A Lesson in Math

Two people play a 550 yard par drive:

Player A

1 300 yd drive
1 250 yd 3-wood
3 putts
TOTAL: 5 (par)

Player B

1 200 yd drive
1 150 yd 3-wood
1 100 yd 6 iron
1 putt
TOTAL: 4 (Birdie)

Which would you rather?

~Hogie

Aloha from Jersey! Yes, I am on holiday out east, but I brought my blog with me, along with some other things like my spirit of adventure, my love of ginger ale, and my tooth brush. Today's lesson centers on the trials and tribulations of one young Mr. Matt Caminiti. The time was a little after 12, the place: Tuxedo Country Club. We began on the long, blind-tee shot of the 1st hole. A par 4. Matt made short work of it and made a 17 footer for the birdie- something he had never done before. Riding the surge of confidence, the Jersey native closed out the front with a sloppy bogey on 9, but carded a solid front 9 score... 38! Holes 10 and 11 were played and pared. Hole 12. A long dogleg left par four requires a well placed drive and an accurate approach. The swing. Left. And Hooking. Dammit. Triple bogey 7. He was clearly rattled. He said his round was over. I replied, "A round of golf is 18 holes Mattie, not 12. Finish strong." He struggled into the clubhouse with a 45. Bobby Jones said he never learned anything from a tournament he won. Learn from your mistakes. Play all 18 holes of golf.

Bear

A Good Walk Spoiled

I have a real treat for you guys tonight. We have a guest author, Mr. Eric Nelson of Chicago, Illinois. The former City Champion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUv1U0lQ7TA and long-time friend of mine shares his thoughts on enjoying this game we call golf.

Bear

“Golf is a good walk spoiled.” The words of Mark Twain that accurately describe the four hours that us golfers spend chasing a ball around miles of grass, sand, and water. Countless quotes and descriptions of the game sing a similar tune, many that are too true for a hobby that wastes afternoons and drains bank accounts. Bear with me, if you will, as I lay out a scenario and ask yourself how well it describes your typical round of golf.

8 a.m. – Arrive at the course, excited for the day.

8:30 a.m. – Warm up session at the range. Shots ranging from perfect to near shanks leave raise questions as to the on course performance.

9 a.m. – Tee time. The beginning of what promises to be an enjoyable 4 hours.

Skip ahead to the end of the front 9...

11 a.m. – Finish the front, most likely less than ecstatic over the final number for the 9. Could have been better, but a snack and drink at the turn provides the needed enthusiasm to take on the new, unmarred back 9.

11:45 a.m. – The round is progressing similar to the front. Whatever knowledge or swing flaws corrected on the front are clearly being offset by the grease from the burger at the turn. No worries. Let’s finish strong.

12:15 p.m. – Fatigue is setting in. Each swing requires an increasing amount of concentration and effort. Lies appear to be getting worse and worse. Fatigue and frustration have a positive relationship.

1 p.m. – Handshakes on 18. The 19th awaits with promises of a chair and table to calculate scores.

1:15 p.m. – Head in hands, profanities slowly tumbling from lips, the number on the scorecard seems to be climbing ever higher.

1:30 p.m. – Questions of how the round went pull answers of, “Been better.” “Wasn’t my day today.” “Can’t complain too much.” As the images of lip outs, missed greens, failed up and downs fill the memory banks.

2 p.m. – Get the hell out of the parking lot...

I’ve tried to be fairly positive with this play by play. I have had exponentially worse experiences on the course, as I’m sure many of you have. Until recently, I have been satisfied with getting my round in and driving from the course with a somewhat sour taste in my mouth. Interesting how rounds rarely end how you would like them to.

I had a revelation a little while ago after a day at the course with Bear. Having been at school for the past 9 months, I had 4 rounds of golf and 3 range sessions under my belt. The driest 9 months I can remember since I took up the game. We began the day at 5:30 in the morning. Coffee in hand, we began the hour-long drive to the course for our 7 a.m. tee time. Without a range, the day began with a session on the putting green. The crisp morning air, dew covered grass, and sun pulling itself over the horizon. It was a great day for golf, save the 30 mph wind that picked up around the 8th hole.

