Will Tiger Ever Win Another Major?

After many unTiger-like performances this year, the media has already written the guy off as a has-been. In fact, one writer has gone so far as to proclaim, "Tiger Woods will never win another major championship again." Any true followers of this maniacal game knows that this is ridiculously premature. Sure, Tiger has played badly this year. But isn't that entirely understandable? He's been the subject of one of the salacious scandals in sports history at a time when tabloid headlines rules the news. If that wasn't enough, he's had to go through a divorce proceeding that took away a major chunk of his massive change.

But to say that these major life-changing events somehow permanently erased Tiger's golf superpowers is just absurd. Tiger was still competitive in many of the tournaments that he played during the year. In my opinion, his swing looks great, maybe even better than before the infamous 2009 Thanksgiving Day crash. He just needs to get comfortable with new swing changes and return to form with the flat stick. It was obvious that this is the weak spot when Tiger switched putters for the first time in over a decade at the British Open. But Tiger has been one of the best putters in history and it's just a matter of time before his touch returns. Now that his divorce is finalized and the tabloids are moving on to the next flavor of the month, expect that time to come sooner than later. In fact, I confidently proclaim that Tiger Woods will win another major championship again!

Best Investment of 2010: Wedges?

With the economy still in shambles, it's difficult to find a decent investment these days. All the usual suspects such as stocks, bonds, and commodities all look about as promising as Lindsay Lohan staying sober. So what is the savvy investor supposed to do?

I say buy wedges. Yeah, you heard me right. You can thank that meddling USGA. I've concluded that their sole guiding principle is to make golf more difficult and less enjoyable for the "bad" of the game. Their latest impediment to the much-needed growth of the game is a new ruling on club grooves. In effect, the beloved U-grooves/square-grooves that let us back up the ball on the green like a tour pro will soon go the way of the dodo bird. As of January 2011, "Manufacturers can no longer manufacture products with the pre-2010 grooves and can no longer ship products with the pre-2010 grooves. Retailers can continue to sell clubs shipped to them before this date as conforming clubs indefinitely." As the laws of supply and demand dictate, this sudden reduction in supply with a steady demand will result in a rise in price. Cleveland Golf has even launched a dedicated website, Year of the Wedge, to recognize (and capitalize on) this unique situation.

Keep in mind that wedge grooves become ineffective much faster than any other club. I've read recommendations to replace wedges every 15-20 rounds! So even if you don't plan on selling a pre-January 2011 wedge for a future profit, you should stock up on them to last you before they may become outlawed altogether by January 2024.

I've already made my investment. I bought a TaylorMade TP wedge with xFT. The cool feature of this model is the exchangeable faces. Once the grooves wear out you can simply replace the face with a fresh set of grooves. It is both economical and eco-friendly. I bought 3 replacement Z-groove faces for the cost of one wedge. I'm expecting a solid return on this investment in some form!

Rain Pours Through Sun Mountain

I'm a huge fan of Sun Mountain golf products. They have repeatedly won me over as a customer with such novel golf innovations as the stand bag, Dual X-Strap and the Speed Cart. Unfortunately, Mother Nature literally rained on their parade at the 2010 Ryder Cup this past weekend.

If you didn't hear, Sun Mountain provided the rain suits for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Initially, the gear was panned for their gawd awful looks. Butch Harmon quipped, "They are the ugliest things I have ever seen." But really, hasn't ugly golf attire been somewhat the norm for Ryder Cup teams? Not a surprise to me since it appears that the only qualification for designing and selecting the team's wardrobe is to be married to the captain. But so what about fashion? When it comes to rain gear function over form is paramount. Anyone who has had to play golf in the rain knows the utter misery of playing in wet clothing. Not only is it uncomfortable but it can adversely affect your play.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Ryder Cup team experienced this firsthand since their Sun Mountain rain suits possessed neither form nor function. They were found to be about as waterproof as one of Lady Gaga's fishnet tops. Their leaky gear had to be ditched in favor of generic off-the-rack digs bought from a merchandise tent. What a debacle! It's quite simply an excusable failure by any measure and a huge blow to the manufacturer. This is certainly a low point for the company but it got even lower when, in classic "kick 'em when they're down" fashion, the manufacturer of GORE-TEX issued the following statement:

"It's unfortunate that the U.S. team at the Ryder Cup was not wearing uniforms with the GORE-TEX® brand, especially if the faulty gear ultimately interfered with performance," said Yvonne Erickson, marketing leader at W.L. Gore & Associates. "Gore has rigorous uncompromising standards in place to ensure that our products are of the highest quality, to back up our Guaranteed to Keep you Dry® promise to consumers. Gore and Sun Mountain Sports parted ways in 2006 and, therefore, GORE-TEX® brand technology was not used in the rain jackets and pants worn by the U.S. team this morning. We hope that the U.S. Ryder Cup Team will be wearing uniforms with GORE-TEX® product technology in the future."

