A Golf Blog

The Sony Snub

On the day that Michelle Wie announces she won't be pursuing any PGA events this year, Sony announced that she wasn't granted one of the four unrestricted sponsor exemptions for this years Sony Open.

She has played each year since 2004.

Seems to me that Michelle is finally getting some sound advice. I hope she does well at Stanford.

Roger Clemens

Yup, this is off topic but I’ve sat on my hands for so long, I’m about to pop.

According to Jennifer Floyd Engel (aka – Little Ball of Hate) of Star-Telegram fame, Roger Clemens is “a cheater. A liar. A steroid user. An embarrassment to baseball, just like Barry Bonds.” Of course, The Rocket, through his attorney is denying the allegations. Gee, I wonder why he chose not to talk to the investigators?

I also found out he’s a guest speaker for the Texas High School Baseball Association convention on January 12 in Waco. His speech it titled “My Vigorous Workout, How I played So Long”.

Think he might get uninvited? I know there are folks out there that will contend the report is nothing but allegations but…the players didn’t actually openly cooperate with the investigation. And, Senator Mitchell has been a federal prosecutor and a federal judge. The allegations were not stated lightly – I believe he knows enough about rules of evidence and such that the charges brought forward in the report we corroborated through many interviews.

Now we’ll see how Bud Selig handles this – he has no choice but to treat him exactly as he did Barry Bonds. Frankly, I don’t see either coming back to baseball.

Get the full article right here.

Drug Testing

Today's the day the Mitchell Report is released and ESPN is carrying the press conference live. That happens at 1pm CST. Then Bud Selig follows with his own press conference at 3:30pm.

And today's also the day the PGA tour opens the curtain on their own version of drug testing. Of the book explaining the process, the Worlds Number One says "it's unbelievable how thick this thing is".

My guess is that the PGA tour will learn a lot about what not to do after the Mitchell Report is made public.

Off Season Tune Up

The ‘Silly Season’ is behind us, finally. Now it’s time to concentrate on coming out of hibernation with a fresh mind set and a game plan for improvement.

I could start in the gym. We have one here at the ranch but in the 4 plus years I’ve lived here, I think I’ve been there only once. I supposed I should be ashamed of my self and I guess I am. Maybe enough so that perhaps it is time to get into a 4 day a week regimen to improve strength and flexibility. As for method, plenty has been written about. I’ll have a look at Amazon to see what’s out there.

That should take care of the body part, how about the mind? Well, laugh if you will but some time ago I scored a CD that was specifically put together for golf improvement through hypnosis. As it is, my regular group already thinks my elevator regularly skips floors but whether or not it helps my game, I am rested when it finishes. Read what I had to say back in January or check out their web site. If hypnosis isn’t in your cards and you’re still thinking about a gray matter guru, try Bob Rotella. Back before all cars had CD players, I had one that played cassettes (you know, when dinosaurs roamed?) and I had several of Rotella’s – used to listen to then to/from work, etc. You could pop over to Amazon.com and search Bob Rotella or click through right here.

If you’re a left brain type and data and fact minutia get you all worked up, try one of Dave Pelz’s 10 pound volumes on the short game or his putting bible.

That takes care of the body, the mind, and practice which takes me to the easiest part of the game but the most difficult to master – putting. If your putter has been in your bag for awhile, maybe it’s time to take advantage of some of the technological advances that have been implemented over the past several months. And, be sure – when the new season launches, there will be a smorgasbord of choices as the manufacturers vie for your hard earned dollars.

John, at the GolfDash blog say’s don’t buy a new driver, think about getting a new putter. He likes the new MacGregors.

Keep it in the short, dormant grass.

Pin Placement

The TifEagle greens here at the ranch are now dormant and with that come a new set of challenges for our course superintendent.

This course was originally constructed as a links type championship course – lots of native grasses bordered the fairways which was a compliment to some pretty severely undulating putting surfaces. You get the picture? A flat and straight 4 to 6 foot putt might happen once or twice per round.

Add that to dormant TifEagle and as the cool weather turns cold, the pace of putts will get pretty scary. I recall an analogy likening the speed of the greens here to being similar to trying to stop a putt in your bathtub before the ball gets to the drain. Just wish I could remember where I’d heard that – you know, credit where credit’s due.

For the second year, we’ve gone to a system of 3 cups per green and the pin placements avoid the middle of the green on purpose. Only one hole is used at a time and the other two are plugged. Each morning, the crew pops plug, moves the flag to the existing hole and the plug gets re-inserted in the old hole. With diminished demand during the cold months, it’s likely that 3 new holes won’t have to be cut for two or more weeks. Not only does it save wear on the greens, there are a lot fewer hole plugs that won’t heal until the weather warms up and the grass starts it re-growth.

So, what about pin placements? Well, myself and two others rode the course with our superintendant last week and we talked about what’s acceptable and what’s not, especially since they’ll get faster and faster. A rule of thumb they’ll follow is that a ball hit to the center of the green has a legitimate chance for a two putt.

I can live with that. For more on winter course maintenance, have a look at this article from the USGA archives.

Keep it in the dormant short grass.

Vivian Potter – November 30, 2007

After suffering a stroke back in early October and several setbacks since then, my mother passed away on November 30, 2007. She was 86 years old and she lived in Stuart, Florida close to my brother and his family. During our early years, we involved mom in family happenings in Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Texas as much as she would allow. Looking back, I wish it was more often then it played out to be.

I’m sure my brother in Stuart, FL and my sister in Fredericksburg, VA miss her. I know I do and as time passes the hurt will go away but I will still miss her.