Young Anthony Kim Wins at AT&T

under PGA Tour | Leave a Comment

Young and energetic Anthony Kim wins the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods.  He was three shots behind the leaders going into the final round and shot a remarkable 5 under 65 for a two shot victory over Fredrik Jacobson. 

Anthony now becomes the youngest player (25) to win two PGA tournaments in a year.  Other than Tiger Woods himself, of course.  He won earlier this year at the Wachovia Championship.

Tiger Woods who hosted this tournament, was not around to witness the win by Anthony Kim.  He is still resting and recuperating from his knee surgery which will see him out for the rest of the season.

Tag:

Golf Putting for Beginners

under Beginners, Putting | 5 Comments

Facing long putt shots are challenges in golf that be quite rewarding.  And there is one thing that all golfers who are great putters have in common: they have a natural sense of feel for the speed and distance needed when making a long putt shot.

This feel is not something that you can learn from a golf “how to” booklet.  It must be learned by instinct and then practiced over and over again.

Importance of speed in putting

As a beginner, you may be tempted to make your ball into the hole when facing a long putt shot of 8 feet or longer. Of course knocking the ball into the hole from a long putt shot is definitely a good thing.  But the truth of the matter is that the last thing you want to do is mess up your shot to the point where you have to make the ball in the hole with the dreaded 3-Putt shot.

So many beginner players and amateur golfers go through such an experience. They have a ball sitting 15 to 20 feet away from the hole and they put too much speed and distance on it.  The next thing they realize, they have taken 5-6 shots in order to finish a par-3 hole.

Lagging

Great golfers realize that it’s best to lag the ball so that it gets as close to the hole as possible, thereby leaving themselves a very easy shot with only 2 - 3 feet of distance.

Your job is to become a master the art of getting a perfect lag on a ball when shooting a long-distance putt. This is so you can create a situation where the ball will always land safely near the hole, regardless of whether it breaks too early or too soon. You will know that wherever the ball lands, it should be a simple hit to finish the hole on the next stroke.

Putting Exercise

As with any maneuver, practice makes perfect when learning to determine the feel for speed and distance on the green. A simple exercise that you can practice in order to become a better long-putt shooter is to place four to five balls approximately 10 feet apart from each other, evenly distributed to the hole.

Basically, you will have a line of balls, evenly spaced between each other, all leading to the hole, starting at about 40 to 50 feet out. Now start the exercise by making your swing with the ball closest to the hole. Simply work your way back to the farthest ball. In order for this exercise to work, you must mentally place yourself in a real playing scenario.

The funny thing about such practice techniques is that because you know it’s not a real game, you are more loosened up and are not really stressed about making the lag shot work.

Can you guess what happens? You play well! That is the ironic part about golf.  When you are in the middle of a good game, worry and doubt tend to tense your muscles up, thereby causing poor shots to be made. The real key is to take your practice mindset with you when playing a real golf game.

Let me know if this putting tip helps in your game….  Thanks

Tag:No Tags

Have Confidence and Enjoy Golf

under General Golf, Golf Fitness | 5 Comments

Having confidence in yourself is of utmost importance in golf, and practically everywhere else in life as well. How you feel about yourself as a person will carry over into the quality of your game and the enjoyment you seek, or lack thereof. I have seen dozens of golfers increase their overall score and personal happiness with the slightest awareness and increase in their personal attitude and how they valued themselves.

There are of course many other importance factors in helping you become a better golfer and also experience fun and enjoyment in the game.  Other factors can be patience, fitness, practise and even golf equipments. Personally, I think the most important aspect of golf that will help you become a skilled golfer, while at the same time having as much fun as possible is: Confidence.

Read more

Tag:No Tags

Green Condition to Consider for Approach

under Golf Tips | 1 Comment

The green is right in front of you and what you need to do is to knock the ball onto the green.  When it is time to hit your approach shot, your main objective is to keep the ball on the green. With enough practise (as with all aspects of golf), keeping your ball on the green will become second nature.

There are often situations where you will have to take into consideration the different terrains of the golf course.  Many greens may be more difficult when making your approach shot and some are more forgiving.  The following are some of the factors that may affect the behaviour of the green and thus your approach.

1. Greens that are considered fast due to extremely short-cut grass. This type of terrain tends to send the ball rolling into the fringe.

2. Greens can be hard from maintenance work or lack of rain. This may cause the ball to land and bounce over.  Whereas, greens after rain are slower.

3. Greens that have severe moguls or undulations. This terrain can be tough to hold the ball because of all the angles that it encounters when it lands on the slopes and rolls forward.

