Greens Fees

Memorial skins match today in Ohio

bmorris20 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:14:09 +0000

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods dominated the Memorial skins match today in Dublin, Ohio, hometown of Jack Nicklaus. Mickelson won all nine skins in his group, while Woods won six of the nine.

Mickelson’s group included Nicklaus, Ernie Els, Sean O’Hair and Kenny Perry. Woods played alongside Jim Furyk, Rory McIlroy, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson, winner last week at Colonial.

The tournament was picked up live by the Golf Channel, and was one of the most enjoyable tournaments I’ve watched in a long time. With everybody wearing mics, it was great to hear the players joking around like the rest of us do when we play. It’s a lot easier to root for guys after you’ve seen them in this type of format, rather than the usual seriousness of tournament play.

I’d say the best interaction was between Nicklaus and O’Hair, one of the games best ever talking to one of the tour’s young stars. It’s the example of why golf is such a unique game, and it something that you could never see from any other sport.

This was the last fun round these guys will play. They’ll start warming up for the U.S. Open, and I’ll have plenty of posts in the next week about that.

Also, Mickelson was as sharp as ever today. This will definitely put him as the favorite in Pebble Beach, at least for me.

Ryder Cup in Wales

bmorris20 — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:01:18 +0000

I know it’s a long way off, but the Ryder Cup is one of my favorite sporting events, and deserves at least an update from this blog. Corey Pavin was picked as the team’s captain, and has been flying all over the country to keep up with America’s best golfers.

This Ryder Cup will be held October 1-3 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. Pavin selected Davis Love III, Tom Lehman, Jeff Sluman, and Paul Goydos as the team’s four assistants. The United States is the defending champion after beating Europe at Valhalla in 2008.

Right now, the U.S. Team standings are as follows:

1. Phil Mickelson 2. Anthony Kim 3. Jim Furyk 4. Lucas Glover 5. Hunter Mahan 6. Steve Stricker 7. Dustin Johnson 8. Matt Kuchar 9. Stewart Cink 10. Tiger Woods

Obviously there is a still a lot of time for those standings to change, and the youth movement started at the last Ryder Cup when players like Anthony Kim made huge strides.

There will be some interesting choices from both sides for the captains to make. On the European side, Rory McIlroy is looking for the chance to participate for the Euros.

I’m sure they’ll be looking for some revenge after Valhalla.

Favorite to win U.S. Open?

bmorris20 — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:30:28 +0000

We all remember the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. It was Tiger Woods’ most dominate performance in a major, which is really saying all you need to know.

Woods won by 15 strokes, setting the all-time record and beating the previous record by two strokes. That record was from 1862, and no that is not a typo, by Tom Morris at the British Open. He didn’t even three putt the entire round.

I remember him walking up the final fairway, and almost couldn’t believe that just took place. He was a guy on top of the golf world, and it seemed like he had all the momentum for the future.

Now, this year’s event is being held at Pebble Beach, and I have to wonder if he’s the favorite. With the time off and then the newest injury, there are definitely questions out there. I asked about 20 people there pick, and only eight picked Woods. The other 12 included Mickelson, Els, McIlroy, Stricker, and Furyk.

“I’m taking Phil, simply cause the way he’s been playing and his performance at the Master’s,” said Patrick Spring, a Towson student. “I just have too many concerns about Tiger, but I definitely hope he’s around at the end.”

A lot of people had questions about Tiger. Who do you think is the favorite at Pebble Beach? Any thoughts on what Tiger will do?

Update on South River Golf Course

bmorris20 — Fri, 14 May 2010 14:04:28 +0000

As my avid readers might remember, I did an update on South River Golf Links in Edgewater, Md., to see how the course was preparing for the upcoming golf season. And luckily, I got the chance to play the course, and catch back up with David Fink, who worked there and I interviewed about the playing conditions.

The course is in great shape, and really played well. When talking to the other guys around the clubhouse, I got the same feel from all the golfers.

“I’ve always loved to play South River, and get a chance to do it a couple of times every summer,” said Kevin Richards, a Baltimore native. “It’s a challenging course but also has a great landscape that gets you to come back.

Right now, the greens fees are $85 Monday through Friday, and weekends it comes out to $95. Twilight hours offer a chance for a discount, and is $45 during the week and $50 on the weekends. The discount is definitely worth it, especially is the course is more open then normal and you can get through a lot of holes.

“I think the course offers a challenge for all types of golfers” said David Fink. “It’s a unique course that has great conditions, and I can promise that you’ll at least enjoy the round.”

Matt Jones leads the Texas Open

bmorris20 — Fri, 14 May 2010 04:00:10 +0000

Matt Jones, the 30-year-old Australian who played his college golf at Arizona State, is in the lead at the Texas Open after shooting a 66 in his first round. Paul Stankowski opened with a 67, and J.B. Holmes, Matt Weibring, Charley Hoffman and Steve Lowery had 68s.

Jones shot a 30 on the back nine, which included four birdies. The tournament is being held at the Greg Norman-designed Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, the tournament’s new site after 15 years at La Cantera.

The new site has its advantages, and the weather looks to be better for the weekend rounds.

