From Tee 2 Green

I played in one of the best events this week I have been part of in a very long time, and there was even a three hour rain delay. I was fortunate to be asked to play in the Dubliner Classic this year at the Glenn Dale Golf Club. This is an event that has been put on for 32 years by Daniel Coleman, owner of The Dubliner in Washington D.C.  The Dubliner is one of the best Irish pubs in D.C. and is located by Union Station. I could tell this was going to be a fun event from the moment I arrived on Monday. It might have been the coolers of drinks and beer already set up for us, to the BBQ lunch that was being prepared or maybe the many Irish accents I heard – I mean who has more fun than the Irish?

The thing I loved about this tournament was, in Danny’s words, “it is the only real golf tournament left.” We did not play the traditional scramble format you find in so many of these events. Instead we played net two best balls in the foursome. Basically, it was real golf – play your ball from tee to green and take the two best scores. They also required you to prove your handicap so I don’t think we had the normal sandbagging going on. They also had Irish crystal trophies for the first five places in the tournament. Read more about the event and how we did. [Read more →]

Tags: Thoughts, Tournaments by Bill
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Golf Tip:  For soft chips, open the face of a wedge, take it back outside the target line and up quickly, then slice across the ball – hard.  The ball will pop up in the air, go a shorter distance and land softly.

This was the tip on my golf hole a day calendar.  This is a really good tip and although I believe it is important to understand how to hit a high, soft chip, I think they should have started with a disclosure:  USE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY! One of the biggest problems I see with most people I play with is they are constantly trying to hit a flop shot.  They don’t understand how to execute the basic bump and run and only try lob shots around the green.

The flop shot is one of the toughest shots to pull off and should almost never be your first option.  The basic chip and run is almost always a better option.  A bad bump and run will always end up closer to the hole than a missed flop shot.  Your chipping priority should always be: putt – bump and run – lob…in that order.  Always, always putt the ball if you can from around the green.

How to incorporate the bump and run in your game after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: Lessons, Thoughts, Tips by Bill
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Well, I guess the USGA proved this weekend that even the best players in the world can be beaten. I don’t know how the rest of you feel, but it didn’t seem like anyone wanted to win on Sunday. Do you think that Tiger and Phil are kicking themselves a little this morning? All they needed was to find an under par round and they would have won the US Open. They didn’t need to be 5 under, even par would have done it for Tiger. There were only five rounds under par all day – now that is playing tough. I guess Pebble Beach proved to be too much for the pros. Pretty amazing when you consider that the course is barely 7000 yards long.

I wanted to personally thank the USGA for making the course so difficult that the tournament became boring. I was talking with a co-worker this morning and she mentioned that at around 7 PM she checked out the “what are people watching” feature on Fios and the US Open was 12th on the list. I wonder is the USGA realizes that most of the viewing public, at least the non-diehard golf fans, don’t want to watch the pros making triple bogeys. I think we weekend warriors like to occasionally see that the pros are human, but making a golf course that hard, only removed the drama from the tournament. I know the tournament is supposed to be the toughest challenge, but I am not sure that a player should have to be perfect in order to win. Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, as Dr. Bob Rotella would say, and it shouldn’t have to be played that way.

I would like to congratulate Graeme McDowell for outlasting the field. I thought he played a smart, consistent final round and deserved to win. Catch a portion of his press conference after the jump. [Read more →]

Tags: News, US Open by Bill
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Phil really looked uncomfortable on the course today.  He started out flying short irons over pin placements and missing putts on the low side.  He used his incredible short game to stay even through 6 holes.  Unfortunately, your short game can only save you so often, especially in a US Open.  Bogeys on 16, 17 and 18 (his front nine) really set the tone for the rest of his day.  He really never got going today and has dug himself a big hole.  It is only Thursday and I don’t doubt that Phil will be on the main page of the leader board on Sunday, but he certainly has not made it easy.

The course looks beautiful and difficult – a great combination.  There are some big names on the leader board after the morning rounds, Weir, Choi, Poulter, Donald, and Toms – all guys that can win the tournament.

Let’s see how the afternoon squad does today.

