Pine Valley

Ro lives near Pine Valley, but will never have the pleasure of playing it.

It’s hard to fathom sometimes that I reside within a twenty mile radius of Pine Valley Golf Club, the perennial #1 golf course in America. It’s actually quite maddening because, even though it is seemingly right around the corner, I most likely will never have the pleasure of staring down Hell’s Half Acre in person. Sure I can play a similar course across the street, but it’s not the same.

A chauvinistic smirk emerged on my face reading this blurb: “While Augusta National allows women to play, Pine Valley doesn’t even let women on the property” until I realized that, 99.99% of all males, including myself are in the same boat.

Maybe I’ll picket…

Buying Junior Clubs

Junior golf ain’t what it used to be, and neither are the clubs! Here’s how to pick good clubs for your budding star.

Junior Golf PaintingLike many golfers, I was introduced to the game of golf as a child: I hit “borrowed” range balls around a soccer field with a sawed-off 7-iron. I probably had it a bit easier than most because I got a late start at the age of fifteen. I escaped the harm that can come of starting a seven year-old child out with a cut-down adult club.

Fortunately, today’s world brings us an unheralded variety of junior-sized clubs, bags, and accessories (shoes, hats, etc.). Some manufacturers, like U.S. Kids Golf make nothing but kid-sized clubs. Others, like Ping or Nike, offer junior lines in addition to their standard, adult-sized offerings. How then do you choose the set that’s appropriate for your budding star? Follow along and we’ll walk you through the steps.

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Payne Stewart: Gone Five Years

Payne Stewart died five years ago today, and the golf world mourned his death.

Five years ago today, the golf world lost a friend in Payne Stewart.

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Payne has been missed. Leave a comment if you wish to express your thoughts on this anniversary.

Big Ball Between Your Legs

Imagine a big ball between your knees to stop a collapsing left knee.

A lot of golfers collapse the left knee (for righties) on the backswing. This is especially evident in reverse pivots, though it can occur elsewhere as well. Collapsing your left knee causes your shoulder to drop and makes your hips sway.

To cure this problem, imagine that you have a basketball or a soccer ball between your knees during your backswing. You’ll keep your knees separated and probably make a better weight shift.

Perfectly Annoying

Peter Kessler and his Perfect Club, a thirty second bit of garbage that seems to run at every stinkin’ commercial break on The Golf Channel.

Peter KesslerAfter a long day at work, I like to unwind by plopping down on the old leather couch and flipping on The Golf Channel. There’s no better calming effect than watching some high quality golf programming, preferably featuring Kelly Tilghman.

However, in the midst of this relaxation, there is a thirty second bit of garbage that seems to run at every stinkin’ commercial break. Peter Kessler and his Perfect Club. These grating spots generally consist of seemingly ordinary hackers, knocking a 210-yard shot stiff. Very believable… hrm. In his smarmy tone, Kessler tells us we can’t live without this wonder equipment.

After seeing the commercial for the 5th time in the past hour, I think I might order one and smash my TV with it.

Palmer Wins Funai Classic

PGA Tour rookie Ryan Palmer has won his first tournament: the Funai Classic.

ryan_palmer.jpgRyan Palmer, that is, shooting a final-round 62 to win by three shots over Vijay Singh and Briny Baird. Palmer is the fifth PGA Tour rookie to win this year.

In addition to four straight birdies down the stretch, Palmer chipped in from 40 feet on fifteen and made a 44-foot birdie on seventeen that was moving at a hearty pace when it slammed into the hole. Palmer, of no relation to Arnold, said “I knew I could play. It was a matter of proving it to myself.”

Palmer began the day in 109th place on the money list, but this win and the $756,000 that goes with it was enough to vault him to the top 40, possibly earning an invitation to next year’s Masters and locking up an invitation to play in next week’s Chrysler Championship in Tampa.

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Rules of Golf (Online)

An online guide to the Rules of Golf, courtesy of the USGA.

Need an online guide to the Rules of Golf? Here you go! For those of you not under the influence of the USGA, here is the R&A’s version.

Golf Cartoons

Just a pair of golf cartoons from “B.C.” and “Wizard of Id.”

First Dilbert had a golf cartoon, and now Wizard of Id and B.C. have joined the fray:

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You can’t laugh at yourself (or your sport of choice) enough, I say!

Ball Position

Correct ball position is critical to good ball striking.

Setup is many things, and one of the most important of those is ball position. The ball, on woods and irons, should be positioned at different points in the swing relative to the bottom of the swing. This differs from player to player, but is typically centered to about three inches ahead of center. The shorter the club, the closer to center the ball is positioned.

To determine your correct ball position:

  1. Place two clubs on the ground forming a letter “t,” with one club parallel to your target and one perpendicular.
  2. Stand against the club parallel to the target line.
  3. Put the perpendicular one in the center of your stance.

    4. Start with the ball at center and move the ball forward between ¼ and ½ inch as you move down through your irons and woods. When you get to your driver, the ball should be three to four inches forward.

Run this simple drill every few weeks to stay in tune.