Golf more, rant less.
Every day starts a new year.
This might be a difficult one (the resolution, not the year). Bear with me.
The Golfchick
That chick blabbing about anything golf related.
Tag: robbie biershenk (page 8 of 32)
What is it with people using golf clubs as weapons?
This week, there is another story about a kid attacking someone with a golf club. The story says some other kids helped lure the victim to a secluded area where the teen carried out the assault.
I know they have the word club right in the name and I’m sure they make great weapons (especially irons) but golf clubs are actually tools to be used to move a golf ball from one position to another. I point this out because it seems evident that these criminals are not golfers and probably qualify as bona fide morons.
Last time, the moron used a driver. This time, it wasn’t reported which club was chosen (at such close range I would think a wedge or putter was in order) but after the attack he threw the club in a river. I don’t think golfers would treat their clubs with such disrespect but if they did, they’d know which club to use. And throwing it in a river? Splashes like that should be reserved for severely misbehaving golf clubs and the pesky ponds or lakes that always seem to get the better of you.
I bet that kid’s mom (or dad) is going to be as pissed about the missing golf club as she is disappointed and saddened by the idiot she raised.
Betsy King, captain of this year’s United States Solheim Cup team, announced her picks and assembled the team for a press conference yesterday.
Here is the team that will be representing the U.S. against Europe at the Solheim Cup in Sweden September 14-16:
Captain: Betsy King
Assistant captain: Beth Daniel
(The first 10 players qualified for the coveted spots automatically with their accumulation of Solheim Cup points):
1. Paula Creamer 741.00
2. Cristie Kerr 713.50
3. Morgan Pressel 532.50
4. Juli Inkster 512.00
5. Stacy Prammanasudh 483.50
6. Pat Hurst 449.00
7. Natalie Gulbis 412.50
8. Brittany Lincicome 396.50
9. Angela Stanford 372.00
10. Sherri Steinhauer 324.50
Captain’s picks
Nicole Castrale 277.00
Laura Diaz 240.00
History and stats
Beginning in the U.S. in 1990, The Solheim Cup has been played every two years, alternating locations in the U.S. and in Europe. It’s a match play competition with a format similar to the Ryder Cup. The U.S. team has a strong lead in this U.S. vs. Europe competition, having earned victory at 6 out of 9 events. However, only one of those wins came on European soil. Will the team Betsy King has assembled be able to make that 2 this year at the Halmstad Golfklubb in Sweden? Or will we have to wait until the competition comes back to the U.S. (Chicago) in 2009 for the next team to get that Waterford Crystal cup for America again? Trivia tidbit: Did you know The Solheim Cup was named after Karsten Solheim, the founder of of the manufacturing company that makes PING golf equipment?
The big snubs?
Of course, since this competition only includes U.S.- and European-born players, the world’s No. 1 female player will not be competing. Lorena Ochoa – who just captured her 3rd straight win(!) at this weekend’s Safeway Classic – will have to sit back and watch with the rest of us. So will Se Ri Pak, who recently qualified for the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame (and will be officially inducted in November). Back when the Solheim Cup began in 1990, Mexico wasn’t really an issue and the Korean explosion hadn’t happened yet. Even Se Ri didn’t hit the scene until 1998. A U.S. vs. Europe event might have seemed nearly all inclusive. While I’d love to see an event that was more of a truly international team match play competition, I don’t have a proposal for how to do it. I mean, Korea would be a force to be reckoned with but any team Mexico could field would essentially be a one-woman show. If we broke it down by North and South America vs. The Rest of the World, where’s the rivalry and National – or Continental – pride?
Speaking of National pride, one golfer who did have the chance to make the team but didn’t, is Christina Kim. Christina was part of the winning U.S. team in 2005 and dearly wanted to make the team again this year. In fact, at this weekend’s Safeway Classic, she seemed to be more interested in looking good for Betsy King than in the 2nd place purse she won (tied with 3 other players). She practically said as much in her on-camera interview when she finished on Sunday. Maybe winning that tournament would have caught Betsy’s eye, but Lorena Ochoa ran away with that prize, defeating all the second place winners by 5 strokes.
