Sunday, January 30, 2011

Final Round Photos from Torrey Pines

Bubba Watson (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Phil Mickelson (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Anthony Kim (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Jhonattan Vegas (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Hunter Mahan (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Tiger Woods (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Friday, January 28, 2011

Round Two Photos from Torrey Pines

Bill Haas (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Rickie Fowler (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Anthony Kim (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

John Daly (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Phil Mickelson (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Tiger Woods (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Farmers Insurance Open Leaderboard

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Cigars Direct

You don't have to be good at golf to enjoy a stogie on the course. If you're looking for the best choice in premium cigars, check out our friends at Cigarsdirect.

Round One Photos from Torrey Pines

Leaderboard

Tiger Woods (Donald Miralle / Getty)

John Daly (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

 Phil Mickelson (Stephen Dunn / Getty)

Anthony Kim (Donald Miralle / Getty)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Torrey Pines Betting Odds

The Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines starts Thursday.


Tiger Woods 3-1
Phil Mickelson 14-1
Dustin Johnson 16-1
Charles Howell III 25-1
Nick Watney 25-1
Rickie Fowler 25-1
Bill Haas 28-1
Ben Crane 33-1
Hunter Mahan 33-1
Justin Rose 33-1

Pick to Win: TW

Old school Tiger highlights from the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Jhonatton Vegas: By the Numbers

Jhonatton Vegas (Steve Dykes / Getty)

Tournament: Bob Hope Classic
Winner: Rookie Jhonatton Vegas

Vegas wins in his 2nd career start on the PGA Tour in a playoff and receives a two year exemption on Tour as well as a trip to the Masters.

Round 1: 64
Round 2: 67
Round 3: 67
Round 4: 66
Round 5: 69
Total: -27

Fairways in Reg: 75% (T13)
Greens in Reg: 76.7% (T19)
Sand Saves: 40% (T65)
Putting: 1.652 (T22)
Total Birdies: 34 (T1)

Fed Ex Points: 500
Prize Money: $990,000.00

Vegas looks like an exciting new player to watch and to win in only his 2nd start is phenomenal.

Kaymer destroys field in Abu Dhabi

Martin Kaymer (Getty / David Cannon)

With a performance reminiscent of old school Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer destroyed a strong field at the HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi. Winning by eight shots, the victory vaults him ahead of Woods into 2nd in the world rankings. The win is his third at this tournament and 9th career victory on the European Tour. Coming off a win last year at the PGA Championship, he has kept the momentum going into 2011 and is playing like the true #1 player in the world.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Latest Tiger and Phil Headlines

Tiger Woods will play Torrey Pines next week. He has won there seven times including the 2008 U.S. Open and typically starts his season there.

Phil Mickelson is no longer a vegetarian. Shocking! He's also apparently joining the Jihad.

Phil Mickelson (Scott Halleran / Getty)

Paddy shoots 65 with 265 new swing changes

Padraig Harrington (Getty / Scott Halleran)

Some pros like to keep things simple with their golf swings. Others don't. Take Padraig Harrington, who is currently working on a new set of swing changes.

What changes?

"I don't waggle over the ball anymore. I only look up once now. I get it right, I only look up once, instead of twice, or three times."

"I try to take the club away with my arms more now, and trying to leave my hips behind in the takeaway, and trying to stop squatting in my takeaway."

"I had to change my plane in the backswing because I don't have such a big hip turn from address."

"Quite a significant one was I changed my shoulder turn. I have recurring neck problems so I'm trying to swing my shoulder into my chin now and tuck my chin in more at the top of my backswing."

"And the downswing, I'm trying to get my hands a little bit lower and keep the heel down a bit."

Allright then. 

So far, so good for Harrington as he just shot 65 in the first round of the HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi and currently is in 2nd place behind Charl Schwartzel.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Bob Hope: Bodog Betting Odds

Steve Marino (Getty images / Sam Greenwood)

Top Ten Favorites from Bodog:

Matt Kuchar 9-1
Bill Haas 18-1
Bubba Watson 20-1
Ryan Moore 25-1
Chad Campbell 25-1
Steve Marino 28-1
Jeff Overton 28-1
Rory Sabbatini 28-1
Stewart Cink 33-1
Charley Hoffman 33-1

Pick to win: Steve Marino

Marino has been very close the past two seasons, was close again last week at the Sony Open, and is bound to get his first win sooner or later.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Superstorm sounds devastating

Hopefully the "Superstorm" doesn't hit California when the tour hits Torrey Pines next week, because it sounds like there might be a small delay in play.

Mark Wilson: By the Numbers


                                                   
SONY OPEN: HAWAII 

Winner: Mark Wilson

Round 1: 65
Round 2: 67
Round 3: 65
Round 4: 67
Total: 264

Fairways in Reg: 73.2 % (2)
Greens in Reg: 75% (T10)
Sand Saves: 100% (1)
Putting: 1.667 (5)
Total Birdies: 21 (T5)

Fed Ex Points: 500
Prize Money: $990,000.00

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Sony Open: Betting Odds

The Sony Open

Waialae Country Club, Honolulu, Hawaii

The Field 

2010 Champion: Ryan Palmer

Top Ten Betting Odds

Steve Stricker 8-1
Jim Furyk 11-1
Ernie Els 12-1
Matt Kuchar 16-1
Adam Scott 18-1
Robert Allenby 25-1
Charles Howell III 25-1
Jonathan Byrd 28-1
Justin Rose 30-1
Zach Johnson 33-1
Jason Day 33-1

Pick to Win: Matt Kuchar
Last year's Fed Ex Cup champion started off the year with a T6 last week. He seems to be near the top of the leaderboard week after week and has become a top ten machine.

