A New Ice Man Cometh!

My tour golf balls have arrived and this year I bought some Ben Hogan ones.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about him: 

By most accounts, Ben Hogan was the best golfer of his era, and still stands as one of the greatest of all time. "The Hawk" possessed fierce determination and an iron will, combined with his unquestionable golf skills, formed an aura which could intimidate opponents into competitive submission.

In Scotland, Hogan was known as "The Wee Ice Man", or, in some versions, "Wee Ice Mon," a moniker earned during his famous British Open victory at Carnoustie in 1953. It is a reference to his steely and seemingly nerveless demeanor, itself a product of a golf swing he had built that was designed to perform better the more pressure he put it under. Hogan rarely spoke during competition, and few opponents could avoid wilting under his icy glare.

I am hoping some of this wears off on me through the dimples on tour - I have already been practicing some icy glares to wilt opponents!

Toe Up To Toe Up Myth

With the Easter Tour round the corner there has been a lot of chat about the state of one's swing. It has fueled much debate, no more so than the classic 'toe up to toe up myth'...

I always thought that a key check point in the swing was that the toe of the club should be pointing sky ward at halfway through your back swing. I'm sure I have ruined many a good round of my playing partner with this bit of advice!

Anyway Scott Sackett, director of instruction for the PGA Tour Golf Academy, takes a different view...what does he know...

Download Myth_of_toeup_to_toeup

Links Armour

Just had a look at Tralee Golf Club, which is where it all began for us - one of the greatest back nines in golf and a must play for any dimplehead.

The golfing gods put you on a magic carpet and drop you down on fairways that twist their way through tumbling dunes with glorious views of the ocean. As Arnie said, "I may have designed the front nine but God designed the back nine".

As well as drooling over the course, I came across a couple of handy video lessons by Tralee's club pro, David Power. 'How to play the punch shot' and 'How to play the chip and run'. Key viewing for anyone heading to the links over the Easter break. Get on it!

That Old Chestnut

Some of the big hitters at Beaconsfield golf club have been complaining their 350 yard drives down the middle are being stolen by the crows...

This got me thinking. What's the ruling if you see a crow fly off with your ball and none of the other players bear witness? I've had to go right to the top to get the answer.

The R&A came back to me with this. As expected it's not short...

'The bird is considered an outside agency and when a ball at rest is moved by an ouside agency, Rule 18-1 applies. Under the Rule, there is no penalty and ball must be replaced. If it is impossible to determine the spot on which to replace the ball, the player can drop the ball as near as possible to the place where it lay (Rule 20-3c). If the original ball is not immediately recoverable, another ball may be substituted.

In order to apply this Rule, the player must know or be virtually certain that the bird has taken or moved the ball. If the player is certain and there could be no other reason for his ball to be missing (e.g. it could not be lost in another condition such as a bush or rough area), he is entitled to proceed under this Rule. Otherwise, if the ball is not found or there is no evidence that the bird took the ball, the player must proceed under the stroke and distance for a lost ball (Rule 27-1).'

I think this could be worth a try next time you hang one out to dry...

Happy Days

It's that magical time of year again when you dust down the clubs, head to the range for some last minute practice and get the email banter going as you get ready for the fast approaching golf tour.

This year our golfing road trip will take us to the famous links courses of Devon and Cornwall. We will peg it up at Saunton East & West, St Enodoc, Trevose and Bernham & Berrow. An awesome schedule.

As usual our blagging ability mixed in with some early bird and twilight rates, means that, at around 180 notes for six championship rounds of golf, this is a credit crunch bonanza!

Legal or Not?

Just picked up these little beauties ready for the big trip to Devon and Cornwall this Easter. Can't believe it's nearly tour time already - bring it on!

I'll be reporting back on how these golf 'trainers' handle the links and also what reaction we get from the clubhouses of Saunton, St Enodoc, Burnham and Berrow and the like.

Sure to raise a few eyebrows...

Summer Days

Played on Friday afternoon and Spring was definitely in the air!

Pic is the view from my drive on the par 5, 10th.

Bogeyed after hitting my 3rd over the back of the green.

Story of the round, but great to be out in some sunshine at last.