Golf for Beginners

Tiger Woods ready to win at least three golf tournaments in 2012?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:31:53 PST

Tiger Woods kicks off his 2012 PGA Tour season this week at The AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Woods has been working hard on a new swing with coach Sean Foley and his mental game is also looking sharp, leading one expert to predict that Tiger will win at least three times on tour this year.

Tiger Woods, SpyGlass Hill Golf Course, Round One

Steve Siebold, a former professional athlete (tennis player), mental toughness coach and author of the book 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class, has worked with athletes for twenty-seven years and has been pointing to a Tiger Woods comeback all along, but based on what’s he’s seeing now he believes this is the year of the Tiger.

Here’s why:

· Tiger Woods' talent never left him; it was his confidence that disappeared. Now that he knows how to win again, he’s not going to stop. Tiger won his last PGA Tour start, The Chevron World Challenge on December 4th and finished third at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. His confidence is as high as it’s been in years.

In his first round of the ATT at Spyglass Hill Golf course, Woods fired off six birdies for an opening round of 68, hitting eleven of fourteen fairways and fifteen of eighteen greens in regulation.

· His ball control is much better than it’s been, and he’s working the ball left to right and right to left comfortably. Both physically and mentally he looks really healthy and his competition should be scared. He’s going to win at least three times this season.

· Pebble Beach will be a good start for Tiger. He won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by fifteen shots. He knows how to win big on this track.

· Woods has made adversity his mental training ground. The stress and struggles of the past few years have only made him that much tougher and he’s ready to dominate the game again.

· Woods is hard-wired through years of world-class programming to focus on a vision and persevere at any cost. He doesn’t understand what giving up is.

· Champions like Woods are professional failures. They know that success is based on a series of comebacks, and that setbacks are set-ups for comebacks.

The bottom line for Siebold? A bet against a champion like Tiger Woods is a bad bet. On the physical plane he has perseverance, on the mental plane he has toughness and on the spiritual plane he has artistry...so says Siebold.

I agree with Steve Siebold that a bet against Woods at this point in his resurgence is a strong one but it should also be weighed heavily against other golfers in the field. In this stage of his career, with negatives drifting behind him, I think that Woods has the potential to win several golf tournaments this season, including a major (U.S. Open perhaps? He won it before hobbling on one leg...)

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What happens at the 2012 PGA Golf Merchandise Show?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:02:12 PST

You've probably heard about the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show on Twitter, Facebook and anywhere else on the internet where golf is being spoken and wondered what it was all about and so, as I read this press release, I immediately thought that golf fans would be interested in what happens at the biggest trade-only event of the year. It's a huge party of sorts thrown by the PGA of America. Here is a peek into the first day of the 2012 PGA Golf Merchandise Show...enjoy!

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Fun, optimism part of strong opening day for 59th PGA Merchandise Show

What if you threw a party and everybody came? You'd have something like the first day of the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show, where all of golf's biggest companies turned out in full force to show their latest products to thousands of PGA Professionals and golf shop merchandisers at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 26 - 28.

More than 1,000 companies welcomed thousands of PGA Professionals and golf shop buyers from more than 80 countries to the 59th Show. Attendees saw the latest in golf equipment, products and services, and apparel, as well as a number of high-profile guest appearances. Jack Nicklaus and baseball great Ken Griffey Jr. helped open the Show, and the rest of Thursday included appearances by 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III, David Leadbetter, Michael Breed, Greg Norman, Butch Harmon, Natalie Gulbis, Lexi Thompson, Johnny Damon and Win McMurry.

But the real life of the party was the wide variety of new products on display. Product introductions from industry leaders such as Titleist, Callaway Golf, TaylorMade, Ping and Wilson were behind the buzz on the Show floor.

"I think consumers are going to be very excited by the new products for 2012," said Brad Bachand, the PGA head professional at Man O'War Golf in Lexington, Ky., and the 2007 Kentucky PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities. "All the products we're seeing are so good, you can't really go wrong."

The stage was set for an exciting day when the PGA Merchandise Show opened with a musical performance by country music star Julie Roberts, who sang an emotional rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Attention then shifted to PGA President Allen Wronowski, who introduced Nicklaus and Griffey. The pair then helped two local Boys & Girls Club members hit ceremonial first shots using SNAG Golf equipment, and the 59th PGA Merchandise Show was underway.

The length of the Show floor was filled with attendees who were ready to place orders and learn about the latest golf merchandise.

"The Show is all about who's attending: For golf shops, they want to be able to see everything under one roof; for manufacturers, we want to be in front of all the great retail partners we work with throughout the year," said Bob Philion, president of Cobra Puma Golf. "The more people and companies you can get in one place, the more bang for your buck. It's incredibly important for us to be able to see so many accounts in one place."

"This is the capital of golf this week," agreed Raphael Peck, global vice president of apparel, footwear and accessories for Oakley Golf. "It's critically important to be here if you want to get your message across to your customers."

With the Golf 2.0 initiative placing a focus on making golf fun, many exhibits followed suit. Cobra Puma had an adult-sized ball slide, while Travis Mathew had a blackjack table and the Golf 2.0 booth itself offered attendees a chance to play video golf. The fun activities fit in with the optimistic mood of the Show.

"The Show is amazingly upbeat and optimistic," said Wronowski, presiding over his second PGA Merchandise Show as PGA President. "There's a lot of excitement and buzz. Certainly it feels like there is recovery in the industry."

Nicklaus' love for the game fuels desire to see it prosper

Noting that "golf has given me everything I have," and "I care about the game," legendary champion and course architect Jack Nicklaus spent much of Thursday morning affirming to the industry his belief that aspects of the game need to change in order for it to prosper, and that Golf 2.0 is a major step in the right direction.

Nicklaus began the day with a short speech to open the 59th PGA Merchandise Show, then, along with PGA President Allen Wronowski and PGA CEO Joe Steranka, met with a group of multi-course owners to encourage their support in implementing Golf 2.0 strategies at their facilities. Shortly thereafter, he delivered the keynote address at the PGA Forum Stage, where he and Steranka were joined by host Jimmy Roberts of NBC Sports; Mike Davis, executive director of the U.S. Golf Association; Frank Sanchez, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America; and baseball superstar Ken Griffey Jr., who sits on the Boys & Girls Clubs Board of Governors.

"I've always been a traditionalist, but I've realized that in order to save the game we need to think outside the box," said Nicklaus. "This plan (Golf 2.0) is the most comprehensive that's ever been put together, it's not a Jack Nicklaus or PGA of America initiative, it's something the whole industry needs to be involved in."

Nicklaus also touched on the need for "golf parks" to capture the attention of kids and their families, and the importance of the Olympics in making the game more relevant around the world. He concluded his morning with a question and answer session with industry media representatives at the PGA of America State of the Industry Roundtable.

Leading apparel brands deliver innovative offerings

The Apparel Hall at the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show is flush with the latest fashions, fabrics and styles from the industry's leading companies, as well as special events such as fashion shows and celebrity appearances.

A new Fashion E-Studio will provide an exciting interactive destination showcasing the latest trends from the biggest names in golf apparel and accessories with live presentations throughout Show Week. Many presentations are being streamed to a virtual audience.

The Fashion E-Studio is surrounded by multiple apparel, accessory and footwear companies, making it a comprehensive, one-stop collection of fashion trends from leading brands such as FootJoy, Puma, adidas, Cutter & Buck, Antigua, Fairway & Greene and many more.

Puma's star continues to rise with a youth-driven offering that includes pieces like the Duo-Swing mesh polo, quarter zip pullover and Golf SS Kinetic jacket, all designed with layering in mind so the golfer can adjust to changing weather.

"I think the younger market is really going to love this product," said Brian Short, a PGA Professional at Penn State University Golf Course in State College, Pa. "Puma is going to hit a different market that no one else has really hit before."

FootJoy is introducing its second full apparel collection, which includes four all-new contemporary color collections, exciting performance pieces for all playing conditions, and an expanded Essentials group.

Athletic brands remain dominant in many golf shops, including Under Armour, whose revolutionary new "coldblack" technology reflects the heat of the sun so the athlete feels cooler and sweats less. Callaway offers "core function" features like moisture wicking, strategic breathability and UPF 30-plus protection, while adidas continues to impress for fall by blending performance and innovation with unexpected styling.

For Cutter & Buck, the key to fall 2012 is "Warm Yarn" technology, which uses a lightweight double-faced fabric to create an insulating layer between your body and the garment.

"A lot of the detail and nuances in the line in our fall collection are being received really well," said Stacy Mangum, brand director at Cutter & Buck.

Luxurious cotton remains a strong point for Fairway & Greene, whose sister company EP Pro offers easy-care performance fabrics in four color-driven collections. Greg Norman Collection shows an enhanced sweater presentation for men and a variety of color and pattern work for women.

About the PGA Merchandise Show
The PGA Merchandise Show is not open to the public. Organized in partnership with The PGA of America as a trade-only event, the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show will be held in the Orange County Convention Center ~ 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. on Jan. 26-27; and 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Jan. 28

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Five Good Questions with Stacy Solomon, Golf For Beginners

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:42:00 PST

Recently I was emailed a few golf questions from Sean Mysel, Co-owner and operator at CrossGolfPros.com. Since he was concerned with how to get more women involved in the sport and has a wife who is a left-handed golfer, I was interested in helping out. I have reposted a few of the blog's questions below. Read the entire interview by clicking on the link below....enjoy :-)

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Five Good Questions w/Stacy Solomon, Golf For Beginners

by Sean Mysel

Hello all, one of my very great interests in the game of golf is how we as professionals can service a highly underrepresented segment of our market. That segment is women. Women are not coming to the game and in many ways are not being helped by golf establishments as a whole. For instance, in the Bay Area it's rare to find a course that offers organizations, leagues or otherwise for women. I had the great honor and privilege of conducting a Q&A with Stacy Solomon who authors a terrific blog called Golf For Beginners Link and shared her thoughts on five questions I asked her. Here are the responses:

SM: When did you start playing golf?

Stacy: I learned and practiced on a driving range for two years although occasionally, my husband and I would head over to Saxon Woods or Maple Moor (publinks) and play nine holes of twilight golf, dropping several balls at once for target and sand practice. I thought twilight golf was the perfect way to practice because it didn't take up too much time, it wasn't competitive (learn the basics first) and it was a very romantic way to spend an evening!

SM: I wanted to get right into a topic that I find fascinating. Overall the number of rounds played is down, membership to golf courses is down and the participation of women playing golf is down. What could the golf community do to increase the rounds of golf overall and especially with respect to participation by women?

Stacy: Reach out to women beyond the scope of the sport and bring them in, making golf less intimidating and more fun. Group events are always fun. Find women in other sports that might not have thought golf was "right" for them and show them the benefits, from fresh air and sunshine to the challenge it offers. Give free beginner lessons, have putting contests...ANYONE can be a good putter!

I belong to the Westchester, NY Executive Womens Golf Association which has (more than) a few great ideas to reach out to women including nine and wine, get-togethers and a fun bowling night during the off-season so that women can meet off of the golf course and then, when the time comes, they can feel more comfortable playing with a group that matches their handicap level. The EWGA has mentors and instructors on and off the golf course as well, to bring women into the fold.

SM: As a person who lived in the Northeast for four years, my golf game virtually shut down. How do you stay sharp during cold months?

Stacy: I regularly swing my (left-handed) Kallassy's Swing Magic, lift weights and walk on my treadmill several times a week. I used to go to my local outdoor heated driving range but, during the cold winter months I usually just putt on my carpet.

For more information on the CrossGolfPros visit www.crossgolfpros.com.

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Read Stacy Solomon's bio!

Will Tiger Woods golf season debut be a hit or a “Miss”?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:20:19 PST

Tiger Woods has been the target of a golf media thashing for two years and frankly I would prefer to concentrate this golf blog on his debut "form" and career objectives rather than on his latest “unprofessional” slamming by Hank Haney.

Was Haney justified in releasing a Tiger Woods “tell-all” book, “The Big Miss”, just prior to Woods’ first appearance? Sixty-six percent of fans who were asked said “No”.

