If you are a golf addict you probably witnessed 8 of these 10 best shots in 2011 from the comfort of your family room couch. That would mean 8 times you lept from the couch and shouted at the family pet, “You’ve got to be kidding!” He is still wondering why you keep saying that.
This is spine tingling stuff.
(Click to see PGA of America’s 10 Best Shots of 2011 On The PGA Tour)
PGA of America
December, 2011
Talk about thinking out of the box, for the LPGA tour this defines it. It is so crazy and unlikely to occur it is just worth debating in the abstract.
With the 2014 U.S. Open for both the men and women coming to Pinehurst #2 in succession, it becomes a legitimate conversation to stage major men’s and women’s events on the same course. Putting the tees and pins in the right place for each group will result in an equally compelling competition with the same riveting factors capturing our attention.
So how cool would it be to see Suzann Pettersen and Yani Tseng agonizing over club selection on #12 or the decision to carry a second shot over Rae’s Creek into #13 while playing Amen Corner.
As Paula says in an intriguing article by Tommy Hicks on AL.com, “Are you kidding me? Of course that would be something. That’s when we’d know we had really made it, if something like that happened.”
You can take all the talk of Augusta being an all men’s club out of the conversation, it would clearly have to have changed for this to happen at all. Once that occurred any objection on the part of the LPGA players playing there would dissipate in a heartbeat.
The more difficult question is whether the green jacketed decision makers at Augusta would consider giving their course away for another two-week period and whether they thought such an annual event might diminish some of the luster from “the grand daddy of em all” in April. My suggestion is go to Pink Blazers and couple the event with proceeds supporting breast cancer research. Talk about a win-win-win situation.
Equally problematic would be how much such an annual event might take away from the Kraft-Nabisco (a.k.a. Dinah Shore) which is the closest thing the ladies tour has to a major event that returns to the same venue every year. But if you kept enough separation between them on the schedule I think that could be managed with proper PR.
This is not going anywhere but I think it will make for lively conversation among enlightened regular Saturday foursomes.
Who would a thunk we would get to the moon in a decade so this could be…….one small step for Augusta National….one giant leap for the LPGA.
(Click to read Tommy Hicks article on AL.com)
April, 2012
You have seen shows of guys who do trick golf shots for a living. But how about a trick shot show by top European professional golfers who just do it for fun.
Enjoy the attached video with Rory McIlroy and Jason Day doing the Happy Gilmore or George Coetzee doing a very cool version of the wedge flyback thing or Peter Lawrie reliving the day of defeating a Stymie or Rafael Cabrera-Bello successfully playing the shot that could have won Phil a fourth green jacket.
Boys will be boys.
(Click to watch the golf-monthly.co.uk video on pro trick shots)
Shane Bacon, Golf Blogger
April, 2012
If you want to see another array of this kind of artistry take a look at this video of trick shots from professional Gareth Maybin. Some serious slight of clubhead, hand, and other body parts in this one.
Warning: Do not try this at home.
(Click to watch Gareth Maybin-Sportsrisq video on trick shots)
Gareth Maybin
July, 2011
The Concession, a collaborative design between Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, was first opened in 2006 in the Sarasota area to be the centerpiece of a high end exclusive residential golf development. It gets it’s name from the fact that these two were the protagonists in a famous concession of a two-foot putt at the final match of 1969 Ryder Cup that resulted in the first tie in the match’s history. In the annals of golf this goes down as one of the most gracious gestures of sportsmanship we have seen in our sport. The golf course was designed with match play in mind in hope that some day a Ryder Cup will be contested there.
With the downturn in the economy right after the course opened the residential sales floundered and they only reached about half of the 200 members they had planned on. Under this economic distress foreclosure loomed for the club and the surrounding residential real estate. In 2009 Bruce Cassidy, the wealthy owner of a mining construction company, rode in on a white horse and put together an investment group to purchase the golf course and the 520 pristine acres of land it sits on.
He subsequently finished the construction of a planned $15 million dollar clubhouse and brought Nicklaus back in to make some course modifications to soften and make it a bit more playable for it’s members. The only rooflines you will see are the clubhouse, Mr. Cassidy’s home, and a couple of palatial guest houses for visiting dignitaries. The result is an underutilized luxurious golf only facility with about 125 well heeled local, national, and international members.
