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October 2013 - Vol 5 Issue 6 Vancouver Island, British Columbia
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Please "CLICK" on the YouTube logo above to visit my YouTube Channel and video lessons.
There are 5 topics:
~Sand Play
~Simple Alignment
~The Fairway Trap Shot
~Putting Basics
~Sticky Lies...Chipping
Check out these easy to follow golf videos. Give it a try...a path to better golf!
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THE EDITORS TEE TIME | |
First tee gift - paper weight
In 1975 I was invited by CFL football greats Jackie Parker, and Frank Rigney to venture south to play in their (parent) corporate Pro-Am in Monterey, California. The event was sponsored by Confidence Golf Clubs; Frank and Jackie had the Canadian distributorship for Confidence. The Pro-Am was set over 2 days...the first day we played the Old Del Monte Golf Course, and the second day Laguna Seca Golf Club. Both facilities were excellent and the Pro-Am was truly something to remember.
It was a real eye opener for me, as the field of players sported various Movie Stars, Football/ Baseball greats and PGA tour players. I remember being at the practice trap
hitting sand shots next to PGA veteran George Archer; George won 13 PGA events, 19 Senior PGA events and the 1969 Masters. Was I in good company or what????
Old Del Monte Golf Course
Each evening after the game all contestants were invited to the hotel for a deluxe buffet banquet with all the desired
trimmings. In the convention room they had set up two hitting nets, with an assortment of new "state of the art" Confidence clubs to try. I recall hitting some drivers into the net and a lady coming up to me and telling me how much she liked my swing.... but thought my shoulder alignment needed tweaking. Hello...who is this? She was a very sweet gal... she was Donna Caponi; World LPGA Hall of Famer...winning 24 LPGA events including 4 majors. (Donna was married to Ken Young, the President of Confidence U.S. at that time.)
Laguna Seca Golf Club
Anyhow, to conclude, I did not play that well, but I surely had a fabulous time. Frank and Jackie were wonderful hosts and they treated me like a king! Thanks also to the American reps for hosting such a memorable tournament. PGA Tour player Forrest Fezler was the eventual winner. If you have not been there, the Monterey/ Carmel area is a beautiful golf destination, with lots of great courses and "Pebble Beach Golf Links" to top it all. All part of my golf journey!
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THE EMPRESS... |
Post Marked...November 25, 1911
If you speak to most folks in Victoria I would think it near unanimous The Empress Hotel is the most commanding and significant iconic structure in town. Built between 1904 and 1908, The Empress was designed by Francis Rattenbury...B.C.'s most famous architect. The inner harbour location was a perfect setting for the hotel, given the Canadian Pacific Terminus located right at their doorstep. Some interesting facts about the hotel:
a. The original Edwardian design was built between 1904 and 1908...additional wings were added until the hotel's final completion in 1928
b. The current hotel presentation has 8 floors, with 477 rooms & 3 restaurants
c. The hotel was earmarked a Canadian National Historic Site in 1980
d. The two photographs below clearly illustrate the reclaiming of the land and the dramatic transformation of the mud flats surrounding the hotel location...the photo on the left would be from the angle of the Pacific Coach Line Station.
The Mud Flats The Retainer Wall
e. The hotel has been host to Kings & Queens and a long list of noted celebrities
f. The land was originally gifted to the CPR by the City of Victoria
g. Due to the uncertain stability of the (muddy) ground, the hotel foundation was strengthened by 50' pilings reaching into the blue clay below the hotel structure
h. The name was connected to Queen Victoria, the Empress of India...( ie. The Bengal Room) Afternoon tea has been celebrated since opening day...January 20, 1908
The Empress Hotel & GOLF in Victoria...
With Victoria Golf Club dating back to its beginnings in 1893, golf in the city would certainly have taken on a different complexion with the addition of the Empress Hotel. It is from this perspective I am particularily interested; with special attention given to the considerable national marketing done by the CPR for golf accommodation situated on Vancouver Island.
With television not being introduced until the 30's, (and still limited until the 60's) print ad and radio were the major advertising venues. The CPR was famous for their wonderful promotional posters and exquisite art work depictions of stylish holiday destinations. The CPR railroad and CPR ships, plus sales offices located across Canada and around the world were perfect venues for the poster presentations to "get the word out". What I find especially interesting about the message is how the hotel navigates the golf consumer/reader to embrace "golf year around" in Victoria.
