Pro Tour
If the greens are right, this course is as good as any played this year and that includes Augusta, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews - not bad company to be in.
Well, thank God LeBron has a new home now (Miami Heat) so we can be less distracted with his circus and on to more exciting things - like what's going on in golf!
All sorts of stuff! Yesterday 46 year old tour veteran Paul Goydas threw up an amazing 59 on his first round at the
John Deere Classic - That's 12 birdies! and get this - Steve Stricker shot a 60 with the chance to tie his 59 on the last hole! Talk about throwing darts! There were lots of low scores so this tourney looks to be super low scoring and extremely fun to watch.
Of course, the ...
I have no idea what the Pebble Beach Company's finances are. I'm sure it takes a boat load of money to maintain Pebble and the rest of the courses. Still, there has to be a way for the average Joe and Jane to play 'America's Course'. Until that happens, it won't get my vote.
I'm almost back as a full-time GolfDashBlog writer as the kitchen project is nearing completion. My wife said I could get an iPad if I re-did the kitchen, so you see my motivation (blogging while I'm watching tournaments for one). I've had a lot of things running around in my head that I haven't been able to write about so I thought I'd do a quick overview with more detail to follow later.
It was announced today that Tiger and Hank Haney are going their separate ways... not surprising. Tiger is in need of some major retooling. Tiger is now in his early 30's and it's clear that his violent swing has taken it's toll on him physically. While it earned him 14 majors, he's paid dearly with injuries that get harder to deal with as he ages.
I have always really dug this pony-tailed, somewhat eccentric guy from Spain, Miguel Angel Jimenez, not only for his amazing golf game but also for his swashbuckling ways and love of life - including fine wines and expensive cigars. (Reminds me a bit of his American counterpart I wrote about -
Who the Heck is Tommy Armour III?)
So I set out to find out a bit about the man they call, "the mechanic" (named for his preference for repairing rather than racing his suite of high performance vehicles)
Funny, I remember him very specifically hitting balls at the (then) GHO in Hartford, CT hitting his 7 iron to about 175 ...
Anyone who's meditating seriously every day has a much better pespective on the 'big picture' than Tiger demonstrates. With Tiger's swing issues on the tee box getting worse, it's clear that Haney's instruction isn't helping Tiger anymore than it did Charles Barkley. While I like Stevie Williams, Tiger needs a caddy willing to slap him on the course when he acts like a spoiled brat.
Not sure about anyone else but somehow I just cannot root against Phil Mickelson. He is, well . . . just too damn nice of a guy. Lot of people knock Phil because he's too "scripted" - everything he says seems to be thought out - "Mr. No Spontaneity," he's sometimes called.
I personally just don't get it. Phil seems to be one of the most articulate players on tour and to my mind always shares valuable insight into his game and golf in general.
This really seemed like a different Phil in a lot of ways. I just got the impression that it's was awesome to win ...
We may witness one of the most memorable Masters ever. Looks like this is going to be fun. Do we dare hope that the winner on Sunday shoots a 66 to steal it from someone who shoots a 67?
Last week, Michelle Wie once again ran afoul of the rules at the Kia Classic. There's no sin in that and this time she called herself on the infraction and asked the officials for a ruling. So far so good. Unfortunately her interaction with the officials was televised to the world. Instead of stating her case and taking the officials ruling gracefully, she proceeded to whine about not being understood and not being treated fairly for way too long. She came across more as a 12 year old arguing with a parent over making her bed than as an adult respectful of the game and its officials.
