The Biggest (golf) Losers (of 2009)

As we enter into a new year and a new golf season it's commonplace to talk about who the big winners were in the past year. Who won for the first time? Who won multiple tournaments? Who won by the biggest margin? I think that this is one year when a major story can be told about who DIDN'T win golf tournaments in the year. There are some fairly substantial names on this list, and I thought I'd go through some of them and discuss whether I think their trend will continue to plummet or whether they'll bounce back. For lack of any other system I'm going down the World Golf Ranking (which has a very interesting and useful site ... http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/). PADRAIG HARRINGTON, IRL (ranked 6) - Paddy's swing work is very well documented, and his 2009 is truly a tale of two separate and disparate halves. He missed eight cuts before he even got to The Open. A tie for 65:th at Turnberry was no real indication that things were changing, but then somehow his game started to click. After The Open Paddy finished in the top six eight times, but somehow failed to win any of them. Paddy is going to be fine. He has the mindset and now the re-vamped swing to compete for majors against any competitor and any odds. I expect him to have as good a year as anyone on tour. SERGIO GARCIA, SPA (12) - It was only a year ago that we were discussing the mathematical possibility that he would overtake Tiger as the world's number one. Fresh off a couple of victories at the end of 2008, he seemed primed for a great year. 2009 started promising enough with a couple of top-tens, but then he wouldn't reach that plateau again until The Open. By the time the year was done he only had seven top ten finishes to his name, with his best performances a couple of 4:th place finishes. Sergio did not look like a happy camper in 2009. His putting was off, and he's going into the new year injured. Unless he can find a source of peace for his soul he won't be able to do much with the ball, and he won't be a threat again this year. ERNIE ELS, S.AF (17) - 2009 was the first year since 1993 that The Big Easy didn't get a W, and the first time in 18 years that he fell out of the top ten in the world ranking. Eight top ten finishes was all he had to show for his 2009 season. The latter part seemed to be better than the beginning, as he was competitive in the PGA Championship and came close to winning the HSBC Champions tournament in China. Ernie changed swing coaches in 2008, after working with Leadbetter since 1990, and he has not truly regained his edge since. Ernie just turned 40, and one would have to wonder if time is running out on one of the best looking swings in the history of golf. CAMILO VILLEGAS, COL (24) AND ANTHONY KIM, USA (25) - Both are young, flamboyant players who rose to the top with a couple of impressive victories each in 2008. Both were hailed as some of the new faces in golf to challenge the old guard, but for one reason or another they failed to build momentum in 2009. Camilo only had five top ten finishes in the year, with his best being third at the Buick early on. AK had four top tens, the most memorable of which was his dismantling at the hands of Tiger at the AT&T National. Both are young enough and talented enough to bounce back and compete for majors in the next five years. The big question mark with AK is his focus. He constantly gets knocked for lack of work ethic, and for partying too much. Over the course of the year he said several times after a good round that "I've been working really hard this past month", but the end results would indicate differently. VIJAY SINGH, FIJI (26) - Like Ernie, another aging former world number one. Vijay got hurt early in the year, came back too fast, and never really recovered. Coming up on his 47:th birthday, Vijay has been holding off father time in amazing fashion, winning 10 times from 2005 to 2008, but his 2009 included six missed cuts and only three top ten finishes. It's hard enough to maintain form and health at his age, but to repair the body and regain the form is infinitely more challenging. I would be very surprised if Vijay proves to be a consistent factor at the highest level again. SO, in conclusion I guess my prognosis is good for three of these losers and not so good for three of them. Only time will tell. Time, however, is exactly what's working against some of them.

