Adjustable Drivers: If your current driver did not come with a wrench and a manual, you’re already behind the times. In an ultra-competitive market where clubmakers are looking for any way to gain an edge, the adjustable drivers have become a hot trend over the last few years; it has even trickled down to fairway woods and hybrids. As an owner of an adjustable driver, 3 wood, and hybrid, I would like to lob a few thoughts out there on the topic.

Wait, am I playing Battleship?

First things first –  I see two different ways that an adjustable club can be of use: 1) you like to tinker with the loft and face angle for different rounds, maybe depending on course setup, daily conditions, etc., or 2) you think you might be permanently better off with a slightly closed clubface or slightly higher loft than 9.5 degrees or whatever. I would like to address both golfers below:

Golfer #1: Hey PhillyMick, settle down. Hit the ball the way you hit the ball, the course has plenty of room for that shot. Actually, the truth is, I’m not sure many people actually go this route. It seems too high-maintenance for most golfers, and to effectively pull it off would require an insane amount of range time to even know what you get out of each configuration. And I would hope that most folks understand that by tinkering with loft and/or face angle, you’re not simply dialing in a pre-programmed ball flight – you are also affecting your quality of contact, smash factor, etc., so you’d most often be better off just dancing with the one that brought ya.

Golfer #2: This guy’s a little less insane. It could be that during your clubfitting process, the pro determined that a 9.75 degree loft works a bit better for you than a 9.5 degree loft. Depending on where you stand with launch monitors, squeezing an extra 4 yards out of a club, etc., this could either be really cool or really annoying. As someone who is susceptible to being seduced by launch monitor stats, I can’t hold it against anyone for believing that a .25 degree loft difference could be worthwhile; and of course, you can only achieve and test these funky lofts with an adjustable driver.

“Now see with this lie angle . . .  hmmm . . . you still suck.”

When it comes to face angle, the adjustable club kind of loses me again. I’ve watched a video where Geoff Ogilvy describes why a slightly closed clubface works for him, and it makes total sense . .. shoot, even if I didn’t think it made sense, I would never question what a rockstar pro is up to when it comes to equipment. But for an everyday golfer, I just can’t get over the idea that tweaking the face angle of a club is also a way to perpetuate an inherent swing flaw. Since your irons are not yet adjustable, any idiosyncracy that is ironed over in the driver swing by an altered face angle would surely pop its head up with the irons, right? And an even more purist take would be to say that most golfers are striving to have a fundamentally sound swing, so let’s stay in neutral and work the kinks out on our own.

For argument’s sake, let’s say you just shouted “bollocks” to that last sentence and that you see nothing wrong with utilizing a slightly closed clubface to fight that slice. I actually have nothing wrong with that, honestly, but my experience with my adjustable clubs is that, over time, the doubts eventually start to creep in. Like most amateurs, I am not settled in to a swing that I am 100% happy with and will stick with for the rest of my life (hopefully, jeesh).  Also, my swing can be squirrely enough that a consistent factor like face angle will not yield consistent results – I’m still going to hit bad shots. And as time goes on and the bad shots accumulate, I inevitably start to wonder if this tweaked clubface is doing me more harm than good. Geoff Ogilvy knows his swing . . . we amateurs do not. Ultimately, we should be more concerned with a quality swing over the long-term than we are with short-term results, because like anything in life, the quick payoff is never the best solution.

I’ll wrap this up. Adjustable drivers are obviously no worse than any other driver, and perhaps for a handful of ADHD cases, they are a superior weapon of choice. If you like the way an adjustable club hits the ball best, by all means pull the trigger on a purchase . . . it’s a harmless option if, like me after month 1, you keep that wrench in it’s little dopp kit and go about your business. But if you happen to start digging a club that doesn’t have 14 different configurations, don’t beat yourself up over it – you’re not missing a thing.

You know how much most bloggers get paid? Yup –  nothing, squat, zippo, nada. Sure we sometimes get some free swag but honestly with the time we spend, we would be better served learning the phrase “would you like fries with that?” Now, before you tune me out as a spewing hateful blogger, let me get to the point. If you enjoy reading blogs then every once in a while you owe it to yourself to help out just a bit. No I am not passing the hat to support my golf habit but I am suggesting that you support worthy fundraising done by your friendly neighborhood bloggers.

I recently found out about an event called The Death Valley Challenge (DVC). The DVC is the dream-child of blogger Mathew Wangrycht who writes the The Breakfast Ball. The basic concept is that Mathew and his buddy will be playing golf in a virtual hell to raise money for the 1st Tee of Southern Nevada. Not a bad idea and a worthy cause right? So the way I look at the situation, it’s an easy way for me to give back to the game I love and show a little suport for a golf blogger who provides me a bit of interesting prose. Two birds, one stone as they say.

Do you have any 12:30 Tee times?

I am not saying you need to dig deep, but a few bucks is a nice gesture of support. It only takes like 2 minutes and you will feel much better about yourself. So how about it? You can donate by just clicking on the below flyer.