Everything about the place is top shelf. The clubhouse is appointed throughout with historical memorabilia to make you stop and stare. Pro shop, locker room, bar, and dining facility are lavishly appointed and serviced with a casual air you would expect. From the moment you hand your clubs to the young men at the bag drop to the time you pull away at the end of the day, they provide you with everything you want for a great day of golfing with friends.
The 23 acre practice facility alone is to die for. Dual ended driving range sporting 10 target greens with full bunkering and Titlest Pro-V1s at every station. A state of the art short game area where you can practice up to 80 yard shots and a 14,000 sq. ft. pitching green with bunkers and pitching areas that replicate what you will see on the course. The practice putting green is 10,000 sq. ft. and has the same grasses, speed, and undulations as the course greens. You could spend a whole day tooling around this practice area working on your game.
With so much ground to work with Jack and Tony designed a course that has unique character for this part of Florida. The holes are framed with pines and oaks as well as low palmettos and pine straw. Water comes into play on 15 holes and the bunkering throughout is generous. Controlling your direction is key to avoiding the high numbers on your scorecard. Fairways are Tiff Bermuda which can be maintained with minimal watering to keep them firm and fast. The greens are also Bermuda and have the fancy sub-air system embedded in their understructure to manage ground moisture and temperature to optimize the grass condition and support lightening speeds. Segmentation and tiering of these green complexes coupled with stimp readings of 12+ put this course in the championship caliber.
There are five sets of tees so it is incumbent upon you to listen carefully to the advice of your caddie and consider the day’s wind condition to pick a set that will allow you to be competitive and enjoy your afternoon. They made the course eminently playable if you play with proper forethought. Most holes have distinct challenges presented but, with careful planning, there are alternative safer routes to play to avoid the dreaded stuff. Take a page out of the Scottish/Irish playbook-play a match with your golf mates and make the medal score secondary to maximize your enjoyment.
The fairway bunker constellations are enormous and set opposed to most of the water hazards. Generally the best line of play is close to those constellations but ending up in them can be as penal as the fish habitats. Take a good look at the yardage book depiction on each tee and plod a route of play that makes the most sense. What is cool about the bunkers is that the sand is imported “Jack” sand which means it is firm, avoiding plug lies, and very playable from the fairway or greenside bunkers as well. Most of the fairway bunkers have a foxhole character with a raised back edge so you can distinguish them clearly from the direction you are playing. Once you walk past them they seem to disappear into the greenscape which gives for clean and majestic appearance when you look back down the fairway.
Short Par 4 8th has trouble lurking in the lagoon
(Click on any picture to get an enhanced view of the image)
There is an equal balance right and left challenges, which for Jack is unusual, so you are required to pick a line of approach and try to shape your shot accordingly. Fortunately they were generous in the design and provide bail out areas if the shot required is not comfortable and even some collaring bunkers and grassy areas to take some of the harshness off the forced carries required. Short and long hitters will both find what they like through the day-some of the most challenging holes are the ones where distance is of no advantage and articulate shot execution returns a premium.
Green setting at Par 5 15th requires pure precision
As a collection of holes, the five pars are the coolest holes you play all day. Every one is a visual delight with protracted segmentation to give you many tactical approaches to playing them. In most cases your second shot choices are determined by your first shot result and often the best choice is not the obvious one. This is not a simple I can go for it in two or I better lay up. There are good lay ups and better lay ups and you may be abandoning your standard lay up distances depending on circumstance.
The par threes are the least memorable holes but in no way are they without interest. Fact is the tactical approach to every one of them will change dramatically based on the daily pin position and the prevailing wind. This is where you have to be careful of how much risk you take because missing on the wrong side will leave you very difficult recovery shots and an opportunity to waste valuable strokes.
Green at the 5th hangs precariously over the water
Many of the par fours are double breakers for me-holes that change direction twice-once on the tee shot and in opposition on the approach to the green. Proper positioning off the tee makes the second shot considerably more manageable but getting to those spots can entail greater risk. In match play this really puts pressure on you to play smart based on what your opponent has done.
Great look from the tee on the finishing Par 4 18th
Since you are unlikely to see more than a handful of groups out there taking the time to appreciate the scenery and the wildlife therein makes sense. Beautiful birds can be seen throughout that compliment the flora and natural vegetation but there are alligators in the water hazards so don’t go mindlessly plodding about if you hit a wayward wet one.
To play here you will have to make an arrangement through your pro or know a member who can host you appearance. This place is expensive so the beauty comes at a price. But the value is in the full experience-atmosphere, scenery, and an afternoon of memorable golf.
