Bandon Dunes - Great Golf Destination

I have been fortunate enough in the last 4 years to play at Bandon Dunes twice, once at the Bandon Dunes track and once at Pacific Dunes. If you love links golf, then this is the place to go in the US. I can't say enough about the quality of the courses there and how much it feels like Scotland.

The property sits on the dunes, high up over the beach below - a very typical Scottish landscape. There are currently 3 top level golf courses at the resort; Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes and Bandon Trails. Though I have never played Bandon Trails, I've seen many of the holes and it looks like it's right up there with the other two. If you can only play one course and you want the toughest one, then Pacific Dunes is for you.

If you're looking for a place to play golf and also party, then this isn't your destination. This is hard core golf at a fair price. The full price in peak season is a bit stiff, but it's greatly reduced from November to April. If you're worried about the weather, then you're not a real Scottish links golfer. You may encounter a bit of wind and rain, but this is golf as it's typically played in Scotland. (I once inquired of a Scotsman who planned a week's golfing trip in Scotland for myself and a friend about what would happen if we got rained out of a round. His response, 'I don't know, I've never known it to happen' - meaning they don't stop playing for a 'wee bit of rain'.)

You can also knock down the price of a round by staying at the hotel. It's not a bad idea to consider as there aren't many alternatives in the area. A bit of advice, don't get the room my wife and I had that is over the downstairs bar, you'll be up until the last golfer's go to bed. The food at the resort is not to die for, but it's reasonable fair.

If you go, plan in advance as the course can be booked out at certain times. Be prepared to walk, I don't think they even have carts. For those of you not used to hoofing it, there are caddies available. There are also pull carts readily available. It's an easy course to walk, as most links courses are because they are relatively flat. Though I haven't played the 'Trails' course, it looks a bit more up and down than the two 'Dunes' courses.

If you can possibly swing a trip to Bandon - do it! I'm not being compensated in any way by the people who own the resort to promote it. In fact, they don't even know I'm writing this. If you get a chance to play any or all of these courses, please let me know how you fared.

A Fix For Too Much Pro Distance

The PGA tour gets longer and longer. Everyone has been talking about it for at least 5 years. There have been many suggestions on how to deal with it, but the powers that be have not budged. Meanwhile top notch courses are forced to continuously add yards if they want to host the top events. Seems like an expensive way to fix a problem that results primarily from one club - the driver.

Take away the 340+ yard drives and the pro tour could continue as it has without all the expensive course modifications. The classic layouts in the game could be preserved as they are and not gimicked up as some say they've done at Augusta. Some have proposed limiting the distance of the pro ball, but this has some serious drawbacks that have been discussed at length. Why not just take the driver out of the pros' hands. I don't propose that they do it on all courses, just select ones. It would be just fine to leave some tournaments where the pros can bust the long ones. It would also work out well for the club manufacturers. They could still promote who's using their big sticks. With pros hitting their 3 woods like they did drivers about 10 years ago, we could roll back the clock with very little pain.

Who said the game can't be protected by limiting distance and still keep everyone pretty happy. And it doesn't have to be implemented all at once. Do a pilot at a couple of events next season at courses particularly vulnerable to monster drives and see how it works out.

Jack and One Basic Swing

Jack Nicklaus Please Help Save The Game

If you have read this blog over time, you know I'm a big fan of Jack Nicklaus, not only as a golfer, but for his views on the state of golf and what needs to be done to keep it great. Jack Nicklaus has done plenty for the game. If it weren't for him and Arnold Palmer, today's pros would only be making a small fraction of what they currently earn. He's also been a steadfast supporter and protector of golf's great tradition, sometime having to take unpopular stands to make his point.

So Jack, it's probably not fair that I ask you to do even more. You've done more than your share and have earned the right to live your 'golden years' in the manor you see fit and not hounded by the likes of me. But the game is in serious straights Jac, so I'm asking you to do one more thing for the game to keep it from following in the footsteps of so many other sports that are now mere shadows of what they once were.

And what is this herculean task I would give you? Figure out how to teach the average Joe and Jane how to play this game competently. Actually, that's too much to ask so I'll downsize the task, just figure out a way to teach us how to make decent full swings. If the average golfer could feel good about making a decent swing, I think he or she would learn to putt, chip and pitch on his own. I see golfer after golfer giving up the game because they can't make consistently decent contact on a full swing, even after years of playing and lessons.

