St. Andrews, Scotland |
|
Peninsula Golf Journal October 2011 - Vol 2 Issue 1
|
|
|
|
In an effort to expand the circulation of the Peninsula Golf Journal, we welcome any e-mail addresses of those you think might enjoy receiving the monthly letter. Thanks!
|
|
PREVIOUS EDITIONS
| |
Click here to check out past editions...
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
|
|
Click on the image above to visit the BCGA website and learn how to establish a registered handicap. It will help make you a better player!
|
| PGA TRIVIA | |
Most PGA wins:
Sam Snead - 82...
nickname... Slammin' Sam
Jack Nicklaus - 73...
nickname...The Golden Bear
Tiger Woods - 71...
nickname... Tiger
Ben Hogan - 64...
nickname... Hawk, Iceman
Arnold Palmer - 62...
nickname... The King
Byron Nelson - 52...
nickname... Lord Byron
Billy Casper - 51...
nickname... Buffalo Bill
Walter Hagen - 44...
nickname..Sir Walter, The Haig
Cary Middlecoff - 40...
nickname... Doc
Gene Sarazen - 39...
nickname... The Squire
Phil Mickelson - 39...
nickname... Lefty
Tom Watson - 39...
nickname... Huckleberry Dillinger
|
|
|
|
MY NEW ADVENTURE
| |
Highland Pacific...Time to toot my Horn!
As most of you already know I have just joined the Team at Highland Pacific Golf Course.
What a wonderful spot! A great golf course combined with a super practice facility is all and more than I could have asked for. Anyhow to entice you out, if you have not visited HP yet,
please find a coupon attached for a free bucket of balls to try my new digs. Please note our range is two tiers with the lower section totally covered, plus toasty heaters. Looking forward to seeing you! Click here for your FREE Highland Pacific Range Coupon P.S. Image...S.K. circa 1964 |
|
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
| |
"Happiness is a long walk with a putter."
~Greg Norman
|
| JACK SAYS... | |
 Loosening the hands at the top of the swing is a major fault of weekend golfers and a sure shot wrecker. The answer lies not in a stranglehold on the club, but in maintaining a consistent degree of firmness in the hands.
Scott says: I had a most interesting and fun experience with regard to the above golf tip by Nicklaus. I was in the golf shop one evening by myself and a wonderful gal who I knew came in to hit some balls prepping for a game the next day with her husband. When I went out onto the hitting line she asked me over to watch her hit some balls. She was simply beside herself; she either topped the ball or hit it sideways. She said, "can you help me, what is happened to my game". I said "I would take a look and try to find her an answer". I watched shot after shot....horrible!
Anyhow, I watched her closely and saw really very little wrong with her swing. It all looked quite nice....but why the dreadful shots? Then I caught it....she was letting the club go loose in her hands at the top of her swing. I told her and it was if I had touched her with a magic wand. It all took about 3 minutes. So I left her and she hit another 20-30 balls, with dramatically better results.
Another area and common complaint I see are those folks who over swing; meaning the club is going well past parallel at the top of the swing. Usually, to go much past parallel at the top it is either a by product of letting the club go in your hands, or your elbow (closest to the target) is breaking down. These problems all reduce power!
 
Closed Hands Open Hands
In the two photos above notice how the hands have opened, creating an insecure grip. (The nickname in the trade is piccolo!) Notice also as the hands open how the club itself starts to wander. You can imagine on the transition from up to down how the player will have to re-grab the club, thereby losing power, consistency and club control. A problem easily fixed with big rewards to follow!
|
|
|
|
|
CONNECTING COOL COLLECTIBLES
|
One of the more interesting types of collecting golf memorabilia is to connect items from the same place, but presented in a different medium. I have illustrated below three examples: the first is from Listowel, Ontario with a postcard of the local golf club presented on a postcard and the same image on a miniature tea pot. The second is a postcard from Clear Lake, Manitoba, with the same image on a souvenir cake plate. The third example is a postcard of the Moncton Golf Club, in New Brunswick with a miniature display vase. All of these items date back to the early days of the 20th century. It's all about marketing, just a different time, place and presentation!
|
|
SHOT PREP 101
| |
When I prepare to hit a golf shot to a green a lot of stuff goes through my head:
- What is my lie like... am I on the fairway or rough, long, short grass or none....will my ability to hit the ball be effected by where the ball sits? Are their contour concerns? ie. Ball above my feet or below, side angles, etc.
