The Open Championship...."What a 3 Ball"

Hi Guys,

And here we go with THE greatest major of them all, THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP.

I am really looking forward to this years event as it is taking place once again at Carnoustie or more infamously called "Carnasty" after the 1999 championship won by Paul Lawrie.

And "Lawrie" is back at the place of his finest hour where he triumphed in a play off after the enigmatic Frenchman Jean Van De Velde let go of the championship on the last hole.

You can check out the TEE OFF TIMES at the European Tour website and please scroll straight down to group number 15 which includes"

Tiger Woods,Paul Lawrie and Justin Rose

Now of course Tiger is going to be mighty hard to beat as his preparation has been geared to this week. As for Justin Rose, well the young Englishmen came to the fore in this championship some years ago at Birkdale and this season has come on in leaps and bounds.

It really is only a matter of time before Rose wins a major championship.

But what about Lawrie................ Is he the forgotten Major Champion?

Lawrie had a great start to the Barclay Scottish Open last week but then trailed in with two rounds of 74 for the weekend which put him out of the hunt for a possible top 20 finish.

But is Paul Lawrie Finished?

I do not think so, I am sure he had Carnoustie on his mind after playing well in the first two rounds at Loch Lomond and we could see a double open Champion emerge on Sunday evening, it is unlikely but it is a posssibility and they say lightning always strikes twice.

I am out playing on Friday so will check up the scores when i get back to the clubhouse.

Whoever you are rooting for enjoy the golf

All the Best

Richard

Phil Mickelson teaches you how to play

Hi Guys,

Following on from yesterday with Tiger Woods. Today I am bringing you a video lesson from Phill Mickelson which will really show you that this guy really does play golf for fun.



I hope you enjoy the video and please post your comments and questions on the blog

All the Best

Richard

Golf Putting Tip - Improve your Short Putting

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to let you in on a great set of putting drills which will help you with your short putts within 10 feet.

This set of putting drills is just one from the 21 Days to Better Golf instruction course.

With the new season upon us we all get alittle rusty with our game. This golf lesson will have you saving some strokes once you hit the green.

Hole Em

There is an old saying in golf which I am sure you know and have heard many times "Drive for show,Putt for dough"

Well that is one golfing term that no player can get away from however good they may be or however bad they may be.

In Putting there is definitely always room to improve, so, lets get started.

You first of all need to start practising your putting, and I have come up with 3 drills that you can use now to improve this element of your game.

Lets start with Hole em

Take four golfballs out onto the practice putting green and set them down just 1 foot from the hole, yes just 1 foot from the hole. Now knock them in at speed, don't just trickle them in, make them hit the back of the cup and drop.

Do this 3 times making sure that you hole every single putt. If you miss one putt then you must start from the beginning

Once you have completed 3 sets of 4 putts from a foot, move the balls 2 feet from the hole and repeat the exercise. Again knock them in at speed.Again make them hit the back of the cup and drop.

Do this three times making sure that every single putt drops If you miss one you must go back and start from the
beginning.

And when i say the beginning, I mean from the one foot putts. Yes, you must start from the one foot putts. I know this will get frustrating at times but believe me it is worth it.

Once you have completed 3 sets of 4 putts from two feet, move the balls 4 feet from the hole and repeat the exercise. Again knock them in at speed. Again make them hit the back of the cup and drop.

Do this three times making sure that every single putt drops If you miss one, you must go back and start from the
beginning.

And when i say the beginning, again i mean from the one foot putts. Yes, you must start from the one foot putts. Now you will be tearing your hair out, but trust me, you will get it right and it will improve your putting.

Once you have completed 3 sets of 4 putts from four feet, move the balls 8 feet from the hole and repeat the exercise. Again knock them in at speed. Again make them hit the back of the cup and drop.

Do this three times making sure that every single putt drops If you miss one, well you know what to do now, go back to the beginning and start again.

I’ll tell you something, It took me six two hour sessions to go through the whole series of one foot, two foot, four foot and eight foot putts before I did it.

Let me know how you get on with this one, We can even set up a league table of the top ten quickest golfers and put it on the blog

Good luck with the drill


Richard

Come on Big John Daly

Hi Guys,

Well the first round of the Shell Houston Open got underway yesterday and if you have been following the blog you will know a few days ago I wrote a post about John Daly talking about his current form.

Well yesterday was a pretty middling round for Big John as he had 3 bogeys and 2 Birdies to leave himself in the middle of the pack at one over (+1) par

Just looking at the stats from yesterdays round shows that Big John Daly is still booming his drives out there a long way with a 315 yard average but the driving accuracy is not there at the moment with a pretty woeful percentage of 43%

Anyhow, I still think John can turn this around and if he can post a two or three under round today then that should see him make his 3rd cut this season and then hopefully he can build on it from there.

In terms of the other players in the mix with the leaderboard having a mountain of players within four strokes of the top at this early stage. Defending champion Stuart Appleby has made a fine start and sits with a share of the lead at six under (-6) par.

Enjoy the the next three days and good luck to all the players.

Improve your own game by taking the 21 Days to Better Golf Instruction course

All the Best

Richard

A special post for our Lady Golfers and readers

Hi Guys, (and Girls)

I hope we are looking forward to this weekends PGA and LPGA events, and talking about the LPGA i have been searching the web for stories for our lady readers out there and spotted this one about American Express supporting the game of golf for women.

For the third year in a row American Express will be the title sponsor for American Express Women's Golf Week.

How good it is to see a large corporate taking an interest in women's golf, this event is a golf development program and is held nationwide in the US from June 2-9, 2007.


This programme will provide women who are 14 years of age and older to take their first steps to learn and play golf in a women-friendly environment.

American Express is pioneering in these outreach efforts to reach women golfers.

Women's Golf Week has been developed in response to input from leaders in the golf industry.

PlayGolfAmerica.com is the ultimate search engine for accessing information on player development programs for adults, women and families nationwide.

An exert from the article says:

"This is the third year for the American Express Women's Golf Week, and each year participation increases dramatically," said Trish Davis, EWGA chief operating officer and chair of the American Express Women's Golf Week committee.

"The chance to once again team up with a company like American Express is exciting for us, as we know they are just as committed to growing the game of golf among women as we are."

This year it is estimated that more than 50,000 women will attend an American Express Women's Golf Week event at a course in their community. This has to be good for the game and hopefully it will lead to more families becoming involved in both the competitive and social aspects of the game.

If mums get "into the game" then so will their kids and this whole exercise will hopefully see the next Tiger Woods and the next Paula Creamer emerge.

In it's first year more than 10,000 women attended and this increased to 24,500 women golfers participating in various American Express Women's Golf Week activities in 2006.

Events for Women's Golf Week are customized at each facility and include complimentary instruction, among other golf and social events. In addition, many facilities will also offer exclusive savings for American Express Card members, such as 20 percent off a round of golf at participating courses.

After advancing the program for two years, GOLF 20/20 handed over management responsibility for Women's Golf Week to the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), Executive Women's Golf Association (EWGA), The PGA of America and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA)
Consumers can find more details about the 2007 American Express Women's Golf Week, including a complete list of participating facilities, details on specific events and access to online registration at www.PlayGolfAmerica.com beginning in May.

So come on girls, get out there and take part in what will be a fun and fantastic week of golf

I hope you have enjoyed this article and please take a look at our website www.biggolflesson.com where you can find more golf articles.

I have also just released a golf instruction book which you can check out at www.21daystobettergolf.com

All the Best

Richard