The British Open is already upon us…that means we are three majors into the season already. I can’t believe how fast the year has gone by. I also can’t believe that I have not posted anything here since February. Well time to catch up…
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I am a golf fanatic, but I will admit that I would rather play than watch. That is except for four weekends out of the year – the Majors. I really enjoy the Majors and although I think The Masters is my favorite major, having played a bit of links golf in Europe, I hold a special place in my heart for The Open every year.
This year I was very disappointed with The Open and the lack of drama or excitement. The Open was played this year at the home of golf, St. Andrews, a course I have had the privilege of walking. This was the 29th time the open has been played at St. Andrews and the biggest names in golf have won there; Daly, Faldo, Seve, Nicklaus and Woods, to name a few. Every professional golfer will tell you that winning The Open is a dream, but winning it at St. Andrews, is what they fantasize about. [Read more →]
I guess I missed on the Tiger is back article…this week was the first week that he did not break par over four rounds in a regular PGA Tour event – likely something he will want to forget quickly. So, not exactly back. Having played this game a long time now, I know that progress always starts with a glimpse on the course and then it gradually works its way into your game permanently. Maybe I saw his glimpse…or maybe he is just done. Either way I am looking forward to The Open next week.
I like the timeliness of the outcome of this week’s tournament. I am reading a book by Dr. Bob Rotella and the mental approach to the game he describes seems very fitting to the great win by Justin Rose this week. Not sure if you remember, but he had a four shot lead going into Sunday the week before at the Travelers Championship and shot 75 to lose the tournament. And although it looked like he was going to give away the tournament this weekend, he managed to hang on and come away with his second win in five weeks. Remembering your successes in golf and forgetting your failures is so important for your mental self image. If you don’t think you will make a putt or hit a good shot or come through under pressure, then you won’t, I guarantee it. See my favorite Rotella book after the jump. [Read more →]
I am not sure how many of you got to see Tiger’s opening round play at the AT&T National, but I think he showed that he is ready to get back to playing the golf he is capable of playing. Sure if you look at the score it doesn’t look like he had a great day, he shot a 3-over par 73 and is outside the cut line after the first round. However, that score can be directly attributed to a horrendous day on the greens. Tiger took 30 putts all day and even hit the ball in the water on the 17th for a double bogey.
What I noticed was the fact that he hit the ball better from tee to green (with the exception of 17) than he has since coming back to golf. His driving was pretty much perfect all day. He played with Davis Love III and Dustin Johnson, two very long hitters, and Tiger out drove them all day. The driving distance stats had him bettering them by 20 yards in round one, as they are measured by the PGA Tour. This is a far cry from a few weeks ago when Tiger and Dustin Johnson played in a practice round together and Tiger said he couldn’t even keep the ball in the same zip code with Dustin.
If Tiger continues to hit the ball like he did yesterday, then the rest of the field should start to worry. There is no chance that, arguably the best putter ever, is going to continue to miss putts under 10 feet like he did in round one. In case you didn’t know, he leads the PGA in putts made under 10 feet – something like 70% – wouldn’t you like to make 70% of your putts from ten feet and in? I will be watching to see if he really has straightened out his tee shots or if Thursday was just a fluke.
Take a tip from Tiger: [Read more →]
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 →]