ANTEKQUA Golf Club

Anchored Putting Ban Becomes Personal Issue to PGA Players

Mark J. — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 02:05:15 +0000

Warren Little/Getty Images

Tim Clark, at a 2012 South Africa tournament, is among the Tour players the anchored putting ban would affect.

LOS ANGELES — As the 90-day assessment period on the proposed ban on anchored putting winds down, the focus is shifting from the pragmatic to the personal.

When Tim Clark, who has used a long putter for more than a decade, stood up at a mandatory PGA Tour players’ meeting in San Diego last month and spoke about why his livelihood depended on the anchored stroke, it gave his peers a different perspective. The issue no longer was simply the game’s history, but also his story.

“Tim Clark can’t even grip the club the right way,” said Robert Garrigus, a one-time Tour winner who experimented in competition with a 50-inch putter that he anchored to his sternum, but abandoned it for a conventional model.

Garrigus was referring to a genetic condition that hinders Clark from rotating his forearms and wrists inward.

Garrigus said Clark was “probably going to do something legally if it comes to that, but I don’t think it’s going to come to that.”

The tour commissioner, Tim Finchem, held a teleconference Monday with the PGA Tour’s policy board to formulate an official response to the proposed ban on anchored putting that was made public last November by the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient, the guardians of the game.

In a news conference the day after the players’ meeting, Finchem left open the possibility that the tour could decide not to abide by the ban if it is enacted, as proposed, starting in 2016.

“We believe in the notion that one body of rules is important, and that’s always our intent,” Finchem said. “We just reserve the option not to, if we have overriding reasons not to do so.”

Jim Furyk, a 16-time tour winner who is on the tour’s policy board, said, “I don’t know what to expect, to be honest.”

Furyk said he did believe this about the anchoring issue: “Maybe once you start putting a face to the people that stand up in a player meeting and say, ‘I think this is wrong because of X, Y and Z,’ or you look at the players that are using that style of putter, once you put a face to it, it makes it more difficult maybe to be adamant in the press and say, ‘I think it’s a terrible idea.’ ”

Brendan Steele, a member of the Player Advisory Council, which presented reaction from tour members to the policy board before the teleconference, won his first tour title in 2011 using a long putter. He said he had been heartened by the recent tone of the debate.

Referring to the proposed ban, Steele, who attended his first advisory council meeting after the players convened in San Diego, said: “I’ll be interested to hear what everybody has to say, because when we met the last time with the PAC, most of the opinions were that we didn’t like it at all. Everybody was pretty much against it, so we’ll see what happens.”

At the tour stop outside Phoenix this month, Garrigus said it was unfortunate that golfers who choose to use the anchored stroke — a group that includes the recent major winners Ernie Els, Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley — were faced with the prospect of being considered cheats, in retrospect, if the proposed ban takes effect.

At the players’ meeting, Garrigus said he spoke to Finchem and Mike Davis, the executive director of the U.S.G.A.

“I told them to go back to the tape in Canada when I couldn’t make a thing on the last day with a long putter,” Garrigus said of the 2012 Canadian Open, which he led after three rounds but finished one stroke back. “Couldn’t sniff the hole from 3 feet. And they think it’s cheating? I mean, I giggled at that.”

Garrigus said he also posed a question to Finchem about the sport’s policy makers.

“I asked him out of the 15 board members that vote on our game, our professional game, how many of them have ever struck a shot in competition?” he said. “And that was zero, and that’s all I needed to hear.”

Before 2001, only three players had used a long putter to win a PGA Tour event. The putters became an issue last year when they were used by Els, 43, of South Africa in his victory at the British Open in July and by 14-year-old Guan Tianlang of China in his victory at the Asia-Pacific Championship in November.

The use of the club by champions of such divergent ages signaled to the powers that be in golf that the long putter had gone from curiosity to keepsake.

Tiger Woods, a 14-time major winner and 75-time tour champion, has come out in support of the ban. Phil Mickelson, whose 41 tour titles include four majors, was more ambivalent. Last month in San Diego he framed the debate in shades of gray.

“Although I feel that anchoring should not be part of a golf stroke,” Mickelson said, “it was allowed 30-some-odd years ago and should not be taken away.”

A version of this article appeared in print on February 19, 2013, on page B11 of the New York edition with the headline: Ban on Anchored Putts Becomes Personal Issue .

Editors Note: This is a very interesting ruling. Effecting many in the game of golf. We will see what happens in the near future.

