Unexpected results at the Verizon Heritage

Yesterday's Verizon Heritage Classic ended in unexpected fashion with a playoff between Jim Furyk and England's Brain Davis.  In no other sport will you find an ending as happened near the 18th green of Harbor Town Golf Links in Hilton Head South Carolina, and in many ways it is what defines this great game.

Off the tee both men were in the middle of the fairway with mid irons in to the green.  Davis hit first and in trying to take some off of his 6 Iron, put the ball into the hazard.  In this case the hazard was hard-packed beach sand, amongst general ocean debris.  Furyk was next up and put his ball at the back of the green with a lengthy putt ahead of him.  On the green Furyk, although on the fringe, was still away.  He nestled his ball up to four feet from the hole leaving him a not so easy Par putt in playoff conditions.

Davis was left with choice, take a drop 30 feet from the hole and try to make a miraculous chip in for the par to potentially tie or take his chances with his ball in the hazard lying on hard packed sand.  After deliberating with his caddy he went for the shot out of the hazard.  Davis set up as if in a bunker took a nice full swing and plopped the ball out of the sand and across the green to give himself a 30-40 foot putt to tie the hole.  But wait...what's this...Davis is pulling a rules official over to talk.  He is telling the official that in his back swing he thinks he hit some of the debris poking out of the sand.  Within seconds of doing so without even looking to see where his ball had gone he was turning himself in for what he had to have known was going to be a 2 shot penalty and the end of the playoff.  When hitting the ball from the hazard it is against the rules to come in contact with any loose impediment.  To do so is considered improving your lie.  Some dramatic 2 way radio transmissions followed as the rules department tried to establish if a 2 stroke penalty was needed.  In the end it was, and Davis walked away with second place, a loss of what I can only imagine to be many thousands of dollars and a clear conscience.

A pat on the back goes out to Davis after his showing.  You make us all who have kicked a ball into the fairway from a poor lie,  not gone back and re-hit a ball that went OB, or grounded their club in a bunker and never taken penalty stroke all hang our heads in shame.  On the line for us is nothing more than one or two strokes written on a piece of paper.  But for Davis, it means money that he will not make and a two year exemption on the tour not obtained.

For all you other players of professional sports take note of how a true sportsman plays.  I want to see football players who tap the shoulder of a ref and say, "excuse me but I am pretty sure I was holding back there while your back was turned, a look at the replay will show that I was so please send my team back 15 yards and we can continue the game," or a baseball player who says to the umpire, "I know you couldn't see it from your angle but I felt the glove tagged me out so don't count the run I just made."

Oh, how all sports would change if they were all played in such a fashion.

Cheers to All!

Home, Home on the Range

55 degrees and 20 mile an hours winds call for a covered driving range.  Sagamore Golf Center in North Hampton New Hampshire was my venue for practice this fine spring day.  Although a bit over priced (IMO) at $10.50 for a medium bucket the facility does offer a covered hitting area, an outdoor hitting area, a practice putting\chipping green and an 18 hole Mini Putt-Putt for the kids.  Food and Ice Cream is available if you are making a day of it and the grounds are always well maintained.


I brought the video camera along to analyze my swing later on.  I still pulled the ball with most of the clubs in my bag but not nearly as much as before. I worked mostly on lagging the club at the bottom of my swing. I have a tendency to get a little too quick through the ball and flipping my hands under.


After reviewing my video I can see that I am taking the club to far back in my swing.  At the top it is almost crossing the swing plane completely a la John Daly. This is causing me to pick my head up at the top and dip during the downswing.  It is also preventing me from bringing the club head back to square and causing some shots to push off to the right.  


If anyone out there in the golf universe has any good drills for helping with this please feel free to comment.


Cheers to all!

A Tricky Lie

Date: April 12, 2010
Tee Time: 2:00 pm
Course: Rockingham Country Club
Location: Newmarket, NH
Playing Partners: None - Playing as a Single

After hitting what I thought would be a great shot to start my round here is where I found my ball.  This would eventually lead to a triple bogey first hole.

Rockingham Golf Club is a 9 hole course situated between the towns of Newmarket and Newfields New Hampshire.  Although not necessarily a long course it offers some challenging shot making opportunities.  It has been an early spring but it looks like the greens here saw the worst parts of the winter and are going to be long in recovering.  Holes 2, 3, 6, and 7 seem to have faired worst with large patches of Brown burnt grass.  The greens are still putt-able, but don't expect the ball to react the same way as it would on a nice healthy green.

I played with a couple college students from the local University.  Engineering students who had time away from classes to hit up the links for a quick nine.

I have decided I need to force myself to go to the range a few times before going back out to the course.  Although I did hit some good shots today I am still pulling the ball to the left and I feel like my swing rhythm is off. I also need to pick up a new pair of shoes and a new putter.  At the end of last year my putter went into my bag wrong and knocked it off center.  When I put I have to manipulate the club face to square in order to hit a straight putt.

