Golf in the Olympics

Usually, I spend the Monday posting a recap of the professional tour action that takes place around the world. But today is different. Why? Because it's a Leap Year... February 29th and this only takes place once every four years. It's sort of like the Olympics, which of course we are going to be seeing return in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. For some golf fans around the world this is an exciting time and for others... it has meant a lukewarm reception.

The Olympic Trophy Canada's since 1904

In my case, I am in the latter group. As a golfer and fan of the game I do find it at least a little bit intriguing. But there is a bigger part of me that really isn't a fan of the notion. It isn't because we'll be seeing professional golfers (as opposed to top amateurs) compose the field that has little to do with it. After all, spectators do deserve to see the best athletes in the world and for the most part this does mean professional athletes taking part. I take great pride in sticking to my guns and dating back to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta I remember seeing players from the NHL take part. It was weird seeing Andy Moog play in net for Canada. Honestly, I didn't really like it. Up until then hockey and the Olympic Games was seen as a strictly amateur event. Although many argued that the Red Army teams of the Soviet Union were professionals. But what did it do? It led to the NHL seeing a bevy of players start emerging into the NHL from countries like of Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic and Slovakia respectively) and then after the Soviet Union fragmented, players from Latvia, Lithuania and Kazakhstan started to arrive. But how does this tie into golf in the Olympic Games?

Photo Courtesy of: CollectionsCanada.ca

I have never considered hockey to be a worldwide game and I am sure that the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) has never claimed the same. However, as much as the powers that be try to convince the public that golf is a worldwide game.. it simply isn't. If you look at the parameters for qualifying the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has limited the field to 60 players on both the ladies and men's side. The IOC is also using the Official World Golf Rankings of both genders. The top-15 automatically gain entry in the games however, the number of players per country is capped at 4. Also gaining entry are those players from countries outside of the "15" that do not already have two or more players among those  players in the "15". So what does that mean? If you were to look at the rankings right now on the Men's side of things... approximately 28 countries would be represented although not worldwide golf would be well represented. The Sochi games in 2014 saw 12 men's and 8 women's teams respectively.

So the thought that I have is this. How does golf in the Olympics differ from any stop on the LPGA Tour, PGA Tour or European Tour? Is it necesary? Would it help to #GrowGolf in impoverished countries?

Until the next tee.

Chilling Epiphany

In the words of "The Beatles" the route of my journey playing golf as a professional has been a "Long and Winding Road". The constant changing tide, ebb and flow that has been the total re-construction of a golf swing and I've commented before about the "blood, sweat and tears" along the way. Playing through major swing changes and not trusting my swing has led to poor tournament results up to this point. Even still I have no regrets. I've always said that everything I'm doing now was for when I turned 50... and beyond. There is no doubt that I've learned a ton about the golf swing (thanks to my coach) and about myself. At times, I would be shown things one day and then when I did those exact things the next day... it was wrong. "No... not like that you dough head" would be one of the terms of endearment that I would hear from my coach.

Over the last little while I have been in a real groove with my swing where for the first time since this adventure began I truly feel comfortable with my swing. My swing has become so finite that I can finally feel and tell when anything real minute is just a little bit out of whack causing poor strikes. Being able to identify the causes for your misses is an important thing to be able to accomplish. As I sit here in my recliner lounging in my CHASE 54 t-shirt and scrubs, I'm actually laughing to myself thinking about how many different "cause and effect" issues I've been through, which makes me think about something coach told me way back at the beginning. He said "When we're done... Alex you're going to be able to fix anything on the fly that you encounter because you will know your swing.. and the golf swing so well". Dare I say... he was right and it explains why at times he had my head screwed on backwards.

Then today occurred... I had a chilling epiphany. Since I've gotten comfortable with my swing I have also made a couple tweaks of (and on) my own through experimentation. Since the most recent tweak I have really unlocked my best ball striking to date. The striking is crisp and pure as evidenced by the ball marks on my clubface. So then I came home and went on Youtube to further investigate my eureka moment. Sure enough, I saw a correlation between what I've been doing and several PGA Tour stars and the legendary Ben Hogan. Now, there has been speculation and different theories about "HIS secret" through the decades and by no means am I suggesting that I have discovered it. But what I will say is, this correlation has worked for my swing and it might be "My Secret". Chilling.

Until the next tee.

Bubba Bombs It 'Round..No Wins? Not Fore Nomura

It's that time of the week. The post weekend re-cap of action seen on the professional golf tours around the world. 