Still, the first captain’s pick for the team happened to be 11th place in Solheim Cup points and a win yesterday would have knocked Nicole Castrale out of that position. Of course that wouldn’t have guaranteed her a spot – Nicole might have been chosen anyway – but it might have been more difficult to justify. King’s second pick wasn’t about points, because Christina had Laura Diaz beat in that regard. Nothing against Laura here, but it also wasn’t about sponsors and ratings because I think Christina’s charm and enthusiasm would win that hands down. Diaz must have been chosen for her experience in Sweden (and in years) as well as whatever influence King thought Diaz would bring to the team. I’m sure Diaz has passion and team spirit but I’m also sure she won’t express it like Christina Kim does.
Calm and stability won out over buoyancy but that’s not to say that’s how Captain King made her picks. I’m sure she looked at all angles and made the decision she thought would be best for a cohesive team. I just hope it’s a winning team. And I feel for Christina.
Go get ’em, U.S.A.!
Annika Sorenstam announced on her website today that she got engaged to Mike McGee this morning. McGee manages the Annika brand, so I’m sure he’ll be fine when she doesn’t change her name to Annika McGee.
She said the engagement marked the two year anniversary of the first weekend they spent together. Two years ago today would have been August 25, 2005, which was three days after her divorce from David Esch became final. She filed the papers 6 months earlier so perhaps the weekend was a celebration. Now they have something else to celebrate.
The AP article that’s making the rounds on many golf websites points out that no date has been set for a wedding. Is that such a big deal? I don’t think too many people set the date the same day they get engaged. Give ’em a minute to enjoy it!
Congratulations to Mike on scooping up one of the best golfers in the world and someone who seems like a sincerely sweet person.
Best wishes to Annika for a long and happy life with someone who must be worthy.
Photo posted with apologies to Annika, Mike, David, Walter Iooss, Jr. and Sports Illustrated.
A couple months ago, I played and stayed at the Four Seasons Resort in Carlsbad, CA. The golf course there is called Aviara and it’s absolutely beautiful as you might expect from a Four Seasons.
Why bring it up now?
I mentioned Aviara in an article I wrote and the publisher recently contacted me because they were attempting to fact check my mention of the “speed slot” on the 16th hole. I sent them the scan of that page from the yardage book:
But my drive was also proof because – after recovering from the giggles over the name “speed slot” – I tested that sneaky spot. We played from the whites and I used my 3-wood for better accuracy. As luck would have it, I put it exactly in the spot where I aimed, up the left side of the fairway. Now, without a speed slot, that shot probably would have been about 220, putting me at 152 out. My ball ended up just over 100 yards from the center of the green, meaning I hit my 3-wood about 270. Yes indeed, the speed slot not only exists, it works.
I know I’ve experienced other speed slots when my shots go further than they’re supposed to, but I had not seen one documented in a yardage book until Aviara. I also hadn’t heard it given a name before. Speed slot – I like it! Have you ever found a sneaky speed slot?
On Saturday, September 1, 2007, golfers across America can support the men and women in our Armed Forces when we hit the links.
Public golf courses are asking every golfer to donate $1 in addition to the regular greens fees that day which will be donated to Wounded Warriors, Inc., also benefiting the Fallen Heroes Foundation. Private courses will be asking patrons for donations.
Just $1. It may not seem like a lot but when you think of all the people in every state who will be playing golf that day, imagine how much good we can do as a group!
Both organizations provide financial and emotional support to the families of fallen or injured service men and women. The Fallen Heroes Foundation also provides financial aid to help educate the children and spouses in those families.