Hopefully this epic disaster doesn't dampen Sun Mountain's hard-earned reputation as a producer of quality golf products. I've owned two stand bags and a Speed Cart and I've been 100% satisfied with their quality and performance. I'm still a fan and I'll continue to buy their products as long as I play golf.

The Sport With the Most Ridiculous Rules

I have always thought that the creator of the Rules of Golf must have been some sort of mentally challenged sport sadomasochist. Isn't the feat of rolling a ball into a tiny hole from hundreds of yards away using only sticks hard enough by itself? I guess not because there are a plethora of rules to make this darn sport even more difficult.

All the golf rules ruckus right now is over Dustin Johnson's 2-stroke penalty for grounding a club in a hazard during the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The controversy is that Dustin failed to recognize that his ball lay in a bunker because the crowd had been standing in it and trampled it down. Sure, it wasn't clear that his ball lay in a bunker, but it was a bunker none the less. Because he grounded his club prior to his shot, he violated USGA Rule 13-4: Ball in Hazard; Prohibited Actions of the Rules of Golf.

However, my problem isn't with the determination of a bunker or other hazard on a golf course. My beef is that there is a rule about grounding your club in the first place! Grounding your club is just a natural resting spot for your club before you swing. Why should it be any different in a hazard? Isn't it penal enough to have your ball lay in a hazard? But more to the point, is there really any advantage to grounding your club? It's not like you're allowed to tee the ball up. I have been playing this godforsaken game for over 15 years and not once did I feel that not grounding my club in a hazard materially affected my shot. I'm sure that Dustin would have had the same result with his 2nd shot on hole #18 if he had not grounded his club in the bunker. The rule prohibiting grounding of the club anywhere is just asinine to me and is just one of the many rules that should be stricken from the Rules of Golf.

In the end, this is just another instance of why golf is often the laughingstock amongst the sporting world.

Is There a Free Drop From the Propeller?

To take advantage of the 4th of July weekend half day Friday, my friend and I scheduled an after-work tee time at our favorite local executive muni, Penmar in Venice, CA. It's a great little track that is always in great shape with lots of challenging holes. The only real downside to this course is that it is located within a stone throws away from Santa Monica Municipal Airport. Lots of small planes take off right over the golf course and can be a distraction. But after a while you get used to it and accept it as just background noise.

The night before our tee time we were shocked to discover that a small plane had crashed near the 8th hole. Apparently, the student pilot lost power on his ascent and the plane dropped like a rock. Unfortunately, he died but luckily no one else was hurt since golfers were still on the course. I guess it was bound to happen.

I assumed that the course would be closed the following day after such a tragic accident. However, we called the next morning about our tee time and the grumpy starter told us it was business as usual. They had already removed the wreckage! We played our round and indeed the only evidence of the crash was broken tree limbs and that police yellow tape surrounding the area. Air traffic was normal, if not even more busy than usual. It's just amazing how quickly things can return to normalcy.

Tiger Getting Mickelsonized?

Tiger finally returned to golf at the 2010 Masters. After a humiliating scandal, it was obvious Tiger had to change his ways in the public eye to win back certain golf fans. And that's what he did. Tiger walked without blinders on, acknowledged the crowd at every opportunity with that Cheshire Cat smile, accepted gifts from kids, and actually signed some autographs. In other words, he was acting like Phil Mickelson.

"Acting" is the key word. The whole world now knows that Tiger isn't such a great guy. But I never thought that he was to begin with. Now that he's suddenly become Mr. Nice Guy on the course, it strikes me as completely disingenuous. Are people really buying this crap?

But the vast majority of people are suckered into a public image. Phil Mickelson has made a career of it. I have a golf buddy who is a member of Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. Mickelson happens to be a fellow member. According to my friend, the real Mickelson is 180 degrees from his carefully-crafted public persona. I've heard stories that will rock any Mickelson fanboy's world.

What I liked about the old Tiger was that his public persona was reflective of his true personality. The old Tiger was a cold, focused and ruthless competitor full of "I'm the best ever" confidence. In short, I prefer wolves without sheep's clothing. Phil is just covered in wool.

But how does this all translate into cold hard cash? Contrary to what many believe, Tiger raked in the mega sponsorship dollars because he won and won in unbelievable fashion, not because of some wholesome family-guy image. If that were the case, guys like Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker would be the faces of corporate America. The proof will be when Tiger goes back to his winning ways. I bet the sponsorship money will return en masse.

Golf Gods Strike Mickelson?

During the final round of the 2010 Masters, a strange thing happened to FIGJAM Phil. On the par-5 second hole, Mickelson rolled a birdie putt on the perfect line to the hole. But just as he putt, a piece of debris landed directly on the line and threw the ball off course.

