Byron Nelson and The One Record That Will Never be Broken

by on May.18, 2012, under Byron Nelson

As the HP Byron Nelson Championship gets underway this week in Irving, Texas, it seems like an opportune time to explore a record set by Byron Nelson back in the 1940s that will never, ever be broken.

If you think I’m referring to his 11 consecutive victories in 1945, you’d be wrong—although that record is also unlikely to be broken in this modern era of the game.

If you think I’m referring to Nelson’s 18 total victories in 1945, you’d also be wrong—although, once again, that record is unlikely to be touched anytime soon.

Nope, I am referring to Nelson’s streak of 113 consecutive cuts made.

Okay, now, before you begin jumping through your computer monitor to attack me with, “Woods already broke Nelson’s record when he made 142 consecutive cuts,” we need to examine exactly how the PGA Tour defines a made cut.

The PGA Tour defines making a cut as simply receiving a pay check. The Tour’s media guide used to even have a category labeled, “Most Consecutive Tournaments in the Money” before changing it over to “Most Consecutive Events with Missing the Cut” in the late 1970s.

At a typical PGA Tour event in 2012, the top 70 and ties make the 36-hole cut and receive a pay check for the week. In Nelson’s era, however, only the top-20 finishers would receive pay checks.

So, Nelson’s streak of 113 consecutive cuts is better defined as a streak of 113 consecutive top-20 finishes, which is a record that will NEVER be matched by any player.

Just to put Nelson’s streak into perspective, Woods’ longest streak of top-20 finishes tops out at 23 between 2000 and 2001, a mere 90 short of Nelson’s 113 consecutive “made cuts.”

Nelson also managed to win 38 tournaments during the course of this streak, which is a 34 percent winning percentage.

Some may argue that a larger portion of Nelson’s streak occurred during World War II when the fields were depleted.

But, that is more of a myth than reality.

During 1945, Nelson’s best year on tour and arguably the greatest season of any golfer in history, Sam Snead was around for the majority of the season, and Ben Hogan was around for more than half of the events.

In fact, Snead won six events in 1945 and Hogan won five.

Both Snead and Hogan were also around for the entire 1946 season, where Nelson went on to win another six events.

In this day and age, when parity has become the new winning,—at least in terms of the World Golf Rankings—it’s not out of the question to surmise that, had the World Golf Rankings existed in the 1940s, Nelson would have been the No. 1-ranked player for at least six years, which would have trumped Woods’ record of 264 consecutive weeks at No. 1.

Due to the persistent media coverage surrounding Woods’ quest for 18 majors, it’s easy to get caught up in this modern era of the game and forget that there were some truly great players who came along many years before Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

Woods may or may not break Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championship wins; no one can predict one way or the other with any level of certainty.

What is as close as possible to a certainty in this game, however, is that no one will even approach, let alone break, Nelson’s record of 113 consecutive top-20 finishes.

Five consecutive top 10s might just get you to No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings these days. But take Rory McIlroy and let him win 34 events and finish within the top 20 113 consecutive times over the next six years and only then might you have a modern-day equivalent to Byron Nelson.

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Did Kevin Na Cost Zach Johnson the Players Championship?

by on May.16, 2012, under The Players Championship

You couldn’t watch Kevin Na play golf last weekend and not feel bad for the guy.

The poor fella was obviously struggling with some kind of mental block when it came to pulling the trigger and spent 10 hours on Saturday and Sunday attempting to fight off demons that had clearly taken hold of his game.

All the while Na was trying his hardest not to be an inconvenience to his playing partners.

“I know TV, Twitters and fans are tired of me backing off,” Na said after his round last Saturday. “But you know, I’m‑‑ I understand people being frustrated with me backing off, but all I can tell you guys is honestly, I’m trying, and it’s hard for me, too.”

On Sunday Na made a visible effort to walk as fast as he could down the fairway—he was moving at just short of a jog—in order to get to his ball and give himself enough time to battle his demons and hit his shot while trying not to disrupt the flow of playing partner Matt Kuchar’s round.

If anything, Na probably gained more fans than he lost last weekend due to both his brutal honesty and self-deprecating humor about the matter.

“It’s usually a little waggle, half waggle, little waggle, half waggle, and boom, supposed to pull the triggers.” Na said on Saturday evening at TPC Sawgrass.

“But if it doesn’t work, I’ve got to go in pairs. So it’ll go four; and if it doesn’t work, it’ll go six; and after that, just ‑‑ there’s a lot going on in my head.  And it’s not‑‑ I’m not being nice to myself, trust me.  I’m ripping myself,” Na continued.

But despite Na’s inescapable likeability, at the end of the day his slow play was a distraction to his playing partners and he should have been penalized not once, not twice, but numerous times.

Na spent most of Saturday afternoon apologizing to his playing partner Zach Johnson for his slow play and inability to pull the trigger, and most observers knew that Na was indeed trying his best to overcome these demons.

However, the Players Championship is one of the biggest tournaments in all of golf with a winner’s prize of $1.7 million.

In addition, the winner is given a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, three-year exemptions into the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship and an exemption into the 2012 PGA Championship.

The Players Championship is not the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children’s Open. This tournament is just short of a major when it comes to all the perks associated with a victory.

The Tour put Na on the clock on Saturday and attempted to hit him with a one-stroke penalty on the 16th before Na appealed the penalty claiming his caddy was just moving out of the way. His appeal was later honored by the PGA Tour after reviewing video footage of the shot.

That being said, Na should have probably been put on the clock from the first hole and hit with numerous penalties throughout the day.

It took Na a couple of minutes just to get off the first tee box and another few minutes to hit his second shot into the green.

Tour pros are generally allowed 40 seconds to play a shot barring any unforeseen issues if they are out of position during their round.

Na was taking 40 seconds to simply decide on what club to hit on Saturday, followed by another minute or so worth of waggles, scolding himself, more waggles, a whiff, a few more waggles, before finally striking his shot.

