Mr. Spieth, You're a Wonder

There are three things we could use less of in this life; politicians, lawyers, and weathermen.  Can you believe the golf today at the Open?  If we believed the forecasts, we would have expected lousy weather.

It's too bad we couldn't have had thirty six holes today.  It would have been a shootout.  Now, like a kid at Christmas, I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow.  I'll bet the R&A might have been persuaded to give us thirty six holes today if they'd have known the weather would have cooperated.  

The boys are lighting it up.  And what a great cast; even Paddy Harrington and that Irish amateur, Paul Dunne.  I forecasted DJ or Spieth at the beginning of the week, but suspected Oosthuizen or Branden Grace might steal the jug.  So far, Spieth and Louis are looking great.  DJ, not so much.

Spieth just tied the lead with Dunne.  Mr. Spieth, you're a wonder.  That's what Bobby Jones' caddie once said to him at The Old Course.  If Jordan keeps it up, forget about comparing him to Tiger, we'll be talking Bobby Jones.

Fifty Shades of Grey

It appears, watching the Open, that Grey is the new black on tour.  Orange has taken a back seat to a more muted approach to golf attire by the world's best players.

My father told me that, if I couldn't be good, I should at least be colourful, and I have religiously followed that advice.  My closet is full of trousers, sweaters, and shirts in a variety of shades of pink, purple, lime green and orange.  It looks like I'd better consider a change in view of what the real golfers seem to be wearing this week.

I must say it's nice to see grey trousers now in style, instead of the white ones that have been de rigueur of late.  I'm much too prosperous to wear white trousers, tending to look more like Monty than DJ these days.  Large-arsed men tend to look silly in white trousers.  Besides, white trousers would soon look like John Daly's loudmouth pants if I were to wear them, with my penchant for spilling coffee, catsup and mustard on anything I choose to wear.

Grey also tends to go well with just about anything.  Grey and beige doesn't really work, but my wife tells me beige just washes me out anyway,  So, not wanting to be "washed out," I never wear it.  I must say I still favour those nice pink sweaters, like the ones Louis and Matsuyama were wearing, and lime green trousers (did you see the nice ones Lahiri is wearing today?) that really get you noticed.  They can see me coming from miles away in my golfing duds.  Those bright colours are also handy if you tend to find yourself in the woods, especially during hunting season.

So, perhaps we golf lovers will have to follow suit and start wearing grey.  Any of the fifty shades will "do rightly," as my old Irish grandmother would say.  Orange is passé.  Even Rickie wears orange only sparingly these days.  Grey is definitely the new black.

Tiger's Bullying Days are Over

I set the alarm to get up at two o'clock, hoping to see some golf at the Open.  Needless to say, it was in vain.  Now we're going to have a Monday finish.

They sent the boys out, only long enough to make life difficult for Louis Oosthuizen, among others.  Louis, not being quick enough marking his ball, now faces a five and a half footer for par, instead of a two footer, after the wind blew it away.  They tried to start, but the conditions were such that play was impossible.  The question now is, why did they start at all?

So, as we wait to see whether they'll play any golf today, we have more time than is probably good for us to analyze things and, heaven forbid, try to understand what's ailing Tiger.

There have been a flurry of articles saying that Tiger is officially toast.  He's done.  He's now firmly relegated to the has-been club.  If it's true, at least he's got company; or does he?  Has the undisputed best player in the game ever had such a fall?

It's really quite fascinating.  All the greats have eventually come to the point that they've had to move over and let the new kids take over.  That's life; and that's golf.  But never have we seen the greatest player of his generation essentially do it to himself.  Tiger has endured public humiliation and injury.  Both have likely impacted his ability to continue to play the game at the level to which he had been able to take it.  But, he's recovered from injury.  He's probably long over his very public humiliation, and the ensuing snickering that took place after the rest of us realized he wasn't quite so special off the course.  His moral superiority, real or imagined, was gone.  Unfortunately, his superiority on the golf course, which was definitely real, is now gone as well.

We like to say it was the result of swing changes.  As Zinger pointed out today, "The artist became an engineer."  And, swing changes have definitely been a factor.  If you mess with your swing, even if you are fortunate enough to come up with something better, you will have a significant period of time when you will struggle until you can repeat, and trust, the new motion.  Tiger has now done it three times, with the ensuing year and a half or so between changes when he did very little in the game and gave the rest of the boys the opportunity to get a Major or two of their own.

But it's now been years since Tiger has won any of the only tournaments that really matter to him, and to us.  He hasn't won a Major since 2008.  This is not a swing change issue.  It is a psychological issue.  The problem is in Tiger's mind, not his release pattern.  Despite what he says in his interviews, I seriously doubt Tiger really believes his own rhetoric.  I doubt he really believes he's the best anymore.

You really don't have to be a shrink to recognize that Tiger has toys in the attic.  You just have to be a golfer.  He's not the same guy with the driver, and he's definitely not even close to being the same guy on the greens. Tiger doesn't maybe realize it, but he actually admits the problem is psychological.  He admits that he's hitting it great on the range.  But, when the heat is on, he can't take it from the practice tee to the first tee.  The problem is obviously not mechanical, or he wouldn't be a Tiger on the practice tee and a pussy cat on the first tee.  It's in his head, and don't think Tiger doesn't know it.  

