The most important lesson for amateur golfers should be that fitness is crucial for every player, regardless of their skill level. While being in good shape is absolutely indispensable for the pros on the PGA Tour, a good golf workout might be the easiest way for amateur golfers to improve quickly and noticeable.

Most of us do not have the time for a daily golf workout and if there is time for golf, we rather spend it on the range or the course than in the gym. Hence it is crucial to work out efficiently and without losing motivation after a short period of time.

I was therefore immediately excited when a friend pointed me to the website of iTrain.com. It is a company founded by a fitness expert in the Hollywood training industry and an entertainment industry executive. They have developed a fitness programm that allows users to download their personalized golf workout onto any MP3 player.

iTrain for Golf Price: $39,99 Get 10% off with promotion code TRAIN10

The ultimate virtual personal-training tool Highly motivating audio golf workout Specifically designed to improve endurance, strength and flexibility on the golf course Concentrates on training the most important “golf muscles” Combines high energy music and voice over of celebrity fitness trainers Your personal trainer on the go!

The iTrain.com golf workout is designed to develop the endurance, strength, and flexibility needed for peak performance on the golf course. It does include MP3 workouts as well as a full video (40 min – see screenshots) with various exercises for the most important “golf muscles” (lower back, abs, shoulders, harmstrings/thighs). iTrain for Golf does cost $39,99 but that seemed like a bargain compared to all the money I keep on investing in range balls, lessons, equipment etc. 

Even though the next round of golf might seem like a million years away in the cold of early January, now is definitely the best time to start. So here is my new year’s resolution: I am sure that if I can dedicate myself to this new golf workout for only two hours per week, I will be in much better shape for the start of the 2009 season.

Of course I will keep you posted on my (lack of) success with the iTrain for Golf workout – please use the comment function to let me know how you use the winter months to shape up for the new golf season.

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It is also widely known that Williams and Phil Mickelson are not best buddies. However, it came as somewhat of a surprise shock when Williams said: “I wouldn’t call Mickelson a great player, ‘cause I hate the prick”, according to the Guardian newspaper of Britain. Williams, who is enjoying a lot of spare time while his boss is recuperating from knee surgery, made the statement in front of 250 people during a charity golf event in New Zealand.

Williams later added that he has no respect for Phil Mickelson and retold a story from the 2002 US Open at Bethpage that included Mickelson’s breasts (“Hey Phil, nice tits…”).

A number of newspapers were quick to classify Williams’ comment as yet another milestone in the far-from-perfect relationship between golf superstars Woods and Mickelson. However, it became clear that Tiger Woods does in no way tolerate the remark by saying that he was “disappointed” by the comment. Tiger is good friends with his caddie and acted as William’s best man at his wedding. He is also known for being very harsh on employees who have dissappointed him.

Phil Mickelson immediately issued a statement through his management company and called the various remarks “inappropriate” and “grossly inaccurate”.

Steve Williams caddies for Tiger since 1999 and is New Zealand’s most popular and best paid athlete. He is also involved in professional speedway racing and has started a foundation for junior golfers in his native New Zealand.

Please use the comment function to let us know what you think about Steve Williams and his recent remark on Phil Mickelson. Do you think that Tiger would be well advised to fire (or at least fine) his caddie?

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

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If any or all of the above is correct then you should get in touch with us. In order to improve and extend our website we are looking for like-minded people willing to help us with www.phil-mickelson.com. As we want to publish more and more regularly articles, background information and pictures we are looking to build a team that can do so without too much work for everyone involved.

No programming or advanced internet knowledge required, we’ll provide you with an easy-to-use interface and will take care of all formatting troubles you might run into. Last but not least: Sorry, but we cannot pay you for this. This is a platform dedicated to Phil Mickelson and the game of golf – making money is not what we are here for.

Still interested? Then do not waste any time and get in touch with us at info@phil-mickelson.com. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

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Once again the players had to cope with difficult meteorological conditions: After play was suspended several times due to bad weather, most players had to play the end of their third round and the entire fourth round on Sunday.

