joekelly

Any Mormons left in the field? Then we can talk about the underwear.

I have read many books of 'tips'. Few have had a lasting influence on my understanding, acceptance and proper performance of the 'true' golf swing. But within the last 2 years i have read, and studied many times, an old book by a master golf teacher and player, Mr. Percy Boomer. The book is from about 1950 (reprinted often) and he played with the last of the old greats who used a very different technique due mostly to different ball construction. So Percy does write in an more personal style, uses few 'tips' but centers his game and your learning on the whole body swing. The pivot and turn, the use of the fully stretched arms, the wide arc, the correct wrist cocking, and the one swing for all the clubs are all his teaching direction. I am no longer interested in new books as his is entirely sufficient and once i physically gain swing control and consistency, all will be good for me. Every generation will have new learners and new authors but who will surpass Hogan, Nicklaus and Boomer? Look up Percy Boomer ' On Learning Golf' at ABE BOOKS.

Maybe the new driver is longer than the old. Therefore some subtle swing changes occur, both physically and mentally. You know the new driver should make the ball go further so you 'help' it along, thereby wrecking your natural swing. First thing is to measure then, if need be, choke down till feeling better. But the truth remains, YOU must work it out in the dirt.

Finished the 18th hole in the dark but the green was brightly lit by a bank of big lamps positioned on one side of the green. The shadow of a ball resting near the cup was about a foot long, so you can imagine the level of the lamps and the brightness. What i did notice were the ridges running the length of the green which were highlighted by the shadows. I did not notice ridges on other greens but thought prior greens were bumpy. I assume all the greens were similar but i could only see the ridges on the 18th because of the side lighting. Surely these ridges caused many putts to go astray and short. I believe the ridges, very regular and even, were caused by a green keepers machine which aerated the green by punching out holes in the turf. This work done perhaps a month ago but still the greens not even and level. Rolling the greens with a heavy weight may help. Don't see how one can improve the putting technique when faced with such a situation.

Spent one hour at the range today, off the mats only, although the hitting surface of the mat is specially soft and fluffy. Standing part harder. All balls alike and probably cheap-o with poor paint. Did notice that the ball marks were concentrated high on the club face, not in the center of the face, as if the ball were teed up high. But the 3 wood, 15*, was not teed. Driver balls all teed up. What would cause this ball hitting pattern? Did read that lack of arm extension may contribute. No balls were hit with extreme chop motion resulting in marks on top of driver (thank god that problem is over). Would say that the general ball flight was good for me 2day. Any ideas? Also must admit that life long bad habit is moving shoulders down prior to hip movement which now i see always results in sh*t. But am improving .

Well Buckeye Nut, one could imagine that since you have reached a highly advanced golf ability level, if the listed handicap is accurate, then it seems to me that without practice to improve you have accepted your level and find no further need to develop. No complaint as if i could shoot one over par on 18 holes then i too may be pretty satisfied and 'smug' ! R u OSU alum? ME 2 from the days of Archie Griffin. Long long ago.

Rory took the penalty for brushing sand which lay on the fringe, as did his ball. Would he also be penalized if he brushed the sand which lay on the green, ball off? What about his ball off, but big ball mark on green in line of putt: penalty if ball mark on green fixed?

Perhaps John does better in the alcohol free middle east. No other americans in top 20. I would like to see him do well in 2012, starting this weekend.

Is the important rules aspect the location of the ball (on or off the green), the location of the sand (on of off the green), both or neither when considering this penalty? If some sand was put on Rory's ball after it settled, like from opponent's sand blast, then he could remove that sand regardless of location of his ball. But whether Rory could remove or brush away sand on the fringe that was newly placed in his line of putt, if he lay off the green, is not clear to me. Rory would be entitled to the original lie, but would he be entitled to the condition of the original line? Expert opinion needed. I believe that at any time, regardless of the location of the ball, sand can be brushed off the green whether in your line of putt or not. But if your ball is off the green then you can brush the sand that is on the green but not from any other place (through the green). Of course if Rory brushed away a cigarette butt from his line, even off the green, as he lay on the fringe that would be OK.

I wanted to quit wearing the left hand glove so started practicing without. After some time callus grew on my outer left palm which is what is needed. I know some pros do not wear a glove, note Freddy Couples and he has a very long ball so there is no denying that glove free can be OK. But for me i also found that my left thumbnail was digging into my right palm, which would be impossible with the glove on as the nail is covered. I had thought this due to the left hand movement but just this week did some more investigation and found that the right hand was too loose on the club and the hand was moving upwards into the nail as the club head moved out away from my body. I had believed the advice of Sam Snead and many others about loose hands but now can agree, in fact, it is loose wrists we must have. Permitting the club to move around by having loose hands won't help.

Sponsors paid TWoods more than $2M to enjoy the tourney. I wonder if all the players get appearance fees?

Shorter clubs are easier to control. The driver is the most difficult, for nearly everyone, because it is the longest club in the bag. Since hybrids are generally shorter than fairway woods seems likely that the hybrid will be a bit more agreeable to play. That's the way it is for me. I find a vast difference in 'swingability' and control between the 23* hybrid and my 4 iron (the one i carried before i met the hybrid). Suggest you buy an inexpensive, 2nd hand, hybrid, few years out of date, and give it a good long try.