Starting with action from Pacific Palisades, California and the home of the famed "Hogan's Alley". The PGA Tour visited the historic Riviera Country Club home to the Northern Trust Open. While viewing the action over the weekend from my little hacienda, it looked like the conditions were benign and according to the players the course was in pristine shape. A testament to the superintendent and his staff. All weekend long the the first couple of pages of the leaderboard was absolutely star-studded. Names like Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Ryan Moore and Adam Scott headlined those pages. The action was as fast and furious as the finish at the Daytona 500 (which if you haven't seen it... was great).  

As the day wore on the plot thickened. First there was Rory who was there all weekend in his first appearance at Riviera. But he would have a rough back nine on Sunday en route to a final round 75. But he did create a little bit of magic on the 18th when from the fringe he made a 21 foot putt for birdie. Just prior to that though, it was Adam Scott who would really dialed up the drama. After an approach that ended up past the pin and into the greenside rough, Scott capped off a late charge by chipping in for birdie. The chip was hot and was looking to run way past the pin when it hammered the pin resulting in the hole out and a share of the lead.  So the stage was set for Jason Kokrak and Bubba Watson to play the 18th. A bogey for Watson would lead to a playoff with Scott and a par or better would secure the victory. After the dust settled Bubba would hit the G.I.R and two putts later he was the winner taking home a cool $1.2 million.

Meanwhile, "Down Under" the ISPS Handa Australian Women's Open was being played in Adelaide. The tournament saw a course record on Thursday set by Korean (raised in Canada) Soo Bin Kim who fired a blazing 63. As the tournament wore on names like Korean Jenny Shin, Canada's Brooke Henderson, Australian Karrie Webb, World #1 Lydia Ko and Japan's Haru Nomura were filtered to the top of the leaderboard. The 23 year-old from Tokyo, Japan would hold off a red hot Ko who fired a -5(67) and World Golf Hall of Fame golfer Karrie Webb who struggled all day on the greens on the way to a -1(71). Nomura though, wasn't to be denied her first LPGA victory on the strength of great putting. In fact, she only had 26 putts in the final round where she shot a -7(65) for the victory by 3 strokes over Lydia Ko. With the victory Nomura became the first Japanese golfer since Chako Higuchi in 1974 to win the Women's Australian Open. 

Photo: Golf Digest

This week the focus shifts onto the first stop of the "Florida Swing" as the PGA Tour stops in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for the Honda Classic. Meanwhile the LPGA Tour stops in exotic Thailand for the Honda LPGA Thailand.

Until the next tee.

Fundamentals

Too often I've seen it or talked to golfers about their swing issues. Yesterday, while in a practice session I was working next to a 23 year-old athletic type that also works with my coach. He's a relatively new golfer but I think that he could be a terrific golfer. Unlike me, he's young and is not cursed with "T-Rex arms" but the struggle was definitely real yesterday. Thins and fats aplenty were his demise. Misses that I have struggled with at times as well. I was asked by my coach to keep an eye on him to make sure that he was getting enough down turn on the way back. His shoulder turn was definitely sufficient and for the most part he was staying "centered" throughout the swing and through the ball. So I'm watching him and then I saw something that I've struggled with until I really targeted the issue late this summer.

All too often golfers get caught up in trying to solve a miss that they're encountering, but they actually don't know what the real reason for the miss is. So they start searching for a fix, whether it's through watching Youtube or reading a golf publication. Suddenly, they are just inundated and develop "paralysis by analysis" often making things worse because they are looking for an issue that's far too grandiose. Frustration on most occasions sets in.

Always remember to check out your fundamentals. Fundamentals like grip, posture and ball position are three key fundamentals that if not paid attention to can most likely be the root cause of the miss. It's very easy to become complacent and not even think about them. In Brandon's case yesterday it was the grip. I noticed his grip in his top hand and he was very much in the palm. This issue causes a few things which really is a "Domino Effect".

1. Tightness of the hands creating a lack of wrist hinge
2. The same tightness makes you pull the club back with your hands as opposed to turning back with your shoulder.
3. Because you have pulled back with your hands, you now have made a bad situation worse by now introducing a "lateral shift" pulling you off of the ball.
4. Your brain and body react and now your shifting back towards the ball in an effort to compensate.
5. Now at the point of impact you either "flip" the club head as your bottom hand takes over causing a thin hit or more likely you hit it fat as your body is clearly on the "downrange" side of the ball.
6. You finish... not in balance.

