In the Rough

Golf is a real passion for a lot of people. It goes beyond a way to relax or a way to spend time with your friends. There is something about the early mornings, the fresh air and the precision of the sport that really gets people hooked. This is why it is such a shame if you love your golf but you find it a struggle to afford all that goes with it.

Golf is not a cheap hobby to have. In fact it’s very expensive. You obviously need a full set of golf clubs, but you also need the right shoes and clothing. Membership fees for golf courses can be pretty high and days out at the driving range cost a fair bit to. In order to afford all this it makes sense to try and find new ways of earning money.

Online bingo is a good way of earning a bit of cash on the side and it is something that is overlooked a lot of the time. However, with the cash prizes at Posh Bingo and other sites, people looking to get into golf should ignore it at their peril. Resources like ohmybingo.com also have plenty of news on offers and promotions for online bingo websites.

The Irish Open has been hit by a sponsorship setback with mobile network Three deciding not to renew their sponsorship for 2011. Three have been sponsoring the Irish Open for the last two years but recently announced they will be putting more money into the sponsorship of the Republic of Ireland football team. This news followed a recent meeting between Opens organisers and the mobile network regarding a venue or the tournament next year. It had been tipped that a course in Northern Ireland would be the likely venue however the organisers will now need to address funding.

Ian Poulter secured his second title of the year winning the Hong Kong open. Poulter bogeyed the last hole but still finished in front of Simon Dyson and Matteo Mannassero. Poulter is confident he can can continue to climb the world leader board after moving up three places from fourteenth to eleventh. He isn’t getting carried away though because two years ago he was adamant he was Tiger Woods main challenger and he ended up falling further away from the former world number one. Poulter is concentrating on one tournament at a time.

Ian Poulter believes that too many events on the European circuit will cause problems when taking part in US events. Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood have rejected to take part in the PGA Tour. For players to retain their card in in Europe they will need to part in thirteen events. Poulters aim is to become world number one but he is concerned over where he will be playing his golf next year. Many other golfers may follow McIlroy and Westwood as they aim to closer to their families rather than spending week after week away from home.

At the beginning of November Lee Westwood became the new World Number One. Tiger Woods has held the number one position for two hundred and eighty one weeks but following problems in his personal life in 2009 has lead to very poor form since having a break from the game and returning earlier this year. Lee Westwood becomes the thirteenth number one since the rankings began twenty four years ago. Westwood will be favourite to win the Open when it comes to Royal St George in July 2011 even though he is yet to win a major. Every world number one has been successful in winning a major.

This is the time of year where playing golf can become difficult. Motivating yourself to get out on the golf course while the cold winds are blowing and the rain is coming down with force can be difficult. It is so easy to turn your back on golf for winter and maybe just pop down to driving range once in a while. However there can be some great satisfaction when playing golf in the winter months. Battling against the wind and rain can really help you to improve the judgement of your swing and power, and you can also fell a huge sense of achievement when completing a round when you have battled against mother nature.

Tiger Woods is set to compete at the US open in June of this year. The world professional golfer has had a year to miss when news of his several affairs had cropped up. Not only did this set back his relationship with his wife, but shocked the golfing world, and his fans with the way he ran his personal life. Woods came back to apologise to the world before he came back to golf. Woods recently came joint fourth in the Masters and was expected to apply for the US open. Woods played well at the Masters by coming eighth in the competition.

Tiger Woods recently made his long-term comeback to golf at the Masters, where the crowd gave him a warm reception. Woods claimed that the fans haven’t given him such a big reception as long as he can remember, and it gave him great confidence and encouragement during the tough conditions. Woods has revealed that the crowd’s backing is so important to his golfing ability, and that he would like to win the US open, though with golfers such as Mickelson and Westwood, it will be tough. It is now a general consensus amongst professional golfers and fans that Wood’s personal life should be left behind him.

Rickie Fowler was beaten in the last few holes of the Phoenix Open by the eccentric and brilliance of Hunter Mahan . Mahan came back from four strokes to beat Fowler in the last few holes. Mahan claimed the win in the final by putting an eagle and a pair of birdies, which he won between holes 13 and 16, with a par of under 65. It is the fifth tournament of the year that the American has won. England’s best hope was Ian Poulter, who finished seven shots back off a seventy (who was also the winner of last week’s Accenture match. Runner up Fowler was at the young of age of 22 when he almost won a great tournament of golf.

Tiger Woods, one of the most respected, most competent golfers has recently gone through media spotlight with the revelation of cheating on his Swedish wife, with various women. The golfer remained silent on the reports for many months, whilst his wife wished for a divorce and for some of Wood’s money. Woods finally came out into the open with his uttermost apologies to the world for the allegations of his affairs. He apologised to his ex-wife, his fans, mother, family and everyone close to him, in a very emotional speech. He didn’t rule out playing golf again, as some would hope Woods will regain his past honour as a great golfer and professional.