The tournament was won by India’s Jeef Milkha Singh by a stroke over world-class players Padraig Harrington (IRE) and Ernie Els (SAF). Both Harrington and Els failed to birdie the Par-5 72nd hole and thereby missed out on a sudden-death play-off.

Despite his disappointing finish, Phil won prize money of $110,000 for his last official tournament in 2008. However, his next showing will be at the LG Skins Game, which will be held at Indian Wells Golf Resort over Thanksgiving weekend.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

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Phil did manage only one birdie (which was offset by a bogey) during the first 14 holes and a double-bogey six on the difficult 15th hole effectively ended his hopes of defending the title won twelve months ago. Mickelson’s final round 73 was by far the worst of all players in contention for the title.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia won the tournament after beating Wilson with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off. It was Garcia’s third win of the season and helped him overtake Phil in the Official World Golf Rankings. It is the first time in a long time (does anyone know exactly how long?) that Phil is positioned below number two in the world. I personally feel that the new ranking is a fair reflection of the results that both players (Mickelson and Garcia) have achieved in 2008: While Garcia managed to add a number of excellent finishes to his three victories in the US, Europe and Asia, Phil had a good but not great year (two titles on the PGA Tour) and did disappoint especially during the big events, notably the Majors and the FedEx Cup play-offs. 

Here is the new ranking (as of November 10th 2008):

I cannot remember the last time I looked at a list of the ten best players in the world and Ernie Els was not on it…

The HSBC Champions tournament had to be finished on Monday because the 2nd day of play was a complete wash-out following torrential overnight rain and a steady downpour throughout the day. While the organizers tried to play catch-up on Saturday and sent out players in groups of three off both the 1st and 10th tee, another three hours were lost due to bad weather that forced another suspension of play. The third round was therefore completed on Sunday and the top players only managed to complete a few holes before darkness ended play.

Phil will stay in Asia and end his 2008 campaign with a start at the Barclay’s Singapore Open this week. While the field won’t be quite as strong as at the HSBC Champions, players like Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott should guarantee an exciting tournament.

I will give you the complete tournament summary together with my personal review of the golf year 2008 next week. So check back on www.phil-mickelson.com or sign-up to my RSS feed.

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Mickelson will play the first two rounds with Ian Poulter (ENG) and India’s Jeev Milkha Singh. Even though there are only 67 players in the field this week (no cut) and Tiger Woods is not one of them, competition will be stiff for Phil. Among the professionals trying to take the HSBC Champions Tournament’s trophy from Phil are stars like Sergio Garcia, Robert Karlsson, Anthony Kim and Padraig Harrington.

A week later, Phil will tee it up at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore for the Barclays Singapore Open. The main reason for Phil’s presence in these two tournaments will be their main sponsors Barclays and HSBC - both companies are also two of Phil’s most important personal sponsors. However, it seems as if Phil is nowadays generally less reluctant when it comes to making the effort of playing in foreign countries. While he did only leave the PGA Tour for the British Open and the Ryder Cup during the early years of his career, he is now obviously looking to become somewhat of a global golfer and spread his wings to unknown territory in Asia and Europe.

I am really looking forward to seeing Mickelson play all over the world. Just look at players like Gary Player or Ernie Els and how popular they have become through their global presence. I am sure that Phil’s friendly character and great personality will win him even more fans overseas when they only get a chance to see him play.

Of course I will tell you all about Phil’s success in Asia in my next post – so stay with me.

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Mickelson played excellent golf all day long and held a share of the lead for a few holes before missing the fairway to the left with his drive on No. 16. His low iron shot to the green came to rest in a difficult lie on the bank of a steep bunker. After his difficult pitch barely made it to the putting surface, Mickelson’s par attempt missed and Phil wasn’t able to recover. He finished the Fed Ex Cup in 7th place, 4 spots lower than in 2007.

THE TOUR Championship was Mickelson’s last tournament on American soil in 2008. While it is certain that he won’t play in any event during the PGA Tour’s Fall Series, he is expected to tee it up in Asia before the year’s end.

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Here are the results of Phil’s games:

Listen to what Phil, Sergio Garcia and the team captains Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo had to say after the match:

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