Golflogic.ca

The Duffer’s Dream Tour had the first event this past weekend, The Best Western Cairn Croft Classic at Peninsula Lakes (www.penlakes.com) this past Saturday and Monday.

It was a great turn out with almost 100 golfers teeing it up over the two days.  The course was in good shape considering they had aerated and top dressed the greens the week before.  Those greens are quick and were causing the Tour members fits and the odd four-putt too !!

The weather was windy both days and a little chilly on saturday but that did not deter Tony Albino from posting a nice 78, his lowest round on Tour in two years.

Myself and Tom Tippin matched that score on the Weekday Tour, although I think conditions were a little easier today.  Another personal best was posted by Michael Petis, who posted a 106, his lowest round on Tour. 

Next stop is Mr. A’s Coffee Service Shootout at Oaks of St. George G & CC.

The first three rounds at Augusta seemed to be more of a US Open feel, with players struggling just to make Par.  Then they watered the greens, the weather improved and there were some familiar roars from the crowd.

To me, The Masters has always been about the back nine on Sunday and the ability for someone to make a charge.  It was a good finish to what was a pretty boring three days of golf.

The U.S. golf commentators were over the top on making excuses for Tiger, one even suggesting he was ill.  Nick Faldo provided great insight into a tournament he has won three times and called a bad shot, a bad shot.  I did think CBS did a good job of showing more shots from other contenders than just showing TIger all the time.

Time will tell if Zach Johnson is another one Major wonder or if he is emerging as a contender. He certainly deserved the victory and seemed very humble in the interviews I saw.

Tiger Woods once again showed that he is head and shoulders above the competition, especially in the head.  Needing only to do no worse than Double Bogey the final hole at Doral for the win, Tiger played for an easy Bogey, hitting 5 iron, 8 iron, wedge, 2 putt, win.

In a recent interview, Phil Mickelson commented on his playing philosophy and an insight into his mental game. You can read it here . I dare say that if Phil had of played the last hole for Bogey at the U.S. Open last year, we would be calling him a genius.

It’s true in other sports as well, the truly great evolve mentally just as much as physically.  There is an example in the NCAA basketball tournament.  Xavier was up by 3 points with seconds to go, Ohio inbounds the ball and if Xavier foul him, he gets TWO free throws, so the best Ohio could do was to be one point down or intentionally miss the 2nd free throw and try to get the rebound.  Instead, Xavier lets Ohio take a 3 point shot and make it to tie the game. Ohio goes on to win in overtime.

If the average golfer wants to lower their score, take a page from Tiger this week.  If there is a hole that you always make a big number on, try finding a way to play it to get an easy Bogey.  At the end of the day, it’s all about shooting the lowest score.

This is soo embarassing.  On Thrusday night while taking out the garbage my cat got out of the house.  He really took off and I ran in hot pursuit.  Running full tilt, I trip on my neighbours lawn and land, left arm out stretched, on their driveway.  Went the next day to the hospital and found out my arm is broken !!  No golf for at least 4-6 weeks more.

And yes, I was able to get the cat.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Kelly at The Hamilton Golf & Travel Show last month.  He started a not for profit organization called golf 4 kidz.  I watched Mike and his assistanct “sticky Dave” as they interacted with the children and they are amazing.  They make the first introduction to golf a fun experience.

He has now partnered with the Golf Association of Ontario and they will be rolling out the “golf in schools” program this fall.  If you would like to find out how you can have this amazing group come to your child’s school, visit www.golf4kidz.ca and send Mike an e-mail.

Before I comment on the new Sumo squared driver, I should mention that I was sent one by Nike to test and comment on it on my radio show.  They didn’t tell me what to say, just to talk about it.

When I first held it, it looked like a toaster on a stick.  The more I swing it, the less I get that feeling.  I’ve only hit it indoors into a net and the sound it makes coming off the club is deafening.  Not the sound we’re used to.  I’ll report on how it flies outside as soon as I get the chance.

What I’m hearing from others around the golfing world is that weekend warriors won’t be beating a path to buy this new club because no one on any of the major Tours is using it. 

Are we that naive to think that we can hit the same club as Tiger or Phil and get the same results?  Without having to work at our game the same way, practice as much as they do?

The new square driver is supposed to aid in minimizing the affect of off centre hits to keep the ball going straighter.  Guess what, the Pros usually hit the centre of the club and need to work the ball right or left.  The rest of us could use hitting more straight shots.  This club was not made for the Pros, it was made for the rest of us.

I’m not saying to go and buy one right away, I am saying to judge it on the club’s performance and not by the way it looks or by who is or is not using it on Tour.

Once again Hamilton, Ontario councillors are debating whether to sell the city owned golf courses to developers.  What I don’t understand is why governments continually look to sell profitable, publicly owned proerties.  The Ontario government did it with Highway 407 and now Hamilton wants to do it to their golf courses.

Golf Courses, when run correctly, can be very profitable ventures.  That money can then be used to help fund other city-run projects and programs and keep taxes reasonable.

I hope saner heads prevail at city council and that King’s Forest and Chedoke remain owned and operated by the City of Hamilton. 

With a little time on my hands, I started to analyze my game.  I keep track of fairways hit, greens in regulation, putts, up and downs.  After compiling my averages, I was surprised to learn that I hit the fairway 68% of the time but the green only 50%.  My average score is 82 with 33 putts per round.

After shaking my head a few times, I realize that my short game needs a lot of work.  If I could average 30 putts per round my scores would consistently be in the 70s.

If you haven’t tracked these statistics before, I recommend you start.  You will gain valuable information as to what you need to improve to score better.

After watching the ADT Championship, the LPGA should be optimistic about its future.  It was possibly the most exciting Friday and Saturday of golf I have seen.  In professional golf, the dramtics are usually left until Sunday.  But, with a cut after Friday and Saturday, it was riveting televison.  To see if Annika or Lorie Kane made it to the weekend, who would be the final sixteen after the playoff.  And even on Sunday, to see if the twenty-year old could forget about the money (a cool million dollars to the winner).  There are still things to be worked on at the LPGA and the commissioner is still learning on the job, but the direction seems to be going the right way.

After almost 11 months of watching, playing and reading about golf, here are some of my observations from the past year.

Birdie - Stephen Ames on winning the Player’s Championship, hopefully he can put his back troubles behind him and continue his fine play.

Bogey - Phil Mickelson packing it in after the PGA Championship, anyone who saw his Ryder Cup performance knows he packed in early.  Phil doesn’t seem to care about the fans who pay the price of admission to see him play.

Birdie - Jim Furyk.  For not only having his best year on the PGA Tour but for stating he will be back to defend his Canadian Open Title in 2007.

Birdie - RCGA & Hamilton Golf & Country Club, for hosting the Canadian Open as a National Championship deserves.  Here’s hoping a Title Sponsor won’t be far along.

Bogey - Earl Woods dies.  He is possibly the most influential father in sports along with Walter Gretzky.

Par - PGA Tour’s new FedEx Cup - Only time will tell whether this Championship will bring out the Tour’s best after the PGA Championship.

Birdie - Canada finishes 2nd at the World Amateur Championships

Birdie - At the age of 46, BC native Jim Rutledge will become the oldest PGA Tour rookie in history.  Rutledge gained his card by finishing inside the Top 20 on the Nationwide Tour money list.

Eagle - I finally broke par for 18 holes !!  I shot a 71 at Crosswinds G&CC.

 Let me know your favourite or most memorable moments from the 2006 golf season.