In this video, Ross Perrett from Thomson Perrett Golf Course Architects introduces us to the firm’s latest venture: Yarra Bend Golf.

Thomson Perrett Golf Course Architects are a well established and respected firm in the golf industry with numerous golf course design projects around the world, particularly in Asia. They are excited to join forces with Bann Lynch Golf as part of a consortium that is going to build and manage this wonderful new facility, just 4 kms from the Melbourne CBD.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will provide you with updates on the progress of this project, which will include a brilliant new floodlit driving range with up to 60 hitting bays, state of the art golf coaching academy, golf course renovations to the Yarra Bend Golf Course, a mini golf facility, wellness center, cafe and much much more.

Stay tuned for more from the Yarra Bend Golf team!

Australia’s Marcus Fraser finished an impressive week in Korea with a 4 shot victory at the Ballantines Championship on the European Tour here on Sunday. After the win, the Victorian Institute of Sport, Golf Program graduate credited a return to coach Denis McDade of Bann Lynch Golf for his win.

“…It’s all thanks to a lot of hard work back home with my coach Denis McDade…you always feel like you’re working towards something with all the practice that we do together, and its a big confidence boost this week, long overdue.”

McDade coached Fraser through the VIS Program and the early part of his professional career, when he earned his first European Tour win at the Russian Open in 2003. After a break of a few years from McDade in which he struggled with his game to the point where he contemplated quitting it altogether, Fraser decided to return to his old coach and get back to what he knew worked for him. The result is the biggest victory of his professional career to date, over a field that included major champions Ernie Els and Y.E Yang and some of the best players in the world including Henrik Stenson and Anthony Kim.

Fraser mentioned how a return to his old coach with whom he had enjoyed so much success as an amateur revitalized his game and gave him the confidence that he was on the right track:

“I had 4 wins in my first year as a professional and I expected a lot of myself…for some reason I stopped seeing him (McDade), don’t know why I did that..but it’s all water under the bridge for us now and we’re working hard to get another win.”

McDade was understandably thrilled with Fraser’s performance: “It’s just incredibly satisfying for me to see Marcus break through this way…we all know he’s got the talent to compete on this level and it was just a matter of working together to build his confidence up and keep putting himself in contention. A lot of hard work has gone into this, including via Skype this week! Absolutely over the moon.”

You can listen to the full audio clip of Marcus Fraser’s post-victory interview on the European Tour site by clicking this link:

They say you can’t win the U.S Open in one round but you can certainly lose it. On day 2 of the 2010 U.S Open Champion, South Korea’s K.J Choi made sure he avoided the latter by putting together a workmanlike round of 2 over par 73.

Choi enters the weekend at +1 tied for 10th place and just 4 shots behind leader Graeme McDowell from Northern Ireland. He mixed 2 birdies with 2 bogeys and a double bogey in his round, but all in all can’t be too displeased with his position going into Friday’s 3rd round. As many players have said this week, any score around par in a U.S Open is usually going to put you in contention come Sunday.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Stuart Appleby made the cut right on the number at +7. He was comfortably within the cut line at +5 through 15 holes of his second round before bogeying 16 and 17. Coming down the last needing a par to make the weekend, Appleby knocked his third shot into the bunker. His heart rate would have risen even higher after he left his bunker shot 5 meters from the hole. The Aussie managed to find the cup and avoid what would have been a pretty gut wrenching missed cut, especially considering his recent struggles. He goes into Saturday’s 3rd round tied for 73rd position.

It has been a tough tournament for the Bann Lynch Golf stable so far, with Choi and Appleby the only 2 to make the cut out of the 8 that started the tournament. Scores for the other 6 were:

Geoff Ogilvy +8, Arjun Atwal +8, Marc Leishman +9, Steve Allan +10, Paul Sheehan +11, Aaron Baddeley +15.

Thanks to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

A bogey-double bogey start wasn’t exactly part of K.J Choi’s game plan for the 1st round of the 2010 U.S Open being played at Pebble Beach. However, this is the U.S Open. It is as much a test of one’s patience in the face of adversity as it is a test of golfing skills.

Choi showed he had plenty to offer in both departments as he followed up his horror start with a run of 6 birdies in the next 12 holes to get to 3 under par for the day and at one point hold the outright lead. He was the hottest player on the golf course by far. However, the course fought back. 2 bogeys over his last 4 holes meant that after an up and down day, Choi finished at 1 under par 70 and tied 4th, 1 shot behind the 1st round lead set by Shaun Micheel, Paul Casey and Brendon de Jonge.