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Architect: Jack Nicklaus & Tony Jacklin (2005)
Tee Par Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 72 6440 72.7 146
White 72 5909 69.6 137
(Click here to review The Concession hole-by-hole descriptions)
After three rounds of the RBC Heritage Classic it is almost refreshing to see a couple of diametrically challenged guys going cheek to cheek for the title. Neither Carl Pettersson or Colt Knost are candidates for doing Ab Buster infomercials but they are playing some kind of great golf this week at Hilton Head.
This tournament has a history of being won by horses for courses because of the unique character of Pete Dye’s Harbour Town Golf Links. Guys not known for prodigious length have won here. Boo Weekly has won twice here and used this stop annually as his personal annuity. He is in the hunt again. Brian Gay, Peter Lonard, and Jose Coceres have been winners over the last decade.
With tightly ensconced driving areas and overhanging limbs obscuring access to tiny greens it is all about accurate driving, a great short game, and adept putting if you are going to win here. Carl is first in Greens In Regulation and Colt is first in Strokes Gained Putting which explains why they are 12 and 11 under respectively.
Pettersson is an accomplished player on the PGA Tour with 4 career wins and over $16 million in lifetime earnings on the tour. He has won over $1.1 million with two seconds so far this year. Knost is one of the most celebrated amateurs in recent history. He won both the U.S. Public Links and U. S. Amateur in 2007 and represented the U.S. on the winning Walker Cup team that year. The adjustment to this competitive level has been a challenge but Colt has made 6 of 8 cuts and made over $300,000 so far in 2012 for his best showing ever on the PGA Tour.
With the trend to ripped physiques and bulging biceps on the tour, it is great to see a couple of double chin guys who look like they could be in any Saturday foursome at your club in the final group going into Sunday. They should be comfortable playing in the same group again-probably will share some Toasty Peanut Butter Crackers at the turn.
Hopefully there won’t be any celebratory belly bumps down the stretch-not sure the National Earthquake Control Center would know what to do with those readings. Good news is no one looks skinny in that halucious Tartan Plaid Blazer they give to the winner.
(For more on Pettersson’s fitness routine see Brian Wacker’s PGATour.com article)
April, 2012
Bubba's Winning Ball Flight On #10 (stafftalking.com)
Escape from jail shot on the second playoff hole that won Bubba Watson the Masters in 2012. As a right hander imagine the shot in reverse from green to the wooded path to appreciate the precise hook he applied to this shot. Did I mention the elevation change and the very firm landing area he had to negotiatel.
April 2012
They say that as we get older we lose our conversational filter and share thoughts with others more freely than we would have in our youth. So it is in a mythical conversation between Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan during “magic hour” overlooking the 18th green from the veranda at Vahalla.
In a piece commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birthday of three giants of the game, Mark Frost, our generation’s most talented golf historian, shares with us their intimate thoughts on the condition of today’s game. He captures the individual persona’s of these iconic figures eavesdropping on their 19th hole banter covering everything from how they used to walk five miles to school through the snow with holes in their shoes to the lack of defining personalities on tour to the effect of technology on the game today.
“The ball’s more jacked up than a Cuban cocktail,” says Sam. “They drive it with thunder sticks the size of toasters and can dial in distances with five different wedges like they’re firing a mortar. And these courses they play get more manicures than a Las Vegas hooker.”
They even weigh in on the fire hydrant incident and the likeliness that it’s protagonist can ever regain his position on the top of the heap.
Cleverly written this piece will make you laugh and contemplate in equal measure. As only Mark Frost can, he brings refreshing historical perspective to the way we view the game today.
(Click to read Mark Frost’s “Drinks In Vahalla”)
Golf Digest Canada
April 2011
After reading the outer jacket of this book and realizing that Darren Kilfara, a junior at Harvard, had succeeded in staging the ultimate golfer’s year abroad at the University of St. Andrews, all I could do was administer myself a dope-slap and mutter to myself, why didn’t I think of that? Of course at 54 years of age that was water under the dam. The only thing left to do was experience it vicariously by reading his travelogue memoir of youthful golf discovery.
What unfolds is an articulate and perceptive tale of his discovery of the charm of Scotland, golf in Scotland, and links golf in particular. Along the way he realizes there are American golf biases, like religious commitment to the scorecard and pencil, that he needs to abandon, as well as unexpected subjects that need intellectual attention, like course architecture, if he is going to come away from this immersion process with a fuller understanding of the game of golf.
