Bubba Watson: 2012 Masters Champion

For a lot of golfers around the country, it doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside, or whether they never have to put their golf clubs in storage over the summer. The golf season doesn’t truly start until The Masters tournament gets underway, and this year’s edition will kick off on Thursday in Georgia.

Before the tournament starts, it would behoove golf fans to prepare for the viewing experience that ESPN and CBS will provide. With that in mind, here are the top five groupings that will be teeing off in the year’s first major on Thursday and Friday:

Note: All times are Eastern time 

Thursday: 10:34 am, Friday: 1:30 pm – Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Steven Fox 

The defending champion will get a prime position during Friday’s telecast, and he will be paired up with Poulter, who helped make the 2012 Ryder Cup a memorable one because of his role in Europe’s massive last day comeback.

Thursday: 10:45am, Friday: 1:41pm – Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Scott Piercy 

Woods is largely viewed as the favorite to secure his fifth Masters title this weekend, and Donald is arguably at the top of the list of the best players who have never won a major. Uniting the two of them in a group directly behind the Watson group is a fascinating decision by the lords of Augusta, and it should pay off with some seriously awesome television.

Thursday: 12:13pm, Friday: 8:55am – Ernie Els, Steve Stricker, Nick Watney 

Stricker and Watney are two players who are mentioned with Donald as among the best to have never won a major title, but the real star of this group is Els. Last year, it was questioned as to whether or not he should even make the field at Augusta as a special exemption (he didn’t get in), but this time, he earned his way in with his 2012 Open Championship victory. The redemption angle is an awesome one to follow, and Els is going to look to ensure that he gets a spot in The Masters field for a lot longer.

Thursday: 1:30pm, Friday: 10:23am – Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer 

The first group on this list that features three major champions, but two of the three players in this group have sniffed Masters glory in recent years. Mickelson has won the event three times, most recently in 2010, and Oosthuizen scored a second place finish last year when he was defeated by Watson in a playoff. It will be interesting to see whether or not he can rebound from that disappointment, and playing with Mickelson will ensure that a lot of eyes will be on him.

Thursday: 1:52pm, Friday: 10:45am – Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas 

Kuchar, who went to college at Georgia Tech, will be an intriguing player to follow as he attempts to win his second career major (albeit, his first professional one, as his first was the 1997 US Amateur). Dufner is also likely to be a fan favorite, with the “Dufnering” craze sweeping the golfing world.

Perhaps the Ballard concept is easiest to understand by equating the golf swing to a slap shot. Notice when hockey players take a shot, they keep a very short left arm with the butt of the stick near their navel and a longer right arm placed half-way down the shaft.  Utilizing this split grip, players are able to rifle slap shots at over 100mph which clearly demonstrates the power of this technique.

Ballard regularly points out that Hogan talked about feeling like he had ‘half a left arm’ once he learned to get his elbow into his chest rather than ‘chicken-winging’ it. Furthermore, Hogan also said that he wished he had ‘three right hands to hit it with.’  In other words, Hogan understood that he could deliver additional power with added right hand force.

You can easily see and feel what Jimmy is talking about by hitting balls utilizing a split grip. To try this drill, simply split your grip by a few inches and take your normal golf swing. Keep in mind, it is important to stay tall during your swing. As I wrote in my earlier post, staying tall is akin to a baseball player hitting a low …read more
Source: Three Guys Golf

It’s The Cadillac of SkyCaddie Rangefinders

(Written by: Golfspy Dave)

Growing up, calling something the “Cadillac of” anything meant that it was the best of class.  It’s funny how language and references change over time.  Some of you have likely never heard that phrase used before.  I should probably update my vernacular a bit, but we all know how uncomfortable we get when older generations try to grab the language of youth.  Most people just can’t pull it off.  Do you remember your mom saying something was “the bomb”? Can you say awk-ward?  Some people are really good at crossing the generations though.  And remember, when you are really good, they call you Cracker Jack.

Anyway, back to the SkyCaddie SGXw.  No matter how you say it, we are looking at the top of the line unit from SkyCaddie.  Unlike the upgradeable (and excellent) SkyCaddie Breeze, whose review you can read HERE, the SGXw comes fully loaded with all of SkyCaddie’s features.  This thing is cocked, locked, and ready to rock right out of the box.  You don’t have to pick and choose features with the SGXw.  They are all in there; just let your fingers do the walking.  Is that whole USB thing too complicated for you?  Never fear, SGXw’s Wi-Fi connectability is here.  So the SkyCaddie SGXw has all of the features that a SkyCaddie GPS has to offer, combined with Wi-Fi.

That sounds like a super keen combination!

AESTHETICS & DESIGN

Let’s take a look at the looks of SkyCaddie’s big cheese.  We are looking at a very sharp, all black design.  The back of the unit is rubberized, like the Breeze, again promoting a nice and secure fit …read more
Source: My Golf Spy

A common complaint I hear from golfers is that their swings are too fast or aggressive.  They just have a sense that they are quick either in the transition or the downswing.

