Break out the bottles of rioja, senores y senoritas, it’s time for a Kim vs. Allenby rematch in Spain. Yes, only a few weeks after the infamous “sideways” comments Robert Allenby made about Anthony Kim following Kim’s win in the President’s Cup singles match, the two are poised to face each other again in the semifinals of the Volvo World Match Play on Saturday.
Here’s an idea: On the tee, let there be a number draw, as in sudden death. Whoever draws number one gets the option of the following: the winner of the hole gets to do a shot of the alcoholic beverage of their choice, or the loser of the hole gets to do a shot of the winner’s alcoholic beverage of choice. At any rate, by the end of it, the issue of who plays better “sideways” will have been resolved, and it could prove for a very entertaining 18 holes.
Since I know one of the players involved, but not both of them, I’ll reserve judgement on who the winner might be!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Picks: Viking Classic
Fall Series picks can be more challenging than the “regular season”. With a lot of the bigger names in the game shutting it down around September, the fields of the later events often elicit a lot of “who’s he?” That said, here are my three picks for this week’s Viking Classic in Mississippi.
Rickie Fowler. Is there any player on the Tour who’s got more of the “hot hand” than Fowler right now? The 20-year-old, who has only played a handful of events as a professional, has two top-10's in his last two starts. If his form continues, he may join the elite ranks of players who are able to qualify for full Tour membership in their first full year without having to go to Q-school.
David Toms. Toms is one of the strongest players in this not-so-strong field. He has seven top-10's so far this year. Is there any reason not to pick him?
David Duval. Yes, you read that right. After several years as a punchline, Duval’s game is coming back, and he’s currently at 125th on the money list. But for those who analyze potentially meaningless trends, there’s another reason to pick Duval: two of the three Fall Series events so far have been won by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Matt Kuchar at Turning Stone, Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open). Could DD make it three out of four for the Ramblin’ Wreck?
Rickie Fowler. Is there any player on the Tour who’s got more of the “hot hand” than Fowler right now? The 20-year-old, who has only played a handful of events as a professional, has two top-10's in his last two starts. If his form continues, he may join the elite ranks of players who are able to qualify for full Tour membership in their first full year without having to go to Q-school.
David Toms. Toms is one of the strongest players in this not-so-strong field. He has seven top-10's so far this year. Is there any reason not to pick him?
David Duval. Yes, you read that right. After several years as a punchline, Duval’s game is coming back, and he’s currently at 125th on the money list. But for those who analyze potentially meaningless trends, there’s another reason to pick Duval: two of the three Fall Series events so far have been won by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Matt Kuchar at Turning Stone, Troy Matteson at the Frys.com Open). Could DD make it three out of four for the Ramblin’ Wreck?
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tip: Fixing what's broken
I was talking to a friend of mine recently, following a tough round on the course, and he announced that he had to “fix” his swing. This is probably the twentieth time he’s mentioned this in the last year, and in fact he has spent a lot of time, energy, and money over the past several months trying to do just that. I’m sure he’ll keep saying the same thing for the next several months, as results won’t get much better for one very simple reason: his swing is not what his problem is. From tee to green, for a player of his level, he is at the high end of average in terms of distance and accuracy. The problem is, he is an absolutely terrible putter, both in terms of reading the line and in reading the speed of the greens. And for all the resources he’s pouring into “fixing the swing”, he’s not spending time dealing with the putting.
My tip of the day is pretty simple: if you’re working on your game, fix what’s actually broken. If you’re not sure what the problem is, keep track of your statistics: how many fairways do you hit, how many putts do you take, etc. If one area seems to be especially out-of-kilter, work on that area. If you’re still not sure, ask a trusted friend, playing partner, or coach if they see a particular area of your game that especially needs work. Let your practice focus more on what YOU need to work on, not on the latest gimmick on the market or the latest tip you read in a magazine or online, or saw on TV (unless, of course, it relates to your special area that needs attention). It’s simple, and it’s bound to get more results than trying to get better by fixing what isn’t broken and ignoring what is.
