The ANA Tournament, formerly the Dinah Shore, is a much-coveted major on the LPGA Tour. Twenty-nine year old Mirim Lee from South Korea was an afterthought as the final round commenced with Nellie Korda, Lexi Thompson, and Brooke Henderson battling back and forth for the lead. But MIrim won her first major by chipping the ball in the cup three times in that round…
Phil Mickelson
The Weight Shift Conundrum
What complicates it is the timing and sequence of the shift, something that takes intensive practice after skilled instruction to get it right and keep it right over time. Most get it right on the relatively leisurely backswing, although, even there, the weight can drift to the outside of the right foot, causing the problem of swaying on the backswing. But at the transition, when things really get moving, is when problems increase.
The PGA Championship: Then and Now
When this major started back in 1916, golf pros weren’t even allowed clubhouse privileges at most courses. They changed their shoes, etc. in the parking lot. Being paid to play a sport was looked down upon. Amateurism was extolled and encouraged as late as the mid to late 1950s, with amateur Bobby Jones being the […]
Learning Golf from Tom Brady?
OK, so the great quarterback was 13 over par after six at The Match on Sunday…in front of half the world watching safely on TV…with trash-talker supreme Charles Barkley hounding him every inch of the way. Brady couldn’t find a fairway or green with a hand wedge. But we’ve all been there, right? We’ve all […]
The Marvelous Mr. Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is truly a wonder, a phenomenon, a likable bloke who, at 48, plays a kind of all-out golf, like a youngster might. Phil takes chances, something we amateurs can relate to. We also take chances because a lot of the time chance, or risk/reward as we call it, is part of the equation […]
Further Thoughts on the Full Swing
So what is the one element of the swing that separates amateurs from pros? Actually it’s a series of elements, which adds to its complication…and mystique. I do not have it all figured out–far from it–but I have observed that recreational golfers know little about getting the sequence of movements right. Pros often learn this […]
The Masters: Day 1
Good stuff, eh? It’s why this major is the best. Jordan’s in the lead, sure. Kind of expected–at least my brother got it right. But Haotong Li is in 4th. Remember, the Chinese Communist Party banned golf a couple years ago as a bourgeois activity. He taught himself English off his smart phone. And this […]
The Masters: Back to Tradition
Unlike most spectator sporting events, golf is known more for its polite applause than end zone antics. Even at the height of Arnie’s Army or Tiger’s legions, fans would quiet down when a shot was about to be executed. And I’ve been watching early episodes of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf in the 50s and […]