Tees2Greens on Golf

The Greatness That Is The Open Championship

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:10:00 GMT

They call it the Open Championship, and even though you and I call it the British Open, I understand their point. The field is as good as it gets, and if you’re like me, you’re hoping for the weather to be… well, terribly British, which is the way it should be at this great event.

The championship track for the third major of the season is located North of Liverpool and Manchester and South of Blackpool on the Irish Sea at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in Lancashire, England. It’s the place where the likes of David Duval, Tom Lehman, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and Bobbie Jones etched their names on the trophy. It is a place where the caddies sound like John Lennon and the red-faced spectators look like Oliver twist. It is also a place of golf history.

In 1926, Royal Lytham provided one of the strangest finishes in Open history. In order to allow the British club pros to return to their own clubs for the weekend, the final two rounds of the Open were played on Friday. Between rounds Bobbie Jones return to his hotel to freshen up a bit, however, when he returned to the course he forgot his competitor’s ticket. Not recognizing the American, a security guard refused Jones entry without a ticket. Rather than making a scene, Bobbie simply walked over to the ticket window and purchased a ticket making him the only spectator to ever win the Open.

In 1952 another Bobby, this time spelled with a “y”, had his own adventure at Royal Lytham. With an 8:50 am tee-time for the final round Bobby Locke enjoyed an early breakfast at his Blackpool hotel before walking the 100 yards to the garage where his car and his clubs were parked. When he arrived at the garage at 7:30 am the door was locked and there was no one about. He looked around - everything was closed. Finally, he found a milkman and was told the garage owner would be arriving about nine o'clock. With no other choice, Bobby gave the man ten shillings, found a seat amongst the milk bottles, and rode to the owner's house. As the story goes, the garage owner was still in bed and Bobby dragged him out and arrived back at the garage at around 8:20. After retrieving his car and clubs, he raced to the course, walked straight on to the first tee and without nary a practice swing birdied the first hole and promptly went on to win the Open by one stroke.

Here’s how 1952 Open Champion Bobby Locke described Royal Lytham: “No one can over-praise the Royal Lytham course. I had thought the previous year when I had played in the American Open at Oakland Hills, Detroit, where they have 180 bunkers on the course, that that was incredible, but after playing Royal Lytham for the first time, I was amazed to learn that this course has the phenomenal number of 385 bunkers, one for every day of the year, the members say, with several extras for Leap Year.”

Royal Lytham is still a challenge and fascinating, starting with hole number one, a 206-yard par 3. This is followed by three par 4s, another longer 218-yard par 3, then a 589-yard par 5, another par 4, and a 164-yard par 3. That’s right, three par 3s on the front 9. On the back nine there’s only one par 5, but at 601-yards looks like more than one, followed by the lone par 3, and a slew of par 4s making for a par 70.

After three wins this season, many of the so-called experts are picking Tiger Woods to win major number 14, or 15 (I forget), but not me. I’ll go even further, I don’t believe that any of the top ten players in the world will win this week. I’m not sure if it will be a “kid from out of nowhere” winning, but I will take the field vs. the top ten.

Here’s my point: Regardless of who wins, the Open is one of the great golf events, and this year it’s like the opening event of the Olympics. If you don’t like golf this week, you don’t like cream gravy, or black-eyed peas, or fried chicken, or peach ice cream, or apple pie, or Mexican food, or BLTs, or… can you tell I’m on a diet?

Eat something for me and enjoy the Open.

A Gift From The Gods (repost)

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:18:00 GMT

I’m off on vacation for a week or so. I wrote this a while back, but for some reason my prayer to the Golf God went unanswered. I thought I made a reasonable case, what do you think?

With the understanding that the golf god is a relative of Achilles and not Jesus or Moses, it seems acceptable to ask for frivolous gifts and guidance from a god that obviously takes pleasure in making fun of my game. Granted, the golf god I am familiar with is not known for his or her generosity or understanding. Moreover, this smug god seems to take pleasure in figuratively replacing each of my clubs with whoopee-cushions at the most inappropriate occasions, but these are desperate times, requiring desperate measures.

It is with a full understanding that any appeal for reason and sanity is likely to be met with guffaws and mocking, that I am making this public plea for a break or two now and then.

Here goes: Dear golf god, Once in a while let me out drive everyone on the first tee. I understand that I’m in the senior swing category these days, but it would be nice to make up for all of the wild first tee slices that I have endured in my life. I’m not asking you to help me drive the ball 300 yards. It would be satisfactory to just let me hit it down the middle after the other three guys have hooked their balls into the river. I’m not above benefiting from other people’s failures; how else do you expect me to succeed?

Golf god, just one time, when I’m in jail behind twelve oaks, two hackberries and a menacing looking yucca plant, please allow my swing to remain low and flat, sending the ball flying headlong toward the green rather than ricocheting back toward me and various appendages that I think of as vital. I’m not asking to hole-out, or even for a tap-in, just a second-level thrilling shot that lands in the general area of the hole. I don’t even have to make the ten-foot putt to complete the wish. It’s enough to brush by the hole so that everyone acknowledges that I’ve been robbed.

Golf god, I would also like to back the ball up on the green one time. It would be preferable that it happened while everyone was watching, but I’ll take what I can get. Once again, it would be nice if it brushed by the hole, but it’s not necessary. The important part is that I hit it stiff and it takes that one hop, stops and spins aggressively back toward the hole. Backing up a wedge shot would work, but a five iron would be incredible. While we’re talking about backing the ball up once in a while, I would also like to hit one of those low, driving chip shots that take two hops, then stop right by the hole.

Golf god, it would be nice if now and then you would allow me to ignore the water hazard in front of me. I can only imagine what it feels like to step up to a ball needing to carry it 190 yards over the water without my hand sweating and my gut wrenching. What must it be like to saunter over to your golf bag smiling and say, “I think I’ll use a five-iron and hit a high fade so I can stop the ball close to the hole.”