Kilted New Year's Resolution

I hope everyone in TGS and elsewhere in golf had a wonderful holiday. Mine was very low-key, but I went out of my way to re-charge my batteries both physically and mentally, and I'm ready and looking forward to a great 2010. I'm not typically one for making New Year's Resolutions, and the ones I make I normally don't keep, but for 2K10 I'm going to not only make one but make it public as well: I will write about golf consistently. I thoroughly enjoyed blogging about golf last year, and I appreciate everybody's feedback, but it was very much a roller-coaster year as far as the frequency of my postings. Some months I had as many as 15, but other months I had less than a handful.It's obviously easy to write about golf in April and June and July, when majors are on everybody's mind, but if I am to be able to look myself in the proverbial mirror I need to be able to find ideas and stories week in and week out. I need to do this regardless of whether a tournament presents a neatly packaged fairy-tale finish, or whether it's a bit of a dud. Anyone could have waxed poetically if Tom Watson would have won The Open last year. It's a lot more challenging to cover Dustin Johnson winning at Pebble in a rain-shortened tournament. Even though I'm still doing this as a hobby, I guess it's called being a Professional. To make it a craft. To be a reporter rather than a supporter. I caught a lot of the end of the year review pieces on TV and in writing, and it really bothered me how consistently broadcasters and journalists alike complained and whined about the major winners in 2009. This includes writers I have a lot of respect for. You should never lose track of the fan inside, but I feel like they were not being fans of a particular golfer, they were fans of the easy story. Kenny Perry winning his first Major. Lefty coming back from his layoff and winning the US Open. Tiger, well, any time. If you're a reporter it's your duty and job to report on what happened, not complain about what didn't happen. If you're a writer, you should be able and willing to write well about any conclusion and to extract a spirited piece even if the dominoes don't necessarily fall the way you would expect. At the core of it all, it's about the game of golf, and the game is greater than anyone in it. It always was, and it always will be. It's about putting the ball in the hole 72 times in four days. The game was greater than Bobby and Ben and Jack and Arnie, and it's greater than Tiger and Phil today.

C'mon, Man !?!!

(in the voice of Steve Buscemi) Does Tiger really think he has the right to privacy when he's reeled in hundreds of millions of dollars in endorsements? C'mon, Man !?!!

Did we really think Tiger's wall of invisibility and invincibility was going to last? Hell, even the Berlin wall fell eventually. C'mon, Man !!?!

Rumor has it that Elin aimed for the left rear window, but pushed the iron out to smash the right one. Apparantly she's been getting golf lessons from Tiger. C'mon, Man !?!

(Actually, I just made that one up)

Are we really shocked that Tee-Dub would fool around on someone as beautiful as Elin? I think it was P Diddy who snuck into the bathroom to have phone sex with some stranger while he was married to Jennifer Lopez. Billy Joel was married to Christie Brinkley, and he cheated on HER. For every astonishingly beautiful celebrity wife there's a husband who's tired of her. C'mon, Man !?!!

Did someone really say that going forward the TW on Tiger's hat stands for "The Whore" (i.e. this Rachel lounge lizard)? C'mon, Man !?!!

(I made that one up as well)

Just because you have no legal oblication to speak to the police, that doesn't mean it's a good idea (as long as you have nothing to hide). C'mon, Man !!?!

They say "Alcohol was not a factor". Why can't they just say he wasn't drunk (if in fact you tested his blood alcohol level, which they apparantly didn't). C'mon, Man !?!!

This story is just full of C'MON MANs ...

My Royal Links Experience

I'm the kind of golfer for whom the history and literary aspects of the game is a significant factor in my enjoyment of the game. I love the fact that it's been around longer than this country has, and I thoroughly enjoy the many different angles that golf writers have taken to approach this truly multi-faceted game. Having said that, Scotland's where it's at. I've studies the links thoroughly, both from a historical and competitive point of view as well as how they came about and what it's like to play them. But Scotland is a long ways away, and I don't truly know when and if I'll ever get a chance to walk those hallowed fairways. In the short term, I spoiled myself and played a round at Royal Links when I was in Vegas last month. And let me tell you this: For all of you who love Scottish golf, the people at the Royal Links REALLY love Scottish golf. There's a castle for a clubhouse. There's a Claret Jug as you pull in. There's a statue of Old Tom Morris. There's a sand trap called "Hell". There are copies of 18 of the best golf holes Scotland has to offer. There are 75 degree temperatures in October. Allright, so maybe they're skimping on some of the climatic realism, but I'm fully in favor of that.