So many charity events occur on weekdays when fewer of us are available to participate. It’s great that this one is on a Saturday. If you’re an avid golfer, you might already have plans to play that day. If not, there’s plenty of time to make your tee-time reservation at a participating course. Check the Play Golf America site to find out what courses near you are involved. If your favorite course isn’t listed, it couldn’t hurt to call them and ask them to participate. If they agree, you will have increased the donations just like that!
If you manage or work at a golf course, here is the link where you can register your course to participate.
Here are the participating courses in my area:
Buenaventura Golf Course
Lake Lindero Country Club
Los Robles Golf Course
Lost Canyons Golf Club
River Ridge Golf Club
Robinson Ranch
Rustic Canyon Golf Course
Let’s get out there and support our troops while we play golf! You can also make a donation here.
Sweeping generalizations about female golfers piss me off, but I’m used to them.
John Huggan, who usually writes such thoughtful and interesting golf articles, put up a rare sensational piece in which he says coach David Whelan is “making great strides towards closing what is perhaps the biggest gender gap in golf.” Baloney. David Whelan is making sweeping generalizations about female golfers to get himself some attention and John Huggan gave him the vehicle.
First of all, that gender gap to which he is referring is the short game – everything from 100 yards and in. I think we all know that’s not the biggest gender gap in golf. That would be the long game. Okay, you caught me. Some sweeping generalizations are true.
Second, if we’re talking about a real gender gap in golf, that includes the millions of golfers who don’t play professionally. Not just the elite on tour. From my experience playing with amateur women and men, short games are created equal. Interest, focus, training and experience all factor into whether a person plays well inside 100 yards. Not gender.
Whelan’s whole spiel is about training women (he seems to prefer the term “girls”) on the short game. If they pay more attention to that part of the game, they’ll get better at it. Wow, maybe he read a book! But to get himself noticed, he thought it would be a good idea to say that not only are women worse at the short game than men, but that it’s because they are women. Maybe he is a good technical coach but his social and communication skills are primitive. If I had a daughter, I wouldn’t want her in his camp (the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Florida).
Huggan points out a more reasonable explanation: “Another factor in the relatively poor short games on the LPGA Tour is the level of facilities typically available to the players.” And he supports it with Whelan’s own observations:
“When I started working with Paula, she was a 15-year-old amateur who was getting invites to events where there were no chipping greens or pitching areas. Even at the Nabisco event, which is a major, there is still no chipping green.”
But it goes downhill from there:
“So bad technique around the greens is the biggest thing holding the girls back. That and a constant reassurance that they have to hit balls all day. A lot of them feel that, if they don’t hit a lot of balls, then they don’t deserve to play well.”
So you see, their girly lack of self confidence and perhaps the pressure of the REAL gender gap is causing them to spend too much time on their long games, thus creating the short game gender gap. Silly girls! So let’s undermine them some more and give them a new way to feel inferior, because we wouldn’t want to hold them back. Too bad the only support for his assertion is a stat related to putting, not chipping or pitching:
“Look at the stats. A 29 putts per round average barely gets you into the top 100 on the PGA Tour; on the LPGA Tour, that number has you in the top 30.”
And isn’t it funny there is no mention of the difference in the putting greens on the courses the men and women play. And too bad the good point is buried in the middle of the article surrounded by all the other crap:
“You have to be more ‘softly softly’ with girls, and they need more encouragement. They seem to lack self-confidence. So that needs to be instilled in them early. They are competitive, though. They hate to get beat. Which is a good thing.
There’s that “girls need more encouragement” statement again. At least he gets one thing right: self-confidence does need to be instilled in them early. Then they need to stay away from him so it doesn’t get talked out of them.
“Still, it’s a lot easier to work with the guys than the girls. You can work with more men than women. For example, the men aren’t as bothered about me watching them play. The girls like me to watch. They are convinced that there is something happening out there that isn’t on the range.”
