most exciting major so far this year

...go

Easy.........The Masters

So many in it right until the death and a great finish from Schwartzel.

Masters hands down

We really have been very spoilt this year in terms of majors. The Master's was great for the close finish, the US saw a very dominant performance and The Open provided us with the people's champion as the winner.

Went for the US though - am hoping that it will be iconic as the first major in a long list for Rory, just like Tiger in '97 at The Masters.

Masters easily, other two havent really hooked me at all, cant say I enjoyed last week much and I think it confirms the Open for me as least favourite major to watch.

its odd. i was really excited 'for' darren, but yesterday's back nine was dull dull dull. it would have been terrific if phil or dustin had come close [or dare i say it... sneaked it].

Sharrison, i agree we've seen something special in each one

Masters for me. Rory flunking it and opening the door for so many to come firing through. Tiger, Lukey, Ogilvy, Scott, Day, Charl were playing exhibition golf at times, it was breathtaking. Luke's chip in at the last genuiely had me on my feet.

Wow, Diggers that is a statement. I know what you mean though - it's not that fun to watch the world's best donning waterproofs and mittens and just getting round the course. Prefer it to the PGA as I don't think that should be a major but I understand where you're coming from.

The Masters also had that 2nd round (I think) with Fowler, Rory and Day just attacking every pin. It was great to see the fearlessness of these young players at a course that scares many...

sharrison01 wrote:We really have been very spoilt this year in terms of majors. The Master's was great for the close finish, the US saw a very dominant performance and The Open provided us with the people's champion as the winner.

Went for the US though - am hoping that it will be iconic as the first major in a long list for Rory, just like Tiger in '97 at The Masters.

normal sort of year really! last year -
Masters = Mickelson, peoples champion.
US = McDowell, close finish
Open = Oosthuizen, dominant performance

Excitement masters... which one will I remember in 10 years time probably US open.

If all Majors had the blanket free to air coverage that The Open has I think The Masters would be my favourite, minus the irritating ad breaks that American directors are forced to have however.

NedB-H wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:We really have been very spoilt this year in terms of majors. The Master's was great for the close finish, the US saw a very dominant performance and The Open provided us with the people's champion as the winner.

Went for the US though - am hoping that it will be iconic as the first major in a long list for Rory, just like Tiger in '97 at The Masters.

normal sort of year really! last year -
Masters = Mickelson, peoples champion.
US = McDowell, close finish
Open = Oosthuizen, dominant performance

We are being spoilt at the moment - easy to forget the Hamilton's and Curtis' of the game with majors like these.

sharrison01 wrote:We really have been very spoilt this year in terms of majors. The Master's was great for the close finish, the US saw a very dominant performance and The Open provided us with the people's champion as the winner.

Couldn't agree more.

That said, i'm with Digs a little in that this year's Open wasn't as thrilling as some. It was interesting to see them deal with the weather though.

Most exciting has been the Masters for sure

I've never watched golf, but this weekend I did nothing but... and really enjoyed it.

Your sport gained a new fan, so it must have been a good tournament.

Good to have you on board ED!
Now you just need to pick up a club and you'll never be free!!

Cheers MPB,

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do I go about it?

I'd love to, but I have no friends who play. So what do I do? Are there like beginners courses where you can go and have some training/practice?

I literally know nothing.

If you're absolutely fresh to the game then, in my view, there's no better time to go and get yourself some lessons. Head down to your local club, half an hour a week will have you hitting it like Darren Clarke in no time.
In seriousness ,you won't yet have developed any of the bad habits i could show you in my swing so it's a great opportunity

You'll need to find a friend to play golf with though. Its a very social game

Cheers mate,

In that case I'm going to egg someone along to take it up with me.

In the meantime I'm definitely going to frequent this area of the board to swot up on this wonderful sport that has somehow evaded me all my life so far.

Good man

There are plenty of very knowledgeable posters and very good golfers on here so get stuck in

i did a lot of putting in our front garden [big yoghurt pot for a hole!] before taking up the game - maintained the 'green' and everything, out twice a week with the handmower. putting is a good place to start - as its the least complex swing / stroke in the game, and the one which makes the biggest difference if you can get right the better you become with everything else. a neighbour then gave me a wedge and i graduated to chipping and putting. after a summer of that my mum and dad realised that paying for a membership at the local club would be better than having divots all over their garden!

ban_bam wrote:its odd. i was really excited 'for' darren, but yesterday's back nine was dull dull dull. it would have been terrific if phil or dustin had come close [or dare i say it... sneaked it].

bb

how can you say that? It only became 'dull' from the 15th onwards after Dustbin had gone OOB on the 14th. Up until that point he was right in the mix and Phil was still trying to make a charge.

