4th August My flight to Reno arrived Monday afternoon, after picking up my car and checking into the hotel it was early evening. I went out to grab some food and turned in early. Reno is a smaller version of Las Vegas, with casinos and shows going on everywhere and it really gets going when the sun goes down. Its also similar to Vegas with the weather, it was mid 90's when I arrived and stayed hot. Read More...
28th July I arrived late on Sunday night after a delayed flight, I got to my hotel around one o'clock in the morning and went straight to bed. I found out that the weather had been very wet and due to this the course was closed on Monday, which I have never known. Monday was a quiet day and a chance to recover from a long journey. Read More...
21st July I played the Monday Pro-Am on the tournament course Brown Deer Park and had a great day. Its always nice when you get good partners to play with, it makes the day very enjoyable, hopefully our group all had fun too. The course was a public course, unfortunately the rough was a bit patchy so similar shots were getting very different lies! Read More...
14th July I arrived in Moline near Chicago on Friday after a long drive from Detroit and had a lazy weekend. I was at the course early on Monday morning, I played nine holes, the weather was warm and humid, and there were loads of midgeys everywhere, they were very annoying until a greenkeeper told us to use vanilla extract... a trip to Walmart that afternoon did the trick and we didnt get bothered again all week! Read More...
30th June I didn't manage to win a spot at this year's Open Championship in my qualifying event at TPC Michigan on Monday. I played with Scott Hend and Camilo Villegas, both were good fun to play with, the weather was cold and windy and as a result the course played considerably harder than it had for my practice round the previous week. Read More...
23rd June We played this weeks event at Warwick Hills G & CC in Grand Blanc about an hour from Detroit in Michigan. It was the 50th Buick Open and to commemorate it they had vintage cars around the course. Read More...
16th June This week we played another TPC (Tournament Players Club) course, these are courses that are affiliated with the PGA Tour throughout America. It was a par 70 which was different as we usually play courses that are par 72. I played the back nine holes on Monday morning and then practised for most of the day. I played the front nine on Tuesday morning and practised again after some food. Read More...
9nd June This week I played golf with some friends at Matfen and enjoyed catching up with them, however the weather has been inconsistent and quite wet so not ideal for practice. I also spent some extra time with my Mam as it was her birthday. Read More...
2nd June I am enjoying my time at home but am starting to get restless to get playing again. I have been practising and had a lesson with my coach John Harrison during the week, and have a number of games arranged for this coming week to get myself sharpened up to go back to the US. Read More...
26th May I arrived in Manchester 40 minutes early, which was a first and sailed through immigration and baggage claim. The drive home was quiet and I arrived home by lunchtime on Monday. The most alarming thing I had to deal with was when I filled my car with diesel and it was £120 to fill it!!! Read More...
19th May After a relatively lazy week I was ready to get going this week. I went to the course to practice on Monday but ended up getting very little accomplished as the wind was blowing around 30 mph and it was cold. The locker room was nice and comfortable and the attendants were really friendly and welcoming. Read More...
12th May I would like to thank everyone who has replied so quickly to their invitation to play in the Ferrie Foundation golf day in September, the support from both the amateur teams and pros has been great. Read More...
5th May It makes a nice change to play an old fashioned golf course rather than the resort styles that seem to be taking over. The greens at Quail Hollow are hard and fast, and it has the look and feel of a US Open course. There were big crowds all week, I signed lots of autographs and there were masses of children watching, which is always a nice to see. Read More...
27th April We were at the TPC Four Season Resort Las Colinas in Irving, which is close to Dallas in Texas for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship this week. The course has been newly renovated by tour player D A Weibring, he has changed every hole on the course, every week is a new course for me so it was nice to see everyone else working really hard to prepare rather than using the previous years notes. Read More...
20th April I received a phone call on Monday afternoon to tell me that I was in the Verizon Classic at Hilton Head as seven players had withdrawn since the closing date on the previous Friday at 6pm. I made the decision not to fly back as I would have not got to the course until Wednesday and I wouldn't have been able to play a practice round as there was a Pro-Am on the course all day. Read More...
