10/31/2014

Chipper Worries for Harrington

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Padraig Harrington has opened up about the difficulties he faces in his game, admitting that “a lot of times I’m standing over my chip shot and I’m not sure what’s going to come out”.

The three-time major winner has struggled to regain the form that helped him to back-to-back Open titles in 2007 and 2008 as well as the 2008 PGA Championship.

Asked how his game was at present, Harrington told RTÉ Sport: “I’m putting better, which is a major thing. My expectations are probably a little bit too high on the rest of my game. I keep feeling like I’m going to play great and then I go out there and I disappoint myself.

“It’s a strange part; I’m trying to work through it. But essentially, as I feel like I’m hitting the ball better and swinging the club better over the last couple of years, I go out there thinking I’m not going to hit any bad shots.”

This approach has an immediate down-side, he suggested, as “I’m putting myself under a lot of pressure not to hit a bad shot, and when I do I’m getting frustrated with it.

“I know it sounds weird but I have to really ease off myself a bit on my own expectations on my long game, for sure. And if I do do that it will probably improve because of it.”

Harrington recalled 2012, a year in which he struggled, when his ball-striking was very impressive but “both my putting and chipping had gone off”.

Now though, he said, his putting is back, better than it has ever been, but “my chipping is not”.

"I’m just not as good a chipper as I was years ago, and that was my biggest strength"

He admitted he has struggled to deal with new grooves imposed following a new rule in 2010.

“If I was using the old grooves I wouldn’t have a problem. I have to figure a way [to get used to the new grooves]; if I got used to them I would certainly change my style of chipping, because of the box grooves. I’m just not as good a chipper as I was years ago, and that was my biggest strength.”

“I would have been renowned as a good putter, but in actual fact what I was really good at was chipping the ball the really close and didn’t put myself under a lot of pressure with my putting.”

He said that the new grooves had caused inconsistency in his chipping, with some getting the required spin and others simply floating.

“If you can’t control the trajectory of your chip shots it’s very hard to land them on the spot,” he said. “A lot of times I’m standing over my chip shot and I’m not sure what’s going to come out.”

He said he had returned to a wedge he had used “as a kid” to try to go back a softer style of chipping, and that he was using a softer ball.

“I’m using the spiniest version at the moment, and the softest version ... [but] the distance is such an important thing as well, off the tees, nowadays. You can’t afford to give up on distance. So it’s a catch-22.”


10/30/2014

Shaw Enjoys Day in Oman

Phil Inglis 
Gareth Shaw celebrated his 29th birthday in style at the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic as the Northern Irishman carded a four under par opening round 68 to move to within touching distance of the lead and boost his chances of a maiden European Challenge Tour title.

The Belfast-born player, who currently lies in 92nd position in the Rankings, needs a big result this week if he is to play his way into the field for next week’s season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club.

Only the top 45 at the conclusion of this week’s third event of the Challenge Tour’s four-week ‘Final Swing’ make it to the spectacular finale but a good result this week would at least secure full playing privileges on the second tier for next season.

He was delighted with his timely return to form and believes it was down to just enjoying his birthday out on the beautiful Almouj Golf, The Wave course with two affable playing partners.

“It was just really solid,” said Shaw. “I hit 16 greens in regulation, had a couple of good up and downs. The most important part of my round was probably the par four sixth hole, where I held a ten footer for par. Then I birdied the next, so that kind of kept me going and kept me in the round.

“I hit a couple of shots close on the back nine whereas on the front nine I was hitting it pretty far from the hole, but I’m happy with that start.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it a bit more. I haven’t been enjoying my golf at all recently, mainly because I’m not hitting it how I would like to be. I had a good three-ball today with Lloyd Kennedy and young amateur Haydn McCullen so it was a really enjoyable round.

“I don’t really know about my permutations for keeping my Challenge Tour card but I just want to play a bit of golf, pick a few targets and see how it all goes. I got off to a good start and I’m really happy with that. My putting feels good and I like the course, it sets up well.

“It’s a beautiful place. The course is fantastic, along the seaside, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow, playing with the lads and something similar in terms of my score would be very nice.

“It’s not a bad way to spend your birthday on such a nice course, in this weather and at such a good tournament.”



Rule of the Week - 20-2c/1.5


20-2c/1.5 Ball Rolls Toward Hole When Dropped at Spot from Which Previous Stroke Played


Q:A player is required or elects to play his next stroke at the spot from which his previous stroke was played. He is able to identify that specific spot by reference to the divot hole which his previous stroke made. He drops a ball immediately behind that divot hole. The ball rolls nearer the hole than the spot from which the previous stroke was played, but not more than two club-lengths from where it first struck the ground. What is the ruling?

A:Rule 20-2c(vii)(a) requires a ball to be re-dropped if it rolls and comes to rest nearer the hole than "its original position or estimated position ... unless otherwise permitted by the Rules." The original position is the spot from which the previous stroke was played. Since the dropped ball rolled nearer the hole than that spot, it must be re-dropped.

