There’s no cut at this week’s WGC event, the Bridgestone Invitational. That’s good news for Tiger Woods. The troubled linkster, with a tenuous grip on the #1 world ranking, stumbled to an opening round 74, placing him T70 in the field of 81 golfers. On a course and in an event he virtually owned, Woods couldn’t muster even a lick of mojo and I’d have to say there wasn’t a single highlight to his round. He spent so much time in the woods you’d have to have been planted in a deer stand to claim spotting him. Five fairways hit, 61% GIR, and 32 putts led to his 74 on a Firestone Country Club course with soft greens that was ripe for the taking. Woods’ off course life changes have clearly affected his play. Understandable of course to us humans, but confounding I’m certain to Woods.

Bubba Watson’s maiden appearance in this tourney didn’t faze him in the least as his 64 led the way after round 1. Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and US Open champ Graeme McDowell all generously shared 2nd place at -4. Mickelson’s playing partner, Rory McIlroy, turned in a respectable 68. Antony Kim struggled to a +5, 75 on his return from injury. Camilo Villegas, on the other hand, had no such excuse for his 75.

The weather calls for dry and sunny for the next two days, so expect more runout from Firestone’s tilted fairways and a generally tougher time scoring for the boys. I like the event, but find the venue rather boring as it seems to be long, straight par 4 after long, straight, par 4. Age and history doesn’t necessarily gain a golf course instant status.

Good start. I’ll watch tomorrow to see if Bubba can keep it going and if Woods can somehow find the remnants of what used to be his game.

Til’ next,

Credits: Average Golfer

To commemorate Tiger Woods’ return to the tour this week at the Accenture World Match Play Championship, I dug up a SwingVision video from a couple of years ago showing him hitting driver off the tee. As you can see, Tiger tees the ball low for greater control. If he teed it higher, like Vijay, he’d be able to raise his angle of attack with the driver and drive it much further. But if there’s one thing Tiger doesn’t lack, it’s distance! Boy, I sure do miss those SwingVision close ups of ball impact, don’t you?

Credits: Grouchy Golf Blog

McIlroy the next Tiger Woods? According to former Masters and Open champion Mark O’Meara the 19 year old is already a better ball striker than the world’s number one was at the same age.

These comments come after McIlroy was leading play at the Dubai Desert Classic after an incredible round of 64 leaving him 8 under par after day one.

With all the hype surrounding the Ryder Cup just starting to build lets hope Rory can continue this fine form and start pushing for a place in the 2010 line up at the Celtic Manor.

Credits: UK Golf Blog

The tabloid media has grown in prominence dramatically over the last several years. Gossip around the private lives of celebrities has overtaken actually substantive topics across America’s water coolers. Nothing is more telling than the simultaneous explosive growth of TMZ and PerezHilton.com in contrast with the near bankruptcies being faced by legitimate news stalwarts such as the New York Times.

But golf has seemed to be immune to this tabloid pandemic. Unfortunately, Tiger Woods’ enormous popularity placed him under its greasy microscope. All it took was something minutely unusual in the petri dish for them to pounce. That indeed occurred over Thanksgiving when Tiger drove his Caddy around like a carnival bumper car with his wife going all Nicholson on it (let’s just hope it wasn’t with his priceless Scotty Cameron putter!). Like a herd of great whites drawn to a drop of blood, the media descended upon Tiger’s Isleworth sanctuary with dollar signs in their eyes. Could this be evidence of a domestic issue?!

So friggin’ what? A couple of years ago on my Bandon Dunes golf vacation, a friend of mine told us he knew a person close to Tiger’s entourage. According to him, Tiger was quite the Casanova who was not opposed to “stepping out” and playing much more than just 18-holes. He also emphasized that it was more about quantity rather than quality. I didn’t entertain the discussion because I didn’t really care. Lots of people step out and it’s almost a given amongst pro athletes. Big deal.