Golf god, what would be wrong with allowing me to draw or fade the ball around a hazard now and then? I promise I won’t say things like “watch this,” or “you might want to take notes,” or anything overly braggadocios. I’d just give them a knowing smile. Granted, you have given me a wicked hook and slice that at times defy the laws of physics, but it’s not the same. A draw is not a hook and a fade is not a slice, especially when a draw swing becomes a slice and vice versa.

Golf god, lest you think that I am more shallow than I actually am, this is not about winning bets. It’s more important than that. This is about bragging rights. This is about beating friends and foes alike. This is about snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and watching your opponent crumble before your eyes. This is about revenge served hot, cold, or tepid at the moment of your greatest triumph, and if you win the bet, so be it.

The Olympic Club Where Dreams Meet The San Andreas Fault

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:44:00 GMT

One year and one week ago Rory McIlroy had just won the U.S. Open and was on his way to becoming the number one player in the world. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, was struggling. Many experts were questioning if he would ever be the same player again, but something has happened over the last several weeks. Tiger is no longer missing cuts; Rory is. Tiger isn’t giving up the lead; Rory is. What a difference a year makes.

With Tiger seeming to be on the prowl once again, soft-spoken Luke Donald has recaptured the world’s number one ranking; Bubba Watson has set the dipper bag aside for a while; Jason Dufner has explained to his new wife why he doesn’t win every week; Matt Kuchar is rested; Hunter Mahan has restarted his engine; Rickie Fowler has adjusted to winning; Phil Mickelson is feeling at home in California; Lee Westwood has a new set of irons and a win in his pocket; Justin Rose is lurking; Zack Johnson has a new lease on life; and 22 golfers with Majors on their resume are in San Francisco to make history.

But the Olympic Club has its own way of making history.

Perhaps that’s why the U.S. Open is returning to the Olympic Club for the fifth time. This is the place where Ben Hogan lost to Jack Fleck, a guy from a municipal course in Iowa. This is the place they say has too many trees and not enough sunshine. This is the place that has no water hazards, but does have the San Andreas Fault running through it. This is the place where Arnold Palmer had a seven shot lead with nine holes to play and lost to Billy Casper; this is the place where favorites come to disappear. This is the place where, according to journalist Dan Jenkins, “the wrong guy wins every time.”

To understand this golf course you need to understand this Club. Over the years, its membership has included heavy weight boxing champion James J. Corbett, and heavy weight jerk and baseball legend Ty Cobb. The Olympic Club fielded a football team through the 1930s. They played Rose Bowl bound Stanford and won. In 1913, the Olympic Club's rugby union team played the touring All Blacks of New Zealand and also won. This is also the home court of Ralph Rose who set the world shot put record of 51 feet in 1909. In 1937 the Olympic Club track and field team won the AAU National Championship, and in 1941 they won the AAU Basketball championship. Did I mention the cycling championships, water polo, and a half dozen other championship cups that occupy their trophy case?

For a club that had already been in business fifty years, the idea of adding a golf course came late, 1918 to be exact. Today, there are three courses: Lake, Ocean, and Cliffs. This week’s tussle is on the Lake course where on a clear day you can see the Golden Gate Bridge, but you can’t count on those clear days.

The Lake Course is listed as one of Golf Magazine’s Top 100 in the U.S. It is also one of Golf Week’s "America's 100 Best Classical Courses,” and 23rd on Golf Digest’s 100 Greatest Courses. In the five times that the Olympic Club has hosted the U.S. Open Ben Hogan lost to Jack Fleck, Arnold Palmer lost to Billy Casper, Tom Watson lost to Scott Simpson and Payne Stewart lost to Lee Janzen.

The U.S. Open is supposed to be tough and Olympic Club will not disappoint. It has very small greens, and tight fairways with unusual up hill doglegs. There is exactly one fairway bunker on the entire course, and no water hazards. For the Open, the fairways will be narrowed and they will grow the rough knee-high. There are elevation changes, shapes and variations that make this course totally unique. It is simple and intriguing.

This is not Hogan’s Alley, or where Arnold Palmer goes to celebrate anything. This is the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club, smack on top of the San Andreas Fault and everybody except maybe you and me has a chance.

How To Tell If Is Tiger Woods The Best Player In The World

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:12:00 GMT

When I was playing golf last week a bird landed on my head... Really. I was sitting in the cart and a small bird actually landed on top on my head. I’m totally serious. My cart-mate held out his finger and the small bird climb onboard and he transported it safely to a near by tree.

A metaphor you say. Oh, but it were true, and I bogeyed the next two holes. That’s when I noticed that the feathered rat had actually pooped on my hat.

As I write this, most of the best golf pros in the world are watching the FedEx St. Jude Classic just like you and me, on TV. Ever the perfectionist, Tiger said he was going to take off this week to work on a few things before showing up at the U.S. Open presumably with his “A” game. Immediately, half the golf writers in the world picked him to win the Open. Tiger may do just that, but before you drink the “Tiger is back” Kool-Aid you might want to check the top of your hat.

Every time I say something like this I have to explain that I’m really not a Tiger hater. I think Tiger is, without question, the most important golfer since Jack Nicklaus, and he may prove to be the best that ever lived… but all I’m saying is that the jury is still out.

No, I was not in a coma last week. Yes, I saw him win... for the second time this year. Yes, I saw the shot on sixteen. Yes, I saw the fist pump. Yes, I saw him birdie three of the last four holes… still I’m not convinced.

No offence to Rory Sabbatini, Andres Romoro, Daniel Summerhays and Spencer Levin, but they were not exactly the ’27 Yankees staring Tiger down last Sunday afternoon. Of course you’re right, he can only beat who’s there. And therein lies the dilemma. Granted, a lot of big names had their chance and faltered early… but still.

The same thing happened at Bay Hill. Tiger won going away with all of the big names already in the clubhouse packing their bags… but still.

I understand that, more than ever, golf needs Tiger, and it needs him to be great. Tiger, single handedly, brought millions of new fans to the game. Folks who didn’t know a birdie from a bogey knew Tiger Woods. Little kids wanted to be Tiger. It was golf’s new golden age. I’m all for that. Bring on the golden age part three.

