The Irish Golf Club Gazette On-line

The Irish Golf Club Gazette is a marketing company with a focus on social network marketing within the golf sector. We provide social network strategy, management and consulting for our clients. 

Traditional advertising with one-way interaction is becoming obsolete and companies must now engage with r clients and with over 700 million active social network users, it is impossible not to if you want to stay in business.

The solutions we can provide allow our clients to manage an effective social network strategy on their own or leave it up to us to help out. 

Although the social network websites are all free, managing them is a very labour intensive activity and most businesses do not manage it properly. This can be a full time job and we understand that our clients cannot afford to employ a person to manage this end of marketing.

With the Irish Golf Club Gazette on-line services it is a partnership that lets do the social networking, and pilot a campaign with our experience and knowledge. Not only of social media but also golf course industry knowledge. 

Our role is to help golf club managers make that leap into social media marketing world which can be confusing and difficult to manage at the outset. 

Like golf, our focus will be to reduce your social network handicap.

The Ballyliffin Pro Am

The Ballyliffin Pro-Am takes place over both links at Ireland’s most northerly links on July 23rd and 24th with practice rounds available on July 22nd.

The largest pro-am in Europe, with 104 teams, brings golfers from all over Ireland, Britain and USA together for one of the best weekends in the Irish PGA calendar.

Contact the Irish PGA or Ballyliffin GC for entry forms.

Ballyliffin Youth Summer Camp runs from July 11th-13th from 10 am-2pm. 

The fee of €70 includes tuition, meals, gift and competitions. The event is open to all children of eight years and older – non members welcome. 

Details at 074-9378100.

www.ballyliffingolfclub.com

Levet Alstom Jump Brings Fracture

Levet and Bartez jump into water

Thomas Levet may miss The Open after he fractured a leg jumping into a lake to celebrate his French Open win.

The flamboyant Frenchman, 42, suffered a shin fracture and will miss this week's Scottish Open after his leg was put into a cast.

He will have intensive treatment and will consult a specialist again later this week before making a decision about whether to play.

Levet had come through a qualifier to play at The Open, which starts on July 14.

Faldo Supports Ballesteros Event

Sir Nick Faldo has lent his support to a national charity golf event which will take place on July 23 and 24 to raise funds for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation.

The National Golf Club Challenge will bring thousands of golfers together on the same weekend at clubs throughout the UK as part of a nationwide charity golf event in memory of the late Seve Ballesteros. The purpose is simple: to raise as much money as possible for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation, which works in partnership with Cancer Research UK to beat brain cancer.

In an effort to encourage golf clubs to take part, Sir Nick Faldo said: "I'm delighted to lend my support to the National Golf Club Challenge's tournament in support of the Seve Ballesteros Foundation. This event is not only a great way for golfers from across the UK to raise money for an extremely worthy cause but also a very fitting way to honour one of European golf's true legends."

As well as helping raise money for research into brain cancer, golfers up and down the UK will be playing for a place in the grand final which will be held at The Shire London - the only Seve Ballesteros-designed golf course in the UK - in September. The finalists will battle it out to win The Seve Challenge trophy, designed by master silversmiths Thomas Lyte, and compete for some outstanding golfing prizes, including golfing holidays to Spain and Egypt.

Ballesteros set up his Foundation in partnership with Cancer Research UK, with the ambition of being the biggest funder of brain cancer research in the UK. Since 2009 the Foundation has raised almost £1.5 million for Cancer Research UK's life-saving brain cancer research through a variety of events and partnerships.

Seve will always be remembered for the strength and determination he showed not only on the golf course but also in the last years of his life as he fought brain cancer. The Foundation - and events such as the National Golf Club Challenge - are part of Seve's lasting legacy.

The format for the National Golf Club Challenge makes it easy for clubs everywhere to take part. The challenge competition is designed to be incorporated into each participating golf club's monthly stableford event, with each club turning the day into their own charity golf event, raising funds for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation. The competing clubs submit their aggregate scores from their best players on the day, with teams from the top four clubs being invited to take part in the final in September.

For more information about the National Golf Club Challenge, including how to enter your golf club, go to www.thesevechallenge.com.

GMAC Happy to Support Irish Open

GMAC

Graeme McDowell has insisted that Ireland's top players will support the Irish Open despite having its prize fund slashed by 50% this year.

Speaking on a visit to the Northern Ireland EuroPro Open at Galgorm Castle, McDowell described the Irish Open prize fund as "irrelevant".

"It's still the Irish Open. We're going to support it 100%," said McDowell.

"Ireland is having a tough time financially. We understand it. We'll be patient and be there supporting it."

McDowell added:"It's one of the classy tournaments on the European Tour and we don't want to lose it."

Last year's US Open winner has been preparing for his upcoming Open Championship challenge at Royal St Georges by playing links golf at his home club Royal Portrush this week.

He will also have a round at Royal County Down on Saturday before tackling the Open venue Sandwich on Monday.

McDowell will experience further links golf at next week's Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.

I've been playing at Portrush this week and am going to (Royal) County Down on SaturdayGraeme McDowell

The Scottish event moves from Loch Lomond to the links course near Inverness and McDowell believes the new venue will be beneficial for his Open build-up.

"Loch Lomond was a great venue but it was a little different from links golf," added the 2008 Scottish Open winner.

"I've been playing at Portrush this week and am going to (Royal) County Down on Saturday. I feel like I'm playing well enough to compete right now."

McDowell also took time to pay tribute to the organisers of the EuroPro event at Galgorm.

"This event is a great training event for the stars of the future.

"It's very difficult to jump straight on to the European Tour. Guys have to toughen themselves up and learn their trade.

"It's a great event for Galgorm Castle which is a course I played when I was a young boy.

"It's a great location and they have great sponsors on board."