Win a year's membership to GolfLink Mates

GolfLink Mates has been relaunched and we have two one-year subscriptions to give away to Aussie Golfer readers.

GolfLink Mates is an extension of GolfLink which enables you to keep track of your game by adding stats and then compare them with your mates. You can check the last 25 rounds of your handicap history and see what will happen to your handicap next round with the handicap predictor.

I wasn't a huge fan of the previous incarnation of GolfLink Mates but the upgrade is a big improvement. I particularly like checking out where I was ranked in last weekend's comp and seeing how my mates played at other courses around the country.

This competition is now closed.

Clarke uses Claret Jug to escape speeding ticket

Darren Clarke and a Ferrari, taken a few years ago.

Darren Clarke was pulled over this week for speeding. He was pulled over by the police on his drive from Belfast to Killarny on his way to play in this week's Irish Open.

Irish Golf Desk reports that the Gardaí stopped Clarke in his €200,000 Ferrari on Monday and were aghast when they realised who was in the car.

They asked if he had the Claret Jug with him. He did, posed for a photo and drive off, scot free. 

It's good to be the king. Or The Open Champ.

Clarke to play Australian PGA

The 2011 Australian PGA Championship received a huge boost today with the announcement that Darren Clarke will be in the field at Coolum in November.

The Open champion Darren Clarke hasn't been in Australia since his appearance at the Australian Open in 2008. It will be his first appearance at Coolum which is held from November 24 - 27.

Golf Ball Review: Volvik Vista iV

Aussie Golfer reviews the Volvik Vista golf ball, which has equal top selling golf ball in South Korea. So why haven't we heard of it before?

Volvik is a South Korean brand which partly explains its popularity, and also why we are only just hearing about it. The company is expanding its market and have recently signed a deal making it one of the main sponsors of the US LPGA Tour.

Volvik started with a Crystal 2-piece golf ball which had a translucent cover but they've now ventured into high-end golf balls with the introduction of the Volvik Vista iV. It's a four piece golf ball and has a more durable cover than other traditional golf balls which reportedly make it last longer.

Top 10 winning putts on the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour compiled their video list of the Top 10 winning putts on the PGA Tour (excluding majors).

I thought it was worth sharing considering Aussies make up three spots on the list, and the number one putt brings a smile to my face every time I watch it.

Dan has a 10,000 hour plan, to be the man

If you practice for 10,000 hours, can you become a pro golfer?

In his recent book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell made popular the old theory that the key to success in any field is practising a specific task for 10,000 hours. Taking this as gospel, a young American is aiming become a professional golfer.

After reading the book, Dan McLaughlin decided to take up golf and practice for six hours a day, six days a week, for six years. All without any golf experience at all. He's never played a full 18 holes and has had limited time on the driving range.

Finally, a driving range that gets it

A driving range in the US has made sure hitting golf balls is actually fun.

Even as an avid golfer, I've always lamented the lack of targets to aim for at the driving range. The social golfer or first-timers must get bored out of their brains with often no incentive other than to try and hit the next one better.

Tiger sacks shocked Williams

Steve Williams is now officially on the bag for Adam Scott, after the official announcement that he was fired by Tiger Woods.

Ever since Steve Williams started caddying for Adam Scott a few weeks ago, rumours abound that he was no longer working for Tiger Woods.

It seems they were true with news from Woods saying they have parted ways permanently in an announcement on his website.

PGA of Australia launch centenary celebrations

Australian golfing royalty, Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson

The PGA of Australia launched their centenary celebrations yesterday, with two of the world's greatest golfers in attendance.

The PGA of Australia was formed 100 years ago and they are celebrating this milestone with a series of events and the intention to launch a PGA Hall of Fame in the next 12 months.

It's starting to sink in

Darren Clarke, shortly after his British Open victory.

Courtesy of Irish Golf Desk and Brian Keogh's Twitter feed. H/T Swedish Golf Online

Aussie wins US Hickory Open

Can't hold out for an Aussie major winner much longer? Maybe this can fill the void for a while.

Australian Alan Grieve has won this year's US Hickory Open by five shots at the French Lick Resort in southern Indiana. Reportedly the first to sign up for the event, Grieve hails from Wynnam Golf Club in Brisbane and his scores of 75 - 75 were enough to secure the 2011 trophy.

Hickory golf is an old form of golf. Early golf club shafts were made from hickory and the clubs were given names such as mashie, niblick and brassie. The ball used was very different to the golf ball we use today and had a hard cover over a core of latex from a Gutta-Percha tree. Often referred to as the 'guttie' ball.

Clarke wins Open, relevant again

Darren Clarke won the 2011 British Open with a three shot victory over Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

As Darren Clarke tapped in his final putt, I was expecting more emotion, tears even. Even in his victory speech, Clarke seemed composed and assured, just like his golf across the final 18 holes. It was as if he expected a major victory, when many others assumed his chance had eluded him.

