The Modern Tour Golfer

Lee Westwood

John Huggan makes an excellent case for the modern touring golfer being satisfied with second place and a hefty check versus winning trophies and titles. And he uses Lee Westwood as an example!

 He had this from Peter McEvoy, two time British Amateur Champion:

We live in a golfing world that does not breed winners. Part of that is the money, which is the root of all golfing evil. If we created a different competition, one where the pros put their own money in and it was winner-take-all, a very different animal would evolve. He'd be a golfer who took chances and went for his shots. And he wouldn't be a guy who was happy to churn out yet another eighth place finish and collect a nice cheque. The whole thing is self-perpetuating and has created a system where a high level of mediocrity is over-rewarded

He also had this from Ben Crenshaw on the role of coaching; a man who grew up under the laissez-faire tutelage of famed instructor, the late Harvey Penick:

Sometimes I question the teaching of the game. I hate to use the word 'stylised', but it seems that way to me, everything in the same box. I don't see some players able to adjust on the course. You have to be able to do that on the course, especially when you are not playing well. It's no good waiting until you can go back to the range for the answers. They are relying too much on the guys standing behind them.

 

May I just say that I could not agree more with everything Mr. Huggan presents in his profound article. There is too much money, too much instruction and too much coddling on the major professional golf tours.  Touring golfers are becoming "Fat Cats" that can pick and choose where they would like to cash their next $200,000 check.  Tim Clark has never won on the PGA Tour, yet has earned almost $15 million! They travel in style with their own entourage from caddie to masseuse and everybody in between. Aaron Oberholser once stated that the last thing a professional needs is a "guru" - true words! They all know how to play golf and beyond another pair of educated eyes, they need to get to the business of playing winning golf.

I'm afraid to say it but all the money has made them soft.

 

 

Release the Putter

A pendulum swings around a fixed point and in order to release the face of the putter correctly, so should your putting stroke.

Jim Hardy, the noted 'One-Plane' teacher, has gone on record as stating that the majority of great putters are invariably 'hookers' of the golf ball in their full swing.  They all release the putter face the same way they release their club face - aggresively! And when looking at a sampling of the greatest of all time; Faxon, Crenshaw, Locke (as in Bobby!), George Archer and Ballesteros;  I certainly can concur with his reasoning.  Of course Jack and Tiger aren't too bad but let's just stick with the formula for now!

In order for the face to release the stroke needs to work like a pendulum.  Notice in the pictures of Tiger Woods above how the butt end of the putter in each frame points at the same spot on his torso.  So often I see golfers, in an attempt to not use their wrists, push the hands through the stroke, thus discouraging the wrists, hands and face to release freely.  This leads not only to poor direction and ball striking, but most importantly decreased distance control.

An excellent little teaching aid to overcome this common flaw is the Perfect Pendulum.  This device attaches to your own putter and telescopes up into your belly. (Unless your belly happens to telescope into it!)  Once it's anchored make a few strokes to get a sense of the putter head swinging beyond the hands into the follow through.  It ensures a correct release.

I love simple teaching aids that convey the correct feel while using your own club and this one takes care of everything for you!

Here are a few keys to remember:

• Assume your normal address position and note where the butt end of the putter points.
• As you stroke try to sense the butt end pointing at the same spot on your upper body.  This should be maintainted from address to the back of the stroke and on into the follow through.
• Feel the putter head SWING to either side of your center.
• A light, soft grip will aid in the putter face releasing freely.
• Roll a few putts with your dominant hand only to feel the correct rhythm of the stroke.

For better distance and direction (is there anything else?) with your putting try these ideas.  They will help!

Things to Ponder:

• John Daly's career can be marked by either upward or downward trends.  Over the past few years the lows are lower and the highs are not quite where they once were.  He is clearly on an upward trend at the moment, I just hope he has the sense to survive the next low.
• I have had a few responses to my All-time Heart List.  After reconsideration, I must add Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods to the list.  Tom Watson is waiting in the wings.
• Why do Davis Love and Ben Crane have to qualify for the British Open?  They are both in the top 60 players in the world and are both having relatively good seasons.
• It's about time Vijay Singh has showed up again on a leaderboard!  Where has he been?

Thanks for reading and please feel free to make abusive comments about the author.

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome to my blog and thanks for checking in with andrewricegolf.com! It is an exciting week on the golf calendar and I am honored to launch this site in conjunction with the first major of the year - the Masters! I would like to encourage anyone who loves the game and is keen on improving to subscribe to my RSS feed using any feed reader (even email!) by clicking on the subscribe button to the right. Every few days I will post on all things golf - with a definite slant toward swing mechanics and philosophy (sounds intimidating doesn't it?).  Many of you who know me, know that I am not a fan of deeply complex or intricate swing jargon (what with being fairly simple minded and all!) and will thus strive to keep it real - real as in, this is something that is simple to do, easy to comprehend, and it works!

I will also sound off on my opinions pertaining to course architecture (old school rules!), teaching technology, PGATour players (these guys do not know how good they have it!), where golf is headed (?), fantasy golf, golf fashion (beware the white shirt and khaki brigade...) and a quandry of other meaningless topics that include the word golf.

My thoughts on the changes at Augusta National and the Masters are echoed here in this quote from Ben Crenshaw:

(I hope that Billy Payne will slowly get the course back to the old risk-reward beauty that it used to be!)

The old Augusta was a tightrope, where risks were encouraged but a fall could hurt. "You always felt at Augusta you could take a chance on something, whether it was a tee ball or a second shot," Crenshaw says. "You had more room to play, and more people could play dangerously. It was totally different from any challenge in the world." To Crenshaw, the narrowing of the fairways from the equivalent of wide boulevards to country lanes altered things dramatically. "The second cut on lots of holes—that's first and foremost, because the course went from here to like this," he says, moving his hands very close together. "I think they needed to do something in the way of length, [but] I wouldn't have constricted it as much.

"There is no question it has become more of a defensive proposition," he continues. "The thing that set Augusta apart forever is that it's exciting and theatrical. People would pull off shots, but the flip side of that is that if you failed—and Jones wrote about this—it would tax you mentally. If you failed, it had a big effect on you. All I remember is how I felt there as a player [in my prime]. I hope the guys today are doing the same gyrations that we did. That, to me, is the question.

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear your comments!