Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Golf Bloke

Check out this site. The guys who created it describe it as, “The official site where you can follow the progress of a group of self-proclaimed celebrity players from the Midlands as they strive for the Golfbloke 2008 Champions day title. Over the course of the year, these players will compete over numerous courses throughout the UK, ending with the Championship tour in Spain
this September.”

We’re just gutted we didn’t think of it ourselves.

This is what grass roots golf is about. A group of pals taking the mickey out of each other playing for bragging rights.

Our favourite bits are the videos the fellas make when they’re on tour.



Boys we salute you.

www.golfbloke.co.uk




5/28/2008 11:15:43 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
The Golf Ballerz

Pretending to do some work we came across these unsung heroes of hip-hop The Golf Ballerz on myspace.

The band members are MC Center Shaft & DJ Blade bringing the rhymes, DJ 3-Putt supplying the beats and production. Bullseye on the graphic design & Vanilla Slice AKA Slice-T as Creative Consultant/Background Vocalist. Check out their debut LBUM "Strait Outta A.C.C" recorded at the Penthouse Studios.



From what we can tell the beats are whack, the rhymes are poor and arrangement has a lot to be desired, so obviously we love it.

Check them out at www.myspace.com/thegolfballerz. If we could remember our myspace password we’d check out some of the GB’s 260 friends they look like GOLFPUNK people. But we’re all facebook these days, so what are you going to do?




5/28/2008 11:14:02 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Suzann Pettersen, Record Breaker

<i>GOLFPUNK<i> diarist Suzann Pettersen was declared the winner of the Ladies Swiss Open on Sunday,  after the fourth and final round of the competition was cancelled due to a water logged course at Golf Gerre Losone.

Tournament organisers took the decision to reduce the event from 72 to 54 holes at 11am on Sunday as many of the fairways and greens were flooded after heavy rainfall, making the course unplayable.

Andy Lott, director of tournament operations, said: “Unfortunately we find the course is unplayable. We have too much water out there to make it safe for people to play and to be fair.”

South Korea's Amy Yang won silver and Gwladys Nocera from France placed third.

Cheer up Suzann, you just won.

Pettersen, the world number three, led the way with rounds of 67, 63 and 64 to earn the first prize of €78,500. She dedicated her prize to a 24-year-old family friend who passed away on Monday.

After opening with a 67 and equalling the then course record with a 63 on Friday, the 27-year-old from Oslo added a 64 today to move six shots clear of the field on 22 under par at Golf Gerre Losone. The previous record of 18 under was set by Australia's Karrie Webb at the 1997 Weetabix Women's British Open.

The world number three said: "This course is all about getting the ball in play and from there trying to be very aggressive."
Pettersen added: "Eight under of course is a great round but it still feels like I left a couple out there. It felt more work than yesterday."

South Korean teenager Amy Yang, who has played with Pettersen in every round, recorded a hole-in-one at the 145-yard seventh hole, winning an Omega watch.

The 18-year-old, who won the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia as a 16-year-old amateur, shot 65 to lie in outright second on 16 under.

On her ace, Yang said: "I hit a soft seven iron but I couldn't see it because of the bushes.

"When I discovered it was in I thought 'Wow!'"

France's Gwladys Nocera is third on 15 under with England's Laura Davies four shots further back. Nocera rocketed up the leaderboard by lowering her own course record from two years ago with a superb 62.




5/27/2008 11:10:05 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Monday, May 26, 2008
Lefty Wins Crowne Plaza Invitational

Phil Mickelson conjured up a piece of magic at the final hole to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational on Sunday.

After a poor drive at the par-four 18th, Mickelson cleared some trees with a brilliant wedge shot which landed on the front of the green and trickled up to within nine feet.

He read his birdie putt perfectly, knocking it home to clinch a one-stroke victory over Rod Pampling and Tim Clark after an exciting final round at the Colonial Country Club.

"You have to take risks to win and I tried to do that," said Mickelson.

"I'm as surprised as anybody I was able to make a three from over there. I'm thinking if I make par and get into a play-off, that would be great.

"It wasn't like it was an easy shot, but it came off. It was one of my more memorable ones."
Mickelson carded a 68 to finish at 14 under for his 34th victory on the PGA Tour.

Check out the unbelievable shot at about 1:57 on the video below. The lefty with the soft hands was simply awesome.







5/26/2008 11:06:47 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Wilson Seconds Away From Maiden Victory

Oliver Wilson was the bridesmaid once again as Miguel Ángel Jiménez sauntered down the isle to win the BMW Championship at Wentworth.

Jimenez and Wilson both shot 68 in the final round to tie with 11-under 277 but the Spaniard nerve held out to win after sinking a two-foot putt for birdie on the second extra hole of a tense play-off

The Englishman with the big future has steadily improved since turning pro in 2005 however there seems to be one lesson he has left to learn, ‘how to win’.