Recently Wade and I have been talking a lot about different swings we see on the PGA tour and how relevant they are to the average golfer. To us, it seems like the modern PGA swing has become increasingly built around pinpoint timing and tremendous power. The power generated is certainly awesome to behold but the timing required to maintain consistency can often cause havok when things go just slightly wrong.

This begs the question “do the pros feel like they need to have a razors edge swing in order to win?”  In other words, is the level of play on any given week so high that pros must play right to the limit of control in order to give themselves a chance to win?

Is this what it takes to win on tour?

Part of the reason I have come to this conclusion is because I just don’t believe PGA Pros would ever snap hook a drive if they only needed to hit the ball 270 down the middle of the fairway. Therefore, my assumption is that due to PGA course set up and the high level of competition, pros feel pressure to drive the ball as far as possible and to take extra chances in an effort to maximize birdie opportunities.

If I am in fact correct, what does this mean for player development? Do pros coming up in the ranks practice to shoot their best round day in and day out or to have the ability to go low just a handful of times each year? Are these goals mutually exclusive? Is there a price to be paid in the quest for the razors edge swing? For example, were Tiger’s knee and body issues a cost for developing a swing focused on creating power that could separate him from the field?

With the pool of young talent at an all-time high I suspect so too is the pressure to create the perfect swing. Perhaps this is a good thing for the PGA Tour but I think us regular golfers need to be wary of taking too much swing advice from our golfing heros. While is is fun to dream of hitting it “Bubba Long”, the fact is he is a virtual Gumby who has more natural coordination than nearly any human alive. Moreover, he is likely playing to a set of goals that are entirely different than ours. Why then should we even want to “hit it like Bubba”?  Except of course that chicks dig the long ball.

If you would have told me a year ago that I would get the opportunity to speak with an LPGA player, I would have been dubious at best. Well, the stars finally aligned and I was able to spend a bit of time talking with Meaghan Francella, a member of the LPGA Tour since 2006 and a former Tarheel at the University of North Carolina. By my calculations, there is a pretty good chance I nearly ran into her in the mid 2000’s since the UNC golf course is my home practice course . . . mind you, I said ‘practice course’ as I rarely play there since the rates are a bit steep for this poorboy blogger. Anyway, Meaghan was twice the New York State Junior champion back in the day, was the 2003 ACC individual champion at UNC, and was a 1st team All-American in 2004. Badass? Check.

Much like the PGA, the women’s tour is deep with talent. Interestingly, Meaghan voiced the same frustrations I have heard from some PGA Pros in that the networks only want to focus on just a few players, even though there are compelling stories beyond the top 10. So unfortunately, plenty of great players bask in relative obscurity despite playing in major golf tournaments and making a darn good living doing something most of us can only do once a week (and poorly I might add). That is of course until you win, and Meaghan has won twice on tour – the first time just 18 months after turning pro, in a four hole playoff against Annika Sorenstam no less. When I think about my own game and knowing how I struggle to finish a good round without giving it away on the 18th green, I sometimes wonder how anyone actually manages to win a golf tournament with anything better than a bogey, but I guess that is why Meaghan is on tour and I am not.

To back up a bit, the reason I was able to speak with Meaghan is because she is affiliated/sponsored by LoudMouth Golf, whose products we have reviewed (both on the men’s and women’s side). If you are curious, Meaghan’s favorite LoudMouth patterns are the “Money” and “Carolina Blue Argyle”. Not much of a surprise with either choice I think.

She’s Money!

Ironically, the week we spoke was days after a bit of an LPGA controversy in which Morgan Pressel was assessed a penalty for slow play in a match (which clearly had an effect on her eventual loss of the match). Curiously, there were only 4 players on the entire course when the penalty was assessed. Still, the LPGA and PGA fight the slow play battle in both reality and perception. While the men just seem to waste time for no good reason, the women play slow in part because nearly every player utilizes their caddy to help line up putts. I asked Meaghan about this issue and why women tend to rely on their caddies. Her answer surprised me at first but then became obvious – “we are perfectionists” she stated. Duh. However, she did elaborate to say that she is very much in favor of eliminating caddies from the green reading equation. Now if we could just get the men to waggle a bit less and stop fretting over every gentle breeze.

In terms of the LPGA tour, I was interested in how much time she spent with the other players as it is hard to know how much time players spend with each other off of the course. I guess the fact that she was going to play an afternoon round with Morgan Pressel gives you some sense that, yes indeed, they do hang out.

Finally, I asked Meaghan which LPGA star is a serious “bad-ass”. Possibly a dumb question, but I have always believed that Tiger in his heyday unnerved players whether they admitted it or not. Therefore, I wondered if Yani Tseng or anyone else commands that same fear down in the trenches. While the fan in me wanted to hear legends of awe, the pragmatist in me was prepared for her response: respect for her fellow competitors, but total confidence in her ability to win in any given week. (editor’s note: Yani is still a bad-ass).

