Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Qualifying System for Amateur Golfers In Switzerland – L’Autorisation de Parcours (AP)

Do you remember taking your driving test? Hours of lessons with an instructor behind the wheel of a car before you sit a theory test, then when you are ready the prospect of facing the dreaded drivers license test. Half an hour of sheer terror and it would be the instructors yay or nay that would mean whether you earned that full drivers license or not.

We may not have liked the process at the time, but every rational human being will recognise that such a move is entirely necessary. Having the roads clogged up with people who have not learnt to drive, with no system in place to prevent them from doing so, would undoubtedly cause chaos, death, injury and mayhem. So we fully accept that passing our driving test is a key requisite in proving our worthiness to drive alone on the roads.

 

Golf qualification in Switzerland

 

L’Autorisation de Parcours in Switzerland

And in Swizerland (as well as Austria and Germany), they have followed these same principles when it comes to playing golf - qualifying system for amateurs golfers in Switzerland or better known as L’Autorisation de Parcours (AP). If you’re based in Switzerland and are interested in obtaining your AP, then MyGolf offers a Golf Clinic Program that is the first step to get you started with your qualification.

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Golf Race to Dubai, FedEx, Ryder Cup and World Golf Rankings: April 2012

World Golf Rankings  Top Ten (April 2012)

Lee Westwood’s win in the Indonesian Masters  saw him close the gap on top two Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, while stretching his lead over Bubba Watson. American golf has enjoyed a return to the top ten with the good early season form of Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Hunter Mahan seeing them establish themselves in the top ten.

Ben Curtis’ victory in the Valero Texas Open saw him move up to 156th in the World Golf Rankings and perhaps more importantly, secure him his PGA Tour Card for the next few years.  One of the biggest climbers up the rankings this year has been South African Branden Grace, who began the season 271st in the world, but after 3 wins on the tour already, the South African is now ranked 66th.

 

Rory-McIlroy-best professional golfer

 

1. Rory McIlroy (N.Ire)     9.46

2. Luke Donald (Eng)        9.31

3. Lee Westwood (Eng)     8.40

4. Bubba Watson (US)      6.40

5. Hunter Mahan (US)      5.76

6. Martin Kaymer (Ger)    5.46

7. Steve Stricker (US)        5.44

8. Tiger Woods (US)          5.42

9. Phil Mickelson (US)      5.25

10. Justin Rose (Eng)        5.13

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Giroud Vins
Bubba Watson: The Master’s Champion that golfing convention says shouldn’t be

There is a starchy convention within golf that says that to be successful, there is a right and correct way to behave, to dress, to act and even swing a golf club. Traditionalists will state that there is such a thing as a perfect golf swing and that any deviation from this is likely to result in less than satisfactory results.

There is, it seems, a stereotypical ‘perfect’ golfer who swings the club in an aesthetically pleasing way, who stays well within the conventions of the game and who embodies an idealised form of golfing perfection.

Fortunately for us all, the new Masters Champion Bubba Watson isn’t that golfer.

It wasn’t so long ago that if you asked a typical American to name someone famous from “Bagdad”, then they probably would have had Saddam Hussein atop a list of precisely one. So how has this god-fearing citizen of Bagdad, Florida become not only the newest Major champion, but also the fourth best golfer in the world and the darling of the American media?

The answer is quite simply that Bubba Watson doesn’t just break the mould of what should be a good golfer, he smashes it. Utterly and completely.

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The Masters 2012: Bubba blubbs as he earns First Green Jacket.

This years Masters tournament provided the usual compendium of thrills and spills, shocks and upsets, the spectacular and the crazy.

In short, the 2012 Masters will be remembered for many different things but chief amongst them will be the emotional scenes after the second play off hole, when blubbing Bubba Watson finally realised a lifetime’s ambition.

 


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Tiger Woods wins, but is he making comeback to golf in 2012?

After 924 days, plenty of hard work with his coach Sean Foley, countless hours of under achievement in the glare of the public eye, Tiger Woods finally laid one ghost to rest. His five-shot victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Orlando, Florida earned him his first PGA Tour win in over two years.

Certainly, the weight of pressure has been lifted from Tiger’s shoulders. Carrying that monkey on his back over the last 12 months in particular has seemingly weighed him down at times.

That’s why few people will begrudge him his “f*** yeah!” explosion of delight as his approach to the last at 18 landed safely on the green missing the water, handing Woods the formality of putting out for a relatively easy win.

Rolex-Tiger-Woods

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Golf and the 2016 Olympics: Decisions made but challenges remain

Prior to our last update about the return of golf to the 2016 Olympics in Rio, much remained uncertain about the course, the designer and the actual design, however after an announcement in the first week of March 2012 by Rio 2016 president Carlos Arthur Nuzman, that has all been cleared up.
 

After a lengthy bidding process and despite competition that included such golfing luminaries as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Greg Norman, it is American architect Gil Hanse who has won the rights to design and build the course that is to be the centrepiece of golf’s return to the Olympics in Rio 2016.

Hanse, in partnership with LPGA Hall of Fame legend Amy Alcott, won the bid thanks to his impressive renovation of the TPC Boston course in Massachussetts, as well as his work on Castle Stuart, host of last years weather-plagued Scottish Open. Equally important to the bidding process was Hanse decision to relocate to Rio to oversee the project, which he hopes to have the first shovel in the ground in October this year, and the fact that he intends to accentuate the natural contours and dune formations within the Reserva da Marapendi site that has been earmarked for the course to be built upon.
 


 

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Rory McIlroy: What does it take to be the Golfing world’s new Number One?

Even by the Northern Irishman’s standards, Rory McIlroy’s performance at the Honda Classic on 4th of March 2012 was remarkable and deserving of the reward of not just his fifth professional victory, but his place as the new world number one golfer now assured. So, let’s take a look at this remarkable young player and investigate why he is not just the best golfer in the world at present, but also one of the most popular.

 

1. Consistency

Perhaps the most remarkable statistic about Rory McIlroy is that since the USPGA Championship last year, the youngster has only finished outside the top five of any golf tournament he has entered, once.

That level of consistency is astonishing. His consistent performance in all conditions at the Honda were a great example of that, four rounds in the 60′s and a two-stroke win evidence that while other players may shoot a lower round on occasion, McIlroy has the game to shoot low rounds almost every time he ventures out onto the golf course.

Rory-McIlroy-world-no-1-golfer Honda Classic

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Just for Smiles Foundation