Entries Tagged as 'PGA Tour'

All Time Best Sports Games

All Time Best Sports Games

For those that remember playing on the Atari 2600 or Commodore 64, it blows the mind to think just how far the gaming industry has come in such a short time. Today, games achieve once undreamed of levels of realism, and perhaps this is most readily apparent in the segment of the market catering to the sports fan. However, realism isn’t always the hallmark of a great sports video game, as you’ll see as you take a journey through our picks for the top 8 best sports games ever.

8. Madden 2005

In terms of financial success, the Madden franchise is the greatest sports video game series ever made, but we had a tough time placing it any higher since it has limited appeal outside of North America. Why did we choose the 2005 edition out of the many available? Because 2005 included all of the great innovations we now take for granted.

7. NBA Street Vol. 2

Many people would argue that NBA Jam should be here instead, but those would just be the old farts that can’t let go of the past. Street took NBA Jam and made it cool for a whole new generation.

6. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003

Just as Tiger Woods helped to give the sport broader appeal, the 2003 edition of PGA Tour made golf video games available to entire new segments of the gaming field. People who wouldn’t be caught dead on the links were trashing talking and teeing off with Tiger.

5. World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International

There are many great football titles to choose from, and reducing them to a single best is no easy task. In the end, we chose this one because it was revolutionary at the time of its release. Many football fans think FIFA, but EA owes a great deal of gratitude to this Konami product.

4. MLB 09: The Show

Unlike the Madden series, games geared around America’s other pastime sell extremely well outside of North America. MLB 09: The Show stands apart because it is still the standard for realism in a baseball game, and realism is king in baseball video games.

3. NHL ‘94

You knew that there had to be a hockey game in the list somewhere, but did you expect it to be a mid-90s entry? Maybe not, but when it comes to hockey video games, we think fun trumps graphics. This is the most enjoyable hockey game ever assembled.

2. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

There was a time when many of us wouldn’t even consider skateboarding a sport, but that has all changed. THPS2 is not only the greatest skateboarding game ever made, it revolutionized sports games in general with its fluid animation.

1. Punch-Out!!

When one sits down to create a list of the greatest sports video games ever made, one might as well start by pencilling in Punch-Out in the number one slot. No video game has ever captured the worldwide imagination quite the way this one did.

Well, there you have them, the top 8 best games ever according to us. We’re sure you disagree with at least a few. Where would the fun be if you didn’t?

 

Paul writes guides on gadgets and consumer electronics. Paul can tell you all about the Playstation 3 games or the best Xbox 360 accessories to play them with. He can also tell you the best home cinema system to play them on and all about the best digital TV recorders

Ryder Cup Hospitality 2010 Ryder Cup news

Ryder Cup Hospitality 2010 Ryder Cup news

100 days to the Ryder Cup in Wales!

We’re marking the 100 day countdown to the Ryder Cup in Wales today with the announcement that Katherine Jenkins has confirmed she’ll be performing at ‘Welcome to Wales’, the celebration concert to mark the start of the 2010 Ryder Cup. A-list movie star Catherine Zeta Jones CBE will also be returning home to take part in the prestigious multi-artist event. The concert will be staged at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Wednesday 29 September. As part of the evening, the European and United States teams will be on stage to be officially introduced to the audience.

Katherine’s in tune for big Ryder Cup welcome

Jun 24 2010 by Helen Turner, South Wales EchoA STAR-STUDDED concert will be held at the Millennium Stadium to celebrate the Ryder Cup coming to Wales. The extravaganza will feature classical singing star Katherine Jenkins, Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and hit South Wales choir Only Men Aloud. It will be held on September 29, just two days before the competition finally tees off at Newport’s Celtic Manor resort. More acts are yet to be confirmed at the Welcome to Wales’s concert, although tickets starting at £25 have already gone on sale and are expected to sell out quickly. But for those not lucky enough to get their hands on tickets, the 90-minute show will be televised. Katherine Jenkins, speaking at the event’s launch yesterday, said: “I am very excited to be sharing the stage with Catherine Zeta-Jones. The Millennium Stadium is my favorite place to perform. To welcome the most prestigious and recognized event in the golfing calendar to Wales is a real honor.”

Though the Ryder Cup’s standard spectator passes have all been snapped up, there’s still time to secure hospitality and tickets for the biennial contest to be held in Newport, Wales October 1-3, hospitality in the form of both VIP packages and budget practice day passes. The tournament, which is between teams made up of European and American PGA Tour golfers, is one of only three such group events on the PGA Tour and of four team competitions on the European equivalent.

