A little food for thought from some new books, and other assorted founts of wisdom:
"If Phil Mickelson, one of the game's best putters and short game players, works on three-foot, six-foot and lag putts, plus all the "simple" but critical shots around the green (and he does), shouldn't you?"
SOURCE: Inside Scoring, Winter 2006, A Pelzgolf Publication www.pelzgolf.com
Continue reading "A quick read"
Posted in General @ 10:39 PM | Comments (519)
REALLY, you shouldn't. Say it with me. Anyway, you might consider some mirror work so you can at least sound convincing. Eric's absolutely right. Part of the problem is that the big ticket golf items are far beyond the means, not to mention the interest level (You haven't been THAT good) to warrant someone stepping up and presenting you with a set of brand new [..............................................] - insert your own current lust in the space provided.
Continue reading "You shouldn't have"
Posted in General @ 01:29 AM | Comments (0)
The second stage of the yearly pressure cooker that is the PGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament was completed just before Thanksgiving. When I look at all the guys who shelled out big bucks in hopes of obtaining entrance into golf's biggest and brightest stage, I realize there are a lot of really good players. While perusing the lists of results some names jumped out for a variety of reasons.
Continue reading "Q School Pressure"
Posted in PGA Tour @ 01:20 AM | Comments (0)
The seasonal-themed catalogs are again choking my mailbox, but, hey, if your life is somehow completed by spending $79.95 to get your own World's Smallest Indoor Remote Control Helicopter, far be it from me to rain on your parade. The golf stuff is always lame, so lame.
Continue reading "Three easy payments my #@$%!"
Posted in Golf Equipment @ 12:31 AM | Comments (2)
Impolitic as it may have been, I just couldn't let Hank Haney slip away without asking him how he managed; how he dealt with the millstone slung round his neck as if out of an episode of the Twilight Zone. It's an experience, he's written, that left him "literally shaking from exhaustion." What was the source of his misery? Only golf, the game which has provided him his living, and the game in which he's made a considerable name for himself: writing for the magazines, appearing on television, working with major championship winners like Mark O'Meara and of late, no less than Tiger Woods. The man had the yips. Bad.
Continue reading "A visit with Mr. Haney"
Posted in PGA Tour @ 11:52 PM | Comments (1)
When did swing coaches become household names? I can't for the life of me remember hearing who taught Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, or Tom Watson. But today you read about swing gurus, short game gurus, head case gurus, basketcase gurus, and technology gurus. Are these guys really valuable, read necessary, to a golfer's success or are the golfer's responsible for the teacher's success?
Continue reading "Which Came First: Player or Teacher"
Posted in General @ 04:02 AM | Comments (7)
Issue #1 Riled over a purse
It's not easy to upset the ice queen, naturally reserved especially in front of the media, but I can certainly see Annika's point. You toil all year and then suddenly, with the clock running out, some rookie wanders up at the final event, and on the strength of one tournament - and worse - one round, for chrissakes, collects triple coupons and blows the whole money list up in smoke, walking off with a cool million. For someone who chooses her words ever so carefully, this qualifies as an absolute rant. In fact, I've never heard or read anything from Annika quite like this before. No wonder she's pulled out of the World Cup and is ready to go skiing. Here's the exchange in its entirety:
Continue reading "Bottom of the Bag"
Posted in General @ 10:59 PM | Comments (43)
Julieta Granada shot a smooth bogey free 68 and won a million bucks. How's that for pressure? For anyone who watched the field start at 32, cut the field to 16 after 36 holes and a marvelous multi player playoff, then cut again to 8 players for the final round and didn't experience a thrill, well, my guess is you're on beta blockers or seriously in need of life support. Tim Finchem can only hope that short of sacrificing a goat on the vernal equinox he can get as much excitement out of the FedEx Cup.
I can't even imagine being able to breathe standing over a 5ft putt on the 17th hole with a cool million on the line. A five buck press is enough to bring enough dampness to my palms to soak a towel. A million dollars, even though it's not my money, would probably allow me to water the fairway from tee to green. It's a known physical law that the amount of moisture produced by the palms is directly proportional to the amount of the money on the line, said moisture relocating from one's mouth and throat area.
Continue reading "Newly Minted Millionaire"
Posted in General @ 04:15 AM | Comments (6)
The same big box stores dot the landscape across our great land. Your Circuit City, Old Navy, Container Store, etc., etc., travelling as they apparently do in packs. Invariably I get boxed in trying to find my way out of the parking lot so I can hit the traffic light without having to drive several miles in the wrong direction before turning around, etc. I know, nothing unusual about any of this. But now, now it is a big deal for us in our fair city, as Ikea has opened up, complete with folks sleeping out in anticipation of the blessed event of opening day.
Continue reading "Attack of the Big Box Retailers"
Posted in Golf Equipment @ 02:53 AM | Comments (0)
It's a Harvey Penick tip that never made it into any of his books. An exclusive! Out on the driving range, for the sake of discussion, you're hitting your driver and you absolutely pure it. You rake over another ball and again hit it right on the screws. OK, here's the tip: set up another ball. Don't hit it just yet. First walk back around your bag. Now let's see if you can hit three perfect drives in a row. Simple, huh? You can see what he had in mind, breaking up the routine of practice by injecting a little additional twist of reality. Just to be sure, I asked for a second opinion from an instructor of my acquaintance who'd spent quality time with Harvey.
Continue reading "That's the way we play the game"
Posted in General @ 04:39 PM | Comments (0)
There seems to be a current run on the sort of flotsam that I've been stuffing away for years into bags of flapdoodle, otherwise useless but entertaining intellectual Chex Mix that could be filled under miscellany, trivia and such. Some of my favorites:
1. Never underestimate the value of a good pairing.
Caddie Bob Riefke, at the time with Justin Leonard, explains in the book: Fourteen Clubs and the Auld Claret Jug: “One of the great things about Sunday afternoon was that we were playing with Fred Couples. Justin loves and respects him and he was just a great partner to have on a day like that. It was a real laid-back day. I know it’s the British Open final round but, believe me, it was like playing a practice round. No matter whether Fred’s leading or if he’s in 40th place, his temperament’s going to be pretty much the same. His caddie Joe and I are good friends, all four of us are good friends. So it was just a great, great pairing.”
Continue reading "Concrete has a Stimpmeter reading of 31"
Posted in General @ 08:50 PM | Comments (1105)
My first annual meeting in a couple of years, the trade show was smaller, thanks, no doubt, to pervasive selling on the Internet, and a location, Las Vegas, that would necessarily require a flight for most members, with the inconvenience and expense of schlepping along clubs, books, artwork, etc., which can quickly feel like dragging a corpse around. Still it couldn't have been nicer.
Continue reading "A happy, historical recreation"
Posted in General @ 01:38 AM | Comments (1)
