My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people at the Boston Marathon! May god keep you in his arms and protect you. Positive thoughts heading your way!
Discussion
A Tradition Like No Other
What makes The Masters more than just a golf tournament! Is it that Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus are the youngest first time and two-time champions respectively! That Jack Nicklaus has won 6 green jackets. That in 1935, Gene Sarazen’s double eagle on 15th hole coined “the shot heard ‘round the world”! There are only four wire-to-wire champions. That the oldest Masters champion is golf’s great Jack Nicklaus at age 46. Phil Mickelson’s shot from behind a tree on the 13th hole to 5 feet from the pin. Regardless of the event, it is easy to see why this tournament captures the eye of the golfing world, as millions of viewers will be glued to the TV waiting for history to unfold!
What else makes The Masters great?
Announced on 07 April 2013, the new initiative of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship that will conclude at Augusta National Golf Club in 2014 will that create excitement for all junior golfers. This year-long event will provide young men and woman golfers between the ages of 7-15 an opportunity to play at one of the world’s most prestigious course.
How will the spot light shine on the 14-year-old Chinese golfing prodigy Tianlang Guan? He is the youngest player ever to qualify for the Masters. This week he played with Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Watson; what a fantastic opportunity for this young man!
The Masters has donated over 18 million dollars to the Augusta, Georgia, area! A portion of the donation goes to charities selected by Augusta National Golf Club employees. Talk about giving back.
The Masters Tournament captures the golfing world for 4 days like no other. It provides hopes, dreams, heartaches, and triumphs in the space of seconds. Competing in The Masters is a dream for many golfers. In this year’s Masters, 6 amateurs are fulfilling their hopes and dreams. Regardless, all players will relish in this rare opportunity and are psyched and ready to claim the green jacket.
So, who are the favorites, the dark horses or the up-and-comers ready to break out. Many websites cover such a topic and if your interested check out some of my favorites: Lets Talk Golf, AdamSarson.com, Golf Dweeb, and White Dragon Golf.
Not to be left out, the following are the The Grateful Golfer’s picks for this year’s Masters:
- Rory McIlroy – he is the best golfer in the world regardless of the world rankings and is ready for his first Green Jacket.
- Phil Mickelson – you can never count out Lefty. The Masters is a tournament made for his game.
- Keegan Bradley – if his putter gets hot – look out!
- Brent Snedeker – he has the game to challenge all pros! A very streaky player. Good Dark horse pick.
- Mike Weir – Because he is Canadian!
“A Tradition Like No Other”, coined by Jim Nantz of CBS Sports, definitely sums up all aspects of The Masters. It is a tournament rich in tradition and is the most anticipated sporting event in the world! Enjoy the weekend!
May I Play Through!
Ever hear the words, “Excuse me, May I Play Through!” Most courses want foursomes to play their round in approximately 4 hours. This is a reasonable pace and it allows everyone to enjoy his or her time on the links. Unfortunately, this is not always possible and golf etiquette suggests that when a hole behind, either speed up or let the group behind play through.
There are many definitions of playing through. A reasonable definition is allowing a faster group to proceed through a slower group if the hole ahead of the slower group is open (having no golfers playing it). The USGA suggests that it is best if the slower group invites the faster group to play through; however it is not uncommon for the faster group to politely ask the play through.
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club talks about the pace of play and how to move quicker around the links and is a very good ready, but that discussion is for another day.
How exactly does a faster group play through. Of course, there are no written rules, but after discussion with many amateur golfers (who live this experience routinely), the following seems to be a consensus.
The first thing is to identity that your group is playing slowly and it is time to let the group behind play through. This may seem like an obvious statement, but some amateur players, to the chagrin of those waiting, just do not get it. I suggest your read the stories at about.com / golf about poor etiquette and slow play if you think that the first step is too obvious!
