Graeme McDowell: Why golf needs Tiger Woods

After putting his way to victory in a playoff at the 2010 Chevron World Challenge, Graeme McDowell was proud yet effusive in his praise of Tiger Woods.

McDowell believes that golf needs Tiger Woods. "Mentally Tiger is great match player. He's the greatest player ever, and he expect guys to hole putts like that. Did I expect to hole them? I'm trying to hole them, of course."

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Where many golfers like McDowell want to hole putts believing that the ball may go in the hole, Tiger Woods knows when he stands over a putt that it will drop. Golfers who play against him still expect that he will stage a comeback when he's down (in spite of his lackluster year) or at the very least, fight until the very last putt on the 18th green has dropped.

It's the knowledge of Woods' mental strength that keeps the players on their toes and adds mystique to Tiger's golf game.

Graeme McDowell was happy that he was invited by Tiger Woods adding,

"Just great to see him back playing great again this week. I thought he controlled his ball really well the last couple of days. Just kind of got on the wrong side of the 13th there and made double. Apart from that, (he) didn't do a huge lot wrong today."

Yes, Tiger Woods played great golf for the entire tournament in spite of a cold putter and yes, Tiger Woods is a force to be reckoned with for the 2011 golf season. Lee Westwood and the rest of the European Tour and PGA Tour golfers, be prepared.

As Graeme McDowell mentioned in the pressroom,

"He can play his way back into having that mystique again. There's no doubt. He's just got to do the talking with his golf clubs now...

At the end of the day, we're all humans and we all make mistakes and we all hit bad golf shots. But there's something a bit special about his golf game, and I fully expect that mystique to return as the golf clubs start doing the talking again."

Read the transcript from the Chevron World Challenge.

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Golf Courses in Mexico create eco-friendly experience

The Golf Environment Organization or GEO has recently certified two Palace Resorts golf courses in Cancun, Mexico as sustainable, "eco-friendly" travel destinations.

 

The two Mexican Caribbean golf courses, Riviera Cancun Golf and Resorts and Moon Palace Golf and Spa Resort,  have received this distinction partly due to their enhanced conservation efforts and connecting people with the planet.

 

 

As owner Jose Chapur explains, environmental leadership goes to the heart of Palace
Resorts’ business:

“In developing golf around Cancun and the Riviera Maya we have embraced the environmental richness of our jungle landscape and taken every possible opportunity to conserve and enhance Mexico’s natural and cultural assets. The experience offered to our guests is both luxurious and also sensitive to the immeasurable value of the ecosystems that host it.

“Golfers that enjoy our resorts are particularly privileged as the courses here enable them to spend time enjoying our jungle and wildlife first-hand with their friends and families.

“GEO Certification is becoming established as a global seal of approval for environmentally sensitive golf. That we are among the first golf resorts to achieve this award is a source of great pride and a mark of distinction for our committed team of superintendents, groundsmen and ecologists."

 

According to the international non-profit GEO website, golf is uniquely a sport, land-use, lifestyle and $300 billion global business. It stands to reason that there should be a genuine regard and responsibility taken for the land and eco-systems within each facility and in the surrounding areas.

 

It is comforting to know that GEO, with support from associations such as the R&A, European Tour and the PGA of Europe are working on ways to minimize golf course consumption of precious commodities such as water while managing turfgrass and improving soil and air quality.

 

"Spending recreational time in a natural environment is something all golfers value at a very deep level, whether they had a good day on the links or not."

 

To quote Peter Thomson, 5-time winner of The Open Championship, it's "the balance between foul and fair ground that sets the greatest golf courses apart".

 

Read more about the Golf Environment Organization, sustainable golf and the recent United Nations COP16 Conference.

 

Read Golf for Beginners blogs to find out which other travel destinations are incorporating eco-friendly measures into their golf courses!

 

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Tiger Woods makes golf, Twitter look easy!

Tiger Woods makes the game of golf look much easier than it is. Just imagine taking out your lob wedge and pitching a golf ball thirty yards close to the stick and you know what I mean.



Now that Woods is mastering Twitter, he sure is getting good at it (almost 300,000 followers since November)...must have something to do with those billion dollar fingers! Here are a few of Tiger's favorite and not-so-favorite things, from peanut butter to Basketball.




TW's Favorite sport other than golf? Basketball

Woods' Favorite teams? Lakers, Dodgers, Raiders

Favorite film? No movie compares to Caddyshack

Tiger Woods Favorite Golf Course: St. Andrews

Best pre-round meal and snack? Peanut Butter sandwich and almonds

Not so favorite thing? Not being able to grow a goatee

Now that Tiger Woods is proficient at Twitter, when will he join become more active on Facebook?


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Tiger Woods dishes about marriage and more on Golf Channel Interview

Tiger Woods sat down with Golf Channel’s Steve Sands at the Chevron World Challenge for a one-on-one interview, portions which will air within Golf Central, Wednesday, December 1st, at 6 p.m. ET. 

