Every golf I know has played a golf shot from long, thick grass. It is the nature of golf courses to leave certain areas long and unruly in order to add some degree of difficulty to the playing area. Many times hitting out of this tough location I felt that just making it to the fairway was a blessing. In order to limit the number of stroke added to my scorecard it is important to take our medicine and not try to compound our mistake by trying to hit the ball too far down the fairway. It can be a challenge to keep our ego in check, but from a course strategy standpoint ensuring our next shot is played from the short grass is key. Once we understand what we need to do with a shot out of long grass, the next thought is how we actually accomplish this task. This aspect of the overall golf shot may be easier than you think.
Continue readingsports
What Is Fun On The Golf Course?
The definition of fun is completely different for each golfer. Some find hitting the ball a country mile their jam. Others like the delicate nature of a great short game. And others find the social aspect of playing golf to their liking. There really is no wrong answer except if you are not having a good time or feel frustrated the entire time you are on the links. If this is the case, it might be time to reevaluate the reason you spend 4 to 6 hours looping a golf course. For me it is very simple and my reason transcends all others.
Continue readingThe FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup – a race for 10 million dollars!
The race for 10 million dollars is on! The final tournament, Wyndham Championship, concluded today and set the stage for the four-tournament playoff that will crown the FedEx Cup champion. This elimination style competition starts with The Barclay’s on Thursday.
For the first time in 2013-14, the PGA TOUR embarks on a wraparound schedule that bridges two years with a total of 45 events played over 43 weeks. The PGA TOUR season is divided into two segments – the FedExCup Season (41 events) and the FedExCup Playoffs (4 events) – played over 43 weeks.
The FedExCup Playoffs once again features four events, starting with The Barclays (Aug. 21-24) at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., onto the Deutsche Bank Championship (August 29-Sept. 1) at TPC Boston and BMW Championship (Sept. 4-7) at Cherry Hills Country Club outside Denver, before concluding at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. (FedEx Cup)
The FedEx Cup is an interesting golf competition because of the “play well – move on” format. At the Barclays, all 125 players will start, but only 100 players will move on to the next event at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The third week at the BMW championship will only have 70 players competing; then at the TOUR Championship, 30 players will be left to vie for the 10 million dollar grand prize.
I have talked about the FedEx Cup before and my view still stands. The FedEx Cup needs to create more excitement! I thought I would share my thoughts from before when I compared the FedEx Cup with the World Cup of Soccer:
Limiting the FedEx Cup field through the final four tournaments is definitely a must! It does provide a level of excitement that peaks the interest of most sports enthusiasts. However, this is where real excitement for sports fans fades. The current FedEx Cup format does produce a strong field, but unfortunately the format only ensures the big names in golf make it to the finals. There is no real “David and Goliath” excitement; the underdog remains under; and there is no last-minute heroic sand shot remembered for 60 years! The FedEx Cup playoffs is like watching the same group of players week- in and week-out win large purses without any real excitement. 6 of the top 10 ranked players in the FedEx Cup are also in the top 10 in the world! It is somewhat exciting for true golfing fans, but the current format does not generate the enthusiasm of a World Cup event.
The FedExCup should take a page from the World Cup. Have all the qualifying tournaments to set up the 125-man field for the playoffs. Then, have all the players start with zero points and let the chips fall where they may. Lose and go home!
Adopt the World Cup way. Once the playoffs start, everything should be performance based. If a pro plays well, they make it to the next stage. If not, better luck next year. Regardless of their world ranking, it allows the 125th ranked player the opportunity to reach out and rip the title out of the hands of the giant.
This format will make for great golf! It will elevate the FedEx Cup to the ranks of a must see sporting event! All sport nuts remember the huge upset, but rarely remember the team that should have won. Creating excitement on any playing field is really what fans want!
This sums up my thoughts on the FedEx Cup. It is great to watch some fantastic golf, however I would like to see more excitement in the event.
What do you think? Could the format change to create more excitement for sports fans?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Shot of the Day!
I like to go on various sites and watch the shot of the day. It is exciting to see these exciting and rare shots. But are these shots really rare? Some would say that the pros (and amateurs) make these remarkable shots all the time. I would say, that media has allowed the average golfer to watch special shots without having sift through countless mundane shots.
Take for instance Phil Mickelson’s putt at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The 56 foot 7 inch putt was awesome. It was considered the shot of the day. I am sure there were other great shots, but this one was clutch and led to him winning the tournament.
Well, to put this into perspective: there were 74 players, 5089 shots in the final round with a scoring average of 68.77. Out of all those strokes, Phil’s putt was the selected shot of the day. That is 0.00019652 percent of a chance to have his shot selected. I would say that is pretty impressive. Additionally, he was under tremendous pressure because Brandt Snedeker was making a late charge and Phil’s putt closed the door.
My point today is that anyone can have a shot of the day. The perfect shot is in everyone at any time. But, the pros (or even extremely capable amateurs) seem to make it look easy. It is something to aspire too! 57 days before the courses open….see you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 