Tim S

I'm sorry if David's family is having a tough time. That's awful. I hope he manages to feel better and come back. But, as a player, he is one of my most disliked. There is nothing enjoyable to watch about Duvall's game or personality, whether he's shooting an 89 or a 59. I'd rather watch Phil....well, wait...now I have a dilemma.....

I didn't know it, but I have been using the S & T as a remedy and practice drill. I have a tendency...well, a BIG one... to sway to the back leg sort of Jimmy Ballard-like, but stay there too long, then swing over the top. The S & T weight distribution on the front helps my swing TREMENDOUSLY. So now I'm working in that feeling permanently. I have NO idea whether I'm doing the Stack and Tilt, but it feels as if I am and my shots are much more solid. Then again, next month, who knows :)

BELIEVE ME, I'm not confused between attractive and hot. There is no confusion that Gulbis, to me, is neither. At all. In the least.

I agree Diggity. That is one tainted stroke.

I just saw this thread here and had to jump in at the end. I have not, nor will I, read this thread, so please excuse me if I repeat yourselves. Some guys think that a self-centered young woman with no hips who puts herself on TV in skimpy clothes is "hot." Maybe to them, she is! But not to me. To me, Gulbis is barely average-looking, with no sex appeal. She reminds me of all those "American Idol" no-talents whose parents have told them all their lives that they can sing. All Gulbis's life, she was apparently told that she was beautiful and sexy. I mean, my goodness, she has no personality and can barely talk. I don't understand standards today, I guess. Show-offs are hot, quiet girls are not. Creamer has far more natural beauty -- and she can talk! You want beautiful and naturally hot? I'll give you one word: Petterson.

1. Yes, a whiff is a stroke. 2. I've seen plenty of pros on short putts tap the putter down then lift it and make a smooth stroke. 3. Woody didn't do that. He was walking at the time. I think it missed it in such a way that he felt (a) "no, I didn't succeed in making the stroke I wanted to make," (b) and I missed enough to get away with it if I make the tap-in look real, (c) "I'll just tap it in and stride away." The problem is, since his putter grounded and stopped and didn't go past or over the ball, the ruling is all about the golfer's "intention." Only Woody knows what he intended. IMO I think he was so angry that when he missed he rationalized away his real intention and bought into his "correction" as the true putt. Kind of like OJ.

Well, if his practice regimen or concentration slips, that would be bad. Normally, however, fatherhood focuses athletes and they end up doing better.....as Tiger has been doing since his kid was born.

I am astounded. Phil is good, so are a number of others week-to-week. But this storyline about Phil's ascent to Tiger's level is a media dramatic invention. I am really just astonished at how many people buy into it. No one is in Tiger's league. When he dips, someone in the next tier is there to take the win. No one can win all the time, and when Tiger loses it does not mean that the other player is a better overall player, he just won that week, or on that hole. Golf broadcasting this year has set a new and obvious plan for more drama, less cliche. Announcers struggle and sweat to find a weakness in Tiger that they can then attribute to someone else. I don't fault them... it is their job to keep us glued...but I don't buy it as "real" or "fact." This isn't the news we're watching, it's commentary. I WISH there was someone who could challenge Tiger consistently, but it's a week-to-week deal. So if you're asking whether Phil is Tiger's peer, I say "in his dreams." Was Phil better two weeks ago? Sure. Just as Angel was, as Padraig was, a Veejay has been, etc. Don't get caught in the generalities trap. There is only one current player you can generalize about, in my opinion: Tiger. And perhaps Hale. Please say "fore" before you shoot back. Tim

Thanks everyone. Longdrive, I'm with you. I'm a 280+ hitter, but I need to score better, and trying to baby a PW or slam a LW ain't working. I've gotten rid of my fairway woods and now use a Rescue Mid #2 and #5, which I find are much more accurate than my 3W and 3/4 iron (although I still carry a 4-iron for punch shots out of the woods :) My PW is 47*, SW is 56*, and LW is 60*. I'm at my best when I can take the same speed full swing on any shot, so I'm looking at a nice 52* gap. My new Odyssey Rossi putter has saved my butt this year!

I'm normally a straight and long hitter, sometimes it dies right. I like fades because they hit and stay close to the target at which I'm aiming. Speaking of targets, on long shots I always pick two: one in the distance for line, and one on the ground where I want the ball to land. On shorter shots, I always choose a target on the ground. Even when I can't see the landing area, I picture a spot. When I started being more target-oriented and less distance-oriented, my handicap started to fall...and it still is!

Lightning strikes the nearest and tallest object. So, for instance, if you are on the ground in the fairway, YOU are the tallest object. A solo tree is a bullseye for lightning. Avoid it. A small stand of trees is better, or short bushes. Better is to get low, like below the surface of a raised green, or in a bunker...BUT do not lie down. Reduce your footprint on the ground. Squat like a baseball catcher so only your toes are making contact with the ground. Best - a metal building or car. A shelter in the open is very bad, especially if it is not grounded. Abandon clubs and golf cart. Very scary stuff. TS

I had a tense experience with lightning this weekend...trapped in the depths of the course without shelter during a 2-hour intense thunder and lightning storm. Some golfers ran under trees! I, and others, hunkered down in a low spot in the open under our umbrellas. Deer were running scared across the course. Lightning was so close I could smell it. Pretty horrifying. Luckily, no one was hurt. Anyone else have a lightning experience? (Please make it your experience, not hearsay or myth. :) TS

