Bubba Watson, secure in his manhood enough to play a new pink driver, has teamed up with PING for a “Bubba & Friends Drive to a Million.” All he has to do is hit drives of at least 300 yards. Gee, what is that chance of THAT? He averages 315 yards already. What a great way to raise money for charities..
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Bubba Watson IS Da Man!

It is great to hear of the goodness of our sports celebrities. And this is a particularly nice story. Fundraising for charities is not always easy, although lending a big name to it sure helps.

From the press release at BubbaWatsonGolf.com:

“As part of “Bubba & Friends Drive to a Million” initiative announced by Bubba, PING will donate $300 for the first 300 drives that he launches over 300 yards in 2012. Last season, he averaged nearly 315 yards per drive on the PGA Tour.

PING is also making an upfront donation of $10,000 toward its fundraising event, which it calls “Bubba Long in Pink. Driven by PING.” All funds raised will go to Phoenix-area charities, chosen by PING with Bubba’s support.”

This is not new for Bubba. He has worked tirelessly to use his success for helping others. Here is a little more information on what he has been doing, as reported in today’s bleacherreport at azcentral.com:

Lots of millionaire sports celebrities work hard for charities behind the scenes. It sure is nice to hear about them, isn’t it?

Loving Bubba Watson,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

Maybe I’m a golf snob. The best three holes on the PGA Tour for watching in person used to be the 15th-16th-17th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. To quote Yogi Berra: “It’s so busy that nobody goes there anymore.”

I’ve got to admit that the Phoenix Open is, indeed, one heckuva party. I ran into one of my students there a few years ago, at the 18th green during an exciting finish on Sunday. He was on his way to the 16th hole to ‘pound some beers’ and didn’t have a clue about what was going on. This seems to epitomize the tournament these days.

Image what it was like before the party got out of hand. Before the grandstands totally encircled the 16th hole, the ideal spot to watch the tournament was a little hill next to the tee box on the 17th hole (see asterisk in photo below). From there I could see up close what was happening on the 16th hole, from tee to green, and I could watch tee shots from the 17th. Both holes offered some exciting golf. The 16th because it is a par 3 with a huge trap on the left side of the green, near the final round pin placement The 17th because it is a drivable par 4 with a great risk-reward to go for it: water on the left and past the green. I’ve seen some great shots on both holes, one right after another, by just turning around in my ideal spot.

As a bonus I could watch approach shots on the 15th through my binoculars. Going for an island green in 2 on a par 5 made for some great golf. I recall seeing Ben Crenshaw hit a rocket from more than 230 yards to the heart of the green there once. Rickie Fowler infamously laid up in the final round there not too long ago, while he was still in contention. It took him right out of the tournament and he didn’t have enough holes left to catch up.

Tiger Woods Fallout

Of course, part of the craziness at this hole might be traced to the hole in one made there by Tiger Woods in 1997. The party atmosphere was already building by 1997, and Tiger’s shot just accelerated it. By that time the best 3 holes for spectator golf had already been ruined for me, so I wasn’t there to see it. Good thing it replayed on the nightly news only about a hundred times.

Am I a Golf Snob?

Maybe. Or just maybe a crotchety old man. I love to watch top players hit great shots. I love the suspense of a final round, with results on the final three holes sorting out the winner. The party could go away this year (like THAT would happen) and I’d be back again, in my favorite spot in the final round.

What do you think?

Opining on the Waste Management Phoenix Open,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

The most important golf swing tips might be for the short game. You have more opportunity to shave strokes the closer you are to the green when you can hit it close. Here is a little pointer for when you are inside 30 yards.

For this pitch you want to have a grip that, when you look down with your hands on the club, you should be able to see two knuckles of the upper hand. Your grip should be closer to the shaft than to the top of the club grip.

Stand with your feet spread a little less than shoulder width, with the ball in the middle of an open stance. Hands should be a little ahead of the ball.

Your weight should be mostly on the forward foot, shoulders aligned with the target.

Bring the club back by cocking the wrists, until the shaft is parallel to the ground. As you swing, remember that you MUST accelerate through the ball. Deceleration, which is unfortunately all too common on short shots, leads to chunked or skulled shots.

Choose the club that will get the ball to the green in the shortest distance – i.e., to the front edge of the green – then watch it roll to the cup!

Sounds easy, and it should be.

Easy golf swing tips,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

Golf swing tips from Nick Faldo make the driver swing look easy. This short video shows simple advice on the proper stance. Ah, to swing like Tour pro!

Have you ever seen, or been, a golfer with ‘wild knees’ during his golf swing? I know that I have been that guy way too often. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much of an adjustment to make sure that you have the proper stance and the proper swing to get your knees working for you rather than against you.

See what I mean in this short video.