Then go back to working with the guys. The girls like you to watch? Are you sure you’re focusing on their short games and not their short skirts? Do you have pillow-fight drills in your sessions just to hammer home what girls are really good for? For a guy who used to play professionally, you sure don’t seem to remember that there is a difference between working on the range and playing in an event or even just a casual round. It’s called the mental game. Maybe they want you to identify what their weaknesses are when they’re under pressure so they can work on those. The men probably figure that you’ll be watching anyway since they’re on TV. At least I assume you’re talking about the pros when you mention “men” and the kids from the academy when you mention the “girls.” Oh wait, you were just talking about the pros, right? Well, many of those “girls” get about as much TV coverage as the kids do anyway. Plus they know you’ll be watching that other channel with the REAL golf.
The short game is important – revolutionary! Gee, your instruction methods focus on the short game. How unique. Wow, you work with some big names like Paula Creamer, Catriona Matthew, Aree and Naree Song and Rachel Hetherington. Too bad you had to act like such a caveman while getting the word out.
Huggan makes a reasonable observation about the golfers he has watched lately and that the women’s short games weren’t as good as the men’s. I can accept that. He sees what he sees. But to broaden it into a sport-wide gender gap by giving it the sensational title “Why women can’t match men even with the putter” and support the idea with one coach’s idiotic ramblings that basically amount to “because they’re girls”? I’m inspired. I’m going to go hold up the fast lane as I put mascara on while I drive to the golf course to play really slowly and ignore the rules and etiquette.
Three years ago today, I took up golf. I got an official SCGA number in January 2005 and started posting my scores (including stored up cards from before I had my number). Including those stored up cards from late 2004, I posted 63 scores in 2005. In 2006, I posted 53. I’m not sure how many I have posted so far in 2007 but the total will probably be somewhat lower. Here is the damage:
As you can see from the chart, I haven’t improved much in the way of index since the dramatic change in the first year. However, what you can’t see on the chart is my development in certain aspects of the game. Consistency, for example. That first year had me putting up scores all over the board and some of them happened to be low enough to influence my index. Between January 2006 and January 2007, my index got as high as 18.5 (in May 2006). Since then, I have been playing much more steadily and lowering my index slowly but surely.
Playing smarter?
In that first year, my game was still developing and there wasn’t any one thing at any one time I could put my finger on for an area to improve. It all needed work. Now I have come far enough to know what’s wrong with my game at any given time and try to make up for it on the course in other ways. For example, if my driver isn’t working, I’ll hit 3-wood off the tee. If my approach shots are errant, I’ll lay up short of the green and try to get up and down for par with a good wedge shot, with any luck making it or walking away with nothing more than a bogey. Of course, when I’m not really trying to score (most non-tournament rounds) I’ll try to work on those problem areas while I’m playing since I don’t go to the range much. Perhaps if I treated every round like a tournament my index would have lowered more. But I know I’m improving as a golfer more than the chart shows. Then again, if I hit the range more I wouldn’t have to practice on the golf course.
Steady strengths and problem areas
One annoying problem I have is with my driver. That first year, it was probably my best club. Straight and long almost every time. Since then, it comes and goes and when it goes, it goes slicing off out of sight. I know the keys to fixing it but can’t always execute what’s in my head. Go figure.
Hitting fairway woods (or metals) off the grass also plagues me. I know I can do it so I keep trying but I probably only hit good ones 3 out of 5 attempts.
Long irons weren’t a terrible problem but I got rid of them anyway, in favor of carrying hybrids, two of which are new and I’m still working out their yardages. My longest iron is a 5-iron and is one of my most consistent clubs.
Mid- and short irons have always been pretty consistent for me.
Wedges are my bread and butter. From 100 yards and in I have a pretty good touch. 105 yards is my “money shot” with my pitching wedge, 85-90 is a good full sand wedge, and it’s nothing but sand wedge the rest of the way in. I’m comfortable with a 3/4 SW shot and my feel below that is still pretty decent. 50-70 can be touchy but I still do alright. Under 50 yards is pretty strong for me, but anywhere right around the green is the real strength of my game. I love making delicate little flop shots over bunkers but it’s a little harder to be as accurate with picking a spot to hit. I get really excited when I’m right off the green with a sweet little pitch and run shot. I’d rather have that than a long putt. I read the green, pick my spot and try to hole out. I’m pretty good at getting it at least to my “all day long” zone for putting.
