Official 2014 Masters #Golf Merchandise GIVEAWAY!

The Masters Week is Here and Golf for Beginners wants you to win incredible Official 2014 Masters Golf Merchandise! 

Swag from The Masters? You bet! Just read below for your chance to enter and WIN!

So many golf fans believe that it isn't spring until The Masters and, although Tiger Woods is not in the mix this year, the combination of azaleas in bloom at Augusta, memories of past wins, the giving of the legendary Green Jacket and all the tradition that goes along with the most exciting first major of the year, makes this golf blogger want to give away Masters Merchandise. Most golf fans will not be attending but that doesn't mean you can't walk away without a souvenir!

Golf for Beginners knows both guys and ladies are going to watch The Masters this week so we have arranged this special giveaway to two lucky readers of our golf blog. 

One lucky male golf fan will win this Official 2014 Masters Caddy Slouch Hat.

One lucky female golf fan will win this sweet, Pink Ladies UNDATED Caddy Slouch hat with The Masters logo.

What do you have to do in order to try and win one of these Officially cool Masters Hats?

Here it comes... it's the Official Giveaway Rules!

This is a Twitter-based giveaway so...

Well, definitely Follow @Golf4Beginners on Twitter and send us a tweet with the hashtag #MastersLadyHat or #MastersMensHat telling us why you want to win it!

Entrants must follow Golf4Beginners on Twitter and updates must include their @username mention to @Golf4Beginners in addition to either #MastersLadyHat or #MastersMensHat to be considered an entry.

One Ladies and one Male Masters Hat will be given away by Golf for Beginners blog. 
Prizes contributed by MMOGolf.com (see below).

One winner of men's hat and one winner of ladies hat - winners will be selected by me, Stacy Solomon, so do try and make nice yet opinionated Masters mentions as I will be reading and responding to all tweets.

Only one entry per person please but feel free to Retweet this great giveaway and tell your friends.

Winners will be announced Monday after The Masters - no, Hootie and the Blowfish will not be playing at the announcement!


Not necessary but the right thing to do - You should also follow MMOGolf on Twitter,  the suppliers of great Masters Merchandise and the site responsible for this giveaway.

Like MMO Golf on Facebook too and check out their other extreme Masters Giveaways- like the FREE Adam Scott Autographed Garden Flag!

#Golf Beating Down Top Players as Masters Limps Closer

Although this probably will not be considered a second-string Masters Tournament, with top golfers dropping like flies due to injuries, the first major of the season at Augusta National might surely be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Between Tiger Woods' back injury forcing surgery this past week, Hunter Mahan with injured hip, Phil Mickelson pulling his oblique muscle just under two weeks ago and Jason Day not having played a full round of golf since the WGC, The Masters Tournament is beginning to look like a prizefighter who is down but not yet counted out…ambulatory at best?

Mickelson says he is ready for his return to the Shell Houston Open this week (looking good so far) but he also suffers from psoriatric arthritis, a debilitating illness which could act up offering fans only an early glimpse at Lefty. Not sure that Phil will win this year’s opening major but would love to see it happen.

Jason Day, just one day ago brushed off the fact that he is indeed among the walking wounded, declaring to all that his thumb injury is healed.

The pros want to play golf at The Masters but are they physically able to compete...and win?

Fans, however, will not be keeping count of the injuries list but will most certainly be watching the sport at its finest and gazing at Augusta revealing it’s majesty of azaleas and spring in bloom.

So it’s now up to Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker to carry the ball – strength of mind is what is needed at Augusta, not power, as these three are soon to find out.

*This Just In - DUSTIN JOHNSON W/D from Shell Houston Open after carding an 80! No reason was given but the chances are slim that he will recover from this "ailment" before The Masters...enough said.

