RobotDoctor

I agree that this tournament does not have quite the heritage of other courses and tournaments but I would hardly call LaCantera a goat track. I have played it and it is a pretty good course. It is not on par with many of the PGA Tour courses but it is a good course. I have attended the former tour stop in Colorado (The International) a few times and Castle Pines Golf Club is a great track, much better than LaCantera. I like the tour stop in Atlanta and the course a lot and would rather see this tournament the week before The Masters.

I have been to a PGA tour event when the PGA Tour stopped in Denver (Castle Pines) for the International. That was a terrific tournament with the Modified Stableford system. The players were gunning for birdies and eagles and Castle Pines (a Nicklaus design) is a terrific course for a go-for-broke strategy. I miss the International as this was a unique tournament conducted on a terrific course that was maintained almost as meticulously as Augusta National (Jack Vickers, the owner, is a member of ANGC).

Forgive me if this has been posted. I know others have mentioned that there is no specific 'No women members allowed' rule. The membership committee at ANGC has just not invited a woman to be a member. I have no problem with this as this is a private club and they can invite who they wish. I do not hear outcries for clubs that have women only membership, like a golf club outside of Toronto, Canada. Is Martha Burke protesting that club? I think not. If a private club is subsidized with public funds then they should have a completely open membership policy. If a private club does not accept public funds then they are free to invite whom they wish.

Personally, I find Bettinardi putters, at least the Mizuno line, too hard and 'clicky.' I prefer the feel of carbon steel, usually non plated. I have a Byron Morgan that is plated and it has a soft feel. The new Mills putter I have ordered is going to be Oil Can. Personally, I feel that Cameron OTR putters really do not hold resale very well, good but certainly not great. All my Cameron OTRs have been sold with hardly any blemish (very few, if any dings, small surface scratches from gaming) and I never sold one for what I had paid for it. Most were sold close to what I paid but never at the same amount or more. Special Cameron putters do hold value due to the rarity. Even the 009s are now selling for much less than what people paid for them even last year on the used market.

I respect your opinion but I believe there are many good offerings other than Cameron and Ping. IMO, Ping falls behind Cameron and others like David Mills, Byron Morgan and Bob Bettinardi. There are quite a few good manufacturers available and these three designers offers putters not the size of a frisbie. Just a note, Bettinardi made Cameron putters for Cameron and Acushnet from 1993 to 1998 which was, IMO, the glory days of Cameron OTRs.

I tend to place my thumbs off the top of the shaft when I grip. The left thumb is at 1:00 (if the top of the shaft is 12:00) and my right thumb is around 11:00. I never place my thumbs at the top of the shaft for wood and iron shots. I do place the thumbs near the top for my putter, though.

I suppose hitting driver and 3 wood (if a real short rubber tee is available) is good for hitting off mats. However, I agree with whit53 that mats masks poor shots. I find that my shot making really is poor for several holes if I hit off mats. I just tend to do a stretching warmup instead of hitting from mats. All mats do for me is a stretching warmup while hitting a ball anyway.

Other than the slipping right foot (pretty sure it is from the mat and shoes, not swing), the swing looks pretty good!

The best tip I ever received was never take a tip from someone during a round. The reasoning of this is that it is difficult to change a swing during a round. Basically what you have when you start the round is what you are going to finish with. Also, most of the people in public golf have no idea about the mechanics and fundamentals of the golf swing. While I know my swing and am well versed in most fundamental and mechanical components, I would never offer a swing tip because this is not what I do, I am not a Golf Instructor. I would recommend for most players, including myself, take a lesson from a great instructor.

I take my glove off when I putt. I want to have better feel of the putter and I have this without the glove. This may be true, it might not, Either case, I am a headcase!

I do not care for golf carts when I play, preferring to walk. Of course some courses are designed specifically with the golf cart in mind. I usually stay away from that type of course as well. I want to walk because this sets my pace and tempo for the course of the round. I can also see what I need to do on my next shot at a slower pace so I can analyze what I need to do before I get to my next shot. That in itself allows me to speed up my pace of play and generally produces a better shot because I have already planned for it and committed to it. In a cart I do not have this ability and will tend to not be committed and hit a less than desirable shot more often than not. Let's face it, carts for the most part are revenue generating items. That is why courses push them. A little exercise is good for me so I prefer to walk. From what I have seen lately, there are a lot of players that should consider walking as well. It would be good for them, too.

Those pictures were taken back in 1991 at the International (the PGA tour stop in Colorado). He was a lot younger then and a lot thinner. The amazing thing is that he is still almost that flexible today. Amazing for a rotund person (I know I was never that flexible).

Don't forget Nicklaus during his career. In the 60s, he was just about the longest player on tour. He won the long drive contest during the '63 PGA at the Dallas Athletic Club with a blast of 341 yards ( http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2...tory_1963.html ). This was the day of persimmon and balata, not what we have today. Nicklaus, a fader of the ball, was very long.

Even the short players are long compared to us. They can hit a ball upwards to 300 yards when needed. Many of the short players are better mid iron players because they have to be. It is called practice. Besides, the fairways of the PGA tour are generally hard so there will be roll, even with a fade. I personally favor a slight draw for my shot pattern as I have found hitting a fade is not that hard to do, at least when teeing the ball up.

These were the two I was thinking about as well, in this order.