Friday, November 11, 2005
Just for once, maybe during the off season, I would like to see a “retro” tournament where all golfers must use hickory shafts and identical gutta percha balls. They cannot use their own equipment, they are supplied with a set of ten clubs, so there are no advantages for anyone, they have to adapt to the equipment. They would have no caddies so they must carry their own clubs, make their own guesses on yardages, and read their own putts. Nobody has any help. Now let’s see who is brave enough to risk embarrassment under these conditions. Even if this was only 9 or 18 holes, wouldn’t that be cool?
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Joe,
What do you think of Jean Van de Velde’s comments on women being allowed to qualify for the British Open?
Tina
Hi Tina,
Poor Jean is really taking a beating, isn’t he? I am not one to kick a man when he is down, but with tongue in cheek, let’s look at his powers of judgment. When asked why he played so aggressively on the last hole of the ’99 British Open, when he could have played conservatively and won easily, he said he did not want to look like a coward. Hmmm, that means he would rather throw away a spot in history as an Open winner than to risk having someone call him a coward. Powers of judgment? Isn’t it also cowardly to do the wrong thing just because you are afraid of what others might think? On the other hand, if his goal was to be in the news and to keep people talking about him, maybe you can consider that to be good judgment both then and now, because in that sense he has succeeded. Maybe because of this he can get a spot on Leno, Letterman, or Oprah.
Joe
What do you think of Jean Van de Velde’s comments on women being allowed to qualify for the British Open?
Tina
Hi Tina,
Poor Jean is really taking a beating, isn’t he? I am not one to kick a man when he is down, but with tongue in cheek, let’s look at his powers of judgment. When asked why he played so aggressively on the last hole of the ’99 British Open, when he could have played conservatively and won easily, he said he did not want to look like a coward. Hmmm, that means he would rather throw away a spot in history as an Open winner than to risk having someone call him a coward. Powers of judgment? Isn’t it also cowardly to do the wrong thing just because you are afraid of what others might think? On the other hand, if his goal was to be in the news and to keep people talking about him, maybe you can consider that to be good judgment both then and now, because in that sense he has succeeded. Maybe because of this he can get a spot on Leno, Letterman, or Oprah.
Joe
Monday, November 07, 2005
Joe,
I admire the consistent, 3/4 power swing used by Dana Quigley. Do you know of any golf video or instruction manuals that discuss Dana's methods. The 3/4 swing may also be easier on the body as we get older.
R. Guy Dodson
Hi Guy,
I also believe in the shorter backswing, I use it too, and so do others like Allen Doyle, Jim Thorpe, Doug Sanders, Moe Norman, and all the followers of Natural Golf (that does not mean they all use every aspect of Natural Golf, it is only the short backswing that they have in common). Here is why I like the shorter backswing. For most golfers, the further you take the club back, the more trouble you can get into. Those who can afford to practice and play every day may be able to get away with taking it further back because daily activity makes it easier to stay in a groove. One of the major magazines (I forget whether it was Golf Digest or Golf Magazine) had a feature story on Dana’s swing, complete with frame by frame illustrations and explanations, but other than the shorter backswing, Dana does nothing fundamentally different with the rest of his mechanics, but his success is due to the perfect timing of his arm and wrist action. For most of us, it would be easy to lose this timing when you take the club too far back, and you may be “hitting from the top” which robs you of power. With a shorter backswing, it is less likely that you will hit from the top.
Joe
I admire the consistent, 3/4 power swing used by Dana Quigley. Do you know of any golf video or instruction manuals that discuss Dana's methods. The 3/4 swing may also be easier on the body as we get older.
R. Guy Dodson
Hi Guy,
I also believe in the shorter backswing, I use it too, and so do others like Allen Doyle, Jim Thorpe, Doug Sanders, Moe Norman, and all the followers of Natural Golf (that does not mean they all use every aspect of Natural Golf, it is only the short backswing that they have in common). Here is why I like the shorter backswing. For most golfers, the further you take the club back, the more trouble you can get into. Those who can afford to practice and play every day may be able to get away with taking it further back because daily activity makes it easier to stay in a groove. One of the major magazines (I forget whether it was Golf Digest or Golf Magazine) had a feature story on Dana’s swing, complete with frame by frame illustrations and explanations, but other than the shorter backswing, Dana does nothing fundamentally different with the rest of his mechanics, but his success is due to the perfect timing of his arm and wrist action. For most of us, it would be easy to lose this timing when you take the club too far back, and you may be “hitting from the top” which robs you of power. With a shorter backswing, it is less likely that you will hit from the top.
Joe
