Chris Chaney
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Posts by Chris Chaney
Pink Sunday: Watson’s Win Inspires New Generation of Golf Fans
01 month ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Bubba Watson captured his first major championship at the Masters late Easter Sunday evening in a win that will extend well beyond the realm of traditional golf fans.
The “boy named Bubba” storyline was alive and well in the national press in the aftermath of Watson’s victory, as were the “hook” puns and the General Lee and Dukes of Hazard references. Also central to national columnists prose was the fact that Watson had never had a lesson, a swing coach or even seen his swing on video.
In the age of Hank Haney, David Ledbetter, Sean Foley and Butch Harmon, Gerry Watson isn’t a name that jumps to mind as one of the premier teachers in the game, but it was his guidance that gave Bubba all the instruction he would ever receive.
“My dad taught me everything I know,” Watson would say after his win. “It’s not very much, but that’s all I know.
“You know, I’ve never had a lesson. My dad, he took me to the golf course when I was six years old and just told me he was going to be in the woods looking for his ball, so he just told me to take this 9-iron and beat it down the fairway. And now look at me after beating a 9-iron on the fairway coming from Bagdad, Florida. I never dreamed this.”
Bubba’s dreams, or lackthereof, also may have given way to the best quote of the week when in Butler Cabin, after receiving his green jacket from the 2011 champion, Charl Schwartzel, Watson told CBS’ Jim Nantz that even his dreams hadn’t ever captured what he just accomplished.
“I’ve never got this far in my dreams,” Watson said.
Watson’s win goes beyond the man himself. The win was for the common guy out there hacking it around his local municipal course. Even more than that guy, it was a win for a younger generation of players who don’t have the country club memberships or top-of-the-line equipment.
Watson came from humble beginnings about which we usually don’t see from the players we see on Tour. Every player out there, it seems, was pegged for greatness from the time they could hold a club. Prodigies were failures, not if they didn’t simply make the Tour, but if they didn’t go on to become a major champion.
Then, you have Bubba. An accomplished junior golfer in his own right, sure, but not cut from the usual mold.
Watson learned to play the way he does by whacking wiffle balls around his backyard, shaping the ball from left-to-right and right-to-left, far away from the watchful and sometimes overbearing eyes of a swing coach.
Ben Hogan famously said of perfecting the game that “the secret is in the dirt.”
No one takes more dirt than Bubba Watson.
From the days of beating a 9-iron down the fairway and shaping wiffle balls, Bubba found ways to hit the shots he wanted by practicing, tweaking his swing and practicing some more.
“Bubba Golf,” as it’s now known, is just an extension of the man for which it’s named. Living by the credo of “if I got a swing, I got a shot” and playing golf in order “to pull off the amazing shot,” Watson has inspired an entire new way to swing a golf club.
Looking as if he’s trying to take the head off of a snake or drill for oil with a wedge, Watson goes after the ball with such vigor that it’s amazing he doesn’t have any recurring wrist injuries.
Of course, it’s the mixture of sawed-off or flipped-over follow-throughs, which appear as if maybe he did break his wrist or elbow at impact that will become the norm among young impersonators.
Similar to the way Jack Nicklaus made famous putting your putter in air before the ball goes in the hole a la the 1986 Masters and a Tiger Woods fist pump, don’t be surprised to see someone holding their club parallel to ground after trying to shape a shot.
Winning at Augusta brings up the irony of the man who will host next year’s Champions Dinner.
A guy that relates more with the people peering through the green wall that blocks Augusta National from view on Washington Avenue, than the green jackets who are members inside, Bubba’s win gives more fuel to the fire of those who aren’t able to use the finest facilities and privy to the newest technology.
Watson’s victory proves that don’t need to be a titan of industry or a Wall Street maven with more money than God to play around the Cathedral in the Pines for the rest of your life.
You can be a kid from Bagdad, Fla. with a homemade swing, a goofy personality, a terrible singing voice and a Twitter account. You simply need to be dedicated enough to your craft, confident enough in your swing and bold enough to never look back.
Bubba Watson proved that to us last week. And by doing that, he has inspired a new generation of golf fans.
Just for Chips and Giggles: Masters Traditions Edition
01 month ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Welcome to the newest addition to Playing From the Wrong Fairway, Just for Chips and Giggles. Basically, this feature is going to consist of a few links and thoughts on some of the stories in the world of golf that slipped through the cracks. This week we will focus solely on the Masters, the year’s first major championship.
