Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Razor Sharp

Callaway made their name making chopper big bats, easy to use clubs that can help everyone hit the ball straighter and higher. But in recent years they’ve started to produce clubs for the better player as well. First the X-Tours, which kept the Callaway undercut. Then the X Forged, which were a much simpler cavity design. Now their staff players have been seen testing a set of prototype butter knife forged blades. X Blade anyone? There’s no news on these coming out anytime soon, but our guess is mid to late 2008. Phil Mickelson has already won the HSBC Champions with a set, while Ernie Els has just started testing them ready for the new season.


Thong on song

Eagle eyed golf junkies better watch this space.

To check out more equipment reviews click here...





11/28/2007 4:18:42 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Stadium Hole Will Go Ahead At Aussie Open

Plans for a stadium hole at the Australian Open in Sydney next month will go ahead, despite a former champion’s objections.
Robert Allenby believes the carnival atmosphere that tournament organisers are aiming for will distract players too much for them to perform. This comes after he was heckled by drunks in the third round of the Australian Masters at Huntingdale on Saturday, ruining his concentration.



"If I have another experience like I did on Saturday, I don't think I'll be coming back."
The short 11th hole of The Australian GC is a natural amphitheatre and spectators will have use of a bar, while being encouraged to ‘interact’ with players as they approach the green. Fancy buying Adam Scott a pint? This could be your chance.
Tournament chairman Paul McNamee isn’t worried at all, and has modelled the idea on Scottsdale, Arizona with the backing of the likes of Geoff Ogilvy.
"We've got more security on that hole than anywhere else, and if there's any complaint from a player we will send an official out immediately to make sure nothing escalates," he said.
"I can understand Robert being worried, but that's not the feedback I've had from other players.
This did nothing to calm Allenby’s nerves however. "I think it's heading for disaster," he said.
And to think, Aussies call us ‘whingeing Poms’.
The tournament will be played from December 13-16.

To read more, click here...

To check out more of our thoughts on this click here...





Golf News | Golf Punks
11/27/2007 5:14:15 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Monday, November 26, 2007
Scotland Win World Cup

After the disappointing showing from the home nations in the kickball it was good to see Scotland on top of the golfing world.

Scots pair Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren defeated Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley of Team America in a thriller after extra holes.

On the first playoff hole, Slocum missed a 7-foot birdie attempt that would have won it. Seconds before, Warren holed a 12-footer to save par. A miss would have handed the event to the Americans. On the second extra hole, both teams narrowly missed birdie attempts — Weekley from 20 feet and Warren from 12.

We told you it was exciting.

Monty and Marc Warren gave Scotland its first victory in the World Cup, with a par on the third hole of a playoff. This goes some way to make up for the disappointment of losing out in 2006 on the first hole of a playoff with Germany's Bernhard Langer and Marcel Siem.

"It was fantastic, after missing out last year to come here and win is superb," said the Kit Kat botherer.

Fantastic and superb indeed.

To find out more about how the tournament panned out click here...





11/26/2007 6:26:57 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Friday, November 23, 2007
New Jack Swing – The Physical

Jack's back. This time he's working on the physical.

Next I headed to the main headquarters at Sheffield Hallam University.  My brief for the day was that I was to start the gym regime designed by Dave (beach body) Hembrough, Zenjins health and fitness instructor.  So the journey there was spent psyching myself for a gruelling day of beating my body in to shape, and putting the finishing touches on carving my physique out of wood.

How wrong could I be? Apparently finishing my dissertation and a boozy summer celebrating with the boys meant that I was moulded out of some form of beer flavoured cookie dough, and am told that good foundation work is required to make sure my body is capable of doing the exercises, using the correct technique before too much weight is added on.

Teacher
Dave Hembrough
What does he know?
Sport Science Officer for the Integrated Team for Sport Performance (iTSP).
What’s his angle?
As the lead strength and conditioning instructor for The Centre of Sport and Exercise Science, his role involves a great deal of hands-on athlete consultancy in both field- and gym-based environments. He’s also a well-respected sports therapist, greatly adding to his practise in this conditioning role.

What’s The Plan?
To discover what my starting point is with the exercises needed and how to build a solid platform to cope with the golf swing changes I need to make.  

