5 Things: Martin breaks course record; Duval shines

5 Things: Martin breaks course record; Duval shines

Ben Martin, 10-under 62, broke the TPC Louisiana course record by two shots in taking a two-shot lead at the Zurich Classic on Thursday.

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Mark King leaves big shoes to fill at TaylorMade

Mark King leaves big shoes to fill at TaylorMade

Mark King became president of TaylorMade in 1999 and quickly launched a series of decisions and mandates that raised TaylorMade's visibility and profitability.

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How to Save While Golfing in Tristate Area

No matter how expensive golfing could be, it should not keep you from enjoying the sport and be one with the nicest people in the golf course. However, if you are on a very tight budget, but still feel the need to be on the course, then that would not be too much of a problem. There are ways in which you can save while golfing in Tristate area. You should be keen enough to use saving tips to help you make the best of your golfing experience. So, how do you save while having total fun in the golf course?

Be updated with the latest information around the golf course area

What better way to do that is to be informed through a golf magazine or a website? Most of these media forms often give you hints to upcoming special offers in different shops around the golf course. The best things there is that if you are subscribe to these media, they could give discount coupons that will actually help you save a good amount on your golfing equipments and other luxuries.

Find the best golf courses

The best golf courses do not always they ask for high golfing rates. There are actually cheaper golf courses that have the best turfs in your area. Learn to explore around the Tristate and surely, you’ll be able to find the best turfs for your golfing practice and even friendly matches.

Learn how to recycle

If you are only going to practice your swings, you can make use of recycled golfing materials, especially with golf balls. You can also find cheaper golf equipments and use them for practice. Especially if you are still new to the sport, you can use second hand clubs that were only slightly used. They are totally cheaper than brand new ones, but they are as good and functional. If you are comfortable with it, you can buy demo clubs from the stores. These clubs are sold in very good prices but they still work fine like the ones sold in regular prices.

Take advantage of twilight rates

Most golf courses give lower rates for plays done early in the morning or late in the afternoon. This happen during twilight where there is not much natural light from the sun on the course. However, you can play full well even with the sun just coming up or going down. If you are fine with the schedule, you can save a good amount on your expenses.

Practice your skills on fewer holes

You don’t have to play the full 18 holes if you want to practice. Take the practice session in half. You can practice on 9 holes and still have good result. Playing on a 9-hole course would bring you good enough time to practice your swings. It is a much cheaper practice in that case too.

Golfing in Tristate area is not a very cheap habit to do, but if you know the ways to save on your golfing experience, you’ll definitely enjoy the game on a different level. If you don’t need to, you don’t have to rent clubs just to play golf, it could be provided for you for free. 

It’s Not Just Majors

The other day sitting around after a round of golf discussing our favorite topic and commenting about Adam Scott’s attempt to defend his Masters title. Virtually impossible we concluded but that lead to a question none of us were able to answer with certainty.

Of the currently active players on the PGA Tour who after Tiger and Lefty have the most wins. The usual suspects were named and after taking advantage of smartphone technology my guess (shared with several others) of Davis Love III was confirmed.

This incident however prompted my thinking as to the reasons why the World Golf Hall of Fame recently made such a massive change to the process of selecting those get their names on the wall in St. Augustine.

To illustrate the problem and why it was a good thing to revamp the enshrinement selection process take a look at the list of currently active Tour players. And let’s set aside for a moment the number of major championships since too often that’s the only focus especially by my media colleagues. Plus we should add in their international wins since some such as Colin Montgomerie have spent most of their careers playing in Europe (31 wins) and have never won in the U.S.

The list is headed of course by future Hall of Famer Tiger Woods with 79 PGA Tour victories and 12 internationally followed by Phil Mickelson, inducted into the Hall in 2012, with 42 on Tour and 4 around the world. Then it drops back to Hall member Vijay Singh at 34 and 22.

Here’s the rest:

Davis Love III – 20/2

Ernie Els 19/47

Jim Furyk 16/0

Fred Couples 15/5

Els and Couples are Hall of Fame members already but Couples’ induction at least and certainly Montgomerie’s who has no majors were a big reason why the Hall of Fame’s board decided to make drastic changes in the selection criteria and process.

For me the need was obvious when they made decision under the old method of voting that lowered the standards for admission from 75 percent of the votes to 65 percent to finally the candidate receiving the most votes over 50 percent. I think it’s a classic case of shooting yourself in the foot—trying to solve the problem of current players not measuring up to the records of those who preceded them by making it easier to get elected.

I’m reminded of the sports leagues for kids’ that give everyone a trophy for merely showing up.

What are the chances the current crop of “stars” on Tour will better the records of those in the Hall? Will Adam Scott achieve more majors or how about DJ or Patrick Reed or Rory?

Boy, talk about a guessing game!

The Hall had become a recognition not for play in the Hogan-Nelson-Palmer-Nicklaus-Player-Trevino-Miller-Watson-Mickelson category but for something less and golf fans responded with a collective yawn. Let’s hope the new criteria changes that because the fans, the game and the great players already members of the World Golf Hall of Fame deserve it.

