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Get it in the Fairway

Sep. 16, 2004     By     Comments (0)

Get the ball in the fairway on tight holes to lower your scoring.

On tight holes, get the ball into the fairway. Let's pretend that hole #4 at your club is a 450 yard hole with water right and OB left. You could hit driver or 3W, but if you hit into trouble even 50% of the time you may be better off playing 5I, 5I, PW and leaving yourself two putts for bogey - a far better average than triple, bogey, par, triple, quadruple, bogey, double. Get the ball in the fairway off the tee, and keep the ball there to score well on psych-out holes.

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Mickelson Skips Practice

Sep. 16, 2004     By     Comments (0)

Phil Mickelson skipped Wednesday's Ryder Cup practice.

phil_mickelson_callawayPhil Mickelson, world #4, skipped Wednesday's practice. Mickelson told Sutton that he always rests the Wednesday before a major, and that he considers the Ryder Cup to be a major. Said Sutton: "Absolutely, don't change your routine. You do what you have to do."

Euro captain Bernhard Langer responded "I don't know of any of my guys who would take a whole day off before a big competition." Langer was not asked the follow-up question "how many of your players have won a major?"

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Hal to Tiger: This Means Something!

Sep. 16, 2004     By     Comments (0)

Hal reminds Tiger that his Ryder Cup record will be used to judge him.

Hal Sutton has issued a challenge to the world's best golfer in the Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods. Woods' 5-8-2 record is hardly on par with his typical level of play, and doesn't come close to mirroring his success in other match play championships such as the US Amateur.

Sutton emphasized to Tiger that, like it or not, his Ryder Cup record will be used to judge him in the future. Tiger responded, at a press conference, by saying "I'm sure all of you guys probably know what Jack's record is in the Ryder Cup, right?" he said, looking around a crowded room and getting no takers. "Anybody? No?" (Nicklaus was 17-8-3.)

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Solid Base = Solid Pitch Shots

Sep. 15, 2004     By     Comments (0)

Keep your lower body quiet to hit solid pitch shots.

Setup is vital when faced with a pitch shot. The clubface and your body should be set up slightly open. Play the ball in the middle of your stance and put your weight on your front side (left side for righties). The pitch is a mini-swing as far as hand and shoulder action goes, but keep your lower body quiet and your weight forward. Quiet, it should be noted, does not mean "absolutely still."

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Tiger Poised For Comeback?

Sep. 14, 2004     By     Comments (0)

Reports surface that Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren have called off their engagement.

I've been saying that for the last few years Tiger Wood's golf game directly correlates to his love life. The minute he got himself a nice little blonde (Elin Nordegren) his golf game began to suffer. Since he started dating Elin three years ago, how many majors has he won? His game became worse once he proposed 10 months ago, barely making it to the weekend on several occasions. Needless to say, I was quite surprised at his impressive finish at the recent Deutsche Bank Championship. Now I know the reason for his good showing; reports have surfaced that he and his fiancée have called off their engagement! Now that Tiger can concentrate on his game again (instead of what china pattern to choose) will we see the return of the Champion?

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Ryder Cup Four-Ball Importance

Sep. 14, 2004     By     Comments (1)

The Ryder Cup is won - and lost - in the 4-Ball matches.

It's often said that Americans have an advantage in the singles matches, but give it right back in foursomes and four-balls. Let's have a look at the statistics since 1983:

  Ryder Cup Performance, 1983-2002
                 Europe         USA
Wins               5             4
Matches          123           116  
Points           143.5         136.5
Foursomes         39.5          39.5
Four-Balls        49            32
Singles           55            65

The US is seven (7) points behind in the grand total, but seventeen in four-ball. Dead even in foursomes, the US hasn't overcome the devastating four-ball performance with only a ten-point advantage in the singles matches.

Sunday may be the most exciting day of the competition, but the Ryder Cup has - at least in the past twenty years - been decided in the Friday and Saturday morning four-ball matches.

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Grip Second in Greenside Bunkers

Sep. 14, 2004     By     Comments (0)

Take your grip after your stance when facing greenside bunker shots.

Many amateurs take too much sand from greenside bunkers, shoving their sand wedge deep into the sand. A fat sand shot, they've no doubt learned, is better than thinning it 40 yards over the green. The problem is not typically a matter of tactic (who has trouble hitting a shot fat on purpose?), but of setup.

The key to using the bounce that God (or Titleist, Cleveland, Ping, etc.) gave you is setting up left of the hole (for righties), aiming the clubface at the hole or slightly right, and then taking your grip. Opening the face of the club increases the bounce on your wedge. You can still slam the club down into the sand pretty hard, but with the increased bounce, it should exit the sand a little easier.

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A Consistent Pre-shot Routine

Sep. 13, 2004     By     Comments (3)

A consistent pre-shot routine helps to establish a rhythm and keeps your mind from worrying about the small stuff.

One of the things drilled into us in a series of swing classes I took over the past year is having a consistent pre-shot routine. Whether it be a cartwheel, two claps, address the ball and swing or stand behind the ball, hike up your pants, take your stance, waggle 40 times then swing, it should be the same every time. After a while, you stop worrying about things like standing too far away from the ball, position of the ball in your stance, etc. Those things will come naturally with a good pre-shot routine. Need a good example? Watch Mike Weir. That little pre-swing swing isn't for his health.

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Ryder Cup: $100 Million for Detroit

Sep. 13, 2004     By     Comments (0)

The Ryder Cup means as much, financially, as the Super Bowl.

The Detroit News is reporting that the Ryder Cup will pump approximately $100,000,000 into the Detroit economy through hotels, bars, restaurants, caterers, limo services, and more. The article states that the Ryder Cup could bring nearly as much money to the area as the Super Bowl.

Michigan intends to capitalize:

In addition to the tourism dollars it draws, the Ryder Cup provides an opportunity for business deal-making and relationship building. The state convention bureau is flying in some 60 CEOs and other top corporate executives. They will be wined and dined as they watch top players from United States compete against the best from Europe.

Golf is big business, and the Ryder Cup is currently the premier event.

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