You'll Never Walk Alone...

Hello Wow did you see THAT game on Wednesday night, 95,000 screaming fans waving scarfs over their heads belting out the traditional Anfield Anthem, sending tingles down many a spine. It really was a special moment to savour for Australian sport. Apparently the crowd for that game was the largest crowd Liverpool had ever played in front of, it goes to show how much we love our sport and can mix it up with the best in the world, in all levels of competition. Hopefully the message will get out there and other big name European clubs will come out here and play on front of huge, adoring, appreciative Australian crowds. Could McIlroy be the best? Well Gary Player for one thinks he has problems. McIlroy's game has nose dived since he changed club manufacturer at the start of the season following a switch to Nike. Last year the young Northern Irishman stormed to the top of the world rankings and won the orders of merit on both sides of the Atlantic. "I love Rory McIlroy, he's got talent like you can't believe, but I was quite perturbed when I saw him win the U.S. Open [last year] and then the next tournament he played was one month later," nine-time major winner Player told Britain's Talksport radio. "You can't do that. What he should have done was take a week off after winning the U.S. Open to settle down and then play two tournaments." "You've got to prepare properly. He has a few problems at this stage of his life but everyone has problems," added the 77-year-old Player. "He'll sort it out, he's got wonderful parents and he's got great talent. He'll come back." "You have a window of opportunity, that's my only words of wisdom to Rory," Sir Nick Faldo "Hopefully you have another 40 years to enjoy it so just concentrate on your golf." Sir Nick Faldo McIlroy is currently dating tennis player Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and Player said he could understand why golf was perhaps not quite as important to the Northern Irishman as it once was. "When you're in love as a young man, naturally golf seems to take second place for a while," the South African explained. "It's natural - love is still the greatest thing that ever happens in our lives." "But the thing is for a man like Rory with talent galore, he has got to make sure he has a woman like I've got, who has been married (to me) for 56 years, that has only encouraged me to do well and has made sacrifices." The South African great believes the former world number one "could be the man" if he sorts out his problems. On the Fast Track Danny Lee (23) Young Australian Gun Danny Lee is learning the ropes on theWeb.com Tour and he is showing some very legitimate talent. He finished second in the Rex Hospital Open and he has also been in the top 10 in two other events. The South Korean native moved to Australia at the age of 8 and said that his biggest thrill so far was his victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth. Lee is a big hitter and he is also quite accurate. As soon as he gains a bit more consistency, he will have a chance to develop into a solid and consistent contender. Watch out on tour, Danny will be contesting tournaments very soon! What's in the bag 2012 Name: Ryo Ishikawa Age: 21 Professional Wins: 11 Clubs: Callaway Driver: Callaway Razr Fit Driver Fairway Wood: X Hot Irons: X Forged Irons Ishikawa turned professional in 2008, dominated the Japanese Tour with four wins in 2009 and that same year became the youngest golfer to ever reach the top 50 on the Official World Golf Rankings. He is also a 10-time winner on the JGTO Off the course, Ryo has endeared himself to golfers around the world, and in March 2011 he announced that he would donate his 2011 Tour earnings, plus an additional 100,000 yen for every one of his birdies, to the Japan earthquake relief efforts. Good on ya mate. Road to Recovery Jarrod Lyle is playing the game of his life, golf no longer sits as high on Jarrod Lyle's list his priorities. Surviving cancer, getting married and having a baby against medical odds tends to change a man's perspective on these things. Jarrod was given the all-clear last month after overcoming a second bout of leukemia. "I said to my wife (Briony) this morning that I am getting excited. I get excited the day before I get to come out and play with the members (at The Sands) on a Saturday. And even the other day when I had a lesson I was all excited turning up there and being able to work on my game." "I am like a little kid again," says the Torquay 31-year-old. "I've always said through my treatment that if I never get to hit another golf shot I could walk away from the game and be happy and I am still that way now. But now that I am able to, I want to get back out there and just play." Lyle first survived leukemia, aged 17, and his world was again shaken to its core when the cancer returned in March last year. A routine blood test uncovered the awful truth just four days before the birth of his first child. He put off treatment until his daughter, Lusi Joy Lyle, was born, the commenced the gruelling chemotherapy. "That's probably the hardest moment of my life. Going through the chemo and the transplant was nothing compared to knowing I only had 12 hours with my brand new daughter," Lyle recalled last year. "It is hard. You want to spend time and just do normal things with your daughter, but you can't. You want to experience changing nappies and all that stuff, but I couldn't for eight months because I wasn't allowed to, but I'm making up for that now, believe me," Lyle says with a laugh. "But the whole chemo process is tough, it's just shit to be honest with you. You would never wish it on anybody to go through." "Just to be a member of a golf club again has been great," he says. "If I'm going to make a comeback, I want to be fitter and stronger than I've ever been before." "I'll just take it easy. There's no rush." Good to see Jarrod is recovering well, all our best wishes to him and the family. Old clubs? We'll buy them from you... Golf Traders offer our customers a fantastic service whereby we can purchase, part exchange or swap your equipment. With the golf season in full swing, we all have clubs lying around that are basically redundant. Instead of letting them collect dust in the garage, turn them into cash... or at least let them go some way to buying the new clubs you so desperately want. View all of our stock here or come in store and have a hit in our brand new practice net and try before you buy! Golf Traders 02 9517 3471 33 Nelson Street Annandale, NSW 2038 Australia Golf Traders PRO TIP: Aim for Something, Anything The old saying goes if you aim for nothing your sure to hit it. Never more true than out on the course. Always make sure you align yourself a target, could be a building, tree, branch or even a blade of grass! Taking dead aim at a target focuses the brain and makes you concentrate that little bit more. Happy golfing David Fearns (PGA) Golf Traders

