Tees2Greens on Golf

July 2009 - Posts

• The Real Reason Tom Watson Lost

  I read somewhere if you give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite amount of time, they could recreate anything. The following article is proof of that. I just finished reading an article in the illustrious pages of PGA.com titled "Tom Watson’s Perfect Storm of Golf." Giving the high and mighty PGA.com the respect it deserves, I must admit that I have never read such total crap since I stopped handing out golf tips myself. Eric Hogge, the PGA Director of Club Fitting and Performance started the babble with a discussion about how Tom’s Adams 18 & 20 degree hybrids were the real difference in the Scottish wind. According to Eric, the high MOI and low CoG hybrids are designed to keep the ball low while at the same time making it easier to hit under Open pressure. Thankfully, Eric gives credit where credit is due, noting that Watson is the greatest links player since the wind started blowing. Adams is a fine brand, but Tom Watson used more magic than hybrids last week. Then Dave Donatucci, PGA Director of Fitness piped in with some trainer’s dream that fitness is the answer to all that ails you. The idea that somehow Tom Watson’s recuperation from hip surgery put him in a better position to win the British Open is just silly. Had Tom replaced both hips he would not have had the mobility, strength, power, balance and flexibility that he had 25 years ago. If that were true, we’d all be lined up at the doctor’s office. Tom Watson, along with everybody else, gets old. It wasn’t his new Elvis hip that helped him navigate his way around Scotland… obviously it was his red hair and the fact that looks like a gnome. Joseph Hallett the General Manager of the PGA Center for Learning and Performance added his two cents' worth with some cock and bull story about Watson’s “return to form” and the “Watson of Old” theory. He goes on about Tom striving to return to his winning form of 25 years ago, an upright swing and fast tempo. Mind you Tom didn’t say this, but Joseph talks about how, and I quote, “Tom has the ability to compare himself to 'days gone by'" and see where his club/arms/body were at various parts of the swing and to work hard to get them back there. I guess that means that Tom waited until last week to crank up the old videotape. If it were that simple, I’m not sure why Tom waited so long, and now that he has the answer, I suppose that Tom and 150 other Champions' Tour players will be rejoining the regular tour next week. Joseph did try to redeem himself and keep his friends around the office happy with the “perfect storm” theory; new clubs, with a new hip, and a newly found understanding of his old swing is all you need to win. If this theory made any sense whatsoever, the Champions’ Tour would not exist and O. J. would still be rushing for 2,000 yards every year instead of breaking rocks. Tom Watson caught lightning in a bottle, but unfortunately the bottle only held 71 holes instead of 72… but lightning bottles are like that. Now and then Father Time and the Golf God have lunch and after a few beers they think up crazy stuff just for laughs. This is one of those times. Tom can buy new clubs, work out until the cows come home and watch videotapes until he is blue in the face and he’ll never again play better that he did last week. And by the way, Lance didn’t win the Tour de France last week either.   Posted Jul 29 2009, 03:00 PM by Sam 'Bogey' Johnson with no comments Filed under: Sam Johnson, Tom Watson

