Author: golfatnd

Its been over a week since the Team USA debacle in the Ryder Cup.  My favorite golfing event that happens only every 700 days or so has finally gone and passed.  It might take me that amount of time to get over my depression before I start to get excited for the next Ryder Cup, which will be in the balance at Whistling Straights in 2020.  In the past week there have been fights, finger-pointing, fabricated stories, and I’m sure another noun that starts with F from Team USA.  Why does this happen?  Yes, emotions run wild, especially after a loss (please see me the week after a Notre Dame Football loss), but does a team do that to each other?  No!  A team accepts responsibility for their actions as a team and makes changes as a team to correct their deficiencies.  A team doesn’t make the changes publicly, they do it behind the scenes.  That was why the Task Force was created.  A team is a group of individuals with a common cause that work together to reach a goal.  I thought they were starting to do that, but a true team does not do what it is currently doing.  Right now, Team USA is a group of individuals and not a team.  Right now, Team USA is publicly fighting each other.  Right now, Team USA does not have a leader.  Right now, Team USA needs help.  What do you think?

PS I would be happy to help and play in the next one if they need!

This past week I played in a three day tournament that had a cut after two days.  This tournament was right in the middle of the work week so I was nonchalantly promising everyone at work that I wouldn’t see them on the third day.  Little did they know, I had a ton of confidence and had every intention of fulfilling that promise.  Come tournament time and before my first tee shot, I was so confident I was looking for the trophy to see what font they would use to print my name.  Not sure why I did that because I only know about four fonts, but confidence was high…I repeat…confidence was high.  As I walked up to the first tee I noticed I had a slight smirk on my face…a smirk that made me look like I knew something no one else knew…you guessed it, the font on the trophy! Four hours later that smirk turned into a look of bewilderment, as I turned in the psycho scorecard of the tournament I’m sure.  After four birdies, one hole-out eagle, two doubles, and a bunch of bogeys I had finished with a 76.  Needless to say I figured I needed to go low the second day to make the cut. It turns out I didn’t get the job done as I carded a 73 on day two.  Turning in the scorecard after the second day, realizing the course played much harder that day, I had a gut feeling I needed one less shot to get the job done.  My gut was right!  I had officially missed the cut by one, meaning I had to go to work the next day.  Ugh, that was the worst day of work ever.  The most surprising element to missing the cut by one and telling everyone about it, was how many people would rather miss the cut by fifty than miss it by one.  I heard that from multiple people.  Enough so, I thought I should write something about it.  My gut response to that comment was I would rather make the cut than miss it by one, but I decided to nod in agreement and laugh it off instead.  Missing the cut by one really hurt, but I’m going to use that as fuel to keep me fired up for the next event.  It won’t happen again!!!  What do you think…

Are you a feel player or a mechanical tinkerer?  No matter the answer you just said in your head, there is a little bit of both in the golf swing.  It’s true!  With the recent antics of Bryson Dechambeau headlining almost every golf news feed, I feel it is important to address the latter.  As you may or may not have heard he is a scientist; in fact, I think that might be his unofficial nickname, The Scientist!  I mean he was caught using a protractor to read his yardage book for reading the greens on the golf course.  Using a protractor would only make sense to golfers that happen to be astrophysicists who minored in both aeronautical engineering and agronomy, and who happen to like doing multivariable differential equations in their spare time.  I don’t know about you, but the closest I get to that is the three star Sudoku I stumble on once a year and don’t finish.  Now I do not mean to diminish how important the science of golf is to everybody, but there is a balance to everything.  The Scientist (I think) has gone too far to the Dark Side and gotten too mechanical.  It’s easy to do that when you are such a perfectionist, as in Dechambeau’s case, but it is not healthy as in the case where he is seen pacing a driving range from having his spin rate 100 rpm’s too high…I made that last part up but I might not be too far from the truth.  Being a perfectionist is tough if you are a golfer, because it will never happen, as in almost all sports.  It may help you get better faster and help you focus, but being a perfectionist would make your road a little more frustrating than most.  The science of the golf swing is very interesting and should be treated as such, but if that is your only focus it will be a tough road to success for you.  What do you think?

It’s been almost two months since Phil Mickelson shook the Golfing Rules Committee to its core by putting a moving ball during this year’s US Open.  And before we get into whether what he did was right or wrong or whether or not he should have been disqualified, let’s get a couple things straight:

1.    He did, in fact, putt a moving ball.

2.    It sure caught me off guard.  I have never seen anything like that by a pro…ever!

3.    Let’s be honest, we have all done some version of that…and if you’re sitting there shaking your head saying no you haven’t, trust me I have done it enough in my lifetime for you! The only ‘small’ difference was he did it during a US Open, with TV cameras everywhere.

4.    TV cameras don’t follow us, or, at least, they don’t follow me.

5.    It was his birthday!

I love birthdays so the fifth fact is the trump card in my book.  He can do what he wants on his birthday for all I care!  However, the USGA, and other golf fans, have a different viewpoint than I do.  Some say he should have been disqualified, while others say play on.  Some say his actions ruined the integrity of the game, while others were too busy laughing watching replays to comment.

I know where I was on July 22nd when Tiger took the lead first the first time in over five years in a major championship.  Yup, in the golf shop.  I would say I was sitting in the golf shop, but that would be a lie.  I was pacing, getting in a three point stance (not sure why), and giving everyone high fives in the golf shop.  I hadn’t given that many high fives since I took that High Five Improvement class in college.  But I digress, so let’s get back to the original topic, Tiger Woods!  If you can’t tell, I am a fan, big time!  Judging by the ratings, I am not the only one either.  This year’s TV ratings for The Open were the best since 2000.  Tiger puts butts in the seats, whether it’s at the event or on the couch.  People like to watch him play golf, especially when he is in contention.  I’m not here to tell you my opinion of Tiger in this post.  I’m just here to tell you I’m glad he’s back, because he helps bring a level of excitement to golf that we have not seen since he was last winning majors.  Last weekend might be proof that no one tips the scale in his direction for a sport more than Tiger Woods, and I want to be one of the many to tell him, I love you, I mean Welcome Back!