Tour Golf Blog TaylorMade Towel GIVEAWAY !

To celebrate Tour Golf Blog's first month in existence, we decided to have a giveaway. Everyone likes free stuff right? So we're giving away a Free TaylorMade Golf Towel to one lucky winner.

All you have to do is visit our contest page, fill in your name and email, and you'll be entered to win. All of the details can be found at the link below. We'll be having more giveaways in the future so be sure to bookmark this page and check back often. Thanks for your support.

Enter the Tour Golf Blog TaylorMade Towel Giveaway!

A Golf Blog..are you crazy? No one care's about another Golf Blog!

So it's been about a month now since I started Tour Golf Blog, and I never really introduced myself. My name is Christian (I'm a 7 handicap) and I've built and maintained many websites over the years, but until recently I never had a desire to "blog". I guess I just didn't understand what it was all about. Being a golf obsessed lunatic, I figured what better topic to blog about than...you guessed it, GOLF!!! So I started my own golf blog, Tour Golf Blog.com

Before I started, I had a look at many of the other top golf blogs on the web, and I have to admit, that I was quite intimidated. These other golf blogs had featured writers, tons of good content, comments on every article on the site, interviews with touring pros, etc.etc. Needless to say, being a humble golf guy, I didn't have that kind of firepower, but I decided that I would start writing on Tour Golf Blog just for me, and if anyone else happened to show up, then hey, all the better.

Let me tell you, blogging isn't easy. Working a full time + job, maintaining the website for that job, and trying to get a round of golf or some practice in now and then doesn't leave much time to write fun golf articles or post the latest PGA news. So I sneak in a blog post here and there. Try to find an interesting PGA news story that would be fun to share with people, or just review clubs I've tried or courses I've played. The point is that I think blogging should be fun for the blogger as well as the bloggee.

Are there many people who really care about another golf blog? Probably not. Will I get thousands of visitors here at Tour Golf Blog? Maybe, I hope so, but probably not, but in the mean time, I'm just going to keep posting fun golf news and maybe someday the masses will find out and have another fun, golf blog they can read and visit

I guess you could call all of this article the Tour Golf Blog Mission Statement, but for now, let's just say it's all about a place for one golf obsessed individual to eat, sleep and breathe golf, when he's not actually getting to swing a club. Hope you enjoy the Tour Golf Blog. Please come back again and feel free to leave a comment.

President's Cup Saturday Fourball Pairings

No.	Time	USA	Intl
18	12:00 p.m.	Furyk/Cink	Cabrera/Choi
19	12:15p.m.	Mickelson/Austin	Scott/Goosen
20	12:30p.m.	Howell/Glover	Weir/Els
21	12:45 p.m.	Stricker/Mahan	Singh/Appleby
22	1:00 p.m.	Woods/Toms	O'Hern/Ogilvy

The 3rd day of the President's Cup begins Saturday morning with the United States leading the International team with a score of 10 points to 5. Check back later in the day to see Saturday's' match results and points standings.

Check out the New SkyCaddie SG5 Pro

Attention: NEW GADGET ALERT!!!! The new SkyCaddie SG5 Pro is now available from SkyGolf. It features a new a large color display and a long-lasting rechargeable battery (hopefully the battery better than previous versions). Along with the patented Intelligreen Technology the following are features of the new SG5 Pro.

• Brilliant, outdoor-readable color display with automatic backlight
• Patented IntelliGreen technology
• Rugged, water-resistant case
  
• Drop-in lithium-rechargeable battery
• LED battery charging indicator
  
• Easy to use, one-handed operation
• User-selectable color themes

I currently have the SG4 and other than the battery only lasting for approximately 2 full rounds, and the occasional difficulty hooking up to the satellite on the course, I absolutely love it. I never knew how off I was on my distances until I got a SkyCaddie and started hunting down pins. Other than the color screen, I don't see any huge benefit of the new SG5 over the previous models. MSRP on the SG5 is $429 on the SkyCaddie website, but you can still get the SG4 in the low $300's. InTheHole Golf has a complete selection of SkyCaddie products and accessories. If you have a SkyCaddie, leave a comment. I'd like to know what you think of them.




