A Farewell Letter to my Best Friend

 

Rest in peace, Hud.

You were a living cliche – easily my best friend – who was forced to leave me and the rest of your admirers entirely too soon. We’ll never forget all that you gave us over the last five years. 

 

I Just Had My Mind Blown

Do you know who Jackie Burke is?  Jackie Burke!  Dude, f’real?  First off, if you haven’t gone to Secret In The Dirt yet, what have you been waiting for?  Second…he’s the man.  I was reading this and was really struck by this passage…

It is not the average distance you hit a club, but the distance you hit the ball most often. That sounds like the same thing, but I have found though years of harassing poor, unsuspecting amateurs that the “most often” shot is usually five and sometimes as much as 10 yards shorter than the best shot. But the fear of going over the green chides people into being short all day long. Using the most often approach can result in five or more saved shots from not being short, which is a lot better for your score than the one bogey you might make from the career shot that sails over the green.

I like what the great Jackie Burke said to one of his students when he was pondering a club choice. He asked the unsuspecting young star what he could hit over the green. The student responded, “5-iron.”

Burke then responded, “Well then, wouldn’t that make this a 6?”

Just think about that for a second.

Read it again and try to recall rounds of yours in the past where you agonized over a club selection, checked your GPS or fired another shot with your rangefinder, obsessing over a club choice…we all know how this story ends.  Either you try to prove your manliness, not by any real measure of manliness mind you, but by SHOWING THE WORLD that you can hit that 170 yard 8i (my personal favorite) or you get so angry with yourself that you just had to take more club, and instead of putting a smooth swing on it, you SHOW THE WORLD you totally should’ve taken the 8i as you watch your ball sail 10 yards over the green.

Oh don’t even try to bullshit your way around it, I know you’re lying.

 

Hitting the Links: I’m Back Baby!

 

Ratings from the 2013 Masters, for those of you that care… (Yahoo!)

Adam Scott, the actor, hates Adam Scott, the golfer (Devil Ball)

US Open odds are out and Tiger is the favorite, says Vegas (Devil Ball)

33-7 vs 33-7/4.5 (Geoff Shackelford)

Guan Tianlang received a sponsors exemption for Zurich (Yahoo!)

Will Adam Scott pass Rory and Tiger in the OWGR? (Golf Channel)

The RBC Heritage is squeezing 144 players onto Harbour Town (Golf Channel)

And just for fun… Remember Boo Weekley?  (PGA Tour)

 

Reflecting on the Weekend: The Masters

Cheapest piece of clothing I own

Yessir, the band is back together. Hell, we even picked up a new member. All the hype, drama, and controversy surrounding the 2013 Masters tournament was too much to keep us away. But we’ll get to all that later. All you need to know is that none of us played Augusta this past weekend, which means we’re kicking off our 2014 Masters campaign!

A lot happened this weekend at Augusta, but let me first and foremost congratulate Adam Scott. Scott has been one hell of a Tour player for a long time now and the only reason it’s taken him this long to win his first big one is that dreaded flatstick. So it’s only fitting that he won this tournament with clutch putting. His always impressive ball-striking kept him in the mix, but it was his putting that earned him the prestigious green jacket.

 

Hitting the Links: Thank God the Forecast Has Changed!

Tiger Woods was seen twice limping into a Toronto Hospital (Geoff Shackelford)

For the first time ever, the BMW PGA Championship will host all four major champions (Golf)

Facial hair? (Geoff Shackelford)

Tiger’s loyalty says he’s gonna stay with his agent (Geoff Shackelford)

Is the BMW PGA the fifth major? (Golf Channel)

Dustin Johnson has hired Fred Couples caddy (Golf Channel)

Tiger’s tweet caused some people to talk (Golf Digest)

Will Kenny Perry’s Valhalla magic continue on the Champions Tour? (Golf)

Despite a hail storm, the greens at the TPC Four Seasons are OK (Golf)

Get in good golf shape (Golf Digest)

With his agent leaving IMG, what will Tiger do? (Devil Ball)

There are not a lot of big names at the Byron Nelson Championship (Devil Ball)

Former USGA Technical Director Frank Thomas talks about the evolution of golf equipment in a new book (Geoff Shackelford)

Charl Schwartzel and Martin Kaymer receive top Euro Tour awards (Wei Under Par)

Tiger’s Oprah interview from 2001 (Waggle Room)

 

First Tee: A Pure Strike

 

Hitting the Links: Mr. 096 and I Are Off Friday and Hopefully Playing Golf

Tiger’s agent is done at IMG, will he be the next to leave? (Geoff Shackelford, ESPN)

HP Byron Nelson Championship Power Rankings (PGA Tour)

This week’s tee time (PGA Tour)

Picks for this week via PGA Tour (Expert Picks, Sleeper Picks)

Tiger is such a joker! (Devil Ball)

DLIII has earned a spot in the 2011 British Open (Devil Ball)

US Open Qualifiers are tough (Devil Ball)

Seve tribute raised $1 million for his foundation (Golf)

Tiger is doubtful for the Memorial, still aims for US Open return (Golf)

The rules you need to know if you want to take up golf (Golf Digest)

The only number you need to worry about on TOUR is 50 (Golf Digest)

Is Dustin Johnson due for a win this weekend? (Golf Digest)

Fred Couples has withdrawn from the Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla (Wei Under Par)

The “Tee it Forward” program (Geoff Shackelford)

 

First Tee: Get Bubba Wide

 

Hitting the Links: The More Rain Edition

Step 1: Call your shot. Step 2: Drain it. (Geoff Shackelford)

Hunter Mahan says the Byron Nelson Championship is too easy for him (Devil Ball)

Inside the field at the Byron Nelson (PGA Tour)

A look at TPC Four Seasons in Irving, TX (PGA Tour)

Power Rankings, the Byron Nelson edition (PGA Tour)

My boy Fred Couples had some lesions removed (PGA Tour)

For the first time in 14 years, Tiger is out of the top 10 in the WGR (Golf)

Some rumors to help pass your Tuesday (Golf)

10 rules to hit more greens (Golf Digest)

For Ill… 2011 Hot List: Hybrids (Golf Digest)

Sergio Garcia’s current streak of 47 straight major appearances looks like it will end at the British Open (Wei Under Par)

Europe’s best players honor Seve (Wei Under Par)

Jose Maria Olazabal offers his thoughts on Seve (BBC)

Tiger drops to 12th and Ryo jumps to 49th in the WGR (Devil Ball)

Golf and politics (Geoff Shackelford)

How to play golf Pt. 5 (Golf Digest)

 

First Tee: Baseball for Putting