May 2006

Over at Green Posse, Dale Chavez has written a tremendous post about Darren Clarke.

Darren’s one of my favorite golfers for several reasons :

1) We have similar builds - I’m 6′2″ and 250 and he used to be

2) I’ve modeled my swing after him and Michael campbell, mainly because of similar builds

3) I like his sense of style or lack thereof, however you look at it

4) He can carry on a conversation or carry the conversation, which ever you need

5) Everybody likes him….okay, so I still have some work to do on this one.

Click thru and read Dale’s fine post and subscribe to the RSS feed while you’re there.

Me neither. But if you do, there’s a great intro to plumb-bobbing on page 66 of the June issue of Golf Magazine.

I did find out that I’m right eye dominant and I will try to plumb-bob on Wednesday, when I go play Sultan’s Run in Jasper, Indiana.

I’ll be giving you a review from there on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Saturday afternoon I was waiting for my nemesis, er, I mean good friend Bill Knapp, from Madisonville ( KY ) to show up at our stomping grounds. 3 other guys wanted me to play a quick 9 with them and I figured I had time to get warmed up.

I wasn’t really into it, just hacking it around and getting loose, but I noticed that one of the guys was using a new Cobra Speed Tuned driver. He’s 65 years old and was really striping the ball, so I asked him to let me have a whack with it.

It was a 10.5 degree, F-Speed with a Regular flex shaft. Not as stiff as I need, but if I tone ‘er down a few, er, make that several notches, I figured I could swing it.

I let it rip and flew it about 290 - 310, dead straight, very high and man was it beautiful.

I’m going to start looking on eBay for one with the F-Speed head, Stiff shaft and 10.5 degrees of loft and see how it compares to my Titleist 975J, 9.5 degree, with a Fujikura Vista Tour Stiff shaft.

It’s worth a try.

Let me know if you’ve tried one.

Has anyone tried the new XG putter from Odyssey ? I just saw an ad for it in Golf Magazine and went to their site and the technology looks great. My putting is not as good as it should be, but I’m not sure I could buy a game.

Via their website :

” The White Hot XG is the next generation of White Hot Technology. Inspired by proven, high-performance, multi-layer golf ball technology, the White Hot XG is Odyssey’s latest advancement that utilizes a multi-layer insert for phenomenal performance on the green. It combines two materials with different properties to take the level of feedback, feel and distance control to an all-new, extreme level.

* Elastomer Core Material - Soft for great feel, and highly resilient to get the ball rolling quickly.

* Thin, outer striking surface - Firm for fine-tuned responsiveness.

* Textured Impact Zone - Enhances feel and clearly defines the sweet spot.

All together, it allows weight to be shifted to the perimeter of the putter head for a high MOI, creating even better forgiveness and truer roll than previous models. It’s the softest, most responsive insert we have ever created. “

Let me know if you’ve tried it or what you think.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it right now, my 3 Eidolon Golf wedges are the finest wedges I’ve ever played. They are scoring machines.

Need to stop it on a dime, downwind, fluffy lie, hard green ? Use an Eidolon wedge.

Need to chip it close, down grain, downhill, no way to hit it hard enough to create spin ? Use an Eidolon wedge.

Want to spin it back, like your friends do ? Use an Eidolon wedge.

Want to bring it in high ? Use an Eidolon wedge.

Want a graphite Rifle Spinner shaft ? You can only get it when you play Eidolon Golf wedges.

Here’s a link to a SPECIAL web page. You can get a discount that you can only get when you get an email from the owner of the company…like I did. I’m passing it on to you guys, because I have a 3 wedge set and would not trade them for less than $500. That way I could buy another set and have a little travelling money left over.

Seriously, that link has no affiliation for me. I get nothing if you buy, except the sheer satisfaction of knowing that you now own the finest wedges you’ll ever play, the last wedges you’ll ever buy.

Just read a small snippet cut out of USA Today. David Feherty has gone public with his battle with alcohol and depression.

He’s doing so, even though his contract with CBS is almost up. Some would think that might be a bad idea, but the salesman in me says it’s his best chance at maximizing his chances of getting a fat contract with CBS or another suitor.

Everybody loves a winner and to beat alcohol and to get a stranglehold on depression is no small feat. One victory would make you a winner. Beating both makes you a double major winner, in my book.

I’ve never had a problem with either one. I don’t drink and I’m a pretty happy guy. I hate my putter and my driver, on most days, but I’m happy with my wedges, my hybrids and my irons !