That being said, the 2012 golf season is taking on momentum and Woods will be making his debut this week in Abu Dhabi at the HSBC Golf Championship. The stage for a Woods return was unofficially set in December when Tiger walked away with his first win in two years at the Chevron World Challenge.

Tiger Woods believes, however, that it was in Australia where he gained his greatest confidence, "Australia was big. I hit so many good shots, especially when the wind was howling at thirty mph, with gusts at more than that," and confidence is key to forging ahead.

Woods also claims that he is the fittest he has been at the start of a golf season in a "long, long time" and is excited to be competing alongside of up-and-coming players (and first round playing partners) Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald. Does Tiger Woods feels it necessary to test himself against the "new generation" to see if/that he can "rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes of his former self?

Ultimately, Woods is focused primarily on winning the majors and using the remainder of the events he will play in as “tune-ups’. Tiger confirmed, “Ultimately, I want to have my game peak four times a year."

At least he's dancing... one of his New Year resolutions?

Get to know Tiger Woods a little better on Friday; he’ll be answering questions on his Twitter feed @TigerWoods... should cause Twitter to burst at the seams.

Voice your opinions on Tiger Woods on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook

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I would like to share with you the press release I received along with the above Getty Image:

TIGER MOVES TO HSBC’S ABU DHABI BEAT

Golfing Giants Get Traditional With Emirati Ayala Dance

Abu Dhabi, UAE. Tuesday 24^th January, 2012: He’s been in Abu Dhabi for less than 24 hours, but Tiger Woods - one of the headline attractions at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which starts tomorrow (Thursday 26 January) – wowed onlookers at Abu Dhabi Golf Club today as he shook off the trans-Atlantic cobwebs and ‘moved’ to the UAE capital’s distinctive traditional beat.

Abu Dhabi debutant, Woods, an eye-catching contender in what is the strongest field ever assembled at a Middle East tournament, was joined by world numbers two and three, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, for an impromptu celebration of traditional Emirati ayala (celebration) dancing on his first National Course appearance.

“That was pretty special,” said Woods, a 14-time Major winner. “It’s my first time in Abu Dhabi and although as golfers we are used to travelling all over the world, we don’t usually get welcomes like that. It’s always fantastic to experience new cultures and traditions and I really got into the ayala beat; I’m not sure the canes would be too good on the putting greens this week though.”

The ayala dance celebration officially ushered in the seventh annual Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which will see triple and defending champion, Martin Kaymer, lock horns with Woods, Westwood and McIlroy, as well as world number one, Luke Donald, in the hunt for the Falcon trophy. Reigning Major champions, Charl Schwartzel (US Masters) and Darren Clarke (The Open), Australian hot-shot, Jason Day, Korea’s top ranked player, KJ Choi, Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington are also in the star studded line-up.

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#Golf Tournament puts Social Media to Good Use

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:51:55 PST

The March of Dimes will be the beneficiary of social media good will. The Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament in association with the PGA Tour will be donating $10 for every like they receive on Facebook.

All you have to do is click on the link below, "LIKE" the golf tournament and Farmers Insurance will help give preemies a chance at life. You don't have to reach into your pocket, just reach into your heart. Another great cause helped through social media.

As of today, 7,124 people have clicked the "Like" button.

Read the note I received below and make sure to donate with a simple click of your mouse!!
www.facebook.com/farmersinsuranceopen

Be a fan. Support babies!

Stacy,

Exciting golf and a rare social media charity partnership will greatly benefit
premature babies - with the public's help only! We'd appreciate your support in spreading the word on this....

Make your "like" count for something today. Farmers Insurance and the PGA TOUR are kicking off the upcoming Farmers Insurance Open with a generous pledge that will give babies born prematurely a fighting chance at life.

For every "like" on Facebook of the Farmers Insurance Open until January 29th Farmers will donate $10 - up to $50,000! - to the March of Dimes.

Already hundreds of thousands have been raised. With a simple click of a button, you can help a wonderful cause at www.facebook.com/farmersinsuranceopen.

The 2012 Farmers Insurance Open is taking place at Torrey Pines in San Diego from January 23-29.

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Signs that Phil Mickelson may be getting too old for the PGA Tour

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:55:40 PST

Although he will always be the fan favorite, Mickelson’s season-opener at the Humana is a challenge for Phil and for the event. Both had glory and are now trying to reclaim it.

Humana is using charming ex-President Bill Clinton as its new host replacing the incomparable Bob Hope. Once a five-day star-studded event, the Humana has scaled back in size and scope hoping to regain its popularity; the two biggest names in the field this week are Mickelson and Greg Norman, another "sentimental favorite".

Mickelson will be attempting to get 2012 off to a strong start in a comfortable setting where he is the leading money winner in order to help reclaim his top-ten spot in the OWGR. Lefty currrently resides in the 14th position in the world rankings.

Humana Tournament Chairman Larry Thiel, while welcoming Mickelson to the event, mentioned that Phil chose a comfortable start over a more intense one.

“Everyone who has the privilege of watching Phil play sees a true master at his craft and we are thrilled our fans will have that opportunity in a venue that Phil is comfortable playing in.”

The Humana Challenge has a better chance of enjoying a resurgence than Phil.

1. Rory McIlroy joined the PGA Tour this year with the sole purpose of dethroning Luke Donald from the top spot in the rankings. Lee Westwood has also joined the battle. With only ten spots available, Phil is going to have a tough time doing battle with these young guns and will have to revert to using his famous “phony smile”...a lot.

2. Over-forty Phil struggles with a debilitating illness, Psoriatic arthritis, a pain, stiffness and swelling of the joints. At twenty-two, a sore back and a few aches and pains are easily removed with an Advil.

3. The “unspoken law” of the over-forty crowd. When you finally make it to forty, the body doesn’t recuperate as easily or quickly as it once did…ask Phil.

4, When a committee votes you into the World Golf Hall of Fame, you have to be over-forty years old, a PGA Tour player (on the PGA Tour ballot) for ten years and have either ten Tour wins, two majors or two Players Championships to be considered. Ask Ernie Els how well he's fared since his entrance into the HOF.

5. The probability of winning a U.S. Open lessens with age. In the 110-year history of the U.S. Open, only three golfers have won after the age of 40. Mickelson has a 0 for 20 record at the Open.

I hope that Phil Mickelson has a great 2012 golf season starting with the Humana Challenge.

Although he is my favorite golfer and I will be cheering for him, his time for greatness on the PGA Tour is running out and players who might have once feared his footsteps are now dogging them.

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photo credit: TeeTimes.info

Golf courses that inspire an Unfolding Drama

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:18:28 PST

If you are a fan of the beauty and majesty of golf courses and how they fit seemlessly into the constructs of nature, then you will love "Golf's Unfolding Drama", a new ebook created by master photographer Evan Schiller.

From the cover which displays the 7th hole of Pebble Beach Golf Links (where Tiger Woods will make his 2012 debut) to the 3rd hole at Ballyneal, nature appears to be effortlessly captured and displayed; but it's not without studying the course in advance. The "timing and angle of the sun's rays on each fairway and green" are necessary, states Schiller, in order to determine optimum conditions for each photograph.

Capturing drama is a challenge and although Evan has photographed hundreds of golf courses in the past twenty years, Schiller admits, "I’ve also waited hours—even days—to capture many a photograph, anticipating something wonderful to unfold at any moment only to have nothing materialize. At other times, it has just been sheer luck."

Take a tour of Evan Schiller's website, Golfshots.com, and view his collection of golf course photography from all over the world (yes, you will ooh and aah as you click through the gallery) and then head over to iTunes.com to learn more about "Golf's Unfolding Drama".

This book is "specially designed for the iPad" and available for download on an iPhone, iPad or iPodTouch. I'm sure that one of these extraordinary photos will find their way onto your computer's main screen. My copy of Evan Schiller's 2012 Golf Shots Calendar designs my wall with this month's feature, the extraordinary 15th hole at Ko'olau Golf Club in Kaneohe, Hawaii...simply stunning...and makes me feel as if I'm on vacation even when it's thirty degrees outside!

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Is the PGA Tour or European Tour now more important to McIlroy, Westwood?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:11:14 PST

One year has passed since Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood adamantly stated that they would not, under any circumstances, join the PGA Tour, deciding instead to support the growth of the European Tour. This year both golfers have changed their tunes and are accepting membership in the PGA Tour. Why? Can the Euro Tour thrive without them as full-time supporters?

McIlroy's reasons to remain only on the Euro Tour in 2011 were selfish to some degree using excuses that he was helping to grow the Tour and that he wanted to stay closer to home. The schedule was longer and tiresome on the PGA Tour, and money could not buy a golfer happiness.

Now that Rory's attachments to a former longtime girlfriend has been severed and a new connection has been made with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, McIlroy has decided it important to match his girlfriend's ranking. It's interesting to see what gets this 22-year-old golfer's juices flowing. Money? Not necessarily. Girlfriend? Top player on Tour? Definitely!

McIlroy confirmed earlier this year, "She's number one in the world and I've got a major, and we sort of both want what each other have. It's a big goal of mine. I want to become the best player in the world."

Westwood used a blend of sentiments: he was forced to sit on his couch and pine away while the Players Championship took place and also complained that he never took place in FedEx Cup events.
McIlroy and Westwood's change of sentiments are a far cry from last year's outbursts but perhaps it's time for both the PGA Tour and Euro Tour to work together in order to make schedules fit for all of the A-level players while improving the visibility of upcoming stars. This way, golf fans will get to see new talent as well as a wide variety of European and PGA Tour standouts.

On the "top end" of both Tours, talent is pretty much equal. Looking past the top-100, golfers don't get as much exposure as they should in order to give them opportunities to be seen and get into the mix.

Luke Donald has been making waves on the PGA Tour and now McIlroy and Westwood have also decided it important to chase glory. With Tiger Woods back in action for the PGA Tour 2012 season, it looks as if the European Tour once again will fall to the sidelines for golf fans. Great talent like Oosthuizen and the 2012 Race to Dubai will certainly pale in comparison to a possible Tiger Woods, McIlroy duel on Sunday during a major tournament.

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photo credit: PGATour.com

Resolutions for a Happy Golf New Year

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:54:35 PST

In what seems to be a lifetime ago, I considered what Tiger Woods might have added to his New Year's wish list for the 2011 season. Woods accomplished to check a few big items off of that list including making a comeback in Australia, snagging new endorsement deals and completing with a season-ending win.

Where I do not make my living from playing professional golf on the PGA Tour, my business does revolve around the sport in the realm of SEO and social media.

With the weather turning colder and twilight coming much too early each day to get in (at the very least) nine holes of golf, I turn my attention to my New Year's resolutions. I'll offer up these initiatives to get you started:

1. Play more golf! This past year, work became the center of my attention. Whereas it is important to concentrate on business, I have to admit that all work and no play makes Stacy a dull girl!

2. Help new golfers get involved and stay in the game. Of course, that is the whole reason that Golf for Beginners is in existence and since we're always learning, let's all take a suggestion from the USGA and Tee It Forward; basically pick the right tee box for your game. Your scores will drop and you'll have much more fun!

3. Practice, practice, practice! Even though I could not play as much golf as I would have liked, I should have made a more eager attempt to get to the driving range. A large bucket of balls for $6 is quite a good deal too! NO EXCUSES!

4. Play golf on at least one new course. It is easy to get into the routine of playing at the local publinks but it is also good to broaden your horizons. That being said, I intend to pick at least one new golf course within fifty miles that I have always wanted to play and get in a round. In 2011 made it to several great courses, including Bethpage Black (playing a yearly round with the MGWA) and meeting up with a few Twitter friends at Putnam National. More to come!

5. Must work on the mental game!! The mental game of golf is not only played on the course, it must also be practiced in real life situations. Not having too many highs and lows during the day, keeping steady as she goes, will certainly help me keep my head about me when the pressure is on, when Nassaus are being waged and when competition is the name of the game.

