Hi Everyone,
For me July and August have passed by so quickly with my diary brimming with golf swings in need of a spot of fine tuning and something I didn't think I would be saying this year, some golf trips. The weather has certainly been interesting with record high temperatures, some high winds and then a Bank Holiday weekend which had me rummaging around for my woolly hat!
With David Short Golf I have been to the well appointed Belton Woods in Grantham to deliver three day golf and coaching events. It has been great to reconnect with clients old and new and going to a hotel with someone feeding you, I have to say it has been fun. My wife Jennie and I also hosted a really nice playing trip to Buxton and although the weather was challenging (code for it was wet and windy) we all really enjoyed Cavendish Golf Course.
All golf courses have some fascinating historical links and at Cavendish theirs is the fact that Dr Alistair Mackenzie designed the course in 1925. Just 7 years later Bobby Jones asked him to design Augusta National. He also went on to design Cypress Point in California and Royal Melbourne in Australia, which along with Augusta feature in the top 10 courses in the world. Most of us will never get the chance to play Augusta, but we can get to Buxton and enjoy this highly regarded Mackenzie Course.
Of course this year we will have to wait for November to see the Masters although the US Open is just around the corner. I must say I really enjoyed the PGA Championship and the new champion Collin Morikawa displayed excellent poise coming down the stretch to win the event. It is incredible to think he has not even played 30 events on the PGA Tour and already has a Major in his resume. The standard of amateur and college golf is truly exceptional and whereas before players completing their amateur careers would require a few years on the minor pro circuits building up experience, now they come out ready to win. Even the great Tiger Woods has commented on these young phenomenal players, he also noted playing in a recent practice round the combined age of his playing partners was still less than his!!
For me the outstanding golf story of August was the Cinderella story of Sophia Popov and her wonderful win in the Women's British Open. She had several unsuccessful years on Tour whilst battling an un-diagnosed Lyme disease which resulted in her losing 25 lbs. The 2020 season saw her back in the minor leagues and questioning whether she should continue with her golf career. By a circuitous route she qualified for The Open and after a flawless weeks golf in testing conditions she emerged as Germany's first female Major Champion. Pretty amazing stuff for a player ranked 304th in the world prior to the event.
Let's hope September offers us a nice Indian summer to write a few of our own golfing stories. I have added another tip for you on my YouTube Channel about playing from a slope (click here) I am planning to add more to my channel over the autumn / winter so if there is anything that you would like to see me cover, please email me and or subscribe to my channel and I will do my best to do something for you.
Finally, I happened upon this insightful quote from Bruce Crampton a top Australian Professional from the 70s who said
"Golf is a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tells you to do and what nerves lets you do"
Good luck with your upcoming golf, but don't compromise too much.
All the best
Barney
Fellow of the PGA
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