It is the seventh time the Mansfield star has come agonisingly close to claiming a first Tour win.

In his rookie season, Wilson finished at No97 on the Order of Merit and, by 2007, a year in which he was twice a runner-up, he had moved up to No30. This year, he has finished second four times, three times in his past five events.



Yesterdays result sees Olly second in The European Tour Order of Merit putting him contention for a Ryder Cup spot.
Wilson had a chance to impress Nick Faldo when he played for Britain and Ireland against Continental Europe in the Seve Trophy. Now he is hoping to qualify for Faldo's Ryder Cup team for Valhalla in September.

“It's not like I'm going to get a pick, so I need to play myself on to the team,” Wilson said. “If I can keep getting in contention in the big tournaments, that will help.”

The golfing Buzz Aldrin went on to say, "I had three putts on that last hole and they have all done something a little different. I was 100 percent confident I was going to make it,I have not been that confident over a putt, ever," he said. "I just hit it a little too hard and cannot believe that I missed it."

"I have been told that Gary Player always thought that getting in a play off was equal to a win, so I have won three times now, well that's my new philosophy," he joked.

For more on the BMW Championship click here or you can check out Simply Red at the ‘Concert on the Course’ by clicking the image below.




5/26/2008 11:02:46 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Friday, May 23, 2008
Raw Emot-irons

Web users, you don't know what it took to get this.

After nagging for three hours straight the Webitor has had to promise to give Mr Equipment Daniel 'The Knig of Culbs' Owen a piggy back to lunch every day for a week. It's worth it though because you lucky blog heads are the first to see this set of the new limited edition raw Vega Raf-02 Irons to reach our shores.


Dan tells us they're, "The most forgiving model in the Vega range, the new slick appearance makes them appear smaller than they actually are. Not only does the raw grain finish look awesome, it feels incredibly soft and will help you spin the golf ball just a fraction more than the standard models." Which can never be bad. The price isn't confirmed yet, but you will be looking at around the £1400 mark. Which is a bargain in my eyes, I was seconds away from having to pumist the big fella's feet to bring you this exclusive.



5/23/2008 2:19:10 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Thursday, May 22, 2008
The News

We were going to give you a rundown of all the stuff gong on in Planet Golf over the next few days but these guys have done all the hard work for us.




The time we've saved will be spent wisely though. The office record for wedge bounces is being broken all the time with all the extra practice we're getting in.

If you can beat nine in a row let us know at website@jf-media.com.


5/22/2008 12:10:06 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hope Swings Eternal

If you’ve got a bit of spare cash in your back burner come October you could do worse than get yourself to LA for Bob Hope’s charity auction.
Nearly 800 items of Hope history, from foolishness to fine art, will be sold to fans and dealers alike in aid of charities and causes that were important to Bob.

If you can’t get yourself to The City of Angels fear not. The auction will be televised live and online by the Auction Network, allowing viewers worldwide to participate in real time.

The boy from Eltham was a renowned golf nut. He played in a few PGA Tour events and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic is named after him. So it’s no surprise that along with the showbiz bits and pieces that will undoubtedly be on offer there’s some cracking golf gear on show.

Like:
•    A pair of red-and-white golf shoes marked "Made for Bob Hope." ("I don't know who would have the courage to wear those," Linda quipped. )
•    A golf bag jammed with clubs given to Hope by various pros. ("It seemed that every time he met a golf pro with golf clubs, they would send them to him.")
•    A huge golf cap the size of a large pizza. ("He enjoyed having fun with golf and had pretty outlandish outfits.")
•    A cap signed by President Ford and some golf pros. ("This is from the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, Va.")

We’ve had a whip round and mustered £18 a broken fan and a box of tees. Hopefully that’s enough to get this magnificent golf buggy, if it’s up for sale that is.



5/21/2008 5:55:26 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Bright Lies

Ever thought about playing mini golf in the dark? Nope, us neither. It’s a good job John Wright has a bit more imagination.

The golf visionary took a run-of-the-mill golf ball, dropped it into a small machine and watched as the ball appeared at the end of the tube with a greenish glow.

That machine is Glowgolf’s “magic glow machine.”

Six such contraptions are set up along the path of a new 18-hole glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course at Bloomington’s Eastland Mall. The ball’s glow will last all day, but the more you charge it, the better it glows, said Wright, chief operating officer for Glowgolf, based in Wichita, Kan.

But it’s not just the balls that light up. In fact, everything glows at Glowgolf, including the clubs and scorecards. Glow-in-the-dark paint gives the underwater-themed hand-painted wall murals and course obstacles their bright glow, said Manager Mary Baize. Black lights help brighten the course rails, she added.


