So, I would appreciate your patience as I take the next week to rebuild this site.

Thank you for your understanding and do check frequently for new updates.

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The first thing people find hard to believe, apparently, is that a golf ball is driven straight by hitting it from the inside.

The average player has the almost overpowering conviction that if he hits the ball from inside this line it will fly far out to the right. He cannot see how anything else can happen. He also knows that when he takes the club to the top of the backswing it is well inside this line.

His first instinct, when he starts the club down, is to manipulate the head out onto the line or near it, so he can bring it down along the line and so knock the ball straight. When the player does this the first movement he makes takes his hands and the club away from his body. The instant they move away they get outside the plane they must be in to hit from the inside.

Before we go further, let’s look at the plane of the swing. It is extremely important. If we understand it, learning the right action will be easier.

From the top of the backswing to a point near the end of the follow-through, the head of the club describes what we can call, for convenience, a circle. It isn’t a true circle but that isn’t important. Suppose we liken this circle to the rim of a wheel. Then we cover the wheel with skin, let’s say, so it’s like the head of a drum with a hole in the center for our head to stick through. We now have a flat circular surface, the plane.
 
During the swing this plane inclines or leans toward the player from 25 to 40 degrees, the exact amount depending on the length of the club used and on whether the player is an upright or a flat swinger.

When we start from the top to move the club out onto the line of flight with either our hands or our shoulders, we don’t change this plane a little bit, we change it a great deal. The result is that we can’t help but bring the club in from the outside when we hit. In this respect it is well to know, too, that at the top a very slight move by the hands forward, or toward the line of flight as they start down, moves the head of the club a comparatively great distance.

A mere two inches by the hands moves the club head out a foot, throwing it outside. It is, as we say, already outside as it starts down. When you realize that this slight move of the hands is instinctive you don’t know you make it—then you can understand how hard a pro has to work to cure hitting from the outside.
 

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During one of the holes, my friend hit his approach shot into one of the green side bunkers.  It is a shallow one, of course.  Assessing his situation, he decided to putt as he is not comfortable with his chip and worried that he would hit it over the green.   And guess what, he putted to about 5 feet from the pin…..

Well, before trying to be a hero, putting from the sand, there are several conditions that must be present before this can be executed.  It is important to properly assess the situation and take note of the following :

• - The sand must be firm and well packed.  It must be hard.  Loose sand is no good, as the ball will not be able to roll and would just sink into the sand.
• - The must not be any lip at the top of the bunker or it should be a “smooth connection” to the green
• - The ball should not have to roll more than 4 feet in the sand as it is hard for the ball to roll in sand than grass.  Any longer distance will make the shot much tougher.
• The hole should be near to the bunker.

You may want to give this a try the next time.  As Arnold palmer once said “the worst putt is better than your best chip”.

Let us know of your results with this method.. Have fun golfing ….

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Going into the final day Sunday, Team USA was leading 9 - 7 over Team Europe.  Team USA will need another 5 1/2 points to win the cup while Team Europe needed another 7 points to win.

The final day started with a match between Sergio Garcia and Anthony Kim.  Kim did not played well on Saturday and I thought it would be a “walkover” for Garcia, who has played well the first two days.  Instead, Garcia was thrashed by Kim in the first match with a score of 5&4.  Kim lead all the way since the second hole and never looked back. The rookie actually enjoyed himself so much that he continue to walk off the green after his putt, not knowing that he had won the match.  He had to walk back to the green again to shake hands after he realised that the match is over.

The upset by Kim over Garcia in the first game basically set the tone and motivation for Team USA.  The winning match was betwen Jim Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez when Jimenez conceded a par putt to Furyk on the 17th hole.

Nick Faldo fielded the experienced Harrington and Westwood and the star for the week, Ian Poulter as the last 3 matches.  This would prove critical if the competition were to be decided late in the competition.  However, the Ryde Cup competition is already over before these 3 players completed their matches.

Well done Team USA and we will be back to Europe for the next Ryder Cup.

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In golf, however, you are the boss. You are in charge of making every move. The ball just sits there, waiting for you to make your shot.  And you are 100% responsible for every play that happens. You cannot blame a bad play on a pitch, another teammate, or any other excuse. 

This is what makes golf so difficult, and yet so challenging and fun to play. And on top of that, you have people watching you, all in complete silence.  Talk about the need for focus!

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In the morning, the golfers were greeted with rain and wind.  many notables who teed off early face challenges in the first round.  Early casualties include Phil Mickelson who tee off early in the morning.  Struggling to get the ball going where he wanted to go, Phil was at one stage 6-over par after 6 holes.  He ended the first day at 9 over par, tied 123th position. 