David’s been sober for 18 months and in treatment for depression for 3 years, so this ain’t an overnight sensation or gimmick.

I actually met David once, along with his pal gary McCord. I documented it before, but I’ll run thru it again.

Rain and The Memorial tournament go together like catfish and pickled green tomatoes. Like sun and shine. Like ducks and water. You get the picture.

Around 7 Am one morning, at the Marriott north of Dublin/Columbus, I met with 3 friends to eat breakfast and wait out the rain. We were seated next to the table of David, McCord, Jim Nantz and Peter Kostis. Might have been another person or two there, but it’s the terrible twosome of Feherty and McCord that matter.

They looked like they had just came in and had been drug thru the streets behind a chariot. David looked worse than anybody I’ve seen in a long time.

One of our friends, Brian, ran the Champions Tour event near Baltimore. Might have been the State Farm event. He wanted to ask McCord to play in his event, but was hesitant to bother ‘em.

I’m 6′2″ and 250 and I’m not hesitant to bother anybody, so I told him I’d go with him to ask.

We walk up and he intro’s himself. McCord looks at me and asks, ” Who’s the goon ? ”

I tell him I’m there to make sure he agrees to play. He tells Brian he can’t play this year, because he’s working for CBS that week, but the next year the tournament is the week before the Senior Open and he’ll play then. Brian says that’s great and they shake hands.

BTW - he showed up the following year.

Feherty then asks if that will be good enough for Brian to take the goon back to the table and feed it, it looks hungry.

Jim Nantz looks as plastic at 7 AM as he does at 2 PM on TV.

Just to prove that this hasn’t dulled his rapier sharp wit, David says that Tom cruise might be right about exercise helping you beat depression.

” Well maybe he’s right. Beating the s**t out of Tom Cruise would be physical all right, and it would cheer me up ! “

For the whole article, check out Golf Magazine. You’ll be glad you did.

Every week I hear announcers say how hard it will be for a golfer to shoot another low round after that golfer just shot a 63 or some other phenomenal score.

Think about why for just a second or two and you’ll see why it’s so tough.

One reason and one reason only. The golf course that golfer will play the next day is not the same one as he just played.

The pins will be in a different location and may not allow him to feel like he can hit his natural shot shape and let the ball naturally release towards the hole.

Because of the field size and his spot in it, he’ll play at a different time in different conditions.

Today it was 74 degrees, sunny and no wind. Tomorrow it may be 66 degrees, overcast and windy.

Maybe today he went out a 8 AM. there were no spike marks or ball marks to throw his putts off line.

The greens were freshly mowed and rolled true.

There were 10 or 11 pins that he was able to shoot at, with his fade and had 10 putts of 10 feet or less and made 9 of those for his 63.

Tomorrow those pins will be on the other side of the greens and he’ll have 14 putts of 20 feet or more and he’ll 3 putt 2 of them and make no others for a 74 and hit the ball just as well as he did today.

There’s no reason that a golfer can’t follow up a great round with another great round, if the PGA Tour will just leave the pins in the exact same spots and let a golfer play at the exact time 2 days in a row.

Outside of that, it just ain’t gonna happen very often.

If you’ve got a better theory, let’s hear it.

Megan has sent us a photo and an update from her European LPGA trip. She’s in Switzerland and today’s post is a great read, so grab a cup-o-joe and settle in for the ride.

Yesterday was a long day of playing and practicing. It felt good to get a practice session in since I took a few days off to get over my jet lag, and to try to get rid of my stomach flu. Unfortunately, in the afternoon it came back. It is discouraging because I don’t have much of an appetite and there are so many great ristorantes and pizzerias in Losone that I would love to try.

Yesterday after waking up at 5am, I came by my site, replied to a few comments made on my previous post, and still had plenty of time before the range was going to open. So I slipped into my workout gear, slid a fresh set of double-padded insoles into my Puma catchers to protect my joints and heels, and took off on what turned out to be an awesome hike. I was feeling better. I discovered the trail the day before when I was driving around, scoping out the town.

There was about a 1 1/2 mile main trail that was gravel, but several trails that veered off into the mountains. I just randomly picked a trail that had a sign that said Mount Verita. About an hour later, I found myself at the top of the hill. I could look down and see all of Lake Maggiore (click for pictures) and several towns that surrounded it in this beautiful valley. I had a 360 degree view and was surrounded by the largest and greenest mountains that I have ever seen. It was spectacular ! I thought Oregon was green but this is something else !

