5 Unique Golf Facts About The Open

The 2018 Open Championship will be hosted at Carnoustie, not far from St. Andrews which is considered by some to be the home of golf.

Most fans of the sport know golf facts but how many of us are aware of these tidbits?

Golf for Beginners presents five interesting, and unique, facts about The Open Championship.

1. Jordan Spieth will defend his win but, did you know that Gary Player is the only golfer to have won The Open in three different decades (1959, '68, and 1974)?

2. Jordan Spieth's win was exciting but now it is bittersweet - tradition dictates that he (as well as all winners of The Open) must return the Claret Jug before The 2018 Open starts - Spieth said,

"The traditions of The Open are very special, even if you’re on the wrong end of that one. It’s the coolest trophy that our sport has to offer, so having to return that was certainly difficult. Kind of hit me a little bit there on the tee box."

3. The Claret Jug given to the winner of The Open is a replica. The original was mistakenly given to Tom Watson in 1982.

4. Harry Vardon is the golfer with the most British Open wins - six in total, while Bobby Jones and Tiger Woods each have three wins under their belts. Vardon is also the inventor of the overlapping grip, used today by many golfers!

5. The winner of the 2018 British Open will receive almost two million dollars in prize money.

Have more British Open facts to add to this list? Feel free to add to the comments section of this golf blog or tag us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.


Logo By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56368271

Golf Tips to Keep Players on the Short Grass

Getting out of trouble and back into play may be a fundamental of golf but wouldn't it be nice to improve your chances of success? Staying in the fairway involves not only a repeatable golf swing but also playing smarter, not harder.

Golf for Beginners offers a few tips to help golfers of all skill levels keep the ball on the short grass.

1. Club Selection: If you hit a bomb of a drive grumbling, "I shouldn't have taken out my driver!", you chose the wrong club...a common problem among amateur golfers.

Instead of always reaching for the driver, think about the hole which lies ahead - note the distance to water, traps, and trees to determine whether or not you should pull out a different club.

2. Straight Shooter: If you know you are slicing or hooking the ball during the day, it is better to compensate than to change your swing. "Set-up to play the fade," according to Keiser University's College of Golf and Sport Management.

3. Center Your Shots: Don't try to "place" your ball in a certain spot - instead, aim for fat parts of both fairways and greens.

4. Playing it Safe: Golfers have a tendency to "go for it" when playing it safe could keep you in play and, with a nice lie. Although you may have some great shots in your bag, you are not Phil Mickelson or you would be playing in The Open this week. Use wise course management and minimize your penalty strokes.

5. BREATHE!!! - Before every round, my husband always reminds me to take a deep breath while over the ball; it relaxes my body and hands and the overall result is a more comfortable, lazy swing. Think TEMPO. Try it next time you are standing over that little white orb.

What creative ideas can you share to keep your golf ball in the fairway? Let us know on this Golf for Beginners blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

What Can Golfers Learn from Stenson and Mickelson at The Open?

The third major of 2016, The Open, is in the record books with an inspiring win from Henrik Stenson.

Phil Mickelson, pushing with every fiber of his being to have his first win in three years, could not close the deal but certainly helped to make this tournament compelling for fans around the globe.

There are lessons to be learned from every thing we do in life - some times we are watching and other times we are in the mix. Through four days at The Open we have not only seen incredible golf but, if we look even further, we can take away ideas which can help us during our own round of golf.

Here are several lessons which we can all learn from watching the Masters play golf at The Open:

1. The importance of not giving up and believing that you can win. Henrik Stenson said, in his Sunday post-round interview, "I've been so focused this week and on this day in particular. "I felt it was my time. I believed it was my time."

2. You may not win but you can still play "pretty good golf". Phil Mickelson shot a 6-under 65 in his best final round performance ever in a major championship but it still wasn't enough to take the Claret Jug away from Henrik Stenson. You can play a great round (or several as is in this case) and still get beaten...remember, it's not if you win or lose but how you play the game.

3. Age doesn't matter if you're a regular on the golf course. The top two contenders on Sunday were both over forty and left the rest of the field in the dust. The number one and two golfers in the world, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson, could not touch the games of Stenson and Mickelson this week, hovering at +1 and -2 respectively. View The Open Final Round Leaderboard.

4. Be gracious in defeat. Consider the good shots you hit during your round and make sure to congratulate and shake hands with your mates, no matter what the outcome! Golf is a game of etiquette; let's not lose that spirit.

What did you learn from watching The Open? Comments welcome below in our Golf for Beginners blog and tag us on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.


photo: solonews.net

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Why You Should Play Golf Without a Driver

If you find your driver to be erratic at times (and who doesn't), the next time you play a round of golf why not consider leaving that new Nike Covert VR S or Callaway X Hot Pro at home? Why not just tuck it away in the trunk of your car you may ask? 


Swinging well at the driving range and feeling super confident, you just might be tempted to grab the Big Head instead of sticking to a plan and playing your round with the other thirteen clubs in your bag, maybe adding another hybrid or wedge to the mix.


The great Ben Hogan said, "Golf is not a game of good shots... It's a game of bad shots." He further commented, "You only hit a straight ball by accident. The ball is going to move right or left every time you hit it, so you had better make it go one way or the other." 