We have all been seeing the promos for the first major of the year both on CBS and ESPN since the beginning of 2012. While it was always a welcomed site and reminder, it was always a bit of a tease.
Now, we’ve finally made it. You can hear Jim Nantz’s dulcet tones in your sleep.
“A tradition unlike any other, the Masters on CBS.”
That got me thinking last year. Sure, we know all about Bobby Jones and the Masters and all the tradition that surrounds the course, the week and the tournament, so why not dig a little deeper.
At the risk of linking to myself, here are some links to stuff I wrote a year ago that go a little more in-depth with some of the Masters traditions.
-For the sake of chronological order, we’ll start with the Tuesday night tradition of the Champions Dinner.
Every year, beginning with Ben Hogan in 1952, the previous year’s winner of the Masters hosts a dinner at the club for past winners of the tournament. The past winner selects the menu for the night and it has turned into one of the many traditions celebrated annually at Augusta National.
This year was no different as Charl Schwartzel gave a South African flair to the dinner.
-One of the coolest part of going to Masters practice rounds is sitting around the 16th hole and seeing the best players in the world attempt to skip their ball across the pond at the 16th hole.
This year was an extra-special because Germany’s Martin Kaymer skipped one across the lake and into the hole.
-Another practice day tradition happens on the Wednesday of each year when the players dress their little kids up and have them caddie at the Par-3 Contest on the best par-3 course in the world.
This year was a bit of a disappointment because weather canceled the competition after just a few holes.
As per usual, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were paired together, giving fans a great photo op.
-One of the coolest parts about going to Augusta as a youngster playing in the tournament comes with being an amateur.
The six amateurs that get invited by virtue of their performance at various amateur events also have the opportunity to stay on site all week in the Crow’s Nest, a dormitory above the clubhouse.
-Finally, the last tradition I tackled last year was the Honorary Starters. This year it was a little bit cooler with Gary Player joining Arnie and Jack to hit the first shots.
Also, a cool addition this year was seeing three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson out there watching. It kind of proves that as good as those guys playing are, they are still fans at heart.
—–
Aside from all the traditions, there were a couple of other things worth mentioning in this glorified link dump, so here they are:
-The Golf Writers Association of America has their annual dinner every Masters week and Luke Donald put on a show, needling the press for their lack of attention when it comes to his game.
Another cool part was Sophie Gustafson’s speech. Gustafson’s has a severe stutter and according to the New York Times it took her eight hours to put together this 6:30 video.
-One of the coolest stories to come out of this year’s Masters comes from Washington state. A guy won the badge lottery and won four passes to the Wednesday practice round.
He had everything set up, a few days of golfing before for him and some buddies, all until his dog ate the tickets. Really.
Luckily for Russ Berkman of Seattle, when he forced his dog to throw up, he was able to put back together some semblance of the tickets, taking pictures and calling the Masters ticket office. The nice folks in Augusta agreed to reissue the tickets and Berkman’s trip went off without a hitch.
-Finally, if there is one thing that has come under fire this week at Augusta for the green coats, it’s their membership policy. Without getting too much into that now (hoping to write another post tomorrow on it) Golf Digest’s Ron Sirak did a great job of getting some information back in 2003 about what it’s like to be a member.
A pretty cool read.
—–
That’s it for the Masters installment of Chips and Giggs, enjoy the weekend.
Why the Masters is So Great
01 month ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
majorchampionships.com
I didn’t have a lot of time to do my pre-Masters postings this year partly as a result of some illness and traveling that kept me under a Robitussin-induced zombie like state, sleeping 12+ hours a day. Instead, I was going back through what I wrote last year and decided to repost this little bit of a post from a year ago about what the Masters means to me.
There are no last names at Augusta National, unless you are talking about Mr. Jones.
There’s only Jack, Arnie and Gary. Phil and Tiger and Hootie.
It’s the official beginning of spring. As the rest of the country shakes free of the white coat cast upon it by the cruel winter months, the National looks as if it were preserved in a conservatory with azaleas and dogwoods, magnolias and junipers, all in full bloom.
The sheer beauty of the place takes you into a different mind state. As sure as you will never see a dirt patch or a fallen branch, you’ll be overcome by the history of what has transpired there.