Tiger has lost his confidence.  It ain't no crime.  All of us have had our confidence shaken in this game.  It's the nature of the game. I think the turning point for Tiger was not when he crashed the car, and all the nonsense about his extra marital activities came to light.  After all, it was embarrassing, but Tiger knows, and we all know, that he's not the only philanderer in the game. 

I think the real psychological blow came when he had Y.E. Yang take him down at the PGA championship in 2008.  Tiger lost a Major with the lead for the first time. Prior to that loss, Tiger had to believe that, if he could just secure the lead in a Major, he was a lock to win.  After all, he'd done it fourteen times in a row.  He may not have expected to win every Major he entered, but, if he could secure the lead, he knew he wasn't going to choke.  And there didn't seem to be anyone with the game, or the confidence, to look him in the eye and chase him down once he got his nose out in front. He had that wonderful aura of invincibility.  But, since Yang failed to get the memo, and outplayed Tiger when he was supposed to fold like a cheap suit, Tiger hasn't won a Major.  It's really no mystery.  Tiger's confidence was shaken.  The little voice--the voice of doubt that resides in all of us mere mortals--finally got Tiger's ear.  He's not been the same since; not in the ones that count.

Tiger was like a schoolyard bully on the golf course.  He wanted to beat you up.  And he wasn't content just to beat you up, he wanted to humiliate you.  He showed no mercy.  For the other players, whether they admitted it or not, he was downright scary.  Suddenly, this Yang character, who didn't seem to know enough to be afraid, gave Tiger a bloody nose with all the other kids watching.  The bully got a beating.  And, while the kids might still fear him, they don't fear him quite so much.  Tiger isn't quite so brave either, nor will he ever be again, because he now knows he could get a bloody nose, and bloody noses really hurt.

Tiger needs to accept that the problem resides firmly between his ears, as it does for most of us.  He needs to forget about going to the range, thinking he can fix the problem there.  Because, it's really only a problem if you want to continue being a bully.  Tiger should accept that he just isn't all that scary anymore.  He's maybe still pretty tough, but his bullying days are definitely over.  It's a big adjustment, and one I'm not familiar with, because I've never been able to be a bully on the golf course.  But, you surely don't lose your ability to play this game, you just get your nose bloodied sometimes, and you have to learn to deal with that if you're going to keep fighting.

No disrespect, but Tiger doesn't need a swing doctor, he needs a shrink.  I say that, not judgementally, but as one who could use a session or two on the couch myself and can spot the symptoms in others.  Time to just deal with it, Tiger.  Your days of being a bully are over.  That's okay, because nobody really likes a bully anyway.

Jordan Spieth's Chicken Wing

I couldn't help but notice when they were looking at Jordan Spieth's swing during the Open coverage they spotted the unusual move through the ball where his left arm does a sort of chicken wing.

There was some speculation about why this was.  I think he does this because he's controlling the clubface using the back of his left hand.  By keeping the back of the left hand going down the line a bit longer through impact, it produces this sort of chicken wing affect where the left arm disconnects slightly from his rotating upper body.  It may cost him some distance, but it produces consistently accurate striking, as it did for Byron Nelson.

They also spoke about Spieth's relatively weak grip.  If you are controlling the club face using the back of your left hand, the grip, by necessity, must be, not necessarily weak, but definitely neutral.  As Bobby Jones taught, if we were to stand directly in front of Spieth as he strikes the ball, we would see the back of his left hand coming straight at us through impact, not turning or flipping.  In his book Bobby Jones on Golf, Bobby wrote:

"In a sound golf stroke, the back of the left hand is visible at the instant of impact to an observer standing in front of the player.  It is important that this hand should drive straight through the impact position in the effort to direct the head of the club precisely along the line of play.  The turning action, which begins to take place an appreciable space after contact, does so then because the player's muscles relax after the effort of hitting, and because the swing has then reached the limit of motion it can accommodate along the line of flight."

I suspect, Jordan Spieth, if we could measure it, keeps the back of his left hand, and consequently the club face, going down the target line as long or longer than any top player in the game right now.  It may result in a bit of a chicken wing affect that looks unusual, but it produces solid, consistent shots. 

Spieth's move may look unusual, but, given the results he's achieving, it's obvious there is method in his madness, and he knows exactly what he's doing and why.  You go, kid.

The Answer is Blowin' in the Wind

The weather just could be the story of the Open this year.  It may be that Mother Nature and the golfing gods may be conspiring to make Jordan Spieth's Grand Slam dreams a nightmare.

There is always an element of luck in golf.  There's nothing wrong with that, because the guys who practise the hardest tend to have the best luck.  But, this week, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth may have the bad luck of having to finish their second rounds in brutal conditions.  How they manage themselves tomorrow morning will probably tell the story.

Jordan looked to be a little shaky today, even with the putter, which has been his best weapon.  A reprieve by darkness gave him a chance to regroup and perhaps finish strong.  DJ has looked to be in the zone and was probably very disappointed to be forced to halt his round.  In any event, they just could find themselves the victim of the draw, if the forecasters are correct.  I hope that isn't the case, but it could very well happen.

