The Golf Jock

The final group is waiting in the fairway on the final hole of the final Buick Open ever to be held. Tiger Woods holds a commanding lead, but Tiger is always intense until the final putt drops.  So why does he and his caddy Steve Williams break out into raucous laughter as they are intensely discussing Tiger’s approach shot to the green?

Uh, apparently David Feherty passed gas.

Trying to sneak one out as he stood 10 feet away from the Woods braintrust, Feherty miscalculated worse than trying to hit a two iron off a downhill buried lie and trying to land it softly on the green. Instead of escaping unnoticed, the escaping flatulence fluttered Feherty’s buttocks with enough force to arouse Woods and Williams from their usually intense pre-shot routine. Even CBS microphones on the fairway picked up the sound and broadcast it for all the world to hear. Within seconds, Woods and caddy were laughing hysterically.

Feherty is an ex-golfer turned fairway golf reporter for CBS who’s best known for turning a witty phrase along with his inside-the-ropes golf commentary. Apparently his wit isn’t the only thing that get’s laughs, however.

The funny thing is, the clip of the incident made it on to YouTube by the next day, but details were so sketchy early on that most sources attributed the fart to Tiger. That’s what stardom gets you these days.

The 2009 Buick Open was supposed to be Buick’s last hurrah as a golf sponsor, at least for the foreseeable future. That’s why Tiger decided to play the event, even though it would take away from his preparation for the final major of 2009 (the PGA Championship at Hazeltine). Even though Tiger and Buick parted ways already last year, everyone still thinks of Tiger as Buick’s golf spokesman. To Tiger’s credit, he acknowledged  the importance of Buick’s committment to golf for the last 50 year and to Tiger’s own career for the last 10 not just by showing up for the tournament, but showing up with game and winning (everyone knows ratings are double when Tiger’s in the field and triple when he’s in contention on Sunday).

It was supposed to be a tournament that I looked by in my golden years and recalled as the last tournament Buick hosted in Michigan - the 69th PGA tour victory by Tiger Woods.

Instead, I’m afraid I’ll probably remember it as the tournament with the Feherty fart heard ’round the world.

Tiger Woods won his first PGA Tour event since season-ending knee surgery last June after his U.S. Open victory.

The victory came at Arnold Palmer’s Bayhill Invitational, an event that Woods had won 5 other times in his career.

Woods began the day 5 shots behind 54 hole leader Sean O’Hair. Sean ended up shoot three over whil Tiger shot 3 under for the final round, giving him a one shot victory.

If you watched only saw the highlights, you probably felt the 16 foot putt on 18 for birdie to win was the shot of the day for Woods. I will admit that Tiger has an uncanny ability to pull off big-time putts in clutch situations. two of his other victories at Bayhill were won on the 72nd hole with long putts for birdie. But since I watched the entire last round, I can tell you that there was plenty stellar play beforehand that gave him the opportunity to make that final putt. And to me, the greatest shot of the day occurred a hole before, and probably won’t even get any air time at all.

The 17th at Bayhill is a long, difficult par 3. The pin was tucked in the back right with a gaping bunker protecting it. As the final group stood on the tee, Woods had a one stroke lead.  The smart play was to aim left and cut it back toward the pin. Tiger pushed the shot just a tad the high fadeit got hung up in the cooling dusk air. The ball landed about 2 inches below the lip of the facing bunker and plugged right in place. Now a fried egg lie like that is tough enough, but the steep slope made the stance almost impossible and the ball was actually underneath the overhanging, rough-lned lip of the bunker. Tiger had to kneel on his left leg in the thick rough just to be able to address the ball.

Tiger took a full shoulder turn and whacked the ball straight up in the air where it landed hard on the green and race about 20 feet by the cup. He missed the putt and fell back into a tie with O’Hair heading into the 18th.

So why do I think that bunker shot was the most amazing shot of the tournament when he didn’t even get it up and down? First of all, The average tour player would probably get that shot on the green one in 10 times. The average good amatuer would leave that ball in the bunker 9 out of ten times. The shot was that difficult. Even though he made a bogey, most other players would have double bogeyed that one. That bunker shot enabled him to only drop one stroke and still feel like he was in command going into the 18th.

Second of all, it showed that his knee is completely back - and probably better than it’s ever been. WIth the state his knee has been in the last three years, he wouldn’t even have been able to TRY that shot, much less pull it off.

Tiger’s back. In only 3 starts since coming back this year after a 9 month layoff, he won. He had looked good in his other two starts. I saw him in person at the Match Play in Tucson and he was hitting the ball well. His big problem was that his short game wasn’t quite at Tour speed yet. This week at Bayhill, Tiger’s short game was phenomenal, and that’s what won him the tournament.

