Monday, December 28, 2009

Winter Golf Tips

  • Improve your strength, endurance, and flexibility. Talk to your local personal trainer.
  • Work on your swing in slow motion in front of a mirror making sure your club is in the proper positions.
  • While in your living room, work on fundamentals such as grip, posture, ball position, and alignment.
  • Work on your putting indoors and focus on the fundamentals such as keeping your head and body still, keeping your eyes over the ball, using a pendulum motion, making sure your back stroke and forward stroke are equidistant, making solid contact, and releasing the putter.
  • Work on your pre-shot and pre-putt routine in your living room.
  • Take winter lessons.
  • Brave the cold and play.
  • Find an indoor range and try to hit balls a few times per week.
  • Find a range with heaters or covered tees and hit a few times per week.
  • Purchase a hitting net for your garage or basement.
  • Take a lesson with video analysis.
  • Get your swing speed checked to make sure you are using the proper shafts.
  • Have a club fitting done to make sure you have the right dimensions on your clubs.
  • Make sure you are stocked up with all the equipment you need for the upcoming season.
  • Read golf instructional books or magazines.
  • Watch the golf channel and the pro tournaments to pick up tips.
  • Set specific goals for the upcoming season.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

A look back on the major stories of 2009

Tiger Woods - AP / Charlie Riedel

Golf was certainly interesting in 2009 with some great play, great tournaments, several near misses by big name players, and some minor scandal that you probably haven't heard of.

Here is a look back on some of the top moments and tournaments of 2009.

Majors:

Masters: Angel Cabrera
Kenny Perry had tournament locked up until bogeying the final two holes and losing in a playoff.

U.S. Open: Lucas Glover
Former #1 David Duval came out of nowhere to contend but a triple bogey on the final day cost him.

British: Stewart Cink
Tom Watson, 59, almost became the oldest player to win a major. The five time champion bogeyed the final hole in regulation, and then lost in a playoff.

PGA: YE Yang
Yang held off Tiger Woods and became the first player ever to defeat Woods when he led going into the final round of a major.

  • Tiger came back from knee surgery and an eight month layoff to win seven times worldwide. Woods won the Fed Ex Cup for the second time, won PGA player of the year, the money title, the scoring title, and was named AP athlete of the decade.
  • Phil Mickelson won four times in 2009, defeated Tiger at the HSBC, and finished second in the Fed Ex Cup race despite his wife and mother being diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • Rory Mcllroy, Danny Lee, Ryo Ishikawa, and Rickie Fowler all jumped onto the scene as the top young golfers in the world
  • The United States defeated the International team 19 1/2 to 14 1/2 at the Presidents Cup
World Rankings

1 Tiger Woods USA
2 Phil Mickelson USA
3 Steve Stricker USA
4 Lee Westwood England
5 Padraig Harrington Ireland
Complete list

Obviously, the biggest story of the year in golf is the saga of Tiger Woods, which we have all heard more than enough of. Who knows when this will ever calm down and who knows if Tiger will ever be the same on the course if and when he returns.

For those of you of want more Tiger, click here for a variety of articles about his 2009 season, including his tournament play, awards, and the ongoing scandal.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tiger breaks another record

The scandal has lead to another record for Tiger. He was on the cover of the New York Post 19 consecutive days, breaking the record for the 9/11 coverage.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Playboy Hefner weighs in on Tiger

Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine has now spoken up in the wake of Tiger Wood's extra-marital activities.

Hefner spoke with Fox News and had the following comments.

"I don't approve of it. I just was not surprised by it," Hefner said. "The reason that I wasn't surprised is that he’s traveling the world. He's a handsome, young guy and beautiful ladies are throwing themselves at him. You never know the circumstances of a personal relationship or a marriage and how well it worked and I think that the immorality of infidelity is the lie. It isn't really the sex. It's the cheating."

On whether or not athletes such as Woods should stay single?

"It's an individual decision, it works for some people," he responded. “I was married for eight years and was faithful to it the entire time. And, I certainly had plenty of temptations. But, was I happier then? No," he said laughing, "I wasn't."

Hefner, now 83, made the comments while at a book signing with his three girlfriends.

Crazy world we live in for some people:

Hugh Hefner: age 83, three girlfriends about 6 decades younger than him.

Tiger Woods: age 33, married, approximately 16 girlfriends

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Steve Williams calls out ESPN's Reilly


Tiger Wood's long-time caddie Steve Williams has vehemently denied any knowledge of Wood's extra marital activities and infidelity.

"I had no knowledge of what Tiger's indiscretion was," Williams said. "What people fail to realize is I just work for Tiger Woods. I live in New Zealand, I travel to and from New Zealand to caddie for Tiger Woods. Whilst I am a very good friend of his, I don't know what he does off the course.

"When he is not competing, I am back in New Zealand. I have no knowledge of what he is doing. Yes, I talk to him on the phone, ask him how his practice is going, how he is hitting the ball, how his family is, but I don't know what he is doing, just like he doesn't know what I am doing."

Rick Reilly, ESPN writer, recently wrote an article stating that Woods needs to fire everyone around him, including caddie Williams, because he had to of known Woods was having affairs.

“I am a straight-up sort of person," Williams said. I tell it like it is. Last year, at the same particular point of time, is when I had the confrontation with Phil Mickleson. I didn’t lie about it. I called the guy a prick. I never said I didn’t call him a prick. I never denied one word of what I said. I had no knowledge of what Tiger’s indiscretion was. And for Rick Reilly to turn around and say that I am a liar and there is no way I couldn’t know – and that I should be fired – that is sensational journalism at its height right there. I am an honest person. I had no knowledge of what was going on with Tiger. If I did, I would say I did.”

Williams has been on the bag for 13 out of his 14 major championships and has stated that Woods would be the last player that he will ever caddie for.

I tend to believe Williams. He doesn't seem like a guy that would lie.

Although I did think the same thing about Tiger, so who knows?

More Tiger cartoons