Author: Erik J. Barzeski

Bad Holes

Don’t let bad holes get you down: fight to get those strokes back on the remaining holes.

“Oh my goodness, I just quadruple bogeyed the eighth!” Good players will go one direction from here and bad players another. Bad players will assume that their round is trashed and give up. Good players will say “hey, I only have to make up three or four strokes. I’ve got ten holes to do it. That’s just a good chip, a long putt, and a pair of solid shots on that tricky par five.”

Good players don’t get down on themselves after a bad hole. Whether it helps you to think that the golf course “owes you a few” or whether you have to “fight back,” pick a winning strategy, a positive mindset, and not a negative one. You may end up playing some of your best golf.

Beer Cart Girls

Vote for your favorite beer cart girl. Win, uhhh, nothing for yourself!

beer_cart_girl.jpgI’m a nearly married man who doesn’t drink, so I’m not sure what the buzz about hot beer cart girls is. If anything, they’re just an on-course distraction and a reason for a 10-minute delay every time they circle by in their short shorts, tight shirts, and cute little hats.

I’d much rather appreciate the beer cart girls (while enjoying a nice, cold glass of milk) off of the course! And now I can: BadGolfer.com is bringing us over 100 Beer Cart Girl photos. You won’t see these images many other places, though you may want to check out beercartgirl.com. Mia R is pictured at right in, of all things, a sand trap.

Almost makes me want to order a beer. Or eighteen.

Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield passed away at the age of 82.

caddyshack.jpgRodney Dangerfield, 82, passed away today.

Dangerfield fell into a coma after undergoing heart surgery and died at 1:20pm today. Dangerfield had a heart valve replaced on August 25 at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center. He’d suffered a small stroke and some infections after the surgery, and had emerged from the coma just recently. Dangerfield is survived by his wife and two children from a previous marriage.

Rodney was known for his role in Caddyshack and many other movies, standup acts, and sketches. Mr. Dangerfield, you had our respect.

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Pause on Putts

Pausing on the backswing isn’t just for full shots. Putts benefit too!

Having trouble with your distance control on putts? Perhaps you’re rushing your putting stroke. Rushing the stroke leads to a “hit” more than a “stroke” and affects the distance control tremendously. If you’re rushing your putting stroke, concentrate on taking the putter back, pausing briefly at the end of the backswing, and making a smooth, accelerating forward stroke devoid of any “hit.”

Scotty Cameron Red X

The Scotty Cameron Red X is a premium mallet putter. Will it help you make more putts?

front-bottom.jpgI’ve spent over a decade playing with an old Ray Cook M1-X putter. A mallet putter made popular by Nick Price and a few others many moons ago, it has served me well but has felt rather “dead” lately. The grip has become slick and hard and the top of the club had distracting little nicks in the soft metal.

The quest for its replacement began and ended with the Red X mallet from Scotty Cameron (and Titleist).

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US World Cup Team Announced

The 2004 US World Cup team: Scott Verplank and Bob Tway.

The US World Cup team has been announced: Scott Verplank and Bob Tway will team together November 18-21 in Seville, Spain. Scott Verplank, the #21 player in the world, waited for six years for this chance and is the highest ranked American who accepted the invitation to play in this two-man-teams 24-country competition. Nine players above Verplank, including Tiger Woods and Todd Hamilton, declined to play.

Verplank and Tway are best friends and neighbords at Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. This is the first year the qualifying player has been allowed to choose his teammate so long as the teammate is in the top 100 in the world. Said Verplank, “we should make a good team” before adding “I doubt we’ll sell many tickets.”

Levi Wins Constellation Energy Classic

Wayne Levi holds off a charging Hale Irwin to capture his second Champions Tour title.

wayne_levi.jpgWayne Levi, 52, carded a second straight round of 68 (-4) to win the Constellation Energy Classic. Levi led wire to wire to beat Hale Irwin by two strokes, finishing at -16 (200).

Irwin lead a charge, shooting an 8-under 64, and Rodger Davis took third place at -13. Fan favorite Jim Thorpe and the plodding Graham Marsh finished another stroke back at 204.

This is Levi’s second Champions Tour title, having previously won the 3M in August, 2003.

Levi Strauss and Company was unavailable for comment.

Hit the Logo

Imagine hitting your ball’s logo from the tee to better your scores.

On tee shots, I employ a simple technique to avoid coming at the ball from over the top or from the outside. I place the logo of the ball on the rear inside quadrant and above the midpoint (so that I can see it). Then, I try to “hit the logo.”

Obviously, a hit from 45° inside would result in horrible ball flight, but you’d have to be a contortionist or have a very peculiar swing to actually hit the logo. Instead, trying to hit the logo forces a swing from the inside, more on plane. If you’re hitting a shot that starts straight and slices, give this a try and you may soon be hitting a nice solid draw off the tee.