It’s difficult to put an average time on Na’s shots, but one could certainly estimate that he was taking far longer than 40 seconds to play just about every shot he hit on Saturday.

All this while Johnson was being detrimentally affected by a pace of play that was far slower than allowed by the rules of the game.

When asked about Na’s turtle-like routine on Sunday evening, Johnson responded by saying, “I don’t know, I don’t think it necessarily got to me. I mean, I was really focused on what I was trying to do and stay in the moment.  So I think I did a pretty good job of that yesterday quite frankly.”

Johnson, a constant gentleman, was perhaps being polite to a fellow competitor who was clearly struggling with the mental side of the game, or perhaps he has just played so many practice rounds with his good friend Ben Crane that he’s simply grown accustomed to a slow pace of play.

Either way, Na’s pace of play and shenanigans could not have been good for Johnson’s game and mindset on Saturday afternoon.

Who’s to say that Na’s slow play, which technically broke the rules of the game, didn’t cost Johnson the tournament on Saturday when Johnson carded a 73, which was his highest round of the tournament by three strokes?

Had it not been for Na, Johnson very well may have posted a 70 on Saturday and beaten out Kuchar by a stroke to capture his biggest title since winning the 2007 Masters.

Kuchar, Na’s playing partner on Sunday, did manage to tune Na out enough to capture the Players Championship title.

When it comes to slow play, the rules of golf are clear: A player out of position should take no more than 40 seconds over each shot as to not disrupt the pace of play for the rest of the field.

People often surmise that when the last group of the day is put on the clock it’s due to television commitments, but that is not the case.

Putting the last group of the day on the clock is basically a measure to protect the rest of the field. The reason being that one group should not be given the advantage of taking all the time in the world to play their shots while the rest of the field has to adhere to the tour’s pace of play policies.

Last weekend at TPC Sawgrass, the tour did not protect the rest of the field against Na and his incredibly slow pace of play.

That, to me, is unacceptable, particularly at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

Na clearly should have been put on the clock for most of the day on Saturday and Johnson may have suffered the ultimate price for the tour’s refusal to step in and not only protect Johnson, but the rest of the field.

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Can Kevin Na Overcome His Inner Demons to Win the Players Championship?

by on May.13, 2012, under The Players Championship

What Kevin Na managed to accomplish on Saturday afternoon at TPC Sawgrass was nothing short of amazing.

The fact that Na was one of only three players in the field without a bogey on his card during Round 3 was not in itself amazing.

The fact that only one player in the field posted a lower score than Na’s 68 on Saturday was not amazing either.

The fact that Na hit 79 percent of fairways and 83 percent of greens in regulation was impressive, but nothing out of the ordinary for a touring pro currently leading one of the biggest tournaments of the year.

The amazing part of Na’s round was that he managed to do all of that while battling one of the worst cases of the driving yips seen in the history of professional golf.

Many great players have battled inner demons and cases of the yips while on the greens, but it’s incredibly rare for a professional golfer to have as much difficulty as Na has simply bringing the club back while standing on the tee box.

Hubert Green suffered from a terrible case of the “waggles” during the early 1980s, and Sergio Garcia also had trouble pulling the trigger with his driver and long irons during the early 2000s.

The main difference is that in most cases, players who are battling demons on the tee box and with their long irons have difficulty saving their careers, let alone their rounds.

On Saturday afternoon, Na managed to fight off the demons, post a round of 68 and hold the tournament lead heading into Sunday.

Garcia would attempt to battle demons off the tee and then hit his drives 30 yards off line.

Green’s career essentially came crashing down in the early ’80s. He won just two tournaments after 1981, although he did manage to pull off a miraculous victory at the 1985 PGA Championship.

Na, on the other hand, would waggle up to eight times, step away from the ball, scold himself, apologize to playing partner Zach Johnson, address the ball again, waggle another five times, take an intentional miss, scold himself again, waggle a few more times and then pipe a 300-yard drive right down the middle of the fairway and walk off the tee box like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Forget the effect that this mental block may have on his career, Na didn’t even let the demons take over his round.

On the par-three 17th, one of the most intimidating holes in all of golf, Na stepped up to the tee, waggled twice, hit his tee shot onto the green and two-putted for an easy par.

One the par-four18th, which is one of the toughest driving holes on the course with water to left and trees and to the right, Na stepped up to his ball and striped it down the center of the fairway without a hitch.

The demons once again took hold of Na while he was attempting to hit his second shot on 18. He waggled a number of times, scolded himself and then knocked his approach shot to within 15 feet and walked in his birdie putt as if he were just finishing off a stress-free round of 68.

As the pressure begins to mount on Sunday afternoon, it’s highly likely that Na will have even more trouble pulling the trigger with his driver and long irons.

Perhaps overcoming the demons for two consecutive days to win one of the biggest tournaments in the world is too much to ask of any player, let alone a player who has just one PGA Tour victory to his name.

But if Na does manage to fight off the demons for one more day to capture the 2012 Players Championship title, it would certainly be one of the most amazing wins in the history of golf.

Players have battled through injuries and personal problems to win big-time tournaments.

But very few have overcome what literally amounts to a mental injury the way Na has done so far and will once again have to do on Sunday afternoon.

Who knows what Sunday will hold for Na, but if Saturday afternoon is anything to go by, it’s bound to be interesting.

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Will The Players Championship Evolve into a Major?

by on May.12, 2012, under The Players Championship

Like the ground beginning to thaw in New England in late March and the Azaleas blooming in Augusta in April, each and every May, the debate begins raging over whether or not The Players Championship is golf’s “fifth major.”

It’s a routine that’s as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.

Although there’s no real evidence to suggest that The Players Championship has evolved into a major at this time, who’s to say that it will not at some point in the future?