With a month left until the U.S. Open, golfers are trying to prepare for the next major by warming up at these events. But the surprising leader is Jones, whose best finish this season is a tie for seventh two weeks ago at Quail Hollow.

Tiger expects full recovery

bmorris20 — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:42:12 +0000

On his website, Tiger Woods announced that he expects a full recovery from his neck injury. He was originally worried that he might have a bulging disk, but he has an inflamed neck joint and expects a quick return. This is great news as he prepares to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

He did not announce a timetable for his return, but it shouldn’t be too long. The injury prevented him from twisting his neck, and caused severe pain in his swing. It also causes headaches. For a guy as tough as Woods, it must have been a serious injury.

“I want to thank everyone for their caring and concern,” Woods said in a statement posted on the site. “I now need to take care of this condition and will return to playing golf when I’m physically able.”

The speculation was that his injury was caused by his car accident on Thanksgiving. That night has already been talked about enough, but Woods claimed there was no correlation between the two events.

What’s in your bag?

bmorris20 — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:29:10 +0000

We always see professional hit shots that we can’t. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be that way. But I often wonder what kind of clubs they’re using to hit these kinds of shots. No not just Phil Mickelson’s miracle shot from behind a tree at the Master’s, but the other clubs that are in the bag.

Matt Kuchar, who played in Tiger’s group in the opening rounds of the Master’s and won the Amateur Championship, has a video where he discusses his club choices. For my take, I think golf is all about feel. You have to feel comfortable with what shot you are hitting, and the club you’re going to use. Doesn’t matter what club you’re using if you don’t think you can hit it.

Here’s a look inside Kuchar’s bag, and hopefully it provides some insight to clubs you could use in the future.

Mickelson wears Green Jacket to Krispy Kreme

bmorris20 — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:48:38 +0000

After the green jacket is handed down from last year’s champion to the latest champ, don’t you wonder what happens to it? It’s got to be a little different than getting a Christmas present right? Is it hung up in the closet with all the other suits and the new North Face Jacket? Maybe framed and put in the living room, or given to somebody else as a gift as a special way of saying thank you.

Well, apparently I was wrong on all my guesses, because Phil Mickelson was just photographed in a drive-thru at the Krispy Kreme with the storied green jacket on. Could anything be funnier than Lefty getting donuts stain on his jacket, especially after so many questions have been made about his playing shape? I guess he doesn’t care, and it’s not like he doesn’t have a couple of other green jackets if he wants to hang something in his closet anyways.

Looks like Phil got the last laugh on this one, and really, who is going to try and be mad at this guy? This only adds on to his title as the most popular player in golf, as well as the favorite to win the U.S. Open.

Small changes can go a long way

bmorris20 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:31:27 +0000

I spent years trying to fix my drives. I tried different clubs and even a different stance to try and add more power off the tee. I was even just using irons and a three wood for awhile just because I sacrificed distance for straight shots. I was still scoring well, but something was always missing.

When I turned 18, I got a new Taylor Made driver, and promised myself I would fix my tee shots. What I didn’t know before, and what I quickly found out, were there were several key points that I was missing. Here are some keys for your drives, and you can find these same points on golf.com from Adam Scott.

These tips will allow you to have more distance and better accuracy.

You want a slow hip turn, and a wide should turn, which creates a nice, easy swing. A lot of times you see pros and there swings look effortless, but they drive the ball a long way. A fast swing is not the key for power
Place the ball at your front heel, and get in a position where you feel most comfortable. Like any shot in golf, being comfortable is a key to driving the ball far and straight
Build speed at the top of your backswing, and coming down too fast is a problem for many golfers. Maximum speed should be at the point of impact
Lock your core as you drive through the ball, and then finish the swing while maintaining proper balance

Baltimore “Replays”

bmorris20 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:42:14 +0000

Last weekend I played at Mount Pleasant Golf Course in Baltimore with a group of three friends. Like most groups on Saturday tee times, we had a couple bets going on and split the group into two pairs. And, as usual, it all came down to the 18th tee.

(Photo Courtesy of BMGCgolf.com)

This hole was a short par four, and only 354 yards from the back tees.

We both birdied, and still nobody was happy. Instead of ending the round here, five Baltimore courses offer “replays”, where after your round you can take your Players Card and receipt from the round and get a chance to play the same course for $12. And off we went for another round of 18.

“It’s obviously the best deal you can get if you want to play a lot of golf in a single day,” said Brendan McGowan. “You save money with the players cards already, and can save even more on the replays. I get my money’s worth for the 27-holes I play most Sundays.”

It’s a great way to play some extra holes and not have to burn the wallet to do it.

“Discounts bring people to the course,” said Tom Pierce, the director of BMGC. “We offer these rates and hopefully create golfers for life.”

Most golfers end up having courses that they love to play, but often can’t always get there every weekend. So instead of only playing 18 holes, spend an extra hour playing some more holes and then when you can get out to play, play longer. It’s an easy solution to not being able to play all the time.

“Because I can only play a couple times on the weekends, I just spend a little more money on the replays,” said Joe Johnson, a 28-year-old Baltimore native. “It’s the best way for me to use the great courses in the Baltimore area.”