Score:
Front nine and total - 44

Until the next round,

Cheers To All!

Tiger Talk

Is Tiger wrong to get upset after hitting a poor shot? Answer – No.  Should he hold back, and bottle up all that emotion?  Answer - No.  Should the Media leave it alone and let the man play the Game.  Answer – YES!

After ABC’s in your face cameras accidentally picked up some choice words issued by Tiger yesterday many in the media circuit talked about how inappropriate his behavior is.  Tiger cannot be faulted for an outburst when under that kind of pressure.  I have been to golf tournament and have heard others golfers utter profanities under their breath.  The difference being, there are not herds of cameras and microphones following those players like Hyenas stalking prey.  Myself, I like to see him berate himself; it reminds me that he is still human.  I also know that shortly after telling himself what an idiot he is he starts to play better and often times wins tournaments.  I think if we were ever to see a relaxed Tiger who shows no emotion we would see a losing Tiger.

I have a good friend who plays in much the same way.  When his game starts to shift downward he has an outburst, becomes quiet for a couple holes and then starts to play better.  I think some of us just need the raw emotion of anger and determination to play better. 

I hope everyone enjoys the conclusion to Masters today.   I am rooting for either Lee Westwood or Fred Couples.  I am not sure why I don’t want Phil to win but I have never been a big fan of his.  Seeing one of the other players who are not that far back make a charge today would make for a fun tournament to watch.

Cheers to all!

When your wife says, "I want you to go play golf!". . . Play golf!

Date: April 4, 2010
Tee Time: 11:15 am
Course: Breakfast Hill Golf Club
Location: Greenland, NH
Playing Partners: None - Playing as a Single

"Not your best," the starter said to me as I started walking down the fairway on the first tee after putting two balls into the left OB (Out Of Bounds).  That one statement more or less sums up my round.  However, I walk away still happy to have enjoyed a round of golf on Easter.  Spring has sprung as early as I can remember it springing in New England.  The grass is green and trees are already budding.  The golf courses are still a bit on the soggy side after 12+ inches of rain falling in the last four weeks, but play was only disrupted by this on a couple of holes.  The greens at Breakfast Hill were a bit bumpy, which is to be expected this early in the year.  All in all the course was in great condition for early April, a time in New England when courses are used to still being under a few inches of snow.

I was immediately surprised with how many people were playing golf on Easter.  I called to make sure the course was even open before leaving, and ended up needing to make a tee time in order to get out.  I am glad to see that golf courses are going to get this little spring boost, they must really need it after a few hard years.

I was joined with a couple of guys, father and son, getting in 18 before Easter dinner that night.  These two were a great joy to play with.  The Father, John had just moved to the Seacoast and was just getting familiar with the area, and his son Neal who had traveled up from Boston and his busy life as a Pharmaceutical Rep to Play golf with dad and have Easter dinner.  None of us played particularly well, but nobody got upset or frustrated, we were all out to just have a good time enjoying the unusually great weather for early April.  When one of us hit a nice shot there was some patting on the back but when there was shot the ended up 10 yards into the woods we were all just as content to shrug it off and move of without a word.

My swing I will say was not altogether bad.  The problem I faced throughout the round was a pull hook, causing most of my drives to go into the left woods and my approaches to par threes to go over the green.  My putting and chipping were surprisingly good for the first time out.  Normally at the start of the year I struggle with feel in and around the greens due to being away from the game for so many months but that was not the case.  I feel that a couple trips to the range will do me well and any flaws that I have in my swing will be easily fixed with some repetition.

My final thought for my first round of the year is this:
"Even in April one must wear sunscreen!"

Score:
Front Nine - 54
Back Nine  - 48
Total - 102 "Not My Best!"

Until the next round,

Cheers to all!

Good luck Golf Grammie

Tomorrow Golf Grammie goes under the knife to have her second knee replaced.  Let's all wish her luck that she will have a fast recovery getting her back out on the course again.  In the mean time spring has sprung early here in New Hampshire.  Time to clean the dust off the clubs and get back out there.  To anyone anyone I may join up with this year, "If you have a good story and I hear it on the course, don't be surprised when it ends up on here."


Cheers to all!

Golf Grammie on Golf Attire

A Final Thought before I head out the door.

Pay Attention to Your Looks! How you dress is very important - in this world of wash and wear - pants and shirts look better if you take the time to press them a little.  Both Golf Shoes and Street Shoes should be polished.  Plan ahead, you could be joining your new found friends at the 19th hole.  Always look your best, you may find that if you dress better you will feel better about yourself and in turn play better golf.

        Yes                                                                                                                          No

Golf Grammie

Go Tiger!