Coincidence? I think not. The announcers claim it came from a pine tree, but there wasn't a tree within 100 yards of the hole and the wind was calm. I think that the Golf Gods were watching from above and dropped a morsel from their party mix onto the green. Whether it was by accident or intentional, it certainly came from those heavenly arbiters of the game! Regardless, it's just further evidence of their existence.

See it for yourself:



But in the end, the Golf Gods struck down Tiger for his Philandering ways by letting his arch-nemesis win his favorite major.

You Want To Give Me Golf Advice? Wait ‘Til The 19th Hole!

My golf blogging friend Pat "GolfGurl" Mullaly was kind enough to write the following grouchy golf observation for us:

It’s a fascinating phenomenon: golfers always want to give fellow players advice — especially guys giving advice to women. What makes a guy think I need advice right in the middle of my round?

I’ve been playing the game of golf for years, and though I am not a great golfer, I enjoy the game as much as anyone. I love being outside, enjoying the good weather, enjoying the good company, enjoying all the little things that make a round of golf so much fun. I especially enjoy the little sounds that are part of the game: the pure, clean “thwack” sound of a great drive that goes right down the middle of the fairway; or that sweet sound of the ball as it hits the back of the cup. The sounds I can’t abide are the mumbles and side remarks of my male golfing partners giving me advice — often, bad advice, as I play my next stroke.

I play twice a week, one day with three guys, the second day with three women. Advice is always forthcoming from the guys, seldom from the women. It must be some sort of protective instinct that males have built in, — trying to give me advice that will help me “survive” my round with a decent score. The women I play with don’t care about my game unless I am playing as a team member in a tournament. Then, I hear strategy, suggestions, and advice—but it’s directed at the group and at how we are going to manage the hole. It’s not about one player’s style of play. With guys, it’s different. Even the clunky players think they know best.

Unsolicited advice drives me nuts. If you want to give me advice on the way I play golf, first ask if I even want to hear it. I may, or may not. If I agree to receive your wise words, then wait ‘til the end of the round, meet me at the clubhouse, buy me a drink and I will hear you out. Just don’t do it while I’m playing. It’ll probably ruin my round, and you wouldn’t want to see that happen, would you?

Submitted by Pat Mullaly
Editor, GolfGurls.com
http://www.golfgurls.com
The Resource Site for Today’s Woman Golfer

Tiger Woods Got Famous...

The Tiger Woods scandal has long overrun its course, IMHO. To me, it's just another story about a somewhat normal person who became corrupted by the trappings of fame and fortune. Irene Folstrom, his ex-college girlfriend describes the pre-famous Tiger as a normal college kid who was "so human and cared so much about other people and the world around him." Considering he attended Stanford, he was most certainly on the nerdy side of things as well.

But when your hommies go from Screech and Urkel to Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, it's safe to say that your world is turned inside-out. Add in to that mix the universal praise and adoration for being the "best of all-time" and it's understandable how Tiger felt invincible. Yeah, Tiger messed up. But the failings of such self-righteous public figures as John Edwards, David Vitter and Eliot Spitzer are far worse. These guys were supposed to be our moral leaders and instead became the faces of hypocrisy.

Tiger has made his public apology, so it's time everyone moves on. No offense to the rest of the PGA Tour but it's been a real snoozefest without him.

Is Phil Mickelson a Cheater?

Phil Mickelson has long been rumored to be one of the least popular players amongst his peers on the PGA Tour. But now his popularity is dipping to new lows over his use of 20-year-old Ping Eye2 square-groove wedges that sidestep the new groove rule. "I don't like it at all, not one bit," Rocco Mediate said. "It's against the spirit of the rule...We have to get rid of those clubs, because they're square grooves - what else can you say?" According to Scott McCarron, "It's cheating, and I'm appalled Phil has put it in play."

Readers of this blog know that I'm no fan of Phil, but in this case I believe that he's getting unfairly crucified. In my opinion, it's perfectly fine to play golf with anything that the USGA deems to be legal. Heck, if the Iron Byron was legal, I'd be the first to use one. Since all square-groove Ping Eye 2 irons manufactured before April 1, 1990 are legal, Phil didn't do anything wrong by putting them in the bag. The USGA agrees. "The clubs are usable where USGA rules apply," said Dick Rugge, the USGA's senior technical director. "The rules speak for themselves and show it's not cheating to use them."

So the critics of Phil need to back down. He's certainly not cheating. If people have any beef, they should redirect their rage at golf's governing bodies. But more interestingly, I think that this controversy sheds light on other issues. For instance, what does all this say about golf club technology? The message I get is that 20-year-old technology is better than that of today. I've long believed that iron performance improvement through technology is limited and this is further validation. My conviction was so strong that I put a set of Mizuno MP-14s in my bag about a year ago. These irons are about 18-years-old and play just as well as my much newer Nike Blades. I'd hate to work in the marketing department at any golf club company when consumers watch that the pros are opting for clubs made two decades ago!