Weird to see Weir?

Two names that the game of golf has greatly missed were both seen towards the top of the leader board at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Mike Weir was in contention all throughout the tournament, and finished in second place, two back of Brendon Todd. David Duval had a share of the lead after the first round, but after a poor second day missed the cut. These two players were once at the top of the game, but then just seemed to vanish.

Mike Weir is a past masters champion, and was once the only good Canadian and best lefty in the game. He used to be seen in contention every week, and was known for his signature waggle. But after a series of injuries, primarily to his back, he just seemed to have lost his ability to compete with the best. Weir has attempted to come back multiple times, but hasn’t succeeded. This past weekend is the best finish for Weir in quite some years. It’s good to see him back. The PGA Tour seems to be lacking players with experience, and he certainly is one with it.

David Duval is another guy with a little experience under his belt. Duval is a former number one player in the world, and is also a British Open champion. It’s sad to see someone who was the best in the world at one point, drop all the way to the bottom. It does seem like Duval is finding something with his golf game, but he is nowhere near where you think he should be. For David, I am not sure if he will ever be able to return to some success on the PGA Tour. He just seems to have lost it when it comes to competitive golf. He is approaching his mid 40’s and will soon be able to join the Champions Tour. This will give him an opportunity for success, but right now I don’t see him having success in golf in the near future.

I would not be surprised to see Mike Weir make a little bit of a comeback to the game of golf, but I will be if David Duval does. Both of these past-elites are trying to make a name for themselves again, but it will be hard with all of the young talent out there on the PGA Tour.

The Most Interesting Golfer with a year to remember

Miguel Angel Jimenez will not forget the year 2014. Known as the most interesting golfer in the world because of his giant cigars, his pony tail and goatee, and his outlandishly hilarious stretching technique. Jimenez is having one great year with being in contention in The Master's, then the next week winning his first Champions Tour event, and now winning Open De España on the European Tour in his home country of Spain. Oh, and not to mention he turned 50 this year. 

Jimenez has always been a well-recognized golfer due to his character, but this year he is finally making a name for himself for his golf game, and not the person who comes with it. He has been playing well all year, and ever since The Master's, his name seems to be everywhere. The professional tours need more guys like Jimenez because they tend to be much more pleasing to the crowds, and you never know what they will do next. Unlike the players who get mad and throw clubs and cuss, the ones like Jimenez seem to be much nicer to the gallery, and put on a smile no matter what. These are the players who make golf seem like a game, and not a job. Sometimes all of us, not just fans, but the players too, need to be reminded that golf is just a game.

Miguel seems to have found his game even late in his career, this should inspire some of the other players who seem to have lost it as they are approaching 50. Miguel not only puts a smile on people’s faces, but he impresses them as well. We will always root for the most interesting golfer in the world.

Accuracy or distance

When choosing how you play the game, you have to make the choice: accuracy or distance. Do you want to hit the ball long, and risk getting it into trouble, but also give yourself good birdie looks? Or do you want to keep the ball in play, and not risk making a big number, but not give yourself as good of birdie looks? These questions have been asked as long as golf has been around. The truth is there is no right answer, but one of these strategies will fit your game and your mind set the best. 

Distance opens many doors in this game. Distance allows you to go for par 5's and short par 4's. Distance gives you shorter clubs into greens, and promotes hitting the ball closer. Distance is the aggressive way to play golf. But there are some negative aspects to hitting the ball long. You will not be as accurate the longer you hit it. You will risk getting yourself in trouble if you aggressively play with your length. Length can be the biggest advantage in this game, if you can utilize it at the right times.

Accuracy is the smart way to play golf. Choosing accuracy means that your scorecard will become very boring. Lots of pars, the occasional birdie, the occasional double. But it will save you from making a mess on your scorecard. Accuracy won't give you many eagle chances, and therefore a ton of short birdie chances, but it will give you a lot of medium length attempts at birdie. Which means few bogeys, and many birdie looks, and a few of them will drop. There is nothing wrong with playing steady and letting the birdies come to you, and not make any mistakes. Playing smart can be very rewarding. 

