Kevin, Jerry and I had a wonderful time at the PGA Championship on Wednesday. I spent the morning walking the course (a.k.a. on a Tiger hunt) and was surprised at its size. Very long, very big.
Hazeltine members sure have a sweet practice facility too -- double-ended range with huge teeing grounds, plus practice chipping/pitching greens and bunkers on both ends. Tons of fairway space too for mid-range wedge shots. Forget the course; if I was a member here I could spend all day in the practice area.
We spent several hours watching players chip and pitch. Some observations:
-- They all wear gloves. Only person I saw without a glove was Justin Leonard. Oftentimes you hear them talking about how they don’t wear a glove around the greens -- you know, for better feel -- but almost all of them do wear them. Do as I say, not as I do.
-- They all chip with sand wedges. Again, lots of talk in the pop golf media about "chip with your 9 iron" and "get it on the ground as soon as possible." Not here, not with the best in the world. All were hitting little low spinners with sand wedges, whether it was from just off the green or from 40 yards away.
-- Most of them employ "purposeful" throwaway for many chip/pitch shots. Stuart Appleby was hitting lob shots over a bunker and, over and over, threw the clubhead right past his hands. These guys have such educated hands that they can pull off these shots time and again, but the average player should steer clear.
I was disappointed after not finding Tiger on the course in the morning -- and I had heard rumblings that he may not be out today. In the past I've also heard he likes to practice and/or play off-site some of the practice days. In any event, he was nowhere to be found.
Kevin, Jerry and I had been hanging out near the short game area, about 75 yards from the main range, for a good hour and had front-row spots along the railing. Then, as we were watching Sergio, Mike Weir, Davis Love III and Stewart Cink…Tiger appeared. He stopped about 20 feet from us and began hitting pitch shots. I had seen Tiger in person before but…this man is an athlete. He's taller and more athletic than he looks on TV.
Within 2-3 minutes, there were hundreds of people swarming the area -- probably 15 rows deep behind us. We were in the right place at the right time, affording us front-row seats to observe the world's number one. Tiger hung around for maybe 20-30 minutes, hitting chips, pitches and bunker shots.
But, as Kevin said later, "We've got the best player in the world chipping right in front of us…and I'm still looking down toward the range trying to find Brian Gay!" (Thankfully, Brian made an appearance a little later.)
Geez, Matt and Kevin, we had so much fun we were lucky not to be arrested.
All that Alignment talk and trying to spot things in players' personal alignments was probably a little over the top, but it was pretty interesting watching who had it and who didn't. There were certainly some fellows in front of us that seemed to struggle a bit with control. A little work with Yoda and a some work on the clamps would go a long way for a few.
It was certainly nice to see Yoda again and I sincerely appreciate his effort in getting BG to our vicinity. We understood his choice to do otherwise at a major tournament.
A can of iced tea, though, for $4.00?
Kevin, Jerry and I had a wonderful time at the PGA Championship on Wednesday. I spent the morning walking the course (a.k.a. on a Tiger hunt) and was surprised at its size. Very long, very big.
Hazeltine members sure have a sweet practice facility too -- double-ended range with huge teeing grounds, plus practice chipping/pitching greens and bunkers on both ends. Tons of fairway space too for mid-range wedge shots. Forget the course; if I was a member here I could spend all day in the practice area.
We spent several hours watching players chip and pitch. Some observations:
-- They all wear gloves. Only person I saw without a glove was Justin Leonard. Oftentimes you hear them talking about how they don’t wear a glove around the greens -- you know, for better feel -- but almost all of them do wear them. Do as I say, not as I do.
-- They all chip with sand wedges. Again, lots of talk in the pop golf media about "chip with your 9 iron" and "get it on the ground as soon as possible." Not here, not with the best in the world. All were hitting little low spinners with sand wedges, whether it was from just off the green or from 40 yards away.
-- Most of them employ "purposeful" throwaway for many chip/pitch shots. Stuart Appleby was hitting lob shots over a bunker and, over and over, threw the clubhead right past his hands. These guys have such educated hands that they can pull off these shots time and again, but the average player should steer clear.