Further to my comments regarding Golf & the Empress... for a good number of years
the hotel hosted an Empress annual golf event. Iillustrated below are two examples from my collection dated 1934 & 1940; the hotel tourney was circulated annually between Victoria, Uplands and Royal Colwood Golf Clubs.
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Dating back to the early 1900's, the William Mills Standard Golf Company of Sunderland, England produced a wide variety of aluminium mallet style putters. Please note in the illustrations below the putters included both lie and weight stats on the sole of the putter. It is a marvel to think in the early 1900's such detail and precision was being presented to golfers...custom golf indeed!
Sir William Mills (inventor..1856-1932) ) was famous for not only aluminum putters (and aluminum woods) but also the making of hand grenades....his munitions company, based in Birmingham supplied 75 million grenades to Britain and the allies for WW1. He founded the first aluminum foundry in Britain in 1885, and was a marine engineer by trade.
In viewing the putters above there are a few noteworthy details worth highlighting. Both putters are of mallet design...certainly not the norm as most were blades; both putters are hickory shafted with aluminum heads. Both examples show the trade mark registration and number, plus the style of putter and manufacturer's location. Both putters define weight and lie angle on the sole of the putter, both have directional indicators; lastly both putters illustrate clearly "bore through" technology...this meaning the shaft has been drilled through the extent of the head depth for greater security.
In the last two photos above I wanted to show both the facial scoring, plus the heel/ toe weighting. For putters dating to the early part of the 20th century, a lot of "smarts" were obviously applied to their making.
p.s. Check out the "PIPE" trademark symbol on the heel of each putter... very neat indeed!
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FROM THE LESSON TEE...
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DO YOU HIT THE BALL TO THE RIGHT?
I have been working with some students recently who have been hitting the ball (high) right. This shot can sometimes be referred to as a "block shot or push". The first question I ask the student is "what do you think the face looked like at contact". Not too tough a question...the simple answer... "open". It should be noted most golfers think because you hit the ball (high) right means you are a slicer, this is not always true; in most cases the problem can be found in your (tardy) release action, (and not the standard cutting across the ball in an "out to in" swing path as one might suspect). So how do we fix this? I check the Grip first...it most commonly is the root of the problem. A poor grip may be prohibiting you from releasing the club correctly.
Nick Price Davis Love lll Nick Faldo
Above I have illustrated images of Nick Price, Davis Love lll and Nick Faldo at waist height on their follow through from 3 different photo angles. Please notice the positioning of their arms; notice in particular the forearms position in the 2nd frame down. Certainly the similarities are remarkable! For a simple test, do a reflection test on yourself in front of a mirror or big window; compare the PGA tour player image to yourself. Better yet, take a video of your swing with your cell phone. On a comparative basis, you may be surprised as to where you are at!
One can easily notice Nick Price's swing plane is a touch flatter than the other two gentleman. I suspect the answer might be Love & Faldo are both 6' 3" tall and Price 6'.
An interesting training idea I use a lot is making a golfer swing the club with his hands spread apart 3 or 4 inches; this allows the player to FEEL the release action of the arms/hands through the hit zone...a real wake up call for some golf swings that must seem stuck! Lastly, believe me, to make all this work an excellent grip makes finding the appropriate release position much easier to find. A great grip should allow the player to see one or two knuckles of the top hand when looking down...... the lower hand should be on top of the grip with thumb over. If you are not sure....ask your CPGA Professional!
Nick Price Davis Love lll Nick Faldo
Above are illustrated the three players respective grips. As one can see, notice the knuckles of the left hand (showing) and the position of the right hand. Notice in particular the right hand on top and the placement of the right thumb...a real tough one!
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NIAGARA ON THE LAKE
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Just recently I acquired this lovely card titled On the Golf Links, Niagara on the Lake dated 1906. I think the postcard is a real beauty, especially given the colourful "patriotic maple leaf" surrounds and the "only Canadian" beaver image at the top. As one can see from the header, Niagara on the Lake claims to be the oldest surviving golf club in North America, dating back to 1875; Royal Montreal makes the same claim dating from 1873. The distinction lies in the operative word..."surviving"; The Royal Montreal Golf Club was moved in 1896 to it's second (of three) locations in Dixie, a parish of Dorval, Montreal.
