Woods and Oosthuizen-The two Biggest Surprises of the British Open
Louis Oosthuizen won the first major championship of his career with no previous history and with an outstanding performance that has created some comparisons with Number One ranked player in the world. Although golf betting fans, should consider that Tiger Woods still remains the world’s Number One.
For his part, Oosthuizen moved up to No.15 after winning the British Open. The 27-year-old professional golfer was the leader in the middle of the second round of this championship and kept the level until he won the title.
Of this championship, there are two things that I want to highlight: The surprising victory of Louis Oosthuizen and the disappointment of Tiger Woods, as many expected that Woods would regain his level in this tournament and win his fourth title in a British Open.
Saint Andrews is considered by Woods as one of his favorite courses, considering that he played there for the first time in 1995. And this is just one reason why Woods was considered by many as the undisputed favorite to win the 139th edition of this major championship.
Keep in mind that Woods also won his last two outings on this golf course, in 2000 and 2005. However, despite the favoritism that surrounded him, Woods couldn’t put together a good sequence of holes throughout the tournament, and for now, he just hopes to reach the PGA Championship.
On the other hand, I consider the win of Oosthuizen surprising, considering that he was not among the favorites to win this tournament and had just managed to make the cut in one of his eight performances in major championships.
In addition, it seemed unlikely that the young golfer would manage to keep the level that he started playing with, mainly because of the pressure and lack of experience.
Finally, Oosthuizen’s performance has been compared with that of Woods at his best, and it seems that this success is not a matter of luck. And don’t be surprised if you hear the name of Louis Oosthuizen in the biggest tournaments of this sport in the next few years.
Persnickety Old Course in Slumber Mode
As I’m writing this on the Sunday morning of the final day of the 2010 Open Championship I find myself curiously unexcited about the last day. So far it’s been a yawn-a-thon.
So far the most excitement for me was the utterly cool shot pulled off by Jimenez at the famous #17 road hole. See video below.
Louis Oosthuizen has led from the git-go. He is 4 shots up going into the last round with Paul Casey 4 shots back. 4 shots back is no big deal especially in the final round of a major championship. Hopefully there will be at least *some* drama.
The persnickety Old Course has been in slumber mode. Hardly no wind (except a brief spout of Friday) no rain – essentially benign. That was not the Open I was hoping for but, who knows, there is one more day of golf.
By the way, I love the swing of Oosthuizen. Man, talk about a tight, powerful, fluid swing. Anyone could become a better player by meditating on that swing. I posted a video in our right sidebar which has a number of slo-mo takes on his swing – really fun to watch.
Curious, what is YOUR take on the Open so far?
Predictions Based On British Open Interviews
I watched Open interviews last night at length, and while that certaily isn’t enough to predict a winner, I think it does give some insight into who might just be ready. Here’s what I saw:
Tiger is probably the most motivated. He needs a win to announce he’s back. A win in a major and at St. Andrews would add 10 exclamation points to that. However…you can tell Tiger is not happy and has a lot on his mind. It certaily feels like his marriage is weighing heavily. He still is uncomfortable with some questions. Phil Mickelson isn’t in his shoes, but Phil has learned he’s only a golfer, not a political candidate, and doesn’t have to answer everything – and you can do it with some humor. I don’t think Tiger knows who he is yet and that will handicap him. It makes me nervous that he’s changed putters for the first time in over a decade. In his favor, he’s Tiger, he’s won at St. Andrews twice, the course favors long hitters off the tee and he’s a terrific iron player. Bottom line, he can do it, but he’s going to have to find a zone that takes him away from his personal life for the next 4 days.
I like Phil’s chances. His length is a great advantage at St. Andrews and he knows it. He’s confident and relaxed. It would be a great win for him, but it’s not a ‘need to have’ win like it is for Tiger, so he’s under less pressure. If the good Phil shows up and he doesn’t get thrown off course by the weather, he could be holding the Claret Jug on Sunday.
