Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Heave Ho Haney- What He Says
I bet Butch’s eye is twitching like crazy at the prospect of Tiger coming back with his tail between his legs, begging to have the Harmon swing back again.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010
How To Buy and Sell Used Golf Clubs Using Golfbidder
I’ve uncovered an absolute gem of a website on which you can buy and sell used golf clubs. It’s called golfbidder.co.uk. Don’t let the “.co.uk” put you off if you are from Ireland or Europe though. They ship to Ireland and mainland Europe and have thousands of clubs. Better still, golfbidder will buy your old irons.
Sample Test
To satisfy our appetite for bargains, we did a sample test comparing 5 sets of (well known) used irons and 5 used drivers in both golf shops and online (including Ebay) and found golfbidder to be on average €133 cheaper per set of irons and €67 cheaper on the drivers. Our test was pretty small (and there is a bit of leeway needed when comparing used clubs) but it’s fairly clear that golfbidder is far cheaper than the others. Shipping does not seem to be an issue either, golfbidder ship any lot for £10 or €13 to Ireland and Europe. Wow, so far so good!
Here’s how to buy used golf clubs using Golfbidder
1. Simply log on to www.golfbidder.co.uk. Register. Simple. Even I could do it. The usual process you’ve done a million times.
2. Buying: This is the simplest option. Browse the categories, choose a club and add to your basket. The site adds on the delivery charge of £10 (around €13).
3. Wait for the delivery man. If you buy on a Monday, you’ll have your new weaponry for crushing the competition at the weekend!
Here’s how to buy and sell your used golf clubs using Golfbidder
1. Again register.
2. Golfbidder ask you to describe the clubs you want to sell. It has 4 steps, describing the club, the model, the condition and other fine points and finally you submit the request. The screens are organized brilliantly, every conceivable permutation of clubs, shafts and grips are on there. One thing to note here it that you must give the condition of the clubhead, shaft and grip on a scale of 5-10 (‘5’ being well used and ‘10’ being new), so being honest is always the best policy.
3. Golfbidder will send you a quote for your clubs.
4. If you don’t fancy buying anything, Golfbidder will send you a cheque. If however you want to buy a club(s), having received a quote for your old ones, it works thus. First of all you buy what you fancy from the website, then you send Golfbidder your old clubs and they refund you the difference. Here’s where the being honest with your club description really pays dividends.
Even if you’re not buying or selling the golfbidder.co.uk site is a treasure trove of information and pricing on used clubs. Oftentimes the search is the most fun and golfbidder is certainly a site I will be bookmarking.
Golf Channel Gaffe: Win McMurry- Tigers Troubles Are Due To A “Bulging Dick”
Dodgy video of the Golf Channel’s Win McMurry making a gaffe about Tiger’s bulging disk
Monday, May 10, 2010
What’s In The Bag 2010 Rickie Fowler
Full name Rick Yutaka Fowler
Born December 13, 1988 (age 21)
Anaheim, California
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Nationality United States
Residence Murrieta, California
Career
College Oklahoma State University
Turned professional 2009
Biography
No sooner had the greatest player in living memory come along but the American’s are now talking about the ‘next Tiger’? Step onto the podium Rickie Fowler, step off the podium past pretenders like Colt Knost and Ty Tyron. Rickie has been playing golf since he was a little kid. His Dad used to collect him from Kintergarden and bring him either fishing or golfing and both stuck. He was also a competitive dirt bike racer until a broken foot and blown out knee aged 15 quenched his motocross ambitions. Motorcycling’s loss was golf’s gain as Fowler progressed to being the world’s number one amateur during 2007.
Fowler was born in Anaheim, California and attended Oklahoma State University. Whilst there he progressed his game to the point where he represented the United States in their victory at the 2007 Walker Cup and again in 2009. On his second appearance he won all four matches he played in as the U.S. won by a seven point margin.
Now twenty years of age, Rickie has become the only player in history to be the NCAA's Player of the Year as a freshman, and one of the fastest to make waves on the main PGA Tour. He may be easily identifiable on the course with his flashy Puma gear but off it Ricky is reported to be well grounded and approachable. Whether he really is the ‘next Tiger’ only time will tell but try to catch Rickie next time he’s on TV. If you can that is!
What’s In The Bag 2010 Rickie Fowler
Rickie Fowler Shorts
Rickie Shorts
Whats that on your ball?
4:13 is a bible reference. "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." This could either be a reference to God or the Diamana White Board 73 X shaft of his driver.
Guantanamo Boy
So why does Rickie dress up like an inmate of Guantanamo Bay? The answer lies in his collegiate allegiance. He went to Oklahoma State where he picked up a love for his orange team colours. Kind of like a golfing version of Holland’s Raymond Van Barneveld. Fowler has even had his woods painted orange!