With a driver in hand, the chances of hitting your shot more wayward than intended could mean the difference between edge of the first cut of rough and being in the woods so, why take the risk during every round?

Whether you are a golf beginner or more experienced amateur, regularly hitting wayward shots with a less-than-reliable club doesn't enhance your time on the course and allows negative thoughts to creep into your mind and into your game.

Instead of attempting to regain composure after hitting a bad driver shot off of the tee, Golf for Beginners offers a few benefits to leaving your driver at home.


1. A better chance to get ball in fairway:
If your driver is erratic, you certainly don't want it to cost you strokes during a round of golf...and it will! If your three, five-wood or even  longer iron gets you into the fairway, practice with your driver off-course and play with your go-to clubs during the round.

When Tiger Woods was asked after his second round on Muirfield how many times he used his driver up to that point in The Open he exclaimed, "I hit about eight to 10..." finishing his deadpan comment with, "on the range." The result was a tie for the lead going into the weekend and with Woods being "in a good spot."

2. Confidence booster: You have to admit that, when your golf ball lands safely in the fairway, you feel ready, and eager, to tackle the next shot...you look forward to it!

3. Chance to Practice Longer Approach Shots: With the driver out of your bag, you will be pressed to use different golf clubs to get down to the green. A three-wood on the tee will leave a longer approach shot so dust off the hybrids (which are easy and fun to hit!)

4. More fun: Playing golf should be fun, whether you are out in a foursome or in a tournament. Wouldn't it be great to beat your buddies knowing that you didn't need your driver to win? It's also a great talking point for the 19th hole!



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photo credit: Golfweek.com, 123rf.com

The Open Championship golf tees up potential £80 million windfall for Kent

The return of Open Championship golf to Kent this week is set to result in more than £80 million of income for the county.

And the long-term legacy of holding the prestigious event is likely to result in many millions of pounds being generated for Kent’s economy through visitors from home and abroad enjoying golf and leisure breaks in the Garden of England.

Indeed, a strategic tie-up between Visit Kent, Golfbreaks.com and Shepherd Neame (the renowned Kent-based brewer, pub and hotel operator) will serve to position the county as one of Europe’s foremost golf destinations.

The sport will also benefit following the creation of a Golf Legacy program – set up jointly by Kent Golf Partnership and Kent County Council (KCC) with funding from the R&A, organiser of the Open Championship – designed to increase participation.

More than 200,000 spectators and 2,000 media from across the world are expected to descend on Royal St George’s Golf Club, Sandwich, from July 14-17, with tens of thousands more attracted to take breaks in the Garden of England in the years after the Open.

It is anticipated that more than £80 million could be earned for the county’s economy through a mixture of direct spending and long-term destination marketing benefits.

And with more than twenty-five percent of spectators set to arrive from overseas, to complement the home-based support of the tournament, accommodation providers in East Kent are set to enjoy a significant boost.

The return of the Open Championship to Kent after an eight-year break owes much to the efforts of KCC and Dover District Council – supported in partnership by the districts of Canterbury, Thanet and Shepway – keen to secure an international sporting profile for the area and boost its economy.

Councillor Mike Hill OBE, KCC Cabinet Member for Customer & Communities, said: “The Open Championship is the largest annual single sports event in the UK with a visitor spend greater than Wimbledon and the London Marathon."

“Kent has a growing reputation for accommodating world-level sports events and the Open also gives us a huge platform to promote business opportunities in East Kent. The economic, tourism and reputational legacy from Kent accommodating the Open should therefore be very significant indeed.”

This year, with a record number of spectators expected (nearly 10% more than the 182,500 who attended in 2003), plus improved travel links from nearby London and continental Europe into Kent, the county could enjoy a record windfall from the Open. Golf courses, hotels, restaurants, travel companies and other local businesses are all set to benefit, creating more than a thousand jobs directly and indirectly.

For golfers seeking to enjoy a break, Kent offers a choice of more than one-hundred courses to play. Royal St George’s is part of Kent’s ‘Regal Golf Coast’, which includes Royal Cinque Ports (venue of The Open Championship in 1909 and 1920), Prince’s (the Open venue in 1932), Littlestone (a Final Qualifying course for this year’s Open) and North Foreland.

Complementing this quintet are London Golf Club (a European Tour Destination and home of the 2009 European Open and where work will soon start on a five-star golf and spa hotel resort) plus Chart Hills (designed by Sir Nick Faldo and ranked 82nd in Golf World Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the UK and Ireland).

Sandra Matthews-Marsh, Chief Executive of Visit Kent, commented:  “Royal St George’s hosting the Open Championship offers Kent a significant opportunity to benefit – not just during Open week but in the months and years following the Championship, too.

“We, in tandem with our many partners, including Golfbreaks.com, Shepherd Neame and Kent County Council, are working hard to attract golfers and leisure visitors to enjoy short and long breaks in the Garden of England, and enjoy our wonderful variety of golf courses. We are sure the long-term legacy of the 2011 Open for Kent will be economic benefits running into many millions of pounds.”

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