Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Did You Win YOUR Bet That Mandela Would Make it to the European Tour?

The European Tour is the second largest tour in the world of golf coming in second only to the PGA Tour. The increase in popularity of the European Tour can be attributed to its broad inclusion in other parts of the world featuring venues held not only in Europe but also in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Smaller tours, such as the Sunshine Tour, are part of a global constinuency which makes up the International Federation of PGA Tours, co-sanctioning four events with the European Tour.

That being said, the most recent event played this past weekend on the Sunshine Tour was the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship. A possibly more well-known tourney taking place this week on the Sunshine Tour is the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Both events count toward the Race to Dubai, a year-long global affair with a prize in excess of $1 million dollars.

Although few Sunshine Tour events attract top names in golf, this week, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel are both competing: adding the name Mandela to any event also elevates it don't you think? These golf tournaments also give rise to fresh faces who might one day move toward a permanent spot on the Euro Tour.

Since gambling is an inherent part of golf, with these events comes the opportunity for sports betting.  As I have come to learn (no, I don't gamble but I read a lot), in the past, these sorts of transactions were done with a bookie, however, with the rise of the internet over the past few years many forms of gambling have taken full advantage of the online culture of this medium. Now bookmakers and casinos can be found online and everything that goes with them. People who fancy a quick go on the slots on their computer, or even their smartphone, can now do this at sites such as LuckyNuggetCasino.com online casino, along with card games such as Poker or Blackjack which are usually found to be more popular among sports fans. Betting on golf can now be done before or even during the game wherever they are; this new face of gambling also has expanded the types of sporting events on which bets can be placed.

The Nelson Mandela Championship, for example, showed me that a bettor would be able to predict finishing positions. This type of sports bet is where you make a prediction on where a golfer will finish at the conclusion of the tournament. This is a bit different than other bets as you can bet high which means you expect your selected golfer to do poorly in the tournament. On the other hand, you can decide to go low which means you expect him to do rather well. To know specifically what this looks like depends on the quote associated with a specific golfer. For instance, he may be quoted to be 5-8. This means that the sportsbooks have him predicted to finish either 6th or 7th. If you want to bet low, meaning he will do well, you would sell the finishing position at 5. If you expect this golfer may not place as well as expected, you would sell the finishing position at 8.

Where I do not condone gambling, I found the process quite interesting and wanted to share it with the audience. There are many people who go in ready to place a bet but not understanding the modus operandi in order to give themselves a chance at success.

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Friday, December 07, 2012

Are These the Best Golf Courses to Play in the USA for Beginners?

Golf blogger Angela Harper has compiled a short list of a few of the best golf courses in the United States and has shared it with Golf for Beginners blog. In the opinion of GFB, these courses are not meant for beginners nor for the faint of heart. Do you agree? 

Golf can be a wonderful game, ripe with precision and either tension or relaxation... depending on who you're playing with and the course you've decided to play. For the most part, even if you're a beginner, you should still start on a regular field where you'll be able to practice real swings instead of a typical mini golf course. You may believe a smaller course will be easier to master, however if you want to be really good as gold you will need to practice your swings at full force and in the exact conditions you were meant to play. Although the golf courses listed below are a few of the best courses to play in the USA, I recommend you play courses which are more forgiving, or from more forward tees allowing you to get the most out of your game.


1.      Pacific Dunes in Bandon, Oregon
This 18 hole has a par 71 and it opened back in 2001 by design of Tom Doak. There is a great variety of terrain here ranging from nice green grass to sand dunes and you'll have a wonderful chance to enjoy golfing here at its best. You can even attend the training facility available on the grounds as well as the driving range. You can find it on the following address:
57744 Round Lake Drive, Bandon, OR 97411



2.      Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass
Located in Jacksonville in sunny Florida, TPC Sawgrass was built in 1980 and has served as the location of The Players Championship for many years now. The area is specifically built to accommodate spectators so if you're feeling brave you can invite your friends to behold your incredible skills. The island green on the 17th hole is a great place to go diving for golf balls! It is an 18 hole, par 72 golf course and you can have some quality time there on this address:
110 Championship Way, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