You will be inspired by Mr. Robert Tyre Jones’ masterpiece. Throughout the golfing world he is known as the great Bobby Jones; citizens of St. Andrews in Scotland refer to him as “Our Bobby,” but not at Augusta. He is Mr. Bob (never Bobby) Jones. He was the genius who looked out upon Fruitland Nursery and saw a golf course take shape in his mind’s eye.
With the help of renowned architect Dr. Alister Mackenzie, Jones’ vision took shape, literally and figuratively. Inspired by the Old Course at St. Andrews and its natural landscape, Mr. Jones and Dr. Mackenzie formed a golf course using the hills and undulations designed by Mother Nature.
The construction of the course began in 1931 and the first round took place in January 1933.
Here we are in 2011, 78 years after the first round at the National and the prestige of the tournament is only bettered by the prestige of the man who envisioned it.
It is that same prestige that allows players and patrons alike to look forward to this week each year.
What’s not to love?
I love the soft piano solo that brings you into the coverage of the Masters. I love that 56 minutes out of every hour are dedicated to bringing you action from the Masters tournament. I love the passion and concentration that players put into every swing on the National.
I love that no matter how much money you paid to get through the gate, once you’re inside, you are automatically transported back to a simpler time. No matter what is going on outside those gates, it will not affect you inside them. Some think that the traditions and rules of the grounds are pretentious or unseemly, but that is what makes Augusta National what it is.
In the era of $5 hotdogs and $9 beers, you can eat heartily and spend under $6. The famous pimento cheese sandwiches will run you $1.50.
I love the course. The pure beauty catches your eye as soon as you step on the grounds. You emerge from the walkway and onto the course and you step on grass that is so green and so pristine, you’d swear it’s astroturf. Not a blade is out of place.
You look to your right and there is the famous white scoreboard with a green trim and the flags of the world moving in perfect harmony. It’s as if you’ve stepped into one of your dreams.
You walk a little more and you’re overwhelmed by the famous oak tree that sits behind the clubhouse. You turn to stare, playing in your head the types of people who have frequented the understated (by today’s standards) white plantation house. Anyone you could imagine from heads of state to leaders of business to golfing gods have sat and had lunch on the veranda on the back.
You look at the pointed top of the clubhouse and realize what you’re looking at: the Crow’s Nest, where amateurs take up lodging during the week of the Masters.
And then you catch yourself. What are you looking at? Turn around, you fool.
And there it is, laid out before your eyes: Augusta National. In all its gorgeous and breath-taking splendor. The holes seem look like satin laid upon a pile of clothes. Every hill, every bunker, every tree looks as if it were supposed to be right where it is. The creeks that meander through the course aren’t gushing, but simply flowing, carefree.
Don’t be fooled, however. The serene scene laid before you is a vicious host that will gobble up golf balls if not shown the respect it deserves.
A tradition unlike any other is the only way to describe the place. The course truly is a diamond in the rough.
The brutal reality of Washington Road and Augusta, Ga. lay only a few steps away. A city of hardworking people, facing all the economic woes of any other town in the Union, lies outside those fences.
But while we are invited in, we don’t need to worry about life outside of Augusta National.
And perhaps that is Mr. Jones’ greatest gift of all; that if only for a few days a year, we are privvy to this fantasy world.
Everything else can wait until Monday.
2012 Masters Viewing, Listening and Streaming Schedule and Info
01 month ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
The first major of the 2012 season is underway at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. A field made up of 95 invitees will take on the Georgia Jewel after two withdrawals (Dustin Johnson and Mark O’Meara). Perhaps one of the most wide open and anticipated Masters in recent memory, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Luke Donald have all won coming into Augusta. Storylines abound as people from around the world will focus their attention on the small town in Eastern Georgia. Will Tiger finally get back on track in the majors? Can Rory overcome last year’s back nine meltdown? Can Phil find his Augusta game again? What about Donald, Lee Westwood, Adam Scott and the other top players yet to win a major? All those questions will be answered on Sunday.
As the first major of the year, Augusta National has ratcheted up their online and mobile presence and will give fans the opportunity to catch the coverage on a multitude of platforms. Here’s the info you’ll need:
This year’s purse: $8 million
Winner’s share: $1.44 million, Green Jacket
FedEx Cup points to the winner: 600
Last year’s winner was: Charl Schwartzel
Television Schedule:
Thursday: 3-7:30 p.m. on ESPN with encore from 8-11 p.m. Highlights on CBS at 11:35 p.m.
