SubPar

I grow weary of his instant assessment of a players swing. He must be able to see a swing in real-time and before the ball hits the ground he can already deliver a detailed analysis of what they did wrong and exactly how to fix it. I wish there was a "mute Johnny Miller" button on my remote. SubPar

Some forward slide of the hips is probably a good thing, as evidenced by the photos. But the kind of slide the hurts most of us is too much back and too much forward. The old style hip slide, which led to the reverse-C finish, is a one way ticket to the chiropractor. SubPar

I say, if you have never lost your swing you are not playing enough. SubPar

Once you are exposed to good technique through observation, instruction, books or videos, it is just a matter of practicing enough to grasp those fundamentals and gain confidence. Confidence is of paramount importance in the short game because the closer you get to the hole the greater the reward for good performance. I had a really good short game for a while and started to lose it. I had stopped spending a portion of my time working on the basics chipping and pitching. So I rethought the fundamentsals and started working on chipping with different clubs and working on a set-up and techniqe that worked for me with the putter. Within a couple of weeks I was getting up and down from everywhere (I miss a lot of greens). I won a match play event a few weeks ago (4 and 2) and completed the round with 23 putts in 18 holes. It takes a lot of pressure off your approach shots when you have confidence you can get in or near the hole from anywhere around the green. My chipping had gone bad because I was letting my wrists breakdown at the bottom and I was not striking the ball well. Once I started holding the clubface square to the target line with a firm left wrist and striking the ball better, it became a simple matter of choosing the right club for the distance and just dropping the club head on the back of the ball. Regular practice gave me a sense of carry and release with different clubs and then the confidence to execute the shot I had chosen. With the putter, again I had gotten too busy with the wrists. I established a preshot routine where I rehearse keeping the left wrist flat through impact and releasing the putter head toward the target line. I employ a "no hit" stroke like David Toms and once I was confident in hitting the line I chose it became a matter of using the length of the backswing and release to control the speed. Stabbing at the ball, flipping the wrist up and/or over and a helping of self doubt will result in a poor short game. Again, you have to find technique that works for you and practice it enough to have confidence. Good luck. SubPar

First off, as has been indicated, this is just a marketing ploy to hype the last few events of the season. Secondly, it can hardly be a playoff in the way they work in other sports because there are MANY individuals all playing in the same game each time. In tennis it is one player against another and a loser goes home ( or in doubles, one team). In football it is one team against another and the loser goes home. But golf isn;t played like that. I'm sure the reason they don't do it as a series of heads up match play events is that few people would watch it if Tiger and most of the top players were knocked out early. Also, match play events can be over after ten holes. So it comes back to the revenue stream. They change the rules each year trying to make sense of it so I'm not sure what is different this year, but last year Vijay was able to win it by finishing dead last in the final event. At a glance it looks like a string of second place finishes could win it given poor perfornace by the right players in the last event. If they have jiggered it so everyone get "restet" for the tour championship then how could only the top 5 have a chance to win it? And if they did that, does htat mean one could now win the first three and lose on the Tour Championship and lose the cup? It's just about making money for FedEx, the tour and the networks which carry the coverage. I don't think the players care all that much about it, frankly. SubPar

Clubs are oddly balanced and not made for throwing, as you now know. Sounds like you may have something as simple as a strain or as bad as a torn rotator cuff. Shoulders are really complex and easy to damage. Pack it in ice ten minutes before going to bed each night and see how it is after a few days. If you have pain after four-five days you should have it looked at. I had a torn RC (racquetball) and it was so small the Dr. could not see the tear until he was inside with a camera. SubPar

Players on public courses are notorious for playing the first ball they find without looking to see if it is in fact their own. SubPar

Most often people don't identify the ball and play the wrong one. If you have reason to believe someone played your ball, take a free drop because they are an outside agency and you should not be penalized if they picked up or hit your ball. In an event in China earlier this year a marshall saw a spectator pick up leave with a player's ball (not known why she did not stop the person). The player was allowed to play a ball from where it was seen at rest w/o penalty. Subpar

What you need now is just the most basic "fitting". Get the shaft length and flex about right for your height and swing speed. Once you get better you can get a better fitting to suit your swing, which will have changed. Once your swing is more consistent (maybe around a 10 handicap), you will benefit from a more "in depth" club fitting. SubPar

Well, you can take the time to walk off 106 yards or use a range finder. Either way you have the same info, but one takes a lot more time to get the same result. I prefer my calculator over a slide-rule, e-mail over snail mail, and my car over an ox cart. Just because they didn't have this stuff 200 years ago does not mean they would not have used it if they did. Times change. Every sport has seen improvements in technology. I'm sure some "purist" was telling Johannes Gutenberg around 1450 that his printing press was an abomination and that words were meant to be carved on stone tablets the way the first writers did it. SubPar

While some of my friends are searching for marked sprinkler heads and stepping of yardage, I just glace at my iGolf and tell them what the yardage is. Which do you think takes more time? SubPar

They are good enough to keep my interest, but not as explosive in their shot making as the guys. They are very good players and represent a level of play most us can appreciate and aspire to. There are always levels in sports that do not attract the crowds or press attention, but they have their following. If they wore the belly shirts and shot shorts like the Ladies European Tour players, they'd attract a larger audience. SubPar

Good observation. I doubt very many "non-golfers" enjoy watching golf. My mother will watch when I am watching a tournament at her home and she enjoys seeing great shots and good shots out of "sand pits", but she would never tune in otherwise. I not only watch to see good play but I am always trying to learn something as well. The only golf I cannot watch is something out here called "Southern California Golf". I'm not sure who these people are but they are very good so there is not much to gain either as entertainment or learning about the game. SubPar

I'm not sure what you define as "typical" but they place plenty of pins around the edges, and just as with the PGA the greens run pretty darn quick in the major events and the rough is thicker and longer than most courses. The courses are shorter, but otherwise the set-up seems not much different. Of course I actually watch every LPGA event so I my opinion is probably contaminated with reality. SubPar

What are you talking about? There is an LPGA event on almost every weekend and they are not all majors. You think a lot of them aren't very good, uh? They can probably beat you, and everyone you play with, like a rug. It's pretty obvious you don't pay attention to their tour. SubPar