So, what does Tiger have to do to convince me that he is the second coming of himself? Win? Sure, but there is more to it than that. Greatness requires that you not simply face all comers, but seek out any and all who would have your crown.

In his last film Humphrey Bogart played sportswriter hired by a crooked boxing promoter to publicize his new boxer, a huge, but slow-witted and untalented Argentinean named Toro Moreno. Unbeknownst to Toro all of his fights were fixed making the public believe that he was for real. Finally the manager arranges for Toro to fight the heavyweight champ. Toro loses as expected and in the process gets brutally beaten.

Certainly, Rory Sabbatini isn’t Toro Moreno, but he’s not ranked in the top fifty in the world either. If Tiger wants to be the greatest golfer that ever lived, he has to beat the best, and the Rory Sabbatini’s of this world don’t count… even if you hole-out on sixteen.

Is Tiger Woods the best player in the world right now? We’re about to find out. The U.S. Open is next!

Is Winning More Than Not Losing?

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 31 May 2012 17:06:00 GMT

By the time you read this it will be almost June. You will have forgotten about how Jason Dufner almost became the year’s first three-time winner. You may have even forgotten how he gave that opportunity away and how Zack Johnson did his best to give it back.

The question is, did Jason lose, or did Zack win?

At the time, I couldn’t believe that Jason didn’t just play to the middle of the green. Who goes brain dead like that and hits the ball in the water… twice? The very next day I answered that question. With about $1,152,000 less on the line than Jason, I blew the same kind of lead playing my buddies. And trust me, they were far less polite that Zack Johnson.

Sports, all sports, are strangely intriguing. One minute ”YOU DA MAN”, the next you’re just the “DA”. Remember the snowboarder in the last Winter Olympics who started celebrating before she reached the finish line only to fall and lose the Gold Metal… DA.

Granted, her fall from grace was self-inflected, but aren’t they all?

As brain dead goes, last week was nothing special. Remember 1999? A young French golfer named Jean Van de Velde only needed a double-bogey on the last hole to win the British Open and solidify his place in golf history. A lead-pipe cinch to becoming the first Frenchman to win the Open Championship since who knows when, our boy arrived at the 18th tee with a 3-stroke lead. As they say in France, Laissez les bons temps rouler.

However, instead of taking a 3-wood and putting his ball safely in the fairway, young Mister Van de Velde pounded a driver into the rough. He followed his first bad decision with a second. Instead of laying-up in front of Barry Burn, which crossed in front of the 18th green, Van de Velde went for the green. His ball bounced off the grandstands on to the rocks along the edge of Barry Burn, and then bounced into thick rough short of the water hazard.

Hold up on that Laissez les bons temps rouler stuff.

Bad decision number three came when Van de Velde tried to hack the ball out of the rough, over the burn on to the green, but the ball plopped down into the burn. Van de Velde then took off his shoes, climbed down into the water and was considering trying to hit the ball out. Ultimately, exactly three decisions to late, he thought better of trying to hit the ball out of the water and took a drop behind the burn. Then, with more bad swing thoughts running through his head than anyone can imagine, he scooped the next shot and wound up short in a greenside bunker. He blasted out, and sank the putt for triple-bogey.

After all that he still wasn’t out of it. He was tied with Paul Lawrie. However, nobody has enough cool to go through all of that and then win a playoff. So, his meltdown was complete. He lost to Paul Lawrie… but not his place in history.

As I said before, all meltdowns are self inflected. As Jean Van de Velde, and to a lesser degree Jason Dufner, pointed out, meltdowns are rarely one bad decision, but a series of bad decisions that seem to take on a life of their own.

The lesson in life, sports and dining out is that everybody makes a bad decision now and then. The secret is to not compound one bad decision with another, or if your name is Jean Van de Velde, a third and fourth one.

Jimmy Johnson, the former football coach turned hair dresser, turned television commentator, said winning teams usually make fewest bad plays not the most good ones.

So, how many bad decisions does it take to screw up a perfectly good round of golf? The answer is usually more than one. As for my game, I’m trying to get it down to one per hole, but that’s another story.

Two weeks until the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA.

Is This Already One of Golf’s Best Years?

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:06:00 GMT

The PGA Tour has finally caught the stage to Fort Worth and the Colonial Invitational, and come Sunday they’ll catch the last stage out of Texas to Jack’s place in Dublin, Ohio, and the Texas swing will be over for another year. And what a swing it has been.

The Texas journey began April 19th in the hill country just north of San Antonio where Ben Curtis, appearing to wear the same clothes he wore when he won the 2003 British Open, rose from the dead to win again. Then because the PGA Tour is in charge of travel, they took a short cut to Dallas via the Zurich Classic in New Orleans where Jason Dufner cashed in and got married. Right after the reception, the Tour took another short cut to Dallas via the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina for Rickie Fowler’s coming out party, which was followed by a detour to The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida and Matt Kuchar’s big win. Okay, now it’s off to the Byron Nelson in Dallas because it’s right on the way.

Now I’m no good with numbers, but by my calculations, the Tour made the 300-mile trip from San Antonio to Dallas and the Byron Nelson Championship about two thousand miles and three weeks longer than it needed to be, but that’s just me.

Holy cow! Somebody buy the Tour a GPS. And while you’re at it, you should buy them a weather map as well (check out the wind and the temperatures this week in Texas), but that’s another story.

Here we are in Cowtown. Since the PGA Tour started its Texas journey back in April, Jason Dufner now has two wins and a new bride. Rickie Fowler has made Puma’s year, and Matt Kuchar has his signature win. Crazy travel schedules aside, it’s been fun to watch, and the best could be still ahead.

The U.S. Open, being played this year at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, is only three weeks away, and with so many guys playing so well, it has the potential to be one of the most exciting Opens in years, not to mention how good the food will be.