Skycaddie SG5 Reviews

David Duval to play first PGA event since February.

After a 7 month layoff, David Duval will make his 6th appearance of the 2007 season at this weeks Viking Classic. Currently, his best finish of the 2007 season is a tie for 39th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Read the rest of the story and some comments by Duval here....David Duval to Play in Viking Classic.

British Open venues chosen for 2011 & 2012

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced Tuesday that the Open will return to Sandwich in 2011 and Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2012. This will mark the 14th time the event has been held at Sandwich since 1894 and the 10th time The Open has been held at Royal Lytham since 1926. Previous winners at those venues include Bob Charles, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Lehman, Bobby Locke, Bill Rogers, Sandy Lyle and Greg Norman.

Next year's event will be at Royal Birkdale in northern England, followed by two Scottish golf clubs, Turnberry in 2009 and the Old Course at St. Andrews in 2010.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3035362

President's Cup - Thursday's pairings...

Here's a look at the pairings for Thursday's foursomes matches at The Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Canada:

Match Number	Tee Time	USA	International
1	1:15 p.m.	Hunter Mahan & Steve Stricker	Adam Scott & Geoff Ogilvy
2	1:25 p.m.	Phil Mickelson & Woody Austin	Vijay Singh & Mike Weir
3	1:35 p.m.	Stewart Cink & Zach Johnson	Rory Sabbatini & Trevor Immelman
4	1:45 p.m.	David Toms & Jim Furyk	Ernie Els & Angel Cabrera
5	1:55 p.m.	Lucas Glover & Scott Verplank	Stuart Appleby & Retief Goosen
6	2:05 p.m.	Tiger Woods & Charles Howell III	K.J. Choi & Nick O'Hern

Check back later for Friday's pairings and for the upcoming weekend matches.

Stop slicing your drives...FOREVER!!

Are you finally ready to get rid of that nasty slicing banana ball you've been hitting out of bounds for years? Good...because there's no reason you shouldn't be hitting the ball down the middle every time you step up to the tee. Read on and get your drives squared away asap, and start shooting better scores.

There are many causes for a slice and many types of slices. We will discuss some basic tips and drills that will help you with just about any slice problem. These tips are from the perspective of a right handed golfer, so if you're a lefty, just reverse everything I've said here, or quit playing from the wrong side of the ball and play righty already!

1. Get your club head square: No matter what else you're doing, one thing is a fact, if you're slicing, the club head is not square at impact, and it's causing you to slice the ball. Practice taking 1/2 and 3/4 swings with your driver, concentrating on watching the club head hit the ball with a square face.

2. Get the club on the right path: There are many swing faults that can cause a nasty slice, but the most common reason is an outside to inside swing path. This just means that you're not bringing the club down to the ball on a path where the club head can naturally square itself. You need to get the club coming from the inside, and it will almost always be a more solid, square contact at impact. To promote this inside swing path, concentrate on keeping your right elbow at your side when you start your down swing. Letting that elbow get away from your side will let the club wander out to that outside path you're trying to avoid. Try setting a plastic water bottle on the outside of the ball, parallel with your feet. Place it a few inches away from the ball, so a club can contact the ball. This little guide will instantly tell you if you're coming over the top and hitting the ball on an outside to inside path, because the bottle will go flying. Do this drill until you naturally stop hitting the bottle.

3. You don't have to kill it: Yeah, we all want to bomb 317 yard drives, but just putting your ball in the fairway should be the main goal, especially if you have a slicing problem. Slow your tempo down and make yourself do a 1-2 count. Count (1) on the way back, and (2) as you start your downswing. All you're trying to do here is get yourself a rhythm that will stop you from rushing your back and down swing. Trust me...you'll hit the ball even further with less effort, and you'll be in the fairway.