McIlroy has Las Vegas on his side, with Adam Scott and DJ close behind now that Woods has officially pulled out of The Masters but is that enough?:  Tough talk from Rory, "someone's got to step up, so I'm trying to be that person", will not get the job done and the internet is buzzing with a possible consecutive Masters win by Scott but only Nicklaus, Woods and Faldo have ever completed this feat.

What about JimmyWalker? Well, Butch Harmon says he's "ready for The Masters," and is holding aside a $1200 bottle of his finest champagne for the after-party but past meltdowns make this writer wonder about anything more than a top-ten finish for this dramatic player.

Could The Masters win go to 2013 PGA Championship Jason Dufner?

“I’ve had a pretty good run the last two years in majors,” Dufner said. “I haven’t missed a cut. Had some good finishes. Had probably three or four legitimate chances to win the events going into Sunday. So I’m excited about what’s around the corner for me at the Masters.”

Do you agree that the Masters Tournament belongs to one of the above golfers? Voice your opinion on our Golf for Beginners blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

photo credits: foxsports.com, pga

Conveniently Putt Your Way to Better Golf

Practice makes perfect - this is true for any sport but in golf, a single putt can make the difference between winning that all-important hole in match play. 

According to GolfStateofMind.com, "fifty percent of shots are hit within forty yards of the hole." Short game and putting expert Dave Pelz noted that PGA Tour players average just over twenty-nine putts per round compared with twenty to thirty handicappers who average thirty-five and more putts per round!

Since this is fact, why wouldn't you spend most of your golf practice time on short game and on improving your ability to putt?

When amateurs do take the time to practice, several occurrences are the norm; a golf bag might be thrown into the trunk and carted off to the driving range where banging balls has become an obsession and putting is left as an afterthought.

 
Or, in many cases, time is at a premium and golfers may haphazardly pull out their electronic putting cup and roll putts along a wood floor or carpet hoping that this substitutes as practice, instead of travelling to the nearest course with a putting green. The problem with this form of "practice" is it will not teach true roll or speed of a green, not to mention that you'll never figure out how to putt on hilly lies.

Wouldn't it be great to have direct access to a green right in your own back yard? 

Leading short game golf guru, Dave Pelz, preaches regularly that direct access is the key to putting greatness. Okay, so Pelz has designed a wonderland of sorts in his own backyard - a masterfully created two acre SYNLawn Synthetic Golf haven, complete with reproductions of Augusta and Sawgrass greens that roll true ...and never need water!

Not everyone can be Dave Pelz but many folks can easily create a short game area complete with putting green near a terrace or patio for daily enjoyment and will probably practice a whole lot more...and with much more accuracy, thus helping to lower your handicap.

Dave Pelz-SYNLawn 8'x14' GreenMaker

Why go with a synthetic lawn and not create a grassy haven? 

As mentioned before, synthetic lawns don't need to be watered, so you'll save up to seventy percent on your water bill. Artificial turf is also always green, never needs fertilizer or mowing and even feels like real grass. Finally Dave Pelz, a former NASA physicist (nope, I did not know that either), has helped develop this particular synthetic lawn for over five years to simulate a real golf green.  Have I gotten your attention?

If so, and you are considering creating a short game area in your back yard, Mr. Pelz has a few tips to help build a unique and complex putting green so that you can't wait to get out and practice.

• “Amateurs trail the Pros in Lag putting performance because it is one of the least practiced areas of their games. Creating a realistic 'Tier' in your backyard green complex will teach you how putts break as they traverse a Tier, and improve your touch for distance."

• "Humps are an interesting addition to a putting surface: they increase the green-reading challenge."

• "Valleys in rough areas can get as large as a grass bunker, or just run through an area and add to the natural contours. Valleys in rough areas add to the short game challenge and allow practice on sidehill lies."

SYNLawnGolf can build custom putting greens to specifically work on areas of focus, large or small, or you can make this a fun DIY project. Want to practice indoors? SYNLawn's portable putting greens and mats can either substitute as fairway turf or a realistic putting surface right in the comfort of your home.

