AA Keep Going and going – Golf Survival on the PGA

It has been fun to watch both Paul Azinger and Billy Andrade this year fighting for their PGA cards. Truly two of the “good guys” on tour, both have history and both add an interesting storyline to this year’s season.

Azinger has fought off cancer and fought the loss of one of his best friends in Payne Stewart and now he is in a fight to retain his tour card. A very popular person not only among fans but among his fellow players, Azinger is a past PGA Championship titles holder and turned to the announcing booth a few years ago thinking he could do both. But with the rise of such good players in recent years, the Tour demands more of each golfer and Paul found himself having to make a choice. He has chosen golf and like he has shown before he is a fighter and I for one am routing for him each and every week. Going into the Booz Allen, Paul was number 95 on the money list and expects to improve that somewhat with his current 54^th position in this weeks event.

Andrade was in the running on the final day a few weeks ago in Boston and although he played steady in the final round, he lost his lead but still placed in the top 10 and this week he currently stands tied for 2^nd in the Booz Allen. That will clearly move him well up the list from his current 100^th position.

Golf is full of “good guys” but these two are special. Keep your eyes on “AA”. They just keep going and going and going…

Phil Michelson – 5 inches from Greatness

What happened on hole number 18 yesterday was no surprise. Disappointing? Yes. But not surprising. What happened on 18 could have happened on virtually any hole that final tournament day after only hitting 2 fairways in a U.S. Open. Michelson just could not put the driver in the bag.

Strategy is far more than just planning to put the ball into a certain position for the next shot. It is also making the adjustments along the way to make it happen. Amateurs keep hitting the “big dog” because it is the “big dog” that gives them the thrill of being out there. They could shoot 110 but if they hit that one drive 300 yards then that is all that matters - That is all they would talk about. But here we are talking about “Greatness” – the U.S. Open; three majors in a row; the possibly of joining Woods as the only other player to win the grand slam (forget this “all in one year”, that is silly); winning 4 out of his last 10 majors and yet Michelson couldn’t put the “big dog” away.

There was so much emphasis put on all the trips to Wing Foot by Michelson and his caddie and yet some of that money would have been far better spent on overall strategy play. Standing on 18, Michelson knew what had happened to Montgomery and so at that point all he needed was par to win and bogey to tie if Oglvie could get it down in two from some 200 yards out. Either way the objective should have been to make sure at any cost to put that drive in the middle of the fairway.

I know it is very easy to second guess a golfer after the fact but even the commentators such as Johnny Miller were absolutely baffled at Michelson’s decision with what was on the line. His driver had been so erratic all day and all he needed was to assure bogey at worst.

Several years ago it seemed like Michelson had finally decided to abandon his reckless approach to golf and started playing with much more precision. His shot making seemed to go to a whole new level. And there is no doubt that when he is hitting on all cylinders that shot making makes him almost unbeatable. The missing element as I see it is playing smart golf. His talent keeps him in there but his head keeps him from running away from the field. They say you can take the child out of the street but you can’t take the street out of the child. In this case I wonder if you can take the amateur out of Phil.

I have always been a great fan of Phil Michelson but it is frustrating to see someone like that whom could possibly be the greatest golfer this game has ever seen neglect the one element that is missing from reaching that greatness – as Bobby Jones would say “the 5 inches between the ears”.

The Formula for Winning at Golf

Visualize the shot…develop a consistent pre-shot routine…write out your strategy.

All of the golfing greats have visualized their shots and putts before actually making the stroke. Visualizing helps the golfer to commit to a target and flight path to that target. This in turn, sends information to the muscles to condition or prime the body for what it is about to do.

Image the ball landing at your target and what the ball is going to do. Then back up following the line of flight and imagine yourself making the swing. How did it feel, including the tempo, the impact, and the follow-through? It is amazing how the mind and body works. Once you have the shot in your mind you are ready to believe you will make it happen.

The pre-shot routine which often includes visualizing the shot is the habit that you develop to get yourself mentally prepared to execute the shot. It helps you to relax and get focused on the shot at hand.

The difference between professionals and amateurs is in the quality and consistency of their routines. A pre-shot routine is very similar to hypnosis in that you are attempting within a very short period of time, just before the shot, to basically clear your mind to focus on the task. Professionals practice their routines before every shot allowing them to put their minds to rest and assure them of eliminating negative thoughts. Too often amateurs think about the possibilities which open the door to fear.

