Archive for June, 2010

La Reserva Golf Club, Spain

Jun 30th
2010

La Reserva Golf Club is located in Sotogrande resort (25 mins from Gilbraltar Airport and 90 mins from Malaga Airport) surrounded by two valleys which run together in a Y-form large, the 18-hole course opened in 2003 was designed Cabell Robinson and constructed according to USGA norms.

The greens are characterized by their ample size and variety of form, the same as the bunkers. With a 6.700 meters length this par 72 course gained the reputation as one of the best courses in Spain, a special mention has to be made to the splendid Club House.  It is a long course with wide, undulating fairways and well guarded greens looking very perfectly integrated into the surrounding landscape. Bunkers are situated further outside; there are water hazards at 6 holes.

Santiago Luna, four times Spanish Champion and member of the European Tour for more than twenty years, makes the following suggestions of La Reserva: “This golf course requires players to use all the clubs in their bag. It’s very entertaining and can be made either easy or difficult. The course is very large featuring wide fairways and greens, in addition to being very well contoured”.

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Global Warfare

Jun 29th
2010

What do you choose, a GPS unit or an app?

Smartphones and their nifty apps have permeated nearly every aspect of society. You can use them to do everything from buying groceries to monitoring your sleep patterns. So it was just a matter of time before CPS companies made their golf-course yardage-measuring software compatible with smartphones.
Unlike traditional stand-alone GPS devices, which cost €120.00 to €400.00 and have been on the market since 1999, a smartphone GPS app is cheaper – free to €25.00, and more convenient if you own an iPhone, BlackBerry, etc. But some tests revealed there is a trade-off in performance, which is why many companies have continued to improve their stand-alone devices.

For instance, the precision of any golf GPS device depends on its hardware (the antenna and receiver that can quickly read signals from satellites) and the quality of the maps loaded onto the device.
The hardware in a smartphone isn’t as powerful as that in the top hand-held GPS units, so apps aren’t as precise in measurements.
Sometimes the maps are questionable. GPS companies that make hand-held devices generally use high-quality, proprietary satellite imagery to ensure their maps are as accurate as possible.
Though battery life in a hand-held device can last for more than three rounds before needing a recharge, no smartphone tested lasted for an entire round.
The smartphones are plenty powerful for 99 per cent of their uses, but they’re not designed to offer the precision that golf requires. (Source: Golf World Magazine)

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Golf Du Soleil, Morocco

Jun 28th
2010

Three hours from all major European capitals, Agadir is Morocco’s golf destination offering sun, a change of scenery and the possibility of playing golf all year around. Fernando Muella was fascinated by Morocco’s Atlantic coast scenery and designed an exceptional golf course extending over 200 acres of wooded terrain dotted with lakes and cascades, set in-between the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains, the splendid Golf du Soleil appeals with rare combination of game and sensations.

The three loops of nine holes each offers a different challenge and each course draws its own personality from the lakes, bridges, waterfalls, bunkers, bushes and wide shady fairways strewed all over the golf; they can be played in any combination, offering a welcomed variety of rounds, the technical diversity of the three courses demands a wise choice of irons and woods. As usual in Morocco, caddies are mandatory. But wait, there’s more

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Rakes: In or Out?

Jun 27th
2010

It´s one of golf’s great unanswered questions: Where do you leave a bunker rake? There’s no hard and fast rule, so we surveyed prominent people in the game to get their thoughts.

Leave’em out.

Steve Williams, caddie of Tiger Woods: “Rakes should remain out of the bunkers in a place where they’re least likely to get hit. In most cases that would be on the lip of the bunker closest to the green you’re facing.”
Jack Nicklaus: “If I needed to choose, I’d opt to have the rakes on the outside, but not in the line of play or on the green side of greenside bunkers.”

Leave’em in.

Arnold Palmer: “When a ball gets close to a rake in a bunker, you get relief to play the shot. It doesn’t affect the game. But if it hits a rake outside a bunker, it does.”
Gary Player: “I remember a tournament in Europe where a rake stopped my ball from going into a deep bunker with steep walls. If my ball hadn’t hit the rake, I would have made a 5 or 6.” (Source: Golf World Magazine)

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Golf Funny Commercial #1

Jun 26th
2010


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The Montgomerie Golf Course, Dubai

Jun 25th
2010

The Montgomerie Golf Course, Dubai is a championship golf course designed by Ryder Cup star Colin Montgomerie in association with Desmond Muirhead. Inaugurated in 2002, this Par 72 course and has since then been ranked as one of the top 2 courses in the Middle East.

The course covers 265 acres which consist of 123 acres of turf, 49 acres of man-made lakes (a total of 14 lakes), 93 acres of landscaped gardens and is scattered with 81 large bunkers. The course provides the player with undulating fairways with generous landing areas which challenge and intrigue all levels of golfers, combining the design traditions of truly great Scottish links courses, the design has great character that rewards strategic play, while celebrating the stunning natural beauty. Also worth’s a mention to a magnificent clubhouse and a wonderful practice area with an astonishing view with all the skyscrapers in the background.