We’re guessing it’s like playing golf at a mid 90’s acid house gig. “That’s kind of the excitement,” raved Wright who compares it to the equally fun sounding cosmic bowling.

The company has locations at other malls in the west and midwest USA and is looking to expand. “It’s fun and it’s challenging,” Wright said. “It’s set up so that all ages can play it.”


Fans claim the kids love it most and you can imagine their little faces light up when they get their glow sticks in hand for a cheeky nine. We suspect this could be avoided if the illuminous tykes washed their paint covered hands before rubbing their eyes, but anything to encourage more people to play this silly game of ours, in all it’s forms, should be commended.

To find out more abut Bloomington’s Eastland glow golf click here.


But there are plenty of other resources to book your glow golf including the excellently titled puttingedge.com.





5/21/2008 5:14:04 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Tuesday, May 20, 2008
O2 To Be A Golfer

Did you see a wayward TaylorMade TP Red LDP in central London yesterday lunchtime? You see the Mick Hucknall* and Justin Rose where launching stingers from the roof of the O2 Centre. Chances are it was the Simply Red front man who narrowly missed you. If you’ve seen Rosey drive you know he would have at least cleared the area covered by the congestion charge.


The 2007 Order of Merit winner was joined on a bespoke tee, 50 metres up, by the singer song writer to officially launch the 2008 BMW PGA Championship which kicks off in earnest on Thursday.

The flame haired crooner is new to the game but knew a thing or two about his high flying swing coach, ‘to get some pointers from Justin is brilliant. I have huge respect for what he has achieved and look forward to seeing how he gets on this week.’ So are we. We’ve stuck the sweets kitty on JR at 28-1.

Hucknall will be performing with Simply Red at the exclusive, charity ‘Concert on the Course' on Wednesday evening at Wentworth Club with the proceeds going to GOLFAID.

The charity was set up by The European Tour players’ wives and was established in 2006 to make grants to organisations and charities, particularly those assisting children and young people. With the full help and support of Members and staff of the Tour, the players have taken over responsibility for moving GOLFAID forward.  Their aim is to support a range of noble casues including charities located close to the events they play.

So not only will people get to hear most of Simply Red’s greatest hits at the ‘Concert on the Course’ they’ll be doing good for a generation who may never have heard of them.


"Just, can I borrow a sweet?"
"Soz Mick, gummies too slight to lend some."

If you want to see the likes of Angel Cabrera, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, José  Maria Olazábal and Vijay Singh and a strong British contingent including Paul Casey, Darren Clarke, Luke Donald, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood in the flesh, visit www.europeantourtickets.com or call the ticket hotline on 0800 023 2557.

See you there.

*Mick Hucknall didn’t drive balls into crowds in central London yesterday, not on purpose anyway.




5/20/2008 3:10:01 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Ritter Sweet Swing For Me...

Our American doyen of drives, pharaoh of the fairways and guru of the greens, Jeff Ritter, is flying over this August to teach you lucky bleeders how to play this daft game we call golf. 

Now he might not pull out the rockets, planets and Ferraris he uses in his drawing board lessons in GOLFPUNK magazine, but he'll be able to get your swing into shape for the arduous winter season. The swing school takes place at Blundells Hill Golf Club on Merseyside on the 26th-27th and 28th-29th Aug and cost $850, which is £431.75 in real money. With around five in a class you’ll get enough of Jeff’s time to make a difference.

Visit Jeff’s web site www.jeffrittergolf.com for more information on his unique style of coaching.

For more information or to participate in his unique swing school, contact Jeff Ritter at jritter5@cox.net.


Jeff Ritter. King of swing.


5/20/2008 3:00:29 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Learn And Golf

Here’s a little user service via you pals at GOLFPUNK. Anyone who lives on this side of the pond probably won’t have a clue about what we’re banging on about but aspiring American golfers should find this useful.

collegesportsscholarships.com are a non profit website who provide info and stats about college golf scholarships and the golf recruiting process.

They reckon, “With hard work, and the information and tools we provide, you can attain your goal and play College Golf.”

Which sounds like a dream come true to us. If this applies to you have a look.

And if you end up on the PGA Tour off the back of it be sure to give us a call, we could always do with a new cover star.

Be lucky.


"Woosy, can I borrow your science homework, the dog ate mine."


5/20/2008 10:19:46 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Monday, May 19, 2008
Euro Legend Backs The Stars And Stripes.

Golfing legend and inspiration to a generation Seve Ballesteros has come out with something nobody in GP Towers, nay the world, ever thought he’d say. Talking all things Ryder Cup with the Mirror the five-time major winner said, "I hope the Americans win this year in all seriousness." Que?