4. Get a grip: It doesn't matter if you use interlocking, overlapping, or 10 finger baseball grip, if you're grip pressure is too weak or too strong, you'll have a hard time getting the club face square at impact. I like to use a grip scale of 1-10 and always try to make sure my grip is about a 5-6 on that scale..10 being a strangle hold death grip. Good grip pressure will allow your wrists to properly turn over as you come through the ball, allowing the club face to naturally square, and hit the ball straight. If you're grip is too weak, the club face will be open and you'll slice, too strong and you'll have a tendency to pull hook. Try holding the club more in your fingers than palms and treat it gently.

5. Close your stance: This is more of a band-aid than anything else, but it will help promote getting the club on an inside path. When you're standing in your normal square stance, move your front foot a few inches closer to the ball. This will keep your lower body from getting ahead of your upper body, which will almost always cause an open club face. This will feel weird, but hit some shots this way to feel the club on the inside path.

Hopefully these basic tips will help you get off the tee better, while keeping the ball in bounds and your own fairway. Obviously seeing a professional is the best way to fix major swing problems, but if you find yourself out on the course and the ball won't stop going to the left, think of a few of these tips and you'll get your game back on track. Feel free to email us if you have any questions or comments. tourgolfblog@gmail.com. Good luck

Club Review: Taylor Made r7 Strong 3 Wood

I was in desperate need of a new 3 wood for a long time, but wasn't sure what I wanted. I like having something to hit off the tee on narrow holes, but also a 3 metal that's good off the turf. After much deliberation, I picked up a 13* Taylor Made r7 (strong) 3 wood with the stock Fujikura stiff shaft. Now let me say that I don't think this club is for everyone. I'm a 7 handicap and I probably wouldn't recommend it to golfers that aren't at least shooting in the low 80's on a consistent basis. At 13 degrees, it's a little more difficult to hit off the fairway, but man does it take off, with a low, piercing trajectory. The first day I had it on the course, I reached to par 5's that I hardly ever reach in two.

Off the tee this 3 wood is very controllable. The 2 degrees less loft than my previous Nike 3 wood kept the ball at a much more manageable trajectory and the distance gain was in the 10 yards neighborhood. I have to say that the stock Fujikura stiff shaft wasn't nearly as whippy as I figured it would be, so I will actually keep it for the time being.

Overall I would rate the Taylor Made r7 13* 3 wood a 8.5 out of 10. I got mine online at Austad's Golf for a really good price.

The Secret to hitting a driver off the deck!

Not that any of us have any business trying to hit a driver off the deck, if you want to give it a try, check out this article from Golf Magazine;

By Brady Riggs
GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher
Published: October 01, 2007

This story is for you if...

• You're a low- to mid-handicap player novices and high-handicappers need not apply• Your fairway wood distance isn't enough to get you on the green in two on par 5s
• You're a gambler at heart

Situation
You're staring at a par-5 green from the middle of the fairway, but it's 20 yards farther than what you can hit your longest fairway wood.

Solution
Take a risk and try the most electrifying shot in golf: driver off the deck. Use the keys shown here:

• Aim your body to the left of your target to accommodate a fade ball flight.
• Play the ball off your left heel.
• Turn your shoulders under your head on your downswing so the club can swing to the left after impact.
• Swing your arms left of your body after contact. If you don't, you'll hit a big push slice.
• From the top, give the ball a karate chop with your left hand. This will help you keep your hands from over-rotating so you don't hit a duck hook.
• Strive to hit the ball first and the turf second. Don't think you have to sweep the ball cleanly off the ground take as much dirt as you do with your fairway woods.

NOTE
Only attempt this shot from a flat fairway lie when the green is unguarded in front. Allow for a slight fade.

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1663442,00.html

Steve Flesch leads Turning Stone Resort Championship...

This week's Turning Stone Resort Championship in Verona, New York has turned into a battle ground the the world's top players such as Steve Flesch, Carl Patterson, Charles Warren, and Parker McLachlin. (yeah that was a joke!) With Flesch posting a 66 on Saturday and heading into round for with a 4 shot lead. If he can keep it together, this will be Flesch's 2nd win this season after winning the Reno-Tahoe Open in August. Flesch finished 71st in the FedEx cup points race with 90,620. Check out all the live action from Turning Stone at PGATour.com