Category: Golf

LIV Lives!

The Inevitability of the LIV Golf Invitational Series

PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan. The man who gave LIV legitimacy. Photo courtesy of golfwrx.com

Yes, LIV Lives!

The Saudi funded golf league and Greg Norman have to say thank you to Jay Monahan, and the fools at the Golf Channel, for giving legitimacy to a golf event that many people did not know anything about or even cared.

A month ago, very little was known about LIV, other than in golf circles. I asked my friends, with whom I play golf on a daily basis, and they did not know what LIV was all about.

Human rights hypocrisy aside, the PGA Tour has introduced LIV to the masses by constantly whining about it and by Jay Monahan flexing his muscles with threats and silly commentary.

To go even further, the commentators at the Golf Channel have been carrying the water for the PGA Tour by demonizing the players and calling a player like former U.S. Open Champion, Graeme McDowell, a “has been” for participating in the LIV Golf Invitational Series.

Damon Hack and his sidekick, Eamon Lynch, sound like two idiots whining about the money and belittling the players. Instead of giving the audience a legitimate argument, they are doing the dirty work for the PGA Tour while sounded petty in the process.

I always said, if the PGA Tour wanted LIV to go away slowly but surely, they needed to stop talking about it, say “good luck” and move on. But Jay Monahan disdain for Greg Norman was much stronger and his ego was even bigger.

As I have said before, I am sure this will end up in the courts and it will be a long, boring, and destructive process, for the PGA Tour.

I always like to remind my readers, while the PGA Tour and the Golf Channel want to claim the moral high ground, let us not forget, the PGA Tour gave an honorary tee time to convicted felon and domestic abuser, George Floyd, at the Schwab Challenge event.

Sure, the Saudi government has a dismal human rights record, but China also has a deplorable human rights record and PGA Tour players have no problem wearing golf apparel made in sweatshops by child labor and under horrible working conditions. Spare me the outrage Mr. McIlroy.

So as LIV prepares to host its first event in London, let us not forget, Jay Monahan and his minions gave legitimacy to a golf league people knew nothing about.

I will be watching.

https://www.livgolf.com/

Why Putting Without a Line in Your Golf Ball Will Make you a Better Putter

Ditch the line on the ball and make more putts!

Have you gotten frustrated with your putting from time to time? Have you tried to fix the problem by giving your trusty putter a timeout? Who has not done that, I know I have.

I am a good putter. I average 1.6 putts per hole, which is below the Sky360 worldwide average of 1.9 putts per hole, but I wanted to lower that average and my quest began.

One thing that always frustrates me is to line up a putt, stand over it, and hit it offline. For the longest time I have beat myself trying to figure out why this was happening.

After reading Stan Utley’s book on putting, I have always drawn an alignment line on the ball or have used the one already printed by the manufacturer.

I do not know if this happens to some of you, but I spend more time adjusting and readjusting the line than hitting the actual putt.

For some reason, it always looks different when I am standing over the ball and makes me second guess my reads. More times than not, the putt goes offline or barely makes it inside the cup.

I decided to change things around, first started with my grip. I went from the Stan Utley’s putting grip to the Brad Faxon’s putting grip. Nothing wrong with Utley’s method, I just wanted to revamp my whole putting stroke.

But the most significant change I made was to ditch the alignment line on the ball.

My reason behind the change? I was already spending enough time reading the line, figuring out speed and breaks, and using the alignment aid on the ball was becoming more of a hindrance than an aid.

By not using the line on the ball, I can concentrate in properly aligning my body, picking the correct line, figuring the break and speed of the putt, all without having to worry about if my ball is properly aligned.

If I do the above things correctly, the ball will go where I want it to go.

If you have a flangeline or an alignment aid in your putter, you can use it to align your putter, not the ball. After all, putter alignment aids have been around for a long time, way before golfers started to draw lines on their golf balls.

Give it a try, you will be surprised how much it frees up your mind, relaxes your putting stroke, speeds play, and help you make more putts.

Of God and Golf

Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler

A man of God and new Masters Champion, Scottie Scheffler Photo courtesy of news18.com

On Sunday, professional golfer, Scottie Scheffler, won his first Major Championship at The Masters.

As a golf fan and a player, I was extremely impressed with his game, his maturity, and his execution under the pressure of leading a tournament of this magnitude.

Scheffler has publicly expressed his love for family, the meaning of his family to him, but more importantly, his love for God.

In a day and age when speaking so openly about one’s faith can cost anyone a way of making a living, it was refreshing to hear Scottie Scheffler talk about God as a driving force and a motivation to do what he does in and outside of the golf course.

In his press conference he praised his caddie, Ted Scott, who joined his team this year and has helped him win three tour tournaments and a Major in less than sixty days. Ted Scott is a man of faith and they have known each other through the PGA Tour bible study group.

Of Scott, Scheffler said, among many things, “He’s a man of faith and I love him,” “I mean the qualities you look for in a person, Ted embodies pretty much all of them.”

