Master Your Moneymaker

photo credit: USACE Europe District Every golfer should have at least one “go to” club in their bag.  Usually, it’s a favorite short iron club used for chipping or pitching around the green OR the putter.  Not even PGA Tour players master every club in their bag so don’t try to follow their lead unless you have 8 to 10 hours a day to practice.  Just work on, perhaps, your 8, 9, or Wedge and practice hitting every type of shot.   The club should be whichever, you feel the most comfortable and confident with.  If it happens to be your putter, all the better.  After all, we can’t all be like Jack Nicklaus who favored his 1 and 2 Irons.

Think of the people who you generally play with and notice that, no matter what their level of play, they invariably have one club that they use really well.  Figure out what your club is and turn it into your moneymaker.

Bubba Watson “The Shot!”

photo credit: pocketwiley Bubba Watson could be the best thing that happened to the game of golf in the last 10 years.  This 33 year old Floridian, who never took a lesson in his life, has now shown every hacker that ever played the game what the will to win is all about.  He accomplished this by winning the most coveted tournament in golf, The Masters.

Watson won the tournament on the second playoff hole with what is now being called “The Shot.”  He pulled his drive in the deep woods on hole No. 10.  There was no way even the best of shot-makers could get on the green from the lie that Watson had.  Watson made “The Shot” which led to his win.  He duck-hooked  his ball 40 yds. to the right, landed on the green and made two putts for the win.

It was refreshing to see this 33 year old man actually cry after his victory.  It was heart warming to see so many of his fellow players running on the green to congratulate him.  Not many players would show the kind of raw emotion that Watson displayed.

If you are an every day golfer like most, it’s a new day for you.  Big Bubba proved that you really don’t require golf lessons to be a champion.  He also proved that real men can cry and people will respect them even more for it.  He also proved that you don’t always have to say the right thing or look the right way to be accepted by your peers or fans.  Thank you Gary “Bubba” Watson for one of the most exciting finishes in the history of The Masters.  Enjoy your victory. . . you certainly deserve it !
photo credit: pocketwiley

Tiger Woods, a Navy Seal?

photo credit: familymwr Hank Haney, in his new book titled THE BIG MISS, revealed that Tiger Woods “almost gave it all up to become a Navy Seal.”  Haney said “Tiger was seriously considering becoming a Navy Seal.  I didn’t know how he’d go about it, but when we talked about it, it was clear he had a plan.”  Haney writes in an excerpt “I thought, Wow, here is Tiger basically ready to leave it all behind for a military life.”

Haney reported that Woods actually started training with elite soldiers which was like a “dry run,” for him.  Haney said that Woods spent four days of special operations training in 2004 at Fort Bragg, N.C.  ”He did two tandem parachute jumps, engaged in hand-to-hand combat exercises, went on four-mile runs wearing combat boots, and did drills in a wind tunnel,” Haney said.  ”Tiger loved it” writes Haney.

The big debate is whether this is all true or is Haney simply trying to sell more books?  Would Tiger Woods have quit at the top of his game?  Considering the way his career is going it might not have been a bad idea.  What are your thoughts?

Don’t Overswing

photo credit: Companygolflessons Most amateurs want to literally kill the ball thinking that the harder they hit it, the farther it will fly.  In some respects this is true but allow me to explain.  The PGA Tour players can hit the ball as far as they do because of their tremendous ability to time their shot.  What that simply means is that they bring all of their torque in force at one instant and that is the moment of impact.

The average player gets lucky a few times in a round and manages to come close to maximum torque at impact but this is quite uncommon.  In order to achieve your greatest distance you must forget trying to hit the ball as hard as you can and concentrate on your timing.  Coiling and uncoiling is the key.  You must uncoil your back-swing precisely at the point of impact.  It’s not how hard you swing but it IS how FAST your club hits the ball that gives you maximum distance.  Think smooth, think of your timing and don’t try to overpower your shots.

Center Line

photo credit: Tarter Time Photography The golf swing revolves around the address position.  If you address the ball properly that is 95% of hitting a good shot.

Keep in mind that during the address position you should be able to draw a straight line which flows from the top of your head pretty much to the center of your feet position.  That “centered” position should be in place when contact with the ball is made.

The word has always been “don’t move your head during the swing!”  Actually, more often than not, the head along with the rest of the body move slightly to the rear (behind the ball) during the back-swing.  The key here is to be back into the exact address position when final contact is made.

As you take the club back there is a slight movement off plane but as your right knee and right hip drive forward it should bring you back to your original address position.  You should NOT make a direct effort to accomplish this move . . . . it should happen naturally.