With easy golf swing tips,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

The PGA Tour shows us every week how to play slower than molasses in January. It may make sense for the pros to take their time, since they often have gobs of money on the line. Unfortunately, too many weekend golfers copy the slow play of the pros. Slow play is a plague on weekend golf.
Tony Korologos just posted this thoughtful piece on the issue of slow play, on his Hooked On Golf blog:

Foursome Dream Round

The greatest memory that I have of the enjoyment of snappy play is of a round that I played with 3 of my buddies at a local full-length course. We had nobody in front of us and finished in 3.5 hours without rushing. Just playing ready golf. We got lucky. On a normal weekend a round takes 4.5-5 hours or longer.

Golf courses put up those silly signs at certain points, which tell you how much elapsed time your round should be at that point. And they have rangers, or whatever they call them now, driving around harassing slow groups.

None of this helps to speed up play. Honestly, it is disheartening when I think about playing a round when I know I will have to wait on the group in front of me on every shot. Or, worse, play with someone in my own group who is too slow.

In my dreams, I am allowed to ban practice swings, stop players from lining up putts from more than one direction, disallow marking and resetting putts on every shot, and on and on. It is a pipe dream, I know. It does give me some mental satisfaction to think about having that kind of power, though, when I am waiting for a duffer ahead of me to take 4 practice swings then skull a 5-iron 30 yards.

My 2 cents for the PGA Tour,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis

Golf fitness requires 4 keys to a good swing according to Rick Miller, America’s top golf fitness trainer. Rick explains what these keys are in this short video. His advice makes sense.

Keys to Golf Fitness

Regardless of whether you are just starting out with getting fit for your golf fame, or looking to build more onto a good foundation, these 4 keys provide the basics.

Now What?

The good news is that building leg power and core strength are simpler than ever when you see what it takes according to recent scientific research. The Body by Science method (aka, Nautilus Method) is a great approach, and all the videos on this technique are free to the public here: Body by Science videos. I love YouTube!

For easy golf fitness,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

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Question by callaway236: “has anyone used the easy golf swing system? it seems a little good to be true. im not sure if its worth 47$” Here is an answer from Kevin at EasyGolfIdeas.

Callaway236 refers to this ad by Scott Myers: http://playeasygolf.com/.

Here is the best answer so far.

Answer by Kevin (in italics):

Not yet, but it’s seems pretty believable.

Players who invest in Myers’ program learn how to get into that ‘Zone’ where everything just clicks into place. While you may only need five minutes a day to learn these mental techniques, you should remain aware that the method is not going to immediately improve your game. It does take time and practice in addition to physical practice with your golf clubs.

What do you think?

Still more fun with the golf swing,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

The most fun golf swing tips show you how to smash a ball as far as you can. Everyone dreams of being a heavy hitter. Just a couple of tips from Pat Dempsey might help you add a few more yards.

If anything, it gets the juices going when you can pick up a couple of pointers from a long drive champion, then go out to the range and see what can work for you. It is a blast (pardon the pun) just watching this guy drive the ball. Take a look at the video, sit back, and enjoy!

With more fun golf swing tips,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

TopGolfNut says: It seems to be do or die this year for Tiger Woods if he is to beat Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors. He is no longer as dominant as he once was and he may not ever reach that level again, no matter how good his game gets. Too many young players can beat Tiger on any given Sunday.

Regardless how I enjoy Tiger and seeing him succeed, the cards are stacked against him. Johnny Miller, the most clear-minded golf analyst around, sees this year as Tiger’s final chance to keep pace with Nicklaus’ record. According to Johnny, failure to win a major this year will keep Tiger from making it to 19 in his career. He has 5 to go.

The fun thing about predictions like this is that we can watch and enjoy whatever plays out. It is great to see Tiger healthy again, so time will tell how well he competes with the young guys. And don’t rule out any of the veterans, either.

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)

TopGolfNut says: the most important golf swing tips involve chipping. Good chipping is especially important for duffers because we simply do not hit the green in regulation as often as we should. Here is some simple advice on how to make consistently good chip shots.
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Chipping Does Not Have to Be Hard

The shortest of shots into the green can be difficult if you don’t understand the basics of the chip shot.

Here is a short video that offers some excellent pointers.

I’ve been working on an easy way to hit short shots since I took a lesson from my local teaching pro, Scott Little, a few months ago. He helped me see how to simplify what I was doing and be more consistent in getting good results: i.e., fewer shots and better scores.

As you saw in the video, the keys that I learned are:

1) Stance: Keep it narrow, with feet close together and more of the weight on the left side.

2) Ball position: Keep the ball closer to the back of the stance, off the right foot, so the hands are ahead of the ball.

3) Swing path: Swing as if putting, so the head of the club follows more of a straight line, chasing the direction of the ball.

4) Hit down on the ball! This is crucial. If you fail on this point, then all kinds of thing go wrong and a good shot is unlikely.

5) Bonus key: Accelerate through the ball. The most common source of inconsistency in my short game comes from slowing down, or decelerating, through my swing. It usually causes me to hit the ground first, or some other equally godawful outcome. A good short swing absolutely must accelerate all the way through the hit.

With more golf swing tips,

TopGolfNut
(Dennis)