That’s a good lesson for all you weekend Warriors out there. Spend at least half your practice time on the short game and your scores will improve. Here is a link to a free short game tips that will help immediately improve your short game.

In case you haven’t heard, Tiger Woods just announced his return to the PGA Tour at next week’s WGC Accenture Match Play in Tucson, AZ.

I’m jacked.

Not just because Tiger’s back, but because I scored tickets for this event about 8 weeks ago in anticipation.

Scouring the schedule in late December, my guess was that Tiger would come back at either the Buick at Torrey Pines (which would have been a really cool way to come back at the same course he last had played), the Match Play in Tucson or the Doral closer to home in Florida. My gut reaction was that the Match Play was the perfect spot, so I put my guess into action and got tickets for myself and my 8 year-old son who wants to become a professional golfer.

When I first got the tickets in December (not easy on the pocket book, mind you, especially in the current economy), my son was excited, but the first thing he asked was, “is Tiger gonna be there?”

My best answer at that time was, “I hope so.”

As the weeks dragged on. my doubts grew. I just knew it would be so much easier for him to choose the Doral being closer to home.

But a few things kept my hopes alive. He was the defending champion. He always speaks nicely of Tucson and was pretty instrumental in getting the Match Play moved there instead of at La Costa where it rained every year.

But most of all, I held out hope because Tiger likes big tournaments, and whether or not the golfing world has accepted the WGC tournaments as majors, no one should doubt that Tiger views them as very important. Who knows, 30 or 40 years from now, the WGC championships could be viewed as the most important events. After all, the Masters wasn’t always considered a major. The point is, if you look at Tiger’s record, he definitely makes sure he’s available for every major he can, and also for every WGC event. He also elevates his game for the WGC’s in a similar way that he does for the majors. Just look at the record. It’s pretty obvious that Tiger thinks the WGC events are important.

Of course, the only important thing for me is that Tiger is playing in Tucson. And I have tickets. So now I get to go home and tell my 8 year old, without any doubt: “Tiger’s gonna be there!”

That moment will be worth as much as the tournament itself.

What Are Custom Golf Clubs

Custom golf clubs are clubs That are built just for you according your body build, swing type and ability. They may work for somebody else who is similar in stature and ability, but they are going to be especially suited to you and your swing.You can get custom clubs as a full set, or as individaul clubs. If you only get a few clubs custom made, these are usually the “money clubs,” like the driver, wedges or putter (these are money clubs because they are used the most and either set up or finish off a hole).

Clubs that you get off the rack can work okay, but they don’t maximize your potential. Think of it as if you were getting fit for an expensive suit or dress. You have several options:

Option 1 - You go to a general department store and browse around until you see something fashionable and then buy it and hope it fits you OK and is comfortable. That is the normal way most people buy their golf clubs.

Otion 2 - You can go to specialty shops and try a few different designs, maybe even mix and match top and bottom of the outfit, and eventually you will get something that fits OK but you may need to have altered, within the leeway the existing clothing gives on sizes and lengths and quite a lot of people will get a reasonable fit. This is very similar to custom modifications you can have done on your new off-the-rack golf clubs. You are still limited by how the original club was built, and it can be a time-consuming process to adjust an existing club to new specifications (and sometimes it can “ruin” the original club, especially if someone tries to do the alterations themselves or if they are not experts of if they don’t have the proper equipment, etc.)

Option 3 - If you want the best suit or dress that fits you perfectly, you go to a tailor or to a bespoke outfitters. Thy would take all your measurements, find out exactly what you wanted the item for, how often it would be used, etc. This is a very expensive option, but gives great results. This is the same as custom club building.

So it sounds like custom clubs are going to be too expensive for the average golfer, right? Not so. The good news is that, unlike the clothing business, custom golf clubs can actually be less expensive than the first option, and usually always cheaper than option two. How can that be?

Well, almost all golf club heads, with very few exceptions - if any - are made in the far east, mainly China. It’s probably safe to say that ALL golf club heads are made there,  but several of the big manufacturers refuse to reveal their sourcing locations. Once the designs are in, the forges in China can crank out the clubhead components for pennies on the dollar. Really.

Another thing most amateurs don’t realize is that the shaft is the most important part of the club. Clubs you buy off the rack or in a discount sporting goods store usually have the cheapest shafts available. That means their most important component  will be the most inferior of its kind. Not what you want, trust me.