“Steek”
Any Nicknames: “There's a couple. One of the main ones is Steek. Not very many people know about it. It was started two years ago after I played well at a tournament down in South Carolina called the Players Amateur. Chris Kirk, he was the one that gave it to me. He said I stuck everyone, and that kind of turned to Steek. There were only a very few guys that called me that, and it was the mainly the guys on the '07 Walker Cup team. So every once in a while here someone calls me that, and I know it's someone that knows something about me if they call me Steek.”
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Valero Texas Open 2010 Betting Tips. PGA Tour
Winner Alright: Last week our tip Ben Crane came fourth at 90/1 paying €235 for a €10 each way bet
Valero Texas Open 2010 Betting Tips
TPC San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
Purse: $6,100,000
Zach Johnson: 20/1
The 2007 US Masters Champion attempts this week to win the Texas Open for a third consecutive time. To do so he will have to defeat fellow Major winner Ernie Els who headlines the field. In the five events leading up to The Players Championship last week Johnson was a cumulative 19 over with a best finish of 42nd. However something seemed to click at TPC last week as he achieved his best finish of the season. Won last season with a stunning birdie on the first playoff hole against James Driscoll. Pic: Zach has the Big Man in his corner
Charley Hoffman: 25/1
It has been a strange old season for Charley Hoffman. He usually makes his money on the West Coast swing early in the year but this season it hasn’t gone to plan. Had to take the five weeks leading up to New Orleans off with a wrist injury but emerged last week with a good showing at The Players when paired with Tim Clark. Shot a 63 in his third round of the Texas Open last year and has top tenned in three of the last four stagings here. Have you noticed him in green this year? Hoffman has a deal with Waste Management where he wears green on Thursdays, green slacks, shirt and green shoes. Pic: Charley: Often Likened to Brad Pitt, or is that Arm Pit.
Justin Leonard: 30/1
Leonard hails from Dallas Texas and is somewhat of a home state specialist. He has won the Texas Open three times, twice at La Cantera in 2000 and 2001 and again in 2007 here in San Antonio beating Jesper Parnevik in a playoff. Tied for fifth last year, failing to go low in the final round. Last week was his first appearance since the Masters, so I expect him to return to Texas fresh for a tilt at another title. He’s the JR Ewing of the Texas Open!
Pic: Is it just me or does Justin Leonard look remarkably like Robin from the original Batman TV Show?
Fredrik Jacobson: 20/1
Another one to catch the eye at Sawgrass last week was Swedish PGA Tour regular Freddie Jacobson. Very steady of late since finishing sixth at The Honda and following with two top-25’s at the Shell Houston Open and The Verizon Heritage. Another top-10 last week at Sawgrass sees Jacobson head for Texas, where he tied fifth last year, with his confidence high.
Pic: Fredrik: not so good at growing a beard. I’ve seen more hair on a gooseberry.
JJ Henry: 80/1
JJ Henry has only won once on Tour at the Buick in 2006 but if you are looking for some each way value this week, he’s well worth a euro at 80/1. Never quite kicked on since representing the US in the 2006 Ryder Cup but came back on the radar with creditable performances at Hilton Head and Houston before his first top ten since last August at Quail Hollow. Though born in Connecticut Henry attended college and now resides in Texas. His best finish of the season would not surprise me.
Pic: JJ Henry; his mother loves him
Past Winners
2009 Zach Johnson
2008 Zach Johnson
2007 Justin Leonard
2006 Eric Axley
2005 Robert Gamez
2004 Bart Bryant
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The “Time To Golf/ Prointhebag” Training Aid Quiz
This weeks prize is the ingenious “Time To Golf” training aid (also known as the “prointhebag”). Invented by Ashford Castle teaching pro Tom Deveraux you can use it to set you up like a pro to draw, fade, lob, play bunker shots and much more. Check out “prointhebag” on youtube to see it in action. To get your hands on one text your answer with name and address to 087-2029040 or e-mail to examinerspindoc@eircom.net no later than Friday next. Make sure also to catch us next week when we will have a fourball in Doonbeg up for grabs!
This week’s question: Who Am I?
During the eighties and nineties I was one of the world’s best. I won my sole major in 1995 at Shinnecock Hills. I have just turned 50 and am beginning to enjoy life on the Champions Tour. I’m small of stature but this year is one of the biggest of my life when I have the honour of bringing my U.S. team to Celtic Manor.
Last weeks answer: The 17th at Sawgrass. Congrats to our winner Mary O’Brien from Limerick who wins a fourball in Ballyliffin Golf Club.
Golf Shaft Stiffness Scale: On The Tour Truck with Derek Murray of ForeGolf.ie
On The Tour Truck: Which Shaft?