So that’s it, the closest I have gotten to being inside the ropes – I am now an official Meaghan Francella fan who will be keeping an eye on the leaderboard as she tees it up this year.

President Bill Clinton on Feherty? Seriously? David, must be pretty smitten with himself today knowing he landed just about the biggest guest in the world (no, not you Snooki). Now I know there are plenty of people who do not think very highly of Clinton, and I am not going to get into his politics, but I contend that if you held no bias, he is about the coolest cat around.

I give Feherty credit for giving Clinton enough rope to talk about the the things he cares about, namely his work in Africa and Haiti but also pressing him with a few good questions, eg “who is smarter, you or Hillary”. In the end, Clinton is flawless in his well scripted answers and charming with his delivery. He speaks of racial integration, his decision to give up his 9 music scholarships in order to pursue politics, his never ending desire to be the leader of the free world and of course golf.

While nearly every modern day president has played golf, Clinton played more than his fair share. He has played with dignitaries, PGA pros, actors and everyone in between but I guess that is one of the perks of holding the worlds most powerful office (that and getting 2 mulligans per round). While not official, Clinton is actually a pretty good golfer carrying about a 12 handicap until his recent heart problems.

Be the Right Stick Today!

One of the best questions Feherty posed to Clinton was to describe the similarities of golf, namely the front and back nine, to his two terms in office. Interestingly, Clinton pointed out that often a President’s final years in office are some of the toughest and that there was a real possibility of not finishing strong. Sound familiar? I am sure there are more than a few of us that can relate to a back nine blow-up. Still, more insightful was Clinton’s observation that politics is much like golf in that sometimes results are largely a result of luck, and that you must learn to accept the outcome regardless of how it was achieved. In other words, you take the good and keep the bad in perspective. Now that is Leader of the Free World quality advice.

So in the end, despite Feherty’s distinguished guest, David was very much himself, albeit he did seem a bit less disheveled. We have now seen Feherty interview people from nearly every corner of the celebrity world and while there are still a few rough edges, he has vastly improved his skills. Could we be witnessing the “next Barbara Walters”? Oh, the horror.

This one is for all the ladies out there that have been interested in golf, but have been too chicken to try. Or maybe you see golf on TV and tune in only because you have gone several days with insufficient sleep and this is a sure fire way to get in a nap. I am here to tell you, you are missing out. Lucky for you, it is never too late to pick up the crazy addicting game called golf.

Load up the cooler ladies, we are on the tee box.

I am 41 years old and have only been playing golf regularly for about 3 years. I grew up in a small North Carolina town and my only exposure to golf as a child was when The Hardy Boys would be preempted on Sunday nights for some golf tournament. As you can imagine, this was excruciatingly painful as I anticipated my weekly date with Shaun Cassidy all Sunday long. The first time I picked up a golf club, aside from the occasional Putt Putt putter during summer trips to the outer banks, was in college. My roommate begged me to take golf with her for PE because her boyfriend played, and she needed to learn. I relented, and so it began. At the time, I was still harboring bad feelings towards golf because it was the prime reason my relationship with Shaun never took off, but after the first day of class, I realized there were lots of boys in this class and golf owed me. It was a four week class and I suffered through with my roommate only to put down my borrowed classroom clubs to turn my back on golf for a few more years.

I was in my twenties when I met my husband, and like every stupid girl in a fresh relationship, when the subject of golf came up, I barfed up, “I took golf in college.” Next date, the golf course. I borrowed some clubs and sucked it up for him. We played a couple of times a year, but he was in law school so time was limited, thankfully. We got married, had a couple of kids, kids grew to full time school age and suddenly I found myself back on the course for date time. We would be out there for what seemed like forever. I thought we would be nearing the end, and we were on hole #3. Seriously? Here is where it all changed. We met friends and started playing couples golf. Beer, dinner, and fun with friends was now involved. We even gave out prizes. And I’m not talking about ones for birdies and pars. We got prizes for first ball in the water, first lost ball and first swing and a miss. This was more like it. I started out riding in a cart with my husband and before we even realized it, the girls were teaming up to play against the husbands. Everything started to change when I was on the course with the girls. Namely, my husband wasn’t standing over me trying to “help” me. Now this was fun, and I went from only tolerating 9 holes to wondering how we got through 18 so fast.

Now I have a standing Friday game with the girls and lost Sunday nights with Shaun Cassidy have been long forgiven. I still occasionally play with my husband and son, but have found the way that golf works for me. And that ladies, is the secret. If you try to play with your husband, but find yourself just getting irritated at him, find some girlfriends that might be interested. Maybe you are the opposite and that is great too. My point is, give it a try and not just once. You don’t have to go out there and be a professional golfer, but you do need it to be fun. And believe me, you will get the stink eye from the men whose tee time is right behind yours. They think they own the courses. But what’s the worse that can happen? They act like asses and you let them play through. I know so many women that won’t play because they are so intimidated by the men. Times are changing my friends. So what if you hit like a girl. I have yet to run into a man on a golf course that can hit like Annika, a girl. Get in the game.