Being my first day back to the game, and a new swing in tow following a single session with my coach, I was overjoyed to par the first hole and be making solid contact a majority of the time. The match with Bear stretched the whole 18, with him closing it out on the last hole. I can only hope that the final score for the round was below an 85. It was not pleasant golf to watch, but was one of the most enjoyable rounds in recent memory. So enjoyable that we decided to spring for the $32 replay rate and zip around again (this time in the comfort of a cart). I bested him in the 2nd round with a birdie on 18, closing with a 79. Thirty-six holes is a lot to accomplish by 2:30 in the afternoon, and as exhausted as we were, it was one of the best golf days I’ve had.

A week later we set out again to play 18, but this time I had a different feeling about the round. I was playing similarly to our previous outing, but could not accept my poor performance. I was constantly trying to pull my spirits up, only to have them crumble with a hooked drive or blocked approach. It was a tiring mental battle that I was destined to lose.

Nubar Gulbenkian said, “It is more satisfying to be a bad player at golf. The worse you play, the better you remember the occasional good shot.” While this may not hold much weight for competitive golfers, the theory behind it stretches to all levels. Golfers with low expectations do not need much to be rewarded, whereas skilled golfers are often disappointed with anything less than perfection. Poor golfers are rarely seen scowling around the course and are often the ones laughing hardest and truly enjoying the game.
Think back to when you began playing. A poor shot was a poor shot and a good shot was reason to celebrate. Numbers at the end meant bragging rights for a few days as opposed to a reason to question one’s very existence. It is this joy that is lost when golf is taken too seriously and The Game of Golf becomes a burden rather than a game.

The point I’m trying to make is not to take the game less seriously (I spend hours working on a single move on the range), but have fun playing. Have fun improving. Be able to look back at where you started and where you are now with a smile. After every round, reflect - keeping in mind the game aspect. Four hours were spent playing a game you love with people you enjoy. Experience first, results second. Improvement adds to the enjoyment. It is not the source.

My challenge for your next round: have as much fun as possible on the course. Concentrate on each shot, but forget the outcome. At the end it will have been a great time and the number will seem secondary.

Enjoy the game.

~ Eric Nelson
Contributing Author

Yesterday

Yesterday, double bogeys seemed so far away,
Now it looks as though they're here to stay,
Oh I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I am not half the player I used to be,
There's a snap hook hanging over me,
Oh, yesterday come suddenly.

Where my swing went I don't know,
It wouldn't say.
My swing plane is flawed,
Now I long for yesterday.

Yesterday, golf was such an easy game to play.
Now, I need to find the next fairway,
Oh I believe in yesterday.

Bear/ The Beatles

Beached Continued

Let me ask you a question. What do you see more of on he beach: Bears or delicious hogies? The answer is simple, hogies (especially if we are talking Jersey Shore baby). So, let the Hogie teach you about the beach. Now, I do believe Mr. Bear gave a great outline of the Bunker shot, if you were already good at them. But, there are those (I was one of them at one time) who go to the beach and literally are so scared they are wishing for anyone to help them. Have no fear, for I am here to help (like a golf superman).

The first thing you need to do is well, pick a club. Many people automatically go with their highest lofted club (like a 60 or 54 degree), but wait. A bunker shot is like any other shot. You want to pick a club that is good for that distance. So, if you are close to the flag go with your highest lofted club. but, if you are in the front bunker and the pin is in the back, then maybe a PW or something lower would work. You don't want to pick a club that makes you nervous for the distance. You want to be as relaxed as possible.

So, the next thing, is getting you feet even with the ball. You see the pros swishing their feet side to side to get lower, uh, you should do it too. If not for the reason of it making you look profession, which is half the point. This allows you to swing on the same plane you always do. So, if the ball is way below your feet, keep digging!

Alright, so now is the big time. At this point most people ask themselves if they are going to skull it over the green 50 yards away or hit it fat and have the same shot again. But, what I think about is: if this were a chip shot what would I do? A little different than most, I have always been, but you should try it too. Imagine it as a chip (sandless) and practice that swing over the ball without hitting it (can't hit the sand or the ball, unless you want a penalty stroke). Where it should land, the height ect. This will ease your mind and make you focus on the shot. So, from that visualization, you want to make that swing at the ball.