Ever wanted your own backyard putting green? Voice your opinion @Golf4Beginners and on @SYNLawn_Golf, the Turf Experts on Twitter...and LIKE SYNLawn Golf on Facebook!

Disclosure: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Can Colin Montgomerie Teach You How to Win at #Golf?

Can Colin Montgomerie, the most recent addition to Golf Channel Academy, teach you how to play and win at golf?

Montgomerie, the Scottish born European and now Champions Tour player who has never won a major, officially has thirty-one wins under his belt on the European Tour and eight money titles, none more recent than ten years ago.

There is no doubt that Monty is a great player so his efforts to show off his prowess on the Full Swing and Weight Transfer in the golf swing should be considered when helping amateurs to learn how to play the game. Most golf professionals on Tour can explain and teach the physical swing but...

What about golf lessons which might entail the mental game; is Colin Montgomerie a qualified instructor?

Dave Stockton, writer of "Own Your Game" might not think so!

Montogomerie has never really been able to control his emotions with outbursts both on and off the course. In 2009, Montgomerie blamed a two-year drought on mental errors which caused him to miss meatball shots and has been flustered under pressure for committing an "unwitting error", as Monty put it.

In order to be able to teach amateurs about the mental game, Colin would have to prove he has a more calm demeanor. Maybe turning fifty has helped him achieve a better attitude?

Colin Montgomerie, after joining the Champions Tour, mentioned that he felt that he had the "opportunity to win" due to the differences in driving distances between Euro and Senior Tour golf courses. The belief Colin can win is a big determinant as to how an instructor will be able to teach an amateur-you have to feel and know you can win in order to be able to impart that feeling to another.

If a golf pro turned instructor can't keep his mind on the game at hand and is iffy as to whether or not he can win, how can he possibly teach YOU how to use the mental game to your advantage? Remember, games are won in the five inches between your ears.

Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Golf for Beginners blog.

photo credit: guim.co.uk, thesun.uk

How To Use Your Mind to Play Winning #Golf

Golfers know that the mind plays an important role in every golf shot taken whether it be playing in a tournament under pressure or during a friendly round with your mates - so why not use the mental game to our advantage?

In his new book, "Own Your Game", Dave Stockton offers stories from his own experience as a major champion winner and coach to complement decision-making advice he gives on everything from attitude to the essentials of strategy.

How would you like to ride eighteen holes with Dave Stockton, learning to acknowledge and improve mental strategy on every hole?

We'll give you a few of golf tips from this short game golf guru 'to get you started in using your mind to ultimately determine how well your going to play', to paraphrase Mr. Stockton in this mental challenge game book.

1. "By developing the ability to control my emotions, stay in my comfort zone and never give up on the course," Mr. Stockton states, "I had a very successful career." Giving up on the golf course early in the round, in my opinion, is a hard task to overcome.

2. "It's not how you hit the shots, it's how you use your mind to picture them." Creative Visualization, says Tiger Woods, is a key to low scoring.

3. "Look for that personal balance between playing it safe and standing over a shot believing you're going to hole it. Every time you put yourself in a better position to hit a scoring shot, you're learning when to push the accelerator."

4. An essential strategy - "To maximize your chances for a good score on a given hole, you have to start seeing each hole as a combination of shots you know you can play." Don't go for shots that you can't make...instead use what you've practiced to get that ball in the hole in the least number of strokes.

5. When playing golf in a business setting, "even if you're on the losing end, ask yourself if it's worth spending a few bucks to be in good with your boss or your client. The answer is almost always yes, Stockton says. "Relax, enjoy yourself and play to the best of your ability." Que sera, sera?

I have definitely gotten a few mental game tips from "Own Your Game" but now I need to translate those words of wisdom from the book to the golf course...a lot harder than it seems!