Tpc_sawgrass_17
TPC Sawgrass 17th hole





3.      Pebble Beach Golf Links
A rather more difficult 10-hole, par 72 golf course located in Pebble Beach, California. You can enjoy a better challenge here and their driving range and training course as well. The place was founded in 1919 and it carries quite the history with it. The prices for the green might be a little steep though they are definitely worth it because of its gorgeous destination right by the ocean. You can find it here:
1700 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953

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Pebble Beach Golf Links



4.      Spyglass Hill, California
Once again located in Pebble Beach, this particular course was created in 1966 by the famous golf arhitect Robert Trent Jones Sr. who created an incredible amount of those around the 50 states. It is said that the first few holes of this course are the most difficult in the world, so you might want to skip it if you're not feeling up to the challenge. You'll be able to find it on here:
Spyglass Hill Rd & Stevenson Drive, Pebble Beach, CA 93953



5.      Whistling Straits, Wisconsin
Created by Pete Dye and designed on par with the instructions of the founder Her Kohler, this is a nice 18-hole, 72 par golf course right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Whistling Straits been the host of the PGA Championship in 2004 and 2007 US Senior Open as well as being a wonderful place to play links-style golf. You can visit and play on the following address:
N 8501 County LS, Sheboygan, WI 53083

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Whistling Straits



Guest post by A. Harpert- a passionate traveler and adventurer by hobby and calling. She's a real expert in finding the most amazing holiday rentals for your vacation.


Add your favorite golf courses to the comments section of our golf blog and voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Facebook page.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Woods and McIlroy Agree, Stress Kills Your Golf Game. Five Easy Fixes.

Why is it, on occasion, pros like Rory McIlroy begin by playing one of the greatest rounds of golf and end up with one of the ugliest scorecards at the end of eighteen holes? What happens when that mental breakdown occurs and what can be done to stop it?

I received an email today which prefaced these questions with a reminder of McIlroy's falling out at the 2011 Masters: from erratic drives to some of his worst putting and chipping, Rory's golf game completely unravelled. Why? Jon Wortmann, University of Connecticut golf coach and leading stress-relief expert Dr. Julian Ford believe that McIlroy ignored his stress instead of 'acknowledging it, labeling it and embracing it.'

Since that fateful Masters, McIlroy has considerably upped his game. Instead of stressing that he was trailing in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, Rory kicked it up a notch when he needed it most and birdied the final five holes to win. European Tour Golfer Paul McGinley called Rory "Tiger-esque" as Woods "laid down the platform over the last decade as to how to go into overdrive in a tournament."

Rory McIlroy stepped up his game, acknowledged his position, embraced it and moved forward with momentum: Tiger Woods although once the teacher of stress management, has done much damage to himself and to his golf game through "suffering and self-sabotage" and, due to this ongoing trauma, may never return to his former greatness.

Although the average golfer may never achieve the focus that either McIlroy or Woods can actualize during a round of golf, the combined efforts of Wortmann and Ford have written, "Hijacked By Your Brain: How to Free Yourself When Stress Takes Over" offering easy, do-it-yourself strategies you need to know to make stress work for you, not against you.



Here are a few golf tips written by Wortmann to help improve your confidence and limit stress on the course:

1. "We try to hit the ball harder." The moment we think about hitting the ball further than we usually do, it triggers an alarm (the amygdala) in our brain. Our brain knows our driver usually goes a certain distance. It knows what our go-to or stock swing feels like. The moment we try to get a little more out of it, our brain knows it's not possible, it wants to prevent us from making a mistake, and the ensuing tightness from the stress response causes a tight swing. Tight swings produce over the top snap hooks or blocks when we don't release the club.

2. "We try to make putts." When we try to make a putt, we focus on the result rather than the process of making a great stroke. The only things we can control when putting is the direction we start the ball and how hard we hit it. Just like trying to hit the ball too far, our alarm wants us to stay focused on making a good stroke. The thinking center in the brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Thinking about making the putt (the future) makes it impossible to focus our mind and body on what we need to do in the present to make a firm, confident stroke.

