Golf Confessions

This week the PGA tour will be in Hilton Head, S.C.  Harbour Town is the site for the PGA this week after a grinding week at the year’s first major, The Masters. 

Most of the players that will be playing this week after playing in The Masters will take a deep breath and relax.  The tour stop this week will give the players a chance to relax and get over their frustrations of the emotional strain of playing in a major.  Most players will tell you that the mental drain is far greater than any physical drain that they experience when playing in a tournament. 

Harbour Town will be much shorter, very narrow fairways and the smallest greens they will play all year.  The fewest number of putts in a tournament always come from this event because of the small greens.

The 72nd Masters was a struggle on the final day.  Miguel Angel Jimenez shot 68 in the final round for the low score of the day.  The leaders did not fare so well as Trevor Immelman shot three over 75 to win by 3 shots and second place Brandt Snedeker,going into the final  round shot five over 77.  Tiger Woods shot a final round 72 and finished in second place.

The final day had cool temperatures and winds gusting in the 25 to 30 mile range.  With these gusting winds the players fought pulling the right clubs all day.  The extra length and tough pin placements put a premium on distance control.

It will be very intresting to see how the newest first time major winner handles his newly found fame.  Trevor did an outstanding job of staying in the moment the entire day and getting the job done.  This win could open the door for this very talented golfer to sprint up the world rankings. 

If I were a tournament sponsor of a tournament that Tiger Woods is not playing in I would have to have a heart to heart talk with the likes of the Golf Channel and other broadcasters.  It seems that most broadcasters want let each tournament stand on its own.  During these broadcast and in the newspapers we are reminded time and time again that Tiger is not in the field.  In my opinion this is not fair to the tournament, the volunteers, the other players in the field, the concession people and anyone else that has anything to do with the tournament, such as the beneficiaries of the charity money donations. 

The fact that Tiger is the number one player in the world is not the question, but the fact of the matter is that there was golf before Tiger and there will be golf after Tiger.  When Tiger chooses not to participate in an event, then those that do should be given their due credits for their abilities and not spend most of the brodcast bemoaning the fact that Tiger is not in the field.  As a sponsor I would want my tournament promoted to the fullest and have nothing done to keep anyone away from the gates.  The references are made too often that the tournament is not much if Tiger is not playing and this is wrong and can potentialy be harmful to the event.

Most of the media talk going into the weekend of The Masters is what will Tiger do.  He has had a chance to play the same course as the other contestants and he is seven shots behind going into the final two rounds, I think this should speak for its self.  The players in ront of Tiger have played better and deserve the credit up till this point.  If and when Tiger or anyone else storms ahead then their play should be recognized the most.  But, in the mean time give credit where credit is due

Johnson Wagner, last week’s PGA winner in Houston was quoted that he was so excited just to be in The Masters that he did not care if shot 90 both days and missed the cut.  With that kind of an attitude, Wagner may just do what he is talking about.  In my opinion Johnson should be thrilled to be in the tournament, but his attitude should be to win two in a row and capitalize on his good play.  There does not seem to be the desire to win, most American athletes are happy just to compete and get their money.  Tiger Woods is probably the best known athlete that truly goes out each event to win.  So many of the athletes in most all sports are happy to collect a check and go home.  This easy life is letting the rest of the world come to the U.S. and start to dominate most sports.

How would it sound when a player is called up from the minor league to the big league and he tells everyone that he is so happy just to be in the game that he does not care if he goes 0-4 at bat.  Wouldn’t you like to hear his attitude be that he was glad to be here and now it is time to kick some ****.  Today there are very few American ladies on the LPGA and their winning percentage on tour is about 20%. 

TV contracts run sports today and dictate most of their actions.  A golf tournament does not like match play events because they are so afraid that the glamour players may get knocked out early and the TV rating will go down.  It is all about money.

I would like to see fewer players with exemptions and let more players compete on a weekly basis for spots in each tournamet.  This competitive situation would make players work harder and create a stronger mind set.  Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the two best examples of players that could go into a tournament and have an advantage because of their strong minds.

Golf can be a love-hate relationship.  No matter how much you  practice or how good you get we are never totally satisfied with our performance on the golf course.  I have been playing golf for 47 years and I still go to the course or driving range almost every day, weather permitting, striving to improve some phase of my game.  Most everyone looks to their equipment for instant success because we see one of the top ten players in the world on TV and the new driver, putter, or wedge performs some magic and Monday morning you may find yourself at your club or golf store looking for the magic.