• Stewart Cink Defines the Moment in Tom Watson's Shadow

  They say that the winners write history and for Stewart Cink's sake, I hope they are right. In time, Tom Watson’s heroic efforts in the British Open will be nothing more than a pleasant memory… at least that’s what Stewart Cink is hoping. People will gather around the water cooler and talk about Tom and what could have/should have been, but only one name has been added to the Claret Jug in 2009 and that name is Stewart Cink. Granted just above Cink’s name is Tom Watson’s name… five times, but that’s another story. Why couldn’t Stewart have beaten some jerk whose name we already forgot? Why did he have to beat Mister Nice Guy, Opie Taylor in argyle, Alfred E. Neuman? You may have heard that life isn’t fair, but you figured that the only reason Gisele Bundchen is with Tom Brady instead of you is bad luck, right? Stewart Cink wasn’t lucky to have beaten Tom Watson. Stewart was unlucky that Opie in argyle was having a senior moment in the middle of what should have been his victory dance. Maybe not in 1975, but in 2009 Stewart Cink is better than Tom Watson, and that’s not luck. No one had their ball bounce off the back of Tiger’s limo and careen back onto the 18th green for a tap in birdie to win. That would have been lucky. Stewart made the putt on the 72nd hole while the entire golfing world was preparing to carry Tom Watson off on their shoulders. However, in the word’s of Roy ‘Tin Cup’ McAvoy, “When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment... or the moment defines you.” The bottom-line is that Stewart Cink made his putt on 18 and Tom Watson didn’t even come close.  They played four more holes, but they meant nothing.  The defining moment was already in the bank. In a way, I feel sorry for Stewart Cink. He’s a really good golfer. He is well spoken and polite, but he seems to have the charisma of a bridesmaid, which shouldn’t matter, except that it does. It’s that life isn’t a fair thing once again. But this time the bridesmaid won and ran out the backdoor with Simon and Garfunkel singing in the background. “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio…” For Stewart Cink's sake, I hope he looks back on this “defining moment” as the point in time when he won his first major not his only. I’d like to see him make a run at stardom and put together another ten wins and a couple more majors over the next few years. He’s not a one-trick pony, but he does need to use some of that fake tanning stuff on the top of his head. Even without hair or charisma, he’s got the game to be a star. I think he’s a guy worth rooting for, but to achieve ultimate success he may need a season on Dancing With The Stars to hone his charisma and his quickstep. Congratulation Stewart Cink. I wish Tom Watson had picked another time and place for his run at immortality, but remember you have the big check and the Claret Jug in 2009. PS: If you were paying attention, you noticed that Stewart Cink is a UST Mamiya guy (driver, 3-wood and hybrids). It’s the first major win for UST Mamiya’s new AXIVCore shaft, which is great news for our longtime friends.   Posted Jul 21 2009, 05:04 PM by Sam 'Bogey' Johnson with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Sam Johnson, Tom Watson, Stewart Cink, British Open, 2009, AXIVCore, UST Mamiya