"purposeful throwaway"
Ahhhh, I was wondering what you call that. Mark Sheftic, Teaching Professional at Merion, and a competitor this week was the first guy I watched this morning with Acquired motion. He kept a flat left wrist, and had a beautiful finish swivel just like Yoda teaches. I figured we would see that all day long. Tiger and Phil kept very flat left wrists, but not many others did. "purposeful throwaway" --- that makes sense, and is definitely what we were seeing!
Matt, thanks for putting up with our rookie TGM banter, Jerry and I enjoyed it and we learned a LOT from your expertise. That was a BLAST!
Kevin
__________________
I could be wrong. I have been before, and will be again.
Geez, Matt and Kevin, we had so much fun we were lucky not to be arrested.
All that Alignment talk and trying to spot things in players' personal alignments was probably a little over the top, but it was pretty interesting watching who had it and who didn't. There were certainly some fellows in front of us that seemed to struggle a bit with control. A little work with Yoda and a some work on the clamps would go a long way for a few.
It was certainly nice to see Yoda again and I sincerely appreciate his effort in getting BG to our vicinity. We understood his choice to do otherwise at a major tournament.
A can of iced tea, though, for $4.00?
Jerry, what better way to learn than by finding the alignments in the best players in the world. We were probably wrong, a lot, but that doesn't mean we didn't learn. What a fun week we had!
How about the low scores on that INCREDIBLY tough golf course? I understand the wind is going to blow today. Could be very interesting!
Kevin
__________________
I could be wrong. I have been before, and will be again.
Ahhhh, I was wondering what you call that. Mark Sheftic, Teaching Professional at Merion, and a competitor this week was the first guy I watched this morning with Acquired motion. He kept a flat left wrist, and had a beautiful finish swivel just like Yoda teaches. I figured we would see that all day long. Tiger and Phil kept very flat left wrists, but not many others did. "purposeful throwaway" --- that makes sense, and is definitely what we were seeing!
Matt, thanks for putting up with our rookie TGM banter, Jerry and I enjoyed it and we learned a LOT from your expertise. That was a BLAST!
Kevin
Intentional throwaway. Surprising as this may be to some...............its in the book. Minor Basic Strokes, 10-3-J Pause. In the photo Diane is employing a horizontal hinge. Most pros vertical hinge it with the clubface pointing towards the sky at follow through for high, soft landing short shots.
V.J. didnt like it in the video he did with Lynn. Pelz doesnt like it, thinks its maxing out of layback makes distance control more difficult. But Lynn teaches it and the guys on tour sure use it a lot, possibly because of the extremely fast greens they face when short sided. Jeff Ogilvy is a master at this shot. He even pauses his left arm or hand going back as well as through on some really short ones from the rough when facing a short downhiller. Very rope handle.
It isnt the only way but its a great weapon to have in the arsenal. I had a heck of a time getting used to it but now love it. You've got to pause the left hand and let the clubhead scoot under the ball with a very rope handle like motion. Swingers will have an easier time learning it.
Intentional throwaway. Surprising as this may be to some...............its in the book. Minor Basic Strokes, 10-3-J Pause. In the photo Diane is employing a horizontal hinge. Most pros vertical hinge it with the clubface pointing towards the sky at follow through for high, soft landing short shots.
V.J. didnt like it in the video he did with Lynn. Pelz doesnt like it, thinks its maxing out of layback makes distance control more difficult. But Lynn teaches it and the guys on tour sure use it a lot, possibly because of the extremely fast greens they face when short sided. Jeff Ogilvy is a master at this shot. He even pauses his left arm or hand going back as well as through on some really short ones from the rough when facing a short downhiller. Very rope handle.
GREAT insight OB. Now I remember Yoda talking to us Monday about 10-3-J Pause. I had forgotten, so much to absorb. Thanks for the refresh!
Kevin
__________________
I could be wrong. I have been before, and will be again.
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