Golf Confessions

The Chinese are starting to play golf, there are approximatley one million Chinese golfers in China at the present time.  These are people that are playing on a regular basis and this number is growing very rapidly.  This week the European PGA-Asian Tour is sponsoring the Volvo China Open in Bejing.. 

This year the Chinese are also hosting the summer Olympics. The Chinese market will be the largest in the world since China has the largest population in the world.  You can imagine how the world leaders in golf equipment are posturing themselves for this huge market.  The Chinese will push to have a winner on all of the major tours around the world, the small country of South Korea has already made a huge impact on the ladies tours of the world.  South Korean, K. J. Choi has won on the PGA tour and is an established world class player. 

I beleive the Chinese will do very well in golf.  It is very evident that the game eventually comes down to having a strong mind set and being able to follow a rigid shot routine.  These tendencies will fit the Chinese quite well.  When you examine the success of the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan, their strong suites are and were their ability to stay in the moment and not let anything disrupt their concentration.  It was often said that Ben Hogan did not know who his playing partners were are what they had shot during a round.  Ben was totally focused on the round and focusing on one shot at a time.  These great players also have the ability to disect a course and play each round to their strengths.

Already a lot of the major golf companies use the likes of Tiwain and other Asian countries to manufacture their components.  As the number of players increase in China, the golf course architects, golf cart companies and everyone involved in all aspects of the game will be impacted.  This huge increase in demand for all that is associated with the game may put a crunch on the rest of the world that has enjoyed having the game to themselves for so many years.  You may see a lot of golf course superintendents, teachers and other skilled people migrate to China to take advantage of the boom. 

Can you see The Golf Channel with a satelite station in China doing the 19th hole?

Boo is the 54 hole leader going into the final round at Harbor Town.  Boo is trying to win back to back  this week.  This down to earth golfer is one of the purest strikers of the golf ball on the PGA Tour.  He has a very sound game and goes about his business very methodicaly.

Boo Weekley is sort of a Gomer Pyle of the tour, but don’t be mistaken by this young man’s down home attitude, he can really play golf.  Boo might be the next every day golfer’s hero, like a John Daly.  A lot of people in the gallery and watching on TV can probably relate to Boo.  He had rather have a rod or gun in his hands in the place of a golf club since he is an avid outdoorsman.  Boo probably plays golf so he can afford to hunt and fish.

It is refreshing to see a down to earth young man with so much talent and not let his success go to his head.  This week one of Boo’s pro-am partners was his mom.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005 11:10 AM

As you can see, I first addressed this question in 2005.  Well the riders won out in this issue.  Most of the new arrivals to this tour do walk since they are fresh off the PGA.  If a golfer can walk and play competitive it is probably in his best interest, this will help him stay in shape and give him a rythmn to the round. 

There is a new look on the Champions Tour this year(2006). The tour decided to take away carts except for the pro-ams and two tournament sites where the terrain change is very severe.  Several of the senior players have been voicing concern about this move and are talking about the possibility of legal action.  A lot of these  concerned players have some major health issues they are dealing with and may not be able to play if they are denied the use of golf carts.  Some of these players have been on the Champions Tour for a short period of time and others have been around since the inception of the tour in the early eighties. 
 
Ed Fiori has suffered through some heart problems and could face the possibility of not being able to play without the use of a cart.  Tom Purtzer has fought back problems for many years and may be looking at a limited playing schedule if he can’t ride.  And Chi Chi Rodriguez at the age of 69 says” many of the players want the use of carts”.  There is talk about taking some legal action before the Florida tournaments. 
 
A lot of the senior players have been walkers ever since their arrival on the Champions Tour and support the idea of no carts.  Some players have pointed to the fact that most of the tournament winners have not used carts.  This issue will probably not go away soon and could be a dividing point among several of the players. 
 
I hate to see any issue in this game be drug into the courts.  But as is the case so many times, there a going to be valid points on each side. Many years before the Casey Martin issue with carts, I asked Sam Snead about this very question-if you had been born with a handicap or had an injury and could not walk and play golf do you think the tour should make an exception for you to play out of a cart?  Sam did not think that any exception should be made and that he would have missed the opportunity to play golf professionally.  Again, we have our different opinions, but I for one would hate to think the talent of a Sam Snead could possibly have been missed. 
 
I hope this problem can be worked out and the integrity of the game will be preserved.

The differences were worked out and the Champions Tour is continuing with great success. 
 
We welcome your comments concerning this issue.
 
See you on the next tee. 

Today the selection for golf balls is a varied as the golf equipment that you have to choose from in order to pound these balls down the fairway.  Just a fews years ago the golf ball world was very simple compared to today.  There were very few brands to choose from and you usually only had two choices with each ball manufacturer, and this was a 90 compression or a 100 compression.  This limited world was made up of Titleist, Maxfli, Spalding and Wilson for the most part.  Some of you may remember playing with the Acushnet Club Special.  I ran across one of those old relics in a draw the other day.  The world of golf balls has certainly changed, just like the clubs.  Now each brand has many different balls to choose from.  The modern ball is designed to go high and straight.  And of course and rightly so each manufacturer has a ball designed for the lady golfer.

One of the most noticeable qualities of the modern golf ball is its durability.  In years gone by the balata ball was the top ball for the better amateurs and pros.  This balata ball gave the player the most feel, but with it’s thin cover the ball would suffer severe wounds if you caught it a little thin.  Even when watching tour players you would see players constantly checking their ball after reaching the green to see if any damage had been done and the ball needed to be taken out of play.  Today with the modern ball and its durable covers a player could play the same ball forever.  The story goes that pure swinging Sam Snead once played an entire Los Angeles Open with one ball.  It boggles the imagination to think what Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and the likes would have done if they would have had the modern golf ball.  These tour players of today can select from a wide range of balls to fit their individual swings and equipment.  They can choose from low spin, high spin , soft feel a little harder feel or what ever the conditions may require.