Now it comes time for the swing. You have your "chip" specs decided. Once you can visualize the shot you are ready. The visualization will help you hit the ball, you will be amazed, it is true. Now, the ball should be in the front of your stance, but by gosh you aren't hitting that ball! Pick a spot 3 inches behind the ball which should be the middle of your stance. That becomes the ball, where you will swing. So, take that swing that will give you the chip result (the one you did over the ball).

Now, the club will hit the sand first (it better or that ball will be flying out at a speed dangerous to anyone around). The biggest mistake people do at this point is finish high. DON'T DO THAT! That is the mot common reason people skull it. You need to finish low and finish all the way. Stopping your swing at the sand will cause you to hit it fat. So, focus on hitting your sand spot, then focus on powering through the sand. Swing through the sand and hard until your swing runs out of steam. Let it happen naturally.

Obviously practice makes perfect, but hopefully these ideas will help you while you are sweating out on the beach hoping for a good outcome. But just remember, if you ever see a bear on the beach, run. Bears are not good playmates.

~ Hogie

Beached

The amatuer player, the weekend duffer, whatever you decide to call him, or her (don't want to play favorites, no that's for grandmothers and teachers) fears green side bunker shots. Hogie, I know what you might be thinking, what are you, the long hitting black bear, doing talking about short game and writing in these very long winded, wordy sentences. Maybe he's right. I am not a short game guru, or William Faulkner, but I am so slouch around the greens. "Don't sell yourself short judge, you're an incredible slouch" (Caddyshack). So, here is how to play the green side bunker shot:

1. Imagine there is a valuable jewel on the beach that looks suspiciously similar to a golf ball. You can keep it, and become the richest man (or woman) in the world, if and only if you can get it into a bucket several yards away. Ahhhh, but you can't pick it up with your hand. Dammit. Instead you have to only a golf club, a sand wedge. Instinctively, you wouldn't want to sratch the jewel, no you would splash it out. Lesson Over.

Maybe Hogie can offer you a more technically sound method for bunker play, but for now, this will suffice. Hogan, the guy from the 50's (not his reincarnated self ala Mr. Butler) would aim for green side bunkers at the US OPEN since the greens were too fast for long putts. You may not get that good at bunker shots, but... you can get pretty darn close. Claude Harmon taught hitting bunker shots with only his right hand. Gary Player practiced spinning a 3 iron from green side traps. Some players use the Texas Wedge to escape a low liped bunker. Chi Chi Rodreguez says he was born in the sand (literally he was born on the beach somewhere, no). Anyway you look at it, bunkers are nothing to fear. Children playing in the sandbox at the park tis all it is.

Bear

How to Read A Book

1. Firmly hold the book in your hands, or place the book on a desk or table, ensuring that the spine of the book is left on the sigittal axis plane.

2. Open the book to page 1., or if you like, to the forward if there is one.

3. Read across the page from left to right. Many amatuer readers (aka 1st graders) don't know what to do when they finish reading a line of text. Mmmmm yes, quite a conundrum indeed. Read the line of text directly inferior to the current line of text.

4. Read until there are no more pages to turn, or sentences to read.

5. Congradulations, you have learned to read a book- something far more useful than reading a green.

Bear

How to Read a Green

The most important part of making a putt is reading the putt correctly. In order to get the right line, you must know how to read the green so you know what the line is. Many people get down on their knees and look at the hole from behind the ball or in a spider pose like Camillo. But whatever you do, make sure you do these five things. While this is a good start, it is by no means the only thing you should do when reading a putt. Like any addictive process, it too has a 5 step process.

Step #1

Mark your ball. Use your lucky penny or a Ritz cracker like Happy Gilmore, but this is important. What this does and it mentally prepares you for the upcoming putt. Once you mark your ball, you are in putting mode. You have to detach yourself from the previous shot you hit, good or bad. It is time to putt and this is your cue to focus on that. Go to your happy zone if you need too, just don't punch Bob Barker.