One of the educational and intriguing parts of collecting postcards is to connect the photo with the ephemera "story line" on the backside. In this case the card was mailed to Mary Gilmore in Blunt, South Dakota on August 6, 1906. Blunt was established in 1880 by the Chicago Northwest Railroad; its primary function was a terminus for settlers moving to the west in search of government allocations of land grants to early settlers. The 2010 population census for Blunt was 354.
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STATS... PGA MONEY EARNED PAST AND PRESENT
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With the 2013 PGA Tour now in the history books, I thought It might be interesting to do some comparative work re money earned. The numbers I have recorded would "only" reflect winnings in official PGA sanctioned events.
Top Earners in 2013...
1. Tiger Woods... $8,553,439.
2. Henrik Stenson... $6,388,230.*
3. Matt Kuchar... $5,616,808.
4. Phil Michelson... $5,495,793.
5. Brandt Snedeker... $5,318,087.
6. Adam Scott... $4,892,611.
7. Steve Stricker... $4,440,531.
8. Justin Rose... $4,146,148.
9. Zach Johnson... $4,044,509.
10. Jordan Speith... $3,879,819.
It is worth noting the last player surpassing the $1,000,00 mark in 2013 is #82 on the list, Brendan Steel...he earned $1,004, 161.
* It should be noted The FedEx Cup $10 Million jackpot is not considered official money
Top Earners historic...
  
2010...Matt Kuchar... $4,910,4772005...Tiger Woods... $10,628,0242000...Tiger Woods... $9,188,3211995...Greg Norman... $1,654,9591985...Curtis Strange... $542,3211975...Jack Nicklaus... $298,1491965...Jack Nicklaus... $140,7521955...Julius Boros... $63,1211945...Byron Nelson... $63,3351935...Johnny Revolta... $9,543 * * To perhaps bring things into perspective the average cost of a new (U.S.) home in 1935 was $3,450. The average yearly salary was around $1,600. A new car in 1935 was approx. $625. Surprisingly, the biggest year recorded was Vijay Singh in 2004 recording $10,905,166. Tiger Woods has recorded 3 years exceeding $10 Million in earnings. Tony Jacklin Hale Irwin Jimmy Demaret
Another facinating stat is the individual winner's purse at each of the major venues...
2013...The Masters...winner's purse $1,440,000 (Adam Scott)
2013...U.S. Open...winner's purse $1,440,000 (Justin Rose)
2013...British Open...winner's purse $1,442,826 (Phil Mickelson)
2013...PGA Champiuonship...winner's purse $1,445,000 (Jason Dufner)
1990...The Masters...winner's purse $225,000 (Nick Faldo)
1990...U.S. Open...winner's purse $220.000 (Hale Irwin)
1990...British Open...winner's purse $153,850 (Nick Faldo)
1990...PGA Championship...winner's purse $225,000 (Wayne Grady)
  
Bobby Locke Billy Casper Ben Hogan
1970...The Masters...winner's purse $25,000 (Billy Casper)
1970...U.S. Open...winner's purse $30,000 (Tony Jacklin)1970...British Open...winner's purse $12,600 (Jack Nicklaus)1970...PGA Championship...winner's purse $40,000 (Dave Stockton) 1950...The Masters...winner's purse $2,400 (Jimmy Demaret)1950...U.S.Open...winner's purse $4,000 (Ben Hogan)1950...British Open...winner's purse 300pds (Bobby Locke)1950...PGA Championhship...winner's purse $3,500 (Chandler Harper)
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GOLF INSTRUCTION with SCOTT |
2013 FALL LESSONS
Golf Instruction is available on all facets of the game.
All lessons include video and an e-mail summary.
Not to forget...PLAYING LESSONS are available too. Highland Pacific is a fantastic venue for Playing Lessons. I look forward to hearing from you! Cheers!
Our toasty "stall heaters" are ready for action!
Call or e-mail to arrange your outing!
Let me build a corporate outing for you at Highland Pacific!
Email: scottkeenlyside@hotmail.com
Website: www.highlandpacificgolf.com
Highland Nine... Hole #5
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Good golfing to all!
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