The British Open is one of the world’s four major tournaments—with the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship—and the oldest continually run championship in the sport.

The British Open is a unique event and is of great importance to professionals and amateur golfers alike, as well as to fans of golf.

The British Open has been held annually (with a few exceptions) on various courses in Scotland, England, and—on one occasion—Northern Ireland since 1860.

It’s not so easy to locate either, swallowed up in the sand hills and without any signs or gates at the club entrance and sheep grazing next to the road.

The first British Open was played on Oct. 17, 1860, at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. A field of eight professionals played three rounds of Prestwick’s 12-hole course in one day. Willie Park, Sr., won the inaugural tournament and was presented with the Challenge Belt, a silver-buckled leather belt that each champion was to keep until the following Open. The tournament was opened to amateurs in 1861

A Dr. Laidlaw Purves created St. George’s in the late 1880s out of frustration, not to mention necessity, when he couldn’t play Sundays at his own club, Royal Wimbledon in the southwest suburbs of London. Purves tramped along the Kent coast, finally climbed the tower of St. Clement’s Church in Sandwich, pointed out to some god-forsaken spot and fervently declared: “There I will build my course.”

In 1894, St. George’s became the first course in England to hold the Open. That was won by John Henry Taylor.

In the 1904 British Amateur, the champion was 37-year-old Walter Travis, an Australian-born American who was treated rather rudely, officials preventing him from practicing or lodging with other top players, burdening him with a cross-eyed caddy and not even permitting him to change into dry clothes between rounds on a rainy day.

“A reasonable number of fleas is good for a dog,” philosophized Travis, the first foreigner to win the Amateur. “It keeps the dog from forgetting he’s a dog.”

At St. George’s they didn’t forget. Once outside the clubhouse there was a sign, “No Dogs, No Women.”

Liberalization has crept in. Ladies now can play, although not by themselves, but they cannot be members. Somebody call Martha Burk.

Ian Fleming was a member for some 25 years. He used St. George’s as the site of the infamous match between James Bond and Goldfinger, only he thinly disguised it in the book as “St. Mark’s.” The film, however, was made at Stoke Poges, closer to London.

Recognizable in the novel are the classic short sixth hole, the Maiden, altered to the Virgin. And “the face of one of the tallest and deepest bunkers in the United Kingdom.”

That’s 240 yards from the tee on the fourth, rising 60 degrees and standing, or sliding, 30 feet high. It cannot be climbed, as one Reg Gladding verified in the 1979 British Amateur.

Going extra holes against a younger foe, the 54-year-old Gladding, confronted by a headwind, drove into the sand near the crest of the great bunker. He couldn’t risk entering from above, lest he cause a landslide, so Gladding crept up, a few inches at a time. He then addressed the ball, swung — and lost his balance and tumbled back down. Whereupon he immediately conceded the match.

It was at St. George’s where, in the 1922 Open, Walter Hagen protested a ban on professionals entering the clubhouse, hired a limo, parked it in front of the entrance and changed clothes and ate lunch within.

Victorious, Hagen sneered at the size of the winner’s check and gave it to his caddy. James Bond would have loved it.  Source: Oakland Tribune

Golfers are passionate about their beloved game.  What do you get the golfer who has everything?  A gift certificate or case of golf balls just won’t cut it.

Take a closer look at six luxury gifts for golfers.  Full article

It’s no where near a beach but the Arroyo Course at Red Rock Country Club has plenty of sand. Lots of it.

The Arnold Palmer signature golf course has close to 100 bunkers, but even more importantly, some 40 acres that used to be irrigated turf have been returned to the desert – ergo more sand … and rocks and cacti.

The plentiful sand doesn’t make the course difficult but just makes it more striking. It’s really more a  natural landmark of Red Rock Canyon.

The bunkers, though plentiful, are shallow and generally not difficult to play from, and the new desert landscaping shouldn’t come into play if you’re smart and moderately skilled.

Playing at 6,857 yards to a par-72 from the back tees, the Arroyo Course isn’t overly long and not particularly tight either.

Keeping the ball in play is fairly easy for most players. Couple that with superb conditioning, and the Arroyo Course, which is situated in the master-planned community of Summerlin, is enjoyable for all skill levels.

After a satisfying round in the desert sun, players can enjoy a country club feel in the Arroyo Grill, which features a full bar, appetizers, salads and entrees. The grill is also open for breakfast, and there are both men’s and women’s locker rooms to use before and after the round to give the daily-fee player the country club-for-a-day feel.  Full article

For the past decade, golf has been in the middle of a technology “Golden Age”, thanks to graphite shafts, titanium drivers, and golf balls with multiple personalities. Oh, what a difference they made. The ball launched higher and farther and depending on the club, spun hardly at all or like the dickens.

The was depressing for most amateurs was their game wasn’t really getting any better. The pros and those habitual regulars saw their scores drop and confidence sore. Yet the weekend, warrior hackers got left behind. Now it’s their turn.

The way golf is taught is changing in a dramatic and profound way. The use of high speed cameras, video cameras, and sophisticated computer software used to analyze a golfer’s swings on the pro tour became common. Now it’s trickled down to the rest of us.

A golfer now slips into a sophisticated vest fitted with sensors. These sensors measure specific body positions at every significant point of the golf swing, and the software program records the data and analyzes it.

An incorrect swing can be quickly identified by viewing the swing. The program instantly provides a color coded rating system and audio feedback.

Want to compare your swing to your favorite pro? No problem. The program has a database of 150 pros, but the comparisons can be both revealing and humbling. Not only does your lesson end when you leave the store, but you can check it out later on the Internet. One chain that offers the high-tech lesson is GolfTEC, with over 115 stores across the U.S.

Remember, it’s not just an awesome golf swing that will drive your scores lower. focus more energy on improving your body. Making yourself stronger, faster and more flexible will mean an improved range of vision. Along with a strong mental state, will translate into better, longer and more accurate golf shots.

Tiger Woods is on an amazing roll these days. He is thoroughly dominated the PGA tour with win after win.  What’s left as a goal, to win every tournament he plays? Tiger is off to a perfect start in 2008 after another victory, beating Stewart Cink in the $8 million Accenture Match Play Championship.

The margin of his recent victory is historic. It was the widest final-match margin of victory in the 10-year history of the tournament. It was Wood’s fourth consecutive PGA Tour victory, his fifth in a row worldwide and sixth in a row if you include the Target World Challenge.

When Tiger was asked about his hot streak, “I think this certainly is the best stretch I’ve ever played.”

Just this year, Tiger has victories in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, the Dubai Desert Classic and now in this World Golf Championship event at the Gallery Golf Club in the foothills just north of Tucson, Arizona.

How dominant was Tiger Woods? He won all six matches against the strongest field one could assemble – including the top 64 players in the world rankings.

Cink said, “Today I was the one who felt demoralized because I didn’t have a chance.”  Seems that’s the sentiment of everybody who’s up against Tiger Woods these days. To you sir, I tip my cap.

It’s been almost 20 years since hitting golf balls into the ocean was banned. For golf junkies with the urge to play, it’s the next best thing. Using real balls and clubs, plastic grass, electronic sensors and a video screen, the simulators combine the feel of playing golf with the visuals of a live P.G.A. event. Full Article