It's not just us.
The best players in the world lose touch with their golf games, too. Sometimes it's a little thing, sometimes it's a big thing. Sometimes it's between the ears. Sometimes it's between the backswing and the downswing.
Three of the top players in the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn this weekend are working through changes and each of them sounds excited by it.
Fred Funk was considering taking the summer off he was hitting it so poorly. Everybody thinks Funk looks so happy and bouncy on the course -- and he does -- but he hadn't been feeling that way because the game had turned mean. He even apologized to his 15-year old son, Taylor, for showing him how not to act on the golf course.
Last week, though, Funk decided to quit listening to advice others had given and to go back to playing the way he used to play, when he missed a fairway about once a month. Three holes into a U.S. Open qualifier Monday in Maryland, Funk had found his missing mojo. He played his way into the Open at Congressional, getting teary-eyed after realizing what he'd done, and regardless of how he plays at Rock Barn (he's bothered by a thumb problem right now) or at Congressional, Funk says he's back in a good place with golf again.
Mark Calcavecchia got an unsolicited phone call from former tour player turned television commentator Bob Murphy recently. Murphy told Calc that he'd noticed how he got more hunched over on shorter putts. Stand taller, Murphy said, like you do on the long ones and Calcavecchia is already seeing a difference.
And then there's Kenny Perry, who had worked himself into a swing pattern that had him hitting shots fat. He lost some of his power and crisp shots were becoming increasingly rare. A visit with an old swing coach has helped Perry get back on the right path, though there's still progress to be made.
"I'm seeing signs of life," Perry said.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Who's The Fastest, Slowest On The PGA Tour?
The five fastest and slowest players on the PGA Tour according to a survey done by Golf Magazine who timed every shot hit by 45 players over nine holes in the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year.
Too bad there aren't more Rickie Fowlers out there and too bad the tour and other golf organizations don't crack down harder on slow play. Just watch how long it takes at the U.S. Open next week.
Five fastest (Average time per shot)
1. Rickie Fowler (16 seconds)
2. Jhonny Vegas (21 seconds)
3. Brian Davis (22 seconds)
4. Chris Kirk (23 seconds)
5. Cameron Beckman (25 seconds)
Five slowest
1. Nick O'Hern (55 seconds)
2. J.B. Holmes (52 seconds)
3. John Senden (51 seconds)
4. Kevin Na (50 seconds)
5. Charlie Wi (50 seconds)
Too bad there aren't more Rickie Fowlers out there and too bad the tour and other golf organizations don't crack down harder on slow play. Just watch how long it takes at the U.S. Open next week.
Five fastest (Average time per shot)
1. Rickie Fowler (16 seconds)
2. Jhonny Vegas (21 seconds)
3. Brian Davis (22 seconds)
4. Chris Kirk (23 seconds)
5. Cameron Beckman (25 seconds)
Five slowest
1. Nick O'Hern (55 seconds)
2. J.B. Holmes (52 seconds)
3. John Senden (51 seconds)
4. Kevin Na (50 seconds)
5. Charlie Wi (50 seconds)
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Will We Ever See The Old Tiger Again?
Tiger Woods' announcement Tuesday that he won't play in the U.S. Open next week due to lingering problems with his left knee and Achilles was a disappointment but not a surprise.
The question now is will we ever again see the Tiger we marveled at for so many years?
Maybe not.
Even if he lost you when his personal life came apart, his golf was impossible to ignore. He has played golf better than anyone ever, Jack Nicklaus included.
But what once seemed preordained -- that Woods would surpass Nicklaus's record of 18 major championship victories -- now seems increasingly doubtful. Woods has been stuck at 14 since he won the 2008 U.S. Open on a broken leg at Torrey Pines near San Diego when it seemed he was capable of anything.
If Woods doesn't tie or break Nicklaus's record, it should be because he didn't make it happen. Not because he couldn't make it happen.
There's a big difference.
Woods has had four surgeries on his left knee and he's been hobbling since he hurt himself in the third round of the Masters almost two months ago. He says he hopes to play in the AT&T National he hosts next month and get back to a regular schedule after that but Woods also hoped to play at Quail Hollow and to go more than nine holes at the Players Championship last month.
As Woods was stacking up major championships in his 20s, we imagined what he would do when he hit his mid-30s, typically the prime of a professional golfer's life. No one expected this.
He’s only 35 but it seems like an old 35, at least right now.
The great golf writer Dan Jenkins was half-joking years ago when he said the only thing that could stop Tiger would be a bad marriage or an injury. Well...
