golfweloveit

To Halloween Night and Kirsty was a vampire. All began well. An interesting VT filmed at Royal Holloway College before she came out in a white cobweb dress and short frizzy hair to dance the charleston. The audience began with them whooping at Brendan’s flying on a wire and clapping to the music.

Then it all went horribly wrong. They miss timed one of the lifts so it was left out altogether which meant there were some awkward seconds to fill before they could continue. Finally it was over when Brendan bit into her.

Was that OK? asked Tess Daly, unnecessarily. “Yeeaaah” said Kirsty, meaning not really.  Bruno Tonioli began. “You made mincemeat out of that. What a mess but you just saved it by the skin of your teeth”. Craig Revel Horwood concurred. “It was flat footed. You lost all sense of it and your kicks were out of time”. Darcey Bussell focussed on the positive, her brave and impressive lifts. Len Goodman said that even professionals go wrong, its how you cope with it and you coped very well. But you’re playing snakes and ladders. Last week up, this week down”.

The scores came in 3 – “oh no!” Kirsty exclaimed, 5, 5 then 4 “oh my God!” she said “I’ve dived bombed from last week. That’s so bad”. 17, their lowest score of the series.

The results show, aired on Sunday, is recorded in the studio after the main programme has been transmitted on Saturday. At 11pm a mole who had been in the studio tweeted that Kirsty and Brendan had been voted off the show. Waiting to see if this is right but they were second from bottom after the judges votes.

And so the mole was right. On Sunday’s show she said “I so wanna stay” and her dance off was as good as she could have done. So it was bewildering why all four judges voted for the other contestant and not her. Kirsty was gracious in defeat and said “It’s my turn to go. Brendan has been incredible and so supportive”. What was interesting was how the twittersphere became very busy with people expressing how well she had done and she had gone too soon. Unfortunately these same people didn’t vote. So no more dancing on prime time television, but Kirsty can look back on this and see that she has discovered that she can perform. In fact I think her talents lie in acting and thats where she could be exploring her opportunities in addition to sports presenting.

As for golf’s representation on Strictly, there’s always Anton Du Beke, Wentworth member and leading light of the Variety Club Golf Society. He’ll keep on flying our flag.

Turkish Airlines are doing great things for golf. Here’s their new advert released this month.

The Turkish Airlines Open is underway, one of the European Tour Final Series tournaments on the Race To Dubai. The golf course at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal in Belek is stunning.Turkey has become the dark horse of the golf industry. Dozens of golf courses are currently under construction in the region. Professionals,  including Rory McIlroy playing in Turkey for the first time in three years, are raving about the courses’ condition and facilities. If they carry on this way the Turkish Golf Federation could be in with a real shout of hosting a Ryder Cup in 2026 even if calling Turkey Europe is stretching the geographical boundaries to their limit.

Officials at the European Tour are also enthusiastic about Turkey as a tournament host. “You have something incredibly special in Belek. You must never underestimate the quality of what you’ve got here,” said David Maclaren, Director of Properties & Destinations at European Tour. “All of us who work in golf have been to different resorts and different parts of the world, but you have something here in terms of the quality of golf facilities, presentation of golf facilities, and must always use that as something to promote golf in Turkey.”

“This is the dream of every destination,” said Roddy Carr, Lagardere Senior Vice President “This was a blank sheet of paper designed without question to be the best five star, all inclusive destination in all of the world. Eat as much as you want, play as much as you want. The closest you get to this are the resorts in the Caribbean.”

in addition the Turkish Golf Federation have a fantastic attitude to growing the game at grassroots level, offering free green fees to Turkish citizens.

Chairman of the Turkish Golf Federation Ahmet Agaoglu said: “There is a traditional view that golf is only played by a certain section of society, that equipment and green fees price out normal people.

“We are changing that and fast. Golf is the greatest game on earth. We are showing the people of Turkey that it is accessible and they are trying it, and loving it, in their thousands.

“People flock from around the world to play our wonderful courses but we are proud and excited at the way Turkey is taking this wonderful sport to its heart.”

