Money

I would like to start this post by stating that despite being a female sports person I am not a feminist. By this I mean I am not likely to enter debates about male and female differences in sport and differences in funding following the line that pay should be equal.

Having looked at the ladies european tour order of merit for 2008 I noticed that the leader, Gwladys Nocera, had "only" won just over 384,500 Euros from 22 events. This struck me as being a surprisingly low amount and led to me looking at the men's european tour order of merit for 2008 and 2009 (as this season started recently). I noticed that Sergio Garcia who is currently leading the european tour of merit has won over 650,000 euros from one event and Robert Karlsson who won the 2008 order merit did so with season earnings of over 2.7 million euros (23 events). We all know that prize money comes from sponsorship dollars and other revenues, (ticket sales and TV rights). Therefore it is understandable that the men's earnings are greater than the ladies however, this is a huge discrepancy.

To look at this discreapncy further I would like to look at the lower places on the order of merit. The female in place 183rd on the ladies european tour has earned just 520 Euros from 14 events. Yes I hear you this player is obviously not very good but the player in 184th place on the Men's tour has earned 62,711 euros from 16 events. Infact you need to go down to position 369th on the mens tour to find a player who has earned less than 520 Euros. There are fewer players on the ladies european tour and they tend to play shorter courses but is this reason for players ranked almost 200 positions lower on the mens tour to earn the same as a lady on the ladies tour?

Typically I am an optimist, I always live life in the present and look on the bright side of life, however, I am also a realist (at times anyway). On this note I have thought over the past 4 years or so seriously about whether or not to try and pursue a professional golf career. I have come to the conclusion to stick in at university and keep golf as a hobby for a few reasons. One of these is a player from my home club is currently playing on the ladies european tour and knowing her pretty well I have discovered how difficult it is. Another reason is that of a another player from my home club who I don't know well having played out on the Futures tour in the USA for a few years. This player was a Curtis Cup player and a +4 handicapper but last I heard she was working full time as a caddy at a golf resort in the UK. I am not trying to scare aspiring professionals at all but just found the difference interesting and discovered that even in the top 150 positions on the men's tour you can make a reasonable living whereas on the ladies tour you need to be ranked in the top 40 to make a living. Thus personally I will settle for playing amateur tournaments!

Keep swinging x

Tour Schools

The last few weeks has seen the holding of tour schools on both the European and American tours. By all accounts these are the worst tournaments of the year because of the various stages involved culminating in a 6 round final stage with a cut after 4 rounds. Not only is this an endurance test of fitness and golf ability but it is a test of the mind as being able to keep concentration for 6 rounds when under so much pressure would be no mean feat. On this note I have discussed getting ahead of yourself in a round of golf with a few of my playing partners recently and we all know it is a dangerous thing to do but we still all do it. To put this into tour school perspective a good first round in the final stage might lead to you getting over excited and thinking you have almost done enough to secure your card or more realistically being well inside the top 30 players at the start of the final round and thinking that all you need to do is protect your position can be suicidal and result in you missing your card.

At tour schools there is always good and bad stories. A story that has caught my eye this year is that of Andrew Coltart. For those of you who don't know of or haven't heard of him I will remind you that he played in the 1999 Ryder Cup as a Captain's pick having finished just outside the automatic qualifying. For the last few years Coltart has been most noticable in the golf scene doing some commentating while trying to play some challenge tour events. However, he won his card at the european tour school this year so hopefully we will see him out there having some good finishes in 2009 and his experience can help him succeed and reach his potential.

Good luck to all those who earned their tour cards for 2009 and all those who just missed out. Practice hard.

Keep swinging

Seve Ballesteros

As I am sure most know Seve is currently in intensive care after having 3 lots of brain surgery to remove a tumour. I read today that he is likely to be released from intensive care next week to continue his recovery in a private ward before he is well enough to be discharged. I thought today I would reflect on the charismatic man that is Seve Ballesteros and how his presence affected the game of golf.

