Joe,
What is your take on the controversy of a golf channel announcer’s comment that the only way to beat Tiger is to lynch him?
Tim
Hi Tim,
In today’s world of political correctness, it is too dangerous to tell a joke anymore, and that is sad. Kelly Tilghman is a delightful announcer and there is no way she meant any harm. Tiger even said this was a non issue, yet some other people insist on making a big deal out of it. I might be politically incorrect for saying this, but there is a phrase in The Bible which says to watch out for people who have a morbid craving for controversy.
Joe
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Joe,
I am amazed how the pros on TV can sink so many long putts, no matter how many different courses they play on with different types of grasses. I know whenever I travel and play different courses, the different types of grasses and speeds really mess me up. How do they adjust? Is it just natural ability or else what is their secret?
John
Hi John,
The best way to understand is to attend a practice round before a tournament and watch what the pros do on the greens. They take the time to stroke putts on all quadrants of each green while their caddies take notes. So even if they have never played the course before, during the tournament they have a pretty good idea on how each putt will behave, no matter where the pin placement is. The general public does not have this luxury, you might get kicked off the course for slow play if you try that. Therefore it is much more difficult for the average golfer to sink putts because they have no help at all in reading greens, it is just a guessing game. You can own the greatest expensive putter and have the best possible putting stroke, but if you do not read the green correctly, you will not make very many putts. Even if you do read the green correctly, but hit the putt at the wrong speed, the amount of break will be different and you might miss it anyway. If you have ever played in a scramble event, you will have noticed a lot more putts being sunk because everyone on your team gets the benefit of watching the first putt and therefore having a lot more confidence in the read. Those of you who do not play in scrambles, the next time you are on an uncrowded course, whenever you miss a putt, try it 3 more times and chances are pretty good that you will sink one of them because your confidence in the read improves with every putt.
Joe
I am amazed how the pros on TV can sink so many long putts, no matter how many different courses they play on with different types of grasses. I know whenever I travel and play different courses, the different types of grasses and speeds really mess me up. How do they adjust? Is it just natural ability or else what is their secret?
John
Hi John,
The best way to understand is to attend a practice round before a tournament and watch what the pros do on the greens. They take the time to stroke putts on all quadrants of each green while their caddies take notes. So even if they have never played the course before, during the tournament they have a pretty good idea on how each putt will behave, no matter where the pin placement is. The general public does not have this luxury, you might get kicked off the course for slow play if you try that. Therefore it is much more difficult for the average golfer to sink putts because they have no help at all in reading greens, it is just a guessing game. You can own the greatest expensive putter and have the best possible putting stroke, but if you do not read the green correctly, you will not make very many putts. Even if you do read the green correctly, but hit the putt at the wrong speed, the amount of break will be different and you might miss it anyway. If you have ever played in a scramble event, you will have noticed a lot more putts being sunk because everyone on your team gets the benefit of watching the first putt and therefore having a lot more confidence in the read. Those of you who do not play in scrambles, the next time you are on an uncrowded course, whenever you miss a putt, try it 3 more times and chances are pretty good that you will sink one of them because your confidence in the read improves with every putt.
Joe