Step #2

Step back lean down and check the line. Get an opening feel of the line. But, at this point your main focus should be whether the putt is uphill or downhill and looking for any big ridges. So, the uphill/downhill factor may be obvious, but sometimes it is not. You just want to get a feel for what the speed will be like. Also, look for any big ridges that will heavily influence your putt. If there are, you need to separate the putt out into two putts, having a line your each side of the ridge. We will go over this later. But, after looking behind the ball, you should have an idea of speed and also what big ridges are if your way, if there are any.

Step #3

After this, you should walk to the other side of the hole. But, you should walk on the bottom on the line. By that, I mean if you think the putt will move to the right, walk down the right hand side. This allows you to visually look at the slope, up the slope. So, while you are walking you can check out the slope. You should always be looking. Then, look at the line from the other side. This gives you a better idea of the line. You get a different perspective and this allows you to further pick your line.

Step #4a

If there are any big ridges, this step is a must. What you must do is look at the putt as two putts. Focus on a line for each side of the putt and line up the two putts as you would if they were by themselves. Also, stand where the ridge is to look at the line from there.

Step #4b

Now, after all that background research, you make a final read of the green from behind the ball like you did in step #2. This is where you finalize your line and speed. With the help of the other looks, your read should be more clear.

Step #5

Replace your ball. Now, you are ready. You should pick a line and a speed and be ready to roll (pun intended). You need to stay confident on your read and hit the putt.

So, that is the five step process. This may seem really long, but it is doable. You can start it when other people are putting and you don't need to look behind the hole for an hour like Ben Crane (he is slow, sorry, but the truth hurts). Just be respectful of place of play, but this is the key to getting a good line. Happy Putting!

~Hogie

No Love for the Glove

Of the top 50 players on the PGA Tour, only one player hits the links without a golf glove. Lucas glover defies his sirname by breaking the traditional mold. I too, in addition, choose not to sport the leather for the following reasons:

1. Golf glove$ are expen$ive.

2. They wear out fast especially in high humidity.

3. I lose them at an alarming rate.

4. If you were on a date with a cute girl, you would want to feel her soft hand against yours. Golf is the same. You want that sensual connection with your golf club.

5. Cord grips are found in the bags of champions, and in the hands of gloveless legends the world over. They make golf gloves obsolete.

6. Lucas won the rainiest U.S. Open in history without any assistance... form a glove.

7. O.J. Simpson gave gloves, of all kinds, a bad name.

8. It is diffiuclt to find a good fit, just ask The Juice.

9. Golf is not boxing.

10. Tommy Gainey. Some people just go too (two) far...

~ The Gloveless Bear

The Greatest Moments in Golf

It may be fun to hit a driver, but the greatest moments in golf have all occurred on the putting green. I mean think about it. The great joy of sinking that winning putt is show below.















Look at these great moments in golf. The first picture was Justin Leonard making the winning putt at the 1999 Ryder Cup. The second putt was Mickelson's winning putt of the 2004 Masters. The third picture in the 1969 Nicklaus-Jacklin concession in the Ryder cup. The fourth is Payne Stewart's winning putt in the 1999 U.S. Open. So you may look good by hitting the long ball, but you can can only realize that you are the champion if you, well, actually win.

So, if you still want to drive for show, then I will take the trophy and see you later.

~ Hogie who putts for trophies

Just a trend I noticed...

Hogie is a handsome gentleman, let me tell you, but on the PGA Tour long hitters are better looking than their slick putting counterparts. Let's take a look.

Some of the game's big hitters: Alvaro Quirosthe- the long hitting Spanish heartthrob. Slammin' Sammy Snead- rockin' the sweater vest. Adam Scott bitting a golf tee in a sexy manner. Aaron Baddeley's sweet looks to match his sweet swing. Mmmmm yeah! Drive for show- a great looking show.

Now let's examine some of the games best putters:

Brad Faxon: ladies I bet you want to send him a fax. Ben Crenshaw looks like a depressed mime. Loren Roberts has a girl's name. Bobby Locke sporting the ever classy scrappy mustache.

Now let me ask you... would you rather drive for show, or putt for pizza dough?