6. Go through my golf bag...out with the old, in with the new! I'm sure I'm not the only golfer who stuffs way too many golf balls, tees, markers, accessories, etc. into my golf bag. I resolve to go through my Adidas aG Strike stand bag and only keep what is necessary for that day's round. The threesome I played golf with during my last nine holes at Sprain Lake golf course all carried their bags and I felt compelled to do so (I use a push cart). Although my golf bag weighs in at just over 4 lbs, with all of the extras in my bag, I struggled to keep up.

Will I succeed? Only time will tell but resolutions are for the making, not necessarily for the fulfilling. All I can do is try.

What are your golf-related New Year's resolutions?
Voice your opinions on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and friend on Facebook.

Happy New Year to all my golf friends!

photo credit: FreakingNews.com

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Whisper it! Kaymer reveals HSBC Abu Dhabi golf secret

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:45:05 PST

Germany’s Martin Kaymer returns to the UAE in January as the first of the new generation of golf stars to have both a Major title and a World Golf Championship trophy to his name. Having won last year’s renewal of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and November’s HSBC Champions he is also on the verge of an unprecedented treble. As Tim Maitland reports, there’s a good reason why he has such a remarkable record in Abu Dhabi.

Only ten players have ever won both a Major Championship and a WGC trophy. Since the World Golf Championships series was introduced in 1999, that tiny exclusive club has slowly grown, the founding member being Tiger Woods. Next in was Ernie Els in 2001. Surprisingly late arrivers were the two main challengers to Tiger at his brilliant best: Vijay Singh only claimed his first WGC in 2008, while Phil Mickelson’s 2009 WGC-HSBC Champions victory in Shanghai got him into the group.

Last November in Shanghai, Martin Kaymer, at twenty-six years of age, added the WGC-HSBC Champions to his 2010 PGA Championship.

Given how long we’ve been focused on emerging wunderkinds like Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Matteo Manassero, you’d be forgiven if you don’t immediately grasp how precocious the German’s talent is.

Rory McIlroy with Martin Kaymer Round 4 Abu Dhabi HSBC

This simple fact proves it: Kaymer is seven and a half years younger than the previous “baby” of the elite ten, Geoff Ogilvy, and just two days short of nine years junior to the next youngest in the list... Tiger Woods himself.

Just how far Kaymer is ahead of the rest of his generation is felt nowhere more strongly than in Abu Dhabi, where he is aiming for a unique sponsor’s treble. While the rest of the world can claim to have seen a trajectory to the young Dusseldorf native’s career, in Abu Dhabi, but for a missed cut right at the very start of his European Tour career, he has just been consistently brilliant.

It’s hard to believe, now that at the age of twenty, Kaymer was an amateur when he won his first event on the third-tier German-based EPD (European Professional Development) Tour in 2005. He turned professional that year, won the EPD’s 2006 Order of Merit and the chance to play on the Challenge Tour, winning his first event and again, a month later, sealing his European Tour card in just eight tournaments.

The outsider can see a logical development in his career from then on: from five top-ten finishes in his rookie season through to winning his first Major – the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits – and the Race to Dubai in 2010, and claiming the status of the world’s number one player in 2011.

The spectator whose one taste of tournament golf is the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship each year would be forgiven for thinking Kaymer just emerged from the pram that good: in four years he was won the event three times and, in an ‘off year’ in 2009, finished second.

But just as that fan would struggle to understand that Kaymer’s career has actually been one of progressive improvement, so Kaymer would have problems communicating why he now owns three trophies and has played 80-under-par over the past four years.

“It’s tough to explain, but it’s a combination of a lot of things, why I play well there. It’s just the whole package, I believe: I come from five or six weeks’ break, so first of all I’m very motivated to play golf again and to play a tournament again. Then we always stay at an unbelievable hotel at the Emirates Palace. I really like the people there; when I come to the clubhouse – I’ve known them four or five years now – we always recognize each other, we talk a little bit. It’s a very nice environment there. It’s a nice atmosphere and the way HSBC runs the tournament [with the ADTA], it’s very comfortable for us players,” says Kaymer, whose comfort levels must soar once he steps out onto the first tee.

“Every year you get to know the golf course better and better, but I think I know how to play that golf course in the easy way for me; that might be my advantage. I feel comfortable on every tee box I stand on; I really can feel the tee shot, I know where I can miss the tee shot in order to still have a shot towards the green, and another big advantage is that I can read those greens very well,” he continues, seemingly trying very hard not to use the ‘fits-my-eye’ phrase that can only really be understood by those who spend 25 weeks or more each year playing a different layout each week.

“If we compare Abu Dhabi to Augusta, for example, almost every tee shot in Abu Dhabi I stand on the tee box and can hit a little cut into the fairway or I can use a short cut over some bunkers; I just feel very comfortable. Even if I were to miss a shot, I’m still OK. My misses are fine. At Augusta I don’t feel very comfortable on a lot of the tee boxes when I stand there. The look of the hole in Abu Dhabi is very different,” he reveals.

That most temperamental of mistresses – the shortest stick in the bag – has also always behaved like an angel for Kaymer in Abu Dhabi, which probably goes without saying considering he has averaged five-under-par per round over his last four visits.

“I’ve always putted well there. I can read the greens well. I feel comfortable. I can still remember a lot of the putts that I’ve made in the past and that helped me a couple of times last year when I won again. Sometimes you have golf courses where you struggle to read the greens and sometimes you have golf courses where you go there every year and you know you’re going to putt well. It’s just one of those events where I know I will putt well.”

Though Kaymer wouldn’t say it feels like the course was made for him, given the chance, he would make it for himself.

“If I could build my own golf course it would be very close to the golf course in Abu Dhabi for sure. I just play very good golf on that golf course.”

Perfect Practice

There are plenty of theories, most of them proposed in jest, among the tour players as to why Kaymer has been so dominant at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Spain’s Pablo Martin, with tongue firmly in cheek, tested a few of those suggesting the German has no fun during the winter holiday.

“Everyone just competes for second place because Martin must not have any Christmas; he just practices. That’s why he wins by twenty-five shots! Everyone else is at home drinking and eating,” kids the two-time winner of South Africa’s Alfred Dunhill Championship, ignoring the fact that for that theory to stand up Kaymer would also have to fastidiously ignore his birthday, which falls three days later.

In joking around, Pablo inadvertently comes up with an explanation that even Kaymer doesn’t seem to have considered that much. As well as Kaymer, England’s Paul Casey has a ridiculous record in Abu Dhabi, winning in 2007 and 2009. Yes, both are long, straight hitters who can putt, but both share the same winter home, too.

“Paul and Martin both live in Arizona; either there is something in the water in Arizona or it doesn’t feel like Christmas in Arizona because it’s too hot!” Pablo Martin adds.

“I really should get myself to Arizona next Christmas!” he laughs.

He should.

Specifically, if Pablo wants to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, he should probably get himself to the Whisper Rock Golf Club, because the more Kaymer thinks about it, the more he realises the weeks he spends preparing for the season at his winter home is the perfect preparation for the tournament.

“It has nothing to with the water! Paul and I, when we practice in Arizona, we have very similar conditions and facilities [to the course in Abu Dhabi]. It’s a very similar golf course that we play in Scottsdale,” says Kaymer of the course, which is reported to have over 30 Tour professionals as members, including the designer Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddely.

Among the winners of the annual club championship there are PGA Tour regulars Kevin Streelman (a former Whisper Rock caddie), Todd Demsey, Chez Reavie and Billy Mayfair, which instantly tells you the course is set up as close to tournament standards as you can get week-in and week-out.

The similarities are endless. The Upper Course at Whisper Rock even has exactly the same yardage from the back tees as the Abu Dhabi Golf Club will have for the 2012 tournament: 7,600 yards. Right down to the desert air, Kaymer couldn’t have picked a better place to practice.

“That’s what Arizona is about; it’s got a lot of desert. It has very similar bunkers and the sand in the bunkers is very similar. The greens are a little grainy, but not too much. Everything is very similar. The ball goes a similar distance. The weather is very similar; it’s 20 to 25 degrees [Celsius] when we practice there and when we go to Abu Dhabi it’s the same. So there’s no adjustment necessary when we come from the break,” Kaymer explains.

In a nutshell, in spending his winter preparing to challenge the world’s best for the next season, Kaymer is inadvertently yet very specifically preparing to excel in Abu Dhabi in the first week of his season.

Champions’ Boost

By his own reckoning this winter’s preparations were energised by finishing the 2011 campaign with a World Golf Championship record-setting comeback at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

“To win such a big event, the HSBC in Shanghai, a World Golf Championship event with the best players in the world participating, it definitely gives you a boost. All of a sudden you want to practice even harder, you want to win more tournaments; it gives you a little bit more motivation for the next year. I can’t wait to tee it up in Arizona when we play the next one [the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship] and when we play Doral, another World Golf Championship event, and going towards the Masters,” says Kaymer, whose nine-under-par 63 was the lowest final round by a winner in the history of the WGC stroke-play events.

“Before the win in Shanghai it was not a great season, but if you win such a big event – the year before, I won a major; last year I won a World Golf Championship – in Asia! I’ve won a few tournaments in Europe already, I won a Major in America and now I’ve won in Asia: in all three continents, I’ve done something very special. The win proved myself again. It proved …that hard work will pay off! I worked really hard in the summer time and the fall; I was practising very hard on my game and I was working out really hard in the gym and I really wanted to achieve something. I was running out of tournaments, so was really happy that it still happened and for it to be such a big event. I wouldn’t say it saved my season, but it definitely made it more satisfying.”

That season certainly had not lived up to the anticipation created by the way he opened the year. Much to his own amazement, Kaymer’s winning in Abu Dhabi had lifted him above Tiger Woods in the world rankings. Reaching the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he lost 3 & 1 to Luke Donald, took him to the top spot for the first time. What followed – including missed cuts at the Masters Tournament and the US PGA Championship, and only five other top-ten finishes between his personal HSBC double – was, by the standards of his seemingly inexorable rise, a relative disappointment.

Kaymer has repeatedly said it was down to the unexpected aspects of topping the Official Golf World Rankings. The golf world, including many players, has talked about Kaymer altering his game with an eye on the Masters, something he emphatically denies.

“Everybody says I changed my swing for Augusta, which is not true. I’m not changing my swing for one golf course! With my golf swing I’ve become number one in the world; there’s no reason why I should change it! The only reason why I wanted to adjust my golf swing was because I saw room for improvement. That improvement, if I could get there, would help me in Augusta and maybe that’s why people might say ‘He changed his swing for Augusta’, but it’s not true,” he explains patiently.

What is true is that Kaymer did work hard last winter to try and improve his ability to shape the ball right-to-left to complement his natural fade. He views it as adding another weapon to his arsenal, but asserts that the fact that other people don’t interpret that way doesn’t bother him.

“To be able to hit the draw – if you can add another option to your ball flight it will definitely make you into a better player. I would have more possibilities for golf shots on different golf courses – of course in Augusta – and I think that would make me more comfortable in Augusta if I could add a couple of things to my golf.

“I know what I need to do and I know what I do, and I talk to my coach about it and that is the most important thing. What people make out of it in the end is not in my hands. If people ask me, I will tell them the truth and what I feel about it; what they write and say after that is out of my hands. It doesn’t bother me and it doesn’t disturb me.”

Being #1

What he does admit disturbed him was the reaction to his becoming world number one. Compared to the sport’s traditional heartlands, a successful German golfer lives in relative anonymity. That changed when his Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship win and runner-up finish at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship thrust him above first Tiger and then Lee Westwood.

Looking back at that period immediately after his WGC-HSBC Champions win in November, Kaymer told a packed press conference why it was a struggle.

“It was a tough stretch of months, because it's not normal that at my age you become No. 1 in the world. All of a sudden, you have more attention: Doesn't matter really where you go. In my own country, I became the German golf face. In America, a lot of people recognised me because obviously golf is a little bit bigger in America than in Germany. But it has been, you know, a little awkward situation sometimes, because I was just not used to be that much in the spotlight,” he said at the time.

With a little more time to consider, Kaymer says it wasn’t just how number one status affected him, but that it affected everyone to whom he was close.

“The whole thing in the beginning was very strange because no-one in my inner circle [had experienced it]: my manager had never had a player who was number one in the world; all of a sudden my family and me had more attention in Germany; and, the people I work with found it a little bit difficult to begin with. Now we know what’s going to happen,” he says, revealing just how high being number one again sits in his list of priorities.