Second, once the decision is made to let them go through, which hole is best to expedite the passing. Many players say a par 3 is best; others suggest a par 4 or 5. I recommend a par 5 because it allows for the two groups and the groups behind to keep moving. If a par 5 is not possible, then a par 4 is your next best option. Lastly, a par 3.
Third, the best place is at the tee box. While waiting for the other group to arrive, the slow group should all tee off. Then, the fater group should tee off as well. I know, most of you are saying that there are 8 ball is play, but not for long.
Fourth, everyone walks to his or her ball. This is important; everyone walks to his or her ball. The slow group will wait at their ball until the faster group hits and gets out of range. Then the slow group will proceed as normal. This important step is often overlooked and if not followed, usually causes congestion for the groups coming up behind.
If on a par 3 and already in play, the slow group should wave the faster group forward. After the faster group has hit, the slow group should putt out until the faster group arrives. Then, the slow group should stop; allow the faster group to finish. Once finished, the slow group should finish and proceed to the next tee box. Usually, the faster group is gone and the slow group has a very short, if any, wait on the tee box.
A couple of questions that are continually asked about lower handicappers and professionals. If the round of golf is supposed to be 4 hours, why does it take “the good players” 5-6 hours to play around of golf? When “the good players” are taking their time, they never seem hurried by the Marshall; why is that? How come “the good players” are less likely to let faster amateurs play through…ego maybe?
It is important to understand the allowing faster groups to pass through is golf etiquette for everyone! It does not mean that things have gone wrong with your game, but it does suggest that learning to play a little faster may be in your future. Additionally, the above simple process will ensure that everyone enjoys their round of golf and within a reasonable time.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Managing Expectations
Managing expectations has a tremendous impact on everyone’s life. We may not know it, but it can elicit various responses that will shape our mood, outlook, and attitude of day-to-day events.
Recently, I played in a curling fun-spiel. It consisted of 30 teams of various skill levels. On our team, I was the most experienced as I had curled a couple of times before. So we set out our expectations early; contribute as much as possible and don’t get hurt! As we played through each game, we laughed, poked fun, and made some great shots. Our light-hearted approach landed as runner-ups to the fun-spiel champions. We managed our expectations early and thus had a fantastic day! Others who expected to do better have a different view of that days events.
Managing expectations also applies in golf. How we feel about our latest round is directly related to how we expected to play that day. How many of us have shot 100 or 90 or 80 or 70 and felt we had a fantastic round. We exceeded our expectations of that day and felt awesome about our golf game. After playing well last time, we shoot the same score and walked off disappointed, frustrated and wondering what went wrong. Most of the time, nothing went wrong, we just expected to do better!
So how can managing expectations improve our score? I think it is important to always expect more out of our game, but as Albert Einstein defined Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. To properly manage expectations, it is important to understand your strengths and weaknesses and what we can actually achieve. Additionally, it is important to do something by working on our putting, chipping, pitching, etc. Then and only then can we really manage our expectations properly.
To expect something different from your game is a good thing, but working at your game is equally important. How do you manage your expectations?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
What Golfers Will Do!
Sergio Garcia is in the spotlight again. The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Golf and Country Club always produces things to talk about. Right now, many media outlets are talking about Garcia’s climb up a tree to play the ball out to the fairway. It can be seen at PGATOUR.COM.
I, however, what to talk about another shot that Sergio made during the second round. Unlike Nicholas Thompson who hit the ball out of the water hazard to within 2 feet of the pin, Garcia hit a ball, it landed on the bank in the hazard and jumped back into the water. He could not play the ball the second time and took a drop adjacent to the spot he took his swing.
While watching, I was confused how they figure out the point of entry in the red staked hazard. I did not see the ball go into the hazard, but must assess that his point of entry into the hazard would not have changed regardless if he tried the shot or not.
I realize this sounds confusing. Well I am confused. I have not encountered this situation before so I need some help. I believe that rule 26 applies, but since he took a shot, missed and it stayed in the hazard….does it still apply? Can someone explain which rule to apply and number of stroke penalty Sergio Garcia should be assessed?