So why are the major brands so expensive? It’s mostly the huge advertising they do. It’s not that they are bad clubs, per se. It’s just that you don’t have to pay that much for similar quality. So why do Tiger and Phil and all the other pros use the name brands like Nike, Callaway, Titleist, etc. if they can get the same quality in a non name brand club? That’s easy. Money.

Pro golfers get paid millions (yes, sometimes even 20 to 30 million dollars!) to play and endorse these clubs. In order to pay them these high amounts, golf club manufacturers have to jack up the price of their clubs to huge amounts. The $500 driver you are drooling over cost them about $50 to make. But with the high advertising and endorement costs, the cost goes up to $200-$300. Then they have to make a profit on top of that (typical retail practice is to double the wholesale cost).

What would happen if you could only pay for the club components and assembly. Remember I said they cost about $50? So if you double that whoelsale amount, you’d be paying about $100 for a quality driver? Sound too good to be true? It’s not. There are internet companies that buy components from the smae forges in China and then assemble them with quality shafts and grips and do it all to your own specifications using online fitting forms. These are called custom clone drivers.

Once you play with clubs that are built specifically for you, you will wonder how you ever did without them. Custom golf clubs will help you play golf to your maximum ability.

It’s not easy making preseason predicitons. I tried it with the NFL this year. I predicted the San Diego Chargers would make it to the Super Bowl for the AFC and that Dallas would make it from the NFC. San Diego squeaked into the playoffs and couldn’t get past the second round. Dallas self-desturcted and didn’t even make the playoffs. With the NFL, there are only 32 teams to pick from, and it is hard. With the PGA Tour, there are around 200 golfers worldwide to pick from.

Now if you are just going by World Golf Ranking, the picking gets a little easier. Pick TIger at #1 and you are set. Even if he doesn’t play a single tournament in 2009, he would probably still hang on to that ranking. That’s because the World Golf rankings are designed to reward excellent play over a 2 year period of time. Guys who have one or two hot weeks each year don’t get the same kind of bump that grinders like Jim Furyk get — guys who always seem to be in the hunt, especially on tough course under severe conditions and against top competitors.

Okay, so I’m really beating around the bush here, I know. It’s just that I wanted to give myself plenty of “outs” before I put my reputation on the line and start naming names. But here goes.

Some of the guys to watch in 2009 became a little more familiar during the 2008 Ryder Cup. I think Anthony Kim is by far the one to keep your eye on the most. He came in to the tour without a lot of hype, but quickly showed that his game was rock solid. His single-plane swing is pretty to watch and his intensity and competitiveness are things you just can’t teach. I expect Anthony to win at least once in 2009, and maybe even 2 or 3 times.

Another Ryder Cup guy to watch is Hunter Mahan. He is a different kind of player than Kim, but the clutch shots and putts he made at the Ryder Cup should give him the confidence he needs to have a breakout year in 2009.

Camilo Villegas is another favorite of mine. Although you could say that 2008 was his breakout year, I think we are only going to see more of the same in 2009. Camilo is one of the most fit guys on tour, and that helps him survive the grind of the PGA tour. His game has really progressed nicely and at 22, he is just starting to understand some of the courses they play on a yearly basis. Having moved from 56th in the World rankings to #7 in 2008, it would seem hard to improve on that.  He may not get the consecutive vicotories in 2009 like he did at the BMW and the Tour championship. But I do expect Villegas to make a return to the winners circle somewhere in 2009, and I wouldn’t be even be surprised if it were at a major.

Sergio Garcia has been on many lists like this in the past, but never on mine. Why my change of heart? I saw a maturing Sergio in 2008. His game is as good as it’s ever going to get as a “feel player,” but that’s never been Sergio’s problem. He just hasn’t been able to handle the pressure of being the guy that was supposed to challenge Tiger. That rivalry never panned out. Oh yeah, Sergio can win occasionally in exhibitions at the Bighorn, but overall, Sergio has never even been in Tiger’s radar as far a threat to his throne. I don’t think Sergio will ever be that guy, but in 2008, I think Sergio finally figured that out too, and I believe it was liberating for him. He seemed at peace with his swing and his game, and even with some heart-breaking losses down the stretch. If not for Vijay’s fantastic finish to 2008, Sergio easily would have been the guy everyone was talking about during the FedEx cup. Look for the maturity and solid play to continue for Sergio in 2009.

