January 2006

In the last couple of weeks I’ve changed my putting grip and I’ve started to strike putts purely for the first time…ever.

They stay on line and my distance control is much better. The only thing I have left to work on is my aim. It changed my aim, due to the fact that I’m more upright and my eyes are farther out over the ball.

The article, along with a photo, is on page 48 of the February edition of Golf Magazine.

Here’s a link to the same article on their website.

I had always used a finger grip, like the full swing grip. Wrong !

I’ve also changed my setup at address for the full swing. I got it from a Tommy Armour tip from long, long ago. Like from the ’50’s. I’m trying to find a way to show you the photo. Maybe the book’s in the public domain and it’ll be okay to show you. When I get clearance ( as in not violating the copyright ) I’ll show it to you. Might take a week to research it, but I’ll find a way.

Stay tuned for further updates.

This week the Champions Tour was playing at the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii. I’ve been watching the coverage on The Golf Channel.

Via their website :

” Among the finest in all of Hawaii, the two championship courses at Turtle Bay Resort, the Arnold Palmer and George Fazio Courses, have achieved legendary status. Such is the quality of the golfing experience that the PGA and LPGA have selected the site for prestigious tournaments. The PGA Champion’s Tour, Turtle Bay Championship will take place on the Arnold Palmer Course through 2008. “

” The natural topography of the resort’s 880 acres creates a breathtaking variety of vistas for each course. From fairways in dense ironwood forests to greens on the edge of the ocean, golf achieves its purest expression at Turtle Bay Resort. “

There’s way too much available to you at Turtle Bay for me to try and describe it here.

From fine dining, to immaculate accomodations, to world class spas, to….well, it could go on forever.

Click thru to their website and if you go, send me a towel !

During the Buick Invitational, the 2 longest drives on Sunday were Tiger at 329 yards and Bubba Watson at 326 yards.

You gotta remember that around San Diego, this time of year, the air is moist and heavy and it was cool, as evidenced by us being able to see their breath, in closeups.

Tiger played like the champ he is, Jose-Maria fought like a UFC streetfighter and Nathan Green hung in there, despite the desire of his system to choke, under the pressure.

Congrats to Tiger, as he wins for the first time as a 30 year-old.

Maybe next time Bubba will get him !

My new unofficial quest in golf blogging is to try and keep up with Bubba Watson and his golfing existence.

Why ? ‘Cause I like Bubba. Simple as that. Never met him, but I used to live on Pensacola Beach and have been thru Bagdad ( yes, it’s spelled that way ). Went thru there while riding around looking at the countryside, with emphasis on country, and searching for The Farmer’s Opry in Chumuckla.

My family and I used to be Friday and Saturday regulars at The Opry and loved Bagdad, a small lumber town in the Florida Panhandle. By the way, if you see anybody from The Sawmill Band, tell ‘em we said ‘ Hey ! “.

Bubba’s a lot like I used to be with a golf club in my hand, hit it hard, go find it and then hit it again. Bubba’s got more game though, as he’s a legend around Pensacola.

They say people will show you a spot on a golf course and say ‘ Bubba hit one here one time when we was playing ‘.

Bubba probably didn’t play with them, but why let that stop a good story.

Look for more Bubba Watson news as I find it and I wish Bubba well.

Bubba, if you or you’re wife would like to do your own blog, contact me and we’ll help you keep the world up-to-date on Bubba and his launches !

In an email I just got from Golfsmith, I noticed this shaft band for PURE’d golf shafts.

I build a lot of clubs, I reshaft a lot of clubs and I test a lot of clubs. I can say without any reservation that I believe in the process by which shafts are PUREd. I can also say I don’t necessarily believe in the process by which shafts are ‘ spined ‘. Seems to me to be a poor-mans PUREing. For those that don’t have the ability or technology to PURE a golf shaft.

My driver, a NIKE 410cc, got a lot better, straighter that is, and a tad longer after I installed a PUREd Graffalloy ProLaunch Blue shaft. A little higher launch, which I wanted, a little less harsh feeling and more power directed at the ball at impact. Or that’s the feeling I get.

My wedges are straighter and my irons get me more greens in regulation.

You don’t have to believe, but golf is a game of confidence and $10 added to the price of a shaft when I buy it is cheap confidence, to me.

Now, all I have left is my 3 wood and a hybrid 3 iron from Adams.

