Author: Erik J. Barzeski

Play it Down

Playing the ball down teaches you these things, and allows you to more easily face obstacles when they present themselves to you in tournament play.

Many golfers are tempted to play “winter rules” when inclement weather rolls around. Instead, we suggest playing the ball as it lies. Get creative – hit the shot with a little mud, or sitting down in some damp grass. Play out of the bare spot or off of the slightly soggy ground. See what you can do.

Playing the ball down teaches you these things, and allows you to more easily face obstacles when they present themselves to you in tournament play. Besides, posting a score two or three strokes over your normal score can’t hurt your handicap too much. And if this tip helps you take another five bucks from your buddies, it was worth it.

Sorenstam Loses Exempt Status

Swedish sensation Sorenstam earned only $29,643 in her 7th year on tour, with 0 top-10s in 22 tournaments. What happened? Oh, we were looking at the wrong Sorenstam.

Swedish sensation Sorenstam earned only $29,643 in her 7th year on tour, with 0 top-10s in 22 tournaments. Coach Henri Ries says “I don’t know what happened, she’s a talented player.” She did well at the University of Arizona.

Indeed Charlotta Sorenstam is talented, but apparently not as talented as her older sister. Charlotta finished 139th on the money list and is now non-exempt on the LPGA Tour.

By the by, here’s another impressive statistic for the Sorenstam elder: 18 starts, 8 victories, and 16 top-10s. ESPN may be able to compare Annika and Tiger’s last five years, but Tiger’s 2004 can’t hold a candle to Annika’s sweltering season.

Skins Game Returns to Thanksgiving Weekend

Fred Couples, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, and Annika Sorenstam tee it up this year in Palm Beach for this year’s Skins Game.

Skins GameDefending champ Fred Couples will make a record-setting 11th appearance in the 22nd Skins Game this year. Sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Freddie will compete against Tiger Woods (5th), Adam Scott (1st), and Annika Sorenstam (2nd).

The first nine holes will be played this Saturday at 1pm ET and the holes will be played Sunday at 11:30am ET. ABC will broadcast the event from 4:30-7pm ET on Saturday and 3:30-6pm on Sunday. The $1 million purse is split into $25,000 for holes 1-6, $50,000 for holes 7-12, and $70,000 for holes 13-17. The 18th hole is worth $200,000 itself. Players will donate 20% of their earnings to charity.

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Winter Fitness

Heading into winter? Exercise, ya lazy fool!

Golf FitnessGolfers in many parts of the world are about to be hit – or have already been hit – by a plague collectively known as “winter.” Winter golf is what it is: if you live near an indoor driving range, you can hit balls. You can watch golf on TV, you can swing in your basement, and you can putt on your living room carpet. But what if you want to stay fit?

The Sand Trap .com will soon be reviewing the Golf Fitness Guide. We’re impressed with the virtual weight of the eBook: 240 pages. If you are looking for a fitness program to keep your game in shape through the snowdrifts of winter, you may want to check out the ebook. Or wait for our review in a week or two… Or try golf pilates, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Thanks, Aaron.

What’s Your Handicap?

How do you figure out your golf handicap?

Wizard Of Id HandicapWhat’s your handicap? If the king asks, don’t answer!

History
In the early 20th century, the United States Golf Association (USGA) introduced a handicap system aimed at allowing players of all skill levels to compete against one another. In other words, and theoretically, the handicap system allows a player who has trouble breaking 90 to compete against Tiger Woods. This is done by granting the weaker player “strokes.” On tough holes, the less skilled player is allowed to take a stroke (or more) off of his score.

The USGA handicapping system was fitted in the 1980s with a new gadget: the “slope rating.” The slope rating aimed to level the playing field (pun intended) by accounting for the relative difficulty of different courses. Thus, handicapping involves three numbers: your score, the course rating, and the slope rating.

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Cold-Weather Balls

Change out your regular balls when the weather gets chilly.

You may beat around a bunch of Pro V1x’s all summer, but come fall and winter, the chill in the air gets a little more pronounced. Cold-weather golf is a different beast: more clothes restrict turn and speed, colder temperatures affect the physics of golf balls (flight, compression, etc.). Greens are either softer or harder (depending on the area in which you live).

In particularly cold weather, you may want to sacrifice your pride and play a lady’s ball. The Precept Lady is a fine choice, and long the favorite of decent amateur players.

Regrip

You’ve only got one grip per club. Take care of it!

GripsTake care of your grips. They’re your only link to the club.

  • Change your grips out about once every year or two.
  • To keep your grips feeling tacky, spray them down every few rounds with Windex or similar cleaner, wipe dry.
  • During a round, wipe your grips prior to playing a shot.
  • Keep an eye on your grips for wear patterns that indicate problems in your swing.
  • Pay careful attention to the thickness of your grips – thinner grips promote more hand action, thicker ones less.

We recommends grips from Winn Grips or Golf Pride. Professionals can install grips for about $5/grip, grip cost included.

Woods Wins in Japan’s Dunlop Phoenix

Tiger Woods entered the last round of the Dunlop Phoenix ten strokes ahead. To say he was going to win was a foregone conclusion is an understatement of Woods-ian proportions.

TigerHe hasn’t won since February. He’s slumping, he’s hurting, he’s got a DVD, and he’s… got a ball and chain. Tiger Woods folks, the former World Number One, has won a tournament! Granted, it was against a no-name field in Japan, but he won by eight.

Woods shot a final-round 67 (3-under) to win the Dunlop Phoenix by eight, his first win since the Accenture Match Play Championship in February and his first ever win in Japan. Woods, finishing at 16-under 264, beat second-place finisher Ryoken Kawagishi, who bravely fired a final-round 65. K.J. Choi also fired a 65 to finish at 6-under 274. Woods’ last stroke-play victory was in October 2003.

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Annika Again in the ADT

Annika Sorenstam bogeyed the first hole of sudden death but hung on to beat Cristie Kerr for her eighth/tenth win of the year.

AnnikaHo hum. Annika Sorenstam wins another tournament. It’s become old news, as we said two days ago when she built a one-shot lead after the second round of play. After Cristie Kerr forced a playoff with a 4-under 68, Annika bogeyed the first hole of sudden death to beat Kerr’s double bogey from a splashed-down approach.

Sorenstam made it interesting, yanking her own 7-iron approach into the spectators, but two-putted from eight feet for the win. “It wasn’t as pretty as the previous holes,” Sorenstam said. “A win is a win. By the end of the day, the trophy is in my hand. I’m happy.”

The victory marks Sorenstam’s 56th career win and into fifth all time. She’s now also the first three-time winner of the LPGA’s season-ending championship.

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