Dave Stockton Bio:
In "Own Your Game: How to Use Your Mind to Play Winning Golf", renowned tour instructor Dave Stockton draws from his experience as a champion tour player and a revered coach. From Annika Sorenstam to Phil Mickelson to Rory McIlroy, Stockton's approach is the same, that is, "trying doesn't work."

Get in touch with Dave Stockton on Twitter @StocktonGolf, Facebook/StocktonGolf and through his website, StocktonGolf.com.



What types of challenges do you face in your mental golf game? Voice your opinion on this Golf for Beginners blog and on our @Golf4Beginners Twitter page.

Why You Need to Stay at Tiger Woods #Golf Villa and Play Doral

Tiger Woods and Donald Trump have formally cut the ribbon to the new Tiger Woods Villa at Doral Golf Resort. Rory McIlroy wanted to be among the first guests to stay (and play...at this week's WGC Cadillac Championship). Here is why you may or may not want to!

Rory McIlroy may like the room decor at the new Tiger Woods Villa but he doesn't necessarily like his view.  "I can't go to the bathroom without looking at you," McIlroy texted to Woods, bummed out that, no matter where he walks throughout the suite, there are pictures of Tiger in every room.

So far, only exterior pictures are available of the Tiger Woods Villa at Trump Doral but, according to TripAdvisor.com, people who stayed at the TW Golf Villa at Oro Valley rate it "a Tiger Woods hole-in-one."


Trump National Doral Miami

Formally known as the Doral Country Club, the club was purchased by the Trump Organization in 2011. The Club is home to five championship courses, the most famous of which is the Blue Monster, home to the World Golf Championship Cadillac Golf Tournament. This course has been totally redesigned by new owner Donald Trump in an attempt to make the course more challenging and exciting to all golfers. Well, now it is being called by PGA.com writer Doug Ferguson, the "familiar place no one recognizes."

Image of the former Doral course - courtesy of post406

Is this a good thing? Well, if you enjoy watching The Donald's helicopter fly back-and-forth onto a helipad by the 10th hole, I guess you might like the redesign - it's all a typical Trump creation.

New trees, greens, bunkers tees, fresh turfgrass and a huge practice green are among the improvements made by Mr. Trump, to the tune of $200 million...in addition to the $150 million used to purchase the golf property.

In 2009, the Blue Monster course joined the prestigious PGA Tournament Players Club and was renamed as The TPC Blue Monster at Doral.  Donald Trump recently told the PGA that his plans for the par-72 golf course included extending the first hole by 100 yards and turn the 15^th hole into an island green. 

So, after the hoopla of the WGC Championship has ended, vacationers who want to play the new and improved Doral and book the Tiger Woods Villa can fly to Miami, Florida to partake in a little winter sun. Playing fees range from $190-$450, depending on the season and which course you choose to play.

Trump Doral easy to get to?

London - Miami

·         The average flight time from London to Miami is 8 hours 30 minutes

·         The cheapest flights can be found in March, whereas the most expensive are in July

·         The Trump National Doral MiamiResort is close to Miami International airport

Don't just go for the golf - enjoying the Miami climate makes this vacation destination a winner!

Being named the Sunshine State, you can assume that Florida receives an impressive amount of sunshine during the year and enjoys a warm climate. However the weather does vary from north to south Florida - during the summer months the south can get exceptionally humid and almost uncomfortably warm, and the north tends to be milder but still hot.

During the summer months of June-August temperatures tend the reach around 30-35 degrees Celsius, which can be uncomfortable to play 18 holes. Try making Florida an off-season destination, November-May - temperatures can dip as low as 17 degrees Celsius but also climb to 25 degrees Celsius.

Thanks to Maria Bain who contributed to the Doral portion of this golf blog. Bain is a freelance travel blogger, writing on a number of topics including luxury travel, golf travel and photography. 


Have you played golf at the new and improved Trump National Doral Blue Monster? Voice your opinion on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on our Golf for Beginners blog.