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Check out the top 10 shots from PGA TOUR action through the first three months of the 2009 season. Shots from Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink, Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney, Pat Perez and more are featured in the countdown. For more, visit PGATOUR.COM.

Most wanted Golf wear for 2010

Most wanted Golf wear for 2010

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There is no honour in hitting a hole-in-one if you’re dressed like a twit. If you want to bring your A-game on the course this summer, you should make sure you are wearing something that looks at least as good as your shots. That way, even if you’re not a very good golfer you can be sure you’re looking as stylish as possible. Below is a brief list of the things that you will need this summer. Although some of them might seem a little expensive, they are all sound investments if you plan to be a long term golf player (and if you can find some sports voucher codes from a website that offers discount codes, you may be able to make a great saving – try http://www.voucherking.co.uk/categories/sports). Here is the low-down:

 

Men: Adidas Climacool Trousers

 

Not only are these babies suave, they’ll keep you ventilated and sweat-free. The ideal trousers for staying cool, calm, and collected throughout your game. They are oh-so comfortable, and they come in a range of colours. We’d recommend “Ecru” (which is a beige colour) – because it’s as smart as black without the problems of heating up in the summer sun.

 

Women: Backtee Pinstripe Capri

 

If you want to look great out on the course, it’s all about understated pastel colours and simple patterns. These will keep you cool, flexible, and looking fantastic. In “iron brown” they’ll go with almost anything.

 

Men: Calvin Klein Tech Pique Polo

 

It’s casual, and yet strong and sporty. You’ll look like a man who knows how to dress, even if you are not a man who knows how to play golf…

 

Women: Backtee Sleeveless Sweater with Argyle Band

 

The ideal accompaniment to the Capri mentioned above, it’ll keep you warm – but not too warm.

PGA Tour 2-in-1 Windbreaker

 

This coat will keep you warm and dry if the weather turns bad, and in black it will go with anything else. The PGA tour brand makes you look that little bit more like a pro, too.

 

Women: Sunderland Ladies Classic Waterproof Jacket

 

It’s plain, it’s black, it’s got a zip on the front and it keeps the water off you. There’s not a lot else to say, except for the fact that this is the ideal coat to own if you want to create a range of great golfing outfits. It can safely be work with almost anything if rainclouds turn up.

 

So there are some great suggestions about what to be wearing this summer. Go for light pastel colours and simple patterns and make sure you get a coat that will go with anything! If you can find a website offering discount codes, and can find some good sports voucher codes, you may be able to stretch your budget further. Also, don’t forget to shop around for the best deals – you’ll be buying clothes to last, so you may as well make sure you are making the best possible investment. Last of all… happy golfing!

 

 

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Top Ten Golf Films of all the Moments

Top Ten Golf Films of all the Moments

1935

An American old classic, this simple movie is one of the generally well-known to come out from the Stooges’ significantly comedic repertoire. The three brothers mind for a golf tournament; however none of the three is completely positive what golf truly is.

1980

The shenanegins and debauchery of young kids shelling out their summer time caddying with a nearby nation club are the target of this Harold Ramis slapstick old classic. The all-star forged consists of Chevy Chase, Monthly bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield. Not only does Caddyshack top each of our lists of the perfect golf videos, the American Movie Commence named it one of the Top 100 Comedies inside the history of movie theatre.

1996

An unsuccessful hockey participant discovers his grandfather’s

golf clubs

, and any latest skill in addition to it. Facing the rising fees of caring for his older folk grandmother, Satisfied Gilmore (Adam Sandler) puts his unorthodox golf ability to make use of, hoping to earn the cash this individual requires about the PGA tour.

1996

However Kevin Costner is the majority noted for his portrayals of baseball players, this individual turns in a very unforgettable performance as Rory “Tin Cup” McAvoy, any talented driving range instructor that never aspired to superior points. Each time he or she fulfills a nice woman (Rene Russo) that is online dating a new professional golfer, McAvoy determines the perfect way to win over the woman’s is to try out for the People Available.

1988

This 1988 Hbo video became a excellent one, after a not-so-famous golfer about his quest to get away and define themselves on the PGA Tour. Randy Quaid performs the lead function.

2000

Even though the Star of Bagger Vance failed to perform well at the box office, this experienced almost all the makings of a good film. The superb throw (Shiny Damon, Can Jones, Charlize Theron, Jack port Orange) and the story collection depending on an ancient Hindu folktale, the motion picture has been reformulated around the performance of golf. It’s actually a fantastic period of time bit by using a glimpse of golf at the beginning of it really is older age.