My final pick is not an individual player, but I predict that one of the Australian boys will be a force to reckon with in 2009. They’ve all shown some real talent and moxie in the last 5 years - guys like Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddelley and Rod Pamperin have made some serious impacts on the PGA Tour. But none of them has had a sustained run where the rest of the field was worried about their presence. Look for that to change in 2009. Ogilvy could be the guy with his early season win at the Mercedes in Hawaii, but it could be any of the others too.

Will there be another Rocco Mediate in 2009? You know - a journeyman golfer who’s been around for a long time who suddenly has a phenomenal run and threatens to wrest a major away from destiny? Probably. It’s happened many times in the past. I have no idea who it might be this year, although Tommy Armour III was looking pretty darn good in 2008. I’d nominate him if I had to pick someone.

At the end of the year I’m sure I will look back and make all kinds of excuses for my predictions, but I’m sure the half-dozen men I mentioned today hope I’m spot on with my forecast. Only time will tell.

The statistics tell us that Phil Mickelson is the world #2 golfer. That’s a remarkable feat until you see just how far he is behind Tiger.

Nevertheless, with Tiger out of action for the rest of 2008 and possibly into 2009, it is a great opportunity for another golfer on tour to emrge as the go-to guy. Prevailing wisdom would have Phil be that guy. But recent play has not given any indication that Phil is the guy. Maybe he never will be.

Case in point was last week at the WGC at Firestone. Phil was in control on the back nine, at one point sitting at -12 with a 2 shot lead. But poor play down the stretch really hurt Phil.

After coming back to the pack, he came to the 17th tee needing a par-par finish to most likely tie for the lead and go into a playoff. So what does he do? He pulls out a driver and promptly pushes his tee shot into the fairway bunkers on the left side of the narrow fairway. I emphasize “narrow.” In fact it is so narrow that Tiger (who usually “owns” Firestone) never hits more than a stinger 3 wood, and usually just goes with a 2 or 3 iron off the tee. Even shorter hitters like Jim Furyk never hit a driver there. It’s just too risky for the small reward you get if you atually do find the fairway.

In case you didn’t see the debacle, Phil bogied that hole and had to try to birdie the tough 18th to get back into a plyoff. Didn’t happen.

In my mind, I knew that Phil was going to lose the tournament as soon as I saw the driver in his hand on the tee at 17. It just didn’t make sense. I understand his desire to be aggressive and his need to play his own game. But what he has to make into his own game is the smart types of plays that win tournamets.

It’s hard to criticize a guy who’s won over 30 times on tour. No other active player has won more expcept for Tiger. And that’s the problem. Tiger is an aggressive player too, but he has learned how to temper his aggressiveness at the right time and play smarter. It’s why he has doubled Phil’s win total in half the time.

Phil has an awesome opportunity to really dominate on the tour with Tiger out. But unfortunately, it is the inconsistent course management strategies that will keep Phil from doing it this year. Unless he learns to be like Tiger in that regard, he will always play second fiddle, even when Tiger’s not in the field.

Tiger Woods recently had major reconstructive knee surgery after a heroic victory at the 2008 U.S. Open held at Torrey Pines. Tiger played the whole week on a knee that had never fully recovered from artroscopic surgery days after the 2008 Masters. In addition, he had multiple stress fractures that prompted his doctor to advise against him playing in the U.S. Open. Tiger ignored that advice and struggled through the pain for 4 full days. He then had to go another 19 holes against a feisty Rocco Mediate on Monday in a playoff. The victory was what Woods called “definitely” the biggest win of his pro career. But it came with a price, and his knee paid it dearly.

Woods hobbled off Torrey Pines on Monday evening with the U.S. Open trophy in hand, only to shock the (golfing) world the next day with news that his 2008 season was ended. Woods was forced to miss the Buick Open in Flint, Michigan which he had committed to, as well as his own AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C.

On his blog, Woods said,

As you probably know, I had reconstructive surgery on my left knee after winning the U.S. Open. I’m not sure how I got through the week, but it was definitely the biggest win of my pro career…

I’m wearing a full leg brace and will be on crutches for a few weeks. To be honest, I’m not sure when my rehabilitation will start. I can’t put weight on my leg yet. These are the longest days - it feels like a 38-hour day.

Hopefully Tiger will be able to begin the rehab soon. His intial plans are that he won’t play in tournament action again until the 2009 Masters. That’s a long time to be away from competitive golf. Lesser men have had long layoffs after injuries and never made it back to top form (Jim Furyk, Ernie Els and David Duval just off the top of my head). If anyone can do it, Tiger is the guy most people would put their money on.

As it is, we can only wait and see. But the way it is now, professional golf is 90% less exciting without Tiger in the hunt.