Other notables at +10 are Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.

KJ Choi, the top asian player, played a good round of golf early in the day.  He managed to control and play with the wind and rain and maintained a consistent round.  He is now at 2 over par, tied at 15th place.

Sergio also played a very consistent and controlled round of 2 over par.  He bogied the first, sixth and tenth hole with Bridie at the fifteenth.  A round of 14 pars.. Well, Sergio is still in the hunt for the title which he lost last year.

The Shark, Greg Norman, which I thought was playing on the Senior Tour was very impressive in the first round.  A round of 14 pars and tied 4th place with a score of even par.

After the first round, the leaders are Rocco Mediate, Graeme McDowell and Robert Allenby at one under par.

Given the conditions, scores can swing drastically within one round so I think the title is still open to all players.

Dont miss the 2nd round……

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Now that Tiger is not playing, the competition is basically quite open.  Is it ?  I am not sure…  Many golfers will be eyeing for the title without Tiger there hogging to the top spot.  But who will succeed or will it be dominated by the world number 2 ?

Phil Mickelson would definitely be eyeing for the title.  But his inconsistency so far may not be helping him although he is playing much better relative to the previous year.  Phil did not do well over the weekend at the Barclays Scottish Open and did not finish within the top 20.  How are his chances at the British Open ?

Ernie Els fair slightly better at the Scottish Open last weekend coming into the Bristish Open this week.  He finished tied at 19th place with a score of -7.  Els will also be working hard to come back at the British Open.

Others that have been performing well.  Sergio Garcia has been doing quite well over the past months.  he has been playing quite a consistent game and is putting well. 

Well, who would take this opportunity without Tiger Woods to take the British Open Championship title ?  It is really hard to tell at the moment.  It is still wide open, and I forsee a very exciting and closely fought British Open this week.

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Anthony now becomes the youngest player (25) to win two PGA tournaments in a year.  Other than Tiger Woods himself, of course.  He won earlier this year at the Wachovia Championship.

Tiger Woods who hosted this tournament, was not around to witness the win by Anthony Kim.  He is still resting and recuperating from his knee surgery which will see him out for the rest of the season.

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This feel is not something that you can learn from a golf “how to” booklet.  It must be learned by instinct and then practiced over and over again.

Importance of speed in putting

As a beginner, you may be tempted to make your ball into the hole when facing a long putt shot of 8 feet or longer. Of course knocking the ball into the hole from a long putt shot is definitely a good thing.  But the truth of the matter is that the last thing you want to do is mess up your shot to the point where you have to make the ball in the hole with the dreaded 3-Putt shot.

So many beginner players and amateur golfers go through such an experience. They have a ball sitting 15 to 20 feet away from the hole and they put too much speed and distance on it.  The next thing they realize, they have taken 5-6 shots in order to finish a par-3 hole.

Lagging

Great golfers realize that it’s best to lag the ball so that it gets as close to the hole as possible, thereby leaving themselves a very easy shot with only 2 - 3 feet of distance.

Your job is to become a master the art of getting a perfect lag on a ball when shooting a long-distance putt. This is so you can create a situation where the ball will always land safely near the hole, regardless of whether it breaks too early or too soon. You will know that wherever the ball lands, it should be a simple hit to finish the hole on the next stroke.

Putting Exercise

As with any maneuver, practice makes perfect when learning to determine the feel for speed and distance on the green. A simple exercise that you can practice in order to become a better long-putt shooter is to place four to five balls approximately 10 feet apart from each other, evenly distributed to the hole.

Basically, you will have a line of balls, evenly spaced between each other, all leading to the hole, starting at about 40 to 50 feet out. Now start the exercise by making your swing with the ball closest to the hole. Simply work your way back to the farthest ball. In order for this exercise to work, you must mentally place yourself in a real playing scenario.

The funny thing about such practice techniques is that because you know it’s not a real game, you are more loosened up and are not really stressed about making the lag shot work.

Can you guess what happens? You play well! That is the ironic part about golf.  When you are in the middle of a good game, worry and doubt tend to tense your muscles up, thereby causing poor shots to be made. The real key is to take your practice mindset with you when playing a real golf game.

Let me know if this putting tip helps in your game….  Thanks

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There are of course many other importance factors in helping you become a better golfer and also experience fun and enjoyment in the game.  Other factors can be patience, fitness, practise and even golf equipments. Personally, I think the most important aspect of golf that will help you become a skilled golfer, while at the same time having as much fun as possible is: Confidence.

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