Visualize Your Shot

photo credit: nantucket_01 In every aspect of life you must think it in order to do it which is especially true in the game of golf.  Golf IS visualization.  Every shot should be visualized in your mind’s eye prior to addressing the ball.  PGA Professionals are masters at the art of visualization which is the primary reason they resemble walking zombies most of the time (no offense meant).

Whether it’s a drive, fairway shot or putt, study the lay of the land, the wind conditions and estimated distance.  Once you have determined the various factors that will affect your shot, visualize the ball’s flight to it’s landing zone.  If you intend to hit a fade or draw imagine the ball curving gently to the right or left while proceeding to your target.

While at the practice range visualize every shot you take.  Watching the pros, you will notice how they watch their practice shots until they come to a complete stop.  This is all part of the process of visualizing.  Using this method will shave precious strokes from your game and that’s a guarantee !

The State of Play on the PGA Tour

photo credit: zzazazz  

The year 2011 will be known as the year the PGA became an international enterprise instead of an American tradition.  

As Tiger Woods walked off the course, after missing the cut in the PGA Championship, it seemed to be an ominous sign that the PGA Tour has a serious problem.  American players no longer dominate the tour which is obviously bad for business.  Furthermore, as far as players are concerned,  there are no real glimmers of hope on the horizon.  The word “superstar” is no longer used in the world of professional golf.

The PGA Tour has lost much of it’s popularity with the literal disappearance of Tiger Woods as a competitive tour player.  During the PGA Championship television announcers tried to, once again, puff the participation of Woods in the tournament.  The wind came out of the press’  bubble as Woods missed the cut and was seen pouting as he walked to his car.  As Woods left, it seemed to be an ominous sign for the PGA Tour.  Factoid:  after two rounds, Woods was beaten by four non tour players (club professionals that had entered the tournament).

The PGA has got to do something to bring back viewers.  They’ve got to get out of their old stale mode and try something new.  New types of tournaments, perhaps match play events.  If they don’t think out of the box by trying new venues, they may lose their fan base for good.

Make no mistake, the game of golf itself is healthy it’s the PGA Tour that needs help.

Tiger Fires Caddie Steve Williams

photo credit: cliff1066™   Today, Tiger Woods announced on his web-site that he is “no longer working with Steve Williams.”  In every PGA Tournament for the past 12 years, Williams has been on the bag for Woods  The statement reads:  I want to express my deepest gratitude  to Stevie for all his help, but I think it’s time for a change.  Stevie is an outstanding caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments.  I wish him great success in the future.”

Thus far n 2011, Williams has been carrying for Adam Scott.  Woods claimed he injured his leg in the Masters which led him to drop out of The Players Championship.  Over the past year there has been tension between Williams and Woods stemming from Woods’ indiscretions with other women.  Williams was allegedly angry when he discovered Woods was having affairs with various other women while still married.  Williams said he was “shocked and dismayed” at the news.”

When the Woods scandal broke I made a claim that Tiger Woods’ career was over, I still stand by that claim !

Gimmies

photo credit: sidewalk flying   Gimmie Definition:  A putt that one player requests be conceded by another player, allowing the first player to pick up and move on as if the putt had been holed.  The word Gimmie comes from “give me.”

Have you ever asked for a Gimmie?  Of all the infractions in the game of golf the Gimmie is the most widely used. 

Usually, a Gimmie is the distance between the putter head and the putter grip.  Any put within that distance could be considered a Gimmie.  Bottom line:  Gimmies are against the rules of golf and are prohibited.

If you must use Gimmies, however, allow the distance to be only within the length of the putter’s grip.

Rory! Rory! Rory!

photo credit: Brian J. McDermott   The 2011 US Open Championship ushered in a new era on the PGA Tour.  The days of Tiger Woods' dominance over the game of golf are forever gone.  The door has opened for a new breed of young golfers led by Rory McILroy, the 2010 US Open Champion.  The “new blood” has been a long time coming and it will be a welcomed change over the preoccupation the media had with Tiger Woods.

Nearly two years ago, in a post on this blog-site, I predicted that Rory McILroy would be the new dominant force on the PGA Tour and the US Open proved my assumption.  McILroy smashed a bevy of US Open records with his brilliant 72 hole performance.  Every spectator became a part of history in watching the youngest US Open champion ever, walk down the 18th fairway to victory.

McILroy is a class act.  He respectfully removed his hat on his walk down the 18th hole.  He handed his father his trophy while saying “happy father's day Dad!”  Rory is a welcomed change over the make-believe phony persona of Tiger Woods.  It's about time kids everywhere have a new champion to look up to, someone who is the real deal and who is a proven great player.

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