I thought it was good anyway......

phils front nine scuffles were terriffic. fowler, bjorn etc were close enough at that point too. on the back nine, i think if dustin had birdied 14 then we'd have had a grandstand finish with the two of them up there. it was just a huge anti-climax if you take the romance of clarke winning out of the equation. can't criticise phil for his performance, he gave himself a chance from no-where then hit a wall. just a bit disappointed with dj i guess. he was in touch and looking steady up to the oob moment of ultimate pish-ness.

i'll agree with you that it was good - but it was also dull [!]

drive, there's a few of you nipping up in a couple of months for the tassie [as seen on another thread] - is there going to be some sort of 606v2 north-south grudge match? i might be up for it if time and cost allows.

Electric Demon - what area of the country are you and how old are you?

I'd agree with the others when they say find a friendly club in the area and go into the pro-shop and ask about beginner's instruction. A few clubs will actually do a beginner's course for you and even supply loan equipment to make sure you are keen before you spend loads of money.

If you give us a clue of your approximate location, there is a good chance someone here will be able to recommend a starting point

I think it's been an interesting year so far, if not spectacular.

The Masters was probably the most entertaining, though Congressional saw something incredibly dominant and this had a feel good story about it.

I would also suggest going to the driving range to hit a few 100 balls to get into, well, the swing of things.

Demon is North London/ Watford part of the country from memory (hope you dont mind me revealing that)

Most driving ranges don't supply equipment though unless you enrol in a beginner's course.

Thanks for the welcome and advice Gents.

Hobo's almost right - I'm North Hertfordshire. So if anyone knows any friendly clubs who teach beginners in that area, please let me know.

Electric Demon wrote:Cheers MPB,

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do I go about it?

I'd love to, but I have no friends who play. So what do I do? Are there like beginners courses where you can go and have some training/practice?

I literally know nothing.

Welcome ED

Very simple if you want to get into this wonderful game, just google driving ranges in your area then head down to your nearest one. Have a chat, they virtually all have teaching pro's that will run beginners group lessons. That is the best way to start then once you get the basics you can move on to individual lessons. It's also a good way to meet people of a similar standard that you can play with.

It is a wonderful game, you can easily get hooked. Nobody ever died wishing they had played less golf

drive4show wrote:

Electric Demon wrote:Cheers MPB,

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do I go about it?

I'd love to, but I have no friends who play. So what do I do? Are there like beginners courses where you can go and have some training/practice?

I literally know nothing.

Welcome ED

Very simple if you want to get into this wonderful game, just google driving ranges in your area then head down to your nearest one. Have a chat, they virtually all have teaching pro's that will run beginners group lessons. That is the best way to start then once you get the basics you can move on to individual lessons. It's also a good way to meet people of a similar standard that you can play with.

It is a wonderful game, you can easily get hooked. Nobody ever died wishing they had played less golf

No, but i may well die wishing i'd been a bit more cautious on difficult pins!

Haha.

Sorry Davie - I didn't answer your question fully. I'm 27.

Can't really disagree then with what D4S says - although in my experience not all driving ranges would offer the best services in this area. Some do, but some are just plaes where people go to whack the ball as hard as they can. If you have a GOOD driving range nearby, try that first, if not then consider some courses in your area for beginners lessons

Davie wrote:Can't really disagree then with what D4S says - although in my experience not all driving ranges would offer the best services in this area. Some do, but some are just plaes where people go to whack the ball as hard as they can. If you have a GOOD driving range nearby, try that first, if not then consider some courses in your area for beginners lessons

I'd echo that, and given that ED is in North Herts, if he can get over to Watford there's a TopGolf centre there. They will be able to offer lessons, kit hire and the whole setup there is ideal for taking a couple of mates and having fun competing with one another to hit the targets. You can even have a beer while you're playing. Slightly more expensive than some ranges but pretty good vfm.

SmithersJones wrote:

Davie wrote:Can't really disagree then with what D4S says - although in my experience not all driving ranges would offer the best services in this area. Some do, but some are just plaes where people go to whack the ball as hard as they can. If you have a GOOD driving range nearby, try that first, if not then consider some courses in your area for beginners lessons

I'd echo that, and given that ED is in North Herts, if he can get over to Watford there's a TopGolf centre there. They will be able to offer lessons, kit hire and the whole setup there is ideal for taking a couple of mates and having fun competing with one another to hit the targets. You can even have a beer while you're playing. Slightly more expensive than some ranges but pretty good vfm.

Cheers Guys,

I've actually been to Top Golf in Watford. I never realised they did lessons, or that it would come reccomended as a place to start. Thought it might be bit too gimmicky for the golf traditionalists, but I'll look into it.

How anyone can vote for the US Open as exciting is beyond me; a non typical US Open course, none of the perils we all like to see, and a run away leader from round 1! Exciting, no, infact i stopped avidly watching after round 2