One of the signature holes is the par 5 fourth, dubbed the Snake hole for its saddleback fairway which doglegs towards the green, with two bunkers behind forming the eyes of the snake. Further on, the par 5 ninth, with water down the left, is a tough finish to the opening half.  The par 3 thirteenth, a hole designed in the shape of the UAE, boasts a 360 degree teeing area around an island fairway and green, allowing for a completely different golf hole to be played every time. However, it is the par 5 eighteenth that offers a more classic test. At 656 yards it is a monster and, with water protecting the front of the green, it defies even the best player to hit the green in two. This makes The Montgomerie Dubai a unique golfing experience in this part of the world.

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Pga Cataluña Golf Course, Spain

Jun 24th
2010

Considered by many as the ultimate golf destination PGA Cataluña golf course is amongst the exclusive Top 100 golf courses in the world in a newly published list and one of only two courses in Spain awarded that honour, is has also has been voted one of the ten best golf courses in Europe by Golf World magazine.

Located close to Girona-Costa Brava Airport (five minutes drive) and Barcelona International Airport (one hour drive), PGA Cataluña Resort also features a comfortable, on-site hotel, ideal for golf breaks. It is the perfect place from which to explore the Costa Brava, with its 160km of beaches and more than 20 Michelin-star restaurants, and the Pyrenees, with its world-class ski resorts.

The two courses (the Stadium and the Tour course), designed by famous Spanish golfer Angel Gallardo and Ryder Cup star Neil Coles, are set on undulating land with evergreens, oak trees and heather lining its perfect fairways, with astonishing views that inspired Dali and Gaudi. But wait, there’s more

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J.Lindeberg golf shoes.

Jun 23rd
2010

J.Lindeberg have yet again managed to set the style for the coming season with this years must have golf shoes.The first called fairway Brogue is a modern take on a traditional gangster brogue that will cut a dash on any fairway and complete a JL outfit.The second called Bridge has a more athletic look and feel and is guaranteed to turn heads on the fist tee.Both styles come in plain white or my favorite black and white as shown here.

Both styles are made from calfskin leather,are water repellent and have Darby lace ups.This is the first J.Lindeberg golf shoe since its collaboration with Puma in 2006 and the long wait is now over,the shoes can be found at J.Lindeberg stores or the best pro shops in the world and retail at 200 Euros.

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Posted in Trendy Golf Fashion | 3 Comments »

Royal Marrakech Golf Course, Morocco

Jun 22nd
2010

Designed by Arnaud Massy for the Pasha of Marrakech in the 20′s,  the Royal Marrakech Golf Club is one of the longest-established in Morocco and since then it has been constantly renovated and improved. Within 15 minutes of the bustling city centre, this par 72 course is one of the country’s most celebrated golfing venues.

The course was widened to 18 holes in 1993, and 27 holes in 2008. Situated in a fantastic palm grove at the feet of the snowy tops of the Atlas Mountains it is an “English style” course with strategically placed bunkers protecting its greens and testing tall trees and palms with a wide variety of fruit trees the course is rather flat but interesting. Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George and Ike Eisenhower had made their ground of preference.

The course and its unique landscape offers itself as a picture perfect backdrop of snow by the Atlas in winter, contrasting with the purity of a blue sky azure, but do not let the extreme beauty of the course put you off your game.

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Golf and shorts

Jun 21st
2010

Heres the thing Should golf pros wear shorts?

We are now in an era where all professional sports are considered and treated like science how to train how to eat how to sleep how to think, no detail is left to chance in an attempt to gain an edge and progress.The game of golf is no different a regular tour professional will have in his team a physiologist,personal trainer, dietitian, masseur and a swing,shortgame and putting coach.

We here talk of club head speed,ball resolution,v grooves every technology invented comes into the game of golf and yet the pro golfer in most cases a toned athlete has to wear trousers. I find it amazing that the PGA tours who are trying to promote the game on both sides of the Atlantic consider that the wearing of shorts would be harmful to the game of golf. The game of golf has to be one of the most explosive sports one minute you are strolling down a fairway the next you go from a still address position to an act that requires every muscle in your body to work in sync at high speed to produce a drive of 300 yards the whole act takes 2 to 3 seconds but you must wear trousers? come on!

Years ago before golf was a science and some things were left to chance a man Called Brian Barnes decided it was time to play golf  in shorts. Playing on the European tour and knowing he faced a fine for wearing the shorts the Scotish pro whos greatest achievement was beating Jack Nicklaus twice in the same day at the 1975 Ryder Cup decided enough was enough and wore his shorts during a tour event.

There was of course calls to hang him but 3 hefty fines each exceeding each other was enough to make him resort back to the trouser option and the rebellion was over in a matter of weeks.What we need is a new rebell on tour to take on the authorities who see shorts as an act of evil that will destroy golf as we know it. I know who I have in mind but would love to know your choice? who can move world of professional golf into a new era ?

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Posted in PGA Tour, Trendy Golf Fashion | 2 Comments »

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