I have often wondered if there truly is something magical out there in the equipment, then why aren’t all of the guys teeing it up for a living using that one and only ball of driver or what ever it may be that allowed that one person to win last weekend?  If we are truly honest with ourselves and our egos we will admit that the equipment can make a difference, but the real difference is usually the time we spend practicing and the quality or lack there of in our practice.  But as is the case so many times we are looking for instant success.  This instant success does not usually exist and I was reminded of this fact when I was so fortunate to play with Sam Snead and observed him practice into his 70’s and even 80’s.  I am sure all of the greatest search either through practice or mentally for more perfection just about every day. 

The feel for the swing can come and go so quickly and only a few can scratch out a decent score on those days that their swing has abandoned them.  Then when the round is over they usually proceed to the practice tee and begin the task of finding a key and or feel that will get them back on track.  I believe the really good players that have a long successful career concentrate on what it takes to make the ball do what they want rather than on mechanics.  The better understanding they have on what has to happen rather than on how to make it happen may be the key.  You will never see two people swing exactly the same even though they both are great players.  Each person has their own way of doing the same thing, our bodies are different, tempo, attitudes, perceptions, everything is unique to each individual.  But no matter what a person’s make-up or abilities most everyone who plays the game is always looking for improvement.

My love-hate relationship for the game really showed up about 25 years ago when I was playing in a local bar-be Q tournament one summer weekend in my home town.  I had been playing pretty good leading up to the tournament and one of the biggest bug a boos can be high expectations.  These expectations can get you out of your comfort zone and in territory that you may not be comfortable with and your body can’t handle this extra pressure.  As you can probably imagine the first round I did not play well at all.  I went to the practice tee after wards and tried to work out the multiple problems that had crept into my swing.  Nothing that I tried seemed to work and the frustrations mounted.  Well I decided that was it for me and I went straight home and put my clubs into the attic so that I would not be tempted by the sight of my clubs to ever go out and play this stupid game again.  Something happened later on that evening, as I was watching golf on TV, I figured out what I had been doing wrong.  I called the club to see what my tee time was for the second round of the tournament and I went to the attic and retrieved my clubs.  The next day with much lower expectations I played a very good round of golf. 

Since that trip to the attic 25 years ago I threatened to return those clubs to darkness they deserve but each and every time I think of some magic that keeps my clubs close to my side.  The anger can be quick to build but I have never quit looking for that secret that we all hope to find in the next swing.

See you on the next tee.

The pressure of playing professional golf does not start and stop at the golf course.  The competition has gotten so strong and deep, a successful player must work hard twelve months long.  Fifteen years ago most professionals did very little weight training and were able to take most of the winter off.  This has all changed, most players have personal trainers and dieticians they work with regularly and some trainers travel with the players. 
 
For many players the most pressure may be on the home fronts.  It can be very demanding on a relationship when you are traveling and away from home and family about half of the time.  Then when you are home you must be selfish with your time in order to get in the many hours of practice that is needed to stay with the competition.  Traveling salesmen can relate to some of these issues that may arise from being on the road.  It can be difficult after being on the road for several weeks and the first night home the wife wants to go out to eat.  The wife has been cooped up with the kids for weeks and is tired of home cooking, but the husband has seen nothing but menus and restaurants for weeks.  The last thing he wants to do is go out to eat and put up with crowds and waiting for a table.  As you can see there may be some problems if two people are not very understanding of each others needs.  When you look at how times have changed, the younger players may be able to deal with some of these issues a lot better.  In today’s society so many people are use to eating out almost every night whether they are on the road or not.  The fast food, pizzas, carry out and the modern life styles are different today than yesterday.   So it may be that a young player coming home after weeks of travel may not be opposed to going out to eat versus staying home and laying back in his favorite easy chair. 
 
A lot of players really need their time away from the competition in order to recharge their mental batteries more than their physical needs.  The mental side of the game, and the intense competition can really drain the body. When the brain starts to get fatigued the physical body cannot react to the situations in the most positive manners.  Mental mistakes are the biggest hazard most players will ever face.  None of the players are superior enough to the field each week that they can make mental mistakes and expect to win.  Every player knows that he will hit a certain number of bad shots each and every round and there is nothing he can do about this.  But all players really detest making mental mistakes, such as getting bad yardage and then pulling the wrong club.  Often times you can make up a mistake with an exceptional shot or a little luck, but you know that these mental mistakes will cost you dearly in the end.
 
