Author: Erik J. Barzeski

Hal to Tiger: This Means Something!

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

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.”

Ryder Cup Four-Ball Importance

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.

Grip Second in Greenside Bunkers

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.

Ryder Cup: $100 Million for Detroit

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.

Warm Up

Warm up and score better. It’s that simple.

Arrive at the course early. Stretch. Hit some putts, and then some chips. Move to the driving range and hit some soft pitch shots, progressing into full swings. Finish with your driver and/or the club you plan to use on the first tee. Move back to the putting green, stretch, and practice your putting a little more. It’ll relax you for your first tee shot anyway.

But warm up properly. It’ll save you five strokes a round… probably on the first three holes.

Weir Leads Canadian Open

Mike Weir leads his native Canadian championship going into Sunday. Can he bring home the bacon?

mike_weir.jpgCanadian native Mike Weir leads his country’s championship by three strokes over Cliff Kresage and the world’s number-one golfer, Vijay Singh. There are eleven golfers within six strokes of Weir going into Sunday’s final round, including Jesper Parnevik (-7), Stewart Cink (-4), and Bill Haas (-4).

               Today    1   2   3   4  Total  To Par
Mike Weir      1:40ET  68  65  70   -   203     -10
Cliff Kresge   1:40ET  69  70  67   -   206     - 7
Vijay Singh    1:30ET  68  66  72   -   206     - 7

This week also marks the second consecutive week in which David Duval has made the cut, finishing at 6-over par 290 with rounds of 71, 72, 76, and 71.

Only one question remains this week about Weir’s attempt to capture his native championship: can the Canadian bring home the bacon? Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂

Listen for the Putt to Drop

Don’t look for the ball to fall into the cup, listen for it!

When putting, listen for the putt to drop. This will help you keep steady and prevent you from looking up too quickly, which often results in a push. Listen for the putt to drop instead of looking for it, and you’ll probably hear the sound more frequently!

AJ Reveals the Truth about Golf

The AJ Golf series promises to reveal the truth about golf for only $89.95. Does it?

aj_golf.gifIf you watch The Golf Channel for any amount of time, you’ve seen either the 30-second, 60-second, or 30-minute commercials for AJ Reveals the Truth about Golf. You’ve no doubt seen Da Bat and wondered just what point it might offer. You’ve seen AJ’s “reduce your handicap by 30% and increase your drives by 30 yards in 90 days” guarantee.

I’m a 6-9 handicapper who has a slightly open stance, a strong grip, and a slight high draw. I average about 275 off the tee when I’m playing well and have a relatively solid short game. I was skeptical that AJ Bonar could do much to help my game.

This is the part of the review in which – if it were an infomercial – I’d say “boy, was I wrong!” Unfortunately, I was not. AJ did very little, if anything, to help my game. This doesn’t mean the videos are worthless: just that they didn’t help me a whole lot.

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