Nairn to host 2012 Curtis Cup

PerryGolf Staff

The 2012 Curtis Cup will be held at Nairn Golf Club on the 125th anniversary of the founding of the club.   The course, which has hosted a number of important tournaments over the years, including the 1999 Walker Cup and the Scottish Amateur Championships, will be the most northerly venue yet.

The announcement will provide another boost to the Highlands, which over the past two years has increased in popularity with overseas visitors after the opening of the fantastic Castle Stuart Golf Links which is being tipped to be the next host of the European Tour’s Scottish Open once Loch Lomond ceases to become host venue.  When you add these two fantastic courses to Royal Dornoch, which is in the top 20 world rankings, it gives the area a huge appeal to all golfers.

By Keith Baird.  Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

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Graeme McDowell goes from Strength to Strength

PerryGolf Staff
Graeme McDowell

Arguably the world’s most in-form golfer has gone from strength to strength lately despite a gruesome schedule which has seen him clock up over 32,000 air miles in the past seven weeks.  Following up from his glorious 2010 season in which he won the US Open, was the hero at the Ryder Cup, rose to 5 in the world rankings, defeated Tiger at his own tournament (despite a 4 shot deficit going into the final round) and was awarded an MBE in the New Year honours, McDowell flew from his Northern Ireland home straight after Christmas for the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii (that’s one heck of a journey) only to miss out on a play off by just one shot, shooting a final round joint course record of 62 in the process.

Is there anything the gritty Irishman can’t do?  Watch this space in 2011 to see if he can add to his US Open or even dethrone Lee Westwood at the top of the pile.  I, for one, wouldn’t bet against both happening.

By Keith Baird.  Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

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BBC Team of the Year 2010

PerryGolf Staff

The European Ryder Cup team have been honored at the recent BBC Sports Personality Awards.  They were named the team of the year after defeating the US at Celtic Manor in October.  Click here for more information.

By Gary Sheppard.  Gary had been with PerryGolf for over 4 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

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Royal Liverpool Video

PerryGolf Staff

I recently came across this video (click here to view) while doing some research on the three Royal courses in North West England.

My Granddad, Willie Aitchison, can be seen caddying for Roberto Di Vicenzo in the 1967 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.  I recall him telling me the story about this being the last time the Open was won without the use of yardages and all distances were measured by eye.  These were the days when good caddies were worth their weight in gold!  This was Di Vicenzo’s first and only Major Championship victory, but the first of 3 which my Granddad won as a caddie.  The other 2 victories were with Lee Trevino at Royal Birkdale in 1971 and at Muirfield in 1972.

By Gary Sheppard.  Gary has been with PerryGolf for over 4 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

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Colin Montgomerie’s European team triumphs again

PerryGolf Staff

Colin Montgomerie guided Europe to another victory, this time in the Royal Trophy, which is an event played against some of the best players from Asia.  In a similar format to the Ryder Cup, the Asian team led 6-2 going into the final day’s singles with 8.5 points required for victory.  Monty’s team, having been outplayed over the first two days, rallied to win the singles 7-1 and take the overall victory 9-7.

Monty sympathised with the heartbroken Asian captain, Joe Ozaki, comparing it to the similar comeback his team were on the wrong end of at Brookline in 1999, saying “That ranks as easily my worst Ryder Cup experience, because quite apart from the bad feeling and the crowd problems there, it was a horrible feeling to see such a big lead slip away, so I know how the Asian players will be feeling at the moment, but the important thing is how they react to this defeat. We lost the first six matches, all by big margins, so that was very tough to take.”

Despite many of Europe’s best players not taking part, big names such as Henrik Stenson, Matteo Manassero and Peter Hanson opted out, and with the drama that unfolded capturing an enthralled audience, the event is sure to grow and grow, especially with the quality of golfers coming from Asia improving year after year.

By Keith Baird.  Keith has been with PerryGolf for over 10 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.

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