Nicklaus doesn't want his record broken but he wants to see Tiger give it his best shot. He wants to see the old Tiger, ripping at tee shots, gouging iron shots out of the rough, walking putts into the hole. That was golf like we've never seen it.
When Nicklaus spoke by phone to Woods recently, he told Tiger as much.
"(It) is the same thing I've said to him a thousand times, 'Tiger, nobody wants records to be broken. That's obvious. I don't care who it is,'" Nicklaus said at his Memorial Tournament last week. "But I certainly don't want you not to be healthy and not have the opportunity to play to break records. I want you to get yourself healthy...get your golf game back in shape and I wish you well, wish you good luck.'"
Jack’s record deserves Tiger’s best shot.
The question now is will we ever again see the Tiger we marveled at for so many years?
Maybe not.
Even if he lost you when his personal life came apart, his golf was impossible to ignore. He has played golf better than anyone ever, Jack Nicklaus included.
But what once seemed preordained -- that Woods would surpass Nicklaus's record of 18 major championship victories -- now seems increasingly doubtful. Woods has been stuck at 14 since he won the 2008 U.S. Open on a broken leg at Torrey Pines near San Diego when it seemed he was capable of anything.
If Woods doesn't tie or break Nicklaus's record, it should be because he didn't make it happen. Not because he couldn't make it happen.
There's a big difference.
Woods has had four surgeries on his left knee and he's been hobbling since he hurt himself in the third round of the Masters almost two months ago. He says he hopes to play in the AT&T National he hosts next month and get back to a regular schedule after that but Woods also hoped to play at Quail Hollow and to go more than nine holes at the Players Championship last month.
As Woods was stacking up major championships in his 20s, we imagined what he would do when he hit his mid-30s, typically the prime of a professional golfer's life. No one expected this.
He’s only 35 but it seems like an old 35, at least right now.
The great golf writer Dan Jenkins was half-joking years ago when he said the only thing that could stop Tiger would be a bad marriage or an injury. Well...
Nicklaus doesn't want his record broken but he wants to see Tiger give it his best shot. He wants to see the old Tiger, ripping at tee shots, gouging iron shots out of the rough, walking putts into the hole. That was golf like we've never seen it.
When Nicklaus spoke by phone to Woods recently, he told Tiger as much.
"(It) is the same thing I've said to him a thousand times, 'Tiger, nobody wants records to be broken. That's obvious. I don't care who it is,'" Nicklaus said at his Memorial Tournament last week. "But I certainly don't want you not to be healthy and not have the opportunity to play to break records. I want you to get yourself healthy...get your golf game back in shape and I wish you well, wish you good luck.'"
Jack’s record deserves Tiger’s best shot.
Woods Rules Himself Out Of U.S. Open
Tiger Woods will not play in the U.S. Open next week at Congressional due to continuing problems with his left knee and Achilles.
Woods made the announcement on his website today.
Woods made the announcement on his website today.
"I am extremely disappointed that I won't be playing in the U.S. Open, but it's time for me to listen to my doctors and focus on the future," Woods said. "I was hopeful that I could play, but if I did, I risk further damage to my left leg. My knee and Achilles tendon are not fully healed. I hope to be ready for AT&T National, the next two majors and the rest of the year."
It's just one more twist in Woods' career that has veered off course over the past 20 months. Woods, still at 14 career major championship victories, has not won a major since he beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff to win the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.
This will be the first U.S. Open Woods has missed since 1994.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Carolinas Golf Hall Adds Hoch, Ward and Boswell
Long-time golf writer Howard Ward, amateur Larry Boswell and tour player Scott Hoch have been voted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.
It's a deserving honor for each of them.
Hoch is the most familiar, having been born in Raleigh and played his college golf at Wake Forest. Though he's remembered by many for the two-footer he missed that would have won him the 1989 Masters over Nick Faldo, Hoch was one of the PGA Tour's most consistently good players for years. He won 11 times and was often at his best on tough courses.
He played on two Ryder Cup teams and won the 1986 Vardon Trophy for low scoring average on the tour. He's scheduled to play in the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn next week in Conover.
Ward, a long-time friend of mine, has been writing golf for more than 50 years, most of the time for the Fayetteville Observer from which he retired in 1997. He's cared about both the big-time players and the not so big, sharing their stories with readers. Ward knows golf and it shows when he writes about it, something he continues to do today for The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines.
Boswell has won Carolinas Golf Association championships in five decades, collecting 13 different trophies, third-most behind Dale Morey and Paul Simson.