Punch Shots: Favorite golf courses in Phoenix-Scottsdale on three budgets

Mark J. — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:20:04 +0000

These are domw nice tracks if your ever heading to Phoenix..

Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa

You don’t need big money to play the best golf courses in Phoenix-Scottsdale. Brandon Tucker and Mike Bailey share their favorite plays on three different budgets.

Brandon Tucker’s top picks on three budgets in Phoenix-Scottsdale:

Top Shelf ($150+ peak): Cholla at We-Ko-Pa

Scottsdale has a hearty collection of high-end clubs with splendid desert scenery like Troon North and Boulders Resort. But for beauty uninterrupted by any development, head to the East Valley for We-Ko-Pa Golf Club’s 36 holes set on a Yavapai Nation native American reservation. The Coore-Crenshaw-designed Saguaro Course is a popular pick for the best public course in state. That said, I curry a little more favor to the original Cholla Course, thanks to a few more spectacular (albeit more manmade) holes, like the tumbling, par-5 8th. The panoramic mountain vistas, quiet surrounds and varying hole designs of the 7,225-yard layout make for a thrilling, yet dead quiet round.

Current green fees at We-Ko-Pa: $179-225

Mid-range ($100-149 peak): Raven Golf Club – Phoenix

If you’ve stepped on one too many “Jumping Chollas” while fishing for errant golf balls in the desert, head to the Raven Golf Club – Phoenix. Big, rolling fairways, blooming red bougainvillea and thousands of pine trees make for a setting for golf entirely more akin to the Carolina Sandhills. As green and lush as the property is throughout, the course design is loads of fun with great risk-reward holes and interesting, large and lightning fast green complexes.

Current green fees for Raven Golf Club – Phoenix on GolfNow: $99-150

Bargain (under $100 peak): Wigwam Gold

Many of the area’s great bargain courses can be found in the West Valley, and Wigwam Gold, part of a pleasant, casita-style resort village, is my favorite play out here. It’s a parkland-style layout with classic bones, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., but is still plenty tough to host top collegiate events in the spring. Flat, grassy fairways dotted with a mix of ponds, palm trees and some more northern style oaks make for a most pleasant environment, especially considering tee times here are well under $100 all year round.

Current rates for Wigwam Gold on GolfNow: $50-75

Mike Bailey’s top picks on three budgets in Phoenix-Scottsdale:

Top Shelf: Monument course at Troon North

Phoenix-Scottsdale has so many good high end courses, but if I had to pick one that combined beauty, challenge, conditioning and variety of holes, it would have to be the Monument Course at Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale. The Monument Course is one of two terrific championship courses at Troon North (the other is the Pinnacle), both designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and redesigned in a new and better configuration in 2007 by Weiskopf. Besides the variety of holes and incredible views, though, the course brings in an element of links golf design, such as a reincarnation of St. Andrew’s Hell Bunker. At more than 7,100 yards, it isn’t particularly long, but certainly long enough, considering the challenge of the tee shots and approaches. Practice facilities and dining are five-star as well.

Current rates for the Monument at Troon North on GolfNow: $179-249

Mid-range: ASU Karsten Course

The Karsten Course at Arizona State University might be the best of the bargain golf courses. After all, this Pete Dye gem was good enough for the likes of Phil Mickelson, Billy Mayfair and Grace Park as collegians, and it’s good enough for most of us as well. There’s water, peninsula greens, pot bunkers and good conditioning, all in the backdrop of one of America’s largest campuses.

Current rates for ASU Karsten on GolfNow: $79-110

Bargain: Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club

Formerly the all-men’s Royal Dunes Golf Club, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa is unlike any other course in the Valley of the Sun. It certainly isn’t desert golf, and while it isn’t links golf, it’s the closest thing you’ll find in the area. Brian Curley of Schmidt-Curley Design (with Fred Couples consulting) took a flat piece of land and molded in elevation change, moguls, blind shots, gamma grasses, large undulation greens and 109 bunkers covering 12 acres of sand. And after the round, try the club’s incredible Albondigas meatball soup.

Current rates for Southern Dunes on GolfNow: $79-99

A few Golf Tips That Can Help You

Mark J. — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

You might want to consider who is behind golf website that you are taking in. Remember, any golfer of whatever ability can write a golf advice through a blog or article, usually with a link to another site. Consider how authoritative is one writing about golf. It may just be another website promoting you a golf product, maybe an ebook or a new golf DVD. When you read the golf advice then, make sure to check in case the playing tip can really help your game and not just another sales pitch.