Most of us thought that this would be the Tiger comeback year, and even though he won at Bay Hill, he has never looked like the man to beat in 2012. Certainly, he still has the time to put it all back together in 2012, but I can’t find anybody who believes he’s put all of his swing demons behind him. Butch Harmon may have given Tiger the best advice when he said he should forget everything and just go out and hit the ball. By the way, Butch said the same thing to me, followed by “Don’t ask for any more free lessons.”

But seriously, I love what’s happening to golf these days. I love that Rory McIlroy is the number one player in the world and that he’s bringing his skills to the U.S. on a regular basis. I love that Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker are still playing so great. I also love that Bubba Watson won the Masters, and that guys like Hunter Mahan, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, and Rickie Fowler are playing so well, and the good news is that there is a lot more golf still to be played.

With the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA, the FedEx Cup, and the Ryder Cup still ahead, I am already tempted to nominate 2012 as one of golf’s best years, and not because someone is dominating, but because there are so many great players in the hunt each week. Back when Tiger’s world started falling apart I wrote something about how much golf needed Tiger. I know it’s hard to believe, but I may have been wrong.

Perhaps, the next big thing will win ten in a row next year, but until that happens, you’ll have to admit that this has been a pretty great year, so far; and if Matt Kuchar or Rickie Fowler wins this week and Rory McIlroy wins next week, we may have to declare this fun year totally official.

Matt Kuchar, The Next Big Thing Ten Years In Coming

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:28:00 GMT

The first time I remember seeing Matt Kuchar was at the 1998 Masters. As low amateur he finished the tournament tied for 21st, a feat that 90% of the professional golfers in the world still haven’t accomplished. I don’t remember anything about his swing, but what I do remember is his smile, which as it turns out, may be the most important club in his bag.

He was, without question, the next big thing in 1998, and why not? The Georgia Tech All-American followed his Masters performance with an even better one at the U.S. Open where he tied for 14th. At the age of 23 he won his first PGA Tournament, then wouldn’t win another PGA Tour Tournament for seven years... that’s right, seven years, and it wasn’t even close. He wasn’t losing by a stroke here and there, he was terrible, so terrible that he lost his card and ended up on the Nationwide Tour. Still, through it all, some how, some way, Matt kept smiling.

To his credit, he never stopped fighting, and he never stopped smiling. The self-taught prodigy hooked up with Chris O’Connell in 2006 and Jim Hardy and started rebuilding his swing, and what a swing it is. By all accounts, it may be the flattest swing in golf, or maybe it just looks that way because he’s 6’ 4”. Nevertheless, Matt could take a full swing in your dining room and not hit the chandelier, but here’s the bottom-line… it works. Swing doctor Butch Harmon, put it this way, “Matt doesn’t do anything spectacularly well, but does everything very good.”

Butch was smiling when he said that, and Matt was starting to have a reason to smile.

In 2006, Matt finished 10th on the Nationwide money list, earning his PGA card for 2007. He finished 115th on the money list that year. In 2008, he finish 70th. Then, in 2009, seven years after his first PGA Tour Win, he won for a second time, but even that wasn’t easy. He had to win a playoff over Vaughn Taylor, which wasn’t completed until Monday due to darkness. That which does not kill me makes me smile.

Now Matt was really smiling.

By 2010 everything had changed. Matt Who, was now Matt Kuchar, Ryder Cup Team Member. At the time Matt was named to the team he lead the PGA Tour in top10 finishes, but he didn’t have a win in 2010; however in August he added an exclamation mark by winning The Barclays, and his smile got bigger.

He went on to win the Vardon Trophy and the Byron Nelson Award that year for lowest scoring average; then to top it off, he won the Arnold Palmer Award as leading money winner. Now, the entire Kuchar family is smiling.

By 2011, Matt his in a zone, three top-ten finishes in the first three weeks. In February, Matt had a great showing at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship before losing to the eventual winner Luke Donald. Then in June, he finished second behind Steve Stricker at the Memorial, causing fellow scribe Cathy Erickson to suffer palpitations for nearly a week. Now Cathy and Matt were both smiling like a Cheshire Cat. Matt went on to finish second at the Barclays in 2011, then he and Gary Woodland teamed up to win the Omega Mission Hill World Cup that November just for laughs… or smiles.

Now, assuming that you don’t play golf under a rock, you already know that Matt smiled his way to a tie for third at the Masters in 2012, which brings us to the Players and the infamous TPC Sawgrass, which Matt Kuchar whistled and smiled his way around for a two stroke victory. That’s right he not only smiled, he whistled.

I don’t know what to make of someone who smiles as much as Matt Kuchar does. It’s unnerving. Perhaps he already knew that he was about to become the 5th ranked player in the world. Heck, that would make anybody smile, but I like to think he’s a fan of Rudyard Kipling who famously said:

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same.

I think Matt Kuchar has figured out that triumph and disaster are both imposters. That’s what keeps him going. That’s why he’s always smiling.

The Best Tournament Of The Year Is The Next One

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:48:00 GMT

It’s been a while since golf had this many locked and loaded young guns on the tee box at the same time. Now add the orange crush and the bad mustache of Rickie Fowler to the list. This makes Puma a bit like me, not as dumb as we look.

Obviously, there are lists, then there are lists and Rory McIlroy is at the top of every list these days, but Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas, Gary Woodland, Hunter Mahan, Webb Simpson and now Rickie Fowler are all right there as well. Now, add to all this excitement the existing powers such as Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen Sean O’Hair, Justin Rose, Charl Schwartzel, Nick Watney, Adam Scott, Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey, Darren Clark, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer and a dozen more guys that are capable of winning every time they tee it up, and winning a golf tournament is starting to become a lot more difficult, and a lot more exciting.

This week, the beneficiary of all this excitement is The Players. Already with one of best fields on tour, the PGA Tour guys have to be wetting their pants at this week’s tournament. And, speaking of not being as dumb as they look, the PGA grouped Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Tiger Woods together on Thursday. Think they might draw a crowd?

In the category of it’s better to be lucky than good, the PGA Tour guys were also able to group the three whitest guys in America, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar. Think about it; these guys have to spend a fortune each year on sun block.