Pre-shot routines can include adjusting the golf glove to make sure it is secure; holding the golf club at an angle to place your hands on the grip and make sure the club face is open; stepping behind the ball to pick out your target and locate a spot 3 to 4 feet in front of the ball to focus on while setting your feet accordingly for the target and the ball; making sure you are balanced then taking a smooth practice swing before hitting the ball. (This is just one example. The key is developing something that is easily repeatable and something that helps you to get focused on the task at hand.)

Finally, we come to having a written strategy that we can refer to on every tee as to what we intend to do on each hole. Remember something; 60-70% of all strokes are taken within 100 yards of the hole. If you are to make measurable improvement in your game, you must get a handle on the short game regardless of what you do off the tee. And yet amateur golfers continue to lose strokes around the green.

In visualizing the shots, I mentioned imaging what the ball is going to do around the target. The only way you can do that is to understand what the ball is going to do at impact and then how that ball action is going to affect what happens when it lands. This takes not only knowledge of your swing but knowledge of how the lie conditions will affect the ball with that swing. And although we can see the fairway from the tee and have a pretty good idea of where we want to place the shot, we don’t usually understand all of the subtleties from 100 yards in.

Ben Hogan was well known for walking the course the evening before a tournament to observe the subtleties of the course - Like he would say “to observe the tricks and traps”. He wanted to understand what the ball would do where and what he needed to avoid - I think that 37 wins between 1945 and 1949 says he must have known something.

Visualizing the shot, developing a consistent pre-shot routine and writing out a solid strategy works and it can work for you.

Golf and Life Till “It’s Time to Come Home” – A golf teaching tool

Peter Jacobsen was quoted as saying, “one of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot, the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.”

My father was an avid golfer and absolutely respected the game. Etiquette was a priority; the rules of the game were to be adhered to; and integrity was paramount. To dad it was the integrity of the game that took precedent.

Dad lived life the way he played golf. Whether it was in his job, serving the community, or raising a family, dad lived by those same principles. He worked hard; he treated everyone with respect and in everything he did it was with the utmost integrity. And he lived each day the same way. He knew that each day he had to “go back to the first tee and begin all over again…” – A golf teaching tool.

Obviously he was a great model to follow. I would spend time with him on the golf course where he played at a very high level having won many amateur events over the years. I was always struck by his level of quiet confidence. He was always in the game and never “out of the hole”. But this came with years of practice and tournament seasoning since like he said “nothing comes easy in golf just like in life. You have to be realistic in your expectations and there are no short cuts to success.” – A golf teaching tool.

Dad seemed to always have a purpose on the golf course. He knew what he wanted to do and what stood in his way and played accordingly knowing full well that there is going to have to be adjustments along the way. He knew that frustrations and disappointments were a part of the game and he managed those since just like in life you can’t let those things control you – a golf teaching tool.

Dad built his golf game on a solid foundation. He practiced all of the shots so that he knew what to do once on the course. While everyone else was hitting drives and long iron on the practice tee he was hitting 8 and 9 irons. Then he spent time chipping the ball around the practice green. He knew that the game was won or lost from 150 yards in – a golf teaching tool.

Dad knew the golf swing and he knew his strengths and weaknesses and built his strategy around that. He also knew that just as important as the golf swing and feel was his mental attitude. He would spend time before each round in some quiet time thinking and envisioning what he was going to do and review the strategy he had planned out the night before to get his mind into the game – a golf teaching tool.

He had a pad of paper where he had laid out his game-plan for each hole. Nothing elaborate, just a short sketch of each hole and a general layout of what he intended to do with a few notes on the hole-subtleties which he needed to be aware of in case he wasn’t hitting the ball quite as crisply as he would like. And let’s face it; golf like life always has surprises. So by having a few notes and having a plan, although there may be some adjustments, he would take a moment or two on each tee to get refocused and back on the game-plan – a golf teaching tool.

He used to tell me about Ben Hogan who often would walk a course the evening before a tournament to notice and learn all of it’s subtleties and as he stated “tricks and traps”. This was Hogan’s way of getting mentally prepared and focused on the golf round. So preparation was a big deal with dad whether it was in golf or adding a patio to the back yard.