In the amateur game Turkish Airlines also sponsor the worldwide World Golf Cup, played in different cities round the globe. This year played in Washington DC, Soeul, Toronto, Manchester, Edinburgh and Stockholm.

Over 24 million people have viewed One Direction’s video Perfect released this week. It’s apparently about Taylor Swift, I digress. So nearly 25 million people have seen Niall Horan’s perfect putting stroke practiced in a hotel room which is halfway through the video. If anyone can make golf sexy he can. I witnessed his hoardes of followers at the BMW PGA Pro Am this year who had mostly bunked off school for the day. It went like this:

(bold 14 year old) “Play well Niall”

“Cheers”

Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

We may be seeing a lot more of Niall and bandmate Harry Styles on the golf courses of the world as their concert in Sheffield tonight may be their last ever. Apparently more golf is their only plan so far.

162 jobs have been saved at the beleagured Direct Golf company. From its Yorkshire headquarters an announcement was made yesterday that Sports Direct had taken over after a fierce legal battle between  Direct Golf’s John Andrew and Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley, the billionaire owner of premier league football club Newcastle United.

Direct Golf went into administration on October 16 after the discovery of alleged accounting irregularities, which effectively rendered the business insolvent.

The parent company reported a 76% profit loss and sales crashed to £21million in the year to the end of September 2014.  The Administrators said the group had come under “serious cash flow pressure as a result of significant accounting issues that will require further detailed investigations by the administrators”. It is understood that large sums are owed to H M Inland Revenue and Customs, their landlords and suppliers. Mr Andrew and two other directors have been ousted from the Board of Directors.

Sports Direct own a 25% stake in Direct Golf’s parent company and have invested several million pounds in the company.

Direct Golf Founder John Andrew says:

“It’s gut wrenching and I need time to come to terms with it. This is a company I started 24 years ago and one I ran without a partner or another shareholder until 12 months ago. I’m not to blame for any of this. The business had been on an absolute high and the errors in the accounts had come out of the blue”.

“Neither me nor the other two directors knew anything about this,” he said. “We gave Sports Direct complete ‘under the bonnet access’ to the business and served a notice of intention of administration.

“I was ready to invest personally to save the business and Sports Direct sent letters of support but never came through.”

An underground golf course is coming to The Vaults underneath Waterloo next month, with a nine-hole course, cocktail bar and street food.
Birdies Crazy Golf is from the people behind Underground Film Club, which is also setting up home in The Vaults next month.
The subterranean golfing experience consists of loops, half-pipes and an elevated 5-ft drop onto the sixth hole. Competitive golfers can hunt out the hidden putt-off prizes, while the more chilled out can enjoy cocktails from clubhouse Caddy Shack.
More of a caddy than a golfer? Grab yourself a Tunnel Pass and enjoy the atmosphere without having to take a single swing. Resident DJs will be in rotation, and food is available at pop-up Rockadolla, which is by Richard Sandiford, head chef at Hawksmoor.
Birdies Crazy Golf is open six nights a week 11 November-20 December. Golf is £9 per person per round, book online. Tunnel entry without golf is £3 per person. Booking in advance at birdiescrazygolf.com. Hurry! Popular tee times are already sold out.

We should be watching this one with interest. An indoor golf arena just outside of Amsterdam has been planned since 2008 , before the world economy nose dived. It was originally planned to open three years ago but it now looks as though there is new investment to go ahead with the ambitious build. Plans for the world’s largest and diverse indoor training facility with 20 pro tee simulators, 1400 square metres of synthetic grass produced by Jack Nicklaus design, a 34 bay roof top range, 28 practice bays 4 star 150 room hotel, pro shop, restaurant and business facilities with a futuristic design in the shape of a putter head. Golf is the fastest growing sport in Holland and it already has an indoor facility in the Greater Amsterdam area. It’s been a long time coming, but this could provide a European centre of excellence that would attract a large tourist trade.

The R&A and USGA released the 2016 edition of Rules of Golf today. Here are the major changes. Hope you get all this, you’ll be tested at the end.

The R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced the publication of the 2016 edition of the Rules of Golf that takes effect on January 1, 2016. The new Rule book is the culmination of the normal four-year review cycle and is a collaborative work by The R&A and the USGA that applies worldwide to all golfers.