Throughout the press conference Scheffler was very candid about how he felt prior to the final round and how he cried the morning of because of the stress. He told his wife, “I do not think I am ready for this. I am not ready.” “I don’t feel like I am ready for this kind of stuff.” He said he just felt overwhelmed.

He went on to say, Meredith, his high school sweetheart and wife, told him, “Who are you to say that you are not ready?” “What we talked about is that God is in control and the Lord is leading me, and if today’s my time, then it’s my time, and I shot 82 today, somehow I was going to use it for His glory.”

He was asked if his faith played a significant part in his victory. Scheffler went on to say, “Yeah, I would say so. Like I said earlier, what Meredith told me this morning is that we are not in control of our lives, and so I spoke a little bit about what playing golf for me is like, and why I do it. I mean, my faith affects all aspects of my life, not just my life on the golf course, and so the Lord has given me a skill and I am trying to use it for His glory.”

Scottie Scheffler is everything that is right in this crazy world. Scheffler represents the good in all of us and the world could use a few more Scottie Scheffler’s.

The PGA Tour Has Become a Self-Absorbed and Greedy Cult

PGA Tour; all about the money. Picture courtesy of mikeduran.com

Listening to Commissioner Jay Monahan in his press conference at TPC Sawgrass, it reminded me how much I love the game of golf, and how much I despise professional golf.

First off, addressing the war in Ukraine, Jay Monahan was just another parrot. Grandstanding and demonstrating, once more, the PGA Tour does not understand geopolitical nor internal or external political issues.

When asked about some of the sponsors who have chosen not to pull out from Russia, Monahan did the ‘Potomac Two-Step’ around the question. So much for caring about the Ukrainian people.

They did the same thing during the George Floyd riots by saving an honorary tee time for convicted felon George Floyd at the Charles Schwab Challenge, while ignoring the carnage caused to cities and businesses by those same rioters.

“Go Woke or Go Broke, that should be the PGA Tour motto.

During his press conference, Monahan was clear; the PGA Tour is all about money and revenue. I do not believe Monahan is sincere when he states the PGA Tour is about legacy and not leverage. Individuals establish legacies not organizations by themselves.

I think the PGA Tour position on the Saudi funded Super League is obtuse. This will be going to court, and I believe the PGA Tour will lose the case based on antitrust regulations. Competition and free market are part of business life, and the PGA Tour has no leg to stand on.

Players, as independent contractors, should have the right to play where they wish. Monahan gives the impression of strong-arming the players by telling them the PGA Tour or else, that is leverage. Sure, the players will not publicly talk about it, but I cannot believe independent contractors are fine with one individual telling them they cannot make money elsewhere.

What’s next? Is he going to tell players which sponsors are acceptable? Get real Jay!

The PGA Tour and the Saudi Super League can coexist, the problem is Jay Monahan and his greediness. Monahan wants the PGA Tour to be the only game in town and goes after any competition that can threaten his monopoly, or like he said, his “lunch money.” Frankly, in my opinion, it is disgusting.

In regard to Phil Mickelson, I think Monahan was a coward and did not address the questions with honesty. He stated the ball was in Mickelson’s court, well Jay, not if he has been suspended. Of course, Monahan refused to say if Mickleson was in fact under suspension. The secrecy of the PGA Tour mafia continues.

One thing is for sure, the Phil Mickleson saga opened my eyes as to the greedy nature of the PGA Tour and professional golf.

The PGA Tour has become a greedy and shameful institution.

When Rory McIlroy Crashes and Burns…

DP World Tour Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic

Rory McIlroy

After getting a break on 17, McIlroy hits an awesome drive down the 18 hole, at the Emirates Golf Club, Majlis Golf Course, on the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

In the clubhouse is veteran Richard Bland and golf phenom Viktor Hovland sitting at a comfortable -12 under par and waiting to either, go on a playoff or the airport.

McIlroy was -12 under par with over 260 yards into the par 5. A birdie would have done the trick at best, and at worst, a par would have taken him into a playoff with Bland and Hovland.

Unfortunately for him, none of those two scenarios came to fruition. He bogeyed 18 after spraying his second shot into the water and missing a par putt.

What what was he thinking? Did his caddie, Harry Diamond, told him what was going on? Did he knew all he needed was a birdie to win outright or a par to join the playoff?

In typical McIlroy fashion, he went out in flames. I felt sorry for the guy, after all, I am a golfer and I have played at the Emirates Club many times. I know how difficult is to clear that water, and at over 260 yards is even tougher.

I know the player is responsible for making the shot, but I put a lot of the blame on his caddie. I would have insisted on the layup and dealt with the ass-chewing after the victory champagne.

This was one of the worst decisions I have witnessed. A heartbreaker for sure.

Personally, I think is time for Rory McIlroy to hire a real caddie. I am sure is fun to have your best buddy in your bag, but when millions, and legacy, are on the line, always go with a professional.

At the end, Viktor Hovland raised the trophy by defeating Richard Bland after birding the first playoff hole.