bobsuruncle

he smokes cigars though with Jordon and Barkley?

I think it's unreasonable to expect him to be as dominant as he was before. Having said that, he's still pretty consistently competitive (3 W's, lots of top 5's, top 10's, top 25's) despite not having his best game. I'd bet 99.5% of the golfers on the PGA would kill for his results, $$$ winnings and stats in 2012. So he's right up there as far as non-majors are concerned. Wrt majors, his scoring game has deserted him (from 150 yds in, and putting) and that puts a lot of pressure on his long game. Let's see if he can turn that around in the off season, and see how he plays in 2013, before we dismiss him out of hand as a spent force in majors.

it's baffling ... but she'll be back ... just too much talent to just disappear off the radar like that ... she's more rory than duval ...

Hi, I'm very keen to know if this is correct - i.e. that the ball position is the same relative to the lead foot ... I've read and been told so many different opinions about this specific issue. Thank you.

Couldn't find the button to vote, but I'm in the YES group. Tiger has been putting himself in pretty good positions at the majors this year. Halfway lead at the US Open and now USPGA, and a top 5 finish at the Open. How many other players have shown a similar level of consistency at the majors? I believe that as he improves in the "process" and he keeps putting himself in good positions i.e. first page of the leader board after Day 2 ... it'll be a matter of time before he puts it all together for 4 straight rounds, and then a matter of time before he starts consistently putting together 4 straight good rounds at the majors. Then the wins will come. All this talk of young guns, intimidation, etc is just that - talk. What does it matter if they are intimidated or not? If he posts a lower score after 4 days, he wins. Also, we'll only really see if there's any intimidation when a young gun is tied for the lead at the start of Day 4 and paired with Tiger.

whatever you do go with a shallow face wood if you're going to use it off the deck, as opposed to a 2nd driver ... and a shorter shaft (vs long and light) also helps ... don't think you can go wrong with either the Titty or R11.

while he's not all the way back, but he's back enough. if he's consistently contending every time he tees up, then it's just a matter of time before the wins start to pile up again.

winning will always involve a little bit of luck, but by and large over 72 holes and 4 days, it's mainly skill.

Bubba golf doesn't work at a US Open venue (unless it was like in 2011), so no surprise. Rors - he doesn't have the metal fortitude for tough courses, he gives up too easily when things aren't going his way (4 MCs in 5 tourneys with no issues re fire hydrants, new swing, etc), he's not a grinder...you get the picture. Yes, he won last year but that was on a "soft" or not typical US Open course. He's very, very good on any PGA "bomb and gauge" layout, but ask him to perform on a "true" US Open (high rough, grinding for pars) or Open (undulating fairways, bad weather) course and you'll see his true colors. While this attitude can be expected from a US player, it's quite surprising from a European player. Luke - was the real surprise for me. You'd think a 690 yards par 5 would be a leveler i.e. forcing everyone to get on in three and nullifying the advantage the long hitters have over Luke. Coupled with his course management, short game and putting (which deserted him this week), he would at least be around for the weekend, if not in contention.

would really like to see her shine again, but seriously can't see that happening. i just don't believe she has the desire to be a successful golfer. that's her father's dream, not hers.

+1 for the "pause" ... it may rob me of some distance but I'd rather be in the short grass and "dance floor" than hacking it out from the bushes or under a tree, or lose another ball to a watery grave.

why not forgo the 3W and get the 4W. It's a great back up driver and you can actually hit one off the deck (vs a 3W). I believe the RBZ does come in a 4W (16-17 deg) loft?

Thank you, but no thank you. Some colors are too distracting and I imagine pink (as well as gold) on a driver head would be - but that's a personal thing. Different strokes for different folks.

Etiquette works both ways - for the person doing the invitation and the invitee. I always ask to pay my portion of the green (and buggy) fees, where ever I play. I think that's the proper etiquette. If the person doing the invite declines i.e. says it's on him, then I graciously accept. To EXPECT to play for free is unreasonable. Of course, if the club is an expensive one, then it's incumbent on both parties to clarify up front who's paying for what, which gives an invitee the option to politely decline the invitation, else he/she be forced to fork out more than he/she wishes to for one round of golf.

Driver - looking for a new one 4W - 205-215 5W - 195 4H - 180 5H - err, useless club (supposed to be 165) 6i - 153 7i - 142 8i - 131 9i - 120 PW - 109 GW - 80-90 SW - ? LW - ?

+1 and add: the "angry" guy ... usually the guy who won't take his medicine from the rough or in the trees, and instead of chipping out back onto the fairway, goes for the green and ends up hacking around the bushes / trees for another 3 or 4 shots, and blows a fuse !

if you currently have a fade with a Reg shaft plus offset head / closed face, a Stiff shaft may accentuate your fade???

i'm self taught too, and have played to as low as an 18 hcp. don't play enough after the birth of my daughter, so am shooting mid-90's now. i play to enjoy myself and am not a total embarrassment when playing with new flight mates, so won't be getting hung up on swing mechanics, etc. just enjoy the game.

voted bubba ... the trees were not in play for Phil, and in fact helped "framed" the shot for him, and as mentioned above, was a stock 6-iron straight shot and which he did not intend to hit short, which helped get the spectacular result he got. even if bubba knew louis was short, in his mind he must have thought it was a reasonably straight forward up-and-down for louis, so he absolutely had to get on the "dance floor" and two putt to match louis and extend the play off. a pressure packed 40-yard curler beats a straight, framed 6-iron. even if Phil made birdie (which he did) or par, he had more holes to play coming in. bubba was in a sudden death play off - no extra holes to make up shots coming in.

some other things to consider - you'll need a shallow faced model if you intend to us it from the turf vs off a tee; and since it's shallow faced, tee the ball lower. the titleist and TM R11s are adjustable which is an advantage i.e. you could self "fit". The newer TM RBZ, Adams Speedline Fast 12 (or expensive titanium construct - Super XTD) and Razr X Black get good reviews. i use a MacGregor MT 4W at 16.5-degree. It has a tall face, so I'm uncomfortable using it off the turf, preferring to use it as a driver replacement from the tee box. This goes just over 200 yards on average and if pressed about 215-220 yards.

great article ... thanks for sharing ... now to order my new TrueLinks.

what on earth happened to Rory? there's been no or little coverage of Rory's 3rd round ... no post-round analysis by the media, no post-round interview with Rory, etc? Just factual score reporting and the bromance with Sergio on the 12th. What gives?

Sadly I agree that Couples probably can't last another 2 days. This is setting up as a Rory-Phil, and maybe Westwood battle. Should be a nice weekend.

i play cleveland CG14's in 52/12 and 58/12 configurations...and they are great wedges from most any lie. 8-12 degrees of bounce in a wedge should work for most lies, I feel.

You may also want to consider changing the lie angle for the shorter irons to being less upright? Picked this up from Sean Utley's book ... The Art of the Short Game.