See you on the next tee

I made a trip to qualify for the British Senior Open in Northern Ireland and the tournament was played at one of the best links courses in the world, Royal Portrush.  This was my first time to be in Ireland and the entire experience was great.  I got over to Ireland about three days before the qualifying round so I could get over the jet lag and play a couple practice rounds.  The first day I went over to Royal Portrush in the morning and got a practice round in on the tournament site because this was the only time that non exempt players would have a chance to play the course except the day before the tournament started if you were lucky enough to qualify.  When I got to the club house there were some guys that I knew standing on the tee and they had room for one more so I joined them.  I was fixing to see just what kind of Irish luck was following me around.
 
Without getting a chance to warm up I jump up on the tee and reach into my bag to take the head cover off my driver and the head of my driver comes off with the head cover.  So here I am holding my driver head in my hand and I do not have a back up driver.  I hit a three wood off the first hole, which was just fine since I had a lot of adrenaline built up.  Then I run into the pro shop and the old Irish pro tells me that he has a shaft just like the one that had broken and he would have one of his assistants reshaft my driver.  My foursome goes out and plays this great course and for the moment I forget about the driver as I am admiring this most spectacular piece of the world.  Even with my luck starting as it had I knew I had made the right decision to go to Ireland.
 
Upon finishing my round my attention focused back on my driver.  I went into the pro shop and the trusty assistant had started the job but had hardly completed it.  I went into the little repair area and finished the job myself.  Next I hurried over to one of the two courses that the approximately 230 players were to qualify on.  The qualifying field is broken into two groups and half will be on each course for one 18 hole medal play on the Tuesday of tournament week.  Each course will have approximately 24 successful qualifiers out of a field of about 115 to 130.  My qualifying round was on Castlerock.  Castlerock, like most courses in Ireland is fairly old and is a lot of fun to play.  I get a young caddy and off we go for my first practice round.  This first round I am not concerned about scoring but getting a feel for the way to play the course and my strategy on some of the tricky holes.  Most of the holes are just what you see but the biggest variable is the wind.  Depending upon the wind direction the holes can really play so different, the wind here can really blow as I was to later learn.
 
I spent the next couple of days playing Castlerock and working on a couple things on the driving range.  My biggest problem was the newly shafted driver.  Even though the shaft was suppose to be the same as the one I had taken out, as is the case most of the time they never are the same.  As with most of my clubs the weight really makes a difference and this new shaft made my driver feel so much lighter.  I spent a lot of time on the practice tee adding lead tape and taking lead tape off.  I never got the feel I was looking for and the next thing I know it is Tuesday and time to qualify.  You will remember the Irish luck I mentioned earlier, well there is good luck and bad luck.  My tee time is the last one in the field, we all start from the first hole since number ten is not at the clubhouse as is the case with links style courses.  Since everyone starts from number one my starting time is quite late in the afternoon.  The day starts off well enough but as time goes on the weather starts to slowly deterate and thirty minutes before I tee it up the wind is bending the flag sticks over and almost touching the greens and the rain is blowing side ways and is some kind of cold.  Playing in the rain and cold is not my favorite but this is Ireland and you do as the Irish do. 
 
This was the worst I had ever played in, including getting caught in the snow a couple times.  I hit some shots with the wind that seem to go for ever and the ones into the wind were brutal.  Thank goodness the days are long in this part of the world because this weather called for some slow play which I also hate.  When you are in this kind of situation you never know what everyone is doing and how the weather is effecting scores so you better just hang in there and see what happens.  As usual I made a couple mental mistakes that I tend to do under these conditions and especially when I have not been playing a lot of tournament golf.  Coming into the final holes the weather was getting even worse which I thought was impossible and I was trying to hang on.  I double bogeyed two of the last three holes and missed a eight foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 81.  Under most any other circumstances this is not a good score and in this case it also proved not to be good enough because I missed the playoff by one stroke.  I was the last man to putt out and there were a lot of guys around eighteenth green to see what we were shooting.  There were several players affected by what I shot when it came to the playoff.  Eight guys would playoff for one spot and I was not one of the eight and I suddenly realized just how close my dream had come to reality.
 
The entire experience was well worth the trip.  Later in the week I went south of Belfast and played another of the great links courses-Royal County Down.  If you ever have the opportunity to play golf in Ireland don’t pass it up.
 
See you on the next tee. 