Just think... all of this because of one fundamental being a little bit off. Golf is a constant reminder of "Newton's First Law of Physics"... For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. Remember golf is supposed to be fun and you can only have that if you have your... FUNdamentals.

Until the next tee.

Acceptance

Why is it that when things are new to the game of golf they are so hard to accept? It really doesn't matter if it's new fashion, a new swing methodology or if it's the debate of working out and it's place in the game. There is always a flip side to a coin... you know the head to the proverbial tail? It's this ongoing "struggle" that makes for great conversation by the water cooler. Here is my take.

Starting with working out and the game of golf. It was in the news this week when Brandel Chamblee of The Golf Channel stated he knows that it (golf) is in a different era and that he was concerned about Rory McIlroy and the degree to which he was working out after Rory posted video of himself performing squats in the gym. Concern that Rory was rapidly bulking up which could be detrimental to his career down the road. Mr. Chamblee is definitely correct in saying that it's a different era. The days of looking like Joey Sindelaar, Tim Herron or Craig Stadler are for the most part gone, Remember when Tiger was lanky and lean? Then, from almost seemingly nowhere he started to look like a linebacker in the NFL. I think that fitness definitely has a place in golf. Golf has become big business and student athletes playing golf in college have gotten bigger and faster like almost every other sport. Look at hockey... remember when a big hockey player was 6'0"? Today, that is no longer the case. But it is in my opinion that working out and golf has to walk a very fine line. In my experiences when I've gotten bigger my swing changed (the vice versa can occur too) but I can tell you this much. I had more power, got longer and more importantly I felt great. Brandel let Rory decide what's best. Working out never hurt World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player.

Fashion. If there is one part of the golf industry that has seen a ton of growth it definitely has to be the golf apparel business. This is a fact that is quite evident when attending the PGA Merchandise Show. The number of booths present for just apparel is hard to describe other than to say that it easily occupies a third of the exhibition hall. But still, it's a hot topic for debate. Remember when the mock neck caused a stir? Much of that had to do with the aforementioned Tiger Woods. It was edgy but did it ever look athletic...on him. Then there was the advent of Loudmouth Golf. Just when you thought that it was safe to come out after the infamous "Tabasco" polos worn on tour... out came this brand. Loudmouth has readily gained acceptance among golfers and personally speaking I love the brand. It's fun and fresh. I admit that I have talked about Rickie Fowler a fair amount recently but the shockwaves that he has sent through the golfing world this January has been earthshaking. The styles that he is wearing from Puma Golf has been talked about since the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. High Tops and "inspired by" jogging pants bottoms. Say what you will (and many will disagree) but the high tops are here to stay. You know that there will be a plethora of "millenials" and junior golfers that will adopt the fashion. Look at the chukkas that Nike Golf  just released. There is a way to "grow the game" and part of that is to introduce cool, cutting edge fashions that appeal to the next generation of golfer.

New swing methods. Why is it that every time a new swing methodology or thought comes out it's met by naysayers who do nothing but try to destroy it? Why is it that the golf swing has to be a "cookie cutter" where everyone has to be the same? We saw this a few years back when Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett introduced the "Stack and Tilt" swing. Similar cynicism was met in 2015 when David Leadbetter introduced "The A Swing". I have bought and read the e-book and I had the opportunity to discuss it with Mr. Leadbetter himself and one of his top guys from the Leadbetter Golf Academy (Ron Grotjan). Mr Leadbetter clearly states that it is not a swing methodology as it's an alternative way to achieve a repeatable back swing. I have dabbled a lot with it and I will be talking about it more at length in the future but the premise of this swing is to make the back swing easier... and it does. I will not elaborate more on the subject as I will be writing an article about my findings. But here we are again a new idea and cynics arise. Tripp Isenhour of The Golf Channel is sort of trying to debunk the swing stating that the backswing is "too vertical" which could lead to issues with not enough rotation. Well Mr. Isenhour there is no need for concern as the rotation and flattening of the plane is very easy to accomplish. The golf swing as we know is as much "down turn" as there is "horizontal turn". Has being too vertical hurt the careers of Jim Furyk or Ryan Moore? If the "A Swing" makes achieving a repeatable swing a little easier which might help grow the game than why not? Not everyone has hours of each day to work on their game. 

Until the next tee.