Ernie could win, but he just doesn’t project that he’s in the right place mentally. He’s playing pretty well, but something happened to him since his great start early in the year. At the US Open he was in contention at the last, but his putting showed no conviction. It’s almost as if he has second thoughts about the price he has to pay at his age to be on the road away from home. You never know what can happen to a player once they strike the first shot, but Ernie needs an attitude uplift if he’s going to win this Major.
Where is Padraig Harrington’s game? He’s played some good golf of late, but we keep waiting for the great golf that you expect from a 3-time major winner. One of the analysts said that Harrington needs to be playing against the odds to win, to be in a place where no one thinks he has a chance. Then he rises up to prove they are wrong. That would certainly explain a lot. Maybe if he gets the idea that the golf writers think he’s lost it, he’ll get motivated. I like that he’s relaxed and talks about the game as if he was a little kid having a ball, enjoying every tough shot as a fun challenge. That’s the kind of attitude you need on a testy links course so you don’t get intimidated. I say he’s certainly in the hunt.
Earlier in the year I felt almost certain that Lee Westwood would win the British Open. So many things came together in his game and with his confidence. What I saw during his press conference was a low affect, sad and almost beaten down guy. He’s got a problem with a ruptured muscle in his ankle. Supposedly it only hurts after he’s made contact. My question, is it really that bad that it will take him out of it, or is this the wiley Lee Westwood’s way of trying to psyche-out the competition. If yesterday was mainly an act, then I like his chances, but if it accurately reflected his mindset then this isn’t going to be his first major.
I did see a little bit of Tom Watson this morning and he still has to be considered a serious contender. He says his ball-striking isn’t where it was a year ago, but feels it could come around by Thursday. He was very relaxed and seemed to be enjoying everything about being in Scotland and playing in another major at 60. If he has a good round on Thursday the adrenaline is going to flow and the rest of the field better not forget about him. The great thing is he knows that we know he has a chance and it really adds excitement to the event.
Those are the players I’ve heard speak so far and here’s the order I’d rank them in:
Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Tom Watson, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood.
Now there are a whole slew of excellent players this year who could win, but they haven’t been interviewed yet. I think that no tournaments test a player’s mental stamina more than the US and British Opens. And, when the whether is wet and windy as it’s supposed to be in St. Andrews this year, this may be the toughest mental test in all of golf. I’m really hoping for some high drama and great golf over the next 4 days!
Steve Stricker – Golf’s Best Teacher
Right about now you might be thinking ‘did I miss something’? No Steve Stricker hasn’t written a golf instruction book or opened an academy in Florida. What he has done is to resurrect himself from the abyss of golf failure to become one of the best players in the world. If you watched last week’s John Deere Classic you know exactly what I mean.
It wasn’t so many years ago that Steve Stricker couldn’t drive a golf ball to save his life … or his career. Somehow, someway he worked it all out to not just return to where he was but to stand toe to toe with the world’s best golfers. Think about his performance in last year’s President’s Cup for proof.
If we look carefully at his game, I think we can see where he gets the new magic from. I Tivo’d Saturday’s round at the John Deere Classic and soon became mesmorized at the way Steve was playing. He made golf look as easy as Tiger ever did. I soon got to the point where I fast forwarded through everything and just watched him. What I started to notice was a guy who was in a zone, calm and disciplined. His shot routine was always exactly the same. And not just through the finish, he actually did the exact same routine after his finish on every drive to follow the ball until it landed and stopped regardless of how he hit it.
You start watching him carefully and he looks like the most skilled Swiss watch assembler in the world – calm, careful, exacting, efficient and never deviating. Then it hit me, golf advice that I’ve read a hundred times over the years. You have to practice the way you want to play. You can’t hit practice shots and expect it to carryover to the first tee unless you’ve practiced EXACTLY as you expect to play. It’s not as much fun as hitting shots like a machine gun, but it’s what you have to do if you want a repeatable, solid swing that works under pressure.