Sam Snead was one of the first players that I saw that had his own personalizrd golf ball.  Sam played Wilson equipment most all of his career and he also used Wilson Staff balls.  Wilson printed balls for Sam that had the number 0.  Today Greg Norman has a shark, Tiger Woods has Tiger on his ball and several players have their names or a personalized logo for their identity.

In order to find what ball fits your swing and equipment best, you can check with your PGA pro or see a swing doctor that has all of the modern computerized equipment to analize your swing.  The things you hear so much today is all about spin, launch angle and ball speed.  To optimize all of these critical areas you will then get the most out of your swing. 

Annika Sorenstam after missing the better part of last year on the LPGA with back problems is in the field this week trying to gain ground for the top spot on the world rankings.  Annika (70) and number one in the world Lorena Ochoa(68) and  Suzann Petterson(68) both of these players are one shot off the lead set by Carin Koch and Teresa Lu who both shot 67.

Ochoa is certainly on a roll, she has won her last three starts and is looking to duplicate Sorenstam’s four in a row in 2001.  Paula Creamer(72) and Natalie Gulbis(73) may be in danger of missing the cut should they have a poor second round.

Davis Love has been struggling with his golf game since his ankle injury last September.  Davis missed one of his favorite tournaments when he failed to qualify for The Masters last week.

This week finds Love in a tournament that he has won more than anyone.  Davis has worn the plaid jacket at Hilton Head five previous times.  The Hilton Head course is comprised of narrow tree lined fairways and the tours smallest greens.  This would seem an unlikely fit for someone that can be one of the longest drivers of the golf ball when he wants to really let it out.  But, it seems that the surroundings are quite soothing for Love.  The area is quite similiar to where Love calls home and that is very close at Sea Island.  With a win at this tournament Love would once again qualify for his beloved Masters.

Davis will face stiff competition in his pursuit of his sixth jacket.  Tied at the top of the leader board is previous champion Justin Leonard and several of the top players in the world are also in the field.  Ernie Els continues to struggle opening with a first round 72 one over par.  Brandt Snedeker(-1), Steve Flesch(-1) and Stewart Cink(-3) look to rebound from their close call at The Masters.

The golf club business has grown tremendously over the past 15 years.  In the years prior to this explosion the golf industry was dominated by the likes of Wilson, Macgregor, Spalding and Hogan.  When you go into the huge golf discount stores these names are hard to find.  They have been replaced with Mizuno, Callaway, Taylormade, Ping, Bridgestone.  These club manufacturers have also gotten into the ball business and shoes. 

The golf industry has grown world wide.  China may be one of the new frontiers with the likes of Russia.  These countries were slow to get into the golf course business, but they are coming on strong.  With their huge populations there is a lot of room for growth.

There are several places that one can find great values on excellent used golf equipment.  Several golf stores in all areas usually take trade-ins on golf equipment.  This offers shoppers the oportunity to pick up good deals on used equipment.  I have a friend that will buy the latest set of irons, drivers, putters, fairway woods, or anything he thinks will help his game several times a year.  He always buys new equipment and invariably will trade it for something else within a few months if not days.  This constant buying and trading will offer some other golfer the opportunity to pick up a good deal on used golf equipment.  This used golf equipment so many times has hardly been used and is just like new.

Callaway golf also is a great source for used golf equipment.  Callaway will certify their used clubs before offering them for sell.  This will give the customer a feeling of security that he or she is getting a good peice of equipment.

Some golf businesses will offer a program to first time buyers and or junior golfers that the business will help the player trade up as the player matures or developes into a better player.  One of the most important things for a beginner is to have proper fitting equipment.  The better the fit, such as length and weight of the clubs  the better control the player will have.  This control of the club will help to develp better swings because the player will not be laboring with a club that is usually too heavy.  So many youngsters start off with clubs that have been cut down from their dad or mom’s sets and they are too heavy and this usually promotes an over the top move that may stick with the beginning player for a life time.

So there are a lot of places that you may find good deals on used golf equipment and you owe it to yourself or someone else that you are helping start in a game for life get some proper fitting equipment.

Callaway Golf is one of the top researchers and developers of golf equipment in the industry.  The founder of Callaway, Eli Callaway was very devoted to developing the best equipment for the amateur and professional.  I was caddying for a friend on the Senior Tour the year that Callaway made it’s debut on the tour.  Callaway,during the off season had gotten with several of the top players and introduced them to their clubs and encouraged them to try the new and innovative golf clubs.  A couple of these players were Bob Murphy and Jim Colbert.  These golf clubs reminded me of the first time I had seen Ping golf clubs several years prior.  They were certainly different if you were use to looking at the likes of the typical clubs on tour, such as Wilson Staff blades.

These modern clubs began to catch on very fast and a lot of the pros that had some skepticism at first really started to take note when they saw what kind of results these players were having.

Tom Wargo’s career was definetely influenced by the Callaway driver.  Tom was an average driver of the ball with the then conventional drivers.  But when Tom tried the more forgiving Callaway driver he gained a lot of confidence and was able to pursue a successful career on the senior tour.

Tiger Woods had orthoscopic knee surgery today in Utah.  This is the same knee that Tiger has had work done on in the past.  The operation found some minor damage that had been causing some pain.  The recovery time is expected to be about four weeks.

Tiger is lucky that he does not have as much damage as what Ernie Els experienced when he tore his knee up in a freak boating accident.  Els knee took him out of competition for almost a year, and he is just know getting back into form.

Tiger will have to work very hard in order to be ready for the Tournament Players Championship and the Open which is played in June.