May
18
Posting a few photos from last weekend’s Turkish Airlines Ladies Open which was hosted by National Golf Club in Belek, Turkey (Antalya region). Once again National was in excellent shape for the tournament, even better than previous years. From tee to green, lush and ready for the tournament.
link: Tournament photos from the 2013 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
The par 73 track again presented its challenges. Scores were not low as compared to other tournaments and the tight fairways truly required strong course management challenges for the golfers.
The galleries were treated to a fantastic week of golf, with the final round truly a highlight since five or six golfers were in the running for the trophy on the final day.
Lee-Anne Pace teeing off from the 10th during the final round of the 2013 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
Christel Boeljon near the 16th tee during the final round of the 2013 Turkish Ladies Open
Mexico’s Margarita Ramos on the 13th green during the final round of the 2013 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
Maria Salinas on the 13th fairway during the final round of the 2013 Turkish Ladies Open
Paula Hurtado chipping onto the 8th green at National Golf Club during round 3 of the 2013 Turkish Ladies Open
Trish Johnson on the 10th tee during the final round of the 2013 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
Beth Allen near the 16th tee during the 3rd round of the 2013 Turkish Ladies Open
Margherita Rigon on the 15th green during round 3 of the 2013 Turkish Ladies Open
Mar
29
Just in time for spring, a couple of great pieces to get your swing in shape from the pros.
First, english womens professional Rachel Jennings. Rachel is known to be not only one of the most colorful pros on the Ladies European Tour but also for her great swing. She is featured in the March issue of Lady Golfer with great tips for a good swing path – see pages 30-13 of the magazine.
Follow Rachel on Twitter @RacheyJGolf
Energy of the Golf Swing
On top of it, we have a great DogLegMedia video of the sweet swing of dutch mens golf pro Wouter de Vries. The video is in dutch, but is easy enough to understand for everyone.
The main focus is on swing balance and how to keep your energy moving forward through the ball with great before and after segments, showing off one of the Inner Genius (Auke Hempenius) teaching methods. Though this is an InnerGenius segment, Wouter and Auke are also half of the “Flight19″ gang at 19Golf.
The Energy of the Golf Swing from DogLegMedia on Vimeo.
“Vanaf eind 2012 werken Wouter de Vries en Auke Hempenius samen aan de metamorfose van Wouter’s golfswing.
Wij houden jullie in 2013 d.m.v. video op de hoogte van zijn ontwikkelingen.”
http://www.innergeniusgolf.nl
http://www.wouterdevries.nl
I should also mention that the video was shot at The International, the new host venue for the Deloitte Dutch Ladies Open. The new clubhouse (opening shortly) and snow-covered 18th green are in the background. It looks like a superb venue for the Ladies European Tour and should be very convenient for the golfers, due to it’s location on the outskirts of Amsterdam near Schiphol.
Marion Ricordeau being interviewed for French television after her win at the 2012 Terre Blanche Ladies Open (© doglegmedia.com)
Golf Internet TV
We’ve been following, tweeting and reporting on each of the Ladies European Tour and LET Access Series tournaments so far. The quality of womens golf in Europe is rising rapidly. And as we once again are watching and cheering from a distance this week, we really, really miss being able to watch these tournaments on live TV.
Rachel Jennings at the Unicredit German Ladies Open (© doglegmedia.com)
In Holland, there’s not much choice when it comes to golf on TV. Only Sport1 seems to show anything and they basically do not cover the womens game. And this week they have full coverage of the European Tour’s Trophy Hassan II live from Agadir.
Hey guys, the girls are right across the street – you can’t get the production team to send a camera team across to get glimpses of the LET?
Occasionally Sport1 does broadcast LPGA highlights. Kudos for that, but I’d really like to see live coverage of the Ladies European Tour. Makes me wonder why a european equivalent to Golf Channel hasn’t emerged or why the LET hasn’t taken matters into its own hands and started webcasting their tournaments.
Ultimately internet TV is where live sports broadcasting is headed anyway, so why not get a jump on it? Setting up a couple of stationary cameras on a couple of tees and a couple of greens would be enough. Plenty of inexpensive solutions for connectivity. Tweet streams and live scoring would be more than enough for commentary at least to start. Total cost is minimal and the LET would retain full control of the advertising and commercial possibilities. Win-win don’t you think? Please. Pretty please ….
Lucy Williams on the 18th fairway during the 2nd round of the 2012 Open Femenino (© doglegmedia.com)
Twitter Golf Birdies
DogLegMedia has conducted an informal study regarding womens golf and social media. Twitter is the overwhelming most popular choice of social media for most of the girls. Facebook is now #2. That’s more or less the reverse of where we were two years ago, the last time DLM did a comprehensive study.
Follow Rebecca Hudson, one of Europe’s top pro golfers, on Twitter (© doglegmedia.com)
Around 350 womens professional golfers are on Twitter today, primarily golfers who compete in the US, Europe, and Australia. Korean, Chinese, and Japanese golfers have largely opted to have a presence on regional social networks. We will publish a comprehensive list of womens golfers on Twitter in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, you can subscribe to the PoodleGolf list on Twitter. Follow as many of the golfers and tweet as much support as you can.
An interesting change from a few years ago is that many of the golfers have opted to go single-channel in terms of social, that is they chosen twitter over facebook or google+ rather than maintaining a presence on all channels. At the time of the last study, most had at least a facebook page plus one other (usually twitter).
My guess is that the same phenomenon is starting to set in with the golfers as with the general public. Social media fatigue is real and it’s just too cumbersome or time-consuming to share, tweet, and build up their fan base across all of the networks.