Or even more likely, that a tournament such as The Players will evolve into a major while one of the four current majors loses its stature?

It’s already happened several times throughout history.

In the 1920s and 1930s, and some even say into the 1940s, the Western Open was considered by most to be a major championship.

Late in Walter Hagen’s career, he discussed how he wanted to win one more Western Open. He didn’t say he wanted to win one more U.S. Open, one more PGA Championship or one more Open Championship; Hagen wanted another Western Open title, which is a very telling statement in terms of just how important the Western Open was at the time.

There are some out there who even believe that the North and South Open at Pinehurst was considered a major for a period of time in the ’30s and ’40s, which is a view that also holds some weight.

When Ben Hogan won the North and South Open in 1940, he had arrived at Pinehurst more than a week before the tournament to begin preparing for the event.

Hogan would then defeat the best players of his generation to capture his first significant professional title.

It’s doubtful that even a guy like Hogan who was obsessed with practice and preparation would arrive at a venue more than a week before the tournament began if he didn’t consider that tournament to be extremely important.

Although we now view the Open Championship as golf’s oldest major, there was a period of time between the late-1930s and the late-1950s in which it essentially fell off the map, at least in terms of the interest shown by the best players of that era.

Hogan attended the Open Championship just once, in 1953, when he won at Carnoustie.

Byron Nelson attended the Open Championship just once, in 1937, when he finished fifth.

Between 1937 and 1959, Sam Snead attended the Open Championship just twice. He tied for 11th in 1937, and he won the event in 1946.

It was Arnold Palmer who really put the Open back on the map when he began attending the tournament in the late-1950s and won the event twice in 1961 and 1962.

That being said, even Palmer skipped the Open in 1964, 1967 and 1969.

During the ’40s and ’50s, part of the reason why many golfers stopped attending the Open was due to the costs involved in traveling there and back. The Open was also cancelled between 1940 and 1945 due to World War II.

However, one can certainly surmise that, had the Open Championship been considered a truly significant tournament during that time period, the best golfers in the world would have found a way to get there.

Hagen found his way there every year but two between 1920 and 1929, a time when travel would have been even more difficult and more expensive.

The Masters didn’t begin evolving into a major until the late-1940s at the earliest, and many believe that it wasn’t truly considered a major until 1960, when Palmer won the Masters and U.S. Open and talk began circulating about his winning the modern-day professional grand slam.

John Feinstein once said during a program on the Golf Channel that “The Players Championship is not golf’s fifth major because there is no fifth major.”

And at the moment that may be the case.

But if history is anything to go by, there may just be another major that pops up sometime in the next 20, 30 or 40 years.

And who knows? We may then have five majors, or a new event might simply replace one of the four current majors, just as the Masters did with the Western Open and possibly even the North and South Open.

Whether that fifth major or “replacement major” will be The Players Championship, a different event currently on the calendar or an event that does not yet exist remains to be seen.

But based on history, we do know that a fifth major, or an event stepping up and taking the place of one of the current four majors, is by no means a far-fetched idea.

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What Does the Future Hold for Tiger Woods?

by on May.06, 2012, under Tiger Woods

As Tiger Woods continues to struggle with his game the hands of time continue to close in on him, people seem to have two views on how the remainder of his career will play out.

On one side we have the optimists who seem to chalk Woods’ recent struggles up to personal issues, swing changes, injuries, confidence issues, etc.

The optimists all seem to think that Woods will somehow come through this dark period in his career and once again dominate the game of golf for at least a period of time.

On the other side of the coin, we have the doom and gloom types who believe Woods is done, that he’ll never win another major championship again.

A view that few seem to be taking, however, is that at the age of 36, Woods may simply be a great golfer on the decline.

It’s happened to every great golfer that has come before him and will undoubtedly happen to every great golfer that comes after him.

A golfer’s true prime typically lasts somewhere in the vicinity of 10-12 years.

Sam Snead, despite winning 82 PGA Tour events over the course of 30 years, won 62 percent of his of his standard PGA Tour titles and 86 percent of his major championships during a 12-year stretch between 1940 and 1952.

Ben Hogan won all nine of his majors and 83 percent of his PGA Tour titles between 1943 and 1953.

During a 10-year stretch between 1958 and 1968, Arnold Palmer won 96 percent of his tournaments and all seven of his majors.

Tom Watson won seven out of his eight majors and 87 percent of his career titles between 1977 and 1987.

Between 1920 and 1930, Walter Hagen won 83 percent of his majors and 70 percent of his career titles.

Moving ahead to more modern times, Seve Ballesteros won all five of his majors and 73 percent of his total career wins between 1978 and 1988.

Greg Norman won both of his majors and nearly 70 percent of his total titles between 1985 and 1995.

And then we come to Jack Nicklaus, who is widely regarded as the greatest golfer of all time.

Many believe that Nicklaus’ prime stretched more than 20 years due to his victory at the 1986 Masters at the age of 46, but that was not the case.

In fact, Nicklaus won 72 percent of his majors and 78 percent of his PGA Tour titles during a 12-year stretch between 1963 and 1975.

After 1975, Nicklaus still won; his success just became far more sporadic.

The one notable exception to this rule was Gary Player.

Player only won 56% of his majors during his best 12 year stretch as a professional golfer. Player also won tournaments around the world for more than 20 years.

That being said, Player was never quite as dominant as the likes of Snead, Hogan, Hagen and Nicklaus.

Many of Player’s career wins also came on the South African Tour (now the Sunshine Tour) and the PGA Tour of Australia, which were against a lower level of competition than the likes of Nicklaus, Snead, Hogan, Watson, etc. would have faced on a weekly basis.

Woods completely dominated the PGA Tour between 1996 and 2008, which is a span of 13 years.

Had he not undergone reconstructive knee surgery in 2008 followed by personal issues which disrupted his 2010 season and injuries and swing changes which hampered his 2011 season, Woods would have likely added to his totals of PGA Tour and major championship victories and would have extended his reign of domination to 15 years.