In the wide-ranging interview, Woods dishes on who he believes is the world’s best golfer, his departure from former swing coach Hank Haney and his lowest point on the course in 2010. 

Tiger Woods also addresses questions from Sands about how this past year – on and off the course – tested him emotionally, how the fans have received him, whether he will marry again, and how much the public has the right to know about celebrities and its heroes. 

The former number-one golfer hid from public view after his scandalous affair but has decided to make a grand re-entry with an essay written for Newsweek, "How I've Redefined Victory". Woods now also posts regularly to his Twitter account and called in to the Mike and Mike in the Morning show.

The Golf Channel Interview is simply another way for Tiger Woods to save face and show the public that he is not the ogre that many are making him out to be. The question is,

Are all of these attempts by Tiger Woods really working or has the public already made their decision?

Following Golf Central, the entire Tiger Woods interview will be available online at GolfChannel.com

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Tiger Woods a no-show in Dubai but Michael Jackson may appear...

About a year before the Tiger Woods scandal, the billion-dollar golfer began a quest in Dubai to create a luxurious oasis complete with villas, mansions, palaces, a boutique hotel and an unrivaled golf course, "Al Ruwaya" or "Serenity." Recently, it was reported that "Tiger Woods Dubai" has turned into a deserted "dust-bowl", except for the million gallons of water piped in each month to keep the six holes alive.

A finished hole (?) on Tiger Woods Dubai golf course

In 2008, Woods defended his decision to create his first ever championship golf course in Dubai stating, "Dubai is basically in the biggest, greatest and newest of everything." According to the Observer, the economic boom is over and the "property-based economy in Dubai has collapsed".

If this is the case, why are the Michael Jackson Islands being proposed as a new project in Dubai?


Michael Jackson Islands proposal in Dubai

Yes, I said the Jackson Islands. "With a size of 10 by 15km, the islands are formed after the lines of Michael Jackson’s face. His face, an enclosed bay, is turning towards the continent. Unlike all the other islands in Dubai, these ones are artificial hills, reaching a peak of 3,776 metres (the height of the Fuji Mount)."

Since 2009, Tiger has not commented on his first project except to say, "The economy needs to turn around...It's out of my hands."

The telephone there is long disconnected, the furniture is covered with dust. For all intents and purposes, Tiger Woods' first project is a bust.

The Cliffs at High Carolina and Punta Brava, Woods' second and third foray into golf course design, still plan to open in 2012.

In spite of economic woes, loss of endorsements and even personal divorce woes, the Dubai Properties Group website remains open for business, ready to sell the Tiger Woods dream destination to those willing to plunk down the millions required for "the most exclusive and luxurious homes ever built in Dubai."


Here is what you get for your money right now:


Current site of Tiger Woods Dubai



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Golf Channel Instructor Search Finalists includes a real Player!

Golf Channel announced today that it has narrowed its nationwide search for the network’s next instructional star to three finalists, and one's a real Player!

 

Wayne Player (Tequesta, Fla.)  Son of golf legend Gary Player, Wayne and his father Gary were the first father-son duo to compete in both a U.S. Open and an Open Championship at the same time.  Today, he is best known for his tailored entertainment and travel experiences for corporate and private clients, sharing life lessons on and off the golf course he learned from his father.  He has worked in-tandem with several of the game’s top instructors, including David Leadbetter, Bob Toski and Peter Kostis.

 

Martin Hall (West Palm Beach, Fla.)  Ranked 12^th on Golf Digest’s Top 50 Teachers of all time and ranked as a GOLF Magazine Top 100 instructor, Hall is no stranger to Golf Channel viewers.   He has been a frequent contributor to the network’s instruction shows including Academy Live, and is a featured instructor on GolfChannel.com.  Hall was 2008 PGA of America Teacher of the Year, is a contributing writer for GOLF Magazine and was longtime teacher for LPGA Tour professional Morgan Pressel.

 

Karen Palacios-Jansen (Mooresville, N.C.)  Named as one of Golf Digest Woman’s Top 50 Women Teachers every year since 1998, Palacios-Jansen is a certified personal trainer who incorporates fitness training into her teaching.  A former David Leadbetter trained instructor and Jim McLean Golf School master instructor, she was named 2008 LPGA Teacher of the Year and has been teaching golf for 17 years.  She currently is managing editor for Golf Fitness Magazine, and is married to Olympic Gold Medalist Dan Jansen.

 

The three finalists were selected from a nationwide search conducted by Golf Channel this fall – all hoping to host their own instructional series on the network.  Each of the finalists will host a half-hour instruction show as part of the network’s 12 Nights at the Academy series of instruction specials, airing Nov. 29-Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. ET.  The finalists’ shows will air Nov. 30 (Hall); Dec. 5 (Palacios-Jansen) and Dec. 7 (Player).

 

Viewers have the opportunity to view the finalists’ audition video and video tips online at www.GolfChannel.com/InstructorSearch.  Viewers also are encouraged to participate in the selection process by voting online through Dec. 15.  The winner is expected to be announced on Golf Central in January, with the new show scheduled to premiere early in the year.

 

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