You can get the Taylormade Rescue Mid hybrids for $79.00 in Sports Authority, even Target (steel shaft, which I recommend. The graphite is too flippy) I had great old irons, and knocked 8 strokes off my game with new irons. The balance is better, shafts are better, heads are bigger and lighter. Unless you shoot lower than a 12 handicap, new clubs are your fastest route to better scoring. If you can't afford new irons, new grips are the way to go, and getting rid of your 2, 3, 4 irons for hybrid 2, 4. Now you can add that lob wedge! New grips are like extra RAM in an old computer. TS

Tell me about your wedges. Who uses a PW, SW and Gap Wedge. Lob Wedge, too? Anyone up to 64 degrees? I find it all confusing to play. I use a PW for everything, but I might hit a LW at 60 yards because I know that is as far as I can hit it. Am I missing something? :) TS

Hey, EGS. Welcome! I grew up in Flanders and used to play Flanders Valley as they were building it. Cost $5 for the only 9 holes they had at that time. I raised my son on those courses. Love 'em! I live about 1-1/2 hours away now, but my son and I were just talking about going up for a reunion round. If we do, I'll shout out to ya. I used to spend a lot of time in Chester, too. (Grew up in Succasunna) Had a girl there once, and I acted at the theatre there. Love that Turkey Farm, too. Can you still go up to the kitchen door, give a knock, and buy a rack from the chef for $2? (Gawd...I sound like Grampa Simpson!) Cya, TS PS: Hey Sherpat! Sussex rules!

I watched Jack nearly his whole career. The fields were tough. Often Jack dominated, often he came in 2nd or worse. He won more than his peers, but he did not rise above the competition like Tiger has ... so far. It is too early to give Tiger "the best." Obviously, if he breaks the records, he'll have the best record. I'll tell you this, I loved watching Trevino, Watson, Player, Chi Chi, Hubert Green, Weiskopf and all...then Seve, Norman and that crew. All were distinct shotmakers and, to me, great and innovative golfers. When Tiger isn't in contention or playing, I don't have the same thrill -- and the players absolutely are not as fiery and hungry. And that's not just an oldtimer speaking. It's the experience of an eyewitness. But the only way you younger folks can judge "the best" is by the record book. For me, books are for reading. It ain't all of golf. Golf is a little more thrilling. Today, if I had to choose between watching Jack Nicklaus at his prime or Lee Trevino at his prime, I choose Lee. Lee always had a good chance of winning...but winning isn't everything. :) TS

Are you listening to these TNT announcers? They must sit there with a list of golf cliches and just tick them off one by one as they use them, then they start all over again. Tiger just "willed" another putt into the hole. They are so busy looking at this list, that they don't actually "see" the action they are describing. Things are going on on the screen that they totally ignore. We still don't know what happened when Tiger's ball his a spectator...the medics were working on the person as Tiger hit his next shot. And what is with Tiger's goofy Mickey Mouse cartoon mittens? lol. And did you catch the interview with Boo? Jeez. He never watched a British Open, and pretty much follows no golf at all. He asked Paul Laurie how he qualified for the Open. Yikes! Does anyone know what got this talented bumpkin interested in golf? TS

Hmm, I find the Taylormade TP reds to spin LESS. A lot of high-handicappers can afford the expensive balls, I guess. If I had the money, I'd have the best of everything. My handicap is 15 and going down. I rarely lose a ball. I have no problems buying and trying the best -- I'd rather not lose a good ball than a crappy one :) TS

Hey there. Thanks for having me on The Sand Trap. My Avatar is a pic of me and Hank Haney from 1987. I won a Golf Illustrated contest that sent me to PGA West for a week of lessons with Hank. He made a big point out of helping me understand why the ball does what it does, and goes where it goes. I didn't know it then, but he was giving me more than a week of mere lessons. He was giving me an education that would last for the next 20 years. I play out of Scotch Plains, NJ, some decent county courses. I play a lot in Maryland with my son. Just got a set of TM LT2's off eBay and love them! See you around this place. :) TS

Man, I had a lesson in spin this weekend. First, I don't get much suck-back, if any. I get something, because my balls do check-up. But this weekend I hit a 120-yard pitching wedge. Normally, I take a nice divot, but this time -- clunk! -- I hit the ball and the ball only. Oh, god, I thought, I really miss-hit that one! The ball sails up, over the pin (the shot was long), hits the back of the green and jumps. I mean, it jumped up like a squirrel on a barbeque. Then it rocketed backward ten yards to pin-high. That was Greg Norman type backspin! I'd never done anything like that in my life. My pro tells me it was because I was accelerating the swing at impact and caught the ball with all the grooves. "Yeah," I says, "you mean I hit a lucky shot?" The pro nods, "Yeah."

Oh man, I die 'em in. From five feet??? Oh, yeah. A two-footer I might bash through a hard break. If I miss, I want the ball to stop. Besides, I'm pretty good a limping them in.

Taylormade TP Red. They bruise easily, but it doesn't seem to matter. Love 'em.

I agree that most people are slow in carts because they are morons. Put two morons in a cart and the moron quotient seems to quadruple. Cart management is something that should be demanded to get your cart license, just like green management and care should be required to set foot on a course. On the publinx I play, there are so many people, you could be in a jet and not have a faster round...you could crawl on your belly and still have to wait on the tee. Walking, for me, is simply more enjoyable. I like the earth, the scenery, the smells. I get enough blurry images without my glasses, so I don't need to amplify them in a cart. If you know good cart management, can swiftly choose your clubs, then promptly make your shot, please walk. If you stop to talk while walking down the fairway, drop a head cover you need to return 500 yards to retrieve, leave your bag on the wrong side of the greens, and play a zigzag game of bumper golf from tree-to-tree, please ride in a cart. :) TS