Observation from Buick Open

[egehoski]

I went out to the Buick Open this morning, to watch the 2nd round. A couple of observations, that stuck with me.
1- If a man is ever thinking that he's getting pretty good at this game, he should stand and watch the PGA Tour practice tee for a while. I did this today. It's always one of my favorite things to do when I go to a tournament. I watched Ryan Palmer hit about 20 drivers in a row within 10 feet of each other at over 300+ yds. I watched Nick Watney hit about 50 bunker shots across a practice green, and I don't think he left one more than 3 or 4 ft away from the hole. Bottom line is...these guys really are THAT much better than even the best of us.

2- They can flat out bomb it. They were routinely reaching the 580 yd 16th in 2, and some were hitting hybrids or irons for their 2nd shots. I saw B. Watson bomb a drive 340 +. That's just ridiculous.

3- But the one thing I take home from these trips, is a tip I seem to forget from time to time. Tempo. They are smooth. Driver, irons, wedges, putting. They all have such a smooth tempo. It doesn't seem like they are swinging as fast as they really are, it's just smooth. Accellerating. I can come home, and seem to hit the ball better afterwards. Just by picturing it.

Anyhow, nothing real special here. No pics obviously, and nobody flipping off the hole like Poulter. But I just thought I'd share that stuff. Great time, as always.

[Dub]

Glad you had fun.

It is amazing watching these guys.

I've been fornuate enough to go to the Masters practice rounds a few times. Watching them on the range is really something indeed. Some are at a level that is almost unimaginable.

[doublesuited77]

the one thing that always impresses me is just how far in front of the ball the divots are for these guys. always 4-6 inches in front of the ball.

[Juzmi]

I was also there for the 2nd round, I seen Stephen Leaneys hole in one at the 8th. These guys are just lightyears ahead of the average golfer, it is truly amazing to watch. Im going back on Sunday and I cant wait.

[Franco!]

Have you noticed how many bad shots they hit?
Probably not.
They hit A LOT of bad ones.

[wolverine318]

Have you noticed how many bad shots they hit?

Ill assume your joking here

PGA Tour PROs are amazing. I have nothing but respect for their games.

[Richie3Jack]

One of the things I find about the tour is even the guys who are not long hitters are still "sneaky long" and can really bang one out there when they need to. I played once with Roger Tamballini (sp?) who is not a long hitter on the tour, but there were a few holes where he just blasted one a ridiculously long way.




3JACK

[golf_junkie27]

For those of you who were out there did you happen to catch Woody Austin hitting driver off the deck from the tee?

[Juzmi]

I didnt see him hit one off the deck, but on the hole I seen him on he was using a tee. I seen on the TV replay that he wasnt using one. One person I followed that impressed me quite a bit was Dustin Johnson. I had never really seen him play on TV but was told he has some real potential to be a big star. I agree now that I have seen his game.

[egehoski]

Yes, I saw Austin "teeing" it up like that. He's playing well, so I won't knock the guy. If it works, it works I guess. He is definitely a strange dude though, all around.
Juzmi, I totally agree with you on Dustin Johnson. He absolutely pummeled his tee shot on #16 Friday. He was 40 yds beyond any other ball I'd seen hit on that hole up to that point. And I sat in the "landing area" on 16 for about 2 hours.
Somebody else said something about guys being sneaky long also. Yes, I did notice that as well. Justin Leonard was one. He hit a pretty darn nice 300 yd power fade, uphill, on #12. That's pretty good for a short hitter, I'd say. Any one of us could beat that guy up, but he can still out drive 99% of us. And even though everybody knows C. Howell III hits it pretty long, he can't weigh only about 80 lbs soaking wet. He looks anorexic when you see him in person. Then he proceeds to bomb one, and you just say "How".

[TigerCurtis333]

I'm with ya on seeming to hit smoother, longer and better after just watching these guys play. After watching Tiger play 36 holes, I go to the range after disecting his swing and just watching him, and without ever thinking about it, I started turning my shoulder more because that's what I saw the "right" swing did - and now I'm hitting irons 5 or 6 yards closer on every swing. Amazing.

[Juzmi]

Well I just got back from there today. It was another great time. Poor Bubba hit such a nice second shot on 18 to then miss the putt. One thing I noticed today that Ive never paid much attention to is how low the majority of pros tee up there ball for driver. I use slightly longer than average tee size and tee the ball up quite high, but maybe lower is better?

[golfunit]

Well I just got back from there today. It was another great time. Poor Bubba hit such a nice second shot on 18 to then miss the putt. One thing I noticed today that Ive never paid much attention to is how low the majority of pros tee up there ball for driver. I use slightly longer than average tee size and tee the ball up quite high, but maybe lower is better?

I read an article by Ernie Els once, and he said that the only difference in his swing for a fade or draw is that he tees the ball lower for a fade and higher for a draw. Perhaps these guys were trying to hit a fade??