Big Don

I know that slow play is the bane of most golfers lives. However, I believe that Golfers could make life much easier for themselves by applying common sense and behaving in a generally friendly and patient fashion. Tee times are spaced at appropriate intervals for a reason, i.e. to ensure that each group has adequate time to play each hole without feeling rushed. One of my pet hates is when a group tees off early, i.e. rather than waiting until their allotted tee time they immediately tee off when they arrive at the tee and spend the next 17 holes breathing down your neck chasing you round the course. I find this totally discourteous and it spoils the entire experience for me. My point is this; good manners don't just apply to slow playing groups they also apply to ill mannered, impatient oafs that don't stick to their allotted tee times!!!

I've been noticing large numbers of superquads in the used golf equipment racks in stores. Not definitive but an indication that a fair number of people bought them and traded for something else. Got the r7 460 myself and so far its worked out great.

Always tee the ball when you get the chance. With an iron don't tee it too high or you'll hit the ball too high on the club face. I press the tee down so that only its head is appearing above the turf.

I have a question for all you low handicap golfers out there: To what extent do you attribute your reliable swings to natural sporting talent and god given hand-eye coordination? Or alternatively do you primarily attribute it to practice and instruction? Are you generally good at sports requiring good hand eye coordination?

All irons in the middle; gives me a bit of margin so I hit the ball then turf most of the time. I play Woods directly below the left armpit to hit the ball just as the club is bottoming out. Driver inside the left heal; to hit on the rise.

It means a lot to us because it took us nearly 60 years to get on a winning run. We only won 3 times between 1927-1983. Every win since then has been completely precious. I also hope it means a lot to Americans too or the cup has no future.

Believe me I love Americans and the USA. I lived in North America for two years and I can honestly say that Americans are some of the friendliest, nicest people I've ever met. If I'm honest about it I can find a heck of a lot more common ground with the average American than I can with a Frenchman or a German.

I think Sergio took defeat in a graceless fashion; he has a lot to learn on that front. However, the gloating and gleeful celebration of a young man's crushing defeat on this topic is distasteful. Could it be your still feeling upset after the thrashing he dealt out to your boys at the K Club last September? Or maybe you're upset that The Open Championship wasn't the planned "made for television" spectacle where Tiger predictably holds the trophy aloft, while bloated sponsors and TV execs look on giving each other a satisfied nod and a wink?

Don't get me wrong. Tiger will continue to be one of the world's great players, I'm sure of that. To use an automobile analogy, during the Masters and US Open he looked like a guy that was pressing the pedal flat to the floor but the car just wasn't going to go fast enough to overtake the guy in front. He tried everything but it just didn't happen. During The Open he just looked off the pace. Maintaining the motivation and desire necessary to dominate any sport for 10 years the way Tiger has done takes phenomenal focus and stamina. Eventually complacency and boredom kick in and once you start to loose momentum its very difficult to get back to the top. I'm not sure if Tiger's quite at that stage of his career yet but who knows?

I don't think its unreasonable for individuals living next to golf courses to get upset when golfers enter their garden (yard to Americans). There is simply no justification to climb over somebody's fence to hunt for a lost ball. However, I have heard numerous reports of home owners getting upset when golf balls end up landing in their gardens. As far as I'm concerned they shouldn't have bought a house on a golf course if they didn't expect a few misshit balls ending up in their garden.

Is Tiger Woods on the slide? For me he looks more vulnerable right now than at almost any time in his career; he just doesn't look as invincible as he once did. I believe the next 18 months will be very important for him. If he were to go on an extended spell without winning majors what would that do to his motivation?

Well done old son.

I guess you'd prefer to see the whole American team, their wives and a handfull of drunken supporters charging about greens like a heard of elephants ala Brookline?

No Daly prefers to turn up to the course shaking from the DTs with scratches all over his face from his latest domestic violence episode. Sergio's a punk? A little immature, a little arrogant but there are much more badly behaved guys out there. Do you think that Tiger's random hoking and spitting and petulant club dropping/throwing antics and cussing set a good example? I don't think so. But hey its ok he's Tiger Woods, right?

Obviously, I'd love to see a european win; Its really a question of whether Sergio can hold himself together. His record of closing out tournaments isn't too bad (16 wins; 6 PGA, 6 European Tour and 4 international wins), although he's had a lean spell since 2005. I think he has the talent to win at least 3 or 4 Majors across his career. Stricker had a terrific day yesterday. If he can play like that today and if Sergio has a poor day then he'd deservedly pick up the jug. I thought DiMarco had a good day yesterday. Links golf seems to suit him well. With a bit of luck following him he could definitely win the Open some time in the future. Major dissappointment for me was Mr Woods. He just couldn't seem to get it going yesterday, although you could see he was trying his heart out; unfortunately I don't think shear force of will is going to be enough. The other guys could certainly learn from Tiger's mentality; that guy never gives up.

If your 3 wood has a tall face it will be challenging to hit of the fairway unless you are an accomplished ball striker, particularly from tricky lies. I tend to hit my 5 wood of the fairway as it has a nice shallow face. The other thing I've found beneficial is to shorten my swing a little, and focus on making it relatively easy and smooth. These clubs are relatively long and you can generate plenty of speed without really going after the ball.

It doesn't really matter where you live. The tournament is called "The Open Championship".

Fair point Silvertree.

In the UK there have been a number of recent cases where courts have ruled in favour of injured parties who have been struck by golf balls. Before these cases, golfers always relied on the basic understanding that prosecution was impossible as golfers assumed the risk of being struck when they stepped on to the golf course. As a result insurance companies are offerring policies to cover for injury or damage to property and to cover court\legal expenses. I was really trying to find out if things were going the same way in the states.

Well tipping has become the norm everywhere in the states, even when the slightest courtesy is provided whether the guest requests it or not. Valet parking at expensive hotels at $20+, the guy putting your bag on a trolley and rolling it 300 feet expecting $5, Waiters who are barely trained expecting $10 for force feeding you coke refills. The bottom line is people expect tips for simply doing their job. Tipping started as a way of showing your regard for exceptional service. To my mind a tip should be a small gratuity for exceptional service, not $40/h for a surly, mediocre "jobsworth" performance.

I'd be astonished if some golfers weren't taking performance enhancing drugs. If strength isn't an important part of the modern game then why are professional golfers doing so much gym work? Steroids and HGH support muscle building and strength attainment. Bottom line, put big money on the table and some people will be tempted to cheat.

Personally I carry a 3 wood (15*), 5 wood (19*) and 7 wood (21*). I also have a 24* hybrid. I find the fairway woods easier to hit consistently although I only got the hybrid 2 days ago and haven't hit it very much yet.

Do any of you guys bother with Personal Liability Insurance cover to protect against litigation if you cause injury or property damage? Have you heard of individuals being sued in the event of a ball going accidentally astray?

This is an example of the sort of insulting predictable rubbish that I expected; "Phil nearly won without trying, whilst carrying an injury blah blah blah". Actually the majority of the top europeans and international players split their schedules between the PGA tour and european tour. The european tour is strong and the quality of play is excellent. Lets see how Carnoustie turns out this week?

No real competition? Ernie Els? Luke Donald? and anyway the "no-namer" beat Mr Mickleson in the play off. For the record I wanted Phil to win, but a part of me was glad he didn't as it would have led to the inevitable negative comparisons between the PGA and European tours on forums like this. Make no mistake there is plenty quality competition on the european tour.