Tags: News, US Open by Bill
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Was I the only one who was a little shocked to find out that Lee Westwood had not won on the PGA Tour since 1998. How is that possible? He has been contending in just about everything I can remember for about two years now. He seems like too good a player not to win more. I am sure most people will say that Westwood didn’t win this but rather Robert Garrigus lost it with a triple bogey on the 72nd hole. Well I say a win is a win and Westwood had the chance to win and he came up big on Sunday. Who knows, maybe this will relieve some pressure for him and allow him to play big at Pebble this week.

Tags: News by Bill
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One of my golf buddies is truly on the verge of a breakthrough in his golf game.  I have been playing golf with him for a few years now and in that time he has really made some significant strides in his game.  I remember in the beginning I always thought that he had a good swing, but he tended to mismanage his game during a round and would end up costing him a lot of strokes.  He inevitably would end up turning a bad shot into a bad hole, or worse, into a few bad holes.  He hadn’t really learned how to limit the damage of a bad shot.  He also tended to dwell on the bad swings which would always lead to worse swings.

Over the last few years we have played many rounds together and I have really seen a remarkable improvement in his course management.  His swing is also better and I think he is hitting the ball with more confidence today than he ever has.  He has told me on more than one occasion that his goal is to beat me on the course.  Although I took that as a compliment, I think your goals should focus on your game and not mine.  He beat me earlier this year for the first time and I think that has prompted him to create a more appropriate goal – to shoot par or better. [Read more →]

Tags: Golf Buddies, Lessons, Thoughts by Bill
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I was really happy to see Justin Rose win The Memorial this weekend in Ohio. I think we have been waiting for him to live up to the expectations he created when he contended in The Open back in 1998 at the age of 18. Most of us have not paid much attention to the few victories he has had on the European Tour, because, let’s face it, if you can’t win on the PGA Tour, well then it just doesn’t count. Rose has been around so long, I think we forget that he is not even 30 yet. Who knows, maybe his time has come and this win will give him the confidence to win a major this year. [Read more →]

Tags: News by Bill
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I have been hitting the new Taylor Made Penta TP golf ball for about a month now.  I wasn’t unhappy with the ball I have been hitting for over a year, but I fell prey to the great marketing machine and had to try this new “five layer” ball.  I was neither disappointed or impressed with this ball. I did wonder how many layers is enough for a golf ball? Is five enough or will we get to a ten layer ball and then what would the first layer be?

Adding a fifth layer produced the same results as adding a fifth blade to my razor – sounds good but not really sure I noticed the difference.  I think the Penta TP is surely as good as the Titleist Pro V1, Callaway Touri or my ball of choice, the Srixon Z-Star.  The Penta TP is a little more expensive and I the performance did not warrant spending the extra $10.00 a dozen. [Read more →]

Tags: Callaway, Product Review, Srixon, Taylor Made, Titleist by Bill
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I recently tried both a new Taylor Made R9 driver and R9 3 wood with the new Flight Control Technology (FCT).  I will admit that I am not a big fan of buying a driver off the shelf.  I think that your clubs will perform better if they are fitted for your swing.  For that reason, I think the FTC system is genius.  I have always believed the most important component to your driver is the shaft and not the head, just ask anyone who has teed it up with me and after a few holes wants to know what driver I am using.  When I tell them I use a driver head from a company that is out of business, they are shocked.  A little known fact is that most driver heads are made in the same factory – that’s right, Titleist and Taylor Made have the same people making their heads.  I use a head from La Jolla that was combined with the right shaft for my swing and I have never hit a driver farther or straighter – not even the Taylor Made I tried (and mine costs about $100 to have made).  The only reason I even try other drivers, is just to see the improvements in the technology.  When I find one that I can control that goes farther, then I will replace mine.  I am a golfer, so curiosity makes me try the new clubs despite the fact that technology doesn’t change that much year to year. [Read more →]

Tags: Product Review, Taylor Made by Bill
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Congratulations to Zack Johnson on his victory in Fort Worth this weekend.  I am not sure I have seen such a putting display since, well Zack Johnson did it at the Masters in 2007.  Maybe there is something to these See More putters.  I remember the first time I noticed that putter, Payne Stewart had just made a 15 foot putt to win the US Open in 1999.  A few of my friends bought the putter the very next week.  I was never really able to putt with a straight shafted putter, but I think the idea is very sound. [Read more →]

Tags: News, Product Review, Thoughts by Bill
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