Sunday at 10am: loaded up with a few buddies and headed to Charlotte to see the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived just in time to see Rory McIlroy pound a few balls on the range, which was super cool since I had yet to see him in person. The first thing I noticed was that Rory is a lot bigger than I thought. Not Dustin Johnson big, but definitely thick. Plus he has so much leg and hip drive. The result is a club speed that surpasses anything I can relate to.

Nourishment for the Wells Fargo Championship

So after a quick buzz through the beer line we headed over to #7 just in time to see Rickie Fowler and Nick Watney reach the middle of the fairway. Actually, Watney had gone right, right into the stream, and had to take a drop. The following shot hit the rocks and landed in a back yard on the far side of the stream. After a 10 minute investigation, Watney realized he had gone OB and not into the hazard so he had to walk back to his original spot to replay his next shot (the PGA version of the walk of shame). Somewhat surprisingly, he decided to lay up rather than go for the green on what was his fifth shot (I must assume he had a harder shot than it looked like from my vantage point). A quadruple bogey later, Watney was essentially out of the tournament. Guess Three Guys did not exactly bring the good karma.

Next on the docket was to dash up to #9 to see a few other groups play then wait for the leaders to catch up. In the meantime, I did spot what I thought were the coolest shoes ever, worn by a lady no younger than 80 years old.

I hope I am this cool when I am 80!

A side note for those who have never attended a PGA Event: One thing you quickly realize is that it is really hard to get a sense of the overall picture while you are dashing from hole to hole. So for me, my goal is to get a couple of close encounters with the leaders or my favorite players then hope to catch the final drama on 18. That in mind, our plan was to head to the green on 16 and stake out a good spot.

Loading up with a few more cold ones, we found a place right next to the rope on the far side of 16 green.  From there we watched about 4 groups go through number 16 and I believe about 1/2 of the guys made bogey on the hole. Considering most had about a 220 yard approach shots, I guess that should not be too surprising. However, I was surprised to see Rickie Fowler leave his bunker shot about 7 feet from the pin then miss his par putt badly. Had McIlroy not carded a bogey on 17 and DA Points on 18, the man in orange may have regretted that bunker shot for a long time.

Rickie Fowler sizing up his par putt on 16

After watching Rory come through 16 we dashed to 18 but not before I got to meet Stephanie Wei (who is fortunate enough to cover the event from inside the ropes). For those of you who do not know, Stephanie writes a blog called Weiunderpar which is an excellent source for you PGA news. P.S. – how cool is it to walk inside the ropes? One day hopefully I will have an answer for you.

You may have noticed that I have yet to mention Webb Simpson which is because we did not see a single shot of his (in part because I cannot root for anyone using a belly putter). Plus, I just felt like it was going to be Fowler’s day, unless Rory stole it from him.

So onto 18 where we sat about 20 yards below the green. From our vantage point it looked like there was only a small section of green you could possibly land the ball and keep it withen 8 feet. As it turns out, I think there were only about 4 birdies on 18 all day. Rickie actually had a pretty good look at a birdie and probably thought he needed to make it to force a playoff. Fortunately for him, he was wrong as DA Points would end up in the bunker and take a bogey.

So back to 18 went Fowler, Points and McIroy. Now the fairway on 18 is insanely thin with a stream on the left but all three players put their ball dead in the middle. Points played first and ended up way above the hole with a nightmare putt. Fowler hit next to what I thought was about 7 feet away (as it turns out, it was like 2 feet but you just cannot see from below the green). Rory, must have known better and surely knew he had to stuff one in close but was unable to get inside of 15 feet. A couple of putts later, Rickie Fowler got his 1st PGA tour win.

Judging from the crowd around me, everyone was thrilled, especially all of the kids dressed in orange and the hotties in sun dresses. While Rory is a great player and a crowd favorite, Fowler is an American and last time I checked Charlotte is in the United States of America. In the end, we were rooting for our countryman and one of the guys who was supposed to be the next you know who.

Speaking of which, these young guys are starting to put up some victories. Without counting, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Rory McIroy and now Rickie Fowler are looking like the real deal. If you read any of our blog, you know we are huge Tiger fans, but I am coming around to these guys. They are fun, outgoing, long-driving and proving they can compete on a regular basis.

So congratulation to Rickie Fowler who is now the 2012 Wells Fargo Champion. Not only have you gotten your first win, but you have finally done what most experts have been predicting for the last few years – play like a champion.

Some of Feherty’s guest are obvious choices, like Annika Sorenstam or Bubba Watson, while others like Bill Russell are not so obvious. Samuel L. Jackson fits in the category of a not so obvious choice. That is until you learn a little bit more about him as a person and not just the man who owns a wallet that says “Bad Mother F%$%er”. While I am a huge Sam Jackson fan (yup, I call Robert De Niro Bobby), I really know very little about him other than he is in one of my all-time favorite movies (Pulp Fiction).