I suggested at the beginning of the week that we could very well have a South African champion again this year in the form of Louis Oosthuizen or Branden Grace.  King Louis, who is in great form and has shown how he can play at the Old Course when he's firing on all cylinders, faces the same challenge as DJ and Jordan, having completed only eleven holes before being halted by darkness at seven under par.  He will have to get up early and battle the weather as well. Grace, who had a good chance at Chambers Bay, is in with a three under total, six back from Danny Willett, the leader in the clubhouse.  I like Louis and Branden Grace, but I can't help but think that a Spieth or Johnson victory would be a better, feel-good story, given what Spieth is trying to accomplish in winning three in a row, and Johnson's heartbreak at Chambers Bay.

At the end of the day, the answer will be Blowin' in the Wind.

Nae Wind, Nae Rain, Nae Golf

The Scots love and understand the game.  Golf is best when the weather is bad.  When it's blowing, and the rain is falling, the real golfers come out to play.

For those who've never played in the rain, when it's blowing twenty miles an hour or higher, they haven't experienced golf as it was meant to be played.  Playing on a balmy day, on a soft golf course, golf is about as easy, and boring as it can get.  There isn't much to think about.  You're a hundred and fifty yards from the pin, so you grab your seven iron and fire away.  There's little thought involved.  You don't have to think about the club to grab, how high you want to hit it, what shape to give it, where you want to land it; you just grab your seven iron and fire away.  If your swing is on, you'll look like a golfer and you'll make a score; if you can putt.  But, as the Scots say, "It's nae golf."

Just let the wind blow, and maybe some rain fall, and you'll find out whether you can play.  You won't need your rangefinder.  It won't be of much assistance.  You'll appreciate some good waterproofs, however.  Golf is a blast when, because the wind's blowing, and you find yourself on a true links, you probably have umpteen shots you might play.  But, you'd better give it some thought.

In those conditions, on a Scottish links, with the wind blowing, you won't have the time, or the inclination to get caught up worrying about swing mechanics.  Your attention must be on trying to figure out the best shot to play.  Then you're really playing golf.  

The great players relish the tough conditions.  Because, if they are great players, they know that is when they will really shine.  The fair-weather players will fold up like cheap umbrellas in a wee breeze, and only the guys who have learned the game, and what a ball can be made to do, and how it must be struck to make it do it, will contend when the conditions get tough.  Actually, when it's raining and blowing, the conditions aren't considered bad for the great players.  The conditions aren't bad; they're just right.

It's going to be real golf this week at the Old Course in St Andrews.  The wind's blowing, there's going to be rain, and the best golfer will prevail.  And this week, Tom Watson, one of golf's greatest players, will bid adieu to the St Andrews fans.  He may not make the cut.  He's getting on and nobody really thinks he should.  But, he'll be embracing the challenge, and, the more it blows, and the more it rains, the better his chances will be.  He's a great golfer, and the Scots love him.  

Thanks for the memories, Tom.

Choose Your Equipment Wisely

I tend to play antiques.  Well, not really antiques, but previously-enjoyed clubs. I have gone that way after learning my lesson years ago that all that glitters isn't gold.

I have bought new clubs that seemed to work just fine on the monitor, but fizzled when I took them to the course.  A couple of years ago, I went to Golftown with four or five old three woods that I had acquired over the years, but didn't particularly love anymore.  I asked to conduct the Pepsi challenge, telling the salesperson that I would buy a three wood if he could give me one that worked better than the old ones I already had.  He agreed and I spent the better part of an hour testing the new models against my old ones.  At the end of the testing, he had to admit that the ones I had, though probably ten to fifteen years old, worked pretty much as well as his shiny new ones, and therefore, he wouldn't suggest I waste my money.

I haven't bought a new club since, though I'm as tempted as the next guy by the new and improved models that come out every year like clockwork.  My bag now contains a Cleveland Hi-Bore driver of a certain age that I obtained from an obliging Korean I met at the Bay of Quinte GC.  I traded him a Taylor Made Burner that I had got in exchange for a Ping that no longer seemed to work.  I have a Tour Edge Exotics three wood that I got out of a barrel in Hilton Head for thirty bucks, Cleveland 22 and 25 degree fairway woods that my buddy couldn't hit and was happy to give me, and a set of Hogan blades that I got in a Beaufort, SC Salvation Army Thrift Store for three dollars a club.  I also have two rusty Callaway forged wedges that were previously-enjoyed and cost me thirty bucks a piece.  The set is rounded out by a Bulls Eye putter I got out of a barrel in a Play It Again Sports store for five bucks.

I've bought new in the past, but this set seems to get me around well enough that I don't lose too much money.  So I've ended my days of searching for something better.  That is, until today when I received some sage advice.  I was playing with someone new and he observed me playing the blades.  He said, "You should really choose your golf equipment the same way you should choose your lovers; with a large capacity to forgive."

He may be right.  Has anybody got any more-forgiving clubs, previously enjoyed, and going cheap?