Are golf pros boring and does this hurt the game that millions love.  First let us not forget that the ones that play the game for a living-they are people just like everyone else.  Yes they can do things with a golf ball that most can only dream of, but this is their job and they have spent thousands of hours trying to perfect their skills.  It is impossible for most golfers and the non golfer to imagine the thousand of balls these professionals hit and the hours spent, usually alone trying to become good enough to make a living.  When you consider the number of people that play the game of golf and the percentage of people that make a living at this sport it is remarkable.  For someone to dedicate themselves to this routine-he or she has to give up many of the frills of every day life.  Standing on a practice range hitting ball after ball is not that glamorous, the heat of the summer the chill of those cold months.  Bending over putting putt after putt takes its toll on the back.  But all of these hours are necessary if you have the slightest chance of competing. 

I to do not condone some of the things some players do, like not wanting to sign autographs, you may think this is terrible and you may be right.  The player that just passed you by may have other things on his mind, for after all he could be thousand of miles from home and his love ones and he missed his sons baseball game last night or maybe he did not get to see his daughter take her first step.  His work had him on the road and he had just had a bad day on the course because he to wanted to be home and get a bite of that birthday cake.  There has just been a lot of talk about what a great entertainer Johnny Carson was, but in small crowds he was shy and wanted to be by himself.  Every player can not be a Lee Trevino and use telling jokes as a way of releasing tension and a bad case of nerves. I know most of us have bad days and good days and so do these guys.  Most business executives can choose the time and place they meet their clients but these golfers have all sorts of people in their office every day.  And something that most people don’t stop and think about is that the tournament in your town comes once a year and these players go sometimes several weeks in a row to tournaments and so it is a different party each week.  I would compare this to the average person looking forward to the holiday season and all of the parties and after you have been to several parties you are looking for an excuse to stay home for some peace and quite.  But these players have to go on the road each and try and make a living.

The competition is enormous and you only have the top 125 exempt in the entire world of the PGA tour and if you loose this exemption it can be brutal to get back in the exempt status.  Just ask Ian Baker Finch, David Duval, Chip Beck and many others that have lost their game a bit and have struggled to get back in form.  Again whether it is right or wrong many of the greats and not so greats can’t always be in the best of moods.  We marvel at the talent of these guys, but they were not born with golf clubs in their hands, their success usually came from he dirt as Ben Hogan referred to his skills.  You must realize just how fickle the game can be, one swing can generate extreme confidence or send you packing and looking for a new career. 

I don’t think the press should try and dictate how a person performs in his office, just like the press does not like someone else telling them what to write and how to write it.  The game of golf is still the purest form of sportsmanship and one of great character.  Where do you see someone calling a penalty on himself for something that no one else even saw and this act of honor and abiding by the rules could cost him one million dollars.  I also do not like some of the rude behavior and what may seem selfish acts at times by some players, but for the most part you do not see these guys going into the crowds or their names headlining police investigations.

What are your thoughts and comments?

See you on the next tee.

There are many great places one can travel to enjoy a golf vacation.  Most resorts worldwide use golf as the main attractant in their brochures.  Golf has become so popular that it is only natural  to tie their favorite past time in with their vacations.
 
The great thing about choosing a golf vacation destination is you can accommodate everyone’s pleasures.  Some of the most beautiful golfing adventures can be in the  Rocky Mountains of Colorado or the Allegheny mountains of Virginia.  If the mountains are not your thing, then you can head to the Gulf coast or the beaches of some island resort off the coast of Georgia or enjoy the rugged coast line of California.  For those that may like a much drier climate, Arizona has some of the most beautiful courses any where.
 
Then there are the vacations for those that want to see where the game originated.  A golfing trip to both Scotland and Ireland should be done by all at least once.  There are so many intriguing things to see and do in these countries, and what better excuse to go than golf.  If you have the luxury of being able to travel any time of the year, then you can usually find some great packages to fit most any budget. 
 
Please share your golfing vacations and comments.
 
See you on the next tee.

I thought the announcers at Doral and the Golf Channel personnel were going to cry when Tiger did not win.  I think Geoff Ogilvy did not get any credit for winning the tournament.  I beleive Tiger Woods is a great golfer, but I also beleive that there are some others that can also play.

The media is close to hurting the tour by their actions on Tiger.  If you listen to the press, a tournament is not worth attending if Tiger Woods is not in the field.  I beleive this is bad for golf.  More credit should be given to any golfer that is able to win on the PGA Tour.  The competition is very strong no matter who is in the field and there are a lot of great shots being made every week. 

What are your thoughts?