The book chronicles golf courses you are familiar with and one’s that you should become familiar with. His student life sketches a refreshing ground level view of life in Scotland. Through his experiences he jettisons his engrained perceptions of what golf is about and embraces the mysterious rapture of links golf it’s unique challenges. He comes to learn why those who play links golf think it builds character and enforces humility teaching us to cope with the challenges of our lives with a more realistic perspective.
Of Golf in Scotland:
“Many people still walk from their homes to the first tees, especially at linksland courses near town…you cannot be too low on the social ladder to play golf in Scotland.…The golf club is a fundamental component of the Scottish community at large.”
“In Scotland “putting” is a recreational activity in it’s own right. Virtually every city, town, and village has at least one putting green available for public use.”
Of the Beauty of Scotland:
“A breeze whistled softly across the gorse, tugging gently at the sleeves of my jacket. The dying embers of autumn flickered in the darkly proud gorse, in wispy fields of soft beige and muted green….. The stillness, the ethereal peace of the moment overwhelmed me. The earth itself reposed in contentment: miles of tiny, pimpled dunes beyond …..mirrored my goose bumps….beckoning me away. In the near silence I stood: alone, yet not alone.”
Of Links Golf:
“I loved the way the conditions challenged my imagination…..I loved the strategic impositions of the wind, and the obligation to attack on even the most difficult downwind holes for fear of losing ground on the upwind ones.”
“In the wind the truth of score becomes subjective….The Scots have a solution…Match Play. On windy days there are three options: stay inside, forget about par, or measure your progress against a friend and neighbor instead of counting strokes”
Of Scottish Courses:
“Cruden Bay is a flawed work, some of it’s holes downright weird. But the composition as a whole was incontestably dramatic, unceasingly moving, and, at times, breathtakingly beautiful.”
“Machrihanish also possessed a staggering repertoire of memorable holes; at each of the first eight holes I glimpsed a different vision of links nirvana.”
“That’s how (Royal) Dornoch works. Strategically speaking, it lulls the golfer to sleep. Dornoch is never penal, and average golfers will be buoyed by the absence of visible hazards. But every hole has an optimal angle of approach.”
“The Old Course certainly grows on you: round by round you absorb it’s intricacies. And sooner or later, you find yourself playing left and creating doglegs because you want to, not because you’ve been told to, an important collaboration between pride and intellect that can yield decisive results on your scorecard.”
Even a Ferris Bueller Episode:
Describing an inebriated session of “Street Golf” in downtown St. Andrews with a couple of undergrads, “We’re just underway…tee off at the University Library a short time ago. The hole is a vodka bottle in Miss Scarlet’s room which is on the fourth floor of New Hall.”
This book is readable and engaging-you will enjoy it for it’s insight, a strong dose of Scottish golf history, and some college self-deprecating moments you can probably relate to. For those traveling to Scotland to play golf it is a great primer, for those who have been there already it has it’s scrapbook moments.
(For additional background click to read a Golf Atlas interview with the author)
A Golfer’s Education
Darren Kilfara (2001)
Once again the theater of the final round of the Masters did not disappoint, there were so many stories going on at the same time it took a white board to keep up with all the possibilities down the back nine. What stood out for me is what the pundits always say, the pin positions and contours of Augusta National reward creativity and imagination when coupled with clear decision making and precise execution. In other words, improvisation with a purpose.
No one improvises better on every shot he plays than the winner, Bubba Watson. A throwback to the old days of shafts that bent and wound balls with lots of spin, Bubba intentionally curves the ball more than any player out there. The ultimate feel player he craftily wields that pink shaft on his Ping driver manipulating his hands and wrists to create the curve he sees in his minds eye for the shot at hand. His philosophy is simple, “If I have a swing, I have a shot.”
The shot he played on the second playoff hole may be one of the ultimate golf improv bits we will ever witness. He was hitting off of the pine straw, out of a hallway of pines from 155 yards with no sight line to the green. He had to curve it a good 40 yards just to get it toward the target and managed to snuggle one in there about 20 feet below the hole to set up the winning par. This was like looking over Michelangelo’s shoulder as he dabbed just the right amount of paint to a cherub’s cheek on the curved Sistine Chapel ceiling from his back.
The day was full of improvisational wizardry. The Sunday pin on the 14th hole alone required a misdirectional approach that many of the players used to set up a crucial birdie in a charge at the lead. Two timely holes in one on sixteen-Adam Scott and Bo Van Pelt-were the source of thunderous cheers pretty early in the proceedings.