3. "We think we can play our best without warming up." Our memories centers in our brains are filled with the great shots of our lives. The problem is some days we've got our "A" game; other days, we can't hit a fairway even if it's 200 yards wide. Warm up is the time where you let the brain see what the body is doing that day so it can help us focus on the shots we know we can execute.

4. "We think there is something wrong with us when we can't take the shots we hit easily on the range to the course." The pressure of playing, whether with buddies or in a tournament, is a totally different environment than the range. The brain doesn't care if you miss a shot on the range. Your alarm cares deeply if you're playing for a score. It doesn't want you to miss, so it sends a stress signal (that's the tight feeling, nervousness, or breathing quickly) to make sure you pay attention to what you're doing. The good news is that the answer to playing better on course is a fun one for every golfer: you simply have to play more on course or in competition and your brain will get used to the pressure (as long as you work on focusing on consistent swings, not hitting it harder or thinking too much about results).

5. "We think one good round means we've figured the game out." Golf is different every shot and every round. That's what makes it challenging. Our brains love a challenge; that's why even playing bad golf can be rewarding. The road to better golf is lumpy, often with more terrible and mediocre rounds than great ones. We have to celebrate the days when we have the energy, time, and serendipity to play well, and realize that the bad rounds are a chance to learn what we need to practice, both the mental and physical skills of the game we love. Celebrating the great rounds as rare and precious is how we value the memory. The stronger our emotional attachments to memories, the more easily we can repeat what we've done well before.

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Click for more information on "Hijacked By Your Brain: How to Free Yourself When Stress Takes Over"

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Unusual Golf Courses from the Earth to the Moon!

When it comes to playing golf, there are many places to execute your best shots from local courses to some great destinations around the world. Traveling globally let's you experience unique and even strange golf courses during your travels. Golf writer Angela Harper shares her favorite adventures and unusual destinations with Golf for Beginners blog.

The beautiful thing about golf is that you can either play it as a relaxing game or as a competitive sport depending on who you play it with...however there is one thing we all agree on – there is nothing better than a gratifying golf course! There are a number of strange and unusual golf courses we have heard about that we wish to share with you. Here goes:


Golf_on_moon
 1.      Lunar golf course?
We know this is still in fiction, however American astronaut Alan Shepard was the first man to ever hit a golf ball on the Moon. Ever since then the Japanese company Shimizu Construction has a plan for a golf course on the moon complete with blueprints for eventual future development when and if the opportunity arises. Very optimistic and daring...right?



 2.      Nullarbor Links Golf Course
By far the longest golf course in the world, this Australian wonder spans a whopping 1365 km. The average distance between two holes is 66 km so you better hope your golf cart is capable of running for miles upon miles. Take plenty of water and a great deal of  patience as the course may take up to almost a week to complete.


Cp_golf_course_2
Coober Pedy Golf Course
3.      Coober Pedy, Australia
And of course, once again here we are in Australia: this particular course is a very strange experience since the area is so dry and arid there is simply no vegetation. You can also play at night using phosphorescent golf balls which make it unforgettable. It makes us wonder whether you need night vision goggles to play or do they use powerful flashlights to illuminate the area? Night golf, however, requires an appointment and a minimum of four people to stage so choose your friends (or enemies) wisely before embarking on this adventure.
 


4.      Uummannaq, Greenland
By far the world's coldest golf course where everything is played at sub-zero temperatures at otherwise the same rules. You are using a high-contrast orange ball since the surface you're playing on is completely white and with slightly larger holes and shorter distances between them. Dress warm and enjoy a golfing experience like no other.


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The Lost City Golf Course
5.      The Lost City Golf Course
Located in Sun City, South Africa this course is a beautiful experience with gorgeous greenery in an otherwise more arid climate. It is mostly known for its aptly-numbered hole number 13 which has real living crocodiles living near it so the place usually serves as a graveyard for golf balls that ventured too far into croc territory. Prepare to lose a few golf balls playing unless you're willing to tackle the crocodiles in search for your missing ball.