Think about it, would you expect anyone to be a good putter if they practiced with a belly putter and played with a conventional one. That may be extreme, but I’m sure you get the point. If you stand in front of a pile of golf balls and roll them in front of you and keep banging, you might as well skip the practice tee altogether. It’s probably worse than no practice because your practicing something that you’ll never use on the course.
The other part I want to emphasize about Stricker and some of today’s other standouts, like Justin Rose, is how meticulous they are in setting up. I know I get lazy on way to many shots and when they don’t go as planned, the problem can probably be traced to setup 90% of the time. Practicing includes the same exact setup routine on every shot. Use alignment sticks on the practice tee to check yourself on a regular basis. Feet, knees, hips and shoulders all have to be aligned – EXACTLY.
If you can duplicate a careful, precise swing time after time you are going to start playing better. Steve Sticker does not have a beautiful swing by any stretch of the imagination. If you see it for the first time you might be forgiven for thinking that some amateur has ducked under the ropes and snuck out on the course. But I don’t think there’s a pro in the world right now who wouldn’t want the results he’s getting. Watch him and learn to improve your game, he just might be the best teacher in the world at this point!
Hitting It Pure
Finding the sweet spot or ’puring’ it as Tiger likes to say; this is golf’s aphrodisiac. What does it take to find this hypnotic state? People, pundits, players and gurus have been pondering that since the first pure swing was made.
If we can unravel this mystery, can we consistently find golf nirvana? Probably not. I say that because it’s never been accomplished, not even by the greatest golfers on the planet. But, with the right approach anyone can learn to hit more pure shots. The key to better swings? less tension and that means more enjoyment.
I think it’s clear to most of us that golf is mental first and physical second. How many of us have been beaten by someone who is physically our inferior. Don’t read to much into that statement, I simply mean that we have all been whipped by someone we could out benchpress any day of the week. When I was in my physical prime in my early 20′s, I got thoroughly trounced by what appeared to me to be a weak old man. While I was bombing drives 280 yards (mostly offline) he was hitting it consistently 150 yards right down the middle. I think I lost 5 and 4, but my memory has probably given me a few extra holes.
Golf is unique in that we have all hit shots that are as good as the best in the world – like holing out a chip, we just do it a lot less frequently. And that’s what keeps us coming back in spite of our bad shots. Golf is played best when the mind is relaxed and we’re in touch with our bodies. We’re not thinking about the consequences of going OB. When we’re on we are in a relaxed almost hypnotic state. Tension worsens performance in any athletic endeavor. Loose relaxed muscles don’t fight one another. The best sprinters are the ones who best relax opposing muslces.
So how do we find this relaxation and body awareness. First, you’ve got to tune in to what your body is doing when you practice. It’s OK to think ‘keep your left arm straight’ before a practice swing. But when you actually hit the ball your mind has to be an observer only. After your shot is done, if you’ve put your consciousness in your arm, you should know if it was straight or not. Do this and you’ll teach your mind to be a reporter and not a worrier. This is a terrific way to practice. Read any of Timothy Gallwey’s ‘inner game’ books to learn practical methods for doing this. For decades he helped numerous Olympic athletes use this strategy to great benefit.
You can’t really change your swing or manage it until you can ‘feel’ it. Don’t be critical of yourself when you hit a bad shot. Try to remember the feel of the shot. It’s amazing what feeling parts of your body during a swing can produce. Hit 10 shots only focused on rotating your forearms. Rotate them a little, a lot and everything in between and teach your mind how to feel what your body is doing. Do the same for weight transfer, or shoulder plane rotation. Don’t try and hit everything perfect. You need to feel the entire spectrum to teach you body what’s right.