It turns out that it is a big deal to many. The Chinese have gone so far as to create a CGI re-enactment of the whole incident. Not quite Pixar, but way too polished than it should be and just another sign that the end is near (I wonder if they actually mocapped Elin swinging that club!):

But why all this attention? My guess is that people somehow build up a fanciful notion that famous people lead perfect lives. When anything surfaces to dispel these fantasies, it devastates them. It’s just absurd. In the case of Tiger Woods, why should we think that he is better than us commoners at anything outside of playing golf? As a society, we need to come to the realization that all people suffer from faults. No amount of fame can make them go away. If anything, fame does the opposite. It would be naive to think otherwise. Accept it and move on. There are many more important things in the world be concerned.

To those who still think that most famous people stay on the straight and narrow, just remember that a wise man, Chris Rock, once said, “A man is only as faithful as his options.” Ponder that for a minute. It’s probably safe to assume that virtually all famous people are cheating. Certainly that’s a better assumption for us as a whole than to deitize them if we want to put an end to the tabloid fascination. Lastly, for the record, I’m an extremely faithful guy by choice, not due to a lack of options!

P.S. Check out some of my blog friends’ posts on this topic:

Hooked on Golf Blog

Mike Pederson Golf

Credits: Grouchy Golf Blog

Yes, Nike’s foible spurred me to write before Tiger’s did. I’m more forgiving of human flaws and mistakes than corporations trying to make a buck off them. Of course this wouldn’t have been possible without Tiger’s reprehensible behavior, and if he had anything to do with this ad other than that, I blame him for it as well. Either way, I’m in no way expressing sympathy for Tiger because of this ad.

I’ve been quiet on everything lately. Even the Tiger “scandal” couldn’t draw me out to discuss my thoughts, of which I have plenty, I assure you. Then, just as I’m getting ready to share my thoughts on that as well as the Masters and everything else, out pops Nike’s controversial Tiger advertisement that seems to depict Earl Woods, Tiger’s deceased father, asking his son questions about Tiger’s intentions and moral character that, of course, Tiger never answers because they were completely out of context. Distasteful? Opportunistic? I think so. And if Tiger actually posed for this current ad wearing his Nike garb rather than Nike taking it upon themselves to use past images, that’s disgusting as well. (Not that Tiger doesn’t have disgusting in him.) Throughout Tiger’s troubles, Nike was one sponsor that stuck by him. Now Nike is trying to rebuild their Tiger-related image after all they already have, and plan to continue to, invest in him – I get that.

The Honest Review I Hate to Give

Truth be told, I’m actually a pretty big fan of Nike Golf products. For a long time I have enjoyed their golf balls. Plus, awhile back, they were kind enough to send me their VR STR8-FIT Tour Driver to review it against the TaylorMade competitor and simply asked for an honest review. It was still on my list of things to do because not only do I owe them some feedback (which would have been positive for them) but I felt compelled to give them any mention at all in this blog for the beneficial impact it had on my game. Here you go, Nike: you replaced TaylorMade in my bag in the driver section. Club vs. club, you win. The review would have been much longer and much more glowing had you not blown it with this Tiger thing (or had I done it sooner – but then I surely would have referenced back on it in this post). Here’s your bone – if I had a better driver, I’d gladly use. Sadly, I’m wont for better gear even though it pains me to say so. I truly wish I didn’t like it as much as I did. My TaylorMade driver practically screams to me to get back in my bag and the way I’m playing I’m tempted to listen especially since my game and swing suck so much lately it really doesn’t matter what club(s) I use.

Now What?

Now that Nike put such a sour taste in my mouth with this Tiger thing, I really wish everyone would stop buying Nike products, no matter how much you like them. At least until they do something to redeem themselves after “THE TIGER AD.” Strong stance, I know, especially from someone who has been dormant for so long and benefited from Nike’s generosity. Tell you what: if I don’t see some redemptive ad in the next few days (they’re bound to have follow-ups during the Masters this week and I’ll let you know how I feel), my old driver is going back in my bag.