Gonna go order those shafts and buy some confidence.

I recently had the good fortune to play this course for the first time. It’s now tied for The World’s Best $25 Golf Course.

I love winter rates !

It’s on the north side of Evansville and it’s on top of a windy hill. The links style course coupled with the rolling southern Indiana hills made for an awe inspiring view. The clear blue skies, the grain silos, the dormant corn and bean fields were just the salve for my golf tortured soul.

It’s a fairly new development and the large, beautiful houses NEVER ONCE CAME INTO PLAY !

With the course being a links style, they should never be a factor and they weren’t. There wasn’t a tree to eat any of my golf balls, either. There is a fair amount of water, but I’ll chalk that up to American links style, versus the way they do it over the big water.

After my round I went into the temporary Pro shop and talked to a couple of the guys. They were incredibly friendly and helped me with my desire to figure out what kind of grass was on those wonderful fairways.

Turns out it was a mixture of 2 different kinds of zoysia. My favorite fairway grass, by the way.

This blend reminded me of the dormant zoysia in the Phoenix area, where my friend Gil Bezy retired to.

I never got 1 bad lie, in the fairway, and the greens were in pretty good shape for January 26th.

I love big, wide open fairways and these are now on my list of favorites.

There’s a lot of sand, by the standards of most courses in this part of the USA. It wasn’t over-bearing, but it kept you honest. It was packed down a bit, from the recent rains, but I hit the best fairway bunker shot I’ve ever hit, so I’ll not complain.

The par 3’s were fair, but challenging. There was a mixture of yardages and they required some thought.

The par 5’s felt LONG and I loved it. I got nowhere near any of them in two and I’m a fairly long hitter. Maybe the 47 degree weather had a little to do with it.

The par 4’s seemed to all be over 400 yards, but looking back at the scorecard, as I add it to and enter my score at NetHandicap, that wasn’t the case.

There’s still a lot of good home sites and it looks like it’s gonna be a great place to play golf on a regular basis, so if you’re near Evansville and you love golf and you hate trees on golf courses, this is the place to be.

If I lived there, this would be my new golf home !

I’m looking forward to inviting some of my Louisville friends to drive over for the weekend and I’ll teach ‘em about links style golf, Evansville style.

Oh, by the way, the proximity of this course to Stoll’s Restaurant is a big plus, in my book.

Head over to their website and then drive over and enjoy a great round of golf at a reasonable price.

Tell ‘em Mike sent you and maybe they’ll give me a deal the next time I’m there !

Did any of you happen to read the article about John Jacobs in the February edition of Golf Digest ?

Not only was the article a great read, the golf swing advice was exactly what I needed to read after a period of not playing much due to the weather.

When I don’t play on a regular basis, my swing gets funky and gets there fast !

Mr. Jacobs advice was exactly what I needed to see and read. Although I’d rather it had been during the day, rather than 11 PM on a freezing cold night.

I’m sure if anyone had seen me, they’d have thought me crazy to be in the yard, in the dark, when it’s 32 degrees and swinging a gap wedge !

His methods and thoughts about the swing are simple, yet profound, so if you find yourself in need of a quick tune-up, buy one of his books, go by a school or find some way to get his thoughts into your golfing brain.

After one run thru, my swing is tighter, more compact and feels like money !

I just found this Ted Robinson, Jr. designed golf course, via Golf Magazine. It’s a short trip north of San Diego and carved from the wetlands overlooking San Luis Rey Valley.

This 6,271 yard par 71 track is a tight dude and requires something I’m not famous for….thought and golf in the same day.

Apparently, even though the course winds thru a development, the houses don’t really come into play. Here’s something all developers should copy. No house should ever be in play on a golf course.

From their website :

” With most of the fairways and greens of the Ted Robinson Jr. designed Arrowood Golf Course set adjacent to protected natural riparian habitats, the solitude of the picturesque countryside will enhance the golf experience. Comforted by coastal breezes and a year-round mild climate, players of this 6,721-yard championship course will feel as though they’re in a world unto themselves. “

Go by and visit their site and if you’re in the area, drop us an email telling us about your experience.

Here’s a site I just found. Ocean City Golf Getaways. Maryland’s a beautiful state. I spent a lot of time there while in the US Army.

Go by and visit and plan a nice golf vacation to Maryland.