Out of Left Field...

Phil Mickelson shot a 66 (lowest of the tournament) "it was the round of my life." Hello, What a weekend. We had one of the greatest Soccer teams ever play in Sydney on Saturday night, we also witnessed one of the greatest Open Championships on record and saw a great champion emerge from the field starting the day five shots behind and end up winning by 3! Interesting that Phil was a similar age to Ernie when he won last year, giving much hope to players over the 40+ mark.

Open Review The golfing forces of Phil Mickelson prevailed on Sunday, when others failed to show themselves or fell by the way side, Phil powered on. The left-hander is a player of extreme calibre, with four previous majors to his name, including three Masters titles, he has spent many years in the long shadows of Tiger Woods. He has also finished second six times at the US Open, including this year, which adds the dimension of poetic justice to this victory this time out. As recently as Friday, he had four-putted Muirfield's par three 16th. On Sunday morning, he was still in the pack, five shots back. As others fell and faltered, Mickelson seized the tournament with a finishing burst of four birdies in the last six holes, including a flourish on the 18th when he banked his second shot off the upslope of a bunker and rolled home the putt. Mickelson beat the game, the course and the field. Neither Woods nor Scott were able to contain him on Sunday. He was in a class of his own, setting new records and giving the over 40's players a huge wrap. Scott and Woods kept themselves for most of the round, but walked up the last companionably, sharing rueful notes about what might have been. "You have to be resilient in this game," Mickelson would later say, Most players did not use their drivers, Mickelson did not even carry one in his bag. So it was that at the climax of the tournament, playing the par five 17th upwind, he reached the green with two three-woods. "Those were two of the best three woods I've ever hit," "As I was walking up to the green, that was when I realised that this is very much my championship, in my control," he said. "I was getting a little emotional. I had to take a second to slow down my walk and try to regain composure." Well done Phil, well and truly deserved.

Property Shark Greg Norman is reportedly selling his home in the prestigious Le Lac neighbourhood in Boca Raton, Fla. The Shark bought the 7.5-acre property in 2006 for $7 million and reportedly stands to lose more than $1 million in the sale. However, he has not had much use for it as of late so wants to off load the asset. Apparently Norman bought the house in 2006 while he was going through a divorce and looking to woo tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert. However, they divorced a little over a year later and Norman remarried again in November 2010. The 58-year-old legend now spends most of his time in Jupiter Island and rarely ever hangs out in the neighbourhood where his ex-wife and other famous people like Red Sox owner John Henry live. If you are interested in buying the house, it is on the market for $6 million, meaning Norman will lose at least $1 million when it sells. But I reckon he can take the loss!