A lot of the golfers Dave sees often come in with physical ailments caused by consistent incorrect swinging, and work has to be done on rehabilitation before an exercise program begins, so I am really happy when I discover that this is not necessary for me and we can get cracking with the training straight away.






What To Do
Hit the weights and feel the burn.

Although not too much weight is involved with each exercise I have to admit I was in agony the next day…. but Dave reassures me that this is perfectly normal, as the body needs time to adjust to new movements.

For those of you who are interested in what exercises that I will doing on a week by week basis, I will make a copy available for you to download.


What You Should Do
Anyone wanting to carryout a similar program to book a session with a gym instructor as you need a professional to check you are completing the exercises correctly.  You must also remember that every training program is individual and you need to understand your limits and weaknesses to make real progress.

To keep up with Jack’s progress click here and press subscribe.

Alternatively keep an eye on the GP Blog at www.golfpunkonline.com

To check out the first stage of Jack’s golfing odyssey click here...

To check out the second stage of Jack's search for 'scratch' click here...



Jack Edmonds Intro Prog.xls (94.5 KB)

11/23/2007 12:02:28 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Thursday, November 22, 2007
Skins Game Starts

The 25th anniversary LG Skins Game starts tomorrow at the Celebrity Golf Course at Indian Wells, California. Fred ‘Mr Skins’ Couples will be there along with last year’s winner Stephen Ames, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich.

The event traditionally held on Thanksgiving weekend is seen as a light-hearted affair and kicks of Silly Season - a parade of made-for-TV golf events – but that wasn’t always the case. Back in ’83 the Skin Game pitted the games greatest legends — Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson — against each other for what was then big money.


What Not To Wear PGA Special

These days the tournament doesn’t attract the best around but it remains a guilty pleasure for golf addicts. Despite the hardcore following the lack of really big names and timing of the event – American football is often a major part of Thanksgiving celebrations in the U.S - is a reason to up the silliness.  Competition for viewers is rife so the Skins Game has to work hard for prominence. Since the biggest Skins Game moment in recent history was Fred Funk's playing a hole while wearing a pink skirt after being out driven by Anikka Soremstam, let's hope one of these guys brings something silky besides his swing.

To keep up with the 2007 LG Skins Game click here...





11/22/2007 5:47:39 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The Odd Couple

Here’s a scenario for you… A group of young guns come through and look like taking the sport by storm. Big things are expected as a golden generation of English players come to the fore. The early optimism seems misplaced as early potential fails to turn into success. The sporting media dismiss their chances of domination and all the hacks write ‘told you so’ articles about how the now not so young bucks were never really ‘world class’ anyway. Sound familiar? No we’re not talking about the footy but the bunch of English golfers who since their amateur days have been touted for big things. Since then Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter have played in Ryder Cups, had top ten Major finishes and tour wins on both sides of the pond. But finally now it seems they are taking the next step.

Which is why, with two of the world's most in-form golfers flying the flag of St George, England are justifiable favourites to win the WGC World Cup at Mission Hills, China, this weekend.


"...in case they get a hole in one. Geddit, two pairs of trousers in case they.. ah forget it"

Justin Rose is Europe's No 1 after ending the 2007 season in style by taking the Order of Merit title with success at the Volvo Masters in Valderrama. It was Rose's second tournament victory of the year and serves as a crucial step in a rocky career that now appears destined to encounter a Major win.

In holding off Padraig Harrington to take the Harry Vardon Trophy, Rose has proved he has the mental fortitude to perform at the highest level and the 27-year-old will relish the competition in China, not least because he will be partnered by his close friend, Ian Poulter, who is also firing on all cylinders.

Poulter captured his first trophy of the year at the Phoenix Dunlop tournament in Japan and is looking forward to teaming up with Rose, with whom he used to room on the Challenge Tour. "We have been very good mates for eight years now," said Poulter, who came fifth when partnering Paul Casey in 2005. "We are neighbours in Lake Nona and play quite a few practice rounds together over there. It's going to be brilliant at Mission Hills and more than anything it will be great fun."

Is this the beginning of a remarkable twelve months for English golf? Well, a World Cup win would be a great way to start. This time, like usual, England expects.