Another great group to watch is Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker. McIlroy, the number one player in the world these days, won The Honda Classic earlier this year, and is returning to Sawgrass after missing a year. Mickelson is a one-man golf show and former Players champ, and Stricker, who won the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January, always looks ready to win… again.

Now if you’re just out to improve your vocabulary you might want to follow Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day and Ian Poulter. Jason and Ian both claim to speak English although you couldn’t prove it by me. And frankly, nobody knows what language Louis Oosthuizen speaks. “Double O” is playing in the U.S. for the first time since he lost to Bubba Watson at the Masters and Jason Day, who is on a bit of a roll of his own, finished strong at the Wells Fargo Championship last week, and may be back on his game. Then of course there is Ian Poulter who has a shot at winning every time he spikes his hair and puts on a pair of ugly pants, but I digress.

Without question, the Players has a chance to be one of the best tournaments of the year. It’s got the field, it’s got a good, if not great golf course, and it seems to have momentum. With the U.S. Open a month away, and the British Open a month after that, golf, the young guns and the steady veterans seem to have everything going their way. That’s great for you and me, but it’s also great for golf.

If you don’t love what’s going on in golf right now, you must be living under a rock. That’s no excuse either. I know a guy that lives under a rock and even he has cable.

Enjoy the tournament. Then go and enjoy playing a round or two.

Whatever Happened To Anthony Kim?

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:18:00 GMT

The Wells Fargo Championship being played at Quail Hollow Club this week features the likes of Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley, Lee Westwood, and Tiger Woods to mention a few. Eleven of this year’s PGA tournament winners will be represented along with nineteen Majors winners. There are also eight past winners including last year’s champ Lucas Glover who is starting to get his game back, and 2008 winner Anthony Kim who at present can only be described as a lost ball in the high weeds.

Ranked 210 on the money list with less than $34,000 in his pocket so far in 2012, Anthony Kim is in serious danger of losing his card. It’s a position the flamboyant, diamond belt-buckled, life of the party, twenty-six year old golf star never envisioned. But, that’s what happens when you finish only two of nine tournaments. He has missed four cuts and was disqualified after shooting a 78 at Riviera and not signing his card.

From an injury standpoint, his troubles started with his left thumb that was operated on in 2010. It cost him a spot on the Ryder Cup team and most of the 2011 season. Then came the right elbow and right wrist. “They” say there is no structural damage that should keep him from playing, but they don’t feel the pain that Anthony says he feels with every swing. It didn’t help the cause when he connected with a rock in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago, sending more shockwaves up his right arm and directly into his fragile ego.

Even his Mom is piling on. "Hey, there's a caddie that said he made $60,000 caddying at my club,” Kim’s mother told Anthony. “The caddie stays at home and works four days a week. He's made $60,000. You've only made $30,000.”

That’s cold, Mom.

Speaking of cold, Anthony lost his bag deal and is now sporting his red Oklahoma Sooners college bag, which brings to mind the wisdom of the old quarterback Bobby Lane who said, “It’s not far from the penthouse to the outhouse.” It's hard to believe that only four years ago, Kim was the rising star. He won Quail Hollow by five shots for his first PGA Tour win, then won the AT&T National two months later to become the first American under 25 since Tiger Woods to win at least twice in one season. At the Ryder Cup that year, he was a catalyst in the American victory.

That was then and this is now. Gone are the entourage, the diamond AK belt-buckles and much of the swagger, all replaced by the locker room whispers asking, “What’s wrong with Anthony?” There are also the doubters who question his dedication, his work habits, and his life style.

Sounding a bit like a guy whistling through the graveyard, Anthony is keeping a stiff upper lip. "It's been a frustrating year, and I'm trying to have a good attitude about it, but it gets tougher and tougher every day. My body has been fine for a long time, but it's been one little thing after another," Kim said. "I hit it better (today) than I've hit it in a long time. To come out here and hit the ball in the middle of the face over and over felt pretty good. I haven't had the opportunity to practice and get better. It's not so much the injuries, but the confidence I get from practicing is what I can't get.

"I feel closer than everyone thinks. I don't see why I can't go out there and shoot in the mid-60s every day. I know I've been closer to shooting 80s than 60s, but I still don't see why I can't shoot good rounds."

Perhaps he’s right, but Quail Hollow and the stellar field that’s assembled for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship seems an unlikely place to go searching for one’s game.

Anthony laughed at his mother’s joke about the caddie making more money the he has this year. Then the smile ran away from his face and he said, "She asked me if I wanted to keep playing golf. She doesn't care if I play golf as long as I'm happy. I told her I plan on being out here a long time. I love playing golf. I love competing.

“I’m okay with where I'm at right now. If I didn't believe I could win out here I wouldn't be here."

It’s A Mystery: Why Is The Zurich Open Not A Major?

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:45:00 GMT

This week’s Zurich Classic in New Orleans boasts a very good field: four of the top ten players in the world, three of the top money winners on the PGA Tour, and four of the top ten FedEx Cup point leaders. It also has nine 2012 tournament winners, and twelve previous winners of their own tournaments. However, their big catch is last year’s winner, and this year’s Masters Champion Bubba Watson, who is one of twelve major winners in the field. There are also a ton of international players who stopped by for some crawfish and grits before heading to the Players in two weeks.

The Zurich Open is a very good golf tournament, with a really good field, that benefits greatly from a good schedule, and a great city, but like most golf tournaments, it’s not a Major, and for reasons known only to the golf gods, it has no shot at ever becoming one.

Why not? Why are the majors the majors, and the Zurichs the Zurichs, and while we are at it, why is the Players Tournament trying so hard to become a major? The reason that question is so difficult to answer is that nobody really knows how majors become majors. There’s not a majors committee. No secret votes. No white smoke from the chimney. Apparently majors are polymorphism. One day you’re a caterpillar and the next you’re a butterfly.

As best I can tell golf writer Herbert Warren Wind started using the term back in the fifties. He said golfers ought to be judged by the major tournaments they win, but once again no one called a meeting and said okay these four are majors and the rest of your guys are not.

