Here is School of Golf’s Martin Hall and Holly Sonders describing the swing sequence for the finesse shots.
Short Game Sequence Tip
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Author Archives: Jay
Cabrera Wins Greenbrier, McDowell Wins French Open, and Butch Harmon’s Best Advice for Amateurs
Unfortunately, once again I did not see very much golf this past weekend. I did see Angel Cabrera hole out a 8-iron from 176 yards(!) on the 13th hole that pretty much clinched his victory at the Greenbrier Classic.
And Graeme McDowell played great (and Kevin Stadler struggled) in capturing the French Open.
With the wins, Cabrera moved to 40th (from 242) and McDowell climbed 66 spots to 15th in our Power Rankings.
Tiger’s Return to Quicken Loans National, Playing With A Bad Back
Tiger was back last week at the tournament he hosts, the Quicken Loans National. Why did Tiger pick this tournament as his first tournament since his back surgery? Good question. My guess is that Quicken Loans asked Tiger to play since they are the title sponsor of the event and if Tiger is in the field a LOT more people will watch the tournament.
Tiger played very mediocre and missed the cut. His back must have been okay, seeing as he averaged 300 yards on his drives. Where Tiger really stunk was in his short game, which is odd because he had been saying that he could chip and putt for over a month. I guess he COULD chip and putt, but based on his stats, he could have spent a lot more time actually chipping and putting.
You probably will not see Tiger again until the British Open.
3 Tips to Help Improve Your Timing
The Golf Channel’s Martin Hall and Holly Sonders give a few tips for improving the timing in your golf swing.
Wie Wins U.S. Womens Open, Streelman Makes History and Cambridge Golf Club
Did anyone watch the U.S. Womens Open? I watched a lot of the first three rounds, but was not able to see the final round until Michelle Wie was putting for bogey on the 16th. So I guess I got to see the most exciting part.
When I turned on the TV, Michelle had a 3-shot lead, and Stacy Lewis, who was in second place, was already finished. It looked to me that Michelle had it all wrapped up. The announcer was saying something about how she needed to just focus on this putt and not worry about the situation, which is perfect tv-analyst speak for someone with a three-shot lead with three holes to play. She missed the putt and it went about 5 feet past the hole, and that’s when the announcer said “She needs to make that to stay in the lead”. That got my attention.
Johnny’s Best Swing Tip
Johnny Miller has given out his Best Swing Tip Ever (click the link to get the full tip and see a video) on Golf.com. Here it is.
STEP 1: Take your normal address. Note the position of your left shoulder and burn it into your mind’s eye.
STEP 2: Swing the club back. Regardless of whether you make a big or little turn, or a wide or narrow arm swing, your left shoulder will move out of the position it was in at setup — and this shoulder movement is perfectly okay. Ideally, your shoulder should move under your chin, but that’s not critical.
STEP 3: Here’s the important part. As you swing down, concentrate on returning your left shoulder to its starting position. I don’t care how you do it — just do it
This makes pretty good sense, but don’t forget to keep turning your shoulders after impact.
Kaymer Wins U.S. Open
Martin Kaymer lapped the field at Pinehurst, building a big lead on Thursday and Friday, and then maintained that lead on the weekend to win the U.S. Open. In case you missed the final round, here are some highlights.
Kaymer’s win helped him climb the Power Rankings from 28th to 8th (or now the third highest ranked male golfer behind Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott).
The Stages of Golf
My friend Henry posted this on Facebook after playing his “usual” round of golf.
Stages of golf … and the thoughts that go through my head in a typical round of golf.
Hole 1: Optimistic – “I think this will be a good round. I was hitting it well at the range. I just have to keep doing the same thing.”
Hole 2: Confidence – “See! I can play this game.”
Hole 3: Arrogance – “I think I’ll put a little mustard on this one and show the guys I came to play.”
Hole 4: Denial – “I didn’t hit it square on the ball but I still hit it well.”
Hole 5: Blame – “There must have been a gust of wind that pushed my shot into the hazard.”
Hole 6: Confusion – “What the heck am I doing wrong NOW?!”
Hole 7: Analytical – “Am I lifting my head? Did I shift my weight back? Was my club face open?”
Hole 8: Anger – “Stupid f—ing game!”
Hole 9: Futility – “Doesn’t matter what I do for the rest of this round, my game is screwed.”
Hole 10: Ultimatum – “If I don’t par this hole, I’m giving up golf for good.”
Hole 11: Reneging – “If I don’t par THIS hole, I’m giving up golf for good.”
Hole 12: Justification – “If this game isn’t difficult, then we wouldn’t play it.”
Hole 13: Spiritual – “Dear God, just let me par this hole.”
Hole 14: Atheism – “There is no God.”
Hole 15: Bargaining – “I’ll be happy if I can just bogey this hole.”
Hole 16: Self-deprecating – “I SUCK!”
Hole 17: Retrospective – “Those were some good shots I made back at #1”
Hole 18: Acceptance – “I need to head back to the range and work on my swing.”
Walking back to the car: Masochistic – “So, when do we play the next round?”
I think he speaks for everyone.