Few objects on any golf course anywhere is as famous as the Swilcan Bridge, which players cross on the 18:th hole at St. Andrews. No golf fan can forget Jack's sentimental goodbye on his last round there in 2005 (see insert in bottom right). When I shared this picture with my dad in Sweden he promptly sent me a picture of him on that bridge when he played St. Andrews in 1996 (see insert in top left).

They take it a bit far when the tees are not red and blue but claret and royal. If I were to say that Royal Links is the Medieval Times of golf, I mean that in the nicest possible way.

But I heartily encourage you to see past what might appear to be glitchy gimmicks, because the course is truly fantastic. By all accounts, the holes are fairly authentic copies of some of the great holes we watch on the British Open every summer, from St. Andrews and Troon to Carnoustie and Turnberry.

The course is in great shape, the greens putt true, and it's a quite challenging Par 72 layout. The course record is 67, and is held by none other than Tiger Woods back in 2001.

So while I still hope for the day when I will tee it up in the true home of golf, this round did allow me to enjoy some of the good, bad, and ugly aspects of links golf.

I stuck an 8-iron to the middle of the Postage Stamp hole for an easy two-putt par. I weighed risk and reward to determine how much of the corner to cut off on the Road Hole. I got the kind of lie in a bunker where the only shot that was anatomically possible was straight backwards, and I felt lucky I had that option at all. I left a lot of shots in the deep bunkers, and lost several balls in surprising places, and was lucky to break 100. All in all it was a fantastic outing, and one I would recommend to any golfer, particularly those of you who share my fascination with the Scottish variation of the game. The only thing I would have liked to see is a copy of the 18:th hole at Carnoustie, but that's being really nit-picky.

Cute Culprit - Terminated Titleist

Our dog Gilly has quite the mouth on her, the little bitch. When we first got her, she destroyed more than a few pairs of shoes (that's what the kids get for leaving them lay around), and she'll make mincemeat out of the overpriced "indestructable" bones you buy in the pet store. As she's getting a bit older and we're getting better about keeping her occupied it's been much less of a problem. With us she is very mouthy, but incredibly gentle, and she never bites us even a little bit, so that's good. But I surely thought that a golf ball would be something she would not be able to get her teeth into. Imagine my surprise when I came home the other day and she was in the process of turning the ball into little tiny bits of scrapnel. It's not just that a golf ball is hard, but being round I didn't think she'd be able to get a sufficient grip on it, but clearly she did.

I can't review this

Over the past year, I've had the honor of reporting on the quality of various and sundry golf publications on behalf of the http://www.thegolfspace.com/ site. I've certainly enjoyed this opportunity. Before going any further, let me make sure I'd be the first to allow that opinions are like bottoms, divided, and a book (or movie, or album) that's great for one person may or may not be anywhere close to that of another person. Someone recommended a book called "How To Hit Every Shot", so I thought I'd give it a try. It outlines 101 different golf shots, and expresses methods and techniques for pulling each shot off.

If this book works for you, then I'm very happy for you. For me, I had a hard time getting over the atrocious writing and editing that allowed shot #2, "Power Fade", to reach the printed page. Maybe I'm being picky, but I just don't think this is the kind of advice we should have to pay thirty dollars for. I love your money more than that. Here goes: In the introduction to this shot the writer(s) state "Old-school instruction tells you to open your stance, point your clubface at where you want the ball to end up and then swing along your stance line. That's a lot to think about. There's a much easier way , and all you have to do is make your normal swing. Follow the instructions at right". So far so good. Sounds like they're about to lay some severly slimmed down and simplified golf lessons on us. So I read on: "Step 1 - Take aim at the left side of the fairway". Boy, this sure sounds a lot like you should "open your stance". "Step 2 - Open the face". Given that your stance is already open (or aiming at the left side of the fairway), this pretty much works out to be "pointing your clubface at where you want the ball to end up". "Step 3 - Hit the outside. Make your normal backswing and downswing." If I didn't know better, I would say this sounds like "swing along your stance line". Now, I have no problem with a writer accepting that standard, accepted golf instructions actually were the best way to hit this shot. What I do have a problem with is the fact that they presented their instructional steps as representing a new and revolutionary way to hit this shot, but then they proceeded to take the same steps that they were very quick to put down in the introduction. There may well be very valuable tips and techniques in this book, but I for one will have a VERY difficult time allowing them to sink in.