As a matter of fact, back when golf pros were considered little more than hustlers four, but not all, of the majors consisted of the British Open, the British Amateur Championship, the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur Championship, which was Bobby Jones’ 1930 Grand Slam, and later became breakfast at the IHOP, but that’s another story.

At the same time, years before the Masters even existed, the Western Open, first played in 1899, was also considered a major, as was the British PGA Match Play Championship. There was also the North and South Open, which was played annually at Pinehurst resort in North Carolina starting in 1902, it was also considered a major by the media and the players.

In many ways, the North and South was the Masters before the Masters, but the tournament was discontinued in 1951 after a dispute between the Tour and Pinehurst’s patriarch, Richard Tufts. Then, only a year or so later, the Masters prestige would totally eclipse the Western Open when television executives checked out the weather in Illinois and then chose to spend April in Augusta. Did you see the smoke coming from the chimney?

It is hard to determine when the definition changed to include the current four tournaments. Many give credit to Arnold Palmer's 1960 season, when after winning the Masters and the U.S. Open to start the season he remarked that if he could win the Open Championship and PGA Championship to finish the season, he would complete "a grand slam of his own" to rival Bobby Jones’s 1930 feat.

Remember, in the 1940s and 1950s, very few American players made the Atlantic crossing, a notable exception being Ben Hogan’s single, victorious visit in 1953. That’s also the year of the “Hogan Slam,” which included the Masters, British Open and the U.S. Open. The PGA Championship was played at the same time the British Open was played making it impossible to win all four.

However, once Arnold Palmer and then Jack Nicklaus started making annual pilgrimages to the British Open in the early 1960s, and the PGA Championship moved to August in order not to conflict with the British Open, the current group of four major tournaments was more or less carved in stone.

So, how do majors become majors? The answer seems to be that three of today’s majors are national championships, which makes sense. However, the Masters seems to owe its status to Pinehurst’s patriarch, Richard Tufts’ being ticked-off at the Tour, and some TV executive deciding that he’d rather be in Georgia than Illinois in early April. Granted, it didn’t hurt that Bobby Jones was hosting.

Interestingly, back in the 50’s nobody talked much about who was and who was not a major. Also lost in translation is the how and why it became four and not five, or twenty-five. One guy who could never figure it out either was former PGA Commissioner Deane Beman the driving force behind the creation of the Players Tournament. It’s been said that he was so frustrated that he couldn’t control the majors that he was determined to create his own. There was even talk that he wanted to make it a head-to-head battle to the death by scheduling the Players Tournament the same week as the U.S. Open, but cooler heads prevailed.

The majors; the whys and the why nots are mysteries. It’s like the origins of life itself. How are we here? Why are we here? What is our fate? Surely, it’s one of the great questions of the cosmos. Why are there only four majors… and what ever happened to D.B. Cooper?

The Bubba In All Of Us

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:56:00 GMT

Bubba Watson was not the “Kid from out of no where” winning the Masters. He had already won three times on tour. True, many non-golfers didn’t know his name, but the rest of us did. He’s made more than 15 million dollars already, including more than 3 million bucks in each of the last two years, so needless to say Bubba isn’t playing with shag balls these days.

There is, of course the name Bubba, which conjures up all that good old boy stuff from the Dukes of Hazards, but to me that’s more Boo Weekly than Bubbas Watson. Still, he is from the South, he does own the General Lee, and there is the hair, which is about one trim away from being a mullet.

So, who is Bubba Watson? I like to think he’s you and me with a lot more golf talent. Bubba has the kind of A.D.D. that most of us have and his mind wanders during a match now and then. Like you and me, he loves to play golf, but it’s not the only thing in his life. Once again, like you and me, he likes to try and make crazy shots. Unlike you and me he makes most of his, but he laughs when he doesn’t, which may be something Bubba can teach all of us.

Bubba twitted, “Hooked it about 40 yards, hit about 15 yards off the ground until it got under the tree and then it started rising. Pretty easy… I know how to get out of the trees pretty good.”

Bubba is six-foot-three and cries more than John Boehner, but that’s okay. Hey, I got choked up watching Bambi.

As has been well publicized, Bubba “Never had a lesson,” but once again like many of us, his Dad showed him a few things. Like you and me, he says he’s not a very good putter. Unlike you and me he is a very good putter.

Bubba tweeted about next year’s Masters Champion’s dinner menu, “I have it narrowed down to three: Waffle House, Chipotle, Lexington Barbecue or In-N-Out.” Okay, that’s four choices, but there is something Bubba about that, as well.

It’s also very Bubba to call out the President, and I don’t mean the President of the Masters or golf. Bubba sent the following message to President Obama, “Hey@BarackObama when we playing a game of Bball at your home court?? #WhiteHouse”.

I can’t imagine that he won’t get invited.

He also tweeted Piers Morgan before his appearance on his show, “Hope you’ve got your putting game on today@bubbawatson – because I’m taking you down.” Then, after Morgan questioned Bubba about Augusta not allowing female members, Bubba said, “I know who’s not going to be a member – You.”

However, the quote I like best came when David Letterman asked Bubba to describe his personal style of play, Bubba said, “Awesome.” Don’t all of us have a friend that couldn’t pass up a straight line like that?

I think what we like about Bubba is what we like about our friends. They are funny, unpredictable, surprising, and real. They’ll hit the crazy shot, then laugh at the results, good or bad. I think he is also the guy who would help you look for your ball and kick it back inbounds without telling you.

Bubba is that rascal; he is also Masters Champion and of all of the things he’s said lately, he’s right about one thing… He’s awesome.

Obviously, Bubba Needs A Golf Lesson

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:54:00 GMT

Even though Bubba Watson just won the Masters, it is obvious to all of us connoisseurs of the great game that his swing needs help… and like the government, I’m here to help. Granted, I’m not qualified to carry Bubba’s golf bag, but let’s not quibble over technicalities.