2005

For most of their skepticism beforehand, experts typically loved The Ideal Performance Actually Performed, a new Disney movie with a young Shia Labeouf. The result is the story of Francis Ouimet, a new young beginner golfer that started to be the very first non-professional to acquire the People Open returning within 1913.

2004

Rick Caviezel megastars because Bobby Jones throughout this 2004 biopic of the man which became the very first titan of golf. Tepidly received at the field office and that by experts, it can be nonetheless an easy watch for any golf lover.

2001

This 2001 Gary Sinese video follows the life of numerous characters in whose lifestyles change over the course of any summer time at the posh East coast region club. ESPN nominated the idea for “Best Sports Movie” of 2003

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Pay attention! Titleist’s 909 drivers is for you

Pay attention! Titleist’s 909 drivers is for you

welcome to Titleist’s 909 drivers. NOW i want to show you it’s Design and Technology.

It seems to me that Titleist’s 909 drivers are the most eagerly awaited Titleist drivers since perhaps… well… in a long time. The retailers I’ve talked with are reporting good sales numbers, and PGA Tour adoption was awfully quick, with the majority of staff players switching before the first ball was struck in 2009. On a personal level, the number of emails, PMs, and IMs I’ve gotten from people anxious to read this review has been off the charts – and   reviews only seemed to wet their whistles.discount golf clubs

Titleist is the first to admit that the 907D1 and 907D2 - two drivers with near identical launch conditions but different looks and different MOI characteristics - were perhaps not the best pair of drivers for fitting a wide range of golfers. They’ve corrected that “one set of launch conditions” error with 909, offering three models: the composite-crowned (a first for Titleist!) 909D Comp, the “tweener” 909D2, and a low-launch, low-spin, 440cc 909D3.

Don’t get me wrong - the 907 was a great driver if you were the type of player that fit its launch conditions. I was able to, and switched to 907D2 after playing an r7 425 and an FT-3, and the Now that I’ve had a chance to test both the 909D2 and 909D3, I’m ready to share my thoughts. Click through for the rest.

As I mentioned, Titleist will admit the 907D1 and D2 were not the strongest pair of clubs they could have offered. With one set of launch conditions, several of Titleist’s PGA Tour staff saw no reason to abandon their trusty 905R in favor of either 907.

With the three 909 driver models, Titleist is back in the game again. Between 909D Comp, 909D2, and 909D3, Titleist will be able to properly fit an incredibly wide variety of players. Of course, these clubs are still targeted at the “serious” or “aspiring” golfer. If you want the most forgiveness you can get, Acushnet is happy to take your money - you’ll just be buying a Cobra driver instead.

 

hope  that all golf lovers  can get more in my article.

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Woods commits to first playoff leg with The Barclays

Woods commits to first playoff leg with The Barclays

Woods commits to first playoff leg with The Barclays

 

World No. 1 Tiger Woods will play in The Barclays next week at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., he announced Thursday. It marks the first of the PGA Tour’s four FedExCup events(callaway x24 clones), and the field is limited to 125 players.

Woods, coming off a tie-for-28th finish last week in the PGA Championship, tied for second last year in The Barclays. Winner Heath Slocum made a 21-foot par putt on the final hole to outlast Woods(callaway x24 hot irons), Padraig Harrington and Steve Stricker by one stroke.

This will mark the second time the tournament is held at Ridgewood, which measures 7,400 yards from the back tees. It was previously played there in 2008.

Following the tournament, the top 100 golfers in FedExCup points advance to the Deutsche Bank Championship(callaway x-24 irons) in two weeks at TPC Boston. The third FedExCup event– the BMW Championship — follows for the top 70 players, and the playoffs culminate with THE TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta with the top 30.

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List of best-selling video games (July 2010)

List of best-selling video games (July 2010)

As I checked from the British Professional news media, we found the newly ranking best-selling video games in UK. However, Independent.co.uk only listed the best game name and did not include the basic game presentation. Here is a list of besting selling video games that have sold an impressive number of copies for multiple platforms, such as PC, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 and DS.

1. Crackdown 2

Crackdown 2 is a sandbox-style third-person shooter video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Xbox 360 in July 2010 and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game Crackdown.

2. Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1–4 is a video game in the Lego video game franchise, developed by Traveller’s Tales and published by Warner Bros. Released in June 2010, the game is based on the Lego Harry Potter line and its storyline covers the first four books and films of the Harry Potter series: Philosopher’s Stone (Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S.); Chamber of Secrets; Prisoner of Azkaban; and Goblet of Fire.

3. Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption is an open world action-adventure Western video game, developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in May 2010. It is a spiritual successor to 2004′s Red Dead Revolver.

4. Dance on Broadway

Dance on Broadway is the Wii dance game that puts YOU center stage performing some of the biggest Broadway hits right at home! Dance, sing, and act to hit songs from your favorite musical performances, like ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’, ‘Fame’, and ‘Luck Be A Lady’ – just to name a few! Challenge up to four friends for the starring role. Get your jazz hands ready for “Dance on Broadway!”

5. 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is a game that, despite its unattractive name, does a good job of presenting some of the same great soccer action that we saw from FIFA 10, but now features a healthy dose of World Cup flair.

6. Super Mario Galaxy 2

Rejoin Mario on his galactic adventures in this follow-up to 2007′s critically acclaimed platformer. Team up with your beloved dino-pal Yoshi, explore all new planets, and encounter diabolical enemies and puzzles as you journey to the stars and beyond.

7. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

Lead your team to glory in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11! Fight for honor, fight for country in the all-new Ryder Cup Challenge on The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales in 2010, which is the course of this year’s Ryder Cup. Strategy comes into play as you create your own team and take on others in Online Team Play – up to 12 versus 12.

8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2, the sequel to the Multiplayer Game of the Year winner ‘Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’, continues the gripping and heart-racing saga with an unprecedented level of action as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse.

9. Just Dance

Dance to the rhythm of your favorite beat with Ubisoft’s Just Dance, a music & rhythm video game that allows you to dance the night away with your friends and family without ever leaving the house. Invite your friends to join you for a fun late-night dance session, or practice your favorite moves solo on your own. With simple pick-up and play controls, anyone can join the party.

10. UFC 2010: Undisputed

UFC Undisputed 2010 is the only mixed martial arts (MMA) video game this year that will deliver the action, intensity and prestige of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Players will navigate an unparalleled roster of more than 100 prolific UFC fighters, each fully rendered to convey a photo-realistic appearance. Enhanced combat will bring greater authenticity and more customization, as players manage Octagon control with new strikes, submissions, transitions, cage positions and more. UFC Undisputed 2010 will encourage online camaraderie like never before, giving players the ability to form fight camps and leagues, train like real-life UFC fighters and go online to compete against other camps in the virtual UFC world. In addition to an expanded Career mode, UFC Undisputed 2010 will also introduce three new gameplay modes including Title Mode, Title Defense Mode and Tournament Mode. So you want to be a fighter? Here’s how.

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Tiger Woods says divorce a sad time in his life

Tiger Woods says divorce a sad time in his life

Tiger Woods says divorce a sad time in his life

Tiger Woods says divorce a sad time in his life

 

For the first time all summer, Tiger Woods showed up at a PGA Tour event knowing that his day would not include phone calls from a lawyer or divorce documents to approve.

He is only married to his golf now.

“This is my job,” Woods said Wednesday. “This is what I do.”

Even so, Woods slowly shook his head when asked if he felt relief that his divorce became official two days ago.

“I don’t think that’s the word,” he said. “I think it’s just more sadness. Because I don’t think you ever go into a marriage wholesale golf clubs  looking to get divorced. That’s the thing. That’s why it is sad.”

Woods still could not avoid talk about the end of his nearly six years of marriage to Elin Nordegren, brought on my numerous extramarital affairs that were exposed last Thanksgiving.

As he was teeing off in the rain during the pro-am, People magazine released an interview with his ex-wife in which she spoke openly about how her world fell apart and that she has “been through hell.”

Before he completed the first hole, his agent and spokesman were outside the rope, each talking on a cell phone.

Then, after Woods hit his approach to the green, a tabloid columnist walked out into the fairway with notepad and pen to ask him questions. She had never been to a golf tournament and was not aware that reporters are to stay by the ropes.

It took five questions on his game before Woods was asked about his divorce and his ex-wife’s interview, although Woods handled both questions with the same, measured tones, not revealing much.

“I wish her the best in everything,” he said. “You know, it’s a sad time in our lives. And we’re looking forward in our lives and how we can help our kids the best way we possibly can. And that’s the most important thing.”

They have two children, 3-year-old daughter Sam and 18-month-old son Charlie. The divorce allowed for “shared parenting,” and Woods completed a four-hour program on family stability the day before he left for the British Open.