“I will set new goals for the new year: to play well again in the World Golf Championship events and in the Majors. And for sure the goal is to get back to number one in the world, now I know how it feels to be number one; how to approach it and how to handle that position. Obviously it was fun and I learned a lot and I’d love to be back on top.”

Fearless Defender

Getting back to the top might depend on whether the current incumbent, Luke Donald, continues with his run of stunning consistency in 2012. All Kaymer can do is get back to playing at the level with which he bookmarked his 2011 season.

Of course he starts in his happiest of happy places, Abu Dhabi, where his domination could be described as Tiger-esque. Living up to such a fantastic record would eventually weigh on most players, but like Woods, Kaymer seems to react differently: wins follow wins.

If you group together his three Abu Dhabi wins as one packet, three more of his career victories came in three successive appearances in 2010, when he sandwiched a victorious Ryder Cup appearance in between winning his Major and claiming the KLM Open and the Dunhill Links, while his two wins in 2009 came in back-to-back weeks. That’s eight of his 10 stroke-play wins since earning his European Tour card neatly bundled in bursts of unbridled confidence.

When you consider all of that, it’s no wonder that once again facing all the attention that comes with defending his title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship doesn’t bother him in the slightest.

“I don’t think it’s more pressure at all. If you’ve won a title there shouldn’t be more pressure at all. It should give you even more confidence to do it again because you know you’ve been successful at that golf course already, so it shouldn’t add any more pressure. I don’t feel that at all. I really like defending titles because if you’ve got all that good experience from the previous year I think it gives you the belief that you can win again. I can approach the tournament in Abu Dhabi with a very, very positive mindset.

“It could happen that I don’t win this year – I could not even finish top 10 there this year – but the combination that I come from a long break and am motivated to play again, that you go to a golf course where you’ve been successful and a golf course that you know very well and that you feel very good about… The last four years worked out quite well for me, but I don’t know what’s going to happen in 2012. The predictions are quite good!”

This year he will have to overcome the best field he’s ever faced in Abu Dhabi, and what organizers say will be the best ever assembled in the Middle East, as well as his own hero.

“It’s great for Abu Dhabi that Tiger Woods is coming and more international players are coming from America. Last year Phil Mickelson played and it proves how good that tournament is and how much fun it is to be in Abu Dhabi and play the HSBC tournament. It’s not making it easier to win there, but I’m not going there to pick out an easy win. It’s nice to have the challenge and see if I can win again.

“Tiger Woods, in the last couple of years maybe he didn’t play great golf, but he’s played unbelievable golf since 1996, since he first came to the Masters. He’ll always be one of the big players at any tournament he goes to. He’ll always be great for us players as well, to have him there,” says Kaymer, who was almost in awe when he learned after his Abu Dhabi triumph in 2011 that he had passed Woods in the rankings.

“It was something very special; he’d been number one in the world for around eight years and there was no-one really close, ever! Then all of a sudden you overtake the best player who ever played the game,” Kaymer marvels.

“It felt a little unreal, but it also told me that I was able to do things that I maybe thought I wasn’t able to do in the beginning.”

Martin Kaymer in Abu Dhabi

2011: 1^st 264 -24

2010: 1^st 267 -21

2009: 2^nd 268 -20

2008: 1^st 273 -15

2007: MC 144 EVEN

The 10 Major and WGC winners

Tiger Woods (USA)

b. December 30, 1975 (1975-12-30) (age 35)

14 Majors and 16 World Golf Championships (plus 2000 World Cup)

Phil Mickelson (USA)

b. June 16, 1970 (1970-06-16) (age 41)

4 Majors and 2 World Golf Championships

Ernie Els (South Africa)

b. 17 October 1969 (1969-10-17) (age 42)

3 Majors and 2 World Golf Championships (plus 2001 World Cup)

Vijay Singh (Fiji)

b. 22 February 1963 (1963-02-22) (age 48)

3 Majors and 1 World Golf Championship (2008 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational)

Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)

b. 11 June 1977 (1977-06-11) (age 34)

1 Major (2006 US Open) and 3 World Golf Championships

Darren Clarke (N. Ireland)

b. 14 August 1968 (1968-08-14) (age 43)

1 Major (2011 Open Championship) and 2 World Golf Championships

Martin Kaymer (Germany)

b. 28 December 1984 (1984-12-28) (age 26)

1 Major (2010 PGA Championship) and 1 World Golf Championship (2011 WGC-HSBC Champions)

Stewart Cink (USA)

b. May 21, 1973 (1973-05-21) (age 38)

1 Major (2009 Open Championship) and 1 World Golf Championship (2004 WGC-NEC Invitational)

David Toms (USA)

b. January 4, 1967 (1967-01-04) (age 44)

1 Major (2001 PGA Championship) and 1 World Golf Championship (2005 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship)

Mike Weir (Canada)

b. May 12, 1970 (1970-05-12) (age 41)

1 Major (2003 Masters Tournament) and 1 World Golf Championship (2000 WGC-American Express Championship)

Martin Kaymer Profile:

Personal

Nationality: German

Born: 28^th December, 1984 Dusseldorf, Germany

Height/Weight: 6ft 1/2 in/11st 9lb (184cm/74kg)

Lives: Mettmann, Dusseldorf, Germany and Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

Other interests: Football, basketball and go-karting

Career

Professional wins:

2011:

WGC-HSBC Champions, Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China

Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE

2010:

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Old Course St. Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns, Fife & Angus, Scotland

Ryder Cup, Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Wales

KLM Open, Hilversumsche Golf Club, Hilversum, Netherlands

US PGA Championship, Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin, USA

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE

2009:

Barclays Scottish Open, Loch Lomond Golf Club, Glasgow, Scotland

Open de France, Le Golf National, Paris, France

2008:

BMW International Open, Golfclub München Eichenried, Munich, Germany

Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Abu Dhabi, UAE

European Challenge Tour

2006: Open de Volcans; Vodafone Challenge

EPD Tour

2006: Hockenberg Classic; Winterbrock Classic; ; Coburg Brose Open; Habsberg Classic; Friedberg Classic

2005: Central German Classic (Am)

Other Professional Landmarks:

November 2011 Became only the 10^th player to win both a Major and a WGC title with his victory in the WGC-HSBC Champions

February 2011 Moved to career-high 1^st in Official World Golf Ranking after reaching final of WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship final

January 2011 Moved to career-high 2^nd in Official World Golf Ranking after Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship victory

December 2010 Joint winner of Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year with Graeme McDowell

November 2010 Winner, European Tour Race to Dubai

August to October 2010 Recorded four wins in four consecutive appearances starting with his first Major and including the Ryder Cup.

January 2010 Moved to career -high 6^th in Official World Golf Ranking after Abu Dhabi Golf Championship victory. First time in top 10 of OWGR.

July 2009 Won back-to-back in successive weeks at the French and Scottish Opens.

January 2009 Moved to career -high 34^th in Official World Golf Ranking after Abu Dhabi Golf Championship victory. First time in top 50 of OWGR. At the time, the only player under 25 years of age in the top 50.

November 2007 Became first German to win Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year

October 2006 Earned European Tour card by finishing fourth in the 2006 Challenge Tour Rankings, despite playing only eight events towards the end of the season

photo credit: Zimbio.com

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BACK9 NETWORK adds Global Expertise from Inside, Outside Golf Industry

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:07:49 PST

A golf industry visionary, an international technology strategist, a major college athletic director and the CEO of one of America’s oldest life insurance companies are the newest members of the Back9 Network Board of Directors.

Greg Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland Golf/Srixon, Michael Michigami, former divisional President of United Technologies Corporation, Paul Pendergast, Athletic Director at the University of Connecticut, and James Wehr, President and CEO of The Phoenix Companies, join Pebble Beach Golf executive Paul Spengler on the board of the world’s first multimedia golf lifestyle and entertainment network.

“Our new Directors truly understand how to build and lead great organizations,” said James L. “Jamie” Bosworth, Chief Executive Officer of the Back9 Network.

“When you set out to build a global, technology-driven company like Back9, you need to surround yourself with people who have demonstrated how to execute growth and profitability on a world-wide scale.”

Bosworth, a former executive with golf brands such as Ben Hogan, Callaway Golf, Cleveland Golf, Odyssey Golf and Top-Flite, leads a premier management team of media and golf industry veterans in launching the new network.

Greg Hopkins is credited with turning around Cleveland Golf when he assumed a leadership role in the late 1990’s, reshaping the company’s product line, incorporating new technology, and boosting the company’s presence on the professional tours. Sales skyrocketed 500% during the first seven years of his tenure.

Michael Michigami led the Control Systems division at United Technologies (UTX), was President and CEO of Datapoint Corporation (DPT), and Chairman and CEO of Digital Microwave Corporation (STXN). He is currently a director and consultant to global technology companies.

Before becoming Athletic Director at the University of Connecticut, Paul Pendergast served as President of the Saint Francis Foundation and the Senior Vice President of Development for Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT. Before joining St. Francis, Mr. Pendergast served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development at the UCONN Division of Athletics from 1998 to 2006. He was responsible for growing the university’s donor base during its meteoric rise to national prominence.

James Wehr is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Phoenix Companies, Inc. where he was appointed in April 2009 after serving as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Wehr joined Phoenix in 1981 and has a diverse background in finance and investment related disciplines.

Back9 Network will be the premier multimedia lifestyle and entertainment network for golf fans globally. It is being constructed on a multi-platform digital system, providing simultaneous distribution over the Internet and mobile devices. As much a lifestyle network as a sports channel, Back9 will differ from its competitors by focusing on the intrinsic “story” of the sport and examining the players and the world in which golf resides. The network plans to be broadcasting by early summer 2012.

Visit Back9Network.com for more information,

"LIKE" Back9 Network on Facebook and follow on Twitter @Back9Network.

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Can Morgan Pressel help unite World through golf?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:04:06 PST

LPGA star Morgan Pressel is traveling to Israel making Aliyah for the first time in her life this week to tour the country and host golf clinics for local children. Pressel will also be leading a roundtable discussion with Israeli and Palestinian youths in hopes of using golf as a medium for teaching valuable life lessons.

The 2011 LPGA Championship runner-up will take a tour of some of Israel’s most historically-rich places including a private tour of the Western Wall, a visit to Yad Vashem (Israel’s national Holocaust Memorial Museum) and the Dead Sea. Morgan will also be meeting with various Israeli signatories and leaders, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

With the inclusion of golf at the 2016 Olympics, Morgan plans on leading more trips to Israel, to create additional awareness and support for the game, especially among young children and adults.

Perhaps more than just children can benefit from the lessons of the First Tee Program...?

Recently, Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney pledged to a group of Jewish conservatives that his first trip as Commander in Chief would be to Israel. I wonder if a foursome including Iranian, Syrian, Israeli and USA leaders would improve global diplomatic relations?

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Read an interview about how Morgan Pressel prepared for the U.S. Women's Open

photo credit: @wmgllc

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Does it matter how many golfers Tiger Woods had to beat at Chevron?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:02:57 PST

An ESPN opinion piece mentioned a few reasons why Tiger Woods may have had an easier time winning his first tournament in two years, the Chevron World Challenge, but I'm not totally buying into it.

The reasons?

Tiger Woods with his Chevron trophy

1. Tiger Woods didn't have to beat very many players.

Does it really matter how many golfers are in the field? I will concede that more players increase the chances that more than one will shine but Golfers are supposed play against par. Whether there are eighteen or seventy-five golfers, if you're playing well for four straight days, you have a chance to win.Many of the golfers in this event are already winners and/or have played well this season. They also know that Tiger Woods had won on this golf course on four previous occasions.

Every golfer in the field was itching to win against Tiger Woods on Sunday in order to add it to their resume.

2. ESPN claims that the field of eighteen golfers (some of the finest players of the 2011 season) were not as engaged because this was not an official PGA Tour event.

Do golfers enter into an event with the prospect of not playing their best or not wanting to win? I understand that there may be a different mindset between a major tournament and all other events during the year but putting together four terrific rounds of golf takes much physical effort and mental concentration: Woods was playing on point this week.