Most these potential answers of places to find the best golf tips, only one of them can we ask a specific question in a problem we are experiencing at that point in time. This is from our local teaching professional. For a variety of cause of many people committing to a number of golf lessons just doesn’t be. The next best thing would be a manuscript that offered a series of questions and answers that fashion perhaps find the problem an individual struggling with and zero in on it.

Think before renting yourself a golf cart, walk instead! Walking precisely will drastically increase the level of exercise you get, which will turn your game into a truly great method for improving your fitness level! Walking additionally keep your muscles loose and warmed up, leaving you ready for every shot as you take it.

Even though is simple to get golfing recommendations for newbies via the web, most articles or blog posts and ebooks miss out on the couple of factors that’re vital for beginning golfers. Outlined below are several less known golf suggestions for newcomers.

Putting can account for 50% much more of your golf score. So, it is critical to learn golf putting basics to achieve your scoring goals. The following key golf putting tips enhance your golf putting distance control, speed and accuracy. Note: the following golf putting tips are for right handed golfers.

Watching the pros golf on TV is a great way to boost your game, but its a lot better if youre there in certain. You can walk alongside the pros and really get a sense of what theyre doing to hone in on their game so methodically. The live atmosphere is great for learning.

These five tips are just the end of the iceberg as you take up the game of game. Remember that as in life, you never stop learning issues about the game of playing.

Lewis guns for golf No. 1 as she leads HSBC Women’s

Mark J. — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:59:03 +0000

Lewis guns for golf No. 1 as she leads HSBC Women’s (via AFP)

America’s Stacy Lewis took a step forward in her quest to replace Tseng Yani as women’s world number one as she shot a red-hot six-under-par 66 to seize control of the HSBC Women’s Champions on Friday. The world number four started the day two back from overnight leader Azahara Munoz, but she holed…

Teen golf sensation Ko says no to turning pro

Mark J. — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 23:04:03 +0000

Teen golf sensation Ko says no to turning pro (via AFP)

New Zealand’s teenage golfing sensation Lydia Ko will resist pressure to turn professional following an eye-catching performance at the Women’s Australian Open, her coach said. The 15-year-old, already the world’s number one amateur and the youngest tournament winner in US LPGA history, came close…

Bubba Watson laughs off Masters miracle shot

Mark J. — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:03:04 +0000

Bubba Watson laughs off Masters miracle shot (via AFP)

It was the wonder shot that propelled him to his first major, but Bubba Watson said he’d try and avoid a repeat at this year’s Masters of the astonishing lob that helped him win at Augusta. “Hopefully I hit the fairway from now on so I don’t need to practice that shot anymore,” he said of the high…

McIlroy, Woods out in first round at WGC Match Play

Mark J. — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 02:28:02 +0000

McIlroy, Woods out in first round at WGC Match Play (via AFP)

World number one Rory McIlroy and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods fell in the first round of the World Golf Championships Match Play event in Arizona. Ireland’s Shane Lowry, ranked 68th in the world and the 64th-seed in the 64-man field, on Thursday toppled Northern Ireland’s McIlroy 1-up, while…

Tiger’s ex-coach to polish Obama’s golf game

Mark J. — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 01:03:07 +0000

Tiger’s ex-coach to polish Obama’s golf game (via AFP)

Once he obsessed over swing states, now he has the luxury of worrying about the state of his own swing. Barack Obama will flee winter this long President’s Day weekend and plans to polish his golf game on a stag weekend in balmy Florida, reportedly enlisting Butch Harmon, the coach who once schooled…

Snedeker up to fourth in world golf rankings

Mark J. — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 00:27:02 +0000

Snedeker up to fourth in world golf rankings (via AFP)

On-form American Brandt Snedeker is up to a career-best fourth in the world rankings following his win Sunday in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That triumph came hard on the heels of back-to-back runner-up finishes behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson on the US PGA circuit. Snedeker’s win edges him ahead…

Snedeker captures at Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Mark J. — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:43:03 +0000

Snedeker captures at Pebble Beach Pro-Am (via AFP)

Brandt Snedeker, who finished second each of the last two weeks, busted through for his first win of the year on Sunday, firing a seven-under 65 to capture the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The red-hot Snedeker saved his best round of the week for the final day as he finished with a 19-under par 267…