The 42-year-old became the third Northern Irishman to claim a major victory in the last six majors, along with Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy. He also becomes the oldest major winner since Ben Crenshaw won the US Masters in 1995.

The victory has taken many by surprise and judging by Clarke's words after the tournament, he was fully aware many wrote him off winning The Open Championship at his 20th attempt. In response to a journalist also admitting many 'idiots' had not given him a chance Clarke was clearly aware of it.

The eccentric warm up of the eccentric Jiminez

We got a real good look at the very different warm-up routine of Miguel Angel Jiminez at the British Open and Peter Alliss added some colourful commentary. 

It's a little disturbing at times but not completely surprising given the eccentric nature of the Spaniard.

Jiminez was recently likened to The Most Interesting Man In the World. He may well be.

ECCO Shoe giveaway - winner announced!

Aussie Golfer and ECCO are pleased to announce the winner of the ECCO Golf Shoe giveaway.

The winner is... Chris Bright!

A $250 voucher to spend  on ECCO Golf Shoes is coming your way!

If you weren't lucky this time, the ECCO Golf Street Shoes and the ECCO Women's Golf Shoes we reviewed here at Aussie Golfer are now available in Australia at ECCO Stores and selected golf stores.

Chris's name was drawn from a very large number of entries we received. On behalf of ECCO and Aussie Golfer, congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering.

The Open honours Seve

The Open championship pay tribute to Seve Ballesteros with a series of images of the great man at Royal St.George's this week.

Courtesy of The Open Championship on Facebook.

Moore tackles The Open in a hoodie

Here's something you don't see everyday, a bloke wearing a hoodie playing a major golf tournament.

American Ryan Moore has a pretty unique fashion sense on the golf course. Sponsored by Chapeau Noir Golf, he's often sporting something a little different from everyone else.

He often looks like he's just stepped out for a flat white and then decided to play a round of golf. Like today at the first round of the 2011 Open Championship, for example. He played wearing a hoodie.

He would struggle to get on many Australian golf courses, let alone grab a flat white in several Brisbane suburbs with that hoodie. He finished the day with a 1-under par 69 and is well in contention. We might see him in jeans on the weekend.

H/T Shane Bacon at Dogs That Chase Cars. Image: Getty Images

2011 British Open: 4 dark horses you might want to consider

Robert Rock

As we draw closer to the start of The 2011 Open Championship, I feel like the field is getting wider and wider. There are plenty of golfers not in the Top-10 favourites who are more than capable of winning.

Here's four more smokey's that you may want to consider before the first tee shot.

Kennedy set for first major

Australian golfer Brad Kennedy is set for the biggest tournament of his career. Aussie Golfer caught up with him as he prepares for The Open Championship.

Kennedy has experienced plenty of high's and low's on most of the world's golf tours. Born in Sydney and residing in Queensland, Kennedy has played the Asian, European, Australasian and Japan Golf Tours. But the last 12-months have finally seen him rewarded for his battle with consistency. 

Kennedy eagled the final hole to win the WA Open in October. It kick-started a great Australian summer, followed by qualifying for the Japan Tour at Q-School.

Playing in only five events, Kennedy has had two Top-5 finishes, sits 18th on the money list and has earned a spot in his first major, this week's British Open.

In the lead up to his first major tournament, Brad was kind enough to chat to Aussie Golfer about his year to date, and his preparation for the big week at Royal St.George's.

2011 British Open: Top 10 favourites

Rory McIlroy

A candid look at who the bookies have listed as the Top 10 favourites to win this week's Open Championship at Royal St.George's Golf Club.

1. Rory McIlroy ($7.50)

If he keeps up his form, we'll soon have a generation of golfers playing three hour rounds who have no idea how to play a chip shot. It has been a pleasure to watch him play already and hits so many greens. No one would be disappointed if he won again at Royal St.George's this week.

Open Championship launches iPhone, Android apps

I'm skeptical of anyone without an app these days so it is a great relief to see The Open Championship launch their own, for iPhone and Android handsets.

The App will broadcast @TheOpen LIVE, the official online channel which we mentioned last week. It also has access to live coverage, video highlights, news stories, but most importantly real-time scoring updates.

The Open Championship App is free and available from iTunes and the Android Marketplace.

I'd also recommend investigating ‘Score Centre+’ for your computer. It is a live desktop console with live scoring, up-to-date news and video coverage of The Open Championship.

The tournament will also have a big presence in social media on Facebook, (Facebook.com/The-Open-Championship), Twitter (Twitter.com/The_Open_Champ) and Youtube (Youtube.com/OpenChampionship).

2011 British Open: TV Times

The live broadcast of the 2011 British Open from St.George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England can be seen on FoxSports 3 with plenty highlights and repeat viewings.

In the lead up to the tournament, FoxSports are also showing loads of archival Open Championship movies that are well worth keeping an eye out for.

Coverage starts at 6pm this Thursday evening. Good for those with pay TV, not so for those who don't.

