Picking the Masters Champion is a very difficult task. The field is at the 2016 Masters is world-class and the smallest since 2002. With just 89 players, the top ranked players seem to have a lock on winning the ‘green jacket’. However, given the dramatic finish at the Shell Houston Open last week, it is very difficult to discount more than half the field!
Understanding the plethora of variables used by odds makers, it is quite difficult for many armchair golfers to really have a handle on who might play well and who won’t. However, if you want to try your hand at selecting the champion, drop me a line via this website or other social media and I will add you to our lists. Click here. Continue reading →
How to lower your golf score is a claim by most golf “experts”. Everyone has a plan, technique, process, or training aid that will quickly lower your score. Of all the claims, there is one fundamental step that every player has to take to achieve any kind of success. It is nothing complicated, yet without it, very little gains can be made to lower your golf score.
At The Grateful Golfer, I make recommendations on areas that I think will help your game. I make no promises, nor do I believe that each tip will help every golfer. There are so many variables, that I am not sure there is a one tip fix for any game. So how do we lower our golf score to become a better the golfer? Continue reading →
As one of my must read golf blogs, White Dragon Golf, by Pete Robbins, hammered home a misunderstood point about a contentious topic: Slow Play! This what Pete wrote:
World #1 Jordan Spieth received a slow play penalty at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships.
Jordan reported that he had no idea why he got the penalty in the first place, he said it was a surprise to his playing partners Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler as well. The official ruling was that he took too long over a putt, while already being on the clock.;
“It didn’t make any sense to me”
“It didn’t affect the round, but Rory and Rickie were surprised as well.”
Under the European Tours slow play policy, two monitoring penalties will result in a fine, of about $2,800.
Rory commented;
“It was a bit of a weird one.”
“Sometimes the refs have to use common sense. With the time we’re allowed if you take an extra look at a putt you’re over the time.”
“But if we’re in position relative to the group ahead there’s no reason to time us.”
So I guess walking around to check all angles of a putt is verboten on the Euro Tour, you just have to stand up and hit it. Officialdom gone mad, if you want to watch the best golf in the world, let the players take some time over a putt. There are too many rules already.
Everyone plays to quick!
As you can see, Spieth’s playing partners were flabbergasted by the call and wondered why the penalty was assessed. The apparently were keeping pace with the group in front of them, and they were not holding anyone up! Thus, is this really slow play.
According to Pete, Spieth took too long over his putt. He had already been warned, thus the reason for the penalty. However, does this really constitute slow play when you are keeping pace with the group in front?
Personally, if a group is keeping pace, it is impossible to call someone for slow play! A player might take a bit longer putting or aligning a shot, but as long as it does not jamb you for time on your shots or cause the group to fall behind, slow play cannot be called. I am not sure what the referees were thinking, but I am sure more of the story will unfold over the next few days!
What do you think? Should Jordan Spieth have been called for slow play?
Teeing the ball at the proper height is a common theme in golf. It is a fundamental skill that all amateurs must master to produce those “Rory McIlroy” drives to which they aspire!
The challenge for non-professionals is the contradictory information on the subject! There is a consensus on the height of the tee and where to the ball should make contact with the club face. This is what most analyst agree on:
Teeing too low – This causes lower spin rates and therefore a lower trajectory when striking the ball. Which will combine to seriously decrease the distance you are obtaining when hitting your driver.
Teeing too high – Inversely this will give you too much backspin, and create a launch angle that is steeper and therefore affect the distance with the ball travelling upward rather than forward. (National Club Golfer)
I wrote an article on this subject before and espoused the common themes of teeing height, but now I am not so sure. I struggled with my driver this year. My new Titleist D2 12-degree and I did not get along for much of the season. The new shaft caused a slightly different ‘kick point’ and the 12-degrees was something I am having a hard time adjusting too!
With my new driver, using my normal teeing pattern, my ball would travel too high and I lost about 20 yards off my average drive. As a result, this challenged the rest of my game; sometimes I played well and others times……! This was very frustrating and I struggled to understand why only this part of my game had not immediately improved with my new sticks!
Well after much soul-searching I decided that the normal convention of teeing up the ball may not work for me. I found this video from My and My Golf. The information was not just about tee height, but also about types of swings and their relation to teeing the ball.
Off the range I went; I experimented with the height of ball on the tee and hit some pretty ugly shots. After a medium bucket, about 50 balls, I still did not find the proper height of the ball for my swing. Knowing that any change in my golf swing takes time, I was not discouraged. I went back to the range a couple of days later and still had no real success (still not discouraged). I was closer, but not fully satisfied that I found what I was looking for. My third time to the range, which was about 3 weeks ago, was the charm.
I realized I had several challenges with my swing and teeing the ball was just one of them. Many of those challenges will be discussed in future posts, however the height of the ball on the tee was solved (I think). For me, the ball should just be peeking over the top of my driver. I guess it would be considered low for most, but given my type of swing it works best for me.
One aspect of golf I did learn is that the norm or convention is only a starting point. It generally offers a solution, however it many not offer the exact fix you are looking for in your swing. Take the time to experiment on the range, sometimes you will be astounded by the results!
Unfortunately my golf season is over, so I will have to wait until next spring to see if I actually fixed my challenges with my driver. This will definitely give me something to look forward to! How high do you tee your ball?
Congratulations to Jason Day for winning the BWM Championship! The hottest golfer on the planet has succeeded in winning another event of the FedExCup Playoffs. With 4 wins (including his first Major) in his last 6 events, Jason Day is apparently unstoppable and as a result has built an insurmountable lead heading into the Tour Championship next week.
Day’s booming drives, chip-ins, and a sizzling hot putter are just a few tricks he has up his sleeve. His calm and steady demeanour continues to wilt his opponents like a super power! Likely taking over as the world’s top ranked golfer, Jason Day is the new darling of golf! Getting lava hot at the right time, Day is on his way to a big payday in just over a week!
Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, and Henrik Stenson tried to catch Day on the third leg of the playoffs, but they could only watch with dismay as the Australian extended his lead over a world-class field. Unfortunately for Fowler, Watson, and Stenson the race for being the 2015 FedExCup Champion is over. Nobody is catching the red-hot Day!
Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth had mediocre to poor runs during the FedExCup playoffs. Regardless of the reason, they could not sustain their outstanding play from early in the year. There hot and cold nature is indicative of professional golf in 2015 and is not likely to change anytime soon! The young players in professional golf hungry, competition fierce and they all want their chance at top golfer.
We could discuss the merits of the FedExCup playoff format, but that would cheapen Jason Day’s performance of the past 6 events. Jason Day has crushed his opponents lately and it seems that he will not stop anytime soon. However, if history repeats itself, he will soon need a break because the hectic schedule and pressure of competing week in and week out does take its toll. But for now, Jason Day is on top of professional golf and all fans look forward to seeing him at the Tour Championship in East Lake GC, Atlanta, GA next weekend.
The Grateful Golfer 