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Is
Tiger Done? ///
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Have we seen
the last of Tiger Woods? Who know’s. I
have an inside source who said he’s close
to coming back and obviously that would be
a boost to golf as everyone gets more
interested when Tiger is in the news. One
thing we can all agree on is that Tiger’s
best golf is behind him. When people ask me
if Tiger will ever be back to where he was
in 2000, I simply answer no way. Just
think. Can the current older injured Tiger
compete with the healthy mentally strong
Tiger of 2000? That’s basically what
Tiger faces with the likes of Jason Day,
Rori McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Dustin
Johnson, Rickie Fowler and more other young
and up an comers. None of them will be as
dominant as Tiger once was but all of them
together make it impossible for Tiger to
reclaim dominance.
It’s time
for Tiger to move gracefully into the next
phase of his contribution to golf. He's
arguably played the best golf ever played
and whether he is the best ever remains a
debate. There is no doubt he was the
dominant player of his era. There is also
the obvious scandal that will forever
tarnish his legacy but I think Tiger has a
chance to redeem himself. He has become a
mentor to Jason Day and that seems to be
working out pretty well. He needs to do
this with more players and give back to the
sport which has brought him so much. Earl
Woods once said that Tiger will transcend
golf and maybe that could be the case but I
think helping golf should be his next
priority. If it transcends beyond that then
that is the cherry on top of the
sundae.
I have been
a Tiger fan for a long time. When he was in
college, I got a chance to play in an
alumni match against him. We got to the old
fourth hole at Stanford and we both had
roughly 120 yards in. I was away and he
looked at me and said “ OK Zander, show
me what you got”. I took out my wedge and
flew it 10 feet past the hole and spun it
back to about 10 feet short. I then looked
over at him and didn’t say anything but
inside I was feeling pretty proud of
myself. He then took out what looked like
an 8 or 9 iron. He hit what looked like a
long chip shot which landed in the middle
of the green and took a couple of hops
right past my ball and stopped a couple of
feet from the pin. He turned to me and
grinned. What a player. Tiger, thank you
for providing us with so much fun golf to
watch and I’m rooting for you to do the
right thing for golf going
forward.
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30
YARD SAUCER PASS
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 We’ve all
had situations where outside factors put us
in a bad mood which in turn affects your
golf. Whether its bad weather, playing
partners with lousy attitudes, slow golfers
or even bad breaks on the course, we need
to realize that they are out of our
control. What we can’t do is let them
affect our performance or our fun. The
first step is to recognize that they are
the reason you are unhappy. With this
awareness, you can now understand your
frustration and do something about it. You
can only control what you can control.
Knowing this will relieve you of the
frustration and help you focus on your
performance and you enjoyment of the day.
One of my strategies is to tell a joke and
ask my playing partners for one of their
favorites. After all, who doesn’t like a
good joke. If they are not into it, focus
on the beautiful scenery or hum a tune. In
short, do something that makes you happy
and helps you perform better. Take control
of your own day in whatever fashion suits
you. True champions at the competitive
level are the ones who react in a positive
manner to challenging situations. It’s
easy to play well when the outside elements
suit you. The true performer plays well
despite elements beyond their
control.
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 It is
difficult to judge how much a ball will
curve from an uneven lie. It is also
difficult to hold a green when the ball is
coming in with so much sidespin. A good
general rule is that the curve of the ball
will increase the longer the club and the
more severe the ball is above or below your
feet. If you forget what direction the ball
will curve, it is in the same direction as
a ball would roll along the slope. Also, a
ball will tend to curve less or not at all
out of the rough so take that into account
as well. There is no substitute for playing
to learn how to predict what your ball will
do. Since practicing uneven lies is not
always possible on the range, I would
recommend getting out onto the course at
slow times and dropping a few balls on
uneven lies to see how the ball reacts.It
is also a mental challenge to aim away from
your intended target and even more
challenging if you have to aim over a
hazard and trust that your ball will curve
back into play. Let’s say the ball is
above your feet for a right handed player
which means the ball will hook. There is
water on the right. My trick here is to aim
at the target but open the clubface a bit
to offset the curve. I do not like aiming
over hazards. As Nicklaus once said, never
let a straight ball hurt
you!
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 Do
you have the correct bottom of the swing on
your short game shots? If you are hitting
it fat or thin, there is a good chance that
the bottom of your swing is too far behind
the ball. I see this often because players
drop their trail shoulder on their
downswings in order to get the ball up in
the air. Remember, that's is the job of
the loft of your club so stop helping it. A
good tip to stop this bad habit is to
finish with your eyes level to the ground.
Finish position thoughts allow the body to
do the right thing during the swing without
having to think of all the parts along the
way. This frees your mind up to let the
swing go and even concentrate on the
target. After all, the goal is to hole it
or get it close. Level eyes at the finish
will help your contact which leads to
better distance control.
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GOLF FITNESS - LANCE
GILL///
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 ANKLEDORSIFLEXION
The ankle
and foot play a very important role In the
golf swing. It is the only part of the body
that comes in contact with the ground and
therefore must sustain huge loads during
the golf swing. The ability to Dorsiflex
the ankle is elemental in maintaining our
golf posture throughout the entire swing.
Without this movement ability, we can see
decreases in power and consistency as well
as increased injury potentials. Learning
about this movement is vital for your
golfing success.
A couple
minutes a day can be all that is needed to
produce better ankle movement patterns and
help increase your ability to Dorsiflex
your ankles. Take the time out of your day
to focus on your movement patterns as they
are what allow us to do all of our
activities.
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