Maturing
Speaking of my putting, it has come a long way and I might even say it’s the most improved aspect of my game. I never used to have an “all day long” zone and would often three-putt (or worse). The better I get at it, the more I enjoy it (duh) and that attitude is the key. I love putting. I love gripping and ripping but I always have. I used to think putting was a necessary evil and boring at best. With that attitude it’s not surprising my putting skills suffered. When I noticed how many strokes I was losing on the greens I started seeing it as my scoring opportunity which made it fun. Why take so much pleasure from a good chip if I can’t get it in the hole with my putter? Reading the book Putting out of Your Mind changed me for the better as well.
I still need to work on my longer putts and get more of a feel for them. Since I so often am working from off the green and tend to get it relatively close with my wedge I don’t get a lot of opportunities to practice those long ones.
Bunkers. Hmm. Well, fairway bunkers aren’t much of a problem. I’m pretty good at picking it clean with my choice of clubs. Greenside bunkers are trickier. If I have a decent lie in good sand, I’m pretty reliable. I still struggle with grainy, rocky and wet sand and need work on difficult lies. Buried or fried eggs, down- or uphill lies, too close to the lip on my backswing… you know how it is.
Summary of areas to improve
- Practice more on the range, score on the golf course
- Driver
- Fairway metals from the grass
- Determining yardages for my new hybrids
- Greenside bunkers
- Long putts
- Shaping shots
Yes, I threw shaping shots in there as well. I started doing that back in my first year but gave up on it in an effort to just get the basics down and be a more consistent ball striker. Time to renew that effort. It should also help with those driver and fairway metal problems!
Goals
Breaking 80 and going into single digits with my index might be a little ambitious to achieve this year. Let’s start with breaking 85 (my current low score) and lowering my index to a steady 13-14 by the end of the year. As demonstrated in the chart, that may be a taller order than it sounds. Especially with only 4 months of scores to change it.
A Michigan man died after being beaten with a golf club by his neighbor. The story in the Detroit Free Press says the neighbor came into the victim’s house to attack him because of a dispute over the attacker’s dog. The 22-year old suspect hit the 44 year old man in the head with a 2-wood(?) on Tuesday night.
The victim planned on taking himself to the hospital but first called 9-1-1 to report the attack. An ambulance was dispatched. The suspect was being held on charges of “home invasion and assault with intent to do great bodily harm,” but since the victim died from his injuries on Thursday, the charge could change to second degree murder. You can hear the 9-1-1 call here.
Now, I don’t know anything about the dispute and I’m a softy when it comes to anything dog related. But seeing as how he presumably got the weapon (why a golf club?) from home and proceeded to his neighbor’s house where he broke in and beat the man, that sounds like attack, not defense.
Click the picture to enlarge. Can anyone tell what kind of club that is? Looks like a Callaway grip and it’s labeled as a “No. 2 driver.” Steel shafted driver? Did this kid inherit a set of clubs from his father only to turn one into a weapon? I doubt he even plays golf and if he did, I bet he couldn’t kill a golf ball with that club. Maybe it wasn’t about the dog at all, but his golf game. Dumbass. Is that your handicap or your IQ?
Remember the other 22-year-old who killed the goose with a golf club? Maybe the guy changed his identity, moved from Pittsburgh to Detroit and escalated from geese to humans. Or maybe we just need to watch those 22 year-olds. Do we need to issue licenses to operate golf clubs? Yikes.
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How the FedEx do these Playoff points work???
Okay, I haven’t paid that much attention to the FedEx Cup from the start so I’m a little behind, but I can’t be the only one!