Former Open Champion What Happened to Todd Hamilton? Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a four-hole play-off at Royal Troon to win the 2004 Open championship. He was back in Scotland this year competing in the oldest Major championship in the World and feeling quite upbeat about his game and life in general. "It's great that in a lot of these towns everything is packed together and you just walk everywhere. St Andrews is the best example. I really enjoy that part. To me it's kind of a quaint feeling. It brings back a lot of memories of the small town I grew up in, Oquawka, Illinois. Where I live, now, just outside Dallas, you can't really get anywhere without driving." "I don't get much attention these days but I don't mind at all. I'm not a person that likes to be in the limelight unless I've done something and I haven't done anything for a while. I'm probably more recognised over here than I am in my home country. “I'm getting on in years but if there is one tournament an older guy can win, it is this one." "I like to practice for an hour and a quarter or so before a round but it varies. I'll hit all the clubs, hit some high ones, low ones, then chip and putt a little bit. I don't like to rush it. I like to take it easy and let everything soak in. "It takes a lot of knowledge, not only of the course itself but this style of golf. "The guys from the States don't see the ball bounce like it does here. When you hit it in the fairway there it tends to stay in the fairway, or it stays within five or 10 yards of where it lands. Here that's not the case, it might run 50 yards. I've hit some three irons 270 yards. We don't see that at home."

What's in the bag Name: Ernie Els Age: 43 Professional Wins: 66 Clubs: Callaway Driver: RAZR Fit Xtreme Wedge: X Series JAWS Hybrid: X Utility A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy". Among his 66 career victories are four major championships. He is only one of six golfers to twice win both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship. He was the leading career money winner on the European Tour until overtaken by Lee Westwood in 2011, and was the first member of the tour to earn over 25 million Euros from European Tour events. When not playing, Els has a golf course design business, a charitable foundation which supports golf among underprivileged youngsters in South Africa, and a highly-regarded wine-making business. He has written a popular golf instructional column in Golf Digest magazine for several years.

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Old clubs? We'll buy them from you... Golf Traders offer our customers a fantastic service whereby we can purchase, part exchange or swap your equipment. With the golf season in full swing, we all have clubs lying around that are basically redundant. Instead of letting them collect dust in the garage, turn them into cash... or at least let them go some way to buying the new clubs you so desperately want. View all of our stock here or come in store and have a hit in our brand new practice net and try before you buy! Golf Traders 02 9517 3471 33 Nelson Street Annandale, NSW 2038 Australia Golf Traders

PRO TIP: Shanks The short-term fix is to feel more weight on the heels of the feet throughout the swing. By keeping the weight back, it allows the clubhead to travel along the preferred line of the swing and not to fall into the ball. We should be aware that there is undoubtedly one or two fundamental things which go wrong with the swing, causing the problem of the shank. The result ending in a trip to hosel city. Remember, if you are out on the course and you start to shank, get your weight back onto the heels of your feet. When you finish your round get someone, preferably your local pro, to check your shoulder coil and address position. These will be the long-term solutions to the problems associated with the dreaded "s" word. Happy golfing

David Fearns (PGA) Golf Traders

Armchair Sports...

Get out of that! Hello, The marathon of sport on T.V. looks set to continue this week, there is the Open from Muirfield, the 2nd Ashes Test from Lords and not forgetting that match on Wednesday night (Origin) which promises to be an absolute blockbuster. Go the Blues. We are so ready for the Open to start, I say the Open because it is often referred to as the British Open, which is not correct, strictly speaking. The official title is the Open Championship! Well done to Branden Grace whom we featured in last week's What's in the bag section, he came a close second to Phil Mickelson at the Scottish Open.