My tip of the day is pretty simple: if you’re working on your game, fix what’s actually broken. If you’re not sure what the problem is, keep track of your statistics: how many fairways do you hit, how many putts do you take, etc. If one area seems to be especially out-of-kilter, work on that area. If you’re still not sure, ask a trusted friend, playing partner, or coach if they see a particular area of your game that especially needs work. Let your practice focus more on what YOU need to work on, not on the latest gimmick on the market or the latest tip you read in a magazine or online, or saw on TV (unless, of course, it relates to your special area that needs attention). It’s simple, and it’s bound to get more results than trying to get better by fixing what isn’t broken and ignoring what is.
This week's congratulations
Castello Masters: Congratulations to the Castello Masters Champion, Michael Jonzon. The big Swede fought off a double-bogey at 15, a bogey at 17, and a hard-charging Martin Kaymer, finishing with a long birdie putt at 18 for his first victory since the Portugese Open in 1997.
Nationwide Tour Championship: Matt Every won the Nationwide Tour Championship to secure his PGA Tour card for 2010. Every was a former collegiate star at the University of Florida, who later appeared on Golf Channel’s “Big Break” series. Now he’ll be appearing on GC as a PGA Tour member.
Frys.com Open: Troy Matteson, 131st on the Tour money list going into this week, won the Frys.com Open to secure his card for 2010. Matteson blew a 2-shot lead in regulation, then came back to defeat former collegiate superstars Jamie Lovemark and Rickie Fowler on the second playoff hole. Lovemark had the shot to remember, however, when his second shot on the first playoff hole found the water hazard, then bounced OUT of the water and onto dry land; has anyone ever seen THAT happen before?
Nationwide Tour Championship: Matt Every won the Nationwide Tour Championship to secure his PGA Tour card for 2010. Every was a former collegiate star at the University of Florida, who later appeared on Golf Channel’s “Big Break” series. Now he’ll be appearing on GC as a PGA Tour member.
Frys.com Open: Troy Matteson, 131st on the Tour money list going into this week, won the Frys.com Open to secure his card for 2010. Matteson blew a 2-shot lead in regulation, then came back to defeat former collegiate superstars Jamie Lovemark and Rickie Fowler on the second playoff hole. Lovemark had the shot to remember, however, when his second shot on the first playoff hole found the water hazard, then bounced OUT of the water and onto dry land; has anyone ever seen THAT happen before?
What's in a name?
My Twitter name is also walking26 and recently someone asked me, "Why walking26?" There are a number of reasons, but for the purpose of this golf blog, the answer is: 26 is the average number of holes that I walk during a tournament round, 18 following a group, plus 8 more to either catch a few other players or to find the parking lot.
So, by way of introduction: to say I’m a bit golf-crazy might be like saying Tiger Woods is a pretty good player. I mainly follow the PGA Tour and the European Tour. I try to attend as many tournaments as my schedule will permit, which in 2009 was 5 (WGC-CA Championship, The Players Championship, HP Byron Nelson Championship, St. Jude Classic, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational).
This blog will be a mix of golf-related things: some opinions on events (on-course and off-course), tournament results, pre-tournament predictions for those who play fantasy golf (and post-tournament results of predictions, in the interest of humility), life lessons from the course, stories from some of my adventures, and anything else that might fit in. I hope anyone who may read this will enjoy!
So, by way of introduction: to say I’m a bit golf-crazy might be like saying Tiger Woods is a pretty good player. I mainly follow the PGA Tour and the European Tour. I try to attend as many tournaments as my schedule will permit, which in 2009 was 5 (WGC-CA Championship, The Players Championship, HP Byron Nelson Championship, St. Jude Classic, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational).
This blog will be a mix of golf-related things: some opinions on events (on-course and off-course), tournament results, pre-tournament predictions for those who play fantasy golf (and post-tournament results of predictions, in the interest of humility), life lessons from the course, stories from some of my adventures, and anything else that might fit in. I hope anyone who may read this will enjoy!
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