Images courtesy of the World Golf Hall of Fame

Masters rookies enjoy good rounds, endure bad

Masters rookies enjoy good rounds, endure bad

Jonas Blixt wasn’t the only one one of a record 24 first-time Masters competitors to get off to a good start in his debut as Jimmy Walker and Kevin Stadler joined him -- but some endured high numbers Thursday at Augusta.

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Remember…Bobby Jones was a Professional

Masters week is an appropriate time to remember tournament founder Bobby Jones, who dominated his era as no one has ever done and there are a bushel of numbers to illustrate the point. Numbers such as Jones’ winning the four majors in 1930, the Grand Slam of the U.S. Open, British Open, U.S. Amateur and British Amateur.

His record shows from when he won his first U.S. Open title in 1923 through his 1930 U.S. Amateur win he played in 20 major championships and won 13 times.

Let that sink in for a moment…playing as an amateur against professionals of the caliber of Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen he won 65 percent of the time.

And then he quit. He had climbed his personal Everest and the only direction he could go from there was down.

Besides he was tired, worn out from the strain of playing at such a high level as well as from the travel which in the 1920s was arduous, many days and nights on trains or steamships.

There also was another important factor in his decision, Jones needed money. He was not independently wealthy and while an amateur he couldn’t play for pay. He had to generate an income from his fledgling law practice and other ventures to support his wife and children.

Therefore, a month and a half after winning the U.S. Amateur for the last time he sent a letter to the USGA announcing his retirement from championship golf and renouncing his amateur status.

As a professional Jones most certainly could have commanded huge fees for exhibitions just as Walter Hagen was doing or he could have played for prize money on what passed for a professional tour in the Depression years of the 1930s. But reflecting the times any money he won would have paled in comparison to the potential exhibition income.

So he did neither. Jones sent the letter because he knew the USGA rules strictly defined what constituted being an amateur and he was planning to make money from ventures related to golf so he would have been in violation. This in spite an earlier ruling by the USGA that money Jones received for a column appearing in several hundred newspapers did not somehow violate his amateur status. Inconsistent to be sure but probably more a reflection of the prevalent opinion a journalist was above the common drudgery of earning money from the game in contrast with lowly professionals.

And Jones was not about to sell his endorsement of some product just for the sake of making money. In fact his best known project wasn’t an endorsement deal at all but an immensely popular series of one-reel instructional films shown in movie theaters entitled “How I Play Golf.” Even today these films are worth watching, filled with information about the golf swing though Jones disliked what he called the “corny” story lines transparently centered on him giving lessons to movie stars.

His most profitable venture was getting into the club business and he became intimately involved with the design of the club line bearing his name manufactured by A.G. Spaulding Company. Interestingly the fact Jones autograph-model clubs had steel shafts was a major factor in sealing the demise of hickory shafts…”If Bobby says steel is OK, it must be.”

So the bottom line is according to the Rules of Golf Bobby Jones, the greatest amateur golfer of all time, was not allowed to be an amateur any longer.

Images courtesy of the USGA.

Ways to Find the Best Beginner’s Golfing Course in Tristate

All golfers would always start from scratch. No matter how expert a certain golfer is on the course, he was once a green horn in the turf. There are many factors that help a golfer achieve his techniques expertly and one of them is the playing field. If a player started playing in a good golf course, he is most likely going to learn the sport in the good way. How do you find the best golf course for your level as a beginner? Find the best beginner’s golfing course in Tristate with these tips below.

1. Find Less Expensive Golf Course – you think only pros get to experience the good times in the course? You can also have your own great time in the field even if you are just starting to discover your prowess. If you are still beginning, you don’t need to pay for the most expensive courses. You can start small so you wouldn’t have to pressure yourself too much. You can still get into the game even if you go to smaller golf courses and those that are cheaper as well.

2. Check out golf discount clubs – if you enter into golf clubs, you will have the privilege to use golf courses that are accredited with the club. Your clubs usually include fees for the courses you need to use for practice. 

3. Make Sure golf courses are available for you – there are so many courses in the Tristate you can go to. However, not all of these spaces are available for practice, especially for beginners. Most of the biggest courses are filled and are used by players in more advanced levels. You can check out several courses and make sure to set a date when you would want to practice in.

4. Join Golf Clubs for beginners – your club fees will include dues for golf courses. Your club will not only provide a place for you to play in. It will also guide you with your techniques and actually use it as you develop into a better player in the golf course. You will usually be trained along with other beginners. There would be particular playing field made available for you to use.

5. Choose from public and private courses – if you don’t want to attend golf classes, you can hire your own trainer and use either a public or a private golf course. Counties or municipalities often own public golf courses, which are made available for local residents to use. Private courses on the other hand are provided for club members and other interested enthusiasts.

When you are looking for the right course for beginners, it is not that difficult to find one in the Tristate. Any golfing course in Tristate is a potential place to use for beginners. What matters most is the player’s comfort when he is on course to play. The price for every session in the course could also be considered as a factor in choosing the right place but it should not be the priority of every beginner of the game.

Wie 'more appreciative' after 67 to open Kraft

Wie 'more appreciative' after 67 to open Kraft

The LPGA no longer revolves around the comings and goings of Michelle Wie. But her 5-under 67 in Thursday's first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship showed Wie, 24, still moves the needle like no other.

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