Rory McIlroy 'putts' practice first
Golfer Rory 'putts' practice first
Young Rory McIlroy has proved he is one of Ireland's brightest golfing prospects.
And the 16-year-old from Holywood, County Down, is determined to stay in the game's top ranks.
After winning the West of Ireland trophy for the second year in a row, Rory has jetted off to New Zealand to represent Europe in another prestigious amateur competition.
But before departing, the young star revealed the secret of his deadly accurate putting - his own personal putting green in his back garden.
He believes his hours of practice on the green on his doorstep paid off at the Ross's Point course in Sligo at the weekend.
"I got it in about two weeks ago and I have just been on this every minute of every day for the past two weeks," he said.
"It is synthetic turf. It runs at about 10 on the stoke metre. That's pretty fast. It has helped."
His victory at Sligo was all the more amazing given that last year he became the youngest golfer to lift the West of Ireland trophy.
Rory, however, is still resisting the temptation to turn professional, at least until later this year.
"I want to give the Walker Cup a go. I think it would be really nice to play at County Down next September, so I'm just going to give that a shot and see how it goes," he said.
"If I make that team I will see what happens. I will still only be 18 whenever I do that. We will see how it goes from there."
Rory's family and friends believe he had every chance of making the big time, especially with a personal putting green literally on his doorstep.
BBc news online
Jimenez Raves about Tour Greens Europe
Miguel Jimenez recently hailed his Tour Greens Europe synthetic golf green as his best ever purchase rating it just slightly ahead of his red Ferrari sports car.
My family get endless hours of fun on the green and I can get as much serious short game practice as I like on it. This really is a case of combining work and play. ''If you are going to get a synthetic golf green then look no further than Tour Greens Europe. Picasso comes from my home town, Malaga and What Tony did in my garden would have made Picasso proud.'' Miguel.
Tour Greens Europe Launches in the UK
Poulter truly golf's most colourful character
Ian Poulter practises putting in his plus fours.
Wednesday July 5th 2006
ARE these the true colours of Ian Poulter?
That pastel pink outfit with matching bag which inspired countless catcalls from New Yorkers at Winged Foot?
The maroon Arsenal football shirt which landed him in hot water in Abu Dhabi?
Or the shocking blue language that sent a volunteer official scurrying on his way during May's Irish Open?
No. There's got to be more to this guy than meets the eye.
Blinding
Poulter certainly is as English as those blinding Union Jack trousers suggest; will be a Gooner 'til he dies and given the chance, would probably bring more bling than Del Boy to the grey-green fairways of professional golf.
Yet behind the headlines which clutter Poulter's six-year career on Tour you'll find a true character, not a caricature.
Several hundred people recently got a chance to meet another Ian Poulter at The Warren Golf Club in Essex.
Poulter, 30, was invited by Tony Hynes to host a golf clinic on the impressive short-game facility the Dubliner's firm, Tour Greens Europe, installed at this quaint sylvan hideaway.
The occasion marked the official launch of the UK arm of the company, which leads the field in installing synthetic putting greens and practice areas.
Poulter was so impressed with the 4000 sq ft green and bunker complex Hynes laid at his palatial new home in Buckinghamshire, he readily accepted the invitation.
Among the well-heeled golf club members at the function were dozens of local youngsters, the majority with their hair in gelled spikes, acknowledgement of Poulter's impact on the next generation.
All present were struck by Poulter's self-effacing humour as he entertained his audience for two and a half hours on a cold, overcast evening.
Not even a problem with the sound system nor a spot of heckling from an obnoxious parrot of a schoolboy could stifle Poulter's enthusiasm as he unravelled the mysteries of chipping, putting and bunker play.
No doubt, Poulter enjoys strutting like a peacock in plumage he designed himself. He's a throwback to the game's greatest dandy, Walter Hagen. Yet his passion for fashion is matched by his love of golf, which has dominated Poulter's life since his dad, Terry, handed him a cut-down three wood at age four.
Poulter and his brother Danny, assistant pro at Chadwell Springs in Herts, earn their living in golf but the artistic temperament and hair-trigger temper which occasionally land Ian in trouble also helped turn him into a champion.
Atmosphere
After a fabulous foretaste of the atmosphere generated by Irish fans at Oakland Hills in 2004, Poulter is ravenous for another slice of the action in September. He'd wear sackcloth for the chance to play on Ian Woosnam's team at The K Club.
"After making the last Ryder Cup side, there's nothing I want more than to get into this one," he enthused. "The atmosphere in America was unbelievable, thanks to the massive Irish following there, so I can only imagine how it'll be at the K Club.