• I’d Rather Be Long Than Smart

  I wrote this last year (10-8-2008) as if it was my choice to be long or smart. A former friend reminded me that it was not my choice and that I was neither long nor smart. I hope you enjoy the summer rerun. I’ll be back next week with more nonsense. ... I have never met a golfer that didn’t want to be long off the tee.  It’s a male thing mostly, but women are not totally immune.  You could be five foot nothing and weight 86 pounds and you would still want to be long off the tee.  Let’s face it nobody ever won the girl with a 240-yard drive except maybe Laura Davies, but that’s another story. The bottom-line is if you can swing a club, being long off the tee is the primary goal for 99 percent of us. Trust me; I am schooled in these areas.   I’ll be the first to admit, I would like to know what it’s like to play a round without reaching for a three-wood for my second shot on a par four.  When I hear the guys on TV talking about hitting an eight-iron or even a wedge for a second shot into a par-four I know that is a different game than the one I play.  I don’t know how good I would be if I never hit more than an eight-iron to the green, perhaps no better than I am now, but I’d sure like to give it a try. Which brings me to my real point.  Are the long-ball hitters on the PGA Tour having as much fun playing as I think they are?  And by fun I guess I mean making money.  Is Mr. Long-Ball being invited to all the right parties?  Is he or she counting the money in between signing autographs?  If you’ll pardon the expression, is being long all that we imagine?  The longest of the long in 2008 is Bubba Watson who averaged an incredible 315.4 yards. I’m not sure I averaged that with my first two swings.  Although Bubba did not have a win in 2008, he did have three top-tens and banked $1,509,856 big ones, which is a whole lot better than I did… a whole lot. Number two on the long-gone list with an average drive of 310-yards this year is a guy that most of us couldn’t pick out of a two-man lineup, J. B. Holmes.  Once again, our boy J. B. did not have a win, but he did have three top-tens, and when the Brink’s truck pulled up at his house he handed them $2,116,853 for his work in 2008. Robert Garrigus also poked it out there 310 yards in 2008, and I know you couldn’t pick him out of that same lineup.  For all of his work this year, Robert had only one top-ten and still made 571,702 bucks, which he’s going to need because it’s doubtful that he will keep his playing card next year. The not so famous Dustin Johnson spanked it out there an average of 309 yards, which ranked him fourth in 2008. Nevertheless, Dustin had a win and ended up packing away a cool $1,715,645 before all was said and done.  Tell the truth, even though Dustin is the nicest guy this side of Mr. Rogers, would you really pick him as your ProAm playing partner if you had the chance? Following our boy Dustin is the equally famous Tag Ridings who popped it out there 303 yards on a regular basis in 2008.  But before you trade Tag your first born for his swing you should know that our boy is also headed back to Q-school after having only one top-ten and missing more cuts than your barber. I thought it was interesting that Steve Allen was sixth in driving distance with 302 yards, and then I realized that he wasn’t who I thought he was.  Now I find out that even with three top-tens, Steve is likely not going to keep his card without a trip to Q-school. Finally, the seventh longest guy on tour is none other that Adam Scott with 302 yards as an annual average.  Granted, Adam fared better than the first six guys with a win and three top-tens; on the other hand the Australian heartthrob had one of his worst years in terms of consistency and dropped out of the top-ten world rankings for the first time in five years. Number eight on the long-ball list at 301 yards is Harrison Frazar who played the entire year on sponsor exemptions.  That’s French for he doesn’t have a PGA card.  With one top-ten and a ranking of 174 on the money list, Harrison will once again find himself without a card in 2009.  However, if he keeps snagging sponsor exemptions why go to Q-school? Number nine on our illustrious list of long-ball hitters is Anthony Kim at 300 yards even. With two wins, and eight top-tens, the Ryder Cup hero has moved into the top-ten in world ranking in 2008.  AK is long, strong and appears to be having the time of his life.  The only question Kim has to answer in 2009 is exactly how good he is.  Is he really good, or really, really good? Rounding out the top-ten long hitter list is Nick Watney who smacks it about the same distance as Anthony Kim but with very different results.  At 116 on the money list Nick will likely be able to keep his card in 2009, but he’s not committing to any long-term parking arrangements, if you know what I mean. So, with all this evidence, the smart thing for you and I to do would be to shorten our swings, keep the ball in play, and watch our game improve.  On the other hand, we didn’t get here by laying up, or by doing the smart thing did we? Swing hard and fall back… it’s the American way. Posted Jul 15 2009, 08:30 AM by Sam 'Bogey' Johnson with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Sam Johnson, Long Drive, Adam Scott, Anthony Kim, J. B. Holmes, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Steve Allen, Nick Watney, Robert Garrigus, Harrison Frazar

• The Perfect Storm They Call Turnberry

  Turnberry is almost a home game for Padraig Harrington.  A short hop over the Irish Sea, and a million miles (weather-wise) from the Riviera, Padraig is wishing the worst for the village of Maidens and the Turnberry course. "When conditions are easy," he says, "everyone has a chance. It plays to my advantage when the wind starts to blow." The forecast calls for overcast skies and a bit of rain, but none of those Scottish winds that Padraig was hoping for. However, Irish and Scotsmen alike know that whatever the weather is at the start of the week means nothing because the coast of Scotland is fickle to say the least. Ask Tony Jacklin who posted a 74 at Turnberry in 1973 and described it as "the best round I've ever played." In an effort to scare the rain suits off the Americans, Jacklin talked about how he needed a driver, a 1-iron and two 3-irons just to reach the green of the par-5 17th, now 559 yards. Imagine what it’s like when the weather's too bad to play. However, Turnberry doesn’t need rain to turn ugly. Take the 1977 Open that Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus dubbed “Duel In The Dust;” it was like a West Texas sand storm with a funny accent. At one point the players asked that the spectators be moved back to try and ease the storm they were kicking up with their feet; it was The Grapes of Wrath in argyle. In 1986 Greg Norman said he had to grab his golf bag to keep from going Mary Poppins with his umbrella, but other than that the weather was perfect. I don’t care if Ben Hogan only played in one Open because he hated the weather, the people and everything else about Scotland.  If it was up to me, I’d crank up the wind and rain until it rolls their socks down. I didn’t pay to watch a walk in the park. Okay, I didn’t pay for anything, but the point is wearing sweaters in July is as British as bad teeth. So, bring it on. Show these pansies in plaid pants what you’re made of. The last thing the Open needs is Chamber of Commerce weather, or someone named Lucas Glover to win. Still, some experts argue that Turnberry is too easy a course to be part of the Open rotation. Granted, it is not Carnoustie and Birkdale, where Harrington won the first two legs of what so many Irish are hoping will be a hat trick. But if the weather gods decided to party with the golf gods Turnberry will hold its own. I suspect that Tiger and every other non-Scotsman is hoping for clear skies and gentle seas beside soft fairways that welcome high, soft shots that are the trademark of the American tour, and that may very well turn out to be the case. On the other hand if the Irish Sea comes calling, Harrington may very well be the first person in almost sixty years to win three in a row. That would be fun to watch. By the by, you can follow the Open on Twitter and FaceBook this year and you don’t even need a computer if you have an iPhone, which also has an Open App you can download. What would Old Tom and Young Tom think? I, on the other hand, will slip into my kilt, light a fire, crank up the 50” TV and order up a haggis pizza. I love the Open, and because I like you, there will be no pictures of me wearing a kilt. Posted Jul 08 2009, 07:09 AM by Sam 'Bogey' Johnson with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Sam Johnson, Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Greg Norman, British Open, 2009, Turnberry