However, in many such cases the player cannot determine exactly the spot from which his previous stroke was played. In those cases, the player has satisfied the requirements of the Rule if he uses his best endeavours to estimate the spot. The estimated spot is treated as the specific spot (see Rule 20-2b) and the ball must be re-dropped if it rolls nearer the hole than the estimated spot.

The same principle applies if the spot where a ball is to be placed is not determinable and the player is required, under Rule 20-3c, to drop the ball as near as possible to the spot where it lay.



POTUS and Golf

President Obama playing golf

President John F. Kennedy tried to keep his passion for the game secret for political reasons as golf was so identified with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Gerald Ford loved the game but his skills were such that he had a penchant for hitting spectators and so it was harder for the Secret Service to keep his outings a secret. As he said about himself when he was in office, “I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.” 

More recent Presidents have all played the game with George H. W. Bush inventing a form of speed golf that enabled him to play 18 holes in less than two and half hours. As for President Clinton he seemingly favoured the use of Mulligans when he played, so much so, that they were renamed “Billigans” as he replayed the shots that were not to his liking 

For the second Bush Presidency, George W Bush, the love of the sport got him into some trouble when in 2008 he gave up golf to show solidarity with soldiers serving in Iraq after a round was interrupted with the news that Sergio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations official, had been killed in Baghdad. After that moment he decided he should not play golf again while in office. 

"I remember when de Mello, who was at the UN, got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life," Mr Bush said. "And I was playing golf, I think I was in central Texas, and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it's just not worth it anymore to do. I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," 

"I don't want some mum whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them." 

But at the time Brandon Friedman, a veteran US infantry officer who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said Mr Bush's claim that his sacrificing of golf for the war, was a "slap in the face" for US troops. 

Dwight David Eisenhower was the perhaps the most famous during his presidency from 1953-61 as when he was sworn into office there three million Americans were golfers and by the end of his term the number had doubled to more than six million Americans. Many had seen the president play so often that his impact on the game is still acknowledged today. 

Indeed, the supreme commander of the Allies in World War II, the architect of D-Day, and two-term president of the United States, has since been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame and became the fourth member in the Class of 2009, joining Lanny Wadkins, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ireland’s, Christy O'Connor Sr 

Eisenhower had a putting green installed on the White House lawn and was a member of Augusta National Golf Club where he played many times. According to a Golf Digest article from 2008, Eisenhower played golf more than 800 times during his presidency which is surprising given that his presidency was not a peaceful time in America or the world at large: The Civil Rights movement and Southern desegregation battles were under way; Castro came to power in Cuba; the French pulled out of Indochina in defeat and America began stepping up its own involvement in Vietnam and the Cold War. 

Despite that Eisenhower managed to spend more than 1,000 days of his presidency (according to Golf Digest) playing golf. 

For Arnold Palmer the impact of Eisenhower on golf was substantial: "One would be hard-pressed to find any single person who did more to popularise the game of golf, not only in the United States but throughout the world, than President Eisenhower. His visibility, coupled with his passion for the game, were the inspiration for literally millions of people picking up the game for the first time. Those involved in golf today owe him a great debt of gratitude." 

Bill Clinton claims his reputation for awarding himself free shots on the golf course is greatly exaggerated and that he doesn't do it all that much as there is not a lot of benefit. 

``You'd be surprised at how many times you don't get a bit of good out of it,'' Clinton said, ``I normally don't (take them),'' he said. ``I let everyone have one off the first tee, and then normally what I do when I'm playing with people is, I just play around and if somebody makes a terrible shot I say, 'Well, take that one,' and then I give everybody else one.'' 

At a time when he was the most powerful man in the world, it proved impossible to really get away for a private round as on a typical outing he would be accompanied by more than a half-dozen golf carts carrying Secret Service agents, a police sniper, a photographer, a man carrying U.S. nuclear codes, various aides and someone with a secure telephone so the president could speak to world leaders between strokes. 

Clinton claimed that during his presidency Americans didn’t begrudge his time spent on the golf course and he regularly played five times a month during the summer and about three times a month the rest of the year. He also had a practice tee at the White House where he worked on his short game. 

His love for the game is best summed up in his own words: 

``Golf is like life in a lot of ways: The most important competition is the one against yourself, All the biggest wounds are self-inflicted. And you get a lot of breaks you don't deserve, both ways. So it's important not to get too upset when you're having a bad day.''

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Past Winners - Padraig Harrington 2007

O'Leary with Harrington in 2007

An Irishman captured the European PGA Tour's 2007 Irish Open Sunday for the first time in 25 years and follows in the footsteps of John O'Leary, who won the event in Portmanock in 1982

Padraig Harrington survived a sudden-death playoff against Bradley Dredge of Wales to take home the title at the Irish Open at Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort.

Harrington needed just one hole in the playoff: He made par to Dredge's bogey. Both players finished at 5-under-par for the tournament, four ahead of the rest of the field.