Seve was one of the most natural players of golf ever. The mere fact that he was better at hitting from under tree than from a tee is testament to this. Not only was Seve a magician with a golf club though he also did a fair amount for the game of golf. He brought the game alive for youth in Europe with his natural talent and exuberance as well as having some battles with the tour authorities. These disagreements with the authorities varied from being about having a professional golfer as his caddy to the number of tournaments he was required to play in to be a member of the tour. Seve played in the first European Ryder Cup team and inspired many young players throughout his time playing on the team and as captain in 1997 at Valderamma.

Not only was Seve a fantastic golfer but he is also a decent man. He, as we all have, has had his ups and downs but most of the time he has responded well to the media and fan requests that come with his fame. I am lucky enough to have met Seve and witnessed in various scenarios from being the head attraction at a pro-am to just trying to enjoy himself on holiday. He has impressed me on every occasion, being funny and happy in his official capacity and down to earth but friendly when in holiday mode.

All in all golf is a better game from Seve being so succesfull and although he was passed his peak playing days by the time I was interested in golf he will always be in my mind a great person for the game. I would like to wish him all the best with his recovery and hope to see him commentating or something in the not to distant future.

Keep Swinging x

Northern Hemisphere Season Review

The golf season in most of the northern hemisphere has come to an end. It has been quite an interesting season with the world number 1 missing the second half of the season injured, a new world number 2 and a european multiple major winner as well as the USA winning back the Ryder Cup.

Despite losing the Ryder Cup it has been a good year of golf from a European perspective. Firstly, Padraig Harrington persuaded everyone that he can play the game by winning back to back Open Championships and then the USPGA as well... what a performance from a player who works really hard on their game. Secondly, Sergio Garcia has just this week become the number 2 player in the world. This is a player who is seen by many to have never to have lived up to his potential, i'm one of the many, but yet has made it to No. 2 in the world. However, if it weren't for Monty he would definitely be carrying the tag of "best player not to have won a major". There has also been some fresh blood coming through from Europe on the pro tours with Rory McIlroy making his mark at the end of the 2007 season and settling in with some good finishes this year. Oliver Wilson also proved how good he is and made the Ryder Cup team which is a great result. Finally, on the amateur scene the Scotland men won the World Team Championships in October which is fantastic for a nation short of talent on the tours just now. A Scottish amateur, Roseanne Niven also won the British Ladies Strokeplay title which is impressive at 19yrs old. Having had no representives in the 2006 Curtis Cup Scotland made up for it this year with 4 representatives all aged under 20... this is again encouraging for Scotland.

The main story of the golf season this year was Tiger's victory in the US Open when he was in obvious pain and resulted in him giving up the rest of the season for more surgery. What a fantastic performance by a player who really is phenomenal. I have thought a fair bit about how someone could get to be so good and have come to the conclusion that Tiger is both talented and driven. This is, in my opinion a rare combination as really talented people can tend to be a bit lazy whilst less talented people seem to be harder woring to make up for this gap in talent. Then you get the freaks like Tiger and Federer who are both driven to be the best they can and immensly talented.

Not to forget Treveor Immelman's solid to win the US masters in April it really has been a good year for golf with plenty of action on and off the course and the critics who said that the second half of the year wouldn't be interesting without Tiger were silenced. Lets hope that golf can weather the storm of the "financial crisis" (one LET event has already been cancelled) and continue to provide lots of excitement.

Quote for the day "Why do I have a different putter? The other one didn't float too well" Craig Stadler

Keep Swinging

I'm Back

Hi

Sorry I have not blogged for such a long time. I kinda got over it. I am back though and am taking it back to it's roots of golf news and some reviews of courses/ clubs. As I am now living in Australia rather than Scotland there will be an increase in the amount of international and Australian golf news but will still have some UK news when I can. I think I will also throw in some stories about days on the links when I have some. I wil really just play it by ear and go with the flow so if you have any suggestions then let me know.


Keep Swinging x x