David Feherty sits down with Samuel L. Jackson (look Feherty said he loved Sam in “Driving Miss Daisy”

As it turns out, Samuel Jackson has battled substance abuse, as did Feherty, which I believe must have played at least some part in having him on the show. Listening to Feherty and Jackson talk, however, it became clear that they share more than just a healthy fear of “just one drink”.

Aside from sharing past demons, both men grew up in tough neighborhoods and were not handed their success. Jackson, in fact, did not even make a movie until he was 40 but has now has made 150, although I suspect a number straight to video but still . . . while Feherty did make it as a golfer at a younger age, he seems to just now be really hitting his stride. As a side note, in the episode, I heard Feherty say for the 1st time (for me at least) that he was a great golfer (well maybe he said he was a golf expert). In either case, I have never heard him boast about his talents. Oddly, I found his comment refreshing because the fact of the matter is that he was a hell of a golfer.

This particular Feherty show was a bit strange in that there was no major theme and Samuel seemed a bit bored for a while. That is until he began to speak about what seems to be his passion – helping the disadvantaged. Like Sean Penn, who during Hurricane Katrina, just grabbed his boat and headed New Orleans without telling anyone, Samuel Jackson seems to have a similar mentality about giving. During the show he provided just enough hints to his charitable projects which fly under the radar that you know he is the kind of guy who wants to give back for all of the right reasons.

Finally, Samuel Jackson gives hope to all of us hackers out there who started late but still want to believe that our best golf is ahead of us. Now a 5 handicap, Samuel Jackson, only started playing golf at age 40. He even shot a 78 and Carnoustie while paired with Tiger – yikes.

Now if someone can just tell me where I can get a Royale with Cheese?

PS: you must see Chance Manning introduce the Swing Blind training aid –

Gary McCord on the Feherty Show: What could be better than listening to two of my favorite golf announcers banter on for an hour without a golf tournament to get in the way? Lets face it, for the casual fan, golf on TV can be, how you say . . . boring. Personally, I don’t remember watching a lot of golf when I was a kid but that was probably because 15 minutes into the broadcast I was sawing logs on the couch. Thankfully, Gary McCord has added a much needed spice to the viewing experience.

Bite!

The crazy thing is how these guys actually got into the business. McCord literally won zero times on the tour (albeit twice on the senior tour) and was basically living out of a storage unit prior to getting a lucky break with CBS. To be fair, McCord made his luck when he invented an excuse to be in a TV truck one Sunday afternoon. But it was his insightful and witty explanation of how the greens were akin to chipping on your driveway and asking the ball to bite that got him the gig. Further proof that getting your foot in the door is often the biggest hurdle to success.

So let’s hit the highlights of the show, which by the way is a must-see episode. My favorite part was watching McCord and Feherty give swing tips to Aaron Baddeley. Despite the fact that you know Baddeley is in on the joke, they still manage to keep him completely off guard. I suspect it was not the actual swing tips that threw Baddeley for a loop but rather the irony.

The other two stories which were told that I was previously unaware of were: 1) the tale of McCord ripping his trousers in a tournament while bending down to plumb-bob (going commando no less) but finishing the final 14 holes using a make-shift diaper. (Feherty counters with a priceless plumb and bob joke), and 2) learning that 85% of Tin Cup was a rip-off of Gary McCords life (now I know why I love that movie despite the fact it starred The Postman himself).

Part of the reason I am such a big Feherty fan is because I admire how he has re-invented his career. While Feherty may not have a green jacket, he was on the freaking Ryder Cup team so the fact that he will be remembered more as a commentator is pretty darn amazing. To that end, Gary McCord is much the same way (or more so). Being of middle age, I have a soft spot in my heart for mid-life career change success stories as I think we all want to believe our second act can be better than our first. So my hat’s off to both of these gentlemen (now if they would both do us a favor and take off their matching vests).

Ok, I will admit it, I don’t follow the LPGA very closely but I do have a huge appreciation for Annika Sorenstam, who made her debut on the Feherty Show last night. It was actually only a few weeks ago that fellow blogger Wade sent me her swing sequence as an example of standing tall which is one of Wade’s big things. As I have mentioned in other posts, most of the men on tour, like Bubba Watson, swing so hard that we cannot physically even try to mimic their swings without pulling a muscle. In fact, we are much better served by trying to copy the swings on the LPGA tour.

So here’s the two second recap of Annika’s records: She has won 72 times on tour, has 10 majors, and a LPGA low round of 59. But for me, the beauty of the Feherty show is not in the history of the player but rather in getting to understand what makes them tick.

Being a father of a female athlete, albeit not world class, but college level, I have been around women athletes for a long time and I am convinced there are absolute differences in how they view the game and the world. However, there is no doubt that women, especially world class women athletes, are every bit as competitive and driven as their male counterparts. Annika Sorenstam was not given her 72 victories, she earned them beginning with hours upon hours of practice in her father’s basement (yes her basement is bigger than most).

