Welcome

Welcome to "Better Golfing" - the site for the golfing community at large.
Whether you have just started playing golf or whether you are an accomplished player this site is for you.
In this website I plan to give you some honest opinions on equipment but more importantly give you a reality check on YOU. You are different to me and you are different to Tiger.
With some honest opinion and advice, the correct basic equipment and a little bit of practice we will get you on the road to Better Golfing!

Better Golfing - Simply.

With "Better Golfing" I hope to get you to relax about the game of golf, enjoy it to the best of your ability, accept your limitations, retain your competitive edge and celebrate your achievements. We need to learn to enjoy to the full those days when "everything goes right" and accept the times when "absolutley nothing you do works". I welcome your participation by way of anectodes, questions and opinions - please contribute freely. With your input I hope to make this a place where we can all enjoy the game more and all move on to "Better Golfing".

Let's Talk Golf!

Golf is probably the most mysterious game of all and is pretty unique in many aspects. First and foremost it is a game that involves a static ball. In most other games the ball is moving at a high speed and the participants either have to hit, catch, kick, dodge, steer or guide it somewhere. There are no two golf courses that are the same, and all golf course are altered daily by moving the teeing ground and or moving the pin location. No two shots ARE EVER the same. Participants have an array of up to 14 clubs to choose from for each shot. It is a game where the partcipant is the referee. The game relies on the honesty of each golfer to ensure the rules are adhered to. How unique is that? Golf is played year round - weather permitting. There are only 34 rules in golf. These 34 rules and the various definitions cover any situation that may arise in the course of a round of golf.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Camilla Villegas hands the Fedex Cup to Vijay

Slightly late with this post! Or to be fair very late.
I was really pleased that Camilla has finally broken through. Here is a guy who works very hard at his game and his image and this first win was a long time coming. Let's hope it is the first of many.
I thought he showed remarkable composure throughout those last nine holes. It couldn't have been easy and with Vijay and Anthony Kim breathing down his throat - he was quite simply superb.
It was also good to see him and Kim striding down the fairway together, sharing a laugh and generally chatting away. I suppose we would all be rather jovial if we were making the money these guys do.
Winning the event as he did means that Camilla has ruled out any possibly of anyone catching Vijay for the Fedex cup and the $10,000,000.00 first prize. The rest of the field though still have a big interest in this event as the prize money for all qualifiers in the last 30 is huge. So there is still lots to play for as well as the prize money and title on the day.
Watching Camilla play I could not help wonder at his mental strength. I know how I feel when I am playing with my mates. Standing over a putt that could win or lose our little $10.00 haggle or to avoid getting the dreaded "three putt" snake, is usually more than I can stomach. One can only imagine what these guys go through. Staying focused on the job at hand and not getting ahead of yourself is so important and so difficult. It requires an immense amount of concentration and self discipline. I would imagine this is particularly difficult with the first win.
I do know that it takes a bit of practice to get into a routine of concentrating on the here and now. As Michael Anthony says in his book Mental Keys there is nothing you can do about the past and worrying about the future (something that hasn't happened yet and may not happen at all!) is pointless. Not only is it pointless but worrying about the outcome causes negative chemicals to be released into your brain. This results in the outcome (you fear) materializing.
You can and should only concentrate on each individual shot and that is what these top players do. They concentrate on the process in hand. As Michael says in his book if you keep the mental process in check and on line the mechanical process that is ingrained in your swing will automatically follow. The brain is a powerful weapon indeed.
That said and done I still think it is a phenomenal effort from Camilla to get his first break through and an astounding year for Vijay to have won the Fedex cup. The latter particularly so because of his age. The youngsters will get their day in the sun!