Live Coverage

Thursday: 6pm - 4am

Friday : 6pm - 4am

Saturday: 7pm - 4am

Sunday: 8pm - 4am

2011 British Open: Top 5 Aussie chances

We Aussie golf fans have an extra spring in our step as we head towards the third major of the year in high spirits after some great results by Jason Day at the US Open and US Masters.

The Open Championship is being held at Royal St.George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England this week and can we expect another good performance from Day and the rest of the Aussies?

Landslide causes havoc at wet Scottish Open

The Scottish Open was switched to a links styled golf course this year to provide better preparation for golfers ahead of next week's British Open. But a serious amount of rain has caused chaos and left many players without much preparation at all.

The Open Championship launches online channel

The R&A are going all trendy. Replacing the 'Ancient' with 'Avant-garde'.

The coverage of The Open Championship next week will be enhanced with a online channel which will stream  up to five hours of live coverage a day and include post-round press conferences, interviews and highlights.

"@TheOpen LIVE" will broadcast from Wednesday 13 to Sunday 17 July and will be streamed live on Opengolf.com, Facebook.com/The-Open-Championship and LiveStream.com, and on The Open’s iPhone and Android apps.

Is Rory's backyard better than Tiger's backyard?

After Rory McIlroy's record breaking US Open victory, there have been plenty of comparisons to a young Tiger Woods, but few have compared their respective backyards.

A BBC documentary team had six months access to Rory McIlroy, which spanned his heartbreaking demise at the US Masters to his stunning victory at the US Open. During the program, McIlroy gives a short tour of his practice facility (video) and it compares pretty well to the photos of Tiger Woods' backyard.

Levet breaks leg celebrating: video

Thomas Levet won the European Tour event in his home country of France last week. It was his first victory in two years on tour and he decided to celebrate by jumping in the pond next to the 18th green.

In doing so, he broke his shin and a spot in next week's Open Championship is looking highly unlikely. You can see how much trouble Levet has getting out of the water and knowing what we do now, it's tough to watch.

Golfer scores an ace with his first shot of the day

Here is a great story of a very unique hole-in-one.

Playing in a Veterans competition at Pelican Waters Golf Club, Alan Solomon, playing off a handicap of 30 recorded a hole-in-one on the 150 metre, par-3 sixth hole. Hole-in-one's are cool enough but here is why this one is very unique.

The hole-in-one happened to be Alan's first shot of the day as it was a shotgun start. He was the first in his group to tee off and had not even had a practice hit on the range before the game!

Thanks to reader Terry Ryan for this great story who also asks, "That wouldn’t happen too often, would it?"

No. If ever. Nice work Alan!

How to shank a chip shot: David Feherty

Steph Wei of Wei Under Par has written a great piece on her day out with David Feherty and Tiger Woods at a golf day for wounded soldiers.

Tiger reportedly made a point of wanting to turn up and mingled with all golfers during the day. Feherty was his usual irreverent self to everyone and everything, including the dreaded shank.

At one point in the day, Feherty made a point of explaining the only two ways shank a chip shot that Steph caught on camera. 

For those who don't suffer from the shanks, it is fun viewing. For those who do, then it may be a nice little lesson on what you're doing wrong.

France on "ugly American tourist" alert

France was on "ugly American tourist" watch last week when Bubba Watson visited the country.

It took me by surprise to see bubba Watson's name in the field for the Alstom Open de France and I figured he was getting to Europe early in the lead up to the British Open in a few weeks. It turns out he was there on a sponsors invitation and is now safely back home in the US after missing the cut and carrying on like a pork chop.

There is a myth that American golfers don't travel. And when they do, they 'travel like a bag of prawns on a hot day'. Bubba Watson has added a little more weight to the myth, after his antics in France.

The hazards of working at a Manila golf course

When a driving range doesn't have a cart to pick up the balls, someone has to do it.

Aussie Golfer recieved a great email from one of our readers we just had to share.

Great golf writer Tom Ramsey dies

Australia's most famous golf writer, Tom Ramsey has died, age 75.

Long before the internet and blogs, many golf writers would travelled the world reporting back on all the big golf tournaments, and Australian Tom Ramsey was one of the greats.

The Daily Telegraph have a nice overview of his life but my own memory was restricted only to one of his golf books.

Tom Ramsey's World of Golf was the first golf book I ever read. It occupied a spot on my Dad's bookshelf ever since I can remember. Just looking at the cover brings back many great childhood memories of when I first started playing golf.

Ramsey covered 141 majors in his career and made friends with some of the games greats including Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman. He died of cancer on Wednesday and his ashes will be spread on his favourite golf course in Northern Ireland, Royal County Down.

Video: Hitting a provisional

A nice rules reminder video to end the week.

Courtesy of The Golf Show on FoxSports, here's Ossie Moore reminding us when you can decide to hit a provisional ball and the intricacies of clearing debris from the green.

More golf rules

The sprinkler head

Putting while holding the flagstick

The double hit