- What ground do I have to cover...am I going over any hazards, what trouble if any lies between me and the hole? ie. Creeks, ditches, do I see any hazard stakes etc.
- Where is the pin in relation to the green...is it an easy pin placement or one I should be very careful in trying to get at? How is the green protected...ie. Traps, water etc.?
- What are the weather conditions...is it windy, is it wet, are there any factors about the weather that could affect the ball flight?
- What is the yardage to the green? With fairway markers, GPS, plus hand held scopes, distance calculations should no longer be a concern. The MAJOR issue..... do you know how far you hit each club, or do you know the limitations and potential of each of your clubs?
Once all these questions have been addressed, it's time to execute. All of this has little to do with your swing motion; rather it's all about how you play the game. As I say to all my students, being clever lowers scores!
|
|
THIN AIR ZONE...THE HIGHEST TRACKS ON THE PLANET!
| 
La Paz Golf Club...Bolivia...
10,800 ft. elevation
Length - 6771 yards - Par 71
The HIghest Golf Course in the World
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club...China...
10,000 ft. elevation
Length - 8548 yards - Par 72
The Longest Golf Course in the World
Perspective...
Mt. Baker - 10,781 feet high.
|
|
2010 ANNUAL SALES OF THE MAJOR GOLF COMPANIES
| |
      
Titleist...$1.2 billion...# 1 ball - Pro-V1, #1 Shoe - Foot Joy, #1 Glove - Foot Joy.
Significant Staff players...Steve Stricker, Web Simpson, Rory Mcllroy, Adam Scott
TaylorMade...$1.05 billion...# 1 driver on tour
Significant Staff Players...Dustin Johnson, Greg Norman, Sergio Garcia, Jason Day
Callaway...$967.7 million
Significant Staff Players...Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player
Nike...$648 million
Significant Staff Players...Tiger, K.J. Choi, Charl Schwartzel, Lucas Glover
Ping Corp...Privately owned company???
Significant Staff Players...Lee Westwood, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Mark Calcavecchia
Adams...$86.3 million
Significant Staff Players...Tom Watson, Chad Campbell, Aaron Baddeley,
Bernard Langer
* Mizuno...The #1 iron on tour! MP Series. Interesting ti-bit! To hide the manufactures brand, the player will in some cases (on tour) tape over the name to hide it's identity.
|
|
STICKY LIE
| |
Click the image above for the video lesson on the 'Sticky Lie'
I had the opportunity to play Highland Pacific the other day and was confronted more than once with a tough, nasty little shot most folks including me struggle with during the round. The photo below shows the rough surrounding the green outside the apron area. This type of situation is very reminiscent of the famous T.C. Chen meltdown in the 1985 U. S. Open where T.C. hit the ball twice in a single swing . These types of shots are really tough to approach with a conventional chip shot strategy and here is what I might recommend.
Step 1... Use a lofted club like a Pitching Wedge, Sand Wedge, or 60 degree wedge.
Step 2...When addressing the ball do so in much the same fashion as a regular chip shot...with your weight 55-60% on your leading leg with an open stance.
Step 3...Critical...Place the ball back in your stance, off your back heel or toe.
Step 4...Try to have quite a steep back swing and then drop the club on the ball, this can be achieved by cocking your wrists a little earlier than standard on the back swing...(swinging more with the wrists than with the arms) much like a chop motion.
Step 5...Do not worry or try to have a follow through...I would expect your club to dig into the turf just a touch. An appropriate description would be a POP shot...ie pop it out!
Try to imagine how far you want the ball to travel in the air, how much will it roll on the ground. Expect the ball to roll quite a bit. In placing the ball back in your stance with hands forward you have de-lofted the club which will in turn create a shot with lower trajectory, thereby making the ball run more. Practice this neat little shot...it may save you a stroke or two.
P.S. Please note Dave Barr, our great Canadian PGA player finished second to Any North in the 85th U.S. Open. No simple feat!
Youtube...T.C. Chen Double Chip
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
