Who Won? Huh?

Jeremy Lin is all the rage in the NBA these days. About to be cut, he came off the bench to play some of the best ball at his position and help elevate the bottom-of-the-barrel New York Knicks to a legitimate playoff team. Adding to his unbelievable ascent and growing legend is that he is an American of Asian descent. That's a first in the NBA.

Well the PGA has it's own version of Jeremy Lin. His name is John Huh and he is tearing up the PGA out of nowhere in Lin-like fashion. Huh started his rookie year making the cut at his very first start, finishing top 15 in his next two starts, and winning in his fifth start last weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Like Lin, Huh was born in America to Asian parents. Huh played at Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, California where he wasn't even the best player on his team. He was a virtual unknown on the junior golf circuit because of limited financial resources. After high school, Huh attended California State University, Northridge but left after two weeks due to scholarship ineligibility after the NCAA changed a rule. Huh turned pro in 2008 and played on the Korean Tour before qualifying for the 2012 PGA Tour by finishing T27 at Q-school. Huh has the hottest rookie start on the PGA Tour since Tiger and he's well on his way to the 2012 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honors. So it appears that there are a lot of similarities between Lin and Huh. However, unlike Lin, we probably won't have to endure all those annoying puns!

Kyle Stanley: His future is so bright, he's gotta wear shades!

Sunglasses do more than protect your vision. In poker, they prevent your opponents from seeing where you eyes are looking and can hide certain "tells". In golf, they can hide your feelings and emotions and elevate the intimidation factor. Probably no one used this more effectively than David Duval and his Oakleys.

But I realized something else about sunglasses when I was viewing coverage of Kyle Stanley's meltdown during last week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines: sunglasses can change a person's appearance completely. When I viewed Kyle's official page on the PGA Tour website, I just about did a double take. Just compare the picture above to the one below from the PGA Tour website.
I swear that it's the same dude. He's like golf's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! Let's hope that he can overcome his latest heartbreaking loss with a win soon. He deserves a win with his game.

2012: Year of the Tiger Dragon?

According to the Chinese calendar, 2012 is the year of the Dragon and begins on January 23. In the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon is the strongest sign. According to chinesezodiac.com, "Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition. Dragons prefer to live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful. They’re driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. They’re passionate in all they do and they do things in grand fashion."

Does that sound like a certain feline golfer we all know? But Tiger's birthday is today and just missed being born in a dragon year by a month. Born on December 30, 1975, Tiger is technically a Wood Rabbit, a sign sandwiched between the Tiger and the Dragon.

Clearly, the Chinese calendar is slightly off. 2012 will be the Year of the Tiger for a number of reasons. First, Tiger will be well over 2 years removed from that fateful Thanksgiving car crash that sent his life spiraling out of control. Not having TMZ camped in front of your house will do wonders for your golf game, or so I'm told. Second, Tiger will start the year with a new looper on his bag, Joe LaCava. Dropped in mid-2011, the acerbic Stevie Williams has since proven to be a petty, bitter old man with the maturity of someone one-tenth of his age. This is hardly the kind of person who could be a positive influence for Tiger (good luck Adam!). Third, Tiger starts the year fully healthy. Extensive injuries to his knee and Achilles' tendon over the last several years made it virtually impossible for him to play anywhere close to his full potential.

But most importantly, Tiger's full swing is due to return to greatness. Historically, it takes Tiger around two years to fully incorporate a major swing change. Butch Harmon oversaw Tiger's first swing overhaul during the 1997 season that intended to sacrifice distance for accuracy. It took almost two years for Tiger to get comfortable with the changes that resulted in perhaps the greatest season in golf's history in the year 2000. Tiger started another major swing change in early 2004 under Hank Haney's tutelage. The intent of this change was to lessen the stress on Tiger's left knee. Again, it took almost two years for Tiger to adopt this change following a one-win 2004 with two major wins in 2005. However, Tiger never looked completely comfortable with Haney's single-plane concepts and began working with Sean Foley in the summer of 2010 on yet another swing revamp. If history repeats itself, Tiger's new swing transition will be complete by mid-2012.

In fact, Tiger's swing development may even be a little ahead of schedule. His swing over the tail-end of 2011 looked fantastic. More Butchie and less Haney, Tiger's swing is producing more power and more accuracy. As a result, Tiger was in contention more often and culminated with a win at the Chevron World Challenge.

So there looks to be a lot of positives in store for Tiger Woods next year. Go ahead and toss that inaccurate Chinese calendar in the trash. According to the Grouchy Golf calendar, 2012 is the Year of the Tiger. Happy birthday Tiger but you'll have to wait until next year to open your gifts. But the wait will be worth it because I think one of them might be an ugly green jacket!

Golf Tips - Hands Ahead of the Ball

A couple of weeks ago, my golf swing went through a little rough patch where I was making poor ball contact with my longer irons. Having played this godforsaken sport for so long, I knew that it most likely had to do with something basic. Well it did. After double-checking all the basics, I discovered that my hand position had drifted from the ideal position. From a first-person perspective looking down at my club, my hands were just a little too far to the right (for a right-handed golfer). As a result, I was losing the critical hands ahead of the ball impact position to achieve proper ball contact.

Once I got my hands back to the proper setup position, good ball striking returned. Here's a good photo (except for the barrel distortion caused by the wide-angle lense) of the ideal positions for a 4-iron courtesy of Mr. Woods:



There are two positions from this photo that I try to replicate when I look down at my setup position:

1) Left hand covering the left knee - When I look down, I like to see my golf glove covering my left knee. This ensures that the hands are positioned slightly in front of the golf ball and not too far away from the body. The left foot and the golf grip should form a "V".

2) The golf shaft is angled back to the ball and the clubface is square to the target - This creates a bit of an angle between the shaft and clubface. Visually, think of a hockey stick. It is important to return to this position at impact. I like to imagine pulling the club into the ball as a simple swing thought to reinforce this crucial hands ahead of the ball impact position.

If ball-striking with your irons is poor, try this tip and see if it improves. Let me know if it does!