There are many tour professionals that choose to use each of these strategies. So they can't even decide which is better. Take Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson for examples. All of them just pound the ball out there, and scrape off some birdies. But they also are notorious for getting the ball into trouble, and making a big number. All of these players have put themselves in contention at tournaments, and taken themselves out of tournaments due to there length. 

Players like Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar, and Steve Stricker all play a game of how accurate and precise can they be. None of them worry about how far they can hit the ball off of the tee because they know that they are just as good with a 7 iron as others are with a 9 iron. They don't need the length for an advantage. They are all really good putters as well. This helps because when they have a lot of 15-20 foot putts, they can make a fair amount of them. These are the type of players who are always in contention, and seem to be right there day in and day out with a chance to win.

Traditionally, all of the greats have been able to combine both distance and accuracy to climb to the top. The ones who have been the of all time aren't the longest in the game, and they aren't always the most accurate. but they have found a way to hit the ball decently far, and know where to put the ball, so that they don't make a big number. Tiger Woods, Jack Nickalus, Gary Player, Greg Norman, etc. were never the most powerful player on the tour, and they didn't hit every single fairway. But for some reason the combination of the two creates the all time best.

Jordan Spieth fumbles down the stretch

Jordan Speith had made it through the first three rounds of competition with out a bogey. And then it all came crashing down mid way through the fourth round. Jordan missed about a 20 foot par putt on the sixth hole, and then proceeded to finish his round with four more bogies on the scorecard. It was a rough day for Jordan today, but none the less he is still a 20 year old kid who is living all of our dreams. He will push through one of these days, and all of us will just be shaking our heads in amazement when he does.

Watching him, I can't help but think we haven't even seen him at his best. There has got to be a whole other level that he can go to, and someday in the near future we will see it. Do all of you remember when Rory went off at the US Open and the PGA, and blew everyone out of the water? Well I think Jordan can probably go farther than he did. It will be exciting to watch and find out. One thing is for certain, the kid has game.

Kaymer holds strong throughout

When we discuss clutch putting when it matters the most you have to mention Martin Kaymer's name. When he won his major (the 2010 PGA Championship), he made a ten foot par putt on the 18th hole to get himself into a playoff. Remember the 2012 Ryder Cup, when the European team made that insurmountable comeback to beat the Americans, Kaymer made the clinching five footer. And now the 2014 Player's Championship, Kaymer made another five footer to hold on and escape a playoff with Jim Furyk. Not to mention the 30 footer he made on 17. The German started the week out hot, and didn't stop.

Kaymer opened the week with a course-record tying 63. He then was able to hold onto apart of the lead the rest of the week. Kaymer played very well on the final round, and looked as if there was no looking back. But due to a thunder-storm delay, he was forced to. Jim Furyk finished well before him at 12 under, and going onto the 15th hole, he was 15 under. Then by some act of fate for Jim, Kaymer made a double. After his double he made a par on 16, and then came to the dreaded 17th island green. Kaymer hit what looked like an okay, but not up to standards shot, and found his ball spinning with-in inches of the water. After a very poor chip, all Kaymer had left of his lead was a 30 footer. You know what? He made it. Then marched on to the 18th and made his par to claim the trophy.

After watching the trophy presentation, you can't have thought that this victory couldn't have come to a more deserving and good guy. Kaymer has faced some tough issues with his golf game after once being on top of the world. As a golf fan it is good to see him back because he is truly one of the greatest guys on the PGA Tour, and we are all wishing him the best of luck.

Getting in the right fit

In the world of golf there are so many different choices for how to play the game, and for what styles of clubs to use and trust. You can use a belly putter (not for much longer) or a traditional style putter, you can use cavity back irons or blade irons, you can use a shorter driver or a longer driver, the main thing that is important is finding the clubs that best suit your game. There are many ways to do this, you can get fit by a professional, go to a demo/fitting day, or just experiment with different choices. You just have to find the right fit to play your best golf.