On the other hand, Annika does not define herself by golf. Like Greg Norman, she is a very successful business person and continues to be part of the game at many levels. But, where Annika differs, and I think where women differ, is that many ultimately become mothers. Yes, men are dads, and good dads, but you just get a sense from how Annika interacts with her daughter that part of the reason she does not define herself by golf is that she defines herself in large part as a mother. I say this without passing judgement, it is just that I have seen tons of interviews with retired male athletes and they simply give off a different vibe than their female counterpart.

Part of the trouble with comparing men’s and women’s sports is our desire to see how they would compete against each other (ie. Michelle Wie). I think this attitude misses the point that men and women may play the game by the same name but they are different sports – not better or worse, just different.

Lastly, I must say, as bad as the men’s golf fashion used to be, the women’s was even more horrendous (so bad that they have apparently taken down all of the incriminating pictures from the internet). It was either ill fitting men’s garb or some crazy jumper type outfit. Seriously, this is what happens when men design clothes for women. Thankfully, this is something else Annika has brought to golf: women’s golf fashion that is actually flattering.

I’ve been at the beach for a few days, so forgive me if I’m way behind the times on this one – has anyone seen this picture depicting Bubba Watson’s shot on #10 (second playoff hole)?

No biggie, really.

Two things come to mind:
1) I watched roughly 316 hours of Masters coverage this year and still had no idea how ridiculous this shot was. During live action we simply saw Bubba staring down the usual tunnel of spectators, and once again I could not help but think “those people are either insane or really looking for an excuse to have jaw replacement surgery”. The shot is hit, it looks awesome, and the announcers begin to spout their usual incredulous bluster. Perhaps I’m too immune to guys like Roger Maltbie’s insistence that if you “gave someone 100 tries to make that shot they’d only be successful 4 times” in these instances. . . I’m sure they said all they could to explain to me how incredible Bubba’s shot was, but somehow I didn’t grasp the concept. I know Augusta National won’t allow blimps, but how about cranking up one of those fancy hole graphics and pointing out the actual angles involved here?

2) Sooo, that shot was freaking incredible, right? Hooking a gap wedge almost 90 degrees, what?! Oh, also, it’s the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at the Masters, sir. Good grief, what a badass. How many Augusta National members have since snuck out to the 10th hole to try and pull that shot off, or at least sent their butlers to try it and report back? “I don’t have a gap wedge, Niles, so take this pitching wedge, turn it upside down, choke up 1 inch, and let me know how it goes – chop chop!” It will be interesting to see if we ever get treated to a Nick Faldo re-enactment of the shot during next year’s coverage, not sure how the greenjackets will feel about that one. And poor Oosthuizen – we’ve all been there in match play – when he watched that shot skid onto the green he must have muttered one of the all-time ‘f#*% me’s of our generation.

As I watched Feherty spend an hour with Ken Venturi, all I could think about was what it would be like to play 18 holes with him whilst he spun stories for 4 1/2 hours. Seeing that Venturi is one of the few people still alive who has played or met every great golfer since Ben Hogan, the yarns he spun on Feherty are merely the tiny tip of the iceberg. While famous for his participation in “The Match” (the legendary foursome of Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Harvie Ward), Venturi has a stable full of stories and anecdotes spanning decades and including icons from every industry (including old blues eyes himself, Frank Sinatra).

Typically, my blog posts from the Feherty show consist of a bit of history about the guest, some of the shows highlights and a dash of my own opinion. The problem with writing about Ken Venturi is that you need about 40,000 words to begin to capture the man. I mean he won 14 times one PGA tour, including a US Open, and then spent 35 years in the broadcast booth becoming the voice of golf. There is just no way to sum that up in 400 words. To his credit, Feherty understands this and does a great job of just listening to Venturi (which of course is what many of us did on Sunday afternoons in between napping on the couch).

So if you want to get some golden snippets from Venturi, go watch the episode, or you can do what I am going to do, read more about Ken Venturi and some of the other legends of golf. Yes, I have read “The Match”, “Five Lessons” and a few other golf books, but a short hour with Venturi has re-ignited my interest in hearing about Bing Crosby’s “Clam Bakes”, Hogan’s temper, Nelson’s pure swing and all of the other characters of the game.

Fortunately, Wade is a big golf historian and will surely have some reading suggestions, but I would love to hear your input as well.

Well folks, another Masters is in the can, and aside from the missing azaleas, this tournamet had it all. Couple of quick thoughts on the tournament as we try to recover from an impromptu Masters party at the Three Guys clubhouse:

Who’s the man? I’m the man.