On the tour truck we often get asked to rate the stiffness of shafts. Here is a handy little list of some of the most common shafts, starting from flexible for slow swingers to downright poker stiff for pro’s. Keep this handy to help you decipher which is best for you when buying new or used irons!
- Nippon 850GH: soft tip and soft flex for ultra-high flight and players with slow speeds. One of the lightest steel shafts available.
- True Temper (TT) GS 95: soft tip with high flight and just a little stiffer than Nippon 850 for low speeds.
- TT Lite XL: Light weight with mid to high flight. Great for longer than standard clubs. mid to slow speeds.
- FST KBS 90: Light weight with soft tip for great feel and mid to high flight for mid speed range.
- Rifle: Mid to soft tip in lower (5.0/5.5) for mid to high speed range. 6.0 /6.5 for high speed range with split kick-points.
- True Temper Dynamic Gold SL: Stiff tip with mid to low ball flight for high speed range. Anti hook shaft but can lack some feel.
- FST KBS Tour: Stiff tip but with feel. Low to mid ball flight. High speed range. Becoming very popular on Tour.
- True Temper Dynamic Gold: Stiff tip low ball flight and high speed range and solid feel. Most succesful and popular shaft.
- True Temper Black Gold: Low flight, weight matched, very solid feel and for high speed range. Best quality and construction shaft available.
- Project X / Project X Flighted: Lowest spin shaft with very low flight and very solid feel, heaviest of steel shafts and for very high speeds
with Derek Murray from www.foregolf.ie
Time Gentlemen Please: New Slow Play Rules
Slow play is infecting the golf world faster than the H1N1 virus. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a vaccine for it? One sharp jab in the bum cheek of the guy in front and whoosh, he disappears up the fairway faster than the Stig.
If you know someone who’s as slow as a tortoise with ABS do us a favour and give him a clipping of this article. Even better, club secretaries, enlarge this and post it beside the first tee next weekend.
The Trouser Rule
If you hit the ball more than seven times on any hole, do yourself and partners a service by picking up your ball and placing it snugly in your pocket. This will reduce further damage to the ball, your confidence and reduce depreciation on your clubs. And just like old Roy Walker said on Catchphrase you will be “back in the game” on the next tee.
Penalty Points: 2
The Bag Of Sweets Rule
If you suffer from stray scuds and have a propensity to go OB off the tee always have a spare ball at the ready in your pocket. This avoids the awkward 30 seconds of silence while your partners stare at your Olympic walker impression en route to your bag to get a provisional ball.
Penalty Points: 2
The Good Walk Spoiled Rule
Always park your caddy on the same side of the green as the next tee. It seems like the most obvious little thing, alas it isn’t so. You wouldn’t ask the courier company to drop your new sofa on the neighbour’s lawn, so why leave your clubs so far away?
Penalty Points: 4
The Ronan O’Gara Rule
Just because you see the pros going through their pre-short routine on Sky Sports doesn’t mean you need to take an age with one eye closed staring at your shoes before you swing. Maybe you don’t know how fast the pros actually move between shots; it’s pretty rapid. Let’s leave the elaborate routines to the likes of Ronan O’Gara and Jonny Wilkinson.
Penalty Points: 4
The Caring Parent Rule
What do you call a parent who brings their little kids to the beach then faces the other way as the little ones run towards the sand and water? Downright irresponsible perhaps? Think of the golf ball as your baby. Next time you hit it towards the sand, water or even rough, don’t turn away; keep watching it until it lands. That way it will be so much easier to find when you get to it, shaving minutes off the round.
Penalty Points: 6
The Desperate Housewives Rule
Perhaps the most unforgiveable of them all. Four men on the 18th green shaking hands and idly congratulating each other like they have just signed the Good Friday Agreement. The green is not the place to begin discussing the Greek austerity package while the fourball 160 yards back the fairway curse your mother. Don’t let the 18th hole become like the main runway at JFK.
Penalty Points: Automatic Disqualification
“Haney Must Go”- Pundits
Golf TV analysts roundly criticised Tiger Woods swing coach Hank Haney for tinkering too much with his swing. Analysing Woods’ swing as he struggled at Sawgrass Ewen Murray of Sky Sports exposed the technical flaws that are blighting his performances. NBC analyst Johnny Miller concurred stating "It might be a little harsh, but I really believe he (Tiger) needs to, every night, watch the U.S. Open in the year 2000 at Pebble and just copy that swing and forget the [Hank] Haney stuff. I mean, that was the best golf anybody has ever played in history. That's something he can copy, the tempo, the position at the top of the backswing, the follow-through position -- he's in all these awkward follow through positions and the club is stressed at the top of the backswing and it used to be quiet. His tempo was much better then and he should literally say, I am turning back the clock and I am not going to think of anything and I can remember what I was working on then.''