Let’s start with the most obvious. Finishing your swing with both arms over your head like a football referee is not the ideal position. But to err is human and it’s understandable because Bubba hasn’t had the benefit of all of the fine coaching that I have had. I’ve read Byron Nelson’s, Ben Hogan’s and Butch Harmon’s books. I’ve been to golf school. Sure, they made me stand in the corner all day, but that’s another story. It’s also true that every time I’ve had a golf lesson, I left a worse player than when I arrived, but that’s just me and my tiny little brain and my insufficient athletic ability desperately lost in the high weeds of life.

Nevertheless, there are those who have had success. Take Hank Haney’s success with the worst golf swing in America, Charles Barkley… oh, wait a minute, that didn’t go well, or maybe his success with Ray Romano… oh, that didn’t work either. Perhaps he should just write a book… oh, that didn’t go so well either.

On the other hand, Tiger has had a million golf lessons. He’s changed his swing three or four times since winning everything in sight. Granted, he is swimming the backstroke right now, but I understand why. Heck, if I have more than one thought at the top of my swing I’m lost. I can’t imagine how many swing tips are running around inside Tiger’s head at the top of his swing.

Here’s the point (and it was in all of the papers), we’re not all alike. We’re tall, short, skinny and not so skinny, and some of us are more than one of those things at a time. We’re also different kinds of athletes. I grew up with guys who never lifted weights and were still strong as an ox. I played on football teams where the guy who looked like a Greek god couldn’t play a lick, and the funny looking skinny kid was a stud. That’s not really the point either. We all understand that Billy Casper and Bobby Jones are from different gene pools, but both played at a really high level.

In a way, we are born with our golf swing. It’s in our DNA. That’s not to say that you can’t make it better, but if you’re five-foot-five with a twenty inch inseam it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible for your golf swing to look like Tiger’s. However, as my sainted Mother use to say, “Who cares and don’t chew with your mouth full.”

Here’s the bottom-line: Swing DNA didn’t seem to bother guys like Seve Ballesteros, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Doug Ford, Jimmy Demaret, Henry Picard, or Angel Cabrera. They all had unique swings. They all had people suggesting that they change their swings. They all chose to dance with who brought them, and like Bubba Watson, they all won the Masters.

Bubba Watson is the 2012 Masters’ Champion and that’s real a hoot.

Six Degrees of The Masters

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:59:00 GMT

A few years ago Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon was a popular trivia game based on the concept of the small world phenomenon. Now, I don’t know if Kevin Bacon plays golf, or for that matter if he has ever been to the Masters, but I don’t see why that matters.

Now that we have eliminated logic as a contributing factor in this rant, let me start by reminding you that I live in Dallas where the Azaleas are also in bloom these days. Okay, the Azalea thing is not exactly six degrees of anything, but how about this; I have actually conversed with four-time Masters’ champion, Tiger Woods. Granted, I was working in the media room when he asked me to get him a drink of water, and all I said was “Sure,” but he could have just as easily asked me for a swing tip… he didn’t, but he could have.

For what it’s worth, I also met Elin Nordegren, perhaps better known as the former Mrs. Tiger Woods. It was the year Jasper Parnevik won the Byron Nelson Championship. Ms. Nordegren was babysitting for the Parnevik’s gaggle of towheaded kids. Jasper had just won and kids were running wild. Interestingly, the Elin I met that day was not a glamour looking blond; she looked like someone who had been chasing kids around for eight hours, which she had. Then, with barefooted blond children running in all directions she asked me to hold her jacket while she tried to catch them. She also could have asked me for a swing tip… she didn’t, but she could have.

Getting a few degrees closer, I also know Butch Harmon, Tigers’ former swing coach, and also the son of Claude Harmon the winner of the 1948 Masters, who was also best friends with Jackie Burke, Jr. the winner of the 1956 Masters. I’ve been to Butch’s golf school. I’ve had dinner with him twice, and I sat around in a bar listening to Butch and his brothers tell funny stories about the likes of Masters’ winner Ben Hogan and just about every golfer you ever heard of. It was about the most fun I ever had talking to anyone about golf. Once again, Butch, or any one of his brothers, could have asked me for a swing tip… they didn’t, but they could have.

In a way, you are also six degrees closer to the Masters than you think. Not because you read my ranting (that alone might get you disqualified), but because T2G’s Virtual Golf Pro, Stuart Smith coached Masters Champions Jose Maria Olazabal, Nick Faldo, and Sam “Bogey” Johnson. Like Jose and Nick, I also share my winnings with Stuart. And, just for the record, none of those guys asked me for a golf tip either… they could have, but didn’t.

That’s about as close to the Masters as I’ve been. Tiger could have invited me, but he didn’t. Elin also could have invited me, but she didn’t. Butch and any one of his brothers also could have invited me, but neither did. Understandably I’m a little miffed.

Perhaps your six degrees closer is closer than my six degrees. For your sake I hope you are unwrapping the traditional “Masters” green cellophane wrapped egg salad sandwich as your read this. For all I know you are sipping on a one dollar Lemon Lime in a souvenir Masters’ cup (that’s right, they still only cost one dollar). If you’re looking for an adult beverage, be sure not to order a Bud. They only sell Domestic for $2.75, or Imported for $3.50 (which is actually a Bud and Heineken). In case you didn’t know, brand names are gaucher.

Come to think of it, you could have invited me to the Masters. We could be sharing an egg salad sandwich and a cool beverage right now. All I can say is; don’t be looking for any free swing tips from me any time soon.

Is This The Tiger of Old, or Just an Old Tiger?

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:09:00 GMT

I’m not sure if this is a good time to ask the question, especially since he just won for the first time in almost three years, but here goes: Will Tiger Woods ever be the same? More precisely, is the greatest golfer most people younger than 40 years old have ever seen on the back nine of his career?

I understand that Tiger just won Bay Hill by five shots and that the whole world expects him to now win the Masters, and certainly there’s a chance he might do just that, making me look totally stupid. But I’m not worried because this is not the stupidest thing I have ever said. Heck, it may not even be the stupidest thing I’ll say today, but that’s another story, or perhaps a book.

