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Maximum Failure
Associated Press - News Corp., the media
conglomerate
run by Rupert Murdoch, is officially suspending its only
golf publication, Maximum Golf. It first hit newsstands
just over a year ago sporting slightly edgier content
aimed
at a younger golf audience. Freelance writers have been
notified that Maximum Golf would officially suspend
publication
as of the September issue.
Lucky and not so lucky
Associated Press - Snake bitten superstar Phil
Mickelson picked up $500 in a friendly wager with Mike
Weir.
He bet that Jim Furyk would hole a bunker shot for par
during
the seven-hole playoff against Tiger Woods in the NEC
Invitational.
Mickelson, who never seems to have any luck on the course
sure seems to have quite a bit off it. Last year he
predicted
the Ravens would win the Super Bowl before the start of
the season and raked in over $500,000.00.
Daly business
Munich, Germany - The BMW International is by no
stretch of the imagination a tournament of epic
proportions.
As for John Daly, however, playing in any event has an
enormous
impact on his superstar status. Big John fired a final
round
66 to overtake Padraig Harrington on the last hole to win
the BMW sponsored tournament. Congrats to Daly as we wish
him continued success on his comeback.
The King still reigns
Golf World - Golf World's Business Index of
popularity among golf personalities is complete for the
second year in a row, and The King is still tops in most
fans heart's. Arnold Palmer was selected the most
popular/likable
personality for the second year in a row with Jack
Nicklaus
and Tiger Woods finishing 2nd and 3rd. The Index measures
familiarity, likeability and credibility. Surprisingly,
the struggling Fred Couples finished 5th in the ranking
for the second year in a row!
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Playing the Wind
Amateur and professional golfers alike all have trouble
with Mother Nature. There are no exceptions to this rule.
The trick is to learn how to turn the effects of organic
conditions into an aid.
Typically the greatest natural weather deterrent to a
golfer
is wind. Rain, snow and hail certainly can affect ball
flight
but none are played in as regularly as a cool zephyr, so
for the purposes of our reader base we will be
restricting
our efforts to the aforementioned.
For the most part golfers in coastal areas are more
adept
at playing in stiff, breezy weather, but even those in
Tennessee
Valley should be learning how to account for the
bedeviling
effect of this cruel handicap.
Here are some keys to playing in the wind that should
help
to keep your scorecard in double digits and closer to
par:
- Club selection - When playing into a headwind, for
every five miles per hour the wind appears to be
blowing
choose one more club. Use the opposite
philosophy for
hitting with the wind, but DO NOT trick yourself
into
believing the wind can help you carry the ball
250
yards
with a four iron.
- Swing plane - Unless you are a single digit
handicapper,
do not swing any differently than you normally
would.
If you are an accomplished player, then be sure
to
always
take a simple ¾ swing to avoid getting too much
air under that ball.
- Look for Tree Tops - Although the wind may
appear to
be blowing into your face, it does not
necessarily mean
that it will be doing the same thing 50 feet in
the
air.
Look at the tops of nearby trees to indicate
what
direction
the wind is actually blowing.
- Balls - Choose a lower spinning ball when
playing in
the wind. The new line of low trajectory,
low-spinning
golf balls perform better in the wind then high
spinning,
accuracy balls.
The wind can become your friend if you let it.
Simply
account
for the wind by knowing where it is, how much it
is
blowing
and how well you trust your judgment.
And for the record, if you find yourself
desperate for
advice on snow, lighting or hail...seek help
immediately
at your local 12 step program for golfers
anonymous
because
you have it bad!
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Readers Choice
The collective voice of The Golf Ledger faithful
has
spoken.
In the last issue we concerned ourselves with
finding out
how you, our readers, felt about the Captain's
Picks
for the Ryder Cup Team.
Although our resident columnist still holds a
fascist
point
of view on this subject, it appears that y'all
like the
way things worked out.
Here are a just a couple of comments from our
readers:
"Leave them alone. That's why they are
called
the captain's picks."
W. Duncan.
"...consider Paul Azinger, a great golfer who
fought and conquered cancer. Consider too Scott
Verplank,
a great golfer who continually copes with adult
diabetes
through an insulin pump that sits on the back of
his
trousers.
Are Paul Azinger and Scott Verplank apt to
infuse their
team with the sort of cosmic glue which led Ben
Crenshaw
to make a prediction that seemed all too
out-of-touch
with reality? YOU BET THEY ARE! Now, in the
words of
Captain
Curtis Strange, 'let's kick their a--!'"
B.B.
These sentiments are hard to ignore! We are
hoping for
a cleaner match this year than the stained imprint
left
by so many cleats pounding over Olazabal's line
two
years ago. That was ugly!
Good luck to our men at the Belfry, and more
importantly,
as this is a gentlemen's game above all else, good
luck to all the participants. We can only pray
that this
year's Cup will be half as exciting as the last!
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Rah rah friggin rah!
Every two years we all wax patriotic in the game
of golf
for some brief sense of solidarity about how proud
we are
to be American Golfers. Yeah!
Why should we not? We are proud American's,
aren't
we? It means something to actually bond with other
competitors
in the spirit of righteous indignation to the
Europeans.
Doesn't it?
Let us contemplate this for a moment. When we
watch the
Master's, do we really root against anyone making
a
putt? More than likely we have an ambiguous sense
of
obligation
to chivalry, and we keep our feelings locked
inside, even
though our favorite golfer may not win as a result
of his
opponent heroically draining that 10 footer. So we
are
faced
with the eternal question once again.
Is how we root for the Ryder Cup the truth in how
we
feel
about golf, or is it just a phony neanderlithic
attempt
at team unity?
My guess? We all need to come clean. We really
want our
favorites to win all the time, and we all have a
couple
people we like to watch lose. Sorry Colin. The
dignity of
the game need not be compromised, of course. It's
not
like we will be hearing, in union, a crowd yell
"Noonan"
or "Miss it." But the time has come to drop our
hypocritical sense of devotion to gamesmanship.
Gamesmanship is about being honest on the field
of play,
and adhering to the rules as they have been
established.
It is not for not having an opinion about who
you would like to see win.
So for all you wisea#$ football and hockey fans
out
there,
here is your personal invitation to become a part
of the
new era. When in the privacy of one's own home, or
at you're favorite watering hole, don't be
afraid
to cut loose with a hooray when Mickelson misses
his next
chance to win a major. If he is not your guy, who
cares!
Be sure however to keep your cheering to a low
roar as
you never know if a golf brawl might break out. I
mean,
who hasn't seen those infamous fringe clearing
brawls
that have become famous the past few years? Those
are
sportcenter
classics!
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