Friday: 3-7:30 p.m. on ESPN with encore from 8-11 p.m. Highlights on CBS at 11:35 p.m.
Saturday: 3:30-7 p.m. on CBS. Highlights on CBS at 11:35 p.m.
Sunday: 2-7 p.m. on CBS.
Masters.com Live Coverage:
Thursday and Friday
10:45 a.m. – 6 p.m. Amen Corner Live.
11:45 a.m. – 7 p.m. Nos. 15 and 16 Live.
12-7:30 p.m. Featured Groups Live
3-7:30 p.m. Masters In-Depth Live Video Coverage Highlights
Saturday and Sunday
11:45 a.m. – 6 p.m. Amen Corner Live.
12:30- 6:30 p.m. Nos. 15 and 16 Live.
12:30-7 p.m. Featured Groups Live
3-7 p.m. Masters In-Depth Live Video Coverage Highlights
SiriusXM Radio Schedule:
Thursday: 2-7 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Friday: 2-7 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Saturday: 2-7 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Sunday: 2-7 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Leaderboard:
(h/t Armchair Golfer for the idea and PGA Tour for the image)
Sean Foley is En Fuego Coming into Augusta
01 month ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Foley with Woods after Bay Hill
With most of the sporting world having at least one eye on the quaint town in eastern Georgia, Sean Foley came onto the grounds of Augusta National with his feet barely touching the ground and with good reason.
The swing coach from Ontario, Canada is on fire. Or as on fire as a swing coach can be.
As we were reminded last year at the WGC-Bridgestone at Firestone Country Club in Akron, OH, the players make the swings and hit the shots. Not the sports psychologists, not the sponsors, not the swing coaches and as Steve Williams was reminded, definitely not the caddies.
However, for as much flack as the swing coaches take during their players’ struggles, it is only fair that when they have some success, that they receive some credit.
In the last seven weeks, Foley’s stable of players, which includes Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan and Tiger Woods, have won four times, including two World Golf Championships.
Foley’s streak began at the World Golf Championships Accenture Match Play Championship when Hunter Mahan went berserk with a new putter, knocking in seemingly every putt he looked at to run through his bracket and take down Mark Wilson and Rory McIlroy in the semifinals and finals, respectively.
The next week at the Honda Classic, Woods made a charge at the previously mentioned McIlroy, but came up a few shots short of the eventual top-ranked golfer in the world.
No matter, for Foley. The following week at the WGC-Caddilac Championship, Rose came through with an impressive victory over a top-class field.
Following that win, Luke Donald took home the Transitions Championship the following week. With Rose as the only student of Foley’s in the field, he finished in a tie for 29th.
Perhaps the flagship win of the year for Foley came the next week at the Bay Hill Invitational. His most famous student, Woods, seemed to be rounding into shape, but couldn’t get over the final barrier of getting a win.
That changed on Sunday outside of Orlando when Woods took home his first official victory in over two years.
As if getting each of his clients a win heading into the first major of the year, Mahan doubled up in the week before the Masters at the Shell Houston Open, winning the warm-up event by one over Carl Pettersson.
“He’s good at what he does,” Woods said in his Masters press conference on Tuesday. “You know, I think if you look at the guys he works with, and we all are pretty good ball strikers, that’s basically what Sean focuses on.”
Now with the Masters under way, it looks as if it would be as good a time as any for Rose or Mahan to break through and win a major. As for Woods, he’s already been put into a two-man race with Rory McIlroy.
Regardless of which storyline you will be following this week at Augusta, one thing is for sure, Sean Foley is en fuego.
When It Comes to Tiger Woods’ Injuries, We Should Know Something in a Few Years
02 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Tiger Woods withdrew from the WGC Championship on Sunday amid rumors about why he dropped out as we saw blimp shots of the former World No. 1 driving down the highway.
Woods was vague with the PGA Tour media officials as he left Doral, telling Chris Reimer, the PGA Tour Communications Manager, “Tell them it’s my leg.” [Which leg?] “It’s my left leg.”
Of course, we know now thanks to Woods’ Twitter page that it was his left Achilles that was bothering him and his doctor diagnosed him with a mild strain of said tendon.
It would appear as if Woods withdrew as a precautionary measure to ensure that he would be able to play in the Masters, the year’s first major, in three weeks in East Georgia. He was given the go-ahead from his doctor that he could resume hitting balls later in the week and that he would be hopeful for next week’s Bay Hill Invitational (as well as the Tavistock Cup, which takes place on Monday and Tuesday).