The World Cup of Golf Line-up:
Argentina: Andres Romero & Ricardo Gonzalez
Australia: Nick O'Hern & Nathan Green
Austria: Markus Brier & Claude Grenier
Canada: Mike Weir & Wes Heffernan
China: Liang Wen-Chong & Zhang Lian-Wei
Colombia: Gustavo Mendoza & Jorge Benedetti
Denmark: Anders Hansen & Soren Hansen
England: Justin Rose & Ian Poulter
Finland: Mikko Ilonen & Pasi Purhonen
France: Raphael Jacquelin & Gregory Havret
Germany: Martin Kaymer & Alex Cejka
Holland: Robert-Jan Derksen & Maarten Lafeber
India: Jyoti Randhawa & Gaurev Ghei
Ireland: Michael Hoey & Gareth Maybin
Italy: Edoardo Molinari & Francesco Molinari
Japan: Hideto Tanihara & Tetsuji Hiratsuka
Korea: Lee Seung-Ho & Lee Sung
New Zealand: Richard Lee & Stephen Scahill
Paraguay: Carlos Franco & Fabrizio Zanotti
Philippines: Tony Lascuna & Gerald Rosales
Puerto Rico: Wilfredo Morales & Miguel Suarez
Scotland: Colin Montgomerie & Marc Warren
South Africa: Retief Goosen & Trevor Immelman
Spain: Jose Manuel Lara & Miguel Angel Jimenez
Sweden: Robert Karlsson & Peter Hanson
Thailand: Thongchai Jaidee & Prayad Marksaeng
United States: Heath Slocum & Boo Weekley
Wales: Stephen Dodd & Bradley Dredge

For more on the World Cup of Golf click here...







11/21/2007 12:32:50 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Tuesday, November 20, 2007
What Would The Bunker Babes Do?

Two government officials joined forces to deport a South Korean golfer who was clocked with a golf putter by a Provincial Vice Governor.

The spark for the incident was Young Youn Hyeon, a South Korea based in Davao City, allegedly shouting at Filipino golfers.

Youn is meant to have hit a ball towards Gary Santiago who he accused of slow play at the Davao City Golf Club. When confronted by Santiago Youn , apparently, continue to mouth off until Vice Governor Pinol – who was part of the crowd – piped up saying, "Do not shout. You have no right to shout at Filipinos. You are just a visitor in this country. You are not in South Korea,"

Somewhat predictably, this didn’t calm the situation instead escalated until the Vice Governor smacked the South Korean with a putter.

Up to now it looks like nobody has come out of this with any credit. Everyone knows it’s just not cricket to shout at people on a golf course. And slow play must be one of the biggest contributors to fairway rage. Both inexcusable. But when a Provincial Vice Governor starts wielding a flatstick like a weapon things have got out of hand.

Youn has reportedly filed charges against Piñol and Santiago but the North Cotabato vice governor was unfazed. Instead Pinol has teamed up with the City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to have Young Youn Hyeon deported. You could say the mayor isn’t taking this lightly.

"No foreigner has the right to insult a Filipino in his own country," Duterte said in a statement.

His staff confirmed that the mayor had called up the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) to ask for the conduct of summary deportation proceedings against Youn. The hearing is due to start this week.

Piñol said there were efforts from the South Korean association in Davao City for an amicable settlement but when contacted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, he said he turned down the offer.

"We have to teach him a lesson so others, including Filipinos, would not shout at golfers if they play slow," he said.

You couldn’t make it up.

To read more on this story click here...




11/20/2007 4:30:23 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [3] 

  Monday, November 19, 2007
Wacky Races

European Tour, kudos. The big tour this side of the pond has secured the world’s richest golf tournament, the Dubai World Championship. It doesn’t tee off until November 2009 but a prize of £5 million for the limited field plus £5 million bonus divided among the top players should make this event popular with the big names. After all £10 million is one hefty chunk of change.


The 2010 European Ryder Cup Team pose for a photo.

But why did you have to rename the ‘Order of Merit’ ‘The Race to Dubai’? It just sounds silly. We at GOLFPUNK Towers are usually quick to embrace change, but this sounds like change for changes sake. What would happen if the Football Association re-branded the F.A Cup Final “The race to Wembley” – which actually works?

We’ll tell you what, the sporting world would be up in arms.

We’ve all got a couple of years to either get used to the new name or do something about it. We’d love to hear your thoughts.

For more on this story click here...




11/19/2007 11:34:38 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [2] 


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