1) Bubba! It sure looked like Oosthuizen was going to run away with this thing after the double eagle and then a few rock solid par saves while others floundered. But then there was Bubba. I think it’s a cool thing for the Tour that Bubba won – he has the flair and game to get people excited, and he’s got those crazy eyes that will always keep us guessing. I’ve read a lot of articles about Bubba Watson in the past – apparently he’s so gifted that he doesn’t even have any thoughts about swing mechanics, he just decides he wants to hit the ball right-to-left or low-then-high, etc. and his body just swings that way. In fact, after one practice round a veteran that played with him came in shaking his head saying “man, if that kid ever figures it out between his ears, we’re all in trouble”. In hindsight, it seems like Bubba should have always been a favorite to win the Masters, given his ability to bomb and work the ball. I think Bubba stands out from other recent first-time major winners because there is the potential that a flood gate just opened and he’ll win a few more. Guys like he and Phil, and probably Dustin Johnson, just have such overpowering game that as long as they don’t self-destruct they will always be a factor.

2) I could be way off base here, but I sometimes still get the feeling that Phil Mickelson is almost underrated. He’s obviously known as a great golfer, and fans love him, but critics always want to fault him for not being as robotically dominant as Tiger was over the past 15 years or so. And as an admitted Tiger groupie, part of me is fine with Phil remaining in his shadow. But I think Saturday’s flop shot on 15 was the kind of thing that should earn him permanent legendary status. Sure everybody went nuts over that shot, but I think only an annoying person like myself can spend 20 minutes thinking about how sweet it truly was. It’s not the fact that he can hit that shot, but the fact he has the craziness in his game to have that shot be his #1 option as he walks towards his ball, and the stones to actually try and pull it off. I think commentators tend to overdo the “greatness” of some of these guys’ chips and pitches – I know these guys are awesome but sometimes Gary McCord goes gaga over a 20 yard pitch that I’ve seen my buddies make 100 times. So I don’t want to sound like I’m jumping on the general flop-shot bandwagon, as folks tend to be more impressed the higher the ball goes, but in this case I think Phil’s shot transcends. He’s like our modern-day Arnie, and he is obviously so insanely good at golf that he’s been hanging around the tops of leaderboards for like 20 years now. I think if you’re a young PGA player and you get paired up with Ernie, Phil, Kuchar, Furyk, Vijay, or any other successful veteran that’s not Tiger, from a game standpoint only Phil gives you the feeling that you’re playing with Darth Vader.

3) Saturday and Sunday at Augusta are the best two days of golf in the year, according to  . . . me. There’s a perfect combination of shotmaking, crowd involvement, proximity of greens to tees and other greens – it’s awesome. And we are all familiar enough with the holes to know what we’re looking for, especially on Sunday when you know where the pin is on 16, etc. For some reason this year, however, I felt like Amen Corner did not get it’s usual fanfare from CBS or maybe even the golf itself, like nothing really felt crucial or important about those holes. Perhaps I have selective memory, but asides from Phil’s eagle putt on Saturday on 13 and Sergio and Rory’s makeout session on 12, I don’t think I ever saw much action on Amen Corner.

4) If you fancy yourself an equipment nerd at all, you gotta check out this link and scroll through the slides:  Players’ Bags at the Masters (and for you sock nerds you can learn more about Bubba’s Socks). I’ve wondered since I was a little kid why golf so adamantly steers us away from knowing what equipment these guys play. I’m sure with television it’s just a decision made long ago to avoid any potential conflict of interest issues, and I’m aware that Golf Digest does a What’s In My Bag thing in each issue, but that’s only one dude per month! I always want to know what these guys are playing, and finally someone fed my jones. And not that I’m trying to make a case for, say, a post I wrote last month cursing the adoration of blade irons, but did you notice how many guys are playing cavity back irons on tour? No biggie, just wanted to point that out.

I’m out! I hope that you enjoyed the Masters as much as I did, and that you drank less.

Man, every year I forget and then quickly re-learn how sweet the Masters Golf Tournament is. The reasons are too many to count, of course, but I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that it’s at the same course every year – the consistency allows you to judge it as a truly pure contest of each player’s game. You hear a lot about how Augusta National is such a difficult test of concentration and precision, and because of the greens, this can only be deemed as accurate. But the fact is, from tee to green it’s simply not that difficult, which allows for some great shotmaking and, as a result, great television (as opposed to some U.S. and British Opens where I’m supposed to get excited over someone not being over par).  If only they would let us laypeople watch the whole day’s action! Tuning in for Tiger’s last three holes at the Masters is nothing short of torture, although I suppose the fact that I was able to watch Louis Oosthuizen play almost his entire round certainly made up for it (sarcasm). Anyway, I understand that Billy Payne has his rules and I will leave them be – for now just a couple of quick thoughts after 4 hours of semi-boring first day action.

1) CBS 1 – ESPN 0  — I won’t even bother to try and decipher the business deal that had day 1 coverage being televised by ESPN but produced by CBS . . . who knows what the heck is going on there. But did anyone catch the introduction to the broadcast, where Mike Tirico awkwardly walked us through highlights and Curtis Strange apparently decided to go on a SAG strike? I almost changed the channel twice simply because I couldn’t handle the uncomfortable silences – I’d have an easier time watching Peter Kostis do standup comedy.