I’m reviewing a book by Laird Small, the director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy which I’ll blog about soon. He has wonderful advice on how to take practice swings for a shot you are unsure of, say a tough greenside chip. Take one practice swing you know is too hard, one that’s too soft and one that’s in between. Then step up to the ball and hit it with the in between swing. It works because you stopping thinking about consequences and you have committed your mind and body to the same swing. As Surge Trahan at Peak Performance Golf Swing says, ‘ feel the swing when you rehearse and then when you step up to the ball swing the feel’. Think about that for a moment, it’s great advice. With practice you can train your mind to be your ally and not your enemy on the course. As Laird Small at Pebble Beach says; ‘Nothing about golf is stressful. It’s you who adds the stress or fear.’
Why Do We Continue To Play This Game?
Periodically I refer to John Paul Newport’s column on golf in the weekend addition of the Wall Street Journal. Today he’s published another good column on what many think is the reason we golfers continue with the game; the joy of hitting the pure shoot. Read the whole article here.
The article is a good read and I think the premise is right on, as recent polls of golfers confirms. If you’ve played golf for any time at all, you must have enjoyed the sensation of no effort coupled with watching your ball sail a magical distance right where you thought it would go. I have a friend who’s an avid golfer in Rocherster, New York. He has tried to get his golf committee to modify their score cards to include a place to write down the best shots you make during a round. His premise is you could be a 10 handicap, shoot 95 and still have a couple of terrific shots which will stay with you a lot longer than your poor score. He might be on to something.
As I get older, I focus less on score on more on the pure enjoyment I can find walking a course and chasing the little white ball. I’ve tried to convince my wife that we should keep score less often and just enjoy, but I have yet to make a convert. She’s driven to lower her handicap as proof that she can actually get better. I’ve played long enough to know that success in the game will always be an up and down affair. I also know that personally I score better when scoring is completely out of my mind.
Next I want to explore what keeps us from swinging evenly and within ourselves so we can hit more pure shots.
Golf Potpourri
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 2010 US Women’s Open also launched it’s open day at Oakmont Country Club and what is speculated to be one of the toughest tests of golf in it’s history. Currently Brittany Lang is the leader at -2. MJ Hur and Inbee Park are tied at -1. Runaway LPGA Championship winner Christie Kerr is closely behind at +1. Teenage phenom Alexis Thompson shot a very respectable 73. The ever unpredictable Michelle Wie shot 82 and was tied at 130th.
One of my favorite majors of the year, the Open Championship, is right around the corner at the hallowed grounds of St Andrews. With all the ultra manicured courses we have and see week-to-week on the PGA tour it is just so refreshing to see links golf and all the unique strategy involved. Who knows maybe Tom Watson can revive a little more magic this year.
My Golf Dash partner, John, mentioned a swing training aid in a recent post called Grab Bag and Random Thoughts. It’s called the SwingRite. It was surprising to me as I never heard of the thing before but apparently it has been around since the 1960′s. Anyway I called John and discussed it with him and he highly recommended it. So I went out and bought one. All I can say is since using it I had one of my best front nines of the year (a 37). So check it out. If you have any questions about it just comment on this post and I will be glad to provide any feedback I can.
Finally, I played Red Tail Golf Course in Devens MA last weekend on one of the most gloriest golf days you could ask for. Had a very mixed round with a good front and terrible back. Ended up shooting 87. Red Tail is really a beautiful course and I highly recommend it if you are out in this area. My only issue is the fee. It costs $99 to play and in my opinion, it is too high a fee for this caliber of a course. I played on a mid Saturday morning and the place was practically dead. They really need to re-think their pricing.
One thing they do that I like and that members of my foursome are involved with is they have some called a Hawk Membership – again the price is not cheap, $850, but you save a bit and this entitles you to 10 rounds of golf and a few other perks. I wish a number of courses in my area (Western Ma) would do these types of “mini-memberships” I definitely applaud their innovative thinking about how to re-package memberships and limited memberships.
Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head
I am planning a late fall golf trip to play Harbour Town golf links, (home of the PGA stop, the Verizon Heritage Heron Point and the Ocean Course at Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Of course, Harbour Town is famous for the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse. The 90-foot, red-and-white striped tower of the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Hilton Head Island is the visual centerpiece of Sea Pines.
Construction on the hexagonal Harbour Town Lighthouse began in 1969 and was completed in the spring of 1970. This was the first privately financed lighthouse to be built since the early 1800s. Of course, it serves as the perfect backdrop for the 18th hole at Harbour Town.
I can’t wait for some Hilton Head golf (well, yes I can because that would mean the round would be just about over) and to try the famous shot at the final hole at Harbour Town. I have seen so many of those shots on TV that it will seem very strange actually playing the hole.
They have a number of nice packages through the resort itself. You can check out some of the golf packages and see what you think. Currently for 2 night and two rounds of golf, at approximately $350, that is a pretty good deal.
Couple hotel tips (that apply across the board – not just at Harbor Town)
1. It’s always a good idea to call the resort’s or hotel’s local number and NOT the 800 number as the 800 number typically gets re-routed to an off-site call center. instead of asking for reservations, ask to speak with the manager or the general manager on duty or the sales director as they have the authority to negotiate room rates.
I did this recently on a trip and asked the manager to get the room for $100 (it was a $350 room!) My wife and i had many choices and after we said no to the $350 he asked me what I would like for and instantly my request was granted.
I really did this more as an experiment but you would be surprised HOW flexible price is (especially in this economy)
2. The best time to make a reservation (if you want to do it this way) is right after 6 pm. This is when hotels wipe clean all the no-show reservations that were unsecured by a credit card. Then they offer those rooms at nice bargain rates.
You can check out the Sea Pines courses which include nice hole by hole gallery.
Tiger also gives a brief overview of some of Harbour Town’s key golf holes in a video.
Be curious what your experiences have been at Sea Pines and and other tips, restaurants or other excursions you found worthwhile while there.
You can also find other Hilton Head tee times if you are interested in playing other HH courses. We, however, are only playing the Sea Pines courses.
Longest Public Course in Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s newest and longest public course opened in April of this year. I had the chance to play it with a couple of friends last week. We’re geezers so we played the Green tees at a little over 6500 yards. Had we been feeling our Wheeties we could have teed off on the Blacks which come in at just over 7400 yards.
This course is owned by the Hendrick family who have been in the golf business in the state for over 40 years and own two other good 18 hole layouts. A rarity these days in the golf business, they’ve proven that they know how to make money. Unfortunately, they started building Meadowbrook before the recession.
What else to do but soldier on and complete it. The Rhode Island golf market is difficult these days with player rounds down and many private courses struggling to keep up their membership numbers. The Hendricks will have the tough job of bringing this course along without digging further into their own pockets.
Once you set foot on the course it’s clear that it’s brand new. The greens, tee boxes and fairways are in good shape. The rough and the finer points of landscaping are a work in progress. Overall, I like the layout. It has potential, but reaching it will depend on how much stomach the owners have for investment. We’ve already seen what happens at a very good course, Newport National, that runs out of cash. That one actually went under, was sold to another owner and has stayed open, though they still are using trailers for a clubhouse and have only the most basic facilities.
I don’t think anyone would deny that Meadowbrook could become one of the premier golf destinations in the state, but it needs a lot of finishing touches to get there. The rough is sketchy, but that’s to be expected in the first year. I’d say the course could use another 15 traps to make it really interesting. These don’t have to be the giant traps that US courses most often build. With Meadowbrook’s rolling fairways, a few carefully placed, small pot bunkers would make a lot of difference, forcing players to shape shots, manage distance and play more thoughtfully.