3. Joe LaCava, Tiger Woods' caddie, was quoted in the article as agreeing with the above statements, "He knows it's not 144 guys. He knows it's not the Masters."

4. The former number-one golfer in the world was highly motivated since this event was to help the Tiger Woods Foundation. I'm not sure that more motivation stems from the fact that he's helping his charity or because he went into the event wanting to win it.

Tiger Woods said, "I'm not playing for you guys or anything like that. Just playing to get the 'W'."

To add to the above ESPN list, since this win makes number five for Tiger on the same course, I'm unsure as to why Sherwood Country Club was not added as a reason why Woods won! As Bob Harig stated, "that first victory in more than two years had to come somewhere."

When Tiger was asked how this end-of-season win compared to his other victories, a Cheshire cat smile erupted (actually, the smile could not be undone after his win), "It feels great. … I know it's been a while, but also for some reason, it feels like it hasn't."

Watching Woods I noticed that his drives were errant and he did not play his "A" game but he also got out of sticky situations with aplomb, confidently putting his ball back into play and getting back into scoring position. Tiger Woods "of old" actually peeked out from a winless two years during the final two holes where he sealed the deal but there have been shimmers of hope for some time, especially since his stretch of tourrnaments in Australia.

The only problem I see with the Woods' "progression" is that Tiger will not be playing another formal round of golf until the beginning of 2012 which leaves much time for changing the swing and overthinking; before the final round, the announcers even noticed that he was fidgeting with his putting grip, a sign that Tiger Woods still has far to go to regain the confidence of two years ago.

Although Chevron has decided to part company with this unofficial PGA Tour event, now that Tiger Woods is on the comeback trail, I'm sure a new sponsor will not be hard to find.

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Can the new Titleist Vokey SM4 golf wedges improve your short game?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:14:34 PST

Before deciding whether or not the new Titleist Vokey SM4 golf wedges can improve your short game, it is important to determine whether or not you need new wedges to round out your set of golf clubs. After reading a holiday email from Titleist urging me to the Vokey website, I started to think that new wedges were just what I needed (email marketing does work!)

Rory McIlroy's golf bag with Titleist SM4 wedges

Here are a few reasons to purchase a new set of wedges.

1. It's Christmas (insert Holiday) and you want to buy something you will actually use and enjoy!

2. Your only golf clubs were given to you as a complete set including driver, irons and wedges and your game has adapted from beginner to player...you're hitting greens on occasion!

3. The grooves on your wedges have worn down on the clubface to the point that you can't see them anymore. (Note: Grooves create spin and help the golf ball to stop in a controlled manner when a golfer hits the ball with a descending blow.)

In my opinion, I utilize my wedges about as much as I do my putter! Not always do I put the golf ball on the green in regulation and it's up to those trusty wedges to assist when I need them.

That being said, I have always owned a set of Titleist Vokey Spin Milled Wedges. This is not an advertisement ... I love these wedges, from the weight of the club to the feel when I'm playing them. My wedges have seen better days and so, after reading that Greg Chalmers, winner of the Australian Open and Rory McIlroy (see golf bag picture above) are happily singing the praises of the Vokey SM4 wedges (SM4=Spin Milled, 4 extra grooves), I decided to check out the Vokey website to see what, if any, design changes had been made.

The new Vokey Design SM4 wedges feature 17 precise, individually cut and 100% inspected grooves that maximize groove geometry and push groove edge radius to the conforming limits, the company stated.

As you may remember, the rules change by the USGA and R&A which "limited groove volume and sharpness of groove edge radii" had golf club makers going over their designs to make sure that their clubs would conform with the new regulations.

Other technical specifications include durable grooves heat treated in the impact areas and a slightly larger teardrop profile and leading edge.

Of course, the new Vokey SM4 wedges can never take the place of my ten-year-old clubs that helped me to learn the game of golf from the sand to the rough ...<sentimental value>...

On the other hand, "Rory was pleased with his new Vokey Design SM4 wedges," claimed the Vokey website. "The new tour extreme grooves and additional scorelines are providing him with increased spin and control on his scoring shots."

Scoring...getting the golf ball on the green and close to the hole into my "circle of trust", is what makes this golfer come back time and time again. My Vokey wedges have always been my "go-to" clubs. Yes it's the holidays ...but no wrapping is required!

Click here to read my review of my Titleist 905T Driver and my Titleist 904F Fairway woods.

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Las Vegas betting on Tiger Woods to win Chevron Golf Challenge

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:35:20 PST

A few good showings at golf events in Australia and Tiger Woods has become the odds-on favorite to win the Chevron World Challenge this week. Las Vegas odds makers, Golf Channel and even crowdsourcing websites have the former number one golfer in the world in their sights or at single digit odds while GolfOdds.com says, "All other golfers are double digit odds."

Bodog.com confirms Tiger Woods as the 7/1 favorite with Furyk also remaining in single-digit odds...but not by much.

Although the eighteen player field includes Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Nick Watney, Bill Haas & Jason Day, it is Tiger Woods who is the focus of attention on both the Golf Channel website and on their Facebook page. Why? To play on fan emotions? What does Woods have that these other great golfers are lacking?

Would you choose four-time previous winner Tiger Woods to lift the trophy at his own event or one of these great players?

Webb Simpson - Winner of Wyndham Championship, three second-place finishes this season and second in money leaders on PGA Tour.

Bubba Watson - Winner of Farmers Insurance Open and sixteenth in money leaders this season.

Rickie Fowler - With only one second place finish at the WGC-Bridgestone and four top-tens this season, Fowler is probably not my favorite in this competition but still a solid contender.

Nick Watney - Winner of two events on the 2011 PGA Tour schedule and third place on the list of money leaders, I hope Watney brings his "A" game.

Bill Haas - Unlikely winner of the FedEx Cup Tour Championship, the $10 million dollar winner has a 69.44 GIR and scrambling stat which are both higher than the Tour average, he could finish off the season holding the Tiger cup.

Jason Day - With no wins this season on the PGA Tour, you might think that Day is the weakest link but remember that he took second place at both the 2011 Masters and the 2011 U.S. Open, two of the toughest tests in golf.

Jeff Sherman, the founder of Las Vegas' GolfOdds.com said, "All other golfers are double digit odds. Tiger Woods' recent play also slashed his 2012 Masters odds from 12/1 to 6/1, making him the favorite ahead of Rory McIlroy at 10/1."

Although this event will benefit Tiger Woods' charity, Woods is grateful that he stayed in the top-fifty long enough to be invited! He is now "rebuilding", as he claimed, after both personal and physical injuries. A win at the Chevron, although not a major event, will be a good start to 2012.

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Yani Tseng, Karrie Webb, LPGA greats, plan ahead for HSBC Women's Champions

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:54:01 PST

The HSBC Women’s Champions returns to Singapore in February, with LPGA legend Karrie Webb defending the title as the latest name in a roll of honour that is almost unrivalled in recent years. Tim Maitland talks to the stars of the women’s game to work out why the event has only ever been won by the best of the best.

Lorena Ochoa, at her most dominant, finished streets ahead of a returning Annika Sorenstam in 2008. A year later Jiyai Shin lifted the trophy at the start of her “rookie” season (she won three LPGA events as a non-member in 2008, including a Major) as part of a relentless charge that would make her the third number one in the history of the official rankings. In 2010, Ai Miyazato held the same silverware and shortly afterwards held the number one ranking, too. Then came Karrie Webb, who by the age of 25 had already qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame and who, but for the Rolex Rankings only being introduced in 2006, was a number one in everything but name.

Has any other tournament consistently crowned such worthy champions in this time span? It’s a question that prompts plenty of head scratching.

“Maybe Kraft is one?” ponders current world number one Yani Tseng of Taiwan.

[[posterous-content:pid___1]]Yani Tseng, w/Honda LPGA Thailand trophy

“The British Open?” she asks, cracking up laughing because her main motivation for mentioning it is the fact that she’s won it the past two seasons.

Of the Majors, the Ricoh Women’s British Open might be the nearest comparison to the HSBC Women’s Champions roll of honour, with Yani winning in 2011 and 2010 while Jiyai claimed it in 2008, but 2009 champion Catriona Matthew might be the first to point out that she doesn’t quite belong in the conversation if we’re talking about the greats in the game. The same applies for Stacey Lewis and Brittany Lincicome, winners of the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2011 and 2009 respectively, in between wins for Yani (2010) and Lorena (2008). The LPGA Championship also comes close with Cristie Kerr in 2010 and Yani in 2011 and 2008, but 2009 winner Anna Nordqvist hasn’t yet thrust her name into the highest echelon.

New to Major status next year, the Evian Masters won by Ai, Jiyai and Ai in the past three years comes close, and another of the Asian Spring Swing – the Honda LPGA Thailand – also belong in the conversation, with Yani, Ai and Lorena its most recent champions.

One can talk oneself around in circles debating the argument. The certainty is that in short order the HSBC Women’s Champions has become something special.

“It’s one of the best tournaments we ever play!” is Yani’s take.

“I think the HSBC event is the biggest LPGA event in Asia!” is Jiyai Shin’s verdict.

“It’s great from when we first arrive to when we leave. We get looked after very, very well. We stay in great hotels, there’s great hospitality and we play on a great challenging golf course!” declares Karrie, who has certainly earned the right to talk about greatness.

“We’d like it like that every week,” the Queensland legend adds.

Yani, like Webb, expands on her statement by citing the overall package of the tournament week, rather than purely the golf.

“It’s a good one. They’re all the best players in the world challenging that week. It’s always very tough to win that tournament. You have to play so well to be among the great players, which is fun. It doesn’t matter what your score is; it’s always very enjoyable in Singapore, the hospitality there. And you know I love Singapore; I have so many good friends there. I always look forward to going back. I have so much fun and have so many good friends come,” says Tseng, last year’s double Major champion, seven-time winner and Player of the Year on the LPGA with 11 total wins worldwide.

Jiyai meanwhile backs up her description of the event being Asia’s best with the following explanation: “All the events are very important, but it feels like a really big tournament. It’s a beautiful course and a nice city. The tournament is early in the season, and when you win it feels like a good start and it gives you confidence at the beginning of the season, too.”

Roll of Honour

The first sign that something unusual was happening in Singapore was, perhaps, when Ai Miyazato declared eight months after her 2010 win that it was “an honour” to have added her name to a list of winners that had only two others on it. At the time she was speaking as the reigning world number one.

Karrie Webb is the youngest member of an exclusive club of five other legends to have won the LPGA’s Career Grand Slam of Majors, joining Louise Suggs (1957), Mickey Wright (1962), Pat Bradley (1986), Juli Inkster (1999) and Annika Sorenstam (2003). Yet the Aussie is unswerving when asked whether joining the HSBC Women’s Champions roll of honour registered with her.

“Definitely!” says the Aussie.

“It’s a quality field there. Anytime you win with that sort of field – you can win an event another time of the year and not every one of those players is there – when you win with that quality of field: I held off Yani at the end and since then she has completely dominated the tour. She’s done it for two years, really, but I take a lot of pride in that.”

What’s interesting is it’s hard to put a tag on the Singapore winners, beyond the fact that they have all been at the very top of the women’s game. As Jiyai Shin explains, it doesn’t seem to be the style of the player, more just the ability to play at a world-class level for four demanding days.

“Ai and me, we’re a pretty similar game type. Karrie plays quite safely and Lorena plays aggressively, so we’re all a little different. The LPGA Tour has a lot of long hitters and the course is pretty long, but you need consistency. It’s got really narrow fairways, lots of bunkers, pretty tough greens: it’s a good course for consistent players,” Shin says of the highly regarded Tanah Merah Country Club’s Garden Golf Course.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]credit: Tanah Merah Garden Golf Course

The runners-up over the years also defy a stereotype as golfers, but do have a common trait. Chie Arimura, who fought Webb all the way last year, is described by caddies on the Japan tour as mentally tougher than any other player out there. Cristie Kerr, runner-up to Ai in 2010, happily calls herself as “a scrapper, a mudder and a grinder”. Annika needs no introduction, while Katherine Hull, pipped by Shin in 2009, thrives in a battle.