Rhythm and pace are very important elements in the golf swing. When a golfer feels quick the first thing they do is try to ’slow down’…and in an attempt to get some rhythm in the swing they often go overboard and end up slowing everything down a little too much. This can lead to an overly slow start to the swing, which in turn leads to a rapid change in pace during the transition and on into impact.  It is this drastic change in speed that conveys the sense of quickness and aggression in the swing.

The PGATour average time for the backswing is right around 0.75 seconds, with an additional 0.25 seconds for the downswing. Notice that ideally there should be something close to a 3:1 ratio of backswing time vs. downswing time. That means that on average a Tour golfer will strike the ball in about a second from when the swing starts.  Ernie Els, one of the smoothest swings out there, takes just over a second to strike the ball while Nick Price, who has one of the faster swings, takes  around 0.8 seconds.  Far too many of golfers I teach take well over a second to complete just the backswing.  In watching Els or even Price, most golfers believe they swing a whole lot faster than either of those two top players – that is not the case.

Each of the above golfers are able to maintain a good rhythm in their swing because they maintain something close to a 3:1 …read more
Source: Andrew Rice Golf

By Tim Rosaforte

Rickie Fowler warmed up for his title defense of one of club golf’s major championships by finishing T-13 in the Honda Classic yesterday. Today he will be at the Seminole GC pro-member with partner Buddy Marucci in hopes of getting his name on the locker room wall a third consecutive time.

“It’s the first major of the year, so I’m playing to win,” Fowler said half-kidding at PGA National. “It’s cool to walk in there and have your name permanently on the board.”

In the northeast corner of the Seminole locker room is a piece of mahogany with names that date to 1937. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Jimmy Demaret and Arnold Palmer won this event, as did Bing Crosby, with Gardner Dickinson as his partner. As Lee Westwood said hitting putts before the third round of the Honda, “Everybody wants their name on the board for the Seminole Pro-Member. It’s a Who’s Who.”

The name on the wall is just part of what this is all about. “The tradition, the history, the people there — it’s such a good vibe,” said Graeme McDowell. “The first year I played there, I don’t think could conceive the magnitude of it, when you see Nicklaus, and Palmer and all these legends of the game, plus having the mystique of Hogan kind of just there. There are just so many good people, obviously powerful people, but that’s [secondary]. It’s just such a phenomenal golf course.”

First off in the cold at 7:30 a.m. are the South African major championship winners (and Palm Beach Gardens residents) Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. Ray Floyd, the club’s only touring pro member, has an afternoon time with …read more
Source: Golf Digest

See those tees?  They’re called Cavi-Tees.  And if I’m the marketing guy for whoever is producing or selling those things, I’m on the phone with Rory McIlroy’s agent immediately.  This whole wisdom tooth thing sounds just so silly that the best thing Rory could do right now is make fun of it himself.  I mean, come on.  A tooth?  That’s your excuse for playing poorly then quitting?  And of all sports…playing GOLF poorly?  Wow…it’s no wonder people say golfers are not athletes.

Speaking from experience, this is not something that just starts hurting all of a sudden.  Trust me…I had five wisdom teeth removed.  I know it sounds strange, unbelieveable even.  I thought I was some kind of freak, but my dentist told me he sees it about 10-12 times per year, so it’s not all that uncommon I guess.  But despite having them all removed, I worked up until the day before I had them taken out and missed only one day of work afterward…doctors orders, but I didn’t feel it was necessary.  Even further, I just watched my brother-in-law go through the same thing.  He was in pain but continued to work his physically strenuous job, even delaying his surgery a week at one point because work was just too busy.  But Rory can’t swing a golf club?

It was in 1979 when Jack Youngblood of the Los Angeles Rams famously played two playoff games and the Super Bowl on a broken fibula.  And if he hadn’t set the ultimate tough guy bar high enough, he even played the meaningless Pro Bowl a week after!  A broken leg!  And he was playing football!  But a wisdom tooth for a golfer?

To a lesser extent, it was 1985 when NFL Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott had his left pinky finger crushed between an opposing players helmet and his own chest pads during a game.  …read more
Source: Golf Stinks

Just when you’re looking to sink your teeth into a good golf rivalry, a toothache turns up.

This, at any rate, was the reason Rory McIlroy eventually provided in the wake of his questionable decision to walk off the course midway through the second round of the Honda Classic on Friday. His chief foe, Tiger Woods, also failed to hold up his end of the budding rivalry, his indifferent performance producing a tie for 37th.

But the story of the week, overshadowing the first PGA Tour victory by Michael Thompson on Sunday, was McIlroy and his choppers. They even earned a post on an unusual Facebook page called Celebrity Toothaches.

McIlroy might have been better served had he followed the example of actress Kate Hudson, the subject of another post at Celebrity Toothaches. “Kate Hudson Braves Tooth Pain For Fashion Shoot,” the headline read.