Among the most significant of the changes in the 2016 edition of the Rules are the following:

Withdrawal of Rule on Ball Moving After Address – Rule 18-2b (Ball Moving After Address) has been withdrawn. This means that if a ball at rest moves after the player addresses it, the player is no longer automatically deemed to have caused the ball to move. A one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2 will be applied only when the facts show that the player has caused the ball to move.
Limited Exception to Disqualification Penalty for Submission of Incorrect Score Card – A new exception has been introduced to Rule 6-6d (Wrong Score for Hole) to provide that a player is not disqualified for returning a lower score for a hole than actually taken as a result of failing to include penalty strokes that the player did not know were incurred before returning the score card. Instead, the player incurs the penalty under the Rule that was breached and must add an additional penalty of two strokes for the score card error. In all other cases in which a player returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken, the penalty will continue to be disqualification.
Modification of Penalty for a Single Impermissible Use of Artificial Devices or Equipment – The penalty for a player’s first breach of Rule 14-3 (Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and Abnormal Use of Equipment) during the round has been reduced from disqualification to loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play. The penalty for any subsequent breach of Rule 14-3 will continue to be disqualification.
Prohibition on Anchoring the Club While Making a Stroke – As announced in May 2013, the new Rule 14-1b (Anchoring the Club) prohibits anchoring the club either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point” in making a stroke. The penalty is loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play.
David Rickman, Executive Director – Rules and Equipment Standards at The R&A said, “We continually look at ways we can improve and clarify the Rules of Golf. The R&A and the USGA collaborate closely and we consult with our respective national and international advisory members to produce a code of Rules that is relevant to all golfers around the world.”

Thomas Pagel, Senior Director of Rules of Golf at the USGA, said, “The objective with each four year cycle of the Rules is to monitor developments in the game and, when appropriate, to respond with changes that keep the best interests of the game in mind. The amendments for 2016 preserve and enhance the essential principles of the Rules, while at the same time ensuring that they reflect the evolution of the game.”

Additional Comments on the Principal Changes

Under Rule 18-2b, a player whose ball moved after address was automatically presumed to have caused the ball to move. In 2012, an Exception to Rule 18-2b was introduced to cover situations where it was known or virtually certain that the player had not caused the ball to move, but the application of that standard was not always clear. The withdrawal of Rule 18-2b means that there no longer will be any presumption and that the same overall test in Rule 18-2 will apply to all actions by the player: if the facts show that the player’s addressing of the ball or other actions caused the ball to move, the player will incur a one-stroke penalty.

The introduction of the new Exception under Rule 6-6d will maintain the importance of returning an accurate score card by penalising the player two strokes for the score card error in addition to the penalty for the original underlying breach of the Rules. In all other cases where a player returns a score card with a score lower than actually taken on a hole, the player will continue to be disqualified.

In addition to the revised penalty for a player’s first breach of Rule 14-3 during a round, a statement has been introduced at the beginning of Rule 14-3 to explain that the governing bodies are guided by the principle that “success should depend on the judgment, skills and abilities of the player” in determining whether use of any artificial device or item of equipment is in breach of the Rule.

The R&A and the USGA announced in 2013 that new Rule 14-1b prohibiting anchoring the club in making a stroke would take effect in the 2016 edition of the Rules. The Rule was adopted following an extensive review by both organizations. For an explanation of the reasons for adopting Rule 14-1b and for guidance on applying the Rule, see RandA.org/Anchoring.

In addition amateurs can now win prize money if it is donated to charity.

Printed copies of the Rules of Golf, which are supported by Rolex, are now available from The R&A and USGA.

It’s a phenomenon that’s growing and one thing associated with golf is becoming incredibly successful. The golf buggy is becoming increasingly used for non golf use. In a retirement village of 110,000 residents in Florida there were over 50,000 golf carts used. Customising these things has become a good business for several firms who can tune them to achieve top speeds of up to 60 mph. Check out luxurycarts,com, Global Electric Motor Cars and badassgolfcarts.com of Las Vegas who claim to make the most outrageous golf carts ever seen but who also want to see them widely used on busy city centres.