Spending More Time in the Sand Than David Hasselhoff

Ran across an truly outstanding post about Phil Mickelson today by Ben Alberstadt at The Sand Trap. By definition, an outstanding post is one that agrees 100% with me, and a truly outstanding post not only agrees with me, but goes against conventional wisdom.

Philly Mick

For those of you too busy to follow the link and read the article, here are my personal highlights from it:

“I am tired of the Mickelson family swarming the green, the visor, the haircut, the style of play, and the unnecessarily small shirt. I don’t respect the way in which he sold out Titleist right before a Ryder Cup or his apparent lack of a killer instinct.”

“Phil Mickelson has been blessed with incredible natural abilities which, if filtered through a sieve of prudent course management, would not be so routinely wasted. In a real way, I think he has an obligation to do so rather than simply “having fun” on the golf course (or at the casino, another favorite Mickelson institution).”

“Phil seems to not only enjoy, but in some sense need, the adoration of the masses. “He’s just like us,” Phil fans cheer. Why is this, because he’s overweight and likes blondes? Phil is nothing like you, unless you’re raking in about $62M this year, wear $2,000 belts, and sport a Rolex on the golf course (actually, if you wear any watch on the golf course, please tell me why for, truly, I am mystified by this practice).”

Well done!

// Category PGA Tour // Add Comment »

Sunday afternoon was turning into a great day on the PGA Tour from my viewpoint.  In the midst of the final round at Riviera, Philly Mick was choking like a dog (I am not a big Phil phan), and the tour’s number one Cheesehead, Steve Stricker had roared into the lead on the wave of a great round.

Then, Stevie left a birdie at 17 two inches short.

Phil found his mojo and began pounding his dastardly driver and 3 wood off the tee – into the middle of the fairway (previously unknown territory for the Philmeister).

And Steve pulled a drive on 18, put his approach short right, chipped up – and missed the putt for par.

Phil still had a chance to choke, but hit two clutch putts on 17 and 18 to hang on to the win.

Life changes so fast, you know?

My only hope is that Phil loses 9 and 8 in the first round of the match play tomorrow. Or, even better, he gets to the semis, meets Tiger, and can’t show up to the first tee due to a severe case of the Shakes, also known as Tiger Scratch Fever.

// Category PGA Tour // Add Comment »

So Tiger is coming back. As much as I love the idea of seeing the Striped One prowling the fairways again – without wincing in pain – I’m concerned.

The hype tidal wave is building.

I just don’t want the breathless excitement of the Kelly Tilghmans of the world, let alone the non-Kelly Tilghmans, every minute of every day, anxiously awaiting Tiger’s first swing. The over-analysis of every move, starting days before he even hits a shot in competition  (is he limping in that practice round?; he looks great in red, doesn’t he?; is he thinking of his new baby?; oh no, not a sidehill lie with that bad knee;  etc. etc. . . . add my nauseum).

He’s back. That is great. The Tour is better for it. And the directors of the Match Play in Tucson have to be ecstatic, and justifiably so. But for the rest of us – we knew he was coming back, right? I mean, your basic knee surgery doesn’t often lead to death or loss of leg, in most orthopaedist’s hands anyway. So let’s pretend like we’re mature adults and accept it for what it is – the return of a great athlete to the sport he and we love. Avoid the overblown, please. Remember, the millions of people without jobs probably aren’t that excited about Tiger right now, nor are the folks (barely) working for GM – or Saab, or Ford or . . .

Thinking of Tiger?

Settle, people.

// Category PGA Tour, Tiger Woods // Add Comment »

This just in – Tiger is back in competition and, best news of all, winning again!

Unfortunately for golf fans, it isn’t on the Tour. It is at the Westminster Dog Show. A Scottish deerhound, Ch. Gayleward’s Tiger Woods dominated the  Hound Group last night at Westminster and is on to the Best in Show competition.

Any bets on how he does? I mean, according to reports, this young hound has 4 stress fractures, two torn ACL’s – and a world of pride and competitive spirit. Not to mention the stunningly attractive Brussels griffon he has been associating with at all of New York’s finest places to be seen.

This cat is a winner!