15 years of essentially dominating professional golf is longer than any great player who has ever come before Woods.

So, just how long do we expect Woods’ dominant stretch to continue?

Do we really expect him to go another three-to-four year hot streak similar to what we saw in 1999-2001 or 2005-2009?

History suggests that is unlikely to happen.

If you refer to history as a guide to the future, what we are likely to see out of Woods over the course of the next four-to-five years is, at best, something similar to Nicklaus’ career path between 1976 and the early 1980s.

Woods will win, and he may even win multiple majors.

But his success will become far more infrequent. We are likely to see Woods miss cuts and finish out of contention just as often as we’ll see him content for titles.

Every great athlete begins to decline at some point in their career, and Woods will be no different.

If history is anything to go by, Woods will neither regain his dominant form nor simply fall of the face of the earth and never win again.

Woods will enter a slow, steady decline, which may or may not contain some big-time wins along the way.

That’s the way it’s been for every great golfer throughout history, and at the end of the day, as talented as Woods is, he’s still just another great golfer who will be unable to escape the grasp of father time.

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Inconsistency Is Tiger Woods’ New Reality

by on May.03, 2012, under Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods will re-join the PGA Tour this week at the Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The last time Woods attended the Wells Fargo Championship was in 2010 where he posted rounds of 74-79 and missed the cut by a mile.

Most figured Woods had hit rock bottom by that point, but the following week he withdrew from the Players Championship with a neck injury that had never been made public until he hit only one of the first seven fairways during the final round at TPC Sawgrass.

As we all know, Woods’ “rock bottom” would actually last until late 2011 when he finally broke through with a “Silly Season” win at the Chevron World Challenge. He then officially got the monkey off his back with a win the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational this past March.

In terms of the major championships, Woods hasn’t hoisted golf’s most prestigious hardware since June of 2008.

Just to put that into perspective, in July of 2008, George W. Bush was still president, Facebook was still just taking off and no one had ever heard of Twitter. The American economy was still running full steam ahead. Lehman Brothers was still a highly successful and well-respected investment firm and 99.9% of Americans had never heard the words “sub-prime loan”.

Folks, that is long time to go without winning a major championship.

So, what does the future hold for Woods?

Well, he’s certainly been hitting the ball better in 2012.

Woods currently ranks 36th in tour in driving accuracy, which may not sound overly impressive but is actually just the second time he’s cracked the top-100 since 2001.

Woods also ranks ninth on tour in Stroke Gained Putting, which is the first time he’s cracked the top-10 since 2009.

But despite vast improvements in these areas, Woods is still struggling with consistency issues when it comes to the two most important clubs in his bag – the driver and the putter.

For example, even during Woods’ win at the Arnold Palmer invitational earlier this year, which was his first official PGA Tour victory since the 2009 BMW Championship, Woods hit 71 percent of fairways and 94 percent of greens in regulation during round two only to follow it up the very next day with a poor ball-striking round where he hit just 50 percent of fairways and 61 percent of greens in regulation.

Woods may sink every putt from inside of 15 feet one day only to miss four putts from inside of five feet the very next day.

Woods still has the ability to win on any given week; he’s already proven that this year.

However, the inconsistency with his driver and particularly his putter will likely lead to more inconsistent results for Woods in the immediate future.

Prior to November of 2009, the words “Tiger Woods” and “Inconsistent” rarely if ever appeared in the same sentence.

Fast forward three years and it’s a reality that Woods simply must deal with.

Woods’ ball-striking, his touch on the greens, his short-game, etc. may come and go from week to week and even round to round.

This is the new reality for a 36-year-old man who’s been put through the ringer both on and off the course and clearly has some demons lurking somewhere in the back of his mind.

The quicker Woods can come to terms with the fact that he will no longer be the Woods of 2000-2001 or 2006-2008, the quicker he can move on and begin addressing what he can control.

For the first time in his career, Woods may very well become a member of the 70-80-20 club.

It has long been said that 70 percent of professional golfers make 80 percent of their yearly earnings at just 20 percent of the tournaments they attend. Essentially most players will get hot for a few weeks or a month, have a couple of top-5 finishes and maybe even throw in a win.

Even a player like Phil Mickelson would come close to falling within the 70-80-20 club. Mickelson often gets hot for a stretch and then disappears for a while. The only difference is that Mickelson’s hot streaks often include a couple of wins, thus making his 20 percent subjectively larger compared to that of the average tour pro in terms of monetary value and PGA Tour victories.

Woods, on the other hand, was the exception to this rule. Every time Woods teed it up there was an excellent chance that he’d be in contention on Sunday afternoon.

That is no longer the case.

Woods could very well become a member of the 70-80-20 club for the remainder of his career. That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t achieve his ultimate goal of winning 18 majors, he just better make sure that those major championships fall within the 20 percent of tournaments he performs well in.

When it comes to Woods, inconsistency is the new buzz word. Heading into this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, it would come as no surprise if Woods won the event by 5 strokes, and it would also come as no surprise if he missed the cut.

That’s just Woods’ new reality.

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Book Review: Tiger Woods Fans Won’t Want to Miss Hank Haney’s “The Big Miss”

by on Apr.20, 2012, under Tiger Woods

By now, we’ve all heard the salacious details surrounding Hank Haney’s latest book, The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods.

We’ve read short excerpts where Haney discusses Tiger Woods’ marriage.

We’ve read short excerpts where Haney details Woods’ obsession with the military and particularly the Navy Seals.

And we all have our own personal opinions as to what level of confidentiality should exist between a swing coach and player.

Haney has continually held his position that The Big Miss is about golf and is not a gossip laden book filled with TMZ-like passages.

And Haney is right.

The Big Miss is mostly about golf and offers excellent insight into Woods’ world without going overboard on personal details.

