soup

Saw it on TV yesterday - he looked like a 30 handicapper. I have to say - he's a disaster. I doubt he wins anymore majors. He's quickly coming up on 40, he doesn't take good care of himself (he's a slob) and he's never been able to harness his swing or his game for long periods of time. He misses more 3 foot putts than anyone in history. He's mentally (and physically) soft.

The Champions Gate courses are dog tracks. Awful. Celebration Golf Club is excellent.

Good stuff, as usual, guys. I, too, use the 10 finger grip. Never had a lesson in my life. Also, I played baseball through college, so I'm sure that plays a role in it. I actually utilize my left hand to determine the type of shot I want to hit. I'm a righty, so when I want to draw the ball my left hand thumb is actually on the right side of the grip - which helps me to close the face through impact. Just the opposite for a cut - thumb on the left side of the grip. I've tried the inter-locking grip on the range often, but I just wind up hitting a bunch of lingering fades. The best advice is to do what is comfortable and just do what you have to do to get that clubhead square at impact.

Good stuff. I've never had a lesson. But I have been messing around on the range lately. And I'm starting to be able to work the ball both ways - but it feels line I'm cheating...but at the same time, I've been very consistent and have a real feel with what I'm trying to do. My typical shot is hitting the ball pin straight - maybe a slight 5 yard fade, but really straight. Got out late this afternoon and played alone - so I played 2 balls every hole. On one hole, had 150 yards in to a middle pin. I hit my typical 7-iron, hit a good one right at it on the number. Since I was one of the few out there - I hit another one, this time I lined up about 10 yards right of the target, closed the face of the club and took my regular swing as if I was trying to hit it 10 yards right of the hole. Caught it perfect, the ball really bore in on the flag with a beautiful draw and landed about 15 feet past the hole. That was the first time I tried doing that on the course. Figuring it was my lucky day, I dropped a 3rd ball, this time aimed 10 yards left of the hole, opened the clubface and hit the shot as if trying to hit it 10 yards left of the hole. Caught it perfect and hit a beautiful little fade that landed about 15 feet short of the hole. I should have took a picture - because I had one ball dead behind the stick 15 feet, one ball hole high about 4 feet and one ball right on the flag but 15 feet short. My typical swing is to just get the clubface square on the ball - so I don't have a lot of wrist motion coming through the ball to work it that way - which is why I feel like I'm cheating a little bit by simply opening and closing the face and aiming left or right. It was neat to see the draw go 5 yards further than my regular shot and the fade go 5 yards less. All it took was about 5 minutes on the range to get a feel for how much to open and close the face. I tried this a few other times today on the course and had good results from the fairway. Not much luck with driver off the tee.

Lots of good advice from everyone. I, too, agree that the original poster is playing too slow. I got out late this afternoon at Bethpage and played 9 holes in about 90 minutes - it rained all morning and was dreary, so the place was pretty quiet. I played 2 balls the entire 9 by myself. I had a twosome in front of me but kept my distance and let them enjoy their round. I was thinking to myself today that I really don't have a routine - not on the tee, from the fairway or putting. I work off the sprinkler heads and never really walk it off, just estimate. I make sure I'm square, take a half-assed practice waggle and swing. Same with putting - take a quick look from behind, take a practice stroke and go. The best advice anyone can give to a golfer that asks for advice - play fast.....that's it. No one cares if you shoot 120 or 70. Just play quick and you'll be the best partner to play with. If you have to ask if you play slow - you probably are playing slow.

The one big thing the previous generation would have to do is take their health and training more seriously. A lot of those guys were still around at Augusta in 1997 - guys that competed against Nicklaus and Watson in their primes - albeit they were in their early 40s and Tiger steamrolled them. Watching the 1997 Masters highlights is great comedy. You see all these guys - a Good 'Ol Boy network really - sort of laughing and haming it up during practice rounds and even into the first round. And then you see all of their eyes glaze over mid-way through Saturday and realize none of them can compete anymore. That's the one big thing - they'd have to get in shape to keep up these days with the travel and other demands, which many of them would.

All of it. Played great last year. Saw him upclose and personal at Bethpage this year and he looked as disinterested as you could on a golf course.

It's still a dumb setup. If someone wins the first 3 playoff events and finishes 2nd in the Tour Championship, and someone in the Top 5 wins....the guy that goes 1-1-1-2 doesn't win. Makes no sense. Keep the point system. Top 2 guys or Top 4 guys standing play 36 hole stroke play for the $10 million.

Please. Took Jack nearly 600 tournaments to win 73 times. Tiger's won 70 in less than 280 tournaments. It's not even a fair fight.

Tiger already has 5 wins this year - 15 events, 5 wins, 2 runner-ups and 12 Top 10s. Yang 2 wins - 21 events, 2 wins, 4 Top 10s. Striker 3 wins - 20 events, 3 wins, 2 runner-ups and 10 Top 10s. This is a 2 horse race, in my opinion.

He should probably figure out how to hit it two-handed first.

I missed YE Yang's name as one of those in contention this week.

Padraig is a disaster. Talk about getting tight at bad times. Tiger was just a couple of tough breaks from being at -15....and if that happened, you get the feeling all of these guys would be choking.

What's the % of cheaters in a 100 person outing? 10%? 15%? I'll pick my spots and handle it the way I want to handle it.

I'm not getting involved if it is an outing with some door prizes at stake. If it was a one-on-one match play with others watching...someone will see if someone cheats. If it's just the two players on the course - I'll let the guy know that's the last time we play together and I won't pay the bet. And I'm not going to blab about that to the membership if it was a one-on-one match.

Sorry, I'll do it face-to-face and leave everyone else out of it. I don't want to have a reputation as being a crybaby - which is what it looks like if you lose by 2 shots and claim the other guy cheated without having video of the guy cheating.

I've never played with anyone that 'blatantly' cheated. Meaning, somone kicks out a ball when you're standing next to them or has done something so egregious in full view that its obvious. Guys go digging in the brush and always find their ball? Once or twice, ok. If it happens 6 or 7 times - pretty obvious something is up. But I'm not really paying attention to what ball others are playing and I'm not going to ask to see it so they can prove it. And I've never played for "big money". Maybe once or twice a year I'll play with buddies for $5 a hole, $5 birdies etc. And I've never came across my friends trying to cheat. My approach is to be direct with them and leave others out of it. If you're in an outing with 100 other guys - who the hell knows what goes on in other groups.

I'll deal with it face-to-face. Tell the guy I know he cheated and that it's the last time we play together.

In my opinion it is.

I agree with this. If it's two-on-two and it's addressed on the course between those involved - that's the way it should be. I'm not going to run into the pro shop or restaurant and start blabbing about it. I would not honor the bet and I would not play with them again. EDIT: I read this that you guys were playing a match for a couple of hundred bucks. If it was an outing/tourney, I'd still tell them to their face and leave it at that.

Telling someone face-to-face, one-on-one is not being man enough?

Exactly, which is why someone that cheats and stands by their score would be taken every bit as true as someone who calls them on it.

I'm not reporting anyone. Sorry, but when it is someone's word against someone else's word - I'm not getting others involved. I won't want the possibility of being labeled a crybaby. Now, if I had actual video of someone using a hand wedge or a foot wedge, it might make for a nice wrap up video at the end of the day. I'll just do it to their face, one-on-one, and leave it at that.

How is only confronting the cheater keeping my mouth shut? Actually, it's priceless to see the look on someone's face when you do it one-on-one and then watching them at cocktail hour, dinner and award ceremony sweating it out wondering how many people know.

I'm generally not one to tell people how to live their life.