Tiger Woods - the other

// Category PGA, PGA Tour, Tiger Woods // Add Comment »

Very good article on Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness journal on why there are fewer golf blogs than in other sports, written by Jon Show. Couple of interesting points:

There is less controversy in golf, unlike in team sports where crazed Packer fans (for example) wanted the heads of the entire defensive coaching staff after the Pack’s miserable performance on D the second half of 2008. Who are you going to fire in golf – the caddy? You can see the absolute biggest that can get when Steve Williams, Tiger’s bagman, made his inappropriate comments about Lefty earlier this year.

Lack of passion. The so-called “motor” for online sports blogging and activity is passion about a sport and golf is, at best, quietly passionate. I think in this case that the word “passion” isn’t used correctly. It should be “psychotic” in reference to some of the talk radio and blogging goofballs who populate MLB, NBA, and NFL fandom. Bloggers need to be crazy to attract big audiences. Those of us who write about golf maybe don’t care so much about the big audience – or we’d write about NASCAR.

Interesting to me, as a blogger. I get the arguments, but if there are blogs about every topic under the sun (politics being a prime example, the history of economic theory being another – yes, I’ve listened to a podcast and seen a blog about that), shouldn’t there be several about a topic like golf, that people really enjoy?

// Category Golf Business, Uncategorized // Add Comment »

I got a club fitting at GolfTec last weekend and have tried to find some clubs to fit the fitting, as it were.

Found out my clubs are: too whippy, too long, too wrong. I hit best some Project X 5.5 Rifle shafted irons, which are cool looking shafts. I was originally thinking of some Mizuno MP 57’s but am leaning toward a set of Callaway X forged on Ebay for a substantial discount – I am cheap, after all.

My driver shaft was good for me, according to the pro, but the head was wrong. I found last year’s model Titleist D2 on ebay (again, I am cheap) and might have discovered a matching 3 wood from Titleist with the same shaft.

Now, what magic will happen next? Champions Tour, per chance?

// Category Equipment // Add Comment »

My golf fitness business, Cutting Edge Golf Fitness, has had a few cool developments lately.

First, I’ve got my three junior golf customers running. I was at a tournament with my son last weekend and the three of them were talking with me on the putting green before their rounds about the exercises they were doing, what was tough for them, and how they liked the workouts. Good feedback for me.

Second, Cutting Edge will be sponsoring a junior tournament this month. The Tarheel Golf Foundation has given me a “presenting” status for their next junior tournament at Finley GC in Chapel Hill. The official name is the Tarheel Golf Classic presented by Cutting Edge Golf Fitness. I’ll hang around before the players start their rounds, do some simple physical evals, and talk up the program with the kids and their parents. The Tarheel Golf Foundation’s founders, Eric Murray and Bob Gerard, have been tremendous supporters of my business and I am very, very grateful. I’ve also enlisted the help of the original, one and only Claydog, Clay Garland, to help out. Another TPI certified golf fitness instructor and PGA pro, Clay is a good friend and will be great to have around at the tournament and to help out with kids who need evals and workouts.

Finally, I got a hit from our website from a local courses’ director of junior instruction about helping with their club’s juniors’ fitness. We’re going to talk about setting up some type of program.

All this is exciting stuff. Let alone the fact that my offiicially logoed golf bag, hat and shirt are on their way. I’ll give you a sneak peek when they hit the door.

// Category Fitness // Add Comment »

When I was younger, I used to like watching the early season celebrity pro-ams – the Hope, the “Clambake” at Pebble Beach. It was fun for me to watch the nice weather and see some famous people hack around with the pros while I was sitting in the midst of winter in the wonderland known as Wisconsin.

As I get older, I like them less and less.

First off, I don’t live in the frozen tundra anymore so the early PGA season isn’t a preview of spring like it used to be. I don’t drool looking at the overseeded fairways in Tucson or the Pacific Ocean off the Monterey Peninsula. Maybe I’m maturing . . . [insert punchline here].

Second, I just don’t like watching B and C List celebs swinging the stick with pros who are trying to do their jobs. I like Ray Romano just fine, but I’d rather not see him chop it out from a fairway bunker with JB Holmes watching. Same for Kevin James. And I certainly don’t want to see some corporate CEO who is a member at Pine Valley and sandbags to a handicap of 18 while looking all the world like a 2 cheat on national TV either.

