timwalsh300

I don't know about Nicklaus, Palmer, or Player, but here is a passage from Mark Frost's book, The Grand Slam - a Bobby Jones biography... Sound familiar? Tim

Unfortunately I can't help you. I don't work in "corporate America." Actually, my degree is in computer science as well. I enjoyed it quite a bit in school, but I don't know how happy I would be as a software engineer over the long-term. To be honest, "Office Space" scared me away. It might depend on where you work. I've never heard anything good about working for a company like Microsoft (as an entry-level programmer in the 21st century, I mean), but I know others who went to work for Google and Apple and love it. In general I think most happy people do as you mentioned: They just try to get a job that provides the money, benefits, and freedom to pursue what they really love to do (be with family, travel, play golf, etc.). Their happiness doesn't necessarily come from their work. And that might be true across the board, to even include professional athletes (just ask Boo Weekley). Tim

Except high school only lasts 4 years. Your "soul sucking professional life" lasts a lot longer, so hopefully you can set yourself up with a career that doesn't suck so bad. To each his own, I guess. You'd probably consider me a "stiff" but I have no regrets. So far I'm enjoying the path I've chosen, settling down and taking on a lot of responsibility at a relatively young age. I'll still have stories to tell about being 25 years old - they will just be of a different variety. Tim

Looking back on high school, I wish that I just didn't spend any time worrying about "the social order" or anything like that. I didn't figure it out until sometime during my junior year. Forget about "cool" or "uncool." Just do what you have to do to be successful (i.e. school work). Find yourself some other hardworking classmates and help keep each other on track. You'll make some quality friends by accident along the way. Stay away from people who will distract you from what is important or get you into trouble. If you want to sit by yourself in the cafeteria to get some work done, do it. I know that sounds insane to a 14 year-old kid ( Be the loser that sits alone in the cafeteria!?! ), but it actually demonstrates more maturity and self-confidence than anything else (i.e. that you aren't in desperate need of the approval of "the group"). Anyway, eventually people grow up and a lot of the cliques break down. Some of the girls who were "hot" turn into repugnant hussies. Some of the girls who were "dorks" turn into stunningly attractive, fine young women headed off to Ivy League universities. A few years after high school very few of the "cool kids" will rate as the most successful people from your class. Just try to lengthen your horizon. Think about where you want to be in 5-10 years rather than getting wrapped up in the day-to-day soap opera because none of that matters in the end. Tim

As I alluded to in my last post, people typically confuse "middle of the strike zone" for "high." MLB umpires will usually not call a strike on a pitch above the belly button ("high"), so pitchers are forced to keep the ball at the knees. Therefore, when an MLB pitcher "misses high" it usually means that he threw the pitch at the belt ("middle of the strike zone"). I have never advocated throwing a pitch in the middle of the strike zone. In any case, my pet peeve has more to do with baseball announcers who automatically say that "the pitch was left up in the zone" whenever someone gets a hit - even it the pitch was really at the knees. Tim

How do you know what I don't know? Since you brought it up: I didn't play college but I've played in a summer league for the last few years with a number of guys fresh out of college (all division III but college nonetheless). I am basing my opinion on experience too (i.e. I had a really hard time with high fastballs). Ok, "bud," what statistics are you looking at? First you question my sample size and then you turn around and carelessly use words like "statistically" and "percentage" to try to make your point. By all means, if you've seen reputable studies on this, show me (I've looked around and this appears wide open for research). But don't just blow smoke (Argumentum ad populum, Appeal to authority, etc.) and tell me that I'm the idiot. At least my 'theory' has some kind of quantitative data behind it. What about yours? Yes, don't confuse "belt high" ( middle of the strike zone) with " top of the strike zone" (from the belly button to the letters). I understand that umpires in many leagues will not call that a strike (thus I wouldn't recommend pitching there all day). But that is beside my point. I found that pitches in that area were hit less frequently than pitches at the knees. How many homeruns did you give up on letter-high fastballs? Tim