2009 Golf Turkey Of The Year Nominees

Tiger for pretending to care about promoting the sport of golf during the Playoffs, while never announcing where he'll play until the very last minute all year, giving promoters as little time as possible to advertise. Anthony Kim for wasting a year of his golf career. Every time he'd have a decent round he'd say "I've been working very hard for the past month", but you know he hasn't. GolfChannel, for shining a spotlight on John Daly's life, just as things were starting to come together for him. The USGA for their stupid first round pairings in the US Open. Any golf commentator who still claims that Tiger is rusty, even after six wins. Carolyn Bivens, for setting the LPGA back 3 to 5 years. Any golf fan who yells "Get in the whole". Golf Digest for their lame picks in their US Open Challenge. Sergio for his comments after the Masters. Politicians for grandstanding and disrupting golf tournaments. Every stupid, lazy golf writer all year who just wrote about Tiger instead of covering the actual story. Lefty, for ... nevermind ... he didn't do a damned thing wrong all year.

Talk about your dream job ...

I came across a person in a golf forum on LinkedIn the other day. The job title was "Director of Business Development at Playboy Golf".

There probably are better jobs to have, but I sure can't think of any.

"Best Golf Drill Ever"

Golf Magazine (a.k.a. golf.com) recently celebrated their 50:th anniversary with a very nicely put together special issue about golf in the past half century. One of the sections they talked about was golf instruction, and how some of the teachings have changed drastically over the years while some haven't changed at all.

(Angus Murray)

They named the "Feet Together" drill as one of their best ever. It's supposed to provide the player with significantly more distance, while also improving your balance.

I've been incorporating this drill for about a month and a half, and the results have been very illuminating:

Firstly, it's surprising how much distance I've been able to get during this drill. I lose no more than 5-10% of my distance with my irons. This speaks volumes about how UN-important is to sway or slide back and forth during the swing.

Secondly, as a result of working on this drill I've made my stance more narrow. It's now closer to hip-width than shoulder-width. I feel like this is allowing me to load up my right leg during the back swing and move onto a straight left leg during the through swing with a minimum of moving parts.

Thirdly, I've played some of my best golf in decades after starting to include this drill in my range work. This may be a coincidence, but I'm getting too old to believe in a lot of coincidences.

I may be attributing too much of my recent good play to this drill, but the drill really really feels "right".

Was there ever really any doubt?

Wow. Tiger Woods won the FedEx Cup. I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you.

(AP Photo / Dave Martin)

While he wasn't as dominating as two years ago, the outcome definitely isn't much of a surprise.

When they started talking about the design of this contest in 2007 there was much talk about making sure that a greater number of golfers were going to compete, and that it wasn't just going to be an annual Tiger Woods Bonus Program. As it turns out the exact opposite is the case, and the FedEx cup is the only tournament where Tiger is more heavily favored than in a conventional 4-day tournament. Hear me out:

Tiger's the best player on the planet; there isn't much argument about that at this point. Even so, he doesn't have the lowest score on every day he plays. He doesn't even win every tournament he participates in (it just seems like it some time). But the longer you make the contest, the more likely it is that the cream rises to the top, and Tiger is victorious.

There's little doubt in my mind that Tiger will win EVERY FedEx Cup he participates in. His domination will be so complete that when he retires they will just name it the Tiger Woods Trophy. It will be his legacy to golfers of future generations. They will all talk about "The trophy with Tiger's name on it" the same way hockey players look at the names of greats of the past on the Stanley Cup.

So, the PGA Tour writes Tiger a check for $10 million every year. Given his contribution to the growth of the tour over the past 13 years, I think that's fair. If anything it's on the low side. I will refer to this competition as the TWBP until they officially put his name on it.

Congrats to Tiger for a well played victory, and a fantastic season. Congrats to Phil for ending the domestic season on a high. And congrats to the PGA Tour for putting together a very interesting and compelling playoff system.