So far Switzerland has been great. It is relaxing to be away from the commotion of Los Angeles. The people here are very nice and even though there is a language barrier, everyone tries their best to help each other out. By the way, it is very hard being a “driving” tourist around here with all the locals buzzing around these narrow streets and fast little cars.

Everyone here at the LET (Ladies European Tour, or European LPGA) is very helpful and professional. The golf course here at Golf Gerre Losone is beautiful and in great shape. Even though you need to be fairly straight off the tee box, I feel that there are several holes that I can take advantage of because of my length. And I know I will because Cleveland Golf delivered me a killer fairway wood that feels so silky smooth when you attack those par-5 greens.

I am excited and ready to start playing Thursday and to get off to a great start here at the Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open. I found that during my practice rounds I was starting to get very mechanical and that’s just not my game; so my goal this week is to just go out there, play golf, not worry about anything, or try to think too much, and just be target oriented.

Fairways and Greens, in peace.

Megan Heckeroth

You can visit Megan’s Official Site and her blog, by clicking those links.

Megan’s brought us a great read from Switzerland while she lives the life of a real travelling golfer and spends 3 weeks or so in Europe. This post is straight from Losone and gives us some insight into places I’d never be able to take you. For that, we owe Megan a debt of gratitude and let’s get right into the post.

So two days before my trip to Europe, I get a stomach virus that did not let up no matter what medicine I took. Finally Thursday rolls around, I get on my 11-hour Air France flight to Paris, to connect to my 2-hour Zurich flight, then my 2-hour Lugano flight, then my 1-hour train ride to Losone, then my 20 minute cab ride to the hotel.

Needless to say that whatever rest I got on the Paris flight got burnt up by these connections. The good thing about it is that my new tunes selection on my iPod helped me pass time and my stomach virus went away by the time I checked in and hit the sack at 11pm on Friday - who says the life of a Tour Pro is glamorous…

After a night of deep sleep in these Euro-style miniature-size beds at the Albergo Losone, the official Players Hotel of the Deutsche Ladies Swiss Open, the local Avis manager brought me my car for the duration of the Tournament. I had requested a Ford Mustang for that little home feeling, but they didn’t have any. He tells me he brought me a Renault Megane… Wow ! It’s got my name on it ! And the key chain also has my name on it. Kewl ! Thank god I learned to drive a manual stick shift when I was a kid because that’s all they have here.

I decided to take a drive around to get a feeling of this quaint little city of Losone in this “Italian” part of Switzerland. I had printed the Mapquest directions from the hotel to the golf course when I was in L.A. but they were completely backwards - the hotel concierge was much better than the computerized Mapquest directions.

What a beautiful little European town with a town square, small shops and cafes. Despite the thunderstorms and rain, people were still out going about their business - unlike L.A. were rain stops everything. I stopped to check out a few fashion stores - wooooweeee hot prices !!! Compounded with the lousy dollar to Euro exchange rate. I get a better rate through my Amex, but still things are expensive in Switzerland. I also noticed that in athletic stores PUMA is much bigger than Nike over here. Now I understand why they wanted to get affiliated with me, since I play the U.S. and European Tours. If you decide to visit this region, brush up on your Italian or bring an English-to-Italian dictionary.

My jet lag was starting to get to me, so I headed back to the hotel, went for a nice 2-mile hike in Switzerland’s biggest Palm Park behind the hotel called Mte Vierte, got a light salad for dinner and in a few minutes I am going to leave the hotel’s business center to head to my room. I am exhausted.

Tomorrow, surveying the golf course.

No sticks.

Just a pen, a yardage book, a greens schematic, and my local caddie.

Ciao (Bye in Italian),

Megan Heckeroth

For a complete bio, stats, schedule or to find out who Megan is and why she’s sending us updates from all over Europe, visit her Official Site and her blog, Club Megan.

Every time The Sand Trap posts, I read it. Almost every time I visit, I’m greeted with a great post. That, in and of itself, is worthy of noting.

A couple of days ago, my feed reader alerted me to a post that was a profile of Alister MacKenzie. I wanted to wait until I had time to enjoy reading it and I’m glad I waited, ’cause I just read it twice.

I’m gonna open a link leak to their post and I hope you click thru and enjoy it as much as I did. Both times.