Kate Hudson Braves Tooth Pain for Fashion Shoot | Dentistry news | #celebrity @scoopit sco.lt/8uVdcv

— The Smile Generation (@smilegen) October 23, 2012

Who can say whether one’s pain threshold is reached quicker through golf or modeling? But McIlroy could have spared himself a bruise to his otherwise flawless reputation had he played through whatever was bothering him more, his score (seven over par through nine holes) or his teeth.

“I think if he’d have waited five more minutes he wouldn’t have done that,” Jack Nicklaus said on the NBC telecast of the Honda Classic on Sunday. “I think he’s a good kid and I think he tries to do the right thing. Unfortunately, it probably wasn’t at that time.”

So the fledgling rivalry between McIlroy and Woods, friends and foes alike, Nos. 1 and 2 in the World Ranking, is still on hold. Golf rivalries usually are, hobbled as they are by an inability to materialize, at least on a head-to-head basis, with anything approaching regularity.

The Yankees and Red Sox play 18 times a season, often with an American League East …read more
Source: Golf Digest

Three Guys Golf Blog

TRUE Linkswear Proto Review: I don’t know about you, but I can only read how something is clearly “The Best” before I have to find out for myself. Muddling the matter further is our desire to put that prestigious label on every new widget that comes to market. Therefore, I was very excited to finally get my hands (or feet to be exact) in a pair of TRUE Linkswear shoes as they have widely been described as the most comfortable golf shoes available.

Interestingly, TRUE Linkswear has garnished a ton of praise with comparably little marketing. However, inside the world of golf, the shoes are widely considered by many players (most prominently Ryan Moore) and bloggers to be the premier golf shoe.

Not only does TRUE Linkswear market their brand differently, they just seem to think about shoes differently. Unlike many shoe companies, TRUE Linkswear does not promote added distance, shaved strokes, increased spin or game improvement. Instead, they are solely (pun intended) focused on two things: comfort and allowing the body to function naturally. And get this, they actually require their employees to play at least 18 holes of golf during the work week (umm, where do I send my application?). Beyond just being good employers, TRUE Linkswear uses this as a way to get constant feedback on how the shoes perform in the real world.

TRUE Linkswear Proto

My first impression when I opened up the box of Proto’s was “Wow, that’s a great looking shoe!” The entire design and concept is very appealing and I could instantly sense the high quality. As we all know, the casual sneaker look craze that was started a few years ago, thank you Freddie Couples, is still going strong and TRUE has done a remarkable job of capitalizing on this look. Where …read more
Source: Three Guys Golf

If the tools aren’t right for the job, the job is not going to be done efficiently, or even correctly.  One story I like to tell to illustrate this point is the auto mechanic.  Let’s assume you were referred to two mechanics to work on your new exotic sports car, both highly ‘decorated’ by the company as having passed all their certifications.  So you visit both to see what they are all about.  The first one has a whole wall of tools and diagnostic devices, neatly arranged.  The other has a few wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer and anvil.  Which one do you think can get the most out of his training and talent?

In your golf bag, you also have a tool kit.  And the only way to get the most out of whatever skill and talent you have is to have a tool kit that optimizes what you know how to do.  At one end you have a specialized tool called a driver, which is used to launch the ball off the tee.  At the other end is a putter, designed to roll the ball across the green, hopefully into the hole.

In between, you have twelve clubs with which to navigate 2-3 miles of the golf course from tee to green.  And the game gets much easier if those tools are arranged to make this effort systematic and organized.

But the reality is that the golf equipment manufacturers have been messing with your tool box, so you probably have some ‘disconnects” in there that are causing you unnecessary problems.  The …read more
Source: ScorZone

LAST SUMMER I INTERVIEWED BILLY Casper, whose Hall-of-Fame career included 51 PGA Tour wins (three of them majors), eight Ryder Cup appearances and five Vardon Trophies. No American, by the way, has won more Ryder Cup points than Casper.

I thought the following was interesting. A man who had won so often and achieved so much success on the golf course never watched the leaderboard.

Q: Were you a scoreboard watcher, Billy?

BILLY CASPER: No, no. I trained myself not to look at the scoreboard. I knew if I was making proper decisions and playing well and putting well, that I would win. Or I would be right there at the end. I remember two incidents very distinctly.

One was the San Diego Open in 1966. The last day was very cold, and the wind blew from the east which is uncommon that it blows all day that way. I started four shots behind in the final round. I shot 32 out, and I birdied 10 and 14. And 14 was normally a drive and a wedge and I hit a drive and a 4-iron and I made birdie. I birdied 15, parred 16, birdied 17 and walked to the 18th tee. I said to my friend who was with me, who worked with the FBI, How do I stand? He said you have a four-shot lead.

And the other tournament that I played where I didn’t know what I was doing, which, you know, where you stood in the tournament, was at Indianapolis. I started the final round one shot ahead of George Bayer, and two shots ahead of Jerry Steelsmith. Steelsmith shot 63, Bayer shot …read more
Source: Armchair Golf Blog