4. Greens that are crowned, which have slopes on each side and from every angle. This can make it very difficult to hold the ball in the area.

Happy Golfing…..

Tag:No Tags

How to Backspin the Golf Ball ?

under Golf Tips, Golf Swing, Golf Videos | 3 Comments

I am sure you have seen golf pros hit the golf ball onto the green past the pin, and the golf ball just spin back towards the pin. It is a shot commonly used by the pros to control the approach to the green.

It is a good shot to have in your “golf shot portfolio” and this shot can help in many situations. However, for beginners or high handicappers, I would advice that you focus on getting the ball to the green and learn how to land the ball softly first. Even without knowing how to do the backspin, one can still achieve good scores.

For those who really want to learn this shot, I have embedded the following video who provides a good guide to the execution of the backspin.

Read more

Tag:No Tags

Playing a Golf Shot Near A Tree

under Beginners, Golf Tips | Leave a Comment

Golf courses are phenomenally appealing to the eye, loaded with nature’s finest landscape of beautiful trees and various bushes.  This is one reason why I like golf.  Relax and enjoy the environment - beautiful. 

The only time I do not enjoy as much of the landscape is when my ball lands in one of these areas, playing it through can be an excruciating experience, frustrating even for the most calmest of golf players. 

Nothing is more depressing than watching your tee shot soar through the air and become buried within a tangle of tree branches, tree trunks, or worse, a thick wiry brush. Should this happen to you, the key is to stay calm and learn how to get yourself out of the situation with as little penalty strokes possible, preferably none!

So long as the ball stops on top of a decent lie, there is still hope to move forward without gaining too many penalty shots.

Read more

Tag:,

Three Way Playoff at HSBC Champions

under PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson | 1 Comment

At the end of the final day, there are 3 players with a score of 10 under-par. They are world no. 2 Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher.

Phil Mickelson eventually emerged the winner of the tournament on the second playoff hole. He takes home $833,330 purse money to mark his fourth win this season.

“It feels amazing,” Mickelson said. “I don’t know how it happened. The whole day was a whirlwind, but what a fun day.”

It was an exciting final day I would say. Mickelson look set to win the tournament after the first nine. At the 11th, he was three up from the field. However, boogies on 12th, 13th and 15th did not help at all. Then on the last hole, he needed to make a 10 foot putt to win the tournament after hitting into the water. Unfortunately, he missed and that leads to the playoff.

On the first playoff hole, all 3 players had birdie attempts to win the tournament. Fisher got the shortest of them all but missed. Off they went to the second playoff hole. Westwood was out at this hole when he send his ball into the water. Mickelson then made a 6-footer birdie to win the HSBC Champions.

Kevin Stadler was one stroke behind the 3 at -9. Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington at -8 for the championship

Tag:No Tags

Phil Mickelson Leads the Field

under PGA Tour, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh | Leave a Comment

After the 3rd day of the HSBC Champions Tournament, world no.2 Phil Mickelson leads the field at 14 under-par heading into the final round tomorrow.

Mickelson played a fantastic round comprising of 6 birdies and 2 bogeys for a round of 68.  Two strokes behind Mickelson is a young golfer by the name of Ross Fisher from England.  He also card a 68 for the 3 round.

The best round, however, belongs to Paul Casey who shot a brilliant 6 under-par 66 round. Casey finished the round with 6 birdies.  This puts him in third place at 11 under-par for the tournament.

Phil Mickelson said “It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow, but certainly I would rather be in front than trying to make up ground.”.  I am sure he is in a good position now going into the final round.

Vijay Singh shot even par today to stay at -7 for the tournament.  Ernie Els is slowly climbing up the leader board at -2 for the tournament.  He played a 75, 69, 70 for the 3 rounds.  He can challenge Mickelson provided he plays a remarkable game tomorrow. Otherwise, Els is too far from Mickelson to catch him.

Stay tuned for the final round.

Tag:, , ,

How to Prevent a Fat Shot in Golf ?

under Beginners, Golf Tips, Golf Swing | 2 Comments

For the inexperienced golfer, the game will seem to provide never-ending moments of frustration due to making poor contact with the ball. It is impossible not to experience shots that can leave you a bit embarrassed, especially for the beginner. Previously, we discussed about the Thin Shot in Golf, now let’s look at the other common frustration for beginners - the Fat Shot.

You may have practiced your swing, producing a fluid-like graceful backswing, come with the club as your body is perfectly aligned with the target, only to make impact with the ball so inappropriately that it hardly moves, or worse yet, a lump of dirt and grass travels further than the ball itself. This ugly scenario is a fat shot.

Read more

Tag:No Tags