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

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

VIP tour companies are catering to the super rich with eye-popping tour packages for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games in August.

While most foreign visitors to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics are preparing to take the subway to venues and wait in long security lines, some fortunate people might find their Olympic experience a little more … luxurious and comfortable.

Remote Lands, which is a tour company that offers super-high-end Asian travel packages  — such as luxury yacht trips to Borneo, or yak skiing in India — is offering VIP security packages for the Olympics.

The company says the special packages mean expedited customs, helicopter rides that buzz past Beijing’s notorious traffic, access to special traffic lanes, and security details of local police

The package doesn’t come cheap, though, starting at $20,000 a day. Prices go up from there depending on the additional staff, motorcycle escorts, and other “incidentals”.

A publicist said that the people using the service will be “high-profile, well-heeled, and in need of security wherever they travel.” So far, they include a famous Hollywood producer, a billionaire European media mogul, and Wall Street financier–all traveling with their families. Two of the families will be arriving in their G5′s.  Full article

Photo: Graham Watson

The Tour de France is considered to be the greatest cycling race in the world. It got its start in the early 1900s and it didn’t take long before it became fiercely competitive. It attracted thousands of viewers right from the start. Its long legacy of riders going to crazy lengths to win started in 1904 with the first reports of cheating.

The Tour de France was founded by Henri Desgrange. The first Tour de France was in 1903, taking 19 days at six stages and covering 2828 kilometers.

Cyclists were expected to pedal through the night. There were no actual breaks for sleep. Bike changes weren’t allowed. No outside assistance was allowed for repairs and punctures. It was all entirely up to the cyclists.

The race started as a publicity stunt for a French sports newspaper called L’Auto. This was a phenomenal success; it destroyed its competitor, Le Velo. Sixty of the bravest, gutsiest, toughest cyclists of the day started the race.

Maurice Garin dominated the race from the beginning. Garin was nickname the “Chimney Sweep.” He still holds a record today for the win with the greatest margin– a remarkable 2 hours and 49 minutes! More than 20,000 people watched Garin cross the finish line in Paris.

The Tour de France bicycle race has 20 stages, covering over 2,000 miles (3,300 km) through four countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Spain). Racers have to battle the summer heat, long climbs through the Alps and Pyrennes mountains and the taunting and teasing from spectators.

Dress has always been important during the history of the Tour de France. The leader of the race always wears a yellow jersey to show he is the rider to beat while the rider who is leading the mountain portion of the race always wears a red and white polka dot jersey.

Until 1937, racers at the Tour de France were not allowed to use bicycles with systems which allowed them to automatically change gears. Riders had to get off their bikes and turn their wheel around every time the road changed from uphill to downhill.

Since 2000, the Tour de France has been dominated by Lance Armstrong. Lance achieved a record breaking total of seven victories in the Tour de France – the most victories ever by a single rider.

Even more impressive, is he won seven-in-a-row. Despite many setbacks including his bout with cancer, Armstrong shows that focus and precision pay off.

Wimbledon is well acknowledged as the premier tennis tournament in the world.

The priority of The All England Lawn Tennis Club in London England, which hosts The Championships, is to maintain its leadership into the Twenty-first Century. To that end, a “Long-term Plan” was unveiled in 1993 which will improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, officials and neighbors.

Indeed, Wimbledon is more than the British monarchy presiding over rain, strawberries and cream. It is the oldest event in professional tennis played on a one of a kind surface, grass, and is one of the four premier “Grand Slam” events in “Open” competition.

Although to many, fans and players a like, no event in Tennis compares to the rich history and contribution to the sport that is Wimbledon.

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, which is responsible for staging the world’s leading tennis tournament, is a private club founded in 1868 as The All England Croquet Club. Its first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon.

By 1875, eager to boost membership, the club introduced a lawn tennis court that had become immensely popular at the time. And even though the sport was played for years before, tennis was patented by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield who at the time named the sport “sphairistike”.

In 1884 the Ladies’ Singles was inaugurated, and from a field of 13 players Maud Watson became the champion. That same year, the Gentlemen’s Doubles was started. The trophy had been donated to the Club by the Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club upon cessation of their doubles championship, played from 1879 to 1883.

In 1922, the Club was renamed to reflect its prestige in the tennis world. And so the All England Lawn Tennis Club was born. It was moved to its present day Church Road site to accommodate a 14,000-seat stadium and within the decade surpassed 200,000-person attendance despite being at the height of a worldwide depression.