Essentially, what you have already read in the pre-sale excerpts is about all you will get in terms of details about Woods’ personal life.

You won’t learn much more about Woods’ relationship with his wife at the time, Elin, other than what you’ve already read.

In terms of Woods’ obsession with the military and Navy Seals, Haney does go into detail on this matter, but this was also directly related to golf and his job coaching Woods because it not only took Woods’ attention away from the game but also caused several nagging injuries that Haney had to deal with while attempting to teach Woods.

Haney says that Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, was the one who finally got through to Woods during a dinner party at Steinberg’s Cleveland, Ohio home prior to the 2007 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Haney, Steve Williams and Steinberg had all grown increasingly concerned about Woods’ obsession with the Navy Seals, and Steinberg finally said that he would speak to Woods during the dinner party.

Haney said that after dinner had concluded the two men disappeared into Steinberg’s office for more than an hour. In the days, weeks and months following Steinberg’s discussion with Woods, Haney claims that Woods’ obsession with the Navy Seals began to wane.

Several times throughout the book Haney discusses how Steinberg was the only member of Woods’ inner circle who was truly able to get through to Woods and to whom Woods actually listened to, which should come as no surprise being that Steinberg controlled Woods’ endorsement deals, therefore he controlled the money.

Perhaps the biggest shock in the entire book is that Haney attempts to take at least some credit for Woods’ 1999-2001 golf swing.

Haney didn’t begin working with Woods until 2004, but insists that a tip he gave Woods about his swing plane angle in late 1998 while on the range at Isleworth was a main factor in Woods incredibly dominate run between 1999 and 2001.

Haney gives credit to Butch Harmon for implementing the change, but claims that as 1999 rolled on he saw Woods swinging on a very similar plane to that which he had suggested to Woods back in 1998.

It may not be as salacious as the whole Navy Seals obsession or some minor details about Woods’ marriage, but for golf fans, this would likely be the most shocking aspect of the entire book.

From day one, Haney has contended that The Big Miss is about golf and that we should all read the book before passing judgment.

And having now read the book myself, I would make that same assertion.

Read the book.

It’s mostly about golf and Haney’s student/teacher relationship with Woods.

And for Woods’ fans, it will provide you with a riveting look into Woods’ world from one of the few men actually allowed to enter his inner circle.

What Woods’ fans might also find particularly interesting is the comprehensive behind the scenes look Haney gives readers from the 2008 U.S. Open, where Woods defeated Rocco Mediate in a Monday playoff while playing on a broken leg and torn ACL.

It’s difficult to say what level of confidentiality should exist between a player and coach.

I personally believe that some level of confidentiality should be honored, and The Big Miss skirts on what is and is not acceptable under that implicit code.

However, Haney’s claim that the book is mostly about golf holds true.

The gossipy details are few and far between and are only included in order to fully explain the complexities that existed within Woods’ life and Haney’s teaching relationship with Woods.

For example, it would be difficult for Haney to discuss their major championship preparation without also discussing how that preparation may have been hampered by injuries Woods sustained while training with the Navy Seals.

It would be difficult for Haney to truthfully discuss the decline of their practice sessions without also talking about how Woods spent increasingly more time checking his phone and texting while on the range and out on the course at Isleworth.

The only real downside to the book is that Haney can occasionally come across as oversensitive and spends time harping on some minor issues that seem inconsequential to the overall story.

For example, Haney spends a couple of pages discussing on how when he and Woods used to watch television at Woods’ home, Woods would continuously get up to fetch popsicles from the freezer and never once had the courtesy to offer one to Haney.

Haney reads into this a bit too much and goes on to use it as a main example of how self-centered Woods was.

But, getting over a few strands of bitterness here and there from an ex-coach is a small price to pay for the first real glimpse behind the walls Woods’ has spent the better part of his life constructing in order to separate himself from the rest of the world.

Few people actually have the time or attention span to sit down and read an entire book these days. We’d much rather read short excerpts or reviews about a book and then pass judgment based on a very limited amount of information.

My advice is to simply read The Big Miss before passing judgment.

You may be surprised by just how much of the book pertains to golf and how little of it has anything to do with the gossipy details of Woods’ personal life.

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Bubba Watson Played Well, but Let’s Keep Things in Perspective

by on Apr.14, 2012, under bubba watson

Yes, Bubba Watson has a cool name, hits the ball a country mile, has never had a swing coach, often starts his shots into par threes directly over the heads of spectators and has the personality of a big kid who has just been let lose in FAO Schwarz with a $1.4 million check in his hand.

Bubba winning the Masters with a form of golf that is now commonly referred to as “Bubba Golf” was incredibly exciting, there’s no question about that.

I mean who would have ever thought that a man who goes by the name of Bubba and hasn’t taken a golf lesson in his life would be posing for pictures in a green jacket last Sunday evening?

But does a single win have to immediately unleash a river of hype?

Bubba played well last week, particularly during the latter stages of the final round, and won a major.

That’s all that happened last Sunday.

Golf’s “next big thing?”

Doubtful.

A favorite to win the 2012 U.S. Open?

Well, if he did he’d join Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington as the only players since 1994 to win back-to-back majors, which is again, highly doubtful.

Is Bubba the new “modern” golfer?

Once again, doubtful. He’s 33 years old and has won only four PGA Tour events. His win at last week’s Masters was just his third top-10 in 17 major championship appearances.

Bubba may contend at more majors, heck, he may even win another…but golf’s “next big thing?”

Come on folks, are we really that desperate for a “next big thing?”

Bubba’s exciting and fun to watch, but the odds of Bubba becoming the game’s next big thing are about as good as the odds of Americans obtaining affordable healthcare sometime in the next 20 years.

It simply ain’t gonna happen.

And the funny thing about it is after this week’s RBC Heritage, we’ll probably have a new “next big thing.”

