In the Rough

I am writing this piece hoping for some help?

I recently played a round in a tournament, which okay wasn’t going to trouble the winning score but an event occurred that i feel hard done by.

In the middle of the long 16th hole is a water hazard, which consists of a large pond. After hitting a good tee shot my ball ran on towards the water and nestled in the pond liner. Now the pond liner actually came out across the red post (hazard area) so technically my ball was in play but obviously un-playable.

After a chat with the other 3 members of my four ball it was decided (3 against 1 of course) that i could either take a drop (which would cost me a shot) or i had to play it. Now i took the drop because of how bad the lay was but surely with it being a man-made error it should of been a free drop?

The debate ran on well into the 19th hole discussion, where i had quite few other players in agreement with me that it should of been a free drop. Now i know my score can’t be changed or i cant play the round again but i was wondering where the rules actually stand on this matter?

Current professional golfers split their time between the gym and the driving range but could that be any good for us every day golfers?

Tiger Woods who is the World Number One golfer openly admits to spending a good 2 hours a day in the gym as a minimum. Yes since he burst on the scene back in 1997 Tiger has bulked up but has that helped him? The answer must be a yes!

A semi fit Tiger can and does hit the ball longer than most players on the tour.

Personally their is no change for good old fashioned meat i.e. John Daly the 18 stone will always be able to hit the ball a country mile but up until recently he didnt know what a gym looked like.

In golf is their such thing as too much time at the driving range?

Personally i think there isnt as my game seems to go from strength to strength the more i play but is that just on the course?

Many professional golfers hit hundred of balls every single day so they know that whichever golf club they have in there hand they have full control of it and know matter how pressure is on the shots (some swings of club could be a difference between 1st and 4th, which in money terms in some tournaments is a couple hundred thousand).

With the British “summer” looking like being another wash out is it going to affect your game?

Personally I am a fair weather golfer and play a lot more if the sun is shining or at the very least the rain is to a minimal (in fact the summer i knocked 6 shots of my handicap was a sunny one with me playing 3-4 times a week).

So far this summer i have played twice and i can’t see when the next game is going to be???

The majority of golf clubs in the local area have recognised this and are offering some very good golf deals with the most putting golf fee’s as low as £15 for any tee time after 3pm.

At work we have setup a Golf Society in which we are hoping to play some of the best golf courses around Cheshire.

We would welcome any challenge to our current team which consists of -

Nala Kconrahc the left handed golf shark. He has often been seen at Adlington Golf Driving Range fine tuning his aggressive golf swing or in the pub drinking Stella.

Etch McGee the dark horse of the group. He relies purely on his driving from the tee as his iron play and putting on the green needs improvement.

J B the points scorer of the group. J B is the consistent performer of the group who’s sublime golf swing and eye for the green will always bring in 20 plus points from a round.

After the success over the weekend of Argentine Estanislao Goya’s maiden European Tour Victory at the Madeira Islands Open it was yet more proof that currently in Golf it is the Golden Age for young professionals who are making a big name on the tour.

The win of Goya has followed wins from Rory McIlroy who is producing good performances all over the world presently and England’s Danny Lee.

In 2008 it was American Anthony Kim and German Martin Kaymer who where making waves on the golf circuit, now both players turn up to every event with the mind set of finishing well and even hopes of winning.

World number one he is, the greatest ever golfer to play the game he may be, the biggest reason fans turn out to watch golf???

Well this is the thinking behind the organisers of the Australian Masters as American Tiger Woods will be making an appearance in Australia for the first time in over a decade, when the Australian Masters starts in November.

The organisers of the Australian Masters in Melbourne have opted to pay Tiger Woods $3 Million (£2.1 Million) to make an appearance alone.

The news has created some great debate with most people thinking it is a good thing for a golf and Tiger Woods playing in the Australian Masters alone could bring $9 Million to the Australian economy.

The $3 Million appearance fee will be made up from tax payers and the government support for the event scheme.

This may seem like a bizarre title of an article but it is true.

The 2009 European Tour is already fifteen events down this year but has yet to actually physically happen in Europe. So far we have seen golf in Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa but no European event has been held on the European Continent, well that is until this weekend.

The European Tour heads to Portugal with the Madeira Islands Open staged this week.

However it doesn’t have big names playing. The highest rank player at the Madeira Island Open is Anthony Wall who is only 81st in the World.

With the world number one American Tiger Woods just returning from a long injury lay off and American golfer Phil Mickelson producing some breathtaking golf and returning to the World Number two spot in golf are we about to see the Tiger Woods v Phil Mickelson battle we have been craving for years??

Okay so Tiger isn’t quite back to his best and maybe he is saving himself for the Masters on April 6 but over the next few weeks and at The Masters Mickelson really does have a good chance to lay down the gauntlet to Tiger and maybe even push for him for that Number One spot.

With Spring round the corner and hopefully some better weather coming our way the fair weather golfers will be dusting of the golf clubs and looking for the promotional vouchers that makes it a good value day out.

In the golfing world their is a few ways of getting a “cheaper” round some courses may give some good discounts for group bookings, promotional websites offer golf gifts and some golf courses offer societies group discount but the best way to pick up a good round of golf is through vouchers.

The most popular golf vouchers available at date the 2 fore 1 vouchers, which as you probably can guess offer golf players a 2 for 1 discount - simple. These vouchers are taken by nearly all golf clubs but it is still worth checking before you turn up.

The 2 fore 1 vouchers are also available to use within groups so when the good weather comes a golf day out is the answer.

You can pick the 2 fore 1 vouchers up from many websites by looking through all Search Engines, also a few golf subscription magazines have the facility for ordering through the magazine and also offer from time to time a free 2 fore 1 voucher with the magazine, which is worth looking out for.