Ultimately, CBS took over and it once again felt like the Masters. Say what you want about Jim Nantz, but that dude is definitely the voice of the Masters Tournament.

2) Someone’s gotta get a hold of Hunter Mahan’s fashion consultant and have a little chat. I technically have nothing against the guy – he’s a badass golfer, he’s an American, he lives the dream. Problem is, he looks like an absolute bozo in a way that doesn’t even knock on your door first before it punches you in the face. I understand that we’re not all Brad Pitts roaming the earth, but in Hunter’s case, just take it back a knotch, there’s no need to advertise that you are a dorky looking dude. I tried to find the best picture of him yesterday that I possibly could because I didn’t want to rely on an awkward facial expression to make my point:

Yikes.

Now I sound mean . . . I’ll get to my point: bend the brim of your hat. Bend the brim of your hat. For the love of all things sacred, please bend the brim of your hat. I can understand Justin Bieber’s success, I can almost endure Drake’s music, and I understand that the new generation always wants to establish its own idea of cool. This straight hat thing, however, is my Walter Matthau moment. It is so inherently uncool to have a straight brim (barkeep, can I get a better word than “brim” please?) that I still think this is possibly just one big joke being played on the world. And I have to ask a serious question – for the guys that wear their brim straight, do the manufacturers make the beaks even bigger than standard, or is this just an optical illusion? From certain angles, it looks like my kid could take a nap on the deck of Hunter’s lid.

3) Tiger scratched and clawed his way to a halfway decent round after hitting what he called some of his “worst shots ever”.  You could go either way on this – it could be a good thing that even when he’s off he can grind out a respectable score, OR it could be a really bad thing that Captain Hook came to the party.

4) Jason Dufner is the man! Love that dude. It looks like somebody’s stoner uncle just rolled out of bed and decided to go low in a professional golf tournament for a change.

Well that’s Day 1 for you, hopefully some even better revelations will come out of Friday’s Masters action.

So after watching the Kentucky Wildcats hold off Kansas in the National Championship game, I just had to catch the Feherty show since I knew it was to feature Bubba Watson. God forbid I actually get some sleep . . .

Check out the Bushwood Tee Shirt!

While Bubba Watson may not be in my top 5 favorite golfers, he is definitely in my Top 10. I think part of the reason he does not crack my top 5 is because I just cannot put my finger on what he is all about. Feherty hints at this issue when at one point calls Bubba an enigma. It’s not that we don’t know Bubba, it’s just that we don’t understand him. For the past few years Bubba has become one of the big names in golf and has perhaps single handedly put Travis Mathew on the map. On top of that, he is one of the more active social media users (most noted for his Golf Boys Video to which Three Guys Golf Blogger Matt dedicated a whole post).

So let’s start with a few things we did learn about Bubba. First, we find that he has been buttoning his top button since at least his high school yearbook picture (seriously). However, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to figuring out why it is so hard to get a read on Bubba. I mean he is a good ol’ boy who owns the General Lee, but wears pink Kentwool Socks, has a pink driver shaft, a $500,000 watch and wears a visor. Speaking of which, the visor is definitely one of the reasons he does not make my top 5 (but I guess I am just jealous since my hairline no longer makes it a viable alternative for me).

Other items of historical note that popped out for me was Bubba’s clear devotion to his parents and his wife. Having followed Bubba on twitter for a while now, I know of his faith, but it is his tearful post Travellers interview and the clear passion for his wife that truely reveals his priorities. This would be one guy who I would be shocked to see go off the rails.

Back to golf, am I the only person who is annoyed to find out these PGA guys were insanely good at such a young age? I know they practiced more than most people, but there is no doubt guys like Bubba Watson were just born better athletes than 99% of us, giving further proof (if you need any) that the top PGA players are also world-class athletes.

In terms of childhood, we find out he hung out with young Boo Weekly and Heath Slocum and that his parents were instrumental in his sporting success. This combination or supportive families and chance interactions with future greats seems to be a very common ingredient that, while not a requirement for success, sure helps with the recipe.

Even though I may not have quite figured out the mystery behind Bubba’s crazy eyes, I am absolutely convinced he is not a flash in the pan. He has won numerous time on Tour and figures to be a contender in this week’s Masters. Whether his resistance to coaching or his occasional mental lapses will ultimately keep him from true greatness is yet to be seen, but his sheer ability and determination will certainly keep him in the game.

Moreover, I think episodes like his French Open media debacle and his not quite so perfect English (Matt will laugh at this since my grammar is horrendous prior to proofreading) help to give Bubba the “Every Man” charm that has served John Daly so well (just without the booze and cigarettes). The fact that he is not easily labeled keeps me interested in both his career and his personality – something that I cannot say about most of the “plain Jane” PGA players.

Perhaps one day I will get a handle on what makes Bubba tick but for now I am content to keep admiring his mind boggling drives, recognizable swagger and oh, that horrible visor!