Jack, you've shown that besides your prodigious playing ability, you understand so much about every aspect of the game. So who better to take on this challenge. And you'll give Tiger something to think about. Playing at the highest level is great, but can it compete with teaching at the highest level. You'd be giving the gift of this wonderful game to millions and help this sport move off it's now stagnant dime. You'd also ensure that there would be plenty of players for the golf courses you've designed. Right now, that's not a given since the sport hasn't grown its base in at least 20 years, yet new courses are being turned out faster than pizzas.

Jack, you've got the knowledge, the drive and the resources to take on golf's greatest challenge, one that's more difficult by a factor of 100 than matching Bobby Jone's Grand Slam, namely teach us poor amateur schmucks how to make a simple, effective and repetitive golf swing. Thanks, Jack - you're the greatest!

Best of Times and Worst of Times For The FedEx Cup

Tiger wins the FedEx Cup in grand style. What could be better for Tom Finchem, the PGA and Federal Express than to have the best player in the game win the inaugural competition? That takes care of the best of times. Now what about the worst of times?

First, the scoring system was of the wrong magnitude. As many times as the commentators tried to get you excited about what-if scenarios, it was still ho hum. Who can keep track or get excited about a scoring system that has tens and hundreds of thousands of points? We like small numbers for our sports.

Second, it's too much golf for one trophy. The top pros care about the Majors, everything else is a 'nice to have' not a 'must have'. The season already wears them out. And this time of year golf has to compete with the NFL and Major League Baseball. Like every pro sport in the last 50 years where a league president comes along who thinks he'll earn his legacy by extending the season, Finchem figures that more of a good thing is even better. Only if you have another major, but the problem is you can't just declare something important and have it be so. Others have tried and it didn't work for them either.

Third, Tiger isn't going to play in it next year. No, he didn't tell me that, but think about it for a moment. The tournament didn't live up to the hype. He's already won it. Next year there is the Ryder Cup to take even more out of him. And his daughter will be one year old and with Tiger's dedication to family he'll have all the more reason to skip it. He'll simply tell the PGA he's tired and banged up, needs to spend time at home and why not let someone else have a chance to win it anyway.

And there's another problem for the current FedEx format, namely a four tournament in a row competition plays into the hands of the world's best golfer. Other players get hot but it lasts only a tournament. Who's going to stay with Tiger over 288 holes? At this point, no one. Right now the rest of the pack hopes they can steal the occassional 72 hole tournament from him when he isn't looking, anything beyond that would be a miracle. Look at poor Phil, who you can argue is the next best golfer at the moment. He finally beats Tiger in a tourament on the last day, acts like he's got Tiger in the palm of his hand and can, therefore, skip Chicago and then is so far behind he's written out of the script after Day 1 at Eastlake.

The only hope for the FedEx is to rework the format. Even then it's going to be tough to make this work out. Here's my advice to the committee that will evaluate this. Whatever you come up with, run it by Tiger and see if he likes it. If he does, you can guarantee that the rest will follow. If he doesn't, then go back to the drawing board until you get it right.

Key To Hitting Down On Your Irons

For a full swing shot, I think hitting irons is the most difficult for the average amateur. There's something more natural about sweeping a fairway wood or hitting up with a driver. Good iron play demands that you trap the ball between the clubface and the turf. In other words you've got to hit down on the ball, which may be counter-intuitive, but it's also one of the most written golf instructions. So how does the average player learn this important technique?

Like many amateurs, I've struggled with consistently hitting down on my irons. Sometimes I blame it on too much practice on practice mats stuck on top of concrete, or playing munis that haven't seen rain for two months. But that's an excuse. When I do get a chance to play on a well manicured track, I still have trouble.

I've come to the conclusion that the biggest problem with hitting down on the ball is losing your spinal tilt. Change this critical piece before or at impact and it's impossible to hit down. You'll end up picking the ball at best or, worst, hitting it thin or fact. And you'll never get the trajectory or distance you should.

So how do you insure that you keep your tilt? As we all know, these things you can't just will, otherwise we'd all be scratch players. Sometimes you have to find another piece in the chain, that you can control and that ends up forcing the thing you're really trying to accomplish - in this case keeping your spinal tilt. I've discovered something that works for me and maybe will work for you too.

I've been concentrating on the palm of my right hand as it approaches the ball at impact, but before the wrist cock is released or the wrists rolled. When the hands approach the ball and the club face is about waist high with the