"I can still hear the songs they were singing on Saturday and Sunday at Oakland Hills. It was brilliant, something you'd never forget."
Poulter played twice in Detroit, teaming up with Darren Clarke in the Saturday morning fourballs for a frustrating defeat against Tiger Woods and Chris Riley followed by a sweet 3&2 singles victory over Riley the following day.
Frustrating
"That match with Darren was my first experience of playing at the Ryder Cup. We didn't hole any putts, which is particularly frustrating in that format so I was disappointed that night.
"When drawn against Riley on Sunday, I decided the best attitude was to get out there and get amongst it. To be able to win was fantastic, a really massive, massive boost."
Poulter had to fight hard to make it to Oakland Hills, competing in 11 out of 13 tournaments in the run-up to the BMW International.
Though overtaken by Paul McGinley on that final nail-biting Sunday in Munich, Poulter bounced back from a quadruple-bogey eight at the 10th hole that afternoon, shooting two eagles and two birdies as he played the closing eight holes in six under to clinch his place.
This never-say-die attitude will make him a valuable asset for Europe, should he make it into the team for the K Club.
Yet Poulter faces an even tougher battle to qualify this time, though his morale was boosted last Sunday when he picked up €206,666 in a tie for third in France, the first of a sequence of mega-money events.
"The next five or six tournaments are huge," he said, looking forward to tomorrow's first round of the European Open on the Smurfit Course.
With €691,120 banked and another €800,000 required to be sure of his place, Poulter might need his first European Tour victory since the 2004 Volvo Masters to make the team under his own steam.
Mind you, with so much money on offer at The Smurfit, the Scottish Open, the British Open, The Deutsche Bank and, if he qualifies, the US PGA and Bridgestone Invitational, a string of top-six finishes could suffice.
Poulter's record in Ireland isn't great. He has made the weekend only once in six visits to The European Open, while he became embroiled in controversy during the second round of the weather-ravaged Nissan Irish Open in May.
Infuriated when he couldn't find anyone to admit treading on his ball in bottomless rough, thereby permitting a free drop, Poulter told a tournament volunteer to 'F*** off out of here' after the man blithely observed he'd just have to get on with it.
Contrite
Poulter later apologised, levying the biggest fine in Tour history on himself (reputedly £10,000). And he was still contrite at The Warren.
"This game is frustrating at times. With the weather conditions, I was under a lot of pressure," explained the father of two.
"It was one of those incidents in which you are frustrated. There can be a lot of tension on the golf course and that was one of those times. We want to move on. It's done and dusted."
At which point, our host protectively assured Poulter he needn't answer questions on this prickly matter. Tony Hynes has admired the English firebrand since they first played together in the Pro-Am before the 2003 Irish Open.
"As someone who breaks a lot of clubs, I like Ian's spirit and his competitive instinct. I understand where he comes from," said Tony, a five-handicapper. "He's very well recognised in the UK and will give us great branding here."
Hynes then introduced Micky Walker, the doyenne of British women's professional golf, to Poulter, who responded enthusiastically to her offer to recommend him to the Ladies Golf Union as a potential designer of the team uniform for the 2008 Curtis Cup.
Though he has set up a fashion company and will retail golf clothing under his own brand in pro shops around Britain this summer, Poulter initially will concentrate on the male market.
Explaining that his switch from Taylor Made (Adidas) equipment to Cobra left him free to do his own thing in the clothing line, he went on: "It is very exciting for me to be able to wear what I want and produce what I think is good.
"Hopefully, the juniors of today will have the freedom to express themselves. I enjoy myself when I dress up on the golf course and so should everyone else. There's no reason why you should just play in khaki and navy. You can spice it up a bit, play in bright colours and make it more sexy.
"A lot of golf is about looking the part, sending out the right message, especially in match play. What you wear definitely makes a difference, though much depends on how you wear it.
"As I learned very early on in this game, chin up and chest out is the best way. If your head and shoulders are down, it's not a good look."
Karl MacGinty
© Irish Independent
Members chip in for GUI move to Carton
Members chip in for GUI move to Carton
Wednesday February 15th 2006
Tee to Green
Liam Kelly
THE GUI, the oldest golfing Union in the world, is set for an historic move to its new 21st century headquarters next Monday.
Carton House in Maynooth will be the home of Irish golf for the next 999 years according to the terms of the lease negotiated by the union with the Mallaghan family, owners of the magnificent 1,000 acre estate which features two fine golf courses.
General secretary Seamus Smith and the GUI staff, plus the Leinster Branch staff who are also moving into a wing of the impressive new headquarters, will spend most of next week setting up the offices.