The process of getting a divorce consumed most of his summer, not only on the golf course, but during his weeks at home when he was practicing and preparing for the majors. Ten majors now have passed without Woods winning, matching the longest drought of his career.

Asked to describe how the details of divorce  affected his practice, Woods said, “It was a lot more difficult than I was letting on.”

“My actions certainly led us to this decision,” he said. “And I’ve certainly made a lot of errors in my life. That’s something I’m going to have to live with.”

As for the job? That’s not going so well, either.

Despite a tie for fourth in the Masters in his return from a five-month hiatus, and a tie for fourth at the U.S. Open, Woods has played so poorly that he comes to The Barclays at No. 112 in the FedEx Cup standings, with no guarantee he will make it to the next playoff event.

For starters, he has to make the cut at Ridgewood Country Club, a course he saw for the first time Wednesday. Then, he likely has to finish somewhere around the middle of the pack to move into the top 100 and qualify for next week’s playoff event outside Boston at the Deutsche Bank Championship, which benefits his foundation.

Woods asked coach Sean Foley to look at his swing during the PGA Championship two weeks ago, and he met with Foley twice in Orlando, Fla., last week. On several holes during the pro-am, Woods tucked a golf glove under his right armpit during a full swing, a technique aimed to keep his arms connected.

Whether he hires Foley as his next coach has not been decided. Woods is not sure he wants to revamp his swing again, knowing how much time it will take and how much time he has lost already.

“It’s an undertaking that I have to wrap my head around, because it’s going to take some time,” he said.

He drove the ball great at the AT&T National and British Open and couldn’t make a putt. He hit the ball all over Wisconsin during the PGA Championship and kept in the game by making putts. And then there  online golf  clubs were weeks like Firestone, where he did nothing right and shot the worse score of his career, an 18-over 298.

For the ninth time this year, Woods can lose his No. 1 ranking to Phil Mickelson. His solution for staying at the top and getting a tee time next week on the TPC Boston is the same. “Winning takes care of everything,” he said.

“I’m trying to get my game in order _ work on some new things, working with Sean,” Woods said. “And I’m trying to put that together and hopefully play well for the rest of the year. As of right now, I need to play well to make it to next week. So that’s kind of the focus right now.”

Even now, though, the focus is not entirely on golf.

“As far as my game and practicing, wholesale golf clubs that’s been secondary,” he said. “We’re trying to get our kids situation to our new living conditions and how that’s going to be. That’s where our focus is going to be right now.”

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Putting Principles Of Dave Pelz

Putting Principles Of Dave Pelz

In his book “Putt Like the Pros”, the well known and highly respected short game guru and teacher, Dave Pelz, makes some interesting points that every golfer should be aware of. This article will discuss a number of these observations which will hopefully put the science of putting into better perspective.

As a young college student Pelz had aspirations of being a great tour player, and he played college golf at Indiana University in the Big 10. As time went by he became more and more frustrated that he could not beat a certain player from Ohio State, also in the Big 10, named Jack Nicklaus. Of course no one knew at that time that Nicklaus would become perhaps the greatest player to ever play the game. Before his last year in school Pelz and his coach decided that putting was the aspect of the game that was holding him back, so with great determination he decided to dedicate himself to practicing his putting and making improvements. He arranged his class schedule such that in the fall and winter season when the weather did not allow golf to be played he took a very heavy load of classes. In the spring season he then had a light class load and was finished every day by 10:30 am. He thus was at the golf course by 11am each day. Pelz was obviously dedicated and motivated since he practiced putting 4 hours every day!

At the end of the college golf season that year Pelz realized that his stroke average was 0.1 strokes higher than the previous year. In other words after all that practice and dedication, instead of improving, his scores got worse! In fact Pelz mentions that he has often seen young players of twelve to fourteen years of age who are fabulous putters, but by the time they are older they are only mediocre. This underlines an important point that Pelz learned later in life about putting: if you are going to practice you need to practice intelligently. This means you need to get accurate feedback about your stroke, and this in turn means you need to know more than whether the ball went into the cup or not. The problem here is that it is very difficult to see the difference between whether a golfer made a good putting stroke or a poor one.

Pelz decided upon graduating from college that he could not compete and succeed on the PGA tour. He studied physics, mathematics and related courses, and he took a job at NASA and became a scientist. He stayed there for 15 years before taking the dive into the golf business as a short game consultant, inventor, and author. His scientific approach to putting issues is clear when you read his books. While still at NASA Pelz invented a putting aid called the Teacher Putter, which is a device that helps golfers groove their strokes, giving feedback about whether the stroke was good or poor.