Clothilde Weyrich at the 2011 Dinard Ladies Open in Saint Briac sur Mer (© doglegmedia.com)
Dinard Ladies Open
The 2nd LET Access Series and Generali Ladies Tour tournament of the year is coming up next week – the Dinard Ladies Open. For anyone who isn’t already familiar with the LET Access Series, it’s the highly competitive european equivalent to the LPGA Symetra Futures tour in the States.
The host venue, located just to the south of Dinard in the village of Saint Briac sur Mer, is a gorgeous, quirky course right on the Bretagne coast of France. It’s a DLM favourite simply because on a sunny day, the blue Atlantic backgrounds are simply stunning. Sailboats, lighthouses, surfers, and fisherman are all part of the scene.
One of the great things about the Generali /LETAS cooperation is that we get to see basically all of the top French amateurs competing at each event. It’s amazing to watch the development of the girls, who are usually paired with a veteran french tour pro in the tournaments.
We’re planning to be there to photograph the tournament and cheer for the golfers, so follow Poodle Golf on Twitter for our live tweets and check back here each night during the tournament for photos.
link: tournament photos from the 2012 Dinard Ladies Open
link: tournament photos from the 2011 Dinard Ladies Open
France’s Anyssia Herbault teeing off from the 13th during round 1 of the 2011 Dinard Ladies Open (© doglegmedia.com)
Ariane Provot & Celine Palomar near the 1st tee at Dinard. (© doglegmedia.com)
The iconic sign atop the clubhouse at Dinard Golf (© doglegmedia.com)
Surfer dude just below the 6th fairway at the 2011 Dinard Ladies Open (© doglegmedia.com)
Denmark’s Cathrine Madsen on the 9th green during round 1 at Dinard (© doglegmedia.com)
Have a great weekend everyone !
Feb
03
The 2013 womens professional golf season is off to a flying start, with a number of events already complete on the 2013 ALPG tour circuit. The latest event, the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters, was also the first tournament of the year for the Ladies European Tour. Karrie Webb shot -5 for the final round to earn the win by two strokes at Royal Pines, near Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland.
Corie Hou studying the 15th green during round 2 of the 2012 Fourqueux Ladies Open
Perhaps the story of the week was the level of play shown by the amateurs. Both Su-Hyun Oh and Atiya Jutanugarn impressed, finishing T2 with Chella Choi at -11. Jutanugarn may play with a chip on her shoulder all year, as the 17 year-old’s petition for an exemption to compete at LPGA Qualifying School was turned down by commisioner Mike Whan. He’ll live to regret that decision if Jutanugarn continues to show excellent form while competing on the LPGA’s closest rival on the world golf stage, the Ladies European Tour.
Well done to the ALPG, the LET, and particularly the groundscrew/staff at Royal Pines, who performed miracles to get the course back into any semblance of playing condition after the cyclone which passed through the area earlier in the week. Best wishes to both tours and their player/members for a fantastic 2013 !
Christel Boeljon (Netherlands) teeing off from the 17th during round 1 at the 2012 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
Womens Golf News & Notes
It’s always disappointing and scary to hear stories like this one, especially since it’s about one of our favorite young players. But it’s also equally important that they are told. Stalker nightmare haunts Australian Ladies Masters champion Christel Boeljon (via The Australian). We hope that there is not any long-term impact on Christel from the experience – such a great young golfer.
Not a golf story, but an inspiring one about confidence in this Tedx talk from model Cameron Russell. She truely breaks the perception that beautiful women can’t be smart. Wonder if she plays any golf ….
Aussie great Karrie Webb says womens game needs more backing (via Herald-Sun). Karrie is right – and womens golf offers great value opportunities for sponsors and broadcasters, particularly on the LET and ALPG.
Australia’s Sarah Kemp doesn’t want to be average any more (via The West). Good – too talented to settle for that.
Sarah Kemp (Australia) near the 15th green during round 3 at the 2012 Turkish Airlines Ladies Open
If you are a photography or art fan, check out Photographes pour la vie. The french photography initiative aims to raise funds for cancer research. It’s a great cause and there are some fantastic prints available.
A great sign for womens golf in Europe: Closer cooperation seen for LET, LETAS, and Nordea tours (via Golf.se, in Swedish). This is probably the strongest sign yet of the growing (and renewed) cooperation between the LET and the Swedish Federation, a relationship which has been under strain for a number of years.
Congratulations to young scot Laura Murray on her decision to turn pro. Murray is planning to compete on the LET Access Series and Scottish Ladies Open Tour for 2013.
Stormy start to Charlotte Ellis’ season down under (via wiltsglossstandard.com). Includes a DogLegMedia.com photo of Charlotte and caddy Jake Cantu. Fingers crossed for team Ellis this year. Despite a disappointing start at the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters, I really think Charlotte is one to watch for 2013.
So gorgeous, it’s ridiculous. Anastasia Kostina on Russia’s Sportbox. The russian Poodle pro will be competing on the LET Access Series this year, so if you haven’t seen a womens golf event recently, get out and support Ana at one of the LETAS tournaments during the year.
We don’t plug too many products around here, but if you are looking for a new putter, check out Burton Putters. They will be the hot tour putter by the end of the year. Stuart Burley was kind enough to let me check out one of the prototypes recently. The full adjustable design was remarkable, but more importantly it just had a really natural feel, felt just right. Definitely a level above the Scotties.
Support womens golf !! Many of the images on this website contain links to the golfers and their sponsors. You can support the golfers by following them on Twitter, Facebook, and Google +, visiting their websites, buying the products of their sponsors, and cheering for them at their tour events. Hover over the images to reveal small pins with links.
Hope that everyone has a great week !