The club you as a golfer want to become the closest friend with is your putter. You need to be able to get the ball into the hole in order to score. In today’s age of technology, the golfing world offers you many options. You can putt with a normal sized grip, and just use it traditionally. You can experiment with different ways to hold the club (left hand low or the claw). You can try the new counter-balance method, which offers a longer grip and overall a heavier putter. You can anchor in multiple different ways: belly putter, “Matt Kuchar style”, or use a long putter. Then comes the grip. You can use a traditional, a midsized, an oversized, a Super Stroke, a Winn, a belly putter grip, when it comes to putter grips the options are endless. There are many options into today’s world for how you choose to putt, it is vitally important that you find what works best for you, and put that to good use.

One of the hottest areas in golf technology is the driver. There are endless options when it comes to the club you use off the tee. When getting fit for a driver, first you should pick out the head you want. You can choose a 430cc head, or a 460cc head, you could even use a 260cc head (Taylormade SLDR Mini). Depending on the brand you choose, you could have a traditional black headed driver, or white, or silver, or red, or blue, or orange, etc. Whichever company’s driver you choose will lead to a modern and innovative form of technology. Then it is ideal to get the right shaft in your driver, like all of your clubs, you want the right shaft, but for the driver it is extra important to have the right shaft. This is because it is the longest club in your bag, and it has the most room for error when it comes to crookedness. The driver if not the most important, one of the most important clubs in your bag to get fit right for.

Above is the Nike Covert 2.0. This driver offers the golfer many different lofts to choose from, and it is the only current driver out there with cavity back technology.  http://www.mygolfway.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Nike-Golf-VRS-Covert-Tour-Driver.jpg

When it comes to irons you just want to make sure you don’t go for too much in the direction of not forgiving enough. You want to make sure you have irons that are forgiving enough for your game, so that way you won’t lose shots that are unnecessarily lost. Many avid golfers think that since Tiger Woods and Adam Scott choose to play with blade irons that they must as well. Well Tiger and Adam have two of the best swings in the game’s history, and they rarely miss hit a shot, which I don’t believe is the case for many avid golfers. It is also ideal to make sure your shafts aren’t too stiff because then you can lose many unnecessary shots, just because you can’t get the club in the right spot. I can’t stress enough how much of importance it is to have the right clubs for you, not someone else.

One thing I’ve noticed when picking out the right clubs for myself is that you can’t be playing with a club that is too long. Many drivers that come out have stock shafts that are 46 inches long, and that is ridiculous. The only reason for that is because a longer shaft promotes length, but also crookedness. A club that is perfectly fit for you will go longer and straighter, than one that is not. Most golfers should be using a driver that is 44 inches in length, not one that is 46. I suggest to anyone who wants to get the right fit for themselves to go see their local PGA Professional, and set up a club fitting. This will promote the ideal club selection for themselves, and lead to lower scores. 

Ko wins the week after Wie returns

Seventeen year old sensation Lydia Ko has stepped up big on the spotlight she had. Ko has already won three times on the LPGA Tour, one if them being as a pro. She claimed this weeks Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic by one shot over American-star, Stacy Lewis. Ko was able to build up a couple shot lead down the stretch, but found herself with only one shot over her nearest competitors on eighteen tee. After a birdie by Lewis, Ko was able to make her five-foot birdie putt to win her first event as a professional.

Her win came the week after Michelle Wie got into the winning circle after a five year drought. Wie was the Lydia Ko of the 21st century. Wie was the teenager who could do everything, she was going to be the first girl to play in the Master's. Wie had been given all of these expectations as soon as she stepped onto the scene, and now Ko is the "golden girl." Wie did not repeat her victory, but she did settle for a top ten finish, so she keeps showing signs of progress, and that maybe the old Wiesie is back.

It's always weird to see a girl win her third LPGA event when I'm older than her. I happen to be almost two months older than Ko, and she is already winning professional tournaments. It definitely inspires me that I can one day fulfill my dream. Lydia Ko is an inspiration to not only young women golfers, but also to the guys.