Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Manage Your Game

Jeff Ritter is back in the place, this time with sound advice on how to help yourself, and we're not talking about pilfering Mars bars fro the pro shop.

Read and learn.

Using the Tee Box

When teeing off, learn to use the tee box to your advantage. Instead of teeing up in the middle, let your natural ball flight dictate the best teeing position. A player, who traditionally slices, will benefit from teeing up on the right side of the tee. This will focus your alignment more down the left side of the fairway which is congruent with a ball flight that will be curving back to the right. Conversely, a player who hooks will benefit by teeing more to the left side.

Give an Easy Leave

Most big numbers are a result a player simply leaving themselves with too many tough shots to be consistently successful. Shots from deep bunkers, deep rough, or on odd slopes often lead to miss hits. When selecting your approach shots, survey the conditions around the green to determine a good line of flight that would leave you an “easy” shot, should you not catch it just perfect. Anything with an open look at the hole and a flat or slightly uphill lie will generally have the lowest level of difficulty.

Play the Break

Everyone knows you need to play break on your putts, but how about your approaches? When hitting approach shots, pay attention to how the ball will react once it lands on the green. Very seldom will you have a chip, pitch, or even an iron shot where you can go straight at it. See the slope, pick your line and play the break!



Jeff Ritter is the Director of Instruction at ASU Karsten Golf Academy.

Read his new book, Golf by Design:  www.golfbydesign.net




6/4/2008 2:31:43 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Golfers Live Longer - It's Official

Golf extends life, according to European medical research.

Playing golf can add five years to a person's life, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden study of 300,000 golfers revealed.

Despite the lack of physical activity involved in a round of golf, players usually walk more than six kilometres during a single 18-hole round, News Limited reported.

The study found that golfers have a lower death rate regardless of sex, age and social group, the papers said.

And the effect is greater for blue-collar workers than for white collar employees, it said.
Professor Anders Ahlbom, who led the study, said while not all golfers had a healthy lifestyle, it is believed playing the game has a significant impact on health.

"Maintaining a low handicap involves playing a lot, so it supports the idea that it is largely the game that is good for the health," he said.


Old Tom Morris yesterday.

We’ve been telling people for years that golf increases cardiovascular capacity, improves lung capacity and blood flow. Even the simple act of swinging your club or bending down to place your ball on its tee or pick up your ball helps keep your joints supple and muscle groups in trim.
If you add all this to the fact you can get ECG-accurate watches to measure your heart rate golf looks like one of the safest sports in the world.

Although anyone who has been on the cusp of a career defining round only to balls it up with an 11 on a par three knows any talk of golf being good for your heart and stress levels.




6/3/2008 9:54:26 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [2] 

  Monday, June 02, 2008
3 Putting Tips To Cure Your Putting Yips!

Jeff Ritter Director of Instruction at ASU Karsten Golf Academy has got some sound advice to make you lord of the flatstick once again, so listen up.


A Change of Style

Start your road to recovery by shaking things up a bit. Right now, your brain is wired to putt in its current adopted technique. Select 3 new gripping styles and new putters to try during your next practice session. Pick one and stick with it for at least 3 weeks. You are sure to see some improvement.


Tap in your 10 footers

Many players from short range make long ineffective stokes where the ball fails to hold its line. To instill some attitude and confidence, set a ball 1-2 feet from the hole. Tap putts into the hole with a little authority so that the ball smacks the back of the cup.  Due to the close range, you should make every one with a relatively small, compact stroke. Now, cover the hole with a scorecard and make the same “tap in” motion. You’ll notice the ball will roll a good 6 to 10 feet beyond the cup, showing you that your confident “tap in stroke” is good enough for most putts near the hole. So from now on, tap in your 10 footers, it can really be that easy.


An Egg in the Hand

An egg in the hand is worth….hmm maybe that was something else. Either way, soft and constant grip pressure is a key to maintaining a smooth flowing stroke. Swing by your refrigerator and pick up an egg. Hold the egg in your right hand, pinning it between your right index finger and the shaft. Stroke a few putts keeping the pressure soft and constant.


You can contact Jeff on 001 480-695-2017  or email at jeffrittergolf.com




6/2/2008 10:45:49 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Perry Picks Up Memorial Tournament Win

American Kenny Perry held off the challenge of Justin Rose to clinch the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

Luke Donald carded 73 to finish in a group tied for eighth on two under, while world number two Phil Mickelson ended two over.

"I was great mentally out there but the putts just didn't go in," said Rose.

"Winning is all about making the putts at the right time and I had a hot putter this week and I felt I was hitting decent putts, but I didn't quite have the confidence in the read."