A month ago Rory McIlory was all the rage. He had moved to number one in the World Golf Rankings and everyone was SURE that he would either win or contend at the Masters.

A week later it was Justin Rose. 2012 would surely be Rose’s breakout year and he’d be a top contender heading into Augusta.

A week after that it was Luke Donald.  Donald had just regained his number one ranking from McIlory and was now the favorite heading into Augusta.

The following week it was Tiger Woods. The man was “back” and would surely win the 2012 Masters.

Then Hunter Mahan become the first two-time winner on tour this year at the Shell Houston Open, so, of course, he too was said to be having a “breakout year” and would certainly be a favorite heading into the Masters.

Then, as if hyping up one player per week were not enough, we attempted to create a “rivalry” between Woods and McIlory that would equal or even surpass the rivalries of Nicklaus vs. Palmer, Nicklaus vs. Watson, Hogan vs. Snead, etc.

Despite all of the hype surrounding the likes of McIlory, Rose, Woods, Donald, Mahan, etc. heading into the 2012 Masters, Watson and Louis Oosthuizen were the last men standing at Augusta National, and Watson managed secured his first Masters title by hooking a wedge 40 yards out of the pine straw.

So much for Tiger vs. Rory.

So much for Donald capturing his first major.

So much for Mahan’s breakout week.

So much for Rose’s breakout year.

Bubba played well last week at Augusta National.

But let’s take Bubba’s win for what it was, a talented golfer getting hot at the right time and winning a big tournament, nothing more and nothing less.

And whoever wins this week will have won the RBC Heritage, not the U.S. Open, not the Open Championship and not the PGA Championship.

We all love hype, but sometimes we also need to keep things in perspective.

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Phil Mickelson Lets Another Golden Opportunity Slip Away at the 2012 Masters

by on Apr.10, 2012, under Phil Mickelson, The Masters

Whether he winds up winning 18 majors or not, Tiger Woods has already cemented his place in golf history.

Most golf historians would consider Woods to be amongst the top three greatest golfers to have ever lived.

Whether you rank him first, second or third is almost irrelevant. People will always have differing opinions when it comes to the age-old question of “who was the greatest golfer of all-time?”

But what most can agree upon, however, is that Woods is front and center in any discussion about the greatest golfers of all-time.

Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, still has much to prove.

Mickelson’s place in the game has yet to be determined.

Right now, Mickelson has 40 PGA Tour wins, including four major championship titles.

That puts Mickelson is a class of players that would include the likes of Vijay Singh, Billy Casper, Raymond Floyd, Peter Thompson and possibly Seve Ballesteros.

Early professional golfers such as Willie Anderson, Tom Morris, Sr., Tom Morris, Jr. and Willie Park, Sr. have as many major championship titles as Mickelson, but they are difficult to compare to modern-day players for numerous reasons. The fact that the game was still in its infancy during the 1800s and very early 1900s means that these players have no career win numbers to speak of outside of the professional majors, which in that era really only comprised of the Open Championship.

There is no question that if Mickelson were to retire today, he’d fall into a class of extremely respectable golfers when evaluating his career, but he he’d still be a major title or two behind the likes of Lee Travino and Nick Faldo and two to three more majors behind the likes of Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.

Mickelson is essentially right at the cusp of breaking into that conversation of the top-10 golfers of all-time.

Two more majors and 10 more PGA Tour victories for Mickelson, and you are now talking about a player with 51 PGA Tour wins (which would tie him for seventh all-time) and six majors (which would tie him for 12th all-time).

At 41 years old and with a case of psoriatic arthritis, the hands of time are rapidly closing in on Mickelson, which is why his letting the 2012 Masters slip through his hands yesterday afternoon was such a devastating blow.

When Mickelson walked off of the 72nd hole at Winged Foot back in 2006 having just handed the U.S. Open title to Geoff Ogilvy, it was a matter of “wow, what a horrific meltdown, but he’ll have other chances.”

As Mickelson walked off the 18th green yesterday afternoon at Augusta National having let the 2012 Masters slip away with a triple-bogey six at the par-three 4th, it was more a matter of “wow, he may have few if any more of these chances left.”

If it were Mickelson and not Bubba Watson posing for pictures in a green jacket yesterday evening as the sun began to set behind the Georgia Pines, it would have been Mickelson’s fourth Masters title, which is as many as Woods and Palmer and one more than Sam Snead, Gary Player and Nick Faldo.

One more win in the career of professional golfer doesn’t sound like much, but in terms of where Mickelson currently resides in the game’s history, one more Masters title would have been HUGE.

It would have pushed Mickelson into a class of players that includes Trevino and Faldo and would have brought him within range of joining the likes of Sarazen, Palmer and Watson.

At this point in Mickelson’s career, it’s not about the fame or fortune; he already has that and more.  It’s about chasing down major championship titles in order to cement his place in the game’s history.

There’s a big difference between four majors and six, and unfortunately for Mickelson, there’s also a big difference between a 41-year-old golfer and a 42, 43 or 44-year-old golfer.

Lefty is reaching the end of the line, and each time he is in contention at a major and doesn’t get the job done, his legacy remains stagnant while the hands of time continue to rapidly close in on him.

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Top 10 Greatest Shots in Masters History

by on Apr.10, 2012, under The Masters

One of the great things about watching the Masters is that you always feel as if you are seeing history in the making.

Augusta National has a way of consistently producing breathtaking finishes which often involve one spectacular golf shot after another on the back nine on Sunday.

The Masters has been around for 78 years, and everyone has their own personal memories of remarkable shots and heartbreaking moments at Augusta National.

Here is my attempt to identify the top 10 greatest shots in Masters History. Who knows? Maybe the 2013 list will contain a shot or two from this year’s Masters.

10) Doug Ford’s Bunker Shot on 18 in 1957

Doug Ford began the final round trailing Sam Snead, but a score of 32 on the back nine catapulted Ford to his first and only Masters title.