Dad loved this wonderful game and played respectably till he died in his sleep at the age of 76. In fact, that morning he had done what he had done virtually every day in his later years; have coffee with the “guys” and play a quick nine. In fact, I like to believe that he was planning tomorrow’s round when the good Lord said, “it’s time to come home.”

Movin' Up The Latter

Barlays Classic 2006 – on a day that saw Fred Couples shoot a 12 over 83, two additional players fired +9-80s and 7 others at +7 and +8, Tom Pernice, Jr. and Jason Bohn were hungry enough to move up 17 and 18 spots respectively on the field shooting 67s each. Click here for a list of all the 2006 movers.

Is Vijay Hitting Stride?

Yesterday, Singh shot a 7 under 64 to move into a tie at the Barclays Classic, the tune-up for Wing Foot next week. If the week before the U.S. Open turns out to be anything like the week before the Masters are we about to see a new trend?

Singh has been lurking all year with 6 top 10 finishes which is only second to Michelson and yet Singh is 15th on the current money list while Michelson is number 1. That could all change very quickly.

I am also keeping my eyes out for Adam Scott. He too has been playing much better than his current 19th in the money standings. Although he has not been able to put anything away to date, he has been near the top in several tournaments over the past couple of months. It only takes one round and he has the game.

I did some analysis on the top 20 money list and came to some interesting conclusions. Although you have to separate Woods out because of his lack of tournament appearances as of late, the guys that have been lurking the most this year are Mickelson, Campbell and Furyk if you give 10 points for a win, 9 for a second and so on. Based on that the top 5 would be Michelson (1), Campbell (6), Furyk (2), Zack Johnson (14) and Adam Scott (19).

Campbell has shown that he is a pretty cool customer and we all know the reputation of Michelson and Furyk. Johnson and Scott are the unknowns. Are they ready to make a move? Although they are both considered stars of the future they have not yet shown that final drive. But if you keep lingering around up there things are going to start to happening. But will it be at the U.S. Open? Mmmm???

My odds on favorites are still Woods and Michelson because they have both been there so many times before and in both cases there is a lot at stake. But will Woods be ready is the first question and how will Phil handle the pressure of three Majors in a row?

It could just be that Vijay is the one that is hitting his stride?

Down Memory Lane

Last night I was roaming the net to find some U.S. History to help me to write the following article. Although I was reminded of great moments that truly stuck out in my mind like the great final round posted by Johnny Miller in 1973 when he shot a 63 and came from behind to beat Weiskopf and Nicklaus. I was sitting in the club house of De La Viega in Santa Cruz just after an early morning round; or that 45 foot putt that Greg Norman sunk in 1984 on the final hole to tie Fuzzy Zoeller only to lose in a play off the next day; Scott Simpson making those three consecutive birdies on the final nine to beat Tom Watson head-to-head; Palmer making 6 birdies on the first 7 holes in 1960 to come from behind for his first U.S. Open victory; that great 4-iron on the final hole in 1995 to secure victory for Corey Pavin; and that wonderful victory par sunk by Payne Stewart in 1999; I noticed a couple of interesting facts .

In both 2000 and 2002 both won by Tiger Woods, Miguel Angel Jimenez tied for second place; the U.S. Open didn’t adopt a 4-day, 18 hole format till 1965;Orville Moody captured the 1969 Open after having to go through sectional qualifying; the U.S. Open was first televised in 1954; then on a personal note, in 1982, Bill Rogers a winner of the British Open in 1981 and Player of the Year placed tied for 3’d and unbeknownst to me, I was to hire the caddy that carried Bill’s bag when he won the 1981 British Open the following year to work for a printing company in Southern California. Rogers played on the tour from 1975 to 1988 and won six tournaments, including 4 in 1981. After a final victory in 1983, Bill Rogers faded away and all I remember was that for a while he was a spokesman/endorser for a new line of soft-spike shoes. Chris (the caddie) continued for a few years to take his vacation and travel with Bill to the British Isles to the scene of their victory but soon Rogers took a Director of Golf position at the San Antonio Country Club where he worked for 11 years before joining the Champions tour in 2001.

The U.S. Open

In 1982, my brother and I took my father to the U.S. Open played at Pebble Beach - The year that Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus on the 17 hole with that miraculous chip in. Unfortunately for us we lived in southern California and left the course a hole too early to try to beat some of the traffic. We were absolutely sick the following morning. To have endured the day like we had and to have missed seeing the dramatics as they unfolded was a true regret.