Perry’s victory has pushed him up the Ryder Cup standings where he is currently fifth.

In 1996 Perry lost the PGA Championship to Mark Brooks in a playoff at Valhalla.


That loss is the biggest disappointment in a career that covers 22 years and includes 10 victories. Three of those have come in Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament. Perry (1991, 2003 and '08) joins Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, '01) as the only men with a hatrick of wins in the tournament.

Perry had a chance to win The Players Championship last month, but he shot 81 in the final round to tie for 15th. A week later he led the AT&T Classic near Atlanta until a bogey on the final hole dropped him into a playoff that he lost to Ryuji Imada.

He came to the Memorial boosted by memories of past success knowing that Azinger wanted a team of tournament winners.

Azinger added that some players would make the team on points without winning and some winners would not earn enough points to make it. But in general he wanted 12 players who have the confidence gained by winning this year.

"I just want to make the team and play at home," Perry said. "Kentucky is starved for golf."

For the full leader board click here.




6/2/2008 10:34:13 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 
Strange Triumphant At The Celtic Manor Wales Open

Australian Scott Strange captured his maiden European Tour victory by a commanding four strokes in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor. The 31-year-old Strange never looked back from the moment he started the tournament with an opening round of 63 on Thursday, and he finished almost as impressively, completing a joint best-of-the-day 64 to card a 22-under par final score and keep runner-up Robert Karlsson at arm's length.



Strange, who complained of stomach problems and dizziness towards the end of his round on Saturday, showed no ill-effects on the newly-completed 2010 Ryder Cup course as he shot five birdies in the first seven holes of a thrilling final round. Only an errant tee shot at the last threatened to blot his scorecard but after recovering from the rough the Australian, twice a winner on the Asian tour, finished his bogey-free round with a par.

Karlsson, third in his last three events, was second after also returning a 64, with Raphaël Jacquelin in third, while fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls Darren Clarke and Nick Dougherty were in a tie for fourth. Strange, ranked only 164th in the world, collected £300,000 for his victory.

To find out more Scott's win click here.

For the full leader board click here.




6/2/2008 10:11:43 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  Friday, May 30, 2008
Golf Junkies?

GOLFPUNK Editor Shaun McGuckian has been talking to Friction.tv about drugs in golf. There are a couple of opinion pieces on there about how prevelant drugs are and how much they could ruin the game. Click on the images below to hear straight from the horses mouth.



Exactly how prevelant are drugs in golf?



Let's hope golf's image won't be dirtied by drugs.

We'd love to know what you think. Either post a comment or let us know at website@jf-media.co.uk.


5/30/2008 10:05:34 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

  Thursday, May 29, 2008
Inflatable Golf Simiulator

As kids there was nothing we liked more than eating jelly until we were sick or playing on bouncy castles. Now we’re a bit older you can swap ‘eating jelly’ for ‘drinking’ but the love of inflatable playthings will never leave you.

That’s why we want to get our hands on an Inflatable Golf Simulator. The guys from Eball have built/blown up the ultimate gadget for golf enthusiast who don’t have enough land for a full size golf course in their own backyard (aka everybody except Donald Trump).



Inside is a screen and sensors and all the normal stuff you’d see in a golf simulator. The important thing is that it’s a blow up inflatable simulator, and like the bouncy castle it can (relatively) easily be moved from place to place, you know, to avoid brown spots on your garden. Plus it’s weatherproof which is a big advantage over real golf in the UK, just make sure you stake it down in high winds unless you want to try out zero gravity golf.

We’re going to put it to DI Babb that it’s great for big events, parties and corporate promotions. Although we want one set up in the board room at GOLFPUNK Towers so we can have nearest the pin competitions for who makes the tea. We can’t put it next to the golf dart board though. But that’s another story….   




5/29/2008 1:21:54 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 
Fog Delays Wales Open

The start of the Wales Open was delayed because of fog at the 2010 Ryder Cup course at Celtic Manor.

Play was due to begin at 0725 BST but an initial 90-minute hold-up was announced before the first round finally got under way at 0930.

Colin Montgomerie, PGA winner Miguel Angel Jimenez and defending champion Richard Sterne were among the players kept waiting.

At the time of writing Jeev Milkha Singh tops the leader board but with half the field yet to tee off it’s particularly early doors.

Keep up to date with what’s going on at Celtic Manor here.


Jeev Milkha Singh, proud owner of the dreaded GOLPUNK vote of confidence.


5/29/2008 11:21:50 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [0] 

  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] 


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