I remember hearing or reading that when the FedEx Cup Playoffs began the points would reset. Silly me, I thought that meant to ZERO. Isn’t that a reset? I also remember that there are eliminations in each playoff tournament and only the top however many will advance to the next round. So, when I found out Tiger was skipping the first event, I thought he was essentially shrugging off forfeiting his chance at the FedEx Cup since he wouldn’t earn any points and would be eliminated. It turns out that after the completion of the first event, Tiger is fourth in the standings. How the fedex did that happen?
I just had to look it up, didn’t I?
Until now, I hadn’t taken any time to look any of this up but I always read a lot of golf news and opinions and what I’ve seen on the points system is so bogged down and confusing I tend to just skim over it. I just took a look at the “About the FedEx Cup” page on PGATOUR.com and literally shook my head and made that bleuhhbuhluhbuhluh noise. Of course, the reset wasn’t to zero, but players were seeded based on their performance during the “regular season” and reset with a different point total than what they had. Of course. Why play all season just make it to the playoffs? There has to be seeding. Without it, the top players would have to play in all the playoff events to avoid elimination and I’m sure they didn’t want that.
*Side thought* I wonder – if my Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim win enough games in September, can they skip the Division Series and go straight to the League Championship Series? Ah, the leisure of being a baseball fan: the most difficult thing to figure out is the magic number and home-field advantage. *End side thought*
Still, they got me – I couldn’t resist clicking on the “Fan Guide” link to find out if there was a simple way for me to understand it all. There isn’t.
Watch and learn?
I spent most of my golf watching time this weekend on the Safeway Classic and the US Amateur, but I managed to TiVo my way through some of the Barclays on Sunday to try to get an idea about how the whole
FedEx Cup playoff thing was working. They had a lot of graphics with projections like “if he makes this par putt, he’ll be at 102nd in the rankings… if he misses it but makes the bogey putt, he’ll be at 116th”… and on and on. Maybe that kind of stuff will get more exciting the further into the playoffs we get, but for now? Yawn. Double yawn for having to rely on behind-the-scenes statisticians figure it out and the production team to air it.
As the field narrows and if the points gap gets wider, it might be easier to predict parts of it ourselves. Something like “For Vijay to have a fedexing chance at winning the cup, he must win at the BMW and the top three guys need to finish at 5th or lower.” It’s easy to get excited about playoffs when they’re easily understood: if team A wins a game here and team B wins a game there, they will face each other in the championship; if Team C gets a touchdown and a safety and Team D scores two field goals, I win the pool. Hey, maybe we need a FedEx Cup pool!
Predictions aside, there’s also the trouble of possibly having two winners at the final – the winner of the tournament (hooray!) and the winner of the Cup, who finishes 10th in the event but has more points than anyone else (polite golf clap).
I want to get excited about the FedEx Cup. I really do! But even the prize is confusing. I’m not a financial analyst and if I won $10 million in the lottery, I would need someone else to manage it for me. I’m one of the dumb-dumbs in the “if I made less money I’d take home more” tax bracket. I don’t understand tax shelters for multi-millionaires or how the FedEx Cup $10M annuity could entice Tiger Woods when he can make that in cash for an appearance fee. Frankly, I really don’t think I want it explained to me, either. Though I usually enjoy rooting for Tiger – or at least don’t mind when he wins -I think I’d rather just root for some obscure player to win the Cup, which might just be possible the way this thing works. Plus, that coincides nicely with the one thing that truly is exciting about this system, at least for those obscure players: Finish in that top 30 in FedEx Cup points and earn exemption for the next season. That’s gotta be less stressful than Q-School!
“The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup will change the way you watch golf and produce a true PGA Tour champion.” That’s their tag line. Will I glaze over and start to drool as I watch golf? Will the true PGA Tour champion be the best golfer on Tour?
The most exciting thing about the FedEx Cup playoffs for me right now is whether or not the FedEx Cup playoffs will get exciting. If not, at least I’ll have a new swear word. Stop. I. Can’t. Stand. The. Giddiness.
Next post.