The public is invited to the induction dinner Aug. 14 at The Carolina in Pinehurst. Details are available at 222.thecgra.com.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Couples Past Skin Scare, Limiting Champions Tour Play
When Fred Couples went to a dermatologist last month to have a couple of moles examined at the request of his girlfriend, the moles they were worried about weren't a problem.
But Couples wound up having 13 moles frozen off his hands, perhaps alleviating a potentially serious problem.
"I don't think it's anything horrible, but at the time (the doctor) scared the hell out of me just by the way she looked at me and what she said," Couples said at a pre-tournament media session at The Memorial Tournament this week.
"I don't wear sunscreen, but I just didn't have spots on my hands to figure that I needed 13 of them removed."
After the marks were removed, Couples said he had blisters on his hands that were big enough he couldn't put his hands in his pockets. He's better now, good enough to play Muirfield Village this week in one of his rare PGA Tour appearances.
"A couple people asked me if it was contagious and a few other things through the airport. It's pretty fun. I wish I could have put my hands in my pants so no one could have seen all this stuff. Thirteen blisters on your hands, you start to think people are looking at you like you've got something," Couples said.
Couples also indicated he'll play sparingly on the Champions Tour this year because he's been bothered by back issues. His appearance at the Memorial coincided with a meeting of potential Presidents Cup team members. Couples is captain of the Presidents Cup team going to Australia later this year.
"I haven't felt as good, so I've stayed away from playing the Champions Tour, because it doesn't serve me any justice to go play out there and finish 25th or 30th because I can't physically hit the ball," Couples said.
"I continue to feel mediocre when I play, so that's why I'm not playing much on the Champions Tour. I really like the Champions Tour. This is just an odd year, and hopefully in the near future I'll start to feel better and hopefully play a little at the end of the year and it'll be a nice quiet year and I can come out at age 52 and start playing again on the Champions Tour again next year."
But Couples wound up having 13 moles frozen off his hands, perhaps alleviating a potentially serious problem.
"I don't think it's anything horrible, but at the time (the doctor) scared the hell out of me just by the way she looked at me and what she said," Couples said at a pre-tournament media session at The Memorial Tournament this week.
"I don't wear sunscreen, but I just didn't have spots on my hands to figure that I needed 13 of them removed."
After the marks were removed, Couples said he had blisters on his hands that were big enough he couldn't put his hands in his pockets. He's better now, good enough to play Muirfield Village this week in one of his rare PGA Tour appearances.
"A couple people asked me if it was contagious and a few other things through the airport. It's pretty fun. I wish I could have put my hands in my pants so no one could have seen all this stuff. Thirteen blisters on your hands, you start to think people are looking at you like you've got something," Couples said.
Couples also indicated he'll play sparingly on the Champions Tour this year because he's been bothered by back issues. His appearance at the Memorial coincided with a meeting of potential Presidents Cup team members. Couples is captain of the Presidents Cup team going to Australia later this year.
"I haven't felt as good, so I've stayed away from playing the Champions Tour, because it doesn't serve me any justice to go play out there and finish 25th or 30th because I can't physically hit the ball," Couples said.
"I continue to feel mediocre when I play, so that's why I'm not playing much on the Champions Tour. I really like the Champions Tour. This is just an odd year, and hopefully in the near future I'll start to feel better and hopefully play a little at the end of the year and it'll be a nice quiet year and I can come out at age 52 and start playing again on the Champions Tour again next year."
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Kenny Perry Adds To Rock Barn Field Next Week
Kenny Perry has committed to play in the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn next week as he chases his first Champions Tour victory.
Perry, who is playing in The Memorial on the PGA Tour this week, adds to an already strong field for the event which runs June 6-12 at Rock Barn.
In addition to Perry, other top players in the field include Bernhard Langer, on the mend from thumb surgery that has sidelined him this season, Nick Price, Mark O'Meara, John Cook, Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Funk, Peter Jacobsen, Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Fuzzy Zoeller and defending champion Gary Hallberg, among others.
Last year's runner-up, Fred Couples, has indicated he plans to play at Rock Barn but has not yet officially committed.
Perry, who is playing in The Memorial on the PGA Tour this week, adds to an already strong field for the event which runs June 6-12 at Rock Barn.
In addition to Perry, other top players in the field include Bernhard Langer, on the mend from thumb surgery that has sidelined him this season, Nick Price, Mark O'Meara, John Cook, Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Funk, Peter Jacobsen, Tom Kite, Hal Sutton, Fuzzy Zoeller and defending champion Gary Hallberg, among others.
Last year's runner-up, Fred Couples, has indicated he plans to play at Rock Barn but has not yet officially committed.