The union, founded in 1891, has its own section of the estate and its own entrance, through the Dunboyne gate at Carton.
On Saturday I had an exclusive preview visit of the GUI facility in the company of secretary Smith and honorary secretary Albert Lee.
Development
Albert, past president of the union, played a key role in the development plans which ended in the GUI and the Mallaghans signing the deal in August 2003.
Also present were members of the Elite Squad, under the guidance of national coach Neil Manchip and consultant coach Pete Cowen who had travelled from his base in Dubai.
Rory McIlroy, the 16-year-old West of Ireland and Irish champion, swapped tales of Dubai with Cowen - prior to the young prodigy holing his first bunker shot in the Par-2 training game the squad played.
British Amateur title holder Brian McElhinney, Darren and Stephen Crowe, and Connor Doran were the other Ulster representatives, while Paul O'Hanlon, Seamus Power, Greg Bowden (all Leinster), and Pat Murray from Munster also attended the squad training weekend.
The players were there to work hard under the guidance of the coaches, but they checked out the spacious modern office complex and were very impressed with the whole set-up.
However their main interest centred on the superb GUI Academy.
This facility is set on 22 acres and includes a top quality floodlit driving range with bays for indoor top-of-the-range technical on-screen analysis and a SAM computerised putting system; a short game practice area including bunkers and greens up to the standard of the Montgomerie and O'Meara courses on the Carton complex and tees for hitting across the range from different directions if required.
Maturing
A huge putting green is maturing beside the driving range and will be maintained by course superintendent John Plummer's staff at Carton House, as will all the Academy outdoor area.
GUI panels will use these upmarket facilities as required for their training purposes, but the Academy will be open to the public.
Manchip has ended his link with Royal Dublin, and will have an office in the spacious, ultra-modern and airy GUI office complex.
A notable feature which excited young McIlroy is the all-weather putting green sponsored for the GUI by Tony Hynes of Tour Greens Europe.
This type of green has been fitted at the homes of Tour players like Miguel Angel Jiminez, Ian Poulter and our own Damien McGrane. It has a tournament speed surface and a fringe from which players can practice chipping and fits in to what was formerly a small walled garden.
A golf museum is also in the process of being set up to remind golfers of how the game and the GUI has evolved from 1891 to the new century.
Carton House is a beautiful centuries-old estate. In that context, an excellent job has been done in marrying the requirements of preserving old buildings - many of them in poor repair - with modern office structures.
The design by Portia Reynolds of Murray O'Laoire Architects is creative and innovative and the effect is to bring the GUI a headquarters commensurate with its standing in Irish sport.
Financially, the union has not had to borrow a cent to fund the ?7.4 million project.
The sale of Glencar House raised ?2.9 million. A once-off payment of ?15 or stg?10 was paid by each GUI member, bringing in another ?3.75 million, and the remainder comes from the Leinster Branch paying for their offices plus government and Royal and Ancient grants, and a contribution from the union funds.
An official opening is scheduled for July during Smurfit European Open week, and about 600 guests including the captains of every club in the country, will be invited.
Architecht Portia Reynolds comes from a small town outside Cape Town in South Africa. Imagine her surprise then when she met Bern Funk, the site manager of Midland Construction who did all the building work for the GUI, as Bern also comes from her home town. They had never previously met.
Managers get together to raise standards
THE Secretary-Manager, or director of golf, or general manager is becoming more qualified, more experienced, and good ones are increasingly in demand.
Patrick Bradshaw, formerly of Charlesland, is now the golf director at Old Conna.
Gavin Hunt has moved from Glen of the Downs to Knightsbridge Golf and Country Club in Trim.
Both men have been instrumental in setting up the Club Managers' Association of Europe which offers educational and development programmes for members of all types of sporting clubs.
? http://www.unison.ie/
GOLF WORLD October 2005 Editorial
The Ultimate
Golfing Back Gardens
Why birdies are replacing barbecues
Rip up your Christmas list and start saving, for we have discovered the must-have golfing gift of the year - a practice hole in your back yard.
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Tour Greens installs indoor putting green for Special Olympics.
Tour greens installed an indoor putting green for the Athletes Village at the Special Olympics 2003 in Dublin.........................................................
5000 people used the green over the 9 days of the event........................................................
According to organizers our green was as good on the last day as it was on the first.................Sandy Lyle who along with Seve Ballesteros gave his time to promote golf among the athletes at the event was very impressed with the putting surface, not only for its true roll quality but with its ability to withstand the exceptionally heavy traffic............Sandy may have been surprised but this is no more than one can expect from one of our products.