I don’t know how many of you have ever been to Pebble Beach but not only is it one of the truly great golf courses; you have to come prepared for most any type of weather. In a typical 4 ½ hours you can see brilliant sun turn to cold howling wind in a split second. I once walked the course at a Bing Crosby Clam Bake event in a golf shirt since it was in the high eighties when we arrived only to catch pneumonia on the back side.

Last night I was looking up some history on the Open and something caught my eye - The name of Sam Snead. Not because of victories because although he won more tournaments than any other golfer (81 in his career), he did not win the U.S. Open. He was runner up 4 times but did not get to the winners circle at this national Major golf event.

What Sam Snead did do was make it to the weekend in the U.S. Open at the age of 61 in 1973 – the oldest player to ever make the cut. And he ended up tying for 29th that year which is amazing given the typical U.S. Open conditions that usually favor the long accurate hitters coupled with, of course, the things that happen to our golf swings and bodies when we start to reach that ripe old age.

Here are a couple of other facts to get us ready for next weeks event:

The most victories in a U.S. Open is held by 4 golfer: Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus.

The oldest champion is Hale Irwin at the age of 45.

There are 6 active players with 2 or more victories in the U.S. Open: Hale Irwin, (3), Lee Trevino (2), Ernie Els (2), Lee Janzen (2), Tiger Woods (2) and Retief Goosen (2).

Are you ready? Let’s tee it up!!

Them Bones

On MSN.com this weekend there was a video with Jim “Bones” Mackay, Phil Mickelson’s caddie, about “Bones” visiting Wing Foot to scout the course for the upcoming U.S. Open in two weeks. Obviously this is a big event for Mickelson beyond just the fact of it being a “Major”; Phil has a chance to repeat the “Tiger Slam”. He has won the last two Majors (the PGA followed by the Masters) and seems to be playing some of the best golf of his life. Although he still likes to take chances from time to time, it seems over the past couple of years that even with that youthful tendency the new mature Mickelson stays focused and plays a much more controlled game. He seems to play with such precision and picks and choices when to get aggressive with a sort of strategic purpose in mind.

It appears, according to “Bones”, that the key will be off the tee this year. Golfers will need length but any wayward drives could be very costly. He says the fairways are clearly defined with a rough that could swallow up some balls or, at the least, give little chance to advance anything but turf. If Mickelson can keep the ball in the fairway it is going to be interesting to watch.

What about Tiger? We have heard little from Tiger Woods since the passing of his father. But you can bet he will be ready. It is amazing how Tiger Woods seems to come back from layoffs and pull things out of the hat. Almost like there’s a hunger to get back in the fray. There could be a lot of motivation in his mind, having just lost his father and you can bet he will be prepared.

I believe this has the drama and the potential of being one of the greatest events in golf history.

Up until last Sunday, the tour seemed to take a few steps back with more tournaments lost than won in a period of a few weeks. It was more like watching double-A ball each Saturday and Sunday. I even found myself turning the television off well before anything was decided because the only drama seemed to be; “who would miss hit the most shots” and that just isn’t interesting to me - And I love golf. But on the other side, this lull may have added to the anticipation – “calm before the storm”.

I wonder how many other caddies traveled to Wing Foot to check out the course conditions.

There is no doubt that there will be some “big time” strategy-building for this year’s tournament and it should be fun to watch. The cooler is cleaned, the refrigerator is full, and the couch has been properly fluffed. Bring it on!

Patch writes for Pocket Pro featuring Managing the Course which is being used this year by participants in 29 Major golfing events across the country. Put a Pro in Your Pocket.

Alex Moon Crowned Byron Nelson Champion

Back Nine Run Leads to Victory

Alex Moon’s performance on the back nine at Lakewood Country Club during the final round of the EDS Byron Nelson Junior Championship will not soon be forgotten by anyone that witnessed it. Flying under the radar most of the day, Moon’s back nine four-under-par 31 vaulted him to victory in the first Texas Legends Junior Tour Major Championship of 2006.