Kelly Slater Vows to Land the Shark After winning the Volcom Pro in Fiji and stamping his dominance on yet another surfing world title race, Kelly Slater looked down the camera of the live broadcast and laid down a challenge ... to Greg Norman. "Greg Norman, you better be watching," he said. Slater, a keen part-time golfer with a reportedly single-figure handicap, was referring to an exchange in which Norman said Slater was too "scared" to play a round with him, and that he planned to "kick Slater's ass" on the course. "Shit talk is my favourite, especially to Aussie convicts. Keep practising, Norman. If I beat you like I did Brett Ogle, it'll be embarrassing."  Norman and Slater are said to be similar in many ways. In his youth, Norman was as serious about surfing as Slater is now about golf, often skipping school on the Sunshine Coast to dive into the ocean when the waves called. He said he owed a lot of his later success to those early free days out on the waves, testing himself. "I was a bit of a bad boy, and surfing was a catalyst to it," he said. "Some of the best education you can get is being street smart and on your own. Surfing gives you that. It tests your internal skills, it tests your courage, and you can be as good as you want to be at it." Could he do it? Yes and no, Norman said. "I've seen him play at Pebble Beach. He's got a pretty good swing. He's a natural to be a golfer. But there's a big difference between a guy with a two or three handicap and a guy who can go out there and win golf tournaments on the world stage". And who will be the winner when they finally go head to head on the fairways?

Coming Home Adam Scott will end his 2013 season by playing at the Australian Open in Sydney later on in the year World number four Adam Scott will make his final appearance of the year at the Australian Open in November, organisers have announced. The reigning US Masters champion has set himself a gruelling home schedule, having already agreed to play the Australian PGA Championship and defend his Australian Masters title. He is also widely expected to play the World Cup in Melbourne, making it four tournaments in four weeks. “Winning the national Open is the title every Australian golfer wants,” Scott said in a statement. “I am sure the Sydney sporting public will come in great numbers to support the event. I look forward to competing and celebrating with them during the week.” The Australian Open will be held at the Royal Sydney Golf Club from November 28-December 1.

Kiwi Golf Golf in New Zealand is now recognised as one of the best in the world and the ideal place for a golf tour or golf holiday. Blessed with one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, there are endless attractions to New Zealand including its coastline, canyons, alpine mountain ranges,lush forests, friendly locals and unhurried pace of life. The nation is said to have more courses per capita than any other country on earth. In recent years, golf in New Zealand has increased in both popularity and exposure, and there are a number of key drivers (pardon the pun) in this continued emergence. Kauri Cliffs, Cape Kidnappers and Gulf Harbour are three of the world's truly amazing golfing destinations, and must be seen to be believed. So if you are venturing to New Zealand for Golf and Food or seriously thinking about it,it will be worth the journey.

What's in the bag Name: Martin Laird Age: 30 Professional Wins: 5 Clubs: Taylor Made Driver: RBZ Stage 2 Tour  Irons: RBZ Stage 2  Hybrid: Ghost Tour DA-12 Martin Laird is a Scottish professional golfer, playing on the PGA Tour. His most recent win was at the Valero Texas Open, earning the first PGA Tour victory for the new TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Tour driver. He has won three PGA Tour events in his career, most notably the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2011. Until Russell Knox earned his card via the 2011 Nationwide Tour, Laird was the only Scottish player on the PGA Tour.

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Old clubs? We'll buy them from you... Golf Traders and The Custom Golf Shop have joined forces to offer customers another fantastic service. With the golf season in full swing and Christmas just passed, we all have clubs that are being made redundant every day. Instead of letting them collect dust in the garage, turn them into cash... or at least let them go some way to buying the new clubs you so desperately need. View all of our stock here or come in store and have a shot on our Triple Surround Simulator to try before you buy! The Custom Golf Group 24 Burleigh Street Burwood, NSW 2134 Australia thecustomgolfshop.com.au Find us on Twitter

PRO TIP: Meticulous Routine The pre-shot routine is probably the most important part of a good mental game, over time it creates positive habits and a place of comfort in tough situations. There are 3 parts: The pre-shot routine, the shot, and the post-shot routine. 1: No matter how you prepare for each shot, make sure you REPEAT the same routine EVERY time. 2: When you are about to hit have a trigger point, a forward press of the hands, a nod of the head, or the wink of an eye, whatever it is, this action will set the wheels in motion. 3: After a good or bad shot, try not to get too emotional. Keep that inner calm and self belief at all times. Happy golfing

David Fearns (PGA) Golf Traders