 6.     Bonus: Camp Bonifas UN Base
If you are feeling very adventurous and you don't mind the friendly North Korean military base not far away from the golf course, their watchful eyes and the nice fairway surrounded by landmines you might have a great time. Then again its only one hole and the only chance you'll have to experience that would be if you are working with the UN so its hardly a working golf course, however it is worth the mention because of its interesting location.

Guest post by A. Harpert- a passionate traveler and adventurer by hobby and calling. She's a real expert in finding the most appropriate rental and vacation homes for your perfect trip.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend us on Facebook!

photo credits: A View from the MeadowCoober Pedy, SouthAftrica-travel.net

Friday, November 16, 2012

Improving One’s Golf Game While Building Snowmen

The snow will soon be blowing in and it will be time to go sledding, build snowmen and drink hot chocolate. Put another way, the cold is here so now it is time to bundle up and try to stay warm because it is too cold to go outside and play golf. 

Mike Baird tells us how we can keep our game fresh through the cold and silly season.



With the cold weather, there is no way to play golf, improve your swing or your overall game...or is there?


Believe it or not you can improve your game even while it is cold out and while there is snow on the ground. Here are some things to do during the winter months to help you improve your golf game:



Work out

Winter time also brings the Holiday season, which makes it extremely difficult to do anything but eat turkey, cookies, cakes and pies. But working on keeping your cardio up and strengthening your arms and legs can really help you to improve your overall game once the warm weather returns.
  
 Putt in the family room

Putting is an essential part of any golf game. Practicing your putting on the family room carpet will help you to practice and feel more confident in your putting skills for when it counts later on. The carpet is similar to how it feels out on a green and it is convenient because you can find a spot to practice in your house. Use cups as holes and the furniture in the room as obstacles.

Drills/Practice/Repetition

Drilling and or putting your strokes in the garage or a gym will help with your swings. Other golf experts have recommended a putting drill in which you place only one hand on your putter then practice five foot strokes for ten minutes. Research other drills and training aids that will help your swings and your game then practice them over and over again. Practicing those drills and repeating those drills will help with your consistency.

Do some homework

If you want to play like the golf pros you have to watch the pros and learn to do what they do. Do your golf homework by watching the Golf Channel. This will probably be the easiest thing to do this winter. Watch the pros and TV shows like The Golf Fix in order to see others learning and working out problems in their golf game. 


Mike Baird is founder of GolfGator.com and a PGA Pro who teaches golf lessons full time and also likes to write about
putting aids.


Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.



photo credit: LifeisGood.com

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Why Magnolia is Hardly a Mickey Mouse Golf Course

As Mickey Mouse stands guard at the par-3 sixth hole of Magnolia Golf Course, some PGA Tour players this week might be lulled into a false sense of security believing that Mickey is their friend. Think again for the trap has quite a snap to it!

 

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Magnolia Golf Course 6th Hole

 

The unique Mouse Trap carved of sand with the assistance of ninety-six additional bunkers helps to make Magnolia Golf Course the second most difficult within Walt Disney World. Course length (7,516 from the tips), undulating greens and water introduced into eleven of the holes had Payne Stewart claim the course record of sixty-one one day and a seventy-six the following day. Stewart's take on Mickey? "Avoid Mickey and two side sand bunkers for best result."

 

Five of the golf holes on Magnolia extend to over five hundred yards and even though the fifth hole, a par-4, 492-yard monster, is considered to be Magnolia's toughest hole, Lanny Wadkins claimed the 17th, a 485-yard par-4, as "the most dangerous hole on the course...give me a 4 here and I'll run to 18!"

 

Magnolia was a 2010 Kodak Challenge golf course; natural wetlands, alligators and eagles seemlessly combine with the ability to salvage drives off of wide fairways and plan putts through exceptionally well-maintained greens. As long as you are a solid bunker player, avoid the water and know your distances (Disney says it has the latest GPS technology on their golf carts), playing it safe should yield positive results.

 

Take a virtual tour of Magnolia Golf Course.

 

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Photo credit: Intercot

 

 

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