Ford was one stroke ahead of Snead heading to the 18th hole.

After hitting his approach shot with a seven iron into a plugged lie in the green-side bunker, it was looking as if Snead would need a par to tie and birdie to win the 1957 Masters.

But it was not to be.

Ford blasted his ball out of the plugged lie and right into the hole for an improbable birdie to finish off a round of 66, which was the lowest final round in Masters History to that point.

Ford had already won the 1957 PGA Championship, but his lasting legacy will forever be intertwined with the Masters and particularly the green-side bunker on the 18th hole at Augusta National.

9) Byron Nelson’s Chip-in on the 13th in 1937

In 1937, Byron Nelson managed to make up six strokes on tournament leader Ralph Guldahl in a matter of two holes during the final round.

Nelson trailed Guldahl by four strokes heading to the par-three 12th.

Guldahl carded a five on 12 while Nelson birdied the hole, which brought Guldahl’s lead down to one.

On 13, Nelson was short of the green in two and managed to chip in for an eagle from 20 feet while Guldahl made bogey.

Nelson’s birdie-eagle run, capped off by an incredible chip-in on 13, brought him from four strokes down to two ahead in a matter of 25 minutes.

Two strokes would wind up being Nelson’s margin of victory for his first major championship title that Sunday afternoon in Augusta.

8)Sandy Lyle’s Bunker Shot on the 18th in 1988

Sandy Lyle, who had failed to birdie either of the par-fives on the back nine during the final round, finally pulled to within a stroke of Mark Calcavecchia with a birdie at the 16th.

Calcavecchia dropped another stroke coming in, and by the time Lyle reached the 18th tee, he was looking at a challenge that had frayed the nerves of more than a few great golfers over the years at Augusta National – par to tie, birdie to win.

Lyle’s potential march to victory did not get off to a great start when his one-iron off the tee found the left fairway bunker.

Now Lyle was looking at a situation where he needed to get up-and-down from 160 yards for the win, or get his ball on or near the green and hope to get down in two for a tie.

What happened next will go down as the defining moment in Lyle’s career.

Lyle flushed his fairway bunker shot to within 8 feet of the cup and would go on to sink his birdie putt to become the first UK native to win the Masters.

To this day, knowledgeable Masters observers cannot look at the bunker on the left side of the 18th without immediately thinking of Lyle.

7) Phil Mickelson’s 6-Iron Through the Trees on 13 in 2010

If only Mickelson had made his four foot eagle putt, his pine straw shot at 13 during the final round of the 2010 Masters would have gone down as one of the top-five greatest shots in Masters History.

As it is, it still makes the top-10 list.

Mickelson pulled his tee shot right on the par-five 13th, and his ball came to rest underneath a group of towering Georgia Pines.

As Mickelson surveyed his options, he quickly realized that he was faced with 209 yards to the hole, 187 yards to carry the water fronting the green, and an opening of no more than four feet from which to shoot his ball though.

Although the prudent play would have been to lay up and try his luck at getting up and down for birdie from 50-100 yards out, this was Phil Mickelson we were talking about, and when was the last time that you saw the words “Phil Mickelson” and “layup” appear in the same sentence?

Although his caddie, Jim “Bones” MacKay attempted to talk him out of it, Mickelson grabbed his six iron and blasted his ball through the pines, over the water and to within four feet of the cup.

The crowd erupted, Bones shook his head and laughed, and Lee Westwood, who was still within striking distance at the time, had a look in his eyes that clearly said “If this guy can pull of that shot, I don’t have a chance.”

“It’s really one of the few shots that only Phil could pull off,” Westwood would say after the round.

Mickelson pushed his eagle putt at 13 and would have to settle for a birdie. Two more birdies coming in at 15 and 18 would secure a third green jacket for Lefty.

6) Billy Joe Patton’s Hole in One at the 6th in 1954

Career amateur Billy Joe Patton put himself into contention with a hole-in-one at the sixth that rocked Augusta National to its core.

The thought of an Amateur winning the Masters as late as 1954 immediately swelled Patton’s gallery from a few hundred at the fifth hole to several thousand by the time he reached the seventh.

Patton would make a devastating double bogey at the 13th after hitting his second shot into Rae’s Creek which wound up costing him the tournament as Patton missed out on a playoff with Sam Snead and Ben Hogan by a single stroke.

There have been a number of holes in one at the Masters over the years, but none rocked Augusta National quite like Patton’s did that Sunday afternoon in 1954.

5) Jack Nicklaus’ 40-Foot Birdie Putt on 16 in 1975

1975 was a true clashing of the titans at Augusta National.

Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf were all at the top of their games heading into the Masters, and the three men took part in an epic Sunday afternoon battle on Augusta National’s back-nine.

Nicklaus began the final round one stroke behind Weiskopf, and Miller was another three behind Nicklaus.

By the turn, Nicklaus and Weiskopf were tied for the lead with Miller trailing by just two.

Nicklaus teed off on the par-three 16th and made what could only be described as his worst swing of the day.

With the pin placed in the back-right corner of the green, Nicklaus shot came up 40 feet short and left of the hole, leaving him with a very difficult two-putt for par, let alone any shot at birdie.

As Nicklaus reached the 16th green, roars came up from the 15th as Weiskopf sunk a birdie putt to take a one stroke lead over Nicklaus. Nicklaus clearly heard the roars and knew exactly what had just happened at 15. CBS announcer Ben Wright would describe the situation as “evil music ringing in Nicklaus’ ears.”

As Weiskopf reached the 16th tee, he had to feel good about his chances, at least for the moment. He had a one stroke lead with three holes to play, and Nicklaus was looking at a 40 foot birdie putt just ahead of him on the 16th green.

But as Nicklaus had done to so many men during his illustrious career, he would shred Weiskopf’s heart to pieces with his putter.