Photo: Courtesy, Waialae Country Club, Hawaii

Monday, January 10, 2011

Jonathan Byrd: By the numbers

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Hyundai Tournament of Champions

Winner: Jonathan Byrd

Round 1: 66
Round 2: 68
Round 3: 67
Round 4: 67
Total: -24

Fairways in Regulation: 80% (T11)
Greens in Regulation: 86.1% (10th)
Sand Saves: 75% (T5)
Putting: 1.694 (T8)
Total birdies: 25 (T3)

Fed Ex Points: 500
Money: $1,120,000.00

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Hyundai Tournament of Champion Betting Odds


The Hyundai Tournament of Champion begins Thursday.

The Plantation Course - Kapalua Resort - Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii

The Field consists of last year's winners.

Top ten betting odds:

Geoff Ogilvy 7-1
Ernie Els 8-1
Steve Stricker 11-1
Jim Furyk 11-1
Graeme McDowell 12-1
Dustin Johnson 14-1
Matt Kuchar 16-1
Hunter Mahan 16-1
Ian Poulter 20-1
Adam Scott 20-1

Prediction / wild guess to win: Hunter Mahan

Mahan should be amped up to get back into competition after his tough experience at the Ryder Cup. Maybe he can begin putting that behind him with a big win to kick off the season.

Players to watch out for: Ogilvy has won this tournament the past two seasons. McDowell has been on fire since last summer and has been playing like a maniac.

Build your golf shot arsenal


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“There isn’t enough daylight in any one day to practice all the shots you need to practice.”
BEN HOGAN

On the golf course, success can come down to how many shots you are capable of hitting. When you play, it’s you versus the course. The golf course has bunkers, water hazards, trees, hills, undulations, rough, and tricky pin positions. Also, on any given day, you may have to deal with wind, rain, cold, heat, or wet course conditions.

On the course, every shot you’ll need to hit will consist of varying circumstances. The more shots you are capable of hitting, the better you will be. No matter what your skill or experience level, you can always try to learn new shots or improve on specific shots.

Examples of shots to practice:
Putting: short, mid-range, lag, breaking, off fringe
Chipping: with all irons, wedges
Pitching: all wedges
Specialty shots: flop, bladed wedge, wood from fringe
Bunker: greenside, fairway, buried lie, wet sand, fluffy sand
Irons: 1/2 swing, 3/4 swing, full swing, off tee
Woods: fairway, rough, off tee
Shaping the ball: fade, draw, slice, hook
Controlling trajectory: low, medium, high
Specialty: stinger, punch, knockdown, lay-up
Un-even stance: ball above or below feet
Lies: fairway, rough, divot, mulch, hardpan

The more shots you are capable of hitting, the better you will become. The crazier shots are also a lot more fun to practice than doing normal swing after normal swing on the range.

Time to finally play Augusta


Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, from EA Sports, will be available March 29th as reported by
golf.com.

The game will feature the voices of David Feherty and Jim Nantz, and you will be able to compete against more than 20 PGA Tour and LPGA professionals, including Zach Johnson, the 2007 champion. Caddies will provide advice on green reading and strategy as players try to capture the green jacket.

EA Sports worked on site at Augusta National and used "state-of-the art laser scanning technology to replicate every hole featured in the game," according to the company. Every detail, from green undulations to azaleas, was captured, according to EA. The game will also let players try to match Tiger Woods's scores in all four of his Masters wins, will allow players in "career mode" to mirror a golfer's rise through the ranks, and will feature 16 courses, including Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Atlanta Athletic Club, TPC San Antonio, St. Andrews Links and Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Hone your distances


“If you’ve ever wondered what magic threshold you must cross to become a first-rate player, it’s simple. You must control distance with your irons. You control distance by hitting the ball solidly and varying the length and speed of your swing. If you do that well, you become more precise, which rubs off on your direction, too.”
Johnny Miller

To become a better golfer, it's very important to know how far you hit clubs in different situations. These situations include:
  • hitting from the fairway
  • hitting from the rough
  • hitting from the bunker
  • hitting when the ball is above or below your feet
  • playing with the wind into you, behind you, or from the side
  • playing in extremely hot or cold conditions
  • playing in wet and rainy conditions
  • hitting to an elevated green
  • hitting downhill to the green
These are just a few examples of situations that arise while playing that can effect how far your shots go. As you improve, you will be able to hit full shots, 1/2 shots, 3/4 shots, knockdown shots, as well as many more.

It can be helpful to take mental note or jot down how far you hit certain clubs in specific situations. This will make it easier the next time a similar shot comes up.

The more you practice various swings in different situations, the better you will become over time and know what shot to hit when you need it.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

2011 Predictions


Masters Champion: Anthony Kim

U.S. Open Champion: Tiger Woods

British Open Champion: Rory McIlroy

PGA Champion: Martin Kaymer

Fed Ex Cup Champion: Tiger Woods

#1 at year's end: Tiger Woods

Presidents Cup winner: USA