Both of mine come from baseball... 1. Pitching counts and pitching changes: Seeing a pitcher doing fine only to be taken out because of his "pitch count limit." Inevitably, the pitcher who relieves him promptly loses the game. Even worse is when managers bring in a guy to pitch to only one batter. Or when managers insist that a guy can't pitch more than one inning at a time. I've always said that if you try enough pitchers you'll eventually find one who is having a bad day, and he'll lose the game. 2. Announcers who always mention that the pitch was "left up in the zone" when a batter gets a hit, regardless of where the pitch actually was. Everyone is convinced that if a pitcher could just "keep the ball down" he would never lose. A few years ago I charted every pitch thrown in dozens of baseball games and found exactly the opposite to be true. Pitches at the top of the strike zone or higher were almost never hit well. Plenty of knee-high fastballs were hit into the bleachers. But who is listening? Tim

I think he's just asking if the guy made the putt or not. Tim

Yes. I couldn't believe I was playing golf everyday in January. People back in New Hampshire kept saying, "Just wait until July!" but the summer here hasn't been all that bad. I always say that on the hottest days here I at least have the option to go play - the golf courses are open. On the coldest days back in New Hampshire you can't do anything . I've even tried the heated stalls at the driving range... just a horrible experience... Tim

I moved from New Hampshire to Alabama this year and had to deal with serious heat for the first time. Initially I bought gloves (I never used them before) to help keep my grip, but I too found that they were quickly ruined or I sweat through them during the round. Now just carry a towel (like a bath towel) with me at all times. I make sure to dry my hands completely before pulling a club out of my bag and touching the grip. Then I hit the shot right away and put the club down before I start sweating all over it. Tim

These people who give the advice... it's always " You picked your head up." When they hit a bad shot it's always, "Argh... I picked my head up..." As if we could all play on the PGA Tour if we could just "keep our heads down..." I played a few holes recently with two guys who were both terrible, but one was clearly better than the other - maybe the first time ever on the golf course for the weaker guy. Every time he duffed a shot his friend said, "Come on dude, you picked your head up again." Finally he pitched one onto the green OK and his friend said, real snarky, "See, it's amazing what happens when you remember to keep your head down." I felt so bad for him. I think that worse players feel the need to do this because it reaffirms their limited and fragile understanding of how everything works. They desperately need the game to be that simple or their heads would explode. I've found this to be the case with everything. The more advanced I've become in any endeavor, the less likely I am to dispense my knowledge. I start to see how nuanced and complex everything is, and I am humbled by that. I also realize how dumping advanced knowledge on a raw beginner is ineffective. It's best to just encourage them and let them figure things out as they go at their natural pace. Tim

I thought this was interesting too. It is encouraging for someone aspiring to be a single-digit player. I said I make one every 7-10 rounds. On a good day I shoot bogey golf but my scores on each hole are remarkably consistent... lots of bogeys, a few pars, and a few doubles. Tim

Are you actually hitting a 200-yard hook in this video? Tim

I started playing this game a couple weeks ago... Find a hole that is on a slope. Place ball markers on 4 sides of it, 6-7 feet away. So you should have a downhill putt, an uphill putt, one that breaks left, and one that breaks right. Go around 4 times hitting a putt from each mark and see how many you can make. My record is 12/16. These "make-able" putts tend to hurt me the most. I'm still bad but I think I'm getting better. I used to go 18 holes without sinking anything outside of 3 feet. Now I will hit a few 5-10 footers. I have another game that includes chipping and lag putting... I design a little 9-hole course of par-2's. Sometimes I'm hitting my first shot from the green, 30 feet away. Sometimes I am hitting my first shot from the rough. If I had a practice bunker next to the green I would include that too. This can be as challenging as you want to make it. This is great if nobody else is using the practice area at the same time. The advice that I have received is to make sure that practice is as realistic as possible. Vary everything. Use only 1 ball. Keep score so there is a little bit of pressure and you have something to concentrate on. You see a lot of people doing the complete opposite of this as they just go through the motions while waiting to tee off. Tim

I'd hit a 4-iron. The odds of sticking it close are not good. But I don't care if I miss the green. I'll just be chipping from the fringe, or hitting out of the green-side bunker (from which I'm quite comfortable) with my 3rd shot. That gives me a better chance than hitting my 3rd shot from 50-100 yards (which could put me in the green-side bunker too). Worst case scenario is that I end up hitting it like a 9-iron (i.e. taking an extra shot to lay up). Tim