Now, there is no reason to rehash Tiger’s injury timeline, other people have done that ad nauseum. What’s most important to understand is something that we probably won’t know for a few months or even years.
As with everything circling around Eldrick, there is a cloud of doubt or unknowing curiosity.
After his one-legged US Open victory in the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, we came to find out that Woods had ruptured his Achilles while rehabbing his knee, something, we were told, carries a direct correlation with his rehab.
The only problem with that was, Woods and Co. didn’t let us know that he had suffered that rather significant injury until the 2010 Masters.
More than likely, Woods decided to drop that bomb at that time because it would give the media something other than his “transgressions” to talk about beings that it was his first tournament post-hydrant.
What is really concerning is the not knowing. Woods showed his latest, and arguably, closest return to form last week at the Honda Classic, highlighted by his final-round 62 on Sunday that put brought him just short of Rory McIlroy.
Now, a week and a half later, we sit scratching our heads, wondering, prognosticating and generally, guessing what Woods’ latest WD means.
He has withdrawn three times in the last three years (2010 Players, 2011 Players and 2012 Cadillac Championship) and each time was shrouded with confusion.
Woods’ people released a statement on TigerWoods.com that read in part, “He had tightness in the left Achilles warming up and it got progressively worse as the round went on.”
Then Woods’ explanation:
“After hitting my tee shot on 12, I felt it was necessary to withdraw,” Woods said. “In the past, I would have continued to play, but this time I decided to do what I thought was necessary.”
Optomists will say that Woods WD’d in favor of keeping himself healthy for the long run. That he played three weeks in a row and it’s not uncommon to feel a little worn down. That for the best chance at the Masters, he should take every precaution.
The only down side is that others point out the how the injury bug has firmly inserted itself into Tiger’s game. And despite being 36, it’s an “old 36” with “a lot of mileage on that body.”
So, what do we know for sure? In short: nothing, and Woods will likely keep it that way. If it was a mild strain, we likely won’t hear any more about it, but if it’s something worse, then we may find out that, too.
Except it might not be for a few years.
Rose Wins Fourth Tournament in Two Years with Victory at Doral
02 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Reuters
Justin Rose banked on the experience he had gained from his win at the 2010 Memorial to win his fourth PGA Tour event and first World Golf Championship at the Cadillac Championship held at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.
Talking to NBC after Bubba Watson missed his birdie putt on the 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff, Rose said he thought back to coming from behind to defeat Rickie Fowler at the Memorial a few days earlier.
“I just kind of having learned the hard way a little bit, I’ve certainly had my chances in the past, as well,” Rose said after his round. “It’s kind of nice to get a little bit of momentum and confidence going. I think it’s probably a confidence thing. When I do get into contention now, I believe I can go ahead and close it out.”
Rose was able to overtake the 54-hole leader, Watson, after Bubba shot a 3-over 39 on the front nine. Rose stayed steady with an even-par outgoing nine to put himself in position.
Also making a move up the leaderboard was new world No. 1 Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman, who had made an early move on Saturday, made a similar run over the first 12 holes on Sunday.
At 6-under for his round through 12 holes and 15-under for the tournament, McIlroy was right at the top of the board with some tough holes coming in. He finished the last six holes 1-over to post at 67 and 14-under par to have the lead in the club house.
However, starting the day 10 shots back of the leader, McIlroy was well ahead of Watson and Rose, giving Rose in particular time to put himself in position to win the tournament.
I didn’t know Rory got within one of the lead,” Rose said. I’m glad I didn’t know that.”
Rose talked about how he tried to keep his head down and concentrate on his game, but the crowds and amount of leader boards on the course make it difficult for him not to know.
“I said on the range this morning that it was going to take a great round, obviously 70 is a great round in relative terms now,” Rose said. “It was all about controlling what I could control. I knew I got into the lead around 14 when I made that birdie, and from there I knew it was just a matter of closing it out.”
With McIlroy backing up, not that Rose knew that and Tiger Woods withdrawing, not that he knew that, either (“Oh, really? That’s not good news. Hopefully holding himself back for the Masters and doesn’t want to do anymore damage.”), Rose made birdies on 10 and 14 to get him to 17-under par.
Watson was unable to get anything going on the back nine as he backed up two birdies with a bogey to sit at 15-under through 13 holes.