"I felt the pressure. It was probably the most nervous I've been for many a tournament," Harrington told Reuters. "I've always said that after the four Majors this is the next event I've wanted to win. The crowd was fantastic. Even when I saved for bogey they cheered and the applause definitely gave me a boost."

The win puts Harrington in third play on the European PGA Tour's Order of Merit; only Henrik Stenson and Retief Goosen are above him. the win also puts Harrington back into the world's top 10 rankings.

Harrington's Sunday started off slowly, with bogeys at the par-4 second and fifth. But Harrington rebounded, going birdie-birdie-eagle on the seventh, eighth and ninth.

But he slipped back to the field on his homestretch, with bogeys at the par-3 11th and 17th.

Meanwhile, Dredge was making a charge, with birdies on seven of his last 12 holes, making up a four-stroke deficit on the back nine to force a playoff.

"My long game wasn't great but I hit enough good iron shots close and putted well," said Dredge. "I had a chip in on 14th and knew I had to stay focused. I knew my short game was good enough to battle it out and hope he made a few bogeys as well. In the end it was just one of those things on the last.

"Before I went out I knew I had to shoot a good score and had a good run at the end of the front nine, kept my head down and played my own game. It is just frustrating to give it to him the way I did in the end."

Simon Wakefield of England drained a 30-foot birdie put on his last hole to move into sole possession of third place, at 1-under-par, the only other player to finish under par this week.

May 21, 2007

Irish Open Winners - Ken Brown 1978


Ken Brown is a Scottish former European Tour golfer who now works as a golf broadcaster and writer, primarily for the BBC

He also works as part of the commentary team for the international coverage of the European Tour on selected events which are not covered by the BBC. 

He won four times on the European Tour and in his best season in 1978 he finished fourth on the European Tour Order of Merit at the age of 21. He was an outstanding but largely unfulfilled talent; the last of his four top ten finishes on the Order of Merit came when he was just 26. 

He appeared in the Ryder Cup in 1977, 1979, 1983, 1985 and 1987, and had a 4-9-0 win-loss-tie record, including two wins and two losses in singles matches. 

His playing career was terminated by injury when he was in his mid thirties.

European Tour wins (4)
1984 Glasgow Open
1985 Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity

Other wins
1983 Benson & Hedges Kenya Open

The Open
Best finish 1980 T6

Factfile
Date of Birth: January 9th, 1957 
Place of Birth: Harpenden, Herts, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Nationality: Scotland
Turned professional: 1974
Retired: 1992


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McIlroy Misses BMW Masters

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The tournament director of this week’s BMW Masters says he is 'disappointed' that world Number 1 Rory McIlroy will not be in the field at Lake Malaren in China.

The 25-year-old, who won two Majors this year, is taking time away from golf to prepare for his multi-million dollar legal case against his former management company in Ireland.

Tournament director Marco Kaussler said: "We are very sorry that Rory McIlroy will not tee off at the BMW Masters for the first time since the tournament has been held.

"We obviously understand the disappointment of the many golf fans in China but we respect his decision." 

Also absent from Shanghai is world No 5 Henrik Stenson who withdraw on Tuesday after his wife Emma gave birth in Florida on Sunday.

"We respect his decision"

McIlroy made his announcement last week leaving Jamie Donaldson as the leading European player in the field.

The Welshman is currently fourth in the Race to Dubai standings with only a slim chance of catching McIlroy in the standings.

Donaldson said: "Obviously it would be great to have Rory here.

"I don't know the ins and outs of why he's not playing here but I'm sure he'll be back playing as strong as ever.

"It's mathematically possible to catch him but it's one hell of a stretch."


10/25/2014

Club Profile - Castlemartyr

Castlemartyr Golf Course 

Nestled amid Cork's woodlands, Castlemartyr (Baile na Martra) is a destination richly steeped in Emerald Isle history and tradition. The castle from which the village of Castlemartyr takes its name was first built in 1210 by The Knights Templar, who were one of the most famous of the Christian military orders under the leadership of Richard Earl de Clare, more commonly known as Strongbow. 

In the centuries that followed, the lands changed hands many times, among its owners were Sir Walter Raleigh and Richard Boyle, the first Earl of Cork. It was under Boyle's stewardship that the construction of the magnificent Manor House took place in the 17th century. Painstakingly restored to its original grandeur, the Manor House now forms the centerpiece of the Castlemartyr Resort.


Other historical features include the unique Templar Cross, which composes the centerpiece of the Castlemartyr's Golf Club coat of arms. Following a rebellion in 1578, the Earl of Desmond James Fitzgerald had his estates forfeited to the Crown and awarded to Sir Walter Raleigh. Prior to Sir Walter Raleigh’s departure from Youghal on historic voyage to South American Richard Boyle, the first Earl of Cork acquired Raleigh's Estates. 

The Tomb of the third Earl of Cork can be found on the Estate.

The golf course is challenging and demanding and there are exquisite views and landscapes all aorund the course.



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