Johnny Miller was forced to apologize for his on-air comments about Rocco Mediate. During the final round of the 2008 U.S.Open, televised on NBC, Miller said that Mediate “looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s swimming pool.” Later on he also said, “Guys with the name ‘Rocco’ don’t get on the trophy, do they?”

In his apology, Miller said the comments had “absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity.”

Mediate, a 45-year-old Pennsylvanian, is of Italian heritage.

At the time Miller made the comments, Mediate held a one-stroke lead over Tiger Woods with only a few holes left to play on the difficult Torrey Pines setup.

In a statement through NBC (which they most certainly forced him to make), Miller said:

“I apologize to anyone who was offended by my remarks. My intention was to convey my affection and admiration for Rocco’s everyman qualities and had absolutely nothing to do with his ethnicity. I chose my words poorly and in the future will be more careful.”

I believe Miller. Johnny is a former player, and a golf phenom. But he still identifies with the players. He knows them and knows what’s going on in their heads. He’s out there before the broadcast talking to the players. It would be absolutely ridiculous to think that Miller had any kind of malicious intentions with his comments. They were “poorly chosen” words considering the politically correct environment we live in. They were “poorly chosen” words considering that Tiger Woods draws a huge non-golf savvy audience who doesn’t know that Miller is a former player and is on friendly terms with most of the current players.

Miller says some harsh things about players at times. He can be caustic about a bad swing or a missed shot. He can also be playful with player quirks and amazed at some of the great shots he witnesses.

Johnny Miller isn’t my favorite golf announcer, but I think he’s in tune with the players. At times he is brutally honest. But to suggest that he was disrespecting Rocco Mediate is totally ridiculous. Those who took it wrong are the real losers in this story.

Okay, it’s really easy to second guess. I get it.

But the fact is, Tiger made a mistake.

I’m not talking about the fact that he continued playing in the U.S. Open on a hurt knee. I actually applaud him for that.

I’m talking about his decision to get knee surgery right after the Masters.

The key word here is “decision.” The surgery was not absolutely necessary at that point. He elected to have it done.

You might argue that his decision to continue playing in the U.S. Open was a worse decision. I would disagree. Here’s why.

Once Tiger made the decision to play in the Open, he made a commitment. He did what is lacking in a lot of people these days - he stuck with his commitment. He knew he may never get another chance to play in a major so close to home, let alone at Torrey Pines. He gutted it out and gave us a dramatic and thrilling victory that will surely go down as legendary. It may not have been “smart,” but it wasn’t a mistake.

The mistake was messing around with the knee in the middle of the season. He should have waited until the Fedex Cup was over in the Fall, or at least until the British Open was over. It would have allowed him to play in all the majors this year and would have given him a great chance to properly heal during the off season and prevented the major damage inflicted to his knee by playing on it too early.

I’m not saying his knee wasn’t hurting him right after the Masters. I just don’t think it was so bad that it had to be invaded with a knife. After all, on that knee he had already won 5 tournaments this year and had, at one point, the entire golf community asking the impossible question: “Could Tiger go undefeated for an entire season?”

Other golf pundits were saying this could be the year that Tiger won a real Grand Slam.

By not winning the Masters, that blew that possibility out the window. I think it also clouded Tiger’s judgment.

Look - I’m not trying to get into Tiger’s head. I’m not trying to second guess him. But let me ask this question: If Tiger had won the Masters, do you think he would have elected to get surgery on his knee two days later?

Me neither. That’s my point.

In the meantime, he missed the Players championship, regarded by most tour players as the 5th major, as well as Jack’s tournament (the Memorial) which is referred to by many as nearly as important as a major. And he seriously jeopardized his chance to even participate in the U.S. Open at a venue that he virtually “owns” (having won at Torrey Pines over a half-dozen times on tour). He made the decision with a calendar right in front of him, knowing he would miss all that, and knowing that it would be really tight trying to heal by the U.S. Open.

I like Tiger. I’m not dissing him here. I think he makes golf exciting to watch. He’s made the game more popular than ever. He’s made a lot of people filthy rich, including agents and caddies and Nike employes - and especially golfers like Rocco Mediate. Because of Tiger, Rocco made more money (and will continue to make more money with the exposure) by coming in 2nd place to Tiger at the 2008 U.S. Open than he had made his entire career before Tiger came along.

So Tiger is good for the game. That’s why his season ending surgery hurts so bad. It’s not just about Tiger. It’s about the whole tour and about the golf industry. And time will tell whether or not Tiger will ever be the same again.

That’s why I think Tiger made a mistake.