Rose was aware on the 18th tee that he had a two-shot lead with the Blue Monster staring him down.
“This 18th hole is tough, no doubt about it. It’s the hardest thing in the world to play for five. You almost always make six everytime you do it,” Rose told the SIriusXM PGA Network after the round. “But I got the job done.”
Rose may have prematurely celebrated that five on the 72nd hole. Watson was just one-shot back with Rose’s bogey, but Rose thought Bubba had driven it in the water.
“I kind of celebrated like I had won it because I heard the crowd and the people from the grandstands shouting, Bubba has hit in the water on 18 and so I’m like, okay, all good,” Rose explained. “From that perspective, when I tapped in, I figured it was to win. Then I hear he wasn’t in the water when I got to the scorer’s hut and he hits it to nine feet and I’m kind of thinking, that was all a bit premature.”
Watson hit two great shots to give himself a look at birdie and a playoff from nine feet, but he couldn’t find the bottom of the hole.
“Tiger talks about fixing it on the course, back when he was dominating; he just talked about fixing it on the course, so that’s what I was doing,” Watson said of his sluggish start. “I was just trying to talk to myself and figure it out and knowing that I came into a stretch where a birdie putt, just over nine feet to go in a playoff, so I felt good.
“So over the putt, all I thought about was my line and I hit my line, and we just didn’t read it right.”
The win was Rose’s fourth in the last two years, having won the Memorial in June 2010, the AT&T Natioal in July 2010, the BMW in September 2011. Rose led the field in birdies with 23, but wasn’t inside the top-5 in anything other than putts per green in regulation.
The Englishman took home a $1.4 winners check and moved up 15 places in the World Golf Rankings to No. 7. He also moved to No. 8 in the FedEx Cup race.
The WGC Cadillac Championship Television Schedule and Info
02 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
The first round of the World Golf Championship Cadillac Championship is underway at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral in Doral, Fla. The second World Golf Championship of the year has every player ranked in the top 50 in the world in the field this week for the first time in any tournament since last year’s Masters. New World No. 1 Rory McIlroy will make his first start as the world’s best player alongside Luke Donald and Lee Westwood as a resurgent Tiger Woods tries to continue the momentum he built with his final-round 62 last week at the Honda Classic.
This year’s purse: $8.4 million
Winner’s share: $1.4 million
FedEx Cup points to the winner: 550
Last year’s winner was: Nick Watney
Television Schedule:
Thursday: 1-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Friday: 1-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
Saturday: 12-2 p.m. on Golf Channel // 2-6 p.m. on NBC
Sunday: 1-3 p.m. on Golf Channel // 3-7 p.m. on NBC
SiriusXM Radio Schedule:
Thursday: 12-6 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Friday: 12-6 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Saturday: 12-6 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Sunday: 1-7 p.m. Sirius 208/ XM 93
Leaderboard:
2012 WGC Cadillac Championship Leaderboard
(h/t Armchair Golfer for the idea and PGA Tour for the image)
‘Down the Stretch’ joins ‘Feherty’ and ‘The Haney Project’ as Golf Channel Successes
12 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
The Golf Channel has long been looking to break into the primetime television game and it seemed that there first big hit came when Charles Barkley teamed up with Hank Haney to try and fix his notoriously bad golf game on The Haney Project.
At the time, Haney was still working with Tiger Woods, who at the time was still friends with Barkley.
Since the show premiered in 2008, a couple things have changed for Haney, Barkley and Woods.
Of course, it all started with that little fire hydrant in Isleworth and the ensuing scandal. From that scandal came Woods’ clearing house, both professionally and personally; Haney on the professional end and Barkley on the personal end.
However, the popularity of The Haney Project wasn’t affected. The Golf Channel had found a reasonably successful show to latch on to and signed up for new seasons with Ray Romano, Ray Romano and various NFL legends.
Taking the next step, the Golf Channel knocked one out of the park prior to the 2011 US Open when they debuted Feherty. The one-on-one interview program featured the show’s namesake, David Feherty and wide arrange of golf-related guests. The show premiered as the most-watched original series in the station’s history.
Now a few years into each series, the Golf Channel debuted Down the Stretch earlier this week to compliment their Monday night lineup.
Down the Stretch is billed as four 30-minute documentaries that follow four players down the stretch in each of the four Florida Swing events.
The PGA Tour picks four guys on Saturday of each week’s tournament based on “the leader board and compelling storylines” and follows them from their hotel room to the course to the press room and even into the locker room after the final round.