But the most incredible existential result of the day had to be the tremor created by Louie Oosthuizen’s albatross double eagle on the 2nd hole that propelled him to the top of the leader board. From a good 260 out he lashed a long iron down the hill that landed on the front of the green and then rolled a half acre or so up the green, banked hard right, and sought out the hole as if the ball had eyes.
The most amazing thing to me is that neither Oosthuizen or Bubba, who witnessed this feat first hand, let it change their approach to playing the next 16 holes. What transpired after that was just some of the most competent competitive play by band of leaders that you can ever imagine.
In the end, when the key putts did not drop for Padrig, Phil, Hanson, or Westwood or when an errant swing on 16 derailed Kootch, it just seemed that Bubba and Oosthuizen were feeding off of each other’s calm and making all the key shot that mattered to get to a playoff.
The first playoff hole was riveting as both guys thumped it well up the fairway, granted Bubba’s thump was about 30 yards longer than Louie’s, and put the ball on the makeable side of the hole into the 18th green. The two birdie putts missed by a total of two inches and sent them to the 10th for one more go. After Bubba side swiped the Pink Lady and sent his drive careening into Sherwood Forest Louie need to just stub one down the center and give himself a good look at the green.
Here Louie blinked-hitting it wild right as well he caught a tree and ended up a good 250 from the hole on the edge of the right rough. Failing to reach the green on his second gave Bubba Wizardry the opening, and I use that term facetiously, to work his magic.
It may seem hard to live with this result for Oosthuizen, but he played a mench of a final round in a major. It will be just for him to wonder how it wasn’t his day after the folkloric shot on two seemed to destine his name for a cubicle in the Champion’s Locker Room.
April, 2012
In the old days when you heard the pundits invoke this phrase it was usually because Phil Mickelson was trying some hair-brained escape artist shot which was destined to go awry and kill his chances of winning a tournament. He just seemed to have an irrepressible urge to pull off the most risk laden play when something more conservative would have served his interest.
But now “Being Phil” has taken on an entirely different connotation, it is the rare display of a superstar stepping off of the pedestal to say or do what is right rather than what is in his self interest. This is a refreshing sight in a time where most of the famous from the entertainment world seem incapable of seeing beyond their own reflection and taking in their larger image in the world around them.
Two mentions from Tom Boswell’s Washington Post column “Masters 2012-Peter Hanson And Phil Mickelson Have Inspired Each Other” reflect how, as a result of so much personal experience, good and bad, Phil Mickelson has become comfortable with himself and his responsibility to practice behavior we can aspire to.
In spite of having a one shot lead, Peter Hanson is the underdog, the dark horse going into the final round. His inexperience in the pressure cooker of the final group on the final day of a major would make him easy prey for a fellow competitor to diminish or simply ignore. Yet Mickelson spoke with respect and admiration for what Hanson has done so far in earning his way into the final group on Sunday.
As Boswell says, “MIckelson…..was equally impressed with the show Hanson provided in front of him. Phil said, ‘Watching him hole putts on 15 from the fringe, on 17. On 18 he knocks it to a couple of feet. He just played phenomenally. It’s very difficult to try to follow those kinds of birdies when you’re watching it right in front of you’.”
Phil knows he has the advantage of fame and competitive reputation on his side but he feels no obligation to take advantage and assert it on his adversary. By resisting this temptation, he elevates the game of golf to a standard of sportsmanship most other athletic competitions seem incapable of displaying.
Phil also has a reverential respect for the greats of the game who paved the path before him and have provided him with the opportunity for personal fame and fortune.
“On Thursday, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and Jack Nicklaus hit the ceremonial first-group tee shots a 7:40 a.m. That day, Mickelson’s tee time was the very last group of the day, a full six hours later. Yet Phil was there to shake the hands of the Big Three..a gesture that surprised and touched all three, especially since no other famous current stars showed up.”
This is the same respect that Phil carries for the multitude of fans that support him and provide the financial feedbag from which all the pros feed so voraciously. Unlike most of the guys out there, Phil exchanges high fives with fans along the walkways between holes, makes eye contact with strangers who seek out his attention, and even provides an engaging hug to a more familiar acquaintance.
There are those who have questioned his judgment in playing the game early in his career but it is hard to ignore how this same guy has embraced with dignity and respect the competitive atmosphere in which he works.
As Boswell concludes, “Much that once seemed like Phil schmaltz when he was young and bumptious now seems mature, genuine and generous.”
April, 2012
moegolf 