"I see the Ryder Cup getting very boring because we are beating them so badly. Everybody is losing interest." Ah now we see. Sort of.

Along with skipper Tony Jacklin, Ballesteros was at the forefront of Europe's rejuvenation in the competition in the early 1980s, culminating in victory at the Belfry in 1985, the first European win since 1957.

“I don't want to see a competition looking like a church service, I want to see a bullfight between the bull and the matador”

"My heart is always with the Europeans but my head is with the Americans for the good of the trophy." Said the shot making maestro.

Seve enjoyed a stormy Ryder Cup relationship with US captain Paul Azinger, with the pair clashing at the Belfry in 1989 and Kiawah Island two years later.

"We know how tough Paul Azinger is and how competitive he is," said Ballesteros.

"Nick, I was honly hoking."

European captain Nick Faldo has also had run-ins with Azinger over the years but Ballesteros believes the American's feisty character will bring some much-needed spark to the event.

"I don't think they will resort to bad sportsmanship but we need a little bit of something.

"Golf is a gentlemanly sport but we need some kind of controversy to make the news and make it competitive.” Which we’re all for. We hope the Spaniards comments are some sort of reverse psychology to inspire team Europe to another victory. But if there’s one man you can’t second guess it’s Severiano Ballesteros.




5/19/2008 11:41:59 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [2] 
Finch Makes A Splash With Irish Open Win.

Richard Finch claimed his second European Tour title on Sunday, winning the Irish Open by two shots despite a run-in with the water hazard at the final hole.

The 30-year-old had to dry himself off before three-putting to card a two-under-par 70, with his 10-under total of 278 leaving him two strokes clear of Chile's Felipe Aguilar.

Richard followed up his victory at the New Zealand Open in December, and has now climbed to fifth place on the Order of Merit after taking home the £330,297 first prize.

The water incident endeared him further to the large crowd and he marched down the fairway to loud applause.

"It was not a choice really," Finch said when asked about his early bath. "It was a bit of an awkward stance, but I never gave falling in a thought.

"The momentum of the follow-through took me round and in."

Languishing in 218th in the world entering the event, Finch now stands fifth on the Order of Merit, 105 places higher than he was last season, and is only just outside the top 10 in the Ryder Cup standings.

"I'm not thinking about that," said the man from Hull about his Ryder Cup chances. "I haven't even played in a major yet and my goal this year was to try to qualify for one of those."

GOLFPUNK diarist Rory McIlroy claimed seventh place on 282, with the 19-year-old rookie finishing with a 70. To put the golfing phenomenon’s finish into perspective defending champion Padraig Harrington was joint 31st on one over 289. And former Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie is still without a top-40 finish since January after he also shot a final-round 76 to be five over par.

Congratulations Rick. Winning tour events is far from easy and you provided us with one of those golf moments that will live long in the heart and mind. For anyone who hasn’t seen it click the image and enjoy.



5/19/2008 11:40:13 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
World No.1 Completes Sybase Hat-Trick.

Lorena Ochoa completed a hat-trick of wins at the LPGA Tour's Sybase Classic yesterday.

The world No. 1 had struggled at her previous two events, by her own very high standards, finishing fifth at the SemGroup Championship and tied for 12th at last weekend's Michelob Ultra Open. But Ochoa rebounded at the rain-shortened tournament, finishing one shot ahead of five players with an overall score of 10-under 206.

"It feels so good to have defended my title," said our Lorena, who captured her sixth title this season. “It was getting tight at the end, and I knew a lot of players were making birdies. But it was great to hang on."

Ochoa had to grind this one out rather than running away with it like her first five wins this year. Lorena won those events by a combined 37 strokes, with the closest margin being three shots.

"I think that was what was important. It doesn't matter how you do it sometimes; you play really good, other players struggle, sometimes you just keep yourself in a good position. Today it was different; it was a different win, but I enjoyed it a lot," said the girl from Guadalajara.

"Tht's three on the bounce, can I keep this one?"

Morgan Pressel went berserk and shot a final round 6 under 66 to zoom into contention and got within a shot after Ochoa bogeyed the ninth and she birdied 12 for her fifth birdie in seven holes.

"I think I had two holes where I didn't have birdie opportunities, and one of them I chipped in," said the 19-year-old Pressel who finished one shot off the lead with South Korea's Na Yeon Choi, Britain's Catriona Matthew, Sweden's Sophie Gustafson and Americans Brittany Lang.

The victory was Ochoa's 23rd overall and 20th since April 2006. The £153,217 prize pushed her career earnings past the £6 million mark, making her the fastest player on the LPGA Tour to reach that plateau.
The diminutive millionaire accomplished it in just over five years, more than four years faster than the old mark set by outgoing golfing legend Annika Sorenstam.




5/19/2008 11:34:09 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 


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