“I agree, they’re tough players,” says Shin.

“They’re all good players. They all hit good iron shots and have good control over their second shots. They really focus only on their own game.”

What’s Luck Got to Do with It?

While the tournament doesn’t seem to favour any particular aspect of the game – despite the length of Tanah Merah, it certainly can’t be described as a long hitter’s haven – there is a consensus that it does bring out the best from the best.

“I think so. You have to have good skill and a good mentality to win the tournament. You can’t be lucky and win that tournament; you have to play good for four whole days,” says Tseng.

Her statement, that there will never be a lucky winner, is greeted with all-round agreement.

“That’s true. The golf course is difficult enough; it’s like a Major tournament,” Miyazato concurs.

“I agree. If you miss a shot, your next shot is a tough shot,” says Shin.

“We play great golf courses around the world, but on some holes you can miss a shot and it’ll come back and you can escape. When you miss a shot a Tanah Merah you lose a shot, so we have to hit good shots all the time. For me, it’s fun!”

England’s Karen Stupples, who won the 2004 Women’s British Open at Sunningdale by starting her final round with an eagle and albatross in successive holes, is another to wholly back Yani’s point of view.

“That’s absolutely right. It’s about quality shots. You can’t get away with having a lucky bounce and banking it onto the green, because if you miss the green the chances are it’s going to bounce into some trouble. Kicking off a mound and bouncing onto the green doesn’t happen there. She’s right. You’ve got to hit good drives, good shots and you’ve got to golf your ball; that’s the bottom line,” declares the 38-year-old from Kent.

Further proof to support the argument comes from the fact that every winner of the HSBC Women’s Champions has had multiple wins in the season of their Singapore triumph. Karrie doubled up in her next outing to take the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. In 2010, Ai had four other LPGA wins and a domestic Major at the Japan Women’s Open. Jiyai claimed two other titles and the Rolex Rookie of the Year award as well as a win on the Japan LPGA, while Lorena went wild in 2008, winning seven events in total, including a Major at the Kraft Nabisco Championship during a spell of four wins in four successive weeks.

Not a Game of Perfect

That’s not to say all the winners have played perfectly. Jiyai Shin was one over par after two rounds in 2009 when she headed to the range and found a fix: it worked. The next morning she started her third round with almost no-one watching her, but by the time she had completed back-to-back rounds off 66 she had everyone’s undivided attention.

Karrie Webb’s win was based on one part of her game working brilliantly and that perhaps helped her believe in the rest.

“It was one of those events where my short game was probably the best weeks I’ve had, especially in the last five or six years. My ball striking I wouldn’t say was my best, but under the gun, even when it was a little erratic, I hit some great shots and trusted myself. I hadn’t won on the LPGA for a couple of years and I think I always felt I had to be at my best to win; I took away from that week that I didn’t have to be 110 per cent to win. I just need to find a way to get it in the hole,” she says, echoing what Karen Stupples means when she uses the phrase “golf your ball”.

In contrast, Ai Miyazato killed the course with consistency in 2010, carding three 69s in her four rounds.

“I’d won the first event in Thailand, so I felt good about my game at that time. I just tried to make simple plays; trying to hit the fairway and trying to hit the greens. That golf course is always in good shape, but the greens are really difficult. You need to make sure you know where you’re going to hit your second shot. You need to be really smart on the golf course. I played really well. My putting was really good all week. I always remember the 16th, the short par four: I made eagle hitting driver to a back pin, getting on the front and making the putt. I played really good the whole week, really solid,” Ai said.

The Japanese star has little doubt as to the stand-out winning performance of the four.

“Lorena shot 17 under or something?” she asks.

It was actually 20 under par.

“That’s ridiculous!” she declares.

“I think shooting 10 under par on that golf course is really good. I played with her when she won the tournament and she was playing totally different golf. It looked so easy. Annika finished second, but Lorena was so solid and Annika couldn’t touch her!” Ai adds.

That win becomes even more impressive when one considers the context. Lorena had risen to number one in April 2007 when Annika was struggling with ruptured and bulging discs in her neck. By the start of 2008 Annika had announced her return to fitness and not just verbally; she won the SBS Open in Hawaii and 10 days later, with Lorena opening her season in Singapore, it was on! Annika beat the rest of the field, but was a massive 11 shots behind Lorena’s winning total.

A Chess Match

So what is it about Tanah Merah’s Garden Course that tests the best in women’s golf? It starts with the fiendish mind of Phil Jacobs and his 2004 redesign. The end result is a course where the current world number one says you have to think several shots ahead and there is hardly a shot out there that allows you to relax.

“Maybe for tap-in putts! All the other shots you have to think in a different way and you have to think about what your strategy is, because it might cost you when you get to your second shot or third shot. You’re always thinking ahead about what you’re going to do. It’s a really fun course to play,” says Yani.

“You play all the 14 clubs in your bag. Even though you’re using all 14 clubs, you still have to hit a lot of different shots. There are different winds; all the challenges make you think and make you think you’re enjoying the tournament and having fun with the challenges of the course. It doesn’t feel stressful. You have to have the challenge and some stress, but that’s why it’s so much fun.”

For Karen Stupples, one of the things that stands out is the number of times you find yourself with nowhere to make a ‘good’ mistake.

“There are some holes you play and you think ‘where is the out?’ and there is no out. Typically a golf hole has an out – one side or another that is favourable to a miss. There are some holes where there is nowhere to miss it. That’s a bit brutal! It’s like the 17th at Sawgrass; there’s no get out! There’s a tiny little bridge, but that’s it. You’ve got to bring it!” says the Englishwoman.

“There are some holes that are incredibly challenging, like 10. Last year, 1 and 10 were incredibly tough holes. You’re going in there with four irons; there are not too many courses that we go into with four irons with elevated greens and bunkers or water.”

For Jiyai, the enjoyment comes from the way Tanah Merah tests everything you’ve got.

“It’s a really strong course for the women: long distance, tight golf course, firm greens. So we need really good ball control with every club. We need the whole skills. It’s pretty tough because the greens are mostly elevated above the fairway, so if you miss, the ball is going a long way,” she explains, adding that her duel with Katherine Hull in the final round three years ago shows how slim the margin is for error.

“Katherine and me, she made only one mistake, but it made a big difference. She played good and could have made a lower score, but if you make one mistake it can lose you a lot of strokes, easily. You have to focus each and every shot. Number 18 is pretty tough. If you lead by one shot, you can easily lose one or two there. You have to really focus. It’s easy to make bogey or double-bogey. So nobody knows before the finish.”

Sheer Willpower

All those factors demand a level of resolve that Na Yeon Choi, currently the highest rated Korean in the official rankings, believes plays into the hands of the women at the top of the global game.

“We have to have really good course management on that course. The top players never give up and always do their best until the last hole on Sunday, and the top players get better results because of that,” adds the winner of the 2010 LPGA Official Money List.

In a nutshell, it’s a course that demands you get into the designer’s head and understand the questions he’s posing. In Phil Jacobs own words, he does everything from test the golfer’s self-discipline to “constantly have that question in a player’s mind: ‘If I’m going to miss it, where should I miss it?’” And in the case of the hardest holes, he tests their game to breaking point.

“It asks you to miss in the right places and to be aggressive when you can be, and I think I did a good job of that,” says Webb of last year’s victory.

“When I missed greens, I missed in places where I could get up and down. With my putting that week, I didn’t give myself 12 or 13 unbelievably great birdie opportunities each day. I gave myself six or seven and probably made five of them. I just took advantage of the opportunities I had. It was just about getting the ball in the hole.”

Webb reckons that all the factors – a great course, a great field enjoying their entire week at the time of year, when everyone is raring to go – is what has combined to produce the almost unparalleled list of victors… that with the more unusual challenge of the holes that run along the side of Changi Airport.

“I think with the quality of the field, you’re bound to get a good winner and it’s the start of the year, so it’s whoever is ready to go straight out of the blocks. It’s whoever is ready mentally to overcome those things and to overcome not making that birdie on the first day, and the heat and the wind and the planes, and all of that,” she explains

Stupples, however, feels the final preparations for the tournament – the speeding up of the greens, the growing in of the rough and the other adjustments made to take something a weekend warrior can survive, and morph it into a monster – play a big part, together with the fact that the most successful players make more minor adjustments during the winter break.

“They set it up particularly well. It’s a tough, quality golf course, particularly that early in the season. You’ve got to be ready to play and typically you’ll find that the quality players will always be ready to go. That’s what you’re finding there,” she explains.

“They’re ready for it. They’ve had a very good season the year before, so they’re coming off good finishes, so the confidence is already pretty high. They’ve done a little bit of maintenance work over the winter, but they haven’t had to do swing overhauls or any of that crap. They’re ready to go. They’re primed. All they have to do is go and play a quality golf course, which is what it is. You have to hit good shot after good shot after good shot, make good putt after good putt. That’s what the course does for you and that’s why you get the winners you do there.”

Digging the Vibe

Another of the factors seems to be the feeling of the whole week. To understand that, one has to remember just how many weeks of the year these players spend on the road and, especially for the internationals, how much time they’re away from their real homes. It’s also worth bearing in mind just how hard women golfers have had to fight over the years to establish their tour and to be taken seriously in a sport where, in certain parts of the world, to this day women golfers aren’t always welcomed.

So when Singaporeans throw open their arms and the red carpet is both literally and metaphorically rolled out, it’s universally appreciated.

“I love the tournament atmosphere, too. It’s very special for everything. Very organized and the people are very nice. Because the tournament atmosphere is so good, that’s why everyone is playing so good,” says Ai, referring as much to what is available away from the golf course as to what they get on it.

“The hotel is really nice and you can go shopping or do whatever you like. That’s really special as well. That tournament is almost too good!” she exclaims.

“It is a terrific event. Every which way, it’s top class!” says Stupples, who appreciates some of the “home” comforts all the more having gambled her house, furniture and car to move to the States in a bid to make it on the LPGA at the start of her career.

“I love Singapore! I feel very comfortable in Singapore. With my British background, how could you not feel comfortable in Singapore? The sockets are UK sockets. There’s a kettle in the room and you can make a cup of tea… even if the weather is a little warmer. You’ve got Raffles just across the road and Marks & Spencers! It feels very comfortable. I love Marks & Spencers! I’m old now, what can I say?”

The answer to Stupples rhetorical question is ‘lots’. We leave her as she enters into a charming monologue about all the reasons why she would be the perfect person for the British retailer to sponsor.

Who’s Next?

If you start asking who is most likely to be the next to add their name to the prestigious list, one shouldn’t overlook the chances of the event producing its first back-to-back champion. Karrie Webb has an unusually strong record going back as the title-holder, despite the fact that conventional wisdom suggests it is one of the harder things to do in golf.

“I’ve always enjoyed it. I obviously played the best there last year. I always feel it gives me an advantage: it gives me good vibes going into the event. I enjoy it,” says Webb, whose CV backs her up.

Among the Aussie’s multitude of triumphs are repeat wins at the US Women’s Open title in 2000 and 2001, as well as The Office Depot tournament in Florida, Washington State’s Safeco Classic and at two very differently named editions of an event at Murrells Inlet in South Carolina. At the Australian Ladies Masters in her native Queensland, she monopolized the trophy from 1998 to 2001, and more recently won the MFS Women’s Australian Open title in 2007 and 2008.

Given that an HSBC Women’s Champions victory has more often than not been the early signal as to who the year’s dominant player will be, Na Yeon Choi might be a contender after a year of constant English lessons. The difference it has made to this engaging, but previously shy and nervous 24-year-old is heart-warming. With her multiple wins in 2009 and 2010 and the fact that last year she was close to Yani’s levels in making the top 10 in over half of her events in 2011, the more outgoing Na Yeon could be set for a career year, simply because her new-found language skills have made her life less stressful.

“I wasn’t scared, but I think I was uncomfortable. If I was walking through the clubhouse and someone was smiling at me, I would worry about what they were about to say to me. I didn’t have the confidence with my English and that was why I seemed uncomfortable with maybe the LPGA players and with all the fans. I’m a lot more comfortable with American people or with Asian people who are speaking English. I have fans on facebook from Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand; I like it! It’s made me a better player I think, a more confident player!” she reveals.