But the thing that has come to bother me the most is the way that the Hope courses are destroyed by the pros. Remember Duval’s 59? It was at the Hope. Every year, the 5 rounds of the Hope give up more birdies than the Badgers gave up passing yards this year. It is ridiculous. And this year is even crazier. Pat Perez set a consecutive round PGA tour record for low score in the first two rounds. This was such an incredible standard and worthy record that it was broken the next two days by Steve Stricker’s 61 and 62. That’s 123 strokes for 36 holes. To break it down even further, Stevo had 21 birdies, 15 pars, and nothing else except an uncontrollable case of the giggles during those two days. 6 more birdies than pars! 33 under par after four rounds? Are you kidding me?

Maybe it is because I can’t make birdies like that in any situation, even in those courses with windmills and clown mouths. I can’t appreciate 11 birdies in one round because it is beyond my mind’s ability to comprehend, much like the path our Secretary of State took to her current position.

I love professional golf. And I am a huge fan of Stricker’s, so it isn’t that I’m upset Steve did this. Someone would have, so it might as well have been the fellow Cheesehead. But I would much rather see these guys challenged. I like tournaments where birdie is not that easy and bogey is a definite possiblity on most holes. I want to see them work a bit – make the spectacular shot to save par, not the boring play for birdie. The US Open is the classic example, but the Player’s and the Wachovia in Charlotte are good ones too. This is one of the reasons I never got too excited about my hometown tournament, the Greater Milwaukee Open (now, the US Bank Open, at least this week). Brown Deer is a very good course, but pros just kill it.

Bottom line: As I get older, I just don’t want the game to look that easy for anyone.

The only good thing about today’s round: no celebs.

// Category European PGA Tour, Golf Business, Junior Golf, Uncategorized // Add Comment »

I’m like most fans. I watch the PGA and European tour and only think of the players I see as golfers. That is really the only way I see them. Sure, they get some quotes in the paper or golf magazines, and Tim Rosaforte on TGC tells us a little about what they were thinking, but basically, they are golfers to me.

Then you read a story like Paul Goydos.

Goydos has always been popular among writers as he is funny, willing to talk, and self-depracating. He is fairly popular among fans for a two time winner who is not a frequent contender. I had heard at one point that he had taken some time off the tour and continued to do so intermittently to take care of daughters. I thought it was curious (unless they are widowed, how many men do you know of who get custody of their kids?), but didn’t really think about it. He’s a golfer, after all.

Now, we find out that Goydos needs to take time off again. It is because his ex-wife, who he divorced in 2004 – hence, the custody issue – died. And one of the reasons for the breakup was noted in various news outlets in association with the current story to be her addiction to painkillers. He had taken a season off after the divorce to help his kids and is about to do so again.

Life really isn’t easy. Even when you’re a figure on the green grass of the professional golf tours.

// Category PGA, PGA Tour, frustration // Add Comment »

Reading through the typical golf blogs today, I ran across a comment in the Editor’s Blog from Golf Digest, written by a golf instructor named Ed LeBeau from Heartland Golf Schools in St. Louis. Mr. LeBeau makes an interesting observation about the two general groups of golf instruction:

“There are two approaches to golf instruction, one that focuses on the movement of the body and the other that focuses on the movement of the club . . . Teachers like Ernest Jones, Manuel de la Torre, Eddie Merrins and dozens of club professionals are proponents of club-focused instruction. This approach to instruction is highly effective”

I am currently reading Manuel de la Torre’s classic instructional book, “Understanding the Golf Swing.” Mr. de la Torre is the head pro at Milwaukee Country Club (THE elite club in Milwaukee and a place that never deemed to allow me on it’s grounds). His way is a great way to think about the golf swing. Basically, take the clubhead back with your hands above your right shoulder, then swing the club with your upper arms completely to a full finish.

That’s it.

No “keep your head still,” or “keep your left arm straight,” or “get behind the ball” or “load the right side,” ad nauseum. Take it up, swing it through. That is the club movement approach noted above, rather than all those body-related instructions we are flooded with.

He feels if you take a true swing and avoid interfering with the arms’ swing of the club (by trying to “hit the ball” with your hands, for example), you can have a consistent, powerful swing.

I’m sick of thinking of 16 different things when I try to swing. I’ve often thought that I just need to shut my brain off – as have many others for different reasons. With the help of Mr. de la Torre, I’m going to try it his way for the forseeable future. Because all the other junk hasn’t been working, that is for sure.

Tags: instruction, Manuel de la Torre// Category Psychology, Swing analysis, learning, practice // 1 Comment »