• The Ying and Yang of Summer Golf

  Thousands of years before the first round of golf was completed and someone asked for more strokes next time around, the Chinese believed in the ying and yang of life. It is said that for every happy moment there is a sad one, and for every winter there is a summer, etcetera, etcetera, so forth and so on, and whatever.  Not to get too David Carradine on you, but golf is full of ying and yang moments. While the folks living in areas like Bethpage, or Minnesota, or the North Pole are complaining about the rain chilled weather, I myself just finished a round where the temperature soared above 100 degrees all afternoon. In other words, while you were freezing your ying, I was baking my yang. See how that works? They say that only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun, but in Texas only mental patients and morons like me play golf mid-day in the summer. Why would anyone play when the temperature gauge is higher than your I.Q.? The answer is in the question, Grasshopper.  But, there are secrets to playing in the heat like always park the cart in the shade. My playing partner once accused me of standing too close to him just to benefit from the breeze created by his backswing. Pish, posh. Driving the cart at maximum speed is also helpful, especially if you take off your hat and let the breeze turn your due into a Bozo The Clown hairstyle. Another truism of summer golf in Texas is that the beverage cart is always somewhere else. Once again; while someone is cooling their ying, you are frying your yang.  Sweating while playing golf in Texas is a given, and as you might expect, sweating creates multiple problems. First of all you get sweat rings in the most awkward places. Everyone expects to have sweaty armpits, but when the temperature reaches 105 degrees you find yourself sweating in your back pockets and noticing a trickle of sweat running down your leg. Let’s face it; sweat will make your hair crunchy among other things. Perhaps the most dangerous sweat is the one that collects the sun block off your forehead and rolls down into your eyes. Only those of you that wear contacts like I do know what real pain is. There are additional perils to consider when the temperature tops out in the triple-digits. For example never flop down on the seat of your cart if it has been standing in the sun… especially when you’re wearing shorts.  The medical term for this predicament is fried butt, but I won't bore you with the technical stuff. I’ve seen semi-grown men scream like little girls after sitting down on a hot cart seat. It is an experience you always remember.  It is also a bad idea to grab a club from your bag if it has been sitting in the sun. The same applies to a club that you laid on the ground while you were putting.  Does the term hot horseshoe come to mind? And if that wasn’t enough, the heat and humidity will also steal yards off a perfect drive… I hear. Perhaps the guys at Augusta National have the right idea closing the course for the summer, or perhaps the only time to play golf in the Texas summer is at 6:00 A. M., which means you're up with the chickens, or out all night with the boys, neither of which is all that appealing. By now those of you who live closer to the North Pole than me are making your way around the course and sweltering in 85-degree weather trying to understand why someone who lives in a place where you can play golf 11 months a year is complaining. It’s that ying and yang thing once again. For every smile there is a frown, and for every Minnesota day when only morons and Eskimos consider playing golf there’s a day in Texas when I’m glad that I don’t live in Minnesota. Posted Jul 01 2009, 06:55 AM by Sam 'Bogey' Johnson with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Sam Johnson, Texas, Summer Golf