For a new course, the greens were excellent. They are hard, as in very hard, but this makes for more challenging golf. If you fire at the pins from any distance, you’re very likely to find yourself off the back. I thought the greens rolled fair. With their tremendous size, over 9000 square feet, you can end up with putts that feel they should be teed up. Needless to say they have an almost endless selection of pin locations. Add to this five sets of tee boxes (yes, you read that correctly – 5) and this course can play different every day for the entire season.
I loved the 8th hole which reminds me of something you might find in Scotland. The tee box is elevated and looks on a gradually rising fairway that turns right. Where you’d like to land your tee shot are a couple of middle of the fairway bunkers. If you avoid these you have a dicey shot to a steeply mounded elongated green that angles away from the golfer. This is the kind of hole that challenges you every round.
On the back nine, the course moves more into the woods, but also has large open fairway sections where holes come together. Ultimately I’d like to see some landscaping to separate the fairways, but then again I’m not the one who has to pony up the dough. One thing the course is missing, as it is at many public tracks, is a practice area/driving range. If you’re going to be a top notch course, good players will expect a place to warm up before they play. I’d also like to see some seed mixture on the par 3 tee boxes and more rakes in the traps. It’s a real pain to have to walk to the far end of a twenty yard bunker to clean up after yourself!
Bottom line, the course could become a classic or just a very long public course that will attract outings and the once or twice a year visit from the average amateur. I don’t envy the Hendricks having to negotiate a course greening during an economic downturn. They ultimately have plans to build a big new clubhouse, but for now the remodeled version of the old one will have to do. By the Fall we should have a much better idea of where Meadowbrook is headed to greatness or just another very long loop.
US Open-After The Dust Has Settled
It was a great US Open at Pebble Beach for 3 days. If I’m honest and objective then Sunday was probably great as well, but it sure didn’t feel that way. Is the Open so hard these days that it always seems like the winner backs in instead of grabbing it by the throat. It did last year and I feel the same this year.
It’s not that Graeme McDowell is not a great champion and didn’t clearly beat the field. I was very impressed with his win. He has played very well the last few years and he knew how to take on a links course, something a lot of American tour players aren’t as familiar with.
He was the most consistent ball striker, chipper and putter and never made a bone-headed move like some of the others. My only issue is I wish he and Dustin Johnson had shaken hands on the 18th green before all the hoopla started. They both are responsible for making sure that happens, so they both messed up on that one.
I love Notah Begay’s commentary. He’s honest, knowledgeable and forthright. I hope they continue to use him. He really provides a unique ’up close and personal’ viewpoint.
Tiger is a spoiled kid. Just review his comments after he walked off the 18th on Sunday. Everything he said -which was very little - was about him. There were no thank you’s to the USGA or Pebble Beach, no atta-boys for McDowell and no real insight into his own meltdown.
Tiger is driven to win more than anyone else on Tour. I’m sure he’s won tournaments just because he wanted it more. On the other hand, grace under fire is an attribute that every complete individual has, though not every great golfer. For a counterpoint see Phil’s remarks. He was composed, courteous, thankful and could view the entire event in perspective, not just from his own loss.
If you watched a lot of the coverage of the Open, then you might have heard Peter Ueberroth of Salt Lake City Olympics fame and one of the owners, make a plea for making Pebble America’s Course. I don’t know exactly what that means, but I have serious reservations about naming any course that costs over $400 a round as America’s Course.
This country’s greatest gift to the game of golf has been to make it an ‘everybody’s game, not just for the rich as it was in the British Isles well into the 20th century. I love Pebble Beach. Half of the enjoyment of watching the Open was enjoying the scenery and spectacular holes. But, being a beautiful course and being public is not enough to be anointed America’s course.
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.
Now it’s time to get out and play some golf, preferably tee off before 7 AM to beat the heat, and get ready for the British Open at St. Andrews in July. I just hope that the old girl bares her teeth with some wind. It’s a great year for the majors and it would be only fitting for it to play like the Scot’s planned it.