Nicklaus’ 40-footer somehow found the bottom of the cup which sent the crowd into a near frenzy and left Weiskopf standing on the tee with a half stunned, half dejected look on his face.

Weiskopf would go on to three-putt the 16th green for a bogey, and both Miller and Weiskopf wound up losing to Nicklaus by a stroke.

Weiskopf would later say that Nicklaus’ putt on 16 was the greatest putt he had ever seen in his life.

Weiskopf would also later say that he never fully recovered from the 1975 Masters. It was a dagger to his heart from which the scars never fully healed.

4) Jack Nicklaus’ Tee Shot into 16 in 1986

Following an eagle at 15 which brought Nicklaus to within two strokes of the lead, Nicklaus pulled out a five-iron on the par-three 16th and hit a shot that will forever remain part of Masters lore.

As the ball was in the air and tracking towards the green, his son, Jackie, who was caddying for Nicklaus that afternoon, said “Be the right club.”

Nicklaus calmly leaned down to pick up his tee and said, “It is,” without even watching the flight of the ball.

And Nicklaus was right.

His ball landed about 20 feet right of the hole, caught the ridge and trickled down to within four feet of the cup for an easy birdie, which would put him within one stroke of the lead.

Nicklaus would go on to birdie the 17th and par the 18th while his pursuers all stumbled down the stretch.

Greg Norman’s shank at the 18th sealed the deal for Nicklaus. At 46 years old, Nicklaus had become the oldest Masters champion in history.

3) Tiger Woods’ Chip-in on 16 in 2005

Chris DiMarco, who was just one stroke behind Tiger Woods at the time, was sitting 15 feet below the hole at the par three 16th and looking at a very make-able birdie putt.

Woods, on the other hand, had sent his tee shot clear over the back green and was looking at a nearly impossible up-and-down.

After surveying the slope of the green from every angle imaginable, Woods finally settled over his ball. What would happen next would rival Gene Sarazen’s double eagle for the greatest shot in Masters History.

Woods’ ball came out hot; hit the slope to the left of the pin and somehow came to almost a complete stop.

From that point, Woods ball literally made a right turn and began slowly trickling towards the hole.

It was looking as if Woods would save his par, which would have been miraculous in its own right, but the ball had not yet finished rolling.

As the ball approached the hole, the 5,000 patrons surrounding the green all took to their feet.

Seconds later Woods’ ball would hang on the lip for a brief moment, before disappearing into the hole for a birdie.

DiMarco, like everyone else was left with a stunned look on his face as Woods unleashed a first pump and high-fived (or at least attempted to) his caddie, Steve Williams.

DiMarco would miss his birdie putt and Woods would take a two stroke lead to the 17th which turned out to be crucial for Woods.

Woods would bogey the 17th and 18th and be was forced to defeat DiMarco in a sudden death playoff.

Davis Love III sunk a similar shot in 1999 while in contention. Had Love gone on to win or had Woods never made his dramatic shot at 16, Love’s chip-in at the par-three would likely be on this list as well.

But, as has often been the case in Woods career, Woods was in the right place, at the right time and managed to execute a shot that will forever leave us scratching our heads in amazement.

2) Larry Mize’s Chip-in on 11 in 1987

In April of 1986, Greg Norman’s heart was broken by a miraculous back-nine charge mounted by 46-year-old Jack Nicklaus.

In August of 1986, with Norman looking on, Bob Tway holed out his bunker shot on the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship to secure a two-stroke victory over Norman.

And in April of 1987, a local Augusta boy by the name of Larry Mize would once again shatter the heart of the Great White Shark.

Norman and Mize finished 72 holes tied at three-under-par 285 and headed to a sudden death playoff.

Both players pared the 10th hole, and Norman was on the green in two at the 11th but more than 40 feet away from the hole, while Mize was short and right of the green in two.

Norman, likely facing a two-putt par, was looking on to see if Mize could get up-and-down from 140 feet away.

Mize’s ball landed just short of the green, bounced twice up a hill and began rolling towards the hole.

As Mize’s ball began moving closer to the hole, Norman got into position to watch the roll so as to get a read on his own birdie putt.

Norman’s putt would wind up being a putt to simply keep the playoff going, as Mize’s ball hit the flag stick and dropped into the hole for one of the most unlikely birdies in Master’s history.

A shell-shocked Norman could not make his 40-footer for birdie and was denied his first major championship yet again by another miraculous chip-in.

1) Gene Sarazen’s Shot Heard Round the World in 1935

In 1935, the tournament was called the Augusta National Invitational, Augusta National was struggling to keep its head above water financially, and the tournament was not considered to be a major championship in any way.

Gene Sarazen didn’t even attend the inaugural Masters because he was off on an international exhibition tour at the time.

Things really changed for Augusta National and the Masters in 1935.

Sarazen was trailing Craig Wood by two when he reached the par-five 15th.

Sarazen knew he needed a birdie or better to give himself a chance at catching Wood. He had decided on going for the green in two at 15 but just couldn’t make up his mind about what club to hit.

As Sarazen went back and forth between clubs, his playing partner, Walter Hagen, yelled over to him “Hurry up, will ya? I’ve got a date tonight.”

This caused Sarazen to finally decide on a four wood, which he belted 235 yards over the pond and right into the hole for a double eagle.

Many simply assume that Sarazen’s double eagle at 15 secured his victory, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Sarazen needed the double eagle to come back and tie Wood, whom he’d defeat the following day in an 18-hole playoff.

Sarazen’s double eagle was touted by the press as the “shot heard round the world”, and at a time when Augusta National and the Masters were struggling both in terms of their identity and financial well-being, Sarazen’s shot put the tournament on the map.

It would be many years before the Masters really evolved into a major, but if it were not for Sarazen’s miraculous double eagle in 1935, Augusta National and the Masters may have folded and we would have never been able to enjoy this yearly “tradition unlike any other.”

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