Well, GMac's problem may not be equipment related. Darren Clarke won the B Open, did not change clubs yet has not shot par in 8 months. Most of the pros could score well using a hickory root and money is a HUGE driver. Just read that Tiger is accepting more than US$2,000,000.00 to play in Dubai. That is a ton of money just to show your face. A known fact is that 99% of beer drinkers cannot identify 'their' brand if the bottles are not shown. Pros golfers probably about the same-paint all the clubs black and see the result,

Room for unlimited improvement, outdoors in a natural environment, everyone involved with course appreciation and respect for the common ground, not especially age or sex related, easy to set a goal and work towards it, demands focus on the moment, a physical skill with massive mental overtones, room of occasional humor (tee shot going backwards or ball bouncing off the OB stake onto the green), a great place to practice compassion for others and loving kindness towards self, realizing no one is perfect and accepting life in the moment.... however, can be expensive, demanding and may lead to injury or mental depression but i luv it !!

Yeah, and i'm with you CliffDiddly--45. I too hope Matt Every wins the Sony Open. Go Matt. Every, every day better than Tebow.

From the NYTimes today this : " Every, who carded a six-under-par 64, was perhaps best known for a three-month tour suspension he received in 2010 for conduct unbecoming a professional after he was arrested during a tournament in July on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. All charges were later dropped." So Matt Every was not smoking dope. The almighty PGA did not like one of their underlings even hanging around dope smokers so they slammed him for 3 months. And you know that if he moans and groans about the penalty too loudly, they will slam him again. Just like the Chinese authorities do when folks there speak out against injustice. I did not read that the PGA did any drug test on Every, only took the initial word of the Moline Illinois police report (or something like that) from the Quad Cities open. Remember those lacrosse players from Duke and the poor little dancing girl, then one year later the local and very creepy District Attorney was disbarred for totally falsifying the reports because he did not like the 'rich Duke boys'. So the power structure of sports heavily favors the rich status, and let's face it, the white folks with the bucks.

I have been playing some greens lately that are much faster than i normally play and find them 'unforgiving'. The putting is one thing but getting on and staying on is much more difficult. Do the pros, and low handicappers, prefer really fast greens? If so , why? I guess for the pros it may just be another hurdle to leap. Those 'wanna' be pros cannot yet handle the speed of the greens so are sure to post a higher score, effectively reducing the number of players who can compete. Other ideas?

In fact, at least to me, only the USGA Rules Committee knows for sure. Unless iacas can explicitly point to the rules decision on this case i think he is offering his opinion, not a solid statement of agreed fact. Oh, sure, he MAY be correct or he may be wrong. But he does present himself as in total control of the rules on this case. Just say'in.

Seems to me that Rule 14-3 is indeed the rule to note but i can also notice that Exception 2 to the rule permits the use of equipment if used in a 'traditionally accepted manner'. Since these eyeglasses are made to restrict the vision there would be no penalty. Similar to wearing swim goggles during a windy day while in the sand trap (eye protection). Or even wearing sunglasses to restrict the radiation entering the eyes. However, IMHO, just another 'crutch' which will not serve well in the long run.

Where i live, Asia, there is tremendous competition for the Tee time as the number of courses cannot serve the huge number of players. But labor is cheap, so we see many Course Marshalls pushing players along in order to keep the last group of the day within daylight. In USA i have never seen this pressure as the number of courses near the urban centers is generally adequate. Here we are expected to play the 18 holes in 4hrs and 18 mins, no exceptions or excuses and the Marshalls will be timing us along the way. I see the opportunity for some computerized device at each tee box where any player of the group can flash a GroupTeeCard onto a reader and read the real time result of speed of play. Then the group can compare the real time against the desired time. If going too slowly then the group can decide to pick up the pace. Also helps that the Stableford competition is played here which limits the number of strokes per hole to 8, which frequently means 'pick the ball up and walk to the next tee box'. That really speeds the game up!!

Well, Rory's play has gone downhill over the 3 days but to blame Chubby seems a stretch. Many boys need to learn to say NO and mean that. Maybe the new gf and a week on the beach and bedroom dragged the boy down (would me!!). Maybe the changing weather (HK now 14 degrees C), or flying off to Japan (5 hrs from Hainan China) then back next day, or HK harbor boat rides for the press, or too many DimSum dumplings. Well, regardless, he is dragging. Once he learns to say NO to all the extras of the celebrity life he has a chance to win again. Tiger Woods was a turtle in a shell for years; big winning years. Frankly i am surprised at the HK scores, being high for such a short course. Today, Sunday, is probably a toss-up so there will be some competition to see.

Saw a few holes yesterday, including one putt by McIlroy, from 2 feet. But mostly i followed Jimenez, Yang and Rose. Have read Rose took big appearance fee and his play showed his disinterest, +5. Jimenez amazing for such a body. Normal 'play it as it lays' rule in effect, at least Thursday. Today, Friday, very cool in morning and this may affect Jimenez and older players but McIlroy starts noon. Well, cool for HK. Projected cut at +2 so lots of well known names will be gone. Do wish the greens committee would paint the interior of the 18 cups white so could be better seen from a distance although i do not know if players object to this. Anyone knows about this distinction between white inside the cup versus normal dark color and if anyone on the course cares?

I'll be leaving the house soon for FanLing, the tournament site. I sincerely hope this year does not repeat last, when the course, also in beautiful condition was listed for the players as 'preferred lies'. Of course this means that everywhere through the green the player can pick up, clean and then place his ball as desired. Ancient golf rules? Not here. Why have these professional tournaments with 'preferred lies' if the course is not muddy and wet? I can tell you my opinion- "Joe Pro shoots 58 in Hong Kong." Trash headlines draw cheap interest. Well, i will report later on what i experience in HK. I am pulling for one of the old guys-Monty or Jimenez, closer to my age!! Big John Daly here too, as least for today.