Early on Pelz wanted to understand how many putts a person could reasonably expect to make. To address this he build a machine called the Perfect Roller, which took some time to perfect, but he could eventually roll perfect putts from the machine, time after time. He took his machine to several golf courses and took data about the number of putts his machine could hole. He tried 100 putts on each of the 18 holes of the courses he did his tests on, rolling 12 foot putts in each case. To his surprise his machine could only make about 50% of the putts attempted on two different golf courses. He improved this by arranging to do his experiments on a course with a reputation for excellent greens, and he did this early in the morning just after the greens had been mowed and no players preceded him on the greens. Here he was about to hole 84% of the putts, a big improvement, but his machine still missed 16% of the attempts in almost perfect conditions.

Pelz then did experiments with golf balls and determined that golf ball imperfections can made significant differences, and he also studied the effect of the imperfections golfers cause on putting greens when walking on them. The bottom line is that even professionals can’t expect to make them all. He presents data which shows that PGA Tour players in tournament play made on average between 9% and 21% of the 15 foot putts they attempted. For 10 foot putts the numbers increase from about 16% up to 31 %. Even on 6 foot putts these pros, the best players in the world, made on average from about 45% to 56% of the putts they attempted. So if you think you should hole every six footer you face, your expectations are too high. One way to improve that performance is to read Pelz’ book, “Putt Like the Pros”, and absorb what he says. His teaching method includes making a correct stroke, having the correct face angle at impact, hitting the ball on the putter “sweet spot”, having good touch and distance control, and improving the mental aspects of putting. If a golfer addresses these tasks in the proper way, that is obtaining proper feedback, he almost certainly will improve his putting.

Walt Ballenberger is a life-long golfer and founder of Golf Putters, a resource site for golfers. For a Free Report entitled “Make More Putts Using Balanced Golf Balls ” visit Golf Putters

Will 2009 be Sergio Garcia’s Breakout Year?

Will 2009 be Sergio Garcia’s Breakout Year?

Okay I admit it, I think 2009 will be a really breakout for Sergio Garcia. He has been on the cusp ready to explode

on the scene quite a bit this year. He was in the lead on numerous occasions but could not finish the deal. I would

have to call him a bit unlucky in some instances.

People will say that he still has not won a major but he did win the Players Championship this year on a really

tough venue with by far the strongest field of the year. Though not considered a major I think any of the players

would like to have that as one of their premier trophies.

He had three very strong runner-up appearances this year including

- The PGA championship, where an errant water shot sealed his fate.

- The first Fedex Cup tournament went down to a playoff with Vijay who had to make a spectacular putt to get into

the playoff. I think after Sergio got over the shock he just could not recover and lost on the first playoff hole.

- And the Tour Championship where Sergio could do nothing the last day and finished second behind Camilo Villegas.

Throw in there his mediocre play in the Ryder Cup and you would be justified in thinking I must be off my rocker.

But I say all of those things will make for a more determined and stronger Sergio next year. And if Tiger comes back

and is anywhere near his old self that will be even more inspiration for Sergio to get better.

He has seen he is very close and with dedication and preparation he will be ready. It is said that most golfers do

not really hit their peak until their 30s. Sergio has a couple of years to go.

He has moved himself into the top 5 ranking in the world. It took a lot of hard work to get to this point. We all

remember the Sergio with all the waggling he use to do, that was very painful to watch. Like Tiger he went and

re-tooled his swing and boy is he long and accurate for the most part.

And he has shown a great improvement with his putting, which use to be atrocious and if he went with the Vijay

mantra of “I am a great putter” who knows how far he could go.

I could even see him dominating the European Tour as well next year. It looks like he will be battling Patraig

Harrington for years to come For the Order of Merit and boy would that make for some good golf battles. And when

they bring it across the pond it could make for some very interesting tournaments on the PGA Tour. Throw that in

with the expected return of El Tigre and ahh, golf just keeps getting better.

Do I have him on my fantasy golf team for next year? It may be something to consider as I do expect Sergio Garcia to

have a breakout year in 2009. Does that include multiple wins and even a major, it may be to early to tell but I

would not find it a surprise if it should happen.

Andre Arnett is a wanna- be middle handicap golfer who loves to be out with his sticks. To see other good articles, questions and answers about your golf game go to http://beginnergolferguide.info and share your golfing experience with others.

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