Final preparations are over. The practice rounds are done.

Had a game around The Australian Golf Club on Tuesday. Fantastic golf course. The course, which is Australia's oldest golf club, was in great condition and played quite long.

The weather in Sydney this week has not been the best unfortunately. December 1 marked the first day of summer in Australia but alas the weather so far has been more winter than summer. Reports say it is the coldest start to a summer in the area since 1951.

While lucky enough to not have rain affect my game at The Australian Golf club on Tuesday, I wasn't so fortunate today. I had a game lined up at The Lakes Golf Club which was the recent venue for The Australian Open a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the round was a no-go because of persistent rain.

I managed to play a full round yesterday at Twin Creeks and will be heading out there again tomorrow to put some more work into my game in a final preparation for next week's Masters Tournament---weather permitting!!!

I leave for Melbourne on Sunday and get a nice bed at Mum & Dad's house, which will make things comfortable.

The game has been in good shape, so I am just refining things and getting as much match practice as I can by getting out and playing holes.

Australian golf events have betting odds for winners and places...which is always fun. I have bet on myself to win the Masters event on three different occasions.

1993- when I won at 50-1....that was a nice dividend...and more fun than receiving the winner's cheque !!

1998- when I won at 35-1...another nice dividend...

2004 at 100-1....when I was leading by 1 shot with one hole to play and unfortunately made a mess of the 72nd hole to finish one shot out of the 3 way playoff and end up in 4th place

So 2 win out of 3 'bets' and a near miss....

This year I am/was posted at 500-1.....needless to say I had to have a stab at those odds... If I come through I'll buy the first round of drinks for everyone !!!!

Happy Golfing.....

Yesterday I held a clinic at Twin Creeks Golf Club in Sydney's western suburbs. The day went extremely well and the feedback from the participants was very encouraging.

We had a 2 hour session at the range talking about the golf swing and demonstrating my thoughts and beliefs about the main ingredients that we as golfers should strive for to reach our maximum potential. I ran through some drills that I use to help assist the player and showed everyone the importance of the why and how these drills will assist them to build their golf swing.

We then adjourned for some lunch and talk before we hit the links for 9 holes. I played 3 holes with each group and offered some extra pointers on the way around. I was pleasantly surprised how well the participants understood and accepted my thoughts and put them into their game immediately.

I believe if a golfer is armed with the right information and a practical way to pursue it then vast improvement is right around the corner. I look forward to hearing back from the attendees in the future and hear their stories about the work they are doing to better themselves.

The weather in Sydney has been marginal since my arrival, but yesterday turned out to be quite nice for the clinic and our golf, so that was a great sign and stroke of luck that we were presented with such conditions.

Today the sun is hiding behind the grey clouds but that won't stop myself and my caddie heading out to play The Australian Golf Club. This course south of the city was re-designed in the mid 70's by none other than Jack Nicklaus and is a great test of golf. It has been the venue of many Australian Open Championships and should offer a great warm up round for me to continue my progress for a tilt at the title again in next week's Australian Masters in Melbourne.

I hope everyone is enjoying their golf no matter where they are in the world.....I will add more in a few days time.

So those of you who have read my previous post now have a good idea of how to choose the appropriate club off the tee to keep yourself out of trouble.  In this segment, we will talk about those same principles as they apply to shots into the green.  Since greens are much smaller targets than fairways, and our goal shifts more towards hitting the ball close to the pin, club selection takes on an even higher level of importance.  Your club selection into the green will often determine whether you make birdie or bogey.

I was out playing golf with one of my friends from my golf club in South Carolina about 3 months ago. I really hadn't been playing much because of my work and teaching. My friend said "You are playing so well, you need to go play some tournaments"... to which I replied.."I would love to to but by not playing the past few years I don't have any status anywhere now. The only tournament I could probably get in would be The Australian Masters because I have won it"..... His response was.."Well let's go. I have always wanted to go to Australia. I will come down and caddie and you can play an event again and see how your game shapes up".

Today I set off for Australia to compete in The Australian Masters Tournament.

The Masters is one of my favourite events and has been very kind to me.

I won the event in 1993 and in 1998 as well as having a runner-up finish in 1996 and a 4th place finish in 1992 and 2004

I look forward to keeping the 'Dirters' up to progress with my quest for a 3rd title on December 15-18 at Victoria GC in Melbourne.

I will give some thoughts and upload some pictures and videos so you guys & gals can get an up close and personal look at the lead up and playing of a professional event.

Hope you enjoy and stay tuned!!!

Arguably the most important element of good course management is having the right tool for the job. In this series, I'm going to share with you the basic fundamentals of club selection, from the teebox all the way up to the green.

But before I get into anything else, I want everyone reading to repeat this mantra: "Safe Line, Aggressive Swing." This should permeate the way you hit every shot. Choose a line and club that will give you the best chance of staying in play, and then rip it like you mean it.