Golf Confessions

In the late seventies I had an opportunity to play Pebble Beach and Spy Glass.  I had seen both of these great courses on TV the many times I had watched the Bing Crosby tournament.  As usual when I have had the opportunity to see something in real that I had seen on TV, TV had not done it justice.  I could hardly concentrate on my golf as I was way to busy looking at all of the spectacular scenery all around me.  Although I will admit to taking a few pictures as we played along and time permitted as we waited on the many foursomes in front of us who seem to take a picture of everything.  Even though I had seen the courses so many times on TV, I could not believe the beauty that surrounded both of these spectacular courses.
 
I realized instantly why I had heard Jack Nicholas and Tom Watson say that if they had one round left to play that they would like to play Pebble Beach.  You could feel the rich tradition of all the great championships that Pebble had hosted and all of the great champions that had walked these fairways.  No matter where one is in the world and Pebble Beach is mentioned every golfer knows what you are talking about.  Through golf and the sharing of these wonderful places, golfers feel a bond that will be reflected on for a lifetime. 
 
Little did I know at the time, but I would be back at Pebble Beach to caddy for a friend in the US Open the year Tom Watson would over take Jack to win the tournament he cherished so much.
 
If you are looking for a golfing trip, I would highly recommend going to the Monterry area and experiencing the golf and the beauty.
 
See you on the next tee.

You may be able to hit your driver as straight as your wedges.  The more loft you have on that new titanium driver the straighter you should be able to hit it.
 
Most golfers are able to hit fairway woods better than there drivers and there is logic to this delima.  Fairway woods(metal) have more loft and are not going to put as much side spin on the ball as does the less lofted driver.  The straighter the face of any club will naturally promote more side spin and miss-hit shots will curve off line more. The bigger drivers which can be legally up to 460cc, more loft has also come about.  When metal headed drivers first came upon the scene, most golf enthusiast wanted very little loft.  Unlike the high degree of loft that had been prevalent on wood head clubs the loft for most golfers had to be around 10 to 11 degrees for the player  to get the ball airborne.  The balls of this era also were not designed to go as high as they are today.
 
Then came the phrase launch angle, this terminology got the golfer thinking about how far he could carry his tee shots.  The longer the carry the farther you can hit the ball.  For most golfers he needs the proper shaft flex and higher degree of loft to maximize his abilities.
 
So the next time you get the itch to try a new driver you should find where a club or driving range is having a demo day and try all of the latest technology.  Usually a shaft that is lighter, has a lower kick point and probably not a stiff as your old driver and also has 9 to 10 degrees of loft may do the trick.  Hit em long and straight.
 
See you on the next tee.