~Black Bear who drives for show

A Putting Stroke

Putting can be one of the most shameful aspects of golf. Missing a 6 inch put can put you to tears. It is rough, and more importantly embarrassing. But, it doesn't have to be. Putting can also be a great show-off too (you hear that Bear?). Making a 60-foot snake on the last hole can make you turn into a Chi-Chi sword master. But, there is no one secret nor one putting stroke. That is why the title is A Putting Stroke, not The Putting Stroke. Each person has a personal relationship with their putter and putting stroke. It is more than spiritual, it is sensual.

Everyone wants to know how to make every putt. How do you do it? Well, it my opinion there are three keys. That is it. The is no right way to hold a putter. Do what ever makes you feel comfortable. I suggest trying out a bunch of them before you settle. Take the relationship with your putter to the next level. Try new positions, why not? Spicy up your putting life a little. Ok, ok, on to the keys.

Key #1- Ball Placement

How it Works: Make sure your eyes are directly over the ball. You can check this very easily. Set up to the ball like you were going to putt. Then drop a ball from your nose, and if it hits the ball, then your eyes are over the ball, if not, continue the drill until they hit.

Why it Works: This is important because you can feel the line better. This may not make sense. But you can feel the putter going back and through on line because it is going under your head. Your head is the center of the putting stroke and putting it in the physical middle helps center the golf ball. All good putters do this. They may have a crazy grip, but even Briny does it and he has a crazy stance (see photo)!

How to ensure you will always do it: After you find the spot where your eyes are over the ball, you measure it with your putter. Measure from the ball to your feet line in terms of putter length. For me it is one and half putters. So, each time you dress the ball, you measure out from the ball your special distance and then that is where you put your feet.

Key #2- Hands Forward

How it Works: Make sure your hands are ahead of the ball

Why it Works: It is important because you want to start the ball rolling. Dribbling is good for basketball, but bad for putting and makes it extremely difficult. So by keeping your hands ahead of the ball, you have a better chance of getting the ball off to a rolling start

How to ensure you will always do it: Well, look down and check. This is easy. Just make sure your hands are ahead of the ball

Key #3- Confidence

How it Works: You will never make a putt if you don't think you will make it. So each time you stand over a putt, you need to think that you are going to make it.

Why it Works: The putting stroke can easily be changed by your mind. It is short and slow. Your mind has plenty of time to mess with it. If you think your line is wrong, or that the speed (draw weight for you curlers in the crowd) will be wrong, you will instinctively change your line mid-stroke!

How to ensure it always happens: This is tricky. Confidence comes from success and success comes from confidence. But, there is a way around it. Start with short putts. I used to putt 100 three footers a day. Once I made them all everyday, I knew I was a good putter. Allow your practice to set you up for success. Let it give you confidence, whether than means 20 straight two putts from 80 feet or making 20 2 footers in a row, do it.

That is it! You must feel like a better putter now! It is okay, I don't either. Good putting is like fine wine. Great taste is in every grape, but it just needs the proper nurturing and aging to become great wine. Everyone can be a good putter, you just have to coax it out of yourself (don't try snake charmers, didn't work for me). You will get really frustrated through the 4 putts, but you will celebrate the 40 foot birdie putts that are holed. Putting is not something that can be tackled in one blog post, but this is a start. Fall in love with putting. Lord knows its hard falling in love with humans, but putting will always be there, sometimes too much.

~ An Italian Hogie on Rye

The Golf Swing

I am about to give you the gift of distance wrapped in a parable tied together with a ribbon of comedy. Not only am I going to help you hit it father, after reading this article you will be hitting it "striaght as a farmer". The greatest tool you have on the golf course is your mind. Bob Rotella calls it your 15th club. The great Robert Jones said golf was played in the six inches between your ears. Many people interpret this quote to mean that you control your emotions and keep cool on the golf course. While this is good advice, it misses the point. Jones was saying that golf swing doesn't just happen, your brain tells your hands to swing the club up over your right shoulder (for a right-handed player) and then swing the club toward the target and all the way to the finish with your arms (by arms I mean your upper-arm or humerus bone for all you osteology student's out there). There is no such things as muscle memory; your muscles don't have brains. If they did, there would be no "dumb jock" stereotype. Unless you are aware of what you are doing, mentally, you are bound to make mistakes. It is like driving a car, you have to think about where the car is going and turn the steering wheel and press the gas to get where you want to go. Even on your commute to work, a route you have driving thousands of times, you have to have mental purpose to drive the car. We all learned to drive a car with relative easy, some of still struggle from time to time, and the golf swing is no different.