View full post on The Golf Chick Golf Blog

They say you have to hit rock bottom before you begin the long journey upwards. If that’s indeed the case, then Tiger Woods at least hit golf bottom at the Quail Hollow Championship. His 79 featured wild drives, water balls, and nonchalant three putts. Sort of like my game on a national stage. He missed only his 6th cut in his professional career and he missed by a mile. His two round +9 total left him a staggering 17 shots behind leader Billy Mayfair who was at -8. Woods’ playing partner Angel Cabrera was one back of Mayfair at -7. Four players gathered at -6 including Phil Mickelson. Full Field 2nd Round Scores.

After Woods’ horrible performance speculation will reach new heights. Have his personal demons finally cracked the impenetrable shell he’s exhibited for his whole career? Is Hank Haney really the guru to fine tune his swing? Didn’t Woods play better golf under Harmon? Is this just a blip on the radar screen, or just a couple of bad days? Certainly anyone that has ever picked up the sticks can relate to a couple of bad rounds. Bad rounds? Bad rounds for Woods are even par. Woods shooting a 79, featuring a smooth 43 on the back, is like me carding a 130. OK, a 132.

Woods is signed up for next week’s PLAYERS Championship. The TPC Sawgrass isn’t a course he speaks highly about. Quail Hollow is one of his favorites. That makes for a lot to accomplish in the week between. On the bright side, Woods has an extra weekend to prepare.

Til’ next,

View full post on Average Golfer

Tiger had an MRI on his neck and docs expect him to make a full recovery.  He didn’t have a bulging disk (or d*ck as quoted by blond golf babe Win McMurry).  He has an inflamed facet joint in his neck.
“I want to thank everyone for their caring and concern.  I now need to [...]

View full post on Hooked On Golf Blog

The Tiger Woods scandal has long overrun its course, IMHO. To me, it’s just another story about a somewhat normal person who became corrupted by the trappings of fame and fortune. Irene Folstrom, his ex-college girlfriend describes the pre-famous Tiger as a normal college kid who was “so human and cared so much about other people and the world around him.” Considering he attended Stanford, he was most certainly on the nerdy side of things as well.

But when your hommies go from Screech and Urkel to Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, it’s safe to say that your world is turned inside-out. Add in to that mix the universal praise and adoration for being the “best of all-time” and it’s understandable how Tiger felt invincible. Yeah, Tiger messed up. But the failings of such self-righteous public figures as John Edwards, David Vitter and Eliot Spitzer are far worse. These guys were supposed to be our moral leaders and instead became the faces of hypocrisy.

Tiger has made his public apology, so it’s time everyone moves on. No offense to the rest of the PGA Tour but it’s been a real snoozefest without him.

View full post on Grouchy Golf Blog

Tiger finally returned to golf at the 2010 Masters. After a humiliating scandal, it was obvious Tiger had to change his ways in the public eye to win back certain golf fans. And that’s what he did. Tiger walked without blinders on, acknowledged the crowd at every opportunity with that Cheshire Cat smile, accepted gifts from kids, and actually signed some autographs. In other words, he was acting like Phil Mickelson.

“Acting” is the key word. The whole world now knows that Tiger isn’t such a great guy. But I never thought that he was to begin with. Now that he’s suddenly become Mr. Nice Guy on the course, it strikes me as completely disingenuous. Are people really buying this crap?

But the vast majority of people are suckered into a public image. Phil Mickelson has made a career of it. I have a golf buddy who is a member of Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. Mickelson happens to be a fellow member. According to my friend, the real Mickelson is 180 degrees from his carefully-crafted public persona. I’ve heard stories that will rock any Mickelson fanboy’s world.

What I liked about the old Tiger was that his public persona was reflective of his true personality. The old Tiger was a cold, focused and ruthless competitor full of “I’m the best ever” confidence. In short, I prefer wolves without sheep’s clothing. Phil is just covered in wool.

But how does this all translate into cold hard cash? Contrary to what many believe, Tiger raked in the mega sponsorship dollars because he won and won in unbelievable fashion, not because of some wholesome family-guy image. If that were the case, guys like Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker would be the faces of corporate America. The proof will be when Tiger goes back to his winning ways. I bet the sponsorship money will return en masse.

View full post on Grouchy Golf Blog

This is an infomercial for a golf training device called the Dream Swing. This video also contains useful information about how to improve your golf swing.