Back in 2009, I wrote, “Tiger’s game will suffer because he is no longer infallible. In clubhouses all over the world golfers are whispering, Tiger is human. And guess what? We don’t like our gods, even our golf gods, to be human.”

Then in February 2010 I wrote, “When all is said and done, Tiger will not miss the millions in endorsements he has lost, but what he will miss is his aura of invincibility. He is no longer the 500-pound gorilla. He will win again, but he will never achieve the greatness he believed his stars foretold.”

In 2011, I ranted the following words of wisdom, “Believing you’re the best is important and any time that belief is shaken all kinds of other crappola starts running through your head. The other side of believing is whether or not others believe they can beat you, and for the longest time a lot of golfers were happy to play for second when Tiger was in the field. That’s no longer the case.”

So, has Tiger slain all of his demons as so many people are writing? Is Bay Hill his return to greatness? Or, as it appeared to me, did the guy in second place shoot 74 on Sunday never threatening Tiger, or anyone else for that matter (Holy crappola, Graeme McDowell had to sink a fifty foot putt for an eagle to keep from shooting 76).

I understand that a win is a win, but let’s tap on the brakes a bit. If Graeme McDowell, or anyone else for that matter, had been firing darts at the pins on Sunday making Tiger respond in kind, I’d be willing to cut Tiger some slack, but that’s not what happened. Graeme missed everything and Tiger shot a pedestrian 70, so excuse me if I don’t give Tiger the Masters just yet.

After everything I have written here, you may not believe me when I say that I really want Tiger to succeed. Really. I want him to end up being the greatest golfer that ever lived, not because I have a man crush on the guy, but because golf needs a great player to lead it through the financial doldrums it’s experiencing, and right now Tiger is our best shot.

I also have selfish reasons. I want to sit on the porch at the senior center with my tapioca and tell one and all, “Yep, I saw the greatest golfer that ever played.” Interestingly, my Great, Great Grandfather, Old “Bogie” Johnson, had this same conversation about Old Tom Morris, as did my Great Grandfather about Bobbie Jones, and my Grandfather about Jack Nicklaus. So, I will advise my Grandson, Little “Bogey” Johnson, to be patient. The next great golfer may be on some obscure high school team right now, or perhaps he’s fifty years away from being born. He may even be the guy in the red shirt named Tiger Woods, but let’s not crown him just yet.

The Forest Gump lesson incorporated here is that greatness is not an everyday occurrence; otherwise it would be called ordinary, and let’s face it ordinary don’t sell tickets in any sport. It won’t get you an extra serving of tapioca at the senior center either.

My Personal Golf Transition; Using The Tools You Have

Sam 'Bogey' Johnson — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:21:00 GMT

It’s Transition Championship week, meaning that it’s one week ‘til Bay Hill and three weeks before the Masters. However, for many of us non-Tour players, it’s also time to shake off the winter doldrums and transition into our own game.

Like many of you, I haven’t played a round since late October, but unlike many of you I don’t have the weather as an excuse. As a matter of fact it’s been pretty nice in Dallas. However, my game was in such a state of disarray, I thought it best for me, and the game itself, to take my clubs out of the car and be one with the universe until I could get my head around my game.

Now all that sounds good if in fact I had taken my own advice, but the best laid plans, so forth and so on. The truth is I installed a zip-line from my easy chair to the frig and sat there for hours on end changing pant sizes. Frankly, the only thing Zen about me was that I was starting to look like Buddha, which brings us to my New Year’s resolution. Remember this rant:

I awoke to see a two-inch hair growing out of the center of my forehead and had no choice but to consider that something may have changed in my life. Later that same day I reached into the trunk of my car for a package that weighed no more than a pound and hurt my back and ended up spending the Holidays nursing said back.

This is not a condition that came about suddenly. For a couple of years now I have parked my keister at the head of the buffet-line and as far away from the gym and practice range as possible. As a result my already weak game has become... in a word, dreadful.

Now, at this point a weaker person would have opened a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, picked up the TV remote and looked for the next episode of Hoarders, but I’m better than that, or at least I hope I am. Before I reach the point where I’m forced to choose over or under with the position of my belt, I need to act and January 1 seems like the perfect place to start this act. So, resolution one is to get my game back, which is not resolving all that much; however, it will require that I drop about twenty pounds, get in shape, and practice at least once a week.

Okay, here we are two and one-half months later. I am about 16 pounds lighter rather than 20, but the finish line is in sight and I think I’m going to make 20. I’ve started going to the gym at least four days a week, and even though my legs look like I stole them from a jaybird, I’m feeling better, if not looking better.

I’m also working on my game. Actually, with a tip or two from my buddy Stuart Smith, T2G’s Virtual Golf Pro, I’m trying to rebuild my golf swing. On the range at the PGA Show Stuart changed my grip, my take away and my footwork, leaving nothing of my old swing except my skinny legs.

To be honest, with my teacher in England, it’s been difficult, but I’ve been going to the range a couple of time a week and I’ve gone from horrible to bad, and I’m hoping to get to fair in the next couple of weeks, but I’ve run out of time.

Today, I’m playing golf with my friends at UST Mamiya, which includes a couple of PGA Pros, and a half dozen single digit handicappers. Okay, to be honest, there are also a few high handicappers in this group, but regardless of their skill level, they all point and laugh, and they like nothing better than to point and laugh at someone who writes better than he plays (which tells you just how badly I play).

Under this kind of pressure, the old Sam would have grabbed another pint of Ben & Jerry’s and quit. However, this is the new Sam, the 185 pound Sam, I am determined to fight through it. Granted, my short game may very well be in disarray, but I have a new pair of golf shoes. The same may be said about my driving, but I still look good in my Oakley’s. Okay, I can’t putt either, but you should see how good I look in my new golf shirt at 185 pounds.

I’m not saying it’s better to look good than to play good, but it’s a start, and that’s all I have to hold on to right now.