The most logical choice, however, is the most confident player of all: Yani Tseng.

Third behind Webb and Arimura last year, Yani has turned into a winning machine. She now understands that to add the HSBC Women’s Champions to her rapidly increasing list of titles she has to find a balance between the self-styled “Birdie Machine” approach that helped her become the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five Majors and being more selective about when she attacks.

“Being more patient is better, playing smart. Some of the holes are sometimes really hard to make birdie. You can still be aggressive, but sometimes you have to play smart, too,” she says.

“I’m getting closer and closer. I was pretty close last year! I played well and did my best. Everyone wants to win, but it’s not like I’m playing bad. This year I have a chance, because I know the course better, better than the last four years. I know how the strategy is on the golf course and how to play on the golf course. I’m looking forward to playing this year, because it’s a fun course and it’s a very good challenge.”

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Tiger Woods back on endorsement track after Australia visit

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:52:28 PST

Australia was very good to Tiger Woods this year. From a third place finish in the Australian Open to helping Team USA with his decisive win at the Presidents Cup, Woods' game has begun to get back on track. Woods may have started off with a whimper during the first and second rounds of the Presidents Cup but he ended off putting with laser accuracy.

Woods admitted that his recovery is part of a process, "It's just a matter of putting it together over a longer period of time."

With the wins also go the spoils of war. Woods, playing and acting more like the Tiger of old, is snaring new endorsement deals. Both Rolex and Fuse Science Inc. have signed agreements with Woods. It has even been acknowledged by Tiger that he owns a stake in the nutrition company. You may remember that Tiger Woods lost many of his sponsorship deals from Tag Heuer to General Motors (Buick) but Nike Golf and EA Sports (among a few) have held on, execs keeping their fingers crossed that Woods will rebound and soar towards breaking Nicklaus' golf record of wins.

Tiger Woods current Official Sponsors.

Although Woods still has a long fairway to walk in order to return to the top-fifty, he is finally starting to see his live in a more positive way. Now openly talking about his injuries and the internal (emotional) setbacks that have sidelined him for more than two years, Tiger seems ready to move forward into the next stage of his life and career.

The next stage in Tiger Woods' career starts with the 2012 golf season. It was announced that, after six wins at Torrey Pines, Woods will open the season at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. Too bad the tournament director had to learn of Tiger's decision via television. And the question still remains, should the PGA Tour offer appearance fees?

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Tiger Woods splits with Stricker after humiliating defeat to Adam Scott

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:11:48 PST

Team USA lost it's only match in first round Presidents Cup action as the Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker pairing were decimated at the hands of Adam Scott and Steve Williams (sorry, I meant to say KJ Choi).

Twelve holes after an obligatory handshake at the first tee Woods commented, "They got off to a quick start, and we just couldn’t keep up."

The tally for Scott/Choi was four birdies, three holes won with par closing out the match when Choi rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole (7 and 6).

Although in past Presidents Cup action considered a dynamic duo, Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker will split up and form new teams. Woods will be paired with heavy hitter Dustin Johnson and Stricker will connect with Matt Kuchar in order to bring about some magic in second round fourball action of the Presidents Cup.

Even though Adam Scott and KJ Choi made a great A-Team, they too will be split and paired with other International Team members. Adam Scott will be paired with KT Kim while Choi is partnering with Geoff Ogilvy, possibly to give hope to other International players.

Too much pressure for Tiger Woods after shaking the hand of Steve Williams and looking into the eyes of Scott, once predicted to be the NEW Tiger Woods? Or could it be Stricker was just rusty after shoulder injuries? Alternate shot puts the onus on both players so a different format will bring out the best (or worst) to come.

As a side note: The team of Phil Mickelson/Jim Furyk won but you knew that as Tiger Woods' team was the only one defeated at the hands of the Internationals.

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Greg Norman hopes Adam Scott gives Tiger Woods a Presidents Cup thrashing

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:26:45 PST

A face-off between Tiger Woods and Adam Scott at the Presidents Cup tourney in Royal Melbourne GC would certainly make great "must see TV" but is Greg Norman using the Aussie to unload his own sour grapes?

The Aussies (?...ha) are "sick and tired of losing," said Norman, whose International team hasn't won the Cup since 1998. Furthermore, Greg Norman was "dethroned" by Tiger Woods in the 1990's to become top-golfer in the world. This isn't just a case of "my yacht is bigger than your yacht," this is personal.

"Tiger and Greg don't speak," said a source who knows both men. "There's a lot of animosity between them."

Greg Norman has turned The Presidents Cup into a battle between Australia (not necessarily the "International Team") and the USA. Doing so, however, has had it's ramifications, with Couples now comparing Aussie golfers to Woods.

After Tiger Woods was slammed by Norman, Couples retorted with a comparative dig at Melbourne golfer Robert Allenby.

"Robert Allenby is his (captain's) pick, and Aaron Baddeley, and they're Australians and I think they're great picks,"claimed Couples. "But I think I can sit here and say Robert Allenby hasn't won a tournament in ten years.''

Other Aussies have jumped on the "trash-talking Tiger" bandwagon but members of Team Norman such as Geoff Ogilvy seem spurred on by Greg Norman's personal vengeance against the former world's number-one golfer.

Geoff Ogilvy, for example, does not agree with Team USA Captain Fred Couples' pick, "I'm not going to stand up and say Tiger is a horrible pick, but I'm going to say it's very disappointing that Keegan Bradley doesn't get to play."

Placing Adam Scott against Tiger Woods is also a personal slam against the former world's number one as Scott's caddie, Steve Williams, has said a few bitter words recently about his former boss.

That being said, an Adam Scott - Tiger Woods match would make for sensational end-of-season golf TV and both teams know it, as the Presidents Cup has never been as monumental as the Ryder Cup.

When Norman asked Scott if he had a problem going up against the former world's number one, Adam said, "Not at all. I'll play him and win a point for you."

Presidents Cup action begins Wednesday November 16th. Check your listings and voice your opinions about Tiger Woods on Twitter @Golf4Beginners and on Facebook.

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Hawaii retiree, Humanitarian, LPGA veteran named PGA First Lady of Golf

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:58:26 PST

Mary Bea Porter with Alexis Thompson
at 2008 Junior PGA Championship

Mary Bea Porter-King of Kapaa, Hawaii, a celebrated four-sport collegiate athlete, LPGA Tour veteran, a pioneer in junior golf within her state, and one of the country’s most respected Rules officials, has been named the recipient of the 2011 PGA First Lady of Golf Award.

Porter-King, 61, will be honored at The PGA of America Awards, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, during the 59th PGA Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center’s Chapin Theater in Orlando, Fla.

Born in Everett, Wash., and raised in Costa Mesa, Calif., Porter-King began playing golf at age 7, mentored by LPGA co-founder Betty Hicks. Porter-King paved her way in junior golf by conducting a golf clinic at age 8 with Hall of Famer Patty Berg. She went on to become a four-sport star athlete at Arizona State University before devoting her career to golf. She was a co-founder of the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association in 1998; and served from 2001-06 as a member of the USGA Executive Committee and from 2006-09, as an Independent Director on The PGA America Board of Directors. As a member of the PGA Rules Committee, Porter-King has officiated for nearly two decades at golf’s premier events, including all of the game’s men’s and women’s major championships.

“Mary Bea Porter-King’s remarkable career of service to our game is on display within her home state in a junior golf program that has produced countless success stories, and is a model for how our industry may improve the future of so many young people,” said PGA of America President Allen Wronowski. “Mary Bea also has served golf at the highest levels, a record that includes an unwavering commitment to the integrity of our sport as a premier Rules official. It is with great honor that we may now refer to her as our next PGA First Lady of Golf.”

Porter-King served on the USGA Girls’ Junior Committee from 1994-2000, and since 2001, she has been a member of the U.S. Junior Championship Committee. In 1998, she co-founded the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association, which annually engages more than 500 juniors from elementary to high school age. The program has produced hundreds of collegiate golfers, with several program graduates including current LPGA standouts - Michelle Wie and Kimberly Kim.

“I am very humbled by this honor; first to be honored by The PGA of America, an organization I have revered all my life, and secondly, it is so special to have my name listed with all of the previous honorees, women of whom I have so much respect,” said Porter-King. “I love this game and have spoken for many years to encourage all of us, The PGA, LPGA, and USGA, to combine efforts to develop the next core golfers.

“All of us, who love the game, need to do everything we can to make sure all future generations who are given the gift of golf understand, play by, and protect the core values of the game while maintaining its integrity. It is so important we all work together to develop the next core golfer to ensure that the future of the game is in good hands. Who will fill the next shoes in our sport? It is up to all of us.”

Porter-King was inducted in 2001 into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame in four sports. Competing from 1968-73 in the pre-Title IX era, she excelled in volleyball, softball, golf, and basketball. Before graduating in 1973, Porter-King was a starting second baseman for the 1971 ASU College Softball World Series Championship team, and earned 1972 All-American honors in golf, and was a member of the school’s 1970, ’71 NAIA Women’s Golf Championship teams.

Porter-King began her professional golf career in 1973, earning LPGA Tour Qualifying School medalist honors. She captured the Golf Inns of America Classic in 1975. She left the Tour from 1983-85, and returned in 1986 and competed until her retirement in 1998.

She is a past president of the Kauai Junior Golf Association, and in 2004 was inducted into the Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame. Traveling more than 100,000 miles a year, Porter-King has officiated at 14 U.S. Women's Opens, 10 U.S. Men's Opens, 10 U.S. Senior Opens, five Masters, four PGA Championships, and one Open Championship.

Porter-King earned universal praise for a courageous act on March 16, 1988, during a qualifying round for the former LPGA Standard Register Turquoise Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. Having hooked a second shot badly on the 13th hole of Moon Valley Country Club, Porter-King approached the fence to look for her ball and saw a family in peril. Jonathan Smucker, then a 3-year-old from Ronks, Pa., had fallen into a swimming pool and was lying lifeless. Porter-King was helped over the fence by her caddie, administered CPR, awaited arrival of paramedics, resulting in saving the life of the child.

For her action, she was later that year the first recipient of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association Mary Bea Porter Humanitarian Award, honoring a heroic or humanitarian act that enhances human life. The same Association presented Porter-King this year with its MGWA Distinguished Service Award.

Porter-King and her husband, Charlie, live in Kapaa, Hawaii. The couple has a son, Joseph, 29, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and a daughter, Sherry, 39, married to Mike Niethammer, with three sons, Charlie, 7, Will, 4, and Max, 2, of Oahu, Hawaii.

The PGA First Lady of Golf Award, inaugurated in 1998, is presented to a woman who has made significant contributions to the promotion of the game of golf.

PGA First Lady of Golf Recipients
1998 Barbara Nicklaus
1999 Judy Rankin
2000 No recipient
2001 Judy Bell
2002 Nancy Lopez
2003 Renee Powell
2004 Alice Dye
2005 Carol Semple Thompson
2006 Kathy Whitworth
2007 Peggy Kirk Bell
2008 Carol Mann
2009 Donna Caponi-Byrnes
2010 No recipient
2011 Mary Bea Porter-King

photo credit: PGA

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Can Yoga help you become more empowered in golf?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 08:37:16 PST

Just listening to Margarit Brigham's calming voice asking this fast-paced businesswoman to take a few minutes and breathe calmed me almost immediately. I inhaled/exhaled and allowed my mind to center wondering if this simple exercise will help lead me on the path to a more consistent golf game.

Brigham, a.k.a. "Golf Goddess", dedicates herself to instructing women on connecting with the higher self through Yoga. In this week's BlogTalkRadio Show, "Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Golf", Margarit discusses how Yoga can be the connecting link to Joy in both the game of golf and the game of life.

Yoga is not only meant to improve flexibility, there are definite cerebral advantages to connecting with our higher self. Just as discipline is needed for Yoga, it is also a necessity in golf. Centering the mind to learn how to be more in the moment will help women to act, not react. If we can connect mind and body, Margarit says, we can meet more challenges without despair, more easily control negative emotions and become self-empowered.

"Golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch course;
the space between your ears."
- Bobby Jones

Professional golfers like Juli Inkster, Brad Faxon, Gary Player and Stewart Cink practice yoga to stay "in the zone". As father Earl Woods reminds Tiger Woods in his book, Training a Tiger: A Father's Guide to Raising a Winner in Golf and Life, "If you don't clutter your conscious mind with endless pointers and tips, you make it easier for your subconscious instincts to guide you." (see Yoga Journal).

Learning a few yoga stretches (done properly) will most certainly help the physical aspect of your golf game: your alignment, posture range of motion and stamina will improve. Listening to Margarit Brigham's Golf Goddess internet radio show and reading her book, "How to Become a Golf Goddess" should help you to improve the deeper connection within yourself to be able to play beyond par.

About Margarit Brigham:

Margaret (Peggy) Brigham is a NCCP Level 1 Coach and a certified yoga teacher who has been developing Yoga for Golf™ since 1997. Yoga for Golf has been taught as a weekly course, workshop and seminars, before corporate tournaments and in combination with golf pro's during clinics.

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Martin Kaymer, newest golf hero?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:08:11 PST

Martin Kaymer ended the run of first-time winners lifting the sport’s top trophies and lifted himself above the crowd when he won the WGC-HSBC Champions. Shooting a record low winning round for the World Golf Championships, the German’s nine birdies in his last nine holes propelled him over a leader board packed with recent WGC and Major winners and past overnight leader Fredrik Jacobson to a nine-under-par 63 final round and a three-shot victory. Tim Maitland reports.

Martin Kaymer comes from behind to win WGC-HSBC Champions!

“To shoot 63 in a final round is always great, but on a golf course like this and in a World Golf Championships is obviously special. The way I played was different. It was really special," recalled Kaymer.

"I can’t remember a day when I played golf like this. My putting was outstanding," said 26-year-old Kaymer, who, having won the 2010 PGA Championship becomes the first of golf’s new breed to follow up his first big breakthrough win with another top-level victory.

Kaymer’s late charge lifted him above a leader board that seemed to have most of the contenders to the crown of being the game’s next dominant player. Reigning US Open champion Rory McIlroy and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel finished tied for fourth along with Paul Casey while 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell came third.

“If Martin Kaymer had not skipped the last couple of holes, we might all have had a chance,” joked the Northern Irishman, who got to see some of Kaymer’s fireworks from the group behind.

“He's an unbelievable frontrunner; when he gets a sniff of a win ‑‑ he's pretty prolific and very clinical when it comes to finishing. Hats off to him! He's a classy player and he was impossible to catch out there.”

Casey, marking a return to form after a season plagued by a toe problem, had initially threatened to be the one making a winning charge making five birdies. He was slowed by the return of a swing fault caused by the injury but had the best seat in the house playing in the winner’s group.

“He didn't flinch. It was very good stuff from him. [I had a] front row seat for Martin Kaymer, watching, that because that was a brilliant performance.”

In the long-term, perhaps just as impressive was the achievement of relatively unknown local player Zhang Xinjun beating the previous record for the highest finish by a Chinese player at the HSBC Champions. A professional for only a year, the 24-year old from the Terracotta Warrior city of Xian tied for thirteenth alongside Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter thanks largely to an eight-under-par third round. The previous best finishes were 24^th by Liang Wenchong in 2008 and 25^th for Zhang Lianwei three years earlier.

“He played very solid golf,” declared Kaymer of the former security guard.

“He's a long hitter. His putting is brilliant, so I can see him playing well in the future. I had never heard of him before, but you've got to watch out, there are more players coming from Asia and he's probably one of the better ones!” he added.

For Kaymer, his victory shone a different light on a year that started with a stunning victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January. The German said the pressure of becoming world number one in February – and not swing changes to prepare for a challenge at Augusta – was responsible for a relative slump, but that completing a sponsor’s double has turned an okay season into a good one.

“I started off with my HSBC win in Abu Dhabi and I’ve finished my year by winning the tournament in Shanghai. I obviously really like the HSBC tournaments!”

With the end of Tiger Woods' reign, golf has truly entered a brave new world!

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Bradley, Poulter, Mahan to Attempt $300K Hole-In-One at WGC-HSBC Champions

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 07:25:32 PDT

During the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai this week, Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter, and Hunter Mahan will be given the opportunity to ace the 17^thgolf hole at Sheshan Int'l golf course. If they succeed, performance tech innovator Power Balance will donate $300K to a charity of their choice and one lucky fan will be awarded $30K!

All three golfers have been at the top of their game recently. Ian Poulter took home the trophy at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain in May, Hunter Mahan finished second at the Fedex Cup in September and Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship in August more recently capturing the PGA Grand Slam of Golf on October 20.

“This is a fun, interactive way to give back to our golfing communities,” said Josh Rodarmel, co-founder of Power Balance. “Golfers have consistently given us great feedback about our products and continue to comprise an important segment of our business.”

If you believe that a hole-in-one will be an easy ace, even for great golfers like Mahan, Bradley and Poulter, think again. According to HSBCGolf.com, "Two holes, 16 and 17, play around and over the (rock) quarry, giving the golfer both an awe inspiring view while requiring great golf shots. These two holes will not only be the signature holes of Shanghai Sheshan Golf Club, but also of the whole
Shanghai region."

17th hole at Sheshan Golf Club

**********

Power Balance technology products are worn by a community of millions of everyday people and hundreds of professional athletes – from Drew Brees to Derrick Rose, Matt Kemp to all three golfers participating in this challenge.

The online sweepstakes began last week with promotional giveaways and more on the Power Balance website, Facebook and Twitter.

Fans can enter the sweepstakes at http://www.powerbalance.com/holeinonechallenge. The winner will be chosen from online entries into the sweepstakes; no purchase is required to enter the contest. Florida and New York are not eligible for this sweepstakes.

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Baby Comes First As Luke Donald Ducks WGC-HSBC Shanghai Sortie

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:15:06 PDT

World number one golfer Luke Donald has reluctantly cancelled his trip to next week’s WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai to be with his wife for the birth of their second child. Tim Maitland reports.

The Englishman, who is trying to become the first player in history to win the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic, had been hoping that the daughter they are expecting would conveniently arrive this week.

Donald, who had his bags packed and was ready to go, finally conceded on Friday that family had to take precedence over the US$7 million event in China and his quest to get into the record books.

“It’s important for my wife and it’s important for me to make sure that I’m around to support her. It’s no coincidence that the birth of our first daughter inspired me to some really great golf. Family does put a lot of things into perspective; my job is very important but the family out-trumps everything,” said the 33-year-old Englishman in a phone interview from his home in the Chicago suburbs.

Professionally, Donald has every reason to want to be in Shanghai for the WGC-HSBC Champions. With five weeks left on the European Tour schedule he leads the Race to Dubai by over 1.3 million Euros from Rory McIlroy. He also has previous form at the Sheshan International Golf Club. He finished third, albeit by ten and nine shots, behind Italy’s Francesco Molinari and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood whose ‘Duel on the Bund’ head-to-head battle earned comparisons with the legendary ‘Duel in the Sun’ Open Championship in 1977.

“It speaks volumes for the tournament. I got to witness it as the third man in that group. I was a few shots back – I didn’t have my best golf – but it was nice to see the quality of the golf down the stretch from both players; it was a fitting end to a great event,” Donald said, despite admitting to being what the English would call a ‘gooseberry’.

“I actually was feeling a bit ‘third wheel’. To finish third was actually a pretty good accomplishment. I was struggling with my game big time and I was using every bit of energy and strength just to give myself a chance to get into that final group. I didn’t have control of the golf ball. I was a little bit frustrated with my own game but it was still nice to see how it should have been done!” he explained.

“It’s a world-class golf course – a long course – and it’s produced some great winners. That’s the biggest bonus about the tournament: the winners have been world-class players. Francesco last year, how well he played down the stretch fending off Lee Westwood… that’s always a mark of a good tournament when it produces good winners,” he said, referring to a roll of honour that includes Phil Mickelson twice, Sergio Garcia and Asia’s first male Major champion ‘YE’ Yang Yong-Eun.

Donald added that the recent controversy over the last-minute decision to delay mailing out the ballots for the PGA Tour Player of the Year voting had nothing to do with his choice to stay by his wife’s side. Donald won the Children’s Miracle Network Classic at Disneyworld to claim the PGA Tour’s money list, but described holding off posting the voting slips to the players until after Shanghai, because a WGC win for a PGA Tour player might impact the outcome, as ‘sketchy’.

“I have no problem with them including the HSBC Champions, they should! It was just the timing of it. The thing that disappointed me is that the schedule has been the same all year. I feel bad for the Asian golf fans that they didn’t see that. It’s something that should have been known at the beginning of the year, not the day after Disney. The goalposts moved. It’s like running a marathon for 26 miles, crossing the finish line and then they say ‘actually we’re going to make it 27 miles’. It’s just the timing of it. It’s an important event; to have a WGC outside the US and such a big event in Asia. I’ve supported it the last few years when I’ve been eligible. I would be there if it wasn’t for the baby,” he said, adding that headlines describing him as ‘angered’ or ‘upset’ were wide of the mark.

Editor's note: Mid-November is the due date as stated in Luke Donald's official diary. Baby comes first! Best of luck to the family.

Will Twitter on golf television remove the "social" from the media?

golfforbeginners@aol.com (Stacy and Barry Solomon) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:58:04 PDT

A Twitter feed will share TV screen space with Nationwide Tour golfers this weekend as Golf Channel features writers offering analysis alongside of already long-winded commentary. Do I really need on-screen "captions" telling me what I'm already watching? Is Golf Channel removing the "social" from the media?

You can see what Golf Channel intends to do here but the screen caption does not give me faith in their new "Social Media Saturday". The comment by Rex Hoggard says it all, "Watching JJ Killeen roll up his pants could be an amazing shot from the water." He follows up with, "Hope everyone is watching on the Golf Channel." Oh boy, if this is what golf fans are in for, this golf TV network just took two steps backward!

First, I can see that Killeen is in the water and am excited to watch the shot. Second, I do not need the Golf Channel to place its ad directly in front of me as I'm watching this amazing shot. I hope the commentary is both humorous and entertaining...and tell me something that I don't already know!

Hoggard, joined by Randall Mell, will replace traditional play-by-play commentary during their allotted time, which will be during the next to last group and final pairing of the Nationwide Tour Championship from South Carolina.

It doesn't seem as if some fans have faith in the new concept as it will be displayed on Saturday.

@Courtgolf, for example stated, "This tells me that xxx Golf Channel thinks their people are more important than the players. I hope this is a short lived experiment in media intrusion."

Fogroller so eloquently said, "Oh great, now we can have Rich Lerner and Kelly Tilghman kiss Tiger's butt on our twitter feed!! No thanks."

The concept sounds intriguing, but isn't social media meant to be interactive?

When I asked @dennis_allen about adding a Twitter feed to golf broadcasts, although he liked the idea, he was concerned about the lack of fan engagement. "Why just one way tweets?" Dennis questioned, and he has a valid point. The "one-way traffic mentality" as Allen conjectured, leaves fans without a way to engage, to be social.

Devil Ball Golf, agrees that Twitter integration with golf broadcasting is a great idea but wonders if an opportunity is being missed by not adding fan tweets to the mix. "social media...opens the door wide to amateur commentators from all over the planet, many of whom are much funnier and more incisive, at least for one tweet, than the professionals."

I have a few concerns regarding the Twitter format. For one, the feed is directly in my line of sight. Golf is a picturesque sport and I enjoy gazing at the course on my screen. Perhaps the feed should be rolling across the bottom of my screen so as not to disrupt the visuals.

I also have a problem with the type of tweets that will be featured and when they will be placed: the eighteenth hole is the most exciting portion of the golf tournament, in my opinion. If Golf Channel wants to experiment with new technology, do it during a portion of the broadcast that begs for attention.

Finally, Twitter allows for social engagement: let the fans have a say!

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