The show sounds like a good concept with some behind-the-scenes footage that should appeal to the rabid Golf Channel fan base, because let’s be honest, the people watching the Golf Channel are usually golf nuts and love any look inside the ropes and behind the curtain that they can get. Besides this week’s Honda Classic final round, PGA Entertainment will also air the show following this week’s WGC Cadillac Championship, Bay Hill and the Players Championship.
With its premier episode following Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Harris English and Justin Rose’s final round at the Honda Classic, PGA Tour Entertainment was able to get lucky and unlucky at the same time.
They were lucky in that they were able to chronicle Woods and McIlroy, who will more than likely be involved in the other three broadcasts. Woods made an incredible run that everyone has seen by now, but it worked out perfectly to set up the McIlroy victory and rise to world No. 1.
The only unlucky thing about the debut episode was that the live golf was better theatre than the edited version, but that is something the PGA Tour can live with given their ratings on Sunday at the Honda Classic.
The show is well-done and interesting enough that the people who watch The Haney Project and Feherty would be more likely to stick around for another 30-minute show.
As golf fans, Down the Stretch gives us a better idea of some of the prep work that goes into the final round as well as the aftermath of a victory or defeat. Hopefully, the Golf Channel locks DTS in for a couple more episodes.
Tiger’s Greatest Asset is His Memory
12 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Orlando Senitnel
When you’ve been playing golf for as long as you’ve been able to stand, winning at every level prodigiously and then going out and beating the best players in the world handily from 1997 on, you tend to have a pretty good memory bank of golf shots to fall back on.
Tiger Woods has one of the fullest memories in modern golf history. Winning more than 100 golf tournaments over his 36 years on earth, which include 14 major championships, Woods has a plethora of shot types stored away.
It shouldn’t be unreasonable, then, to assume that Woods’ memory is his greatest asset.
Take this past week’s Honda Classic, for example. Woods shot rounds of 71-68-69-62 to come up two shots shy of eventual winner Rory McIlroy.
Of course, the number that jumps out at you from the above series would be Woods’ Sunday 62, an 8-under par round that featured two eagles, four birdies and no bogeys.
So, what happened during Sunday’s round that was so different from the previous three? It could have been the clear goal that he set for himself.
“I thought starting out the day that 6‑under was, for the day, and 8‑under for the tournament, was going to be the number to shoot to at least put myself where I had a chance,” Woods said. “But that changed quite a bit when the wind died down.
“When I turned at 4(-under), I had to change that game plan because the wind was not blowing as hard, and I knew the guys were not going to back up as much.”
However, Woods has long said that he always thinks about the conditions and tries to put a firm number that he believes will be enough to give him a chance to win before he tees off.
It could have been that his swing finally came around and he was making putts. But then again, Woods has been adamant in his defense of his new swing, saying that it’s a process and a work in progress.
Perhaps the most telling sign of Woods’ ability to get the most out of his game on Sunday was thinking back to shots he had already hit.
“I felt today, starting out when the wind was really howling, I just kept telling myself, I played great in Australia and they are the same kind of conditions,” Woods said after his final round. “There’s no reason why I can’t do it today. I took some pretty good comfort in that.”
With thoughts of Oz, as Woods calls it, Tiger had a peace of mind and good thoughts to fall back on. With golf being such a mental game, it’s nice to have good memories going through your head as you play a shot. It breeds confidence in knowing he’s been there before.
Similarly, when Tiger needed a good shot on No. 18 to really put some pressure on McIlroy, he tracked back into his memory bank to remember a similar shot.
What he came up with was one of his most famous approaches, his shot from the fairway bunker at Glen Abbey Golf Course during the 2000 Canadian Open.
“For some reason, I kept thinking, this is very similar to what I had at Glen Abbey,” Woods said. “But at Glen Abbey, I wasn’t firing at the flag, either. I was firing at Grant Waite’s ball and was just going to move it to the right, and this was the same thing: Aim at the tunnel, I’m going to lean the shaft to try to take some loft off of it and it’s going to start a little further right, but just rip it.”
His memory might be just what Woods needs to bring himself back up to prominence once again.
Tiger has already hit all the shots, so why not lean on those positive memories going forward. After all, committing to a golf shot is half the battle and when you have a memory bank full of some of the greatest golf shots ever hit, why not use them to propel yourself forward?
