business's old friends, Reuben Cook. He set up our original IT infrastructure when we were launching Golf Punk. He also managed to set off the alarm system at the Sussex Innovations Centre where we were based by burning the toast - this resulted in a full scale evacuation of the building! Bit of a classic moment. Reuben has his own IT infrastructure company -The Full Circle -which I'd really recommend. But just don't let him anywhere near the toaster.

JohnD

Progress

2008-11-15T17:16:00.003Z

Last week was a big week in all sorts of ways, and next week promises to be even bigger. We had to sort out what we wanted to do at the NEC Golf Show. That's taken care of now and we're up on Friday for the day. We were going to be up for the whole weekend, but one of Tim's saucepans is having his First Holy Communion so we have to get back for that - as a bit of a lapsed Catholic I'm with the programme, and have always wanted to do this - link to the faith -http://www.catholic-church.org.uk/. Maybe there is a band of Catholic golfing brothers out there? We are all very nice here, so it's always a possibility. But we are also multi faith - if you golf you get it.

Then there's been a flurry of fund raising activity, and all of it good. We've been everywhere - from Haywards Heath to Horsham, to the City of London- I know they are in disgrace at the moment, but we do need a little consideration to keep us in bandwidth - our provider is Level 3 - golf balls - we love our Srixons and our Pro V1's in particular - and RedBull.

Reminds me that I must call Red Bull next week, as they do the Final Five - have a RedBull and play like a god for the last five holes - and will probably be very supportive.

So all is good on the home front. Global dominance will take a while, but you have to start somewhere.

JohnD

Poults Driver

2008-11-13T23:24:00.003Z

So Poults threw his toys out of his pram because he had his driver nicked- http://uk.reuters.com/article/golfNews/idUKLC02433620081112.

Now I do like a nice cobra myself and we previewed the new L5V in our last show, so I have a large degree of sympathy - well, 11 degrees of loft sympathy actually.

I'm still getting my head round the downside of playing in the tournament badly rather than picking up a new one out of the pro shop and having a trash, and maybe getting something out of it.

But this is because I am not a Tour Pro. Is it a loss of points, which puzzles me, or the possibility of loosing confidence? I am not the journo around here so I don't feel to embarrassed asking. Will turn the question over to the rest of the troops tomorrow.

JohnD

Weller's Been Smoking

2008-11-12T22:28:00.002Z

This is for Tim's benefit. Paul Weller's been caught smoking in Crawley. What a bad man! And he hates golf! Double bad stuff. That's after I paid £5.98 for a pack of Malbi Lights this evening on the way home - daylight robbery, or in my case night time robbery. Hate these short days.

I'm not going to link to Marlboro as that could cause us all sorts of problems. So instead I'll link to a product which we highlighted on our last show -http://www.stubbi.co.uk/uk/. This lets you have a smoke and then stub out your ciggie and put it into your own mobile ashtray. Very environmentally friendly, and keeps the greens free of irritating butts.

Apparently it's also good for storing your used chewing gum.

So next time Paul, if you want a fag on stage 1) Don't - have some nicorette instead and take a Stubbi with you - 2) Have a game of golf instead and take a Stubbi with you 3) Have a game of golf, smoke heavily, record another great album - see http://www.paulweller.com/for latest offering - and steer clear of Crawley.

So that's how you combine Paul Weller, Smoking, Golf and blowing smoke up your CEO's ass in one piece. Checkmate in three.

JohnD

Bunker Mentality

2008-11-11T13:01:00.003Z

Those nice people at Bunker Mentality have really come up with the goods, or should I say the goodies.

50 of their finest shirts to be used as prizes to entice golfers of the world to sign up and get their golf friends on board.

Family hold back as the saying goes, so I'll probably have to stick to wearing my old M&S tat. But maybe if I asked nicely....

JohnD

New Show

2008-11-09T21:25:00.003Z

The new show is up and live and dangerous. http://www.showmethegolf.tv/video/Studio/home.

It should keep you all well amused and informed.

We are also featuring our first advertiser - Sky Caddy. And we love the ad - very creative I have to say, and I'm going to try and blag one for Christmas.

Check it out at http://www.skygolfgps.com/. Could save you a lot of pain.

JohnD

Burghess Hill Golf Centre

2008-11-09T15:34:00.004Z

Sunday is another work day as there's too much to be done in readyness for the NEC Golf show - http://www.golfshownec.com/.

But I needed to get out - well, I generally think I need to get out more - so I went off to the Burghess Hill Golf Centre - www.burgesshillgolfcentre.co.uk.

They've got 28 undercover, floodlit, bays and a great little 9 hole course, which is very well maintained. USPGA spec greens no less. It's perfect for squeezing in a few holes when you are short on time, and it's quiet a tough challenge. I'm still to shoot a great round there, and as I felt that wasn't going to happen today, I kept myself confined to the Driving Range.

They've recently put in those machines that tee your ball up for you, which is bliss. But you can crank your way through a lot of balls without really thinking about what you are doing.

Right, better get back to it.

JohnD

Lords Love Us And Save Us

2008-11-09T00:05:00.003Z

Just found out that James Milner is attending the NEC Golf Show and Tim is a mad Leeds fan - JM being an ex Leeds player and all of that. So I'm sure we are going to be after an interview with him.

Count down has now started for the show, and we're almost good to go. Tim's motor has a fresh MOT and is properly taxed, so no worries there.

We'll be watching out for speed camera's, but James Milner should also watch out. Hope to see you all there. Check out http://www.golfshownec.com/celebrities.cfm

JohnD