Stunning Performance By Cop At Players
Police at the Players Championship were busy last week thanks to a series of odd events. A 36-year-old man attending the second round of the event had be subdued by a Taser when he refused to stop yelling verbal abuse at players. Drunken Travis Parmelee resisted arrest and became combative when approached. One million volts later and Parmalee was duly subdued before being taken into custody. That followed another strange incident following the first round when course superintendent Tom Vlach discovered a running car with two men inside on the par-3 eighth hole shortly after dark. Driver John Rinaldi refused to turn the motor off and get out of the car, prompting Vlach to call 911. The two were issued a trespass warning after no damage was found on the green. "That was a strange one," the responding officer said.
Kim Begs Corey
Playing with a thumb ligament injury Anthony Kim won the Houston Open, finished third at the Masters and was in contention at Quail Hollow until the pain felt like a knife piercing the area between his left thumb and index finger. The reason he kept playing with the injury? To pile up as many Ryder Cup points as possible before the inevitable surgery. Two days after surgery to repair the ligament, Kim said he would miss the U.S. Open and the British Open and reckons he will have one month to impress Corey Pavin. Within two hours after surgery, he was on the phone to the US captain. "I told him, 'Listen to this and I'm done, I won't bother you again. I want to play on your team so bad that the reason I played hurt is to make the team. I promise you if you put me on the team, I'm going to have a good attitude going over there. I'm the kind of player you want.", said Kim. In other news Pavin has named his four Ryder Cup assistants as Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and Paul Goydos. A surprised Goydos said that his only Ryder Cup experience “was watching it on TV.”
Wayne’s World Of Fitness: Reverse Spine
Reverse Spine Angle
Problem:
A Reverse Spine Angle is best described as an excessive upper body backward bend towards the target in the backswing. This swing characteristic makes it very difficult to start the downswing in the proper sequence. This swing fault is also one of the prime causes of lower back pain as there is excessive tension on the lower back.
Cause:
Golfers usually struggle to get any width in their swing if there is tightness in the Lat muscle. Limited Thorax (chest) to pelvis separation is caused by reduced spinal mobility and shortened lat flexibility normally resulting in the spine going into a reverse spine angle. Other common faults related to this physical limitation would be loss of posture anytime the arms are elevated such as in the backswing and it can also limit a player’s ability to rotate their shoulders in the backswing and follow through. The Lat muscle spans the entire back and inserts onto the arm. Only 43% of golfers have good Lat length.
Exercise:
To stretch the lat muscle, place a pole at a full arms length from the body and assume golf posture. Place the right hand on top with your left hand below, then push with the right hand and pull will the left hand and feel the stretch in the lat muscle. Repeat on the other and place left hand on top with right hand below.
Log on to www.wayneocallaghangolf.com PGA Pro and TPI fitness instructor for more info.
Tim Clark’s Putter Is Actually Standard Length!
Breaking News: TPC 2010 Champion Tim Clark’s so called “long putter” is really a 34 inch standard length blade. It turns out that it’s Tim who is incredibly short. Tour analysts say the diminutive South African may even be as short as actor Tom Cruise but this is yet to be confirmed. Our camera pictured Tim during the final round of the Players trying to get the attention of playing partner Charley Hoffman. Clark’s tiny voice is said to be barely audible to the normal human ear.
Only pulling your tiny leg Tim, we love you and well done in Sawgrass!
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Players Championship 2010 Final Round Highlights
Players Championship 2010 Final Round Highlights
Technorati Tags: Players Championship 2010,Final Round Highlights
Tiny Tim Beats Big Boys At Players
Mike McAllister of PGAtour.com reports on Tim Clark’s breakthrough victory at the Players Championship in Sawgrass.
“As he stood over his par putt on the 18th green at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday, his Srixon Z-Star ball 7 feet, 9 inches away from the pin, his long putter firmly tucked against his chest, his heart pounding and his nerves dancing, Tim Clark did his best to suppress the enormity of the situation.
While there was no guarantee this would be the putt to finally give him, in his 206th PGA TOUR start, that long-awaited first win, the South African knew. He knew this was a putt that could ultimately seal THE PLAYERS Championship. He knew this was a putt that could put to rest -- finally -- all those questions about whether he was made of championship material or was simply the perennial runner-up, the best player on TOUR without a victory, the feisty lovable undersized "pit bull," as Greg Norman called him last year at the Presidents Cup.
He knew that all the times he had battled self-doubt, feeling he didn't belong with the big boys, could very well be wiped away with this putt.
Clark knew all this, he knew that his closest pursuers were still more than 30 minutes away from finishing and that he would have to sweat out the possible career-changing moment. He knew this putt was huge ... and he knew he couldn't think about any of that.
Clark had to stay in the moment. Focus on the task at hand. Concentrate on the crispy patch of Bermuda grass between his ball and the pin, and think of nothing else.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
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