With the first round leaders struggling coming out of the gate, Moon quietly put together a solid one-under-par 35 on the front nine to leap frog all the way to a share of the lead. Fueled by his jump up the leaderboard, Moon made no mistakes on his way in, and made four birdies on the back nine for a final round five under par 66. Moon made back-to-back birdies on holes #14 and #15, statistically two of the most difficult holes on the course.

Moon did not cruise to a victory, however, as Cody Gribble pressured Moon all day. Gribble started his day with 12 consecutive pars before a birdie at #13 and #15 put him within a stroke of the lead. Playing just behind Moon, and seeing the birdies he was making, Gribble matched each of Moon’s birdies on #15 and #17. Moon made a clutch up and down on #18 green and Gribble’s 20-footer to force a playoff fell off to the right. In the end, Moon’s play was simply just too much to overcome, and Alex Moon joins a prestigious list of champions of the event.

With his victory, Moon earned...participants in this years event used Pocket Pro Managing the Course booklets

What Can We Learn from Professional Golfers?

Professional golfers are not only very talented, but they play smart, strategic golf. And it is the "smart, strategic…" that separates them from the good amateurs and the average club professional. They know how to stay in the moment and avoid distractions by being very focused when it comes to hitting that golf shot.

Yes, they practice for hours so that they can repeat that golf swing over and over again consistently; and they practice virtually every shot they will face when the tournament begins but all good golfers do that. But just as important as it is to making the shots, you have to know where to place those shots to get that right angle to the pin to get those extra birdies and eagles to get into the win column.

Golf is not an easy game at any level.

Hitting that little white ball and getting it into that small little hole has been a mystery ever since the game began.

Even under the best of circumstances, pros will lose strokes when they lose focus. Golf takes a lot of discipline.

Think of the number of moving parts in the golf swing; the exact spot you need to hit the ball to get the distance required for the shot; the proper club selection; the tempo; the perfect club path; the right feel; soft hands; then firm grip or firm wrist; shoulder turn... If you have played golf for long at all you have probably been told to do all of the above at one time or another.

If you listen to the caddies of the touring pros they are like the playing pro's second conscience. They remind the player of what lies in front of them, what the ball is going to do, and what will happen if they go long or come up short. And although you would think that the player with all of his or her experience would consider all of those things on their own, truth is there is just far too much to consider when the pressure is on.

"Make sure you get it well past the hole. With that club it is going to really spin. You don't want to…". "Aim at that bunker on the right hand side and draw it in. Swing smooth and..." "I don't know, I'd go with the 7 and get it there. Take bogey out of the picture. You have a..."

We don't all have caddies with us on the golf course. And if we did, I am not so sure they would want to have to work that hard. But there is a way to accomplish virtually the same thing.

If you notice in every golf tournament, the caddies and the players carry little pads in their pockets that give them the distances to the hole from various spots on the course. These booklets are generally computer generated before each round and give critical details to the golfers that help them make decisions on what club to hit and what things to consider like landing area, roll of the ball, trouble to avoid, etc. Then by considering conditions (wind direction, wind speed, rain, dry fairways, moist conditions, etc.) the golfer can make the appropriate adjustments.

Too often average golfers just go out there to "grip it and rip it" and live with the result. But golf can be so much more than that. Having a plan and actually writing that plan out can go a long ways to keeping you in the moment and focused on the task at hand during the round resulting in better scores.

And what golfer out there wouldn't want to drop 2 or 3 strokes a side or more?

Listen; typically, golf is a 4 to 4 ½ hour round. To stay focused during that amount of time is an accomplishment in it self and the truth is that the average golfer is not always up to the task. It doesn't take much to get out of focus. A miss hit ball, a stupid bogey, a fat-shot, a crappy bounce, a spike mark on the green, casual conversation, a beer or two can all get us off track and take our mind away from the task at hand.

Strategies are a game-plan of how you hope to generally approach each hole based on your skill sets. By writing that approach out, it keeps you focused in the moment and basically gives you a new start with each and every hole. In the end, it is hoped that you will be successful on more holes than not. Again, it is to keep you in-the-moment – focused on the task.

Golf seems to always present new challenges with each time we play. But the general strategy shouldn’t change. We should just make certain adjustments depending upon how well we are striking the ball; how confident we feel; etc. and note any new observations based on those adjustments. It is those notes that you can work from either on your own or with your local professional to refine your game or plan or just to smoothen out some kinks in the armor.

A well thought out plan works cause smart golf saves strokes.