Still, on a day when some of the best players in the world struggled to get anywhere near par, Choi was very happy to finish under par in the 1st round of a U.S Open, which usually means you are in the mix.

Here is his interview after the round (courtesy of pgatour.com):

Choi, coached by Bann Lynch Golf coach Steve Bann, clearly understands that focusing on the mental and strategic aspects of his game is as important as thinking about his golf swing:

“This course it looks like is wide open fairway, but in the teeing ground, hitting before in the mindset, in the right, in the left, either way is very tough in the bunker and tough in the rough,” he said. “And it can’t stop in the bouncing, so very scared on the tee shot.”

It was a day of mixed results for the other 7 players from the Bann Lynch Golf stable competing at Pebble Beach this week. Starting on the 10th tee, Stuart Appleby (also coached by Steve Bann) recovered from a poor start much like Choi to make the turn at even par after 3 straight birdies, but gave back 2 shots on his back 9 to finish at a very respectable 2 over par 73 which left him tied for 30th position.

Former champion Geoff Ogilvy had a disappointing start to his U.S Open campaign with a 8 over par 79 that left him tied for 135th. Ogilvy had 8 bogeys and a double bogey in his round along with 2 birdies and will need to do something special on Friday to make it to the weekend, let alone be a factor on Sunday.

Other scores for Bann Lynch Golf coached players in the field:

Arjun Atwal +4 (T67), Marc Leishman +6 (T106), Steve Allan +7 (T119), Aaron Baddeley +9 (T142), Paul Sheehan +9 (T142).

Thank you to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

3 Bann Lynch Golf players played in the St.Jude Classic presented by Smith & Nephew which concluded on Sunday at the TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

Cameron Percy of Australia (coached by Darren Cole) finished tied for 25th place at -3 for the week after rounds of 70, 68, 67 and 72. Percy finished 7 shots behind eventual winner Lee Westwood of England.

Mathew Goggin (coached by Dale Lynch) finished tied for 37th place at -1 after rounds of 69, 69, 69 and 72 at the par 70 layout.

Stuart Appleby (coached by Steve Bann) shot an excellent 3 under par 67 in the second round but failed to make the cut as a first round 75 left him with too much ground to make up.

It was a bizarre end to the tournament as American Robert Garrigus seemed to have the tournament wrapped up with a 3 shot lead coming to the final tee on Sunday. Unfortunately, the pressure of chasing his first PGA Tour win seemed to get the better of him as he yanked his tee shot left into the water. He proceeded to make a mess of the hole and had to hole a 3 footer just to make triple bogey and get into a playoff with Westwood and Robert Karlsson of Sweden.

Garrigus was the first to perish in the sudden death playoff, and Westwood and Karlsson matched each other’s shaky putting until the Englishman finally holed a 6 footer to grab the title on the 4th playoff hole.

The golf world’s attention now turns to the US Open being played this week at Pebble Beach. Bann Lynch Golf has 8 players competing in this year’s event. Watch this site for up to date coverage on all our players.

Thanks to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

Aussies Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddeley were among the 15 players who have successfully qualified for the 2010 US Open from the Sectional Qualifying event in Columbus, Ohio.

The Down Under duo came through the 36 hole qualifier played at the Lakes and Brookside courses along with major winners Tom Lehman, Davis Love III and Ben Curtis.

Meanwhile, India’s Arjun Atwal has also qualified for the US Open, being played this year at Pebble Beach, by coming through qualifying in Rockville, Maryland.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this article

6 players coached by Bann Lynch Golf coaches competed at The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio which concluded on Sunday.

It was a case of what might have been for Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy who shared the lead after the 1st round thanks to a blistering 7 under par 65 which could have been even better if not for a missed 2 footer on the par 3 8th hole. Unfortunately for Ogilvy, a 77 in the second round put paid to his chances for the week.

He got back on track with a 3 under par 69 but a 4 over par 76 on Sunday meant he could only finish T41 for the week at -1, well behind England’s Justin Rose who shot a final round 66 to capture his first PGA Tour title. Still, Ogilvy is sure to take plenty of positives from his first round in which he matched his superb ball striking with deft touch on the fast greens, needing just 26 putts despite the 3 putt on hole #8. The former US Open Champion is showing some good signs heading into Pebble Beach.

Fellow Aussie Aaron Baddeley finished T47 at even par while South Korea’s KJ Choi, a former winner here, finished T52.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this post.

Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy has made a great start to his campaign at The Memorial Tournament on the US PGA Tour, firing a blistering 7 under par 65 to be tied for the lead after the 1st round.

The Bann Lynch Golf/Yarra Bend Golf team member made 8 birdies in his round against the lone bogey to share the lead with England’s Justin Rose and American Ricky Fowler.

Ogilvy seems to have carried into this week the positive momentum from his final round at last week’s Crowne Plaza Invitational where he shot a 6 under par 64 in the final round to vault up the leader board and finish T13. His putting was the key stat, as he needed just 26 putts in his round (T8 in that category).

With the US Open at Pebble Beach approaching, the return to form bodes well for former champion Ogilvy who has had a bit of a quiet season since his win at the opening event in Hawaii. At The Memorial however, Ogilvy is once again displaying his knack for playing well in tournaments with strong fields (the field includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and some of the top ranked players in the world).

“I’m happy the way I’m hitting the ball.” said Ogilvy. “I hit the ball great last week. I hit the ball great really since Augusta. And I feel like it’s been on the improve. So that’s nice.”

KJ Choi was the best of the other Bann Lynch Golf players, shooting a 3 under par 69 to be tied for 16th place. Having finished 4th at this year’s Masters, Choi is looking to peak at the right time once again for the US Open at Pebble Beach and get that first major.

Scores for other Bann Lynch Golf/Yarra Bend Golf players: Aaron Baddeley -1 (T34), Stuart Appleby +1 (T67), Mat Goggin +1 (T67), Marc Leishman +4 (T109).

Bann Lynch Golf players K.J Choi of South Korea and Geoff Ogilvy of Australia can both take plenty of positives from their respective performances in the US PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational which concluded today at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Choi and Ogilvy both finished in a tie for 13th along with 7 other players at 12 under par, 9 shots behind winner Zach Johnson of the United States.

Choi and Ogilvy are coached by International Institute of Golf co-Directors Steve Bann and Dale Lynch respectively.

Yarra Bend Golf team member Ogilvy followed rounds of 70, 67 and 67 with a blistering final round 64 on the par 70 layout to vault up the leader board. He made 6 birdies against no bogeys and this performance will surely give the 2006 US Open Champion plenty of confidence with the 2010 event just a few weeks away.

While Ogilvy shot a stellar final round, Choi can probably lay claim to the strangest round of the week- his 66 on Saturday is probably one round of golf he won’t forget for a while. The South Korean birdied 3 of his first 4 holes, then recovered from a bogey on the 5th with a stunning eagle on the par 4 6th. He parred into the turn to score 4 under par 31 for the front 9. K.J then caught fire again birdieing 4 of the next 5 holes to get it to 8 under for the round. After parring 15 through 17, Choi teed off on the 18th hole tied for the lead with Bryce Molder at 14 under par and needing a birdie to match the course record.

That’s when it all went wrong.

After hitting his tee shot into the left rough, KJ couldn’t get it out on his first attempt, and then compounded his problems by hitting the next one into the water next to the green. After dropping, it took him 3 attempts with the wedge to get it onto the green and he had to make an 8 footer for a quadruple bogey 8 that left him with a 4 under par 66 which while impressive could have been so much better.

Still, both Ogilvy and Choi have shown some very encouraging signs this week that their games are peaking at the right time for the second major of the year. The US Open will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links from June 17-20.

Thanks to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

Cameron Percy & coach Darren Cole

Note: We previously reported that Cameron Percy had qualified for the US Open. He has in fact qualified for the British Open Championship. We apologize for this error.

Australia’s Cameron Percy has qualified for the 2010 Open Championship by defeating Charley Hoffman and Bubba Watson in a playoff at the qualifier in Texas.

Percy birdied the third playoff hole to defeat the American duo and grab the final spot available from the qualifying event being played at the Gleneagles Golf Club in Plano, Texas.

It will be Percy’s 2nd start in a major championship, having previously competed in the 2003 Open Championship where he missed the cut.

Having earned his PGA Tour card after a stellar 2009 season on the Nationwide Tour where he finished 8th on the money list, Percy is still finding his feet on the big stage with 5 of 12 cuts made this season and one top 25 finish to his name.

Playing in his second major should be a huge boost for the Aussie who is coached by Bann Lynch Golf coach and Yarra Bend Golf team member Darren Cole.

It has been a good week of qualifying for the Bann Lynch Golf/Yarra Bend Golf stable with Paul Sheehan (coached by Denis McDade) qualifying for the US Open Championship via the qualifying event in Japan.