13th April I arrived home a little late as the snow in London had delayed my flight, but all of my bags arrived and I drove up to Newcastle without any traffic delays. It was great to finally get home and spend some time in my own house. Read More...
6th April My caddie Ron took this week off so Tony worked for me, I first met him when he worked for Shaun Micheel, when I played with him and Ted Purdy at the US Open at Winged Foot in 2006 and coincidentally I played with him last week in a practice round when he was working for Brenden Pappas in New Orleans. Read More...
30th March My day of travelling on Monday was a nightmare from start to finish. Both of my flights were delayed so I arrived in New Orleans over four hours late. To make matters worse when I arrived my golf clubs hadn't, and as I reported the missing bag to the airline my courtesy car left without me. Read More...
24th March I arrived into San Juan airport on Sunday afternoon, our first adventure was to get 8 people and baggage into three cars for the half hour drive out to the resort, we managed and made it to the hotel. I had enjoyed the flight, on a low cost airline that has live TV channels over main land America, so for half of the flight I was able to watch the final round at Bay Hill, shame it cut off as it got interesting. Read More...
17th March I enjoyed a couple of days relaxing in Lakeland and eventually got around to buying a US mobile or should I say cell phone, more so that people can call me over here rather than me making calls. Read More...
10th March I arrived at the Innisbrook resort south of Tampa Bay on Monday afternoon. I was staying onsite again, it is a big complex, it has 72 holes of golf on four championship courses, 28 lodges with 600 guest suites all privately owned and are hired out when the owners aren't here, swimming pools, tennis courts and a wildlife preserve. Read More...
3rd March I was glad to have made my connecting flight in Charlotte and made it to Fort Lauderdale on time, we were collected by a driver with our Honda car for the week. Read More...
26th February Thankfully, tour representatives met us when we arrived on Sunday, as the immigration hall was so full you couldn't get off the escalator. We flew through and then had to wait for our bags before being shuttled to the hotel. We stayed at the Fairmont Mayakoba onsite this week, it is very impressive the course surrounds the hotel and villa complex and some holes are next to the beach and the ocean.. Read More...
18th February I played with Richard S Johnson and Ted Purdy in the Northern Trust Monday qualifier at Industry Hills on Monday, my round of 4 under wasn't low enough to get to play in the event, the course was hilly enough for Bambi to have to use the pencil bag. I drove back to San Francisco after I had finished playing to revisit Alcatraz with my friend John, I couldn't believe how much warmer it was from when I was there 10 days ago. We had a great day visiting the sites and shopping. Read More...
11th February The weather started the week like home, cold and damp but there was some sunshine to brighten things up a little by the end. The week is famous for being cold and Titleist came prepared, giving new waterproof jackets to their players, I also collected my new bag, which I had been waiting to be logoed. While I was on the van I had my clubs regripped, Golf Pride have a new range of colours so I opted for the sky blue ones. Read More...
3rd February I got to my hotel room at 3am on Monday morning after our delay at San Diego airport and I was pleased to get into bed. The Monday qualifying tournament tee times were put back two hours to allow the course to drain, some parts were so wet that we had to be shuttled across paths as the water was so deep. Read More...
28th January After arriving into San Diego on Monday, I played the waiting game to see whether I would get a chance to play in the Buick Championship. I played a practice round on the South course first thing on Tuesday morning and after some lunch I played five holes on the North course. Read More...
19th January I left Hawaii thoroughly disappointed that I hadn't been able to play over the weekend due to my bout of food poisoning, it just goes to show that you can do all the right things, be in a great position and you are still reliant on outside factors. Read More...
8th January We arrived in Florida on New Years day to chilly weather as a cold snap went through town, although it was still considerably warmer than home where there was snow. I played a couple of games one was with some of the members who are convinced any success I have will be because of their advice, the main thing they teach me each time I play is how to laugh. Read More...