The lawns at the ground were arranged in such a way that the principal court was situated in the middle with the others arranged around it, hence the title ‘Centre Court’, which was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to its present site in Church Road.

By 1882, activity at the Club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word croquet was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons, it was restored in 1899 and since then the title has remained The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

As the popularity of Wimbledon increased, the facilities for spectators were suitably improved as permanent stands gradually took the place of temporary accommodation.

Wooden racquets were last used at Wimbledon in 1987 when the new, more powerful graphite racquets replaced them.

The British are quite serious about consuming strawberries. In fact Twenty-four tons of Kent strawberries are ordered every year for the Championships at Wimbledon.

Irony, as we know, is part of life. And death. Is there a better word to use regarding Lou Gehrig?

Think of his nickname: “The Iron Horse.” It implies endurance. It recalls an indestructible man, one who never called in sick for almost 14 years — 2,130 consecutive games, as if we could ever forget that number?

And yet, at age 35, in what should have been the prime of his life, the Yankees first baseman contracted an incurable disease. Two years later, at 37, The Iron Horse was dead.

See full article – ESPN

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.

In just the past two decades, luxury suites and other premium seating for football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc… have transformed the way sports franchises make money and build venues.

Luxury suites, often incorrectly referred to as “sky boxes,” are exclusive, enclosed areas within a sports venue that offer the latest amenities and top of the line service for a hefty price. In major markets such as New York and Los Angeles, suites in prime locations (think 50-yard line in the NFL) go for about $400,000 a season — a price that is likely to keep going higher.

Premium seating, which also includes club seating, courtside seating and party suites, first became prevalent around 1990 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, home of the Detroit Pistons. At that time, premium seating accounted for just 3% of the seats in a given building.

Today, premium seating accounts for almost 25% of seats in new buildings and often goes for double or triple the cost of their less luxurious counterparts. In fact, now franchises can project nearly half of all ticket revenue from premium seating

This source of revenue is so vital that many buildings have been torn down or renovated on the sole reason that they didn’t have enough premium seating.

“The entire market was built out on the fact that you need the revenue from premium seating,” said Bill Dorsey, executive director of luxury suite directors, a trade group that represents 1,000 minor and pro league members.

“It wouldn’t be economically viable to build a venue without a mix of premium seats — even minor league or secondary market venues,” said Marshall Glickman, former president of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers and now CEO of consulting firm G2 Strategic.

Originally, luxury suites were primarily looked at as a way to secure the financing necessary to build new venues, which today can cost in upward of $1 billion. Luxury suite money is considered contractually obligated income because individuals and corporations sign leases for an 8-to-10-year period. Since a team can’t guarantee a bank it will sell out every single game, this is a way to show its minimum ticketing revenue.

While it still serves a financing role, premium seating has become a major source of revenue for franchises and a form of business entertainment for corporations. Businesses use suites to entertain potential clients, retain current ones and recruit future employees.

“Premium spaces are things that companies tend to covet. The suite option has always provided a unique venue for corporations to have access to entertaining clients,” said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Charles Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon.

While luxury suites have been around for about two decades, the business model behind them is still evolving.

The prices have gone up while the number of suites has been flat or declined in some markets. For example, The Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium is expected to have 300 suites at $300,000 each, giving the city a $90 million marketplace. That’s nearly 10 times the market Dallas had just ten years ago, Dorsey said.

Experts said they are seeing a shift away from traditional luxury suites and a move toward more club seating and other premium seats because people like to be in a more social atmosphere.

Also, teams have been experimenting with the location of luxury suites, which are no longer just found above the first level of seating. Today, the suites are being placed closer to the playing field and even in some cases below it. Several NBA venues have built suites beneath the court with the option for several occupants to sit courtside.

Given the hefty price tags that accompany premium seats, franchises are expected to give customers the best accommodations, including the latest high-definition televisions, top-notch service and plush seating areas.

“The challenge is to make the suite experience more than just a place to watch the game,” said Jim Grinstead, publisher of Revenues from Sports Venues.

Experts said franchises must be ready to adapt to the ever-changing desires of premium seat holders.

“We in our industry need to do a better job of designing the venues to have a lot more flexibility,” said Glickman.

This means creating suites that can easily be converted to other types of premium seating. Glickman knows fist-hand, as he said his team didn’t have enough foresight when it built the Rose Garden, the current home of the Blazers.

Customization is another key in the current premium seating market, with leaseholders now having the ability to put their mark on their suites. Some businesses choose to put their logo on the walls or in various other areas of a suite – something that adds value to the investment.

“One size does not fit all. Everything is now customized, and it should be,” said Glickman.