The golf swing is a swing, not a leveraging action. There is no pulling, or pushing of the club since there actions move in a line- the golf swing is a circle. Anytime the club is parallel to the ground, it must also be parallel to the the target line. This is geometry of a circle: according to the legendary instructor Manuel de le Torre, "Anytime there is a circle, it is on a plane. All the horizontal cords of that circle are parallel to each other and to the tangent on that plane that represents the target line." But a swing as no good unless it has direction. The club should be swung at the target. If you want to hit it father, swing your arms faster from the top of your backswing all the way to the finsih. The body will respond to the swinging of the club, all that is required is the mental image of the club swinging in a circle as described above and the body will assume visually pleasing positions. It sounds simple, but that's because it really is. Golf is a game that really should be enjoyed more than it is. So is backgammon, if anyone is looking for a game.

~Black Bear

Biography of Black Bear as authored by Hogie

Tyler was born in Chicago on September 1st, 1990 at the ripe age of 41. Many thought he was destined to be Benjamin Button. The only thing is rather then getting younger, he continued to age. He drank fine wine while watching classic movies. His exquisite taste grew well beyond that of the rest of his peers. That is why in the fine month of August 1999 he took up the game golf. Not just to revel in the beauty of the landscape, but also to live the life of the classic 50 year old he had become. After his rounds he has been known to take long walks on the beach while enjoying classical Bach thinking about the importance of the Central Limit Theorem. The man was a legend unlike any other. He had the classic swing of Jack Nicklaus. How could he not? He tickled (a swing that sweet would never hit a golf ball) the ball down the fairway. However, getting the ball in the hole? Well, that was for the young-ins he would say. Not for people as fair as him. He was not going to stick his beautiful hand into a dirty hole. No reason. He is all pizazz and glamour. But, as every Italian knows, dough is the key to a good pizza, just as it is a good golf game. So, I will have my pizza and eat it too.

~ Italian Hogie on Rye

Biography of Hogie as authored by Black Bear

Matt was born April 3, 1990 in Basking Ridge, New Jersey with a full beard he wears handsomely to this very day. But, this town in the Garden State couldn’t hold him, no, no for the West was calling his name. It started as a whisper, “Go west young Butler. West Texas. West Texas.” He spent his formative years bouncing between Rochester, Pittsburg, Chicago, Harrisburg, and Cincinnati. Baseball became his passion, his obsession, his Daisy Buchannan. In the summer between 6th and 7th grade Hogie took up the game of golf, began showing symptoms of OCD, and started shaving twice a day. It was a pretty big summer. Several years later, the call of the West convinced him, grabbed him by the wrist (actually fracturing his sphenoid bone) and dragged him to Dallas, Texas. The wrist injury and consequential surgery robbed the once powerful player of his prodigious length. Unable to pipe it 300 down the middle, Hogie was forced to hone his short game. Mmmm yeah, that’s what gets the ladies excited -a good lag putt. Oh yeah. Seriously, though, he is one hell of a putter. There is a saying that you drive for show, and putt for dough. Listen up Hogie, since you are an NCAA athlete, you can’t accept cash prizes, but you can show off. Using Bangworthy’s phrase if I may good sir, when the big stick is functioning well, you put on a show, you entertain, you inspire, and you realize that you are a champion.

~Black Bear

True rivals are rare, like those Pokémon cards with the stars in the bottom right corner. From my estimation, they come about only once a century, maybe less. Two champions pinned against each other driven by destiny, determined by fate- that is rivalry. History has produced legendary pairs of epic adversaries- Edison and Tesla are a classic example. Their dynamic was… um electric, sparks flew let me tell you. What? You haven’t heard of Nikola Tesla (Niki T. as he was known in less formal situations) okay maybe the names Matt Butler and Tyler Hanck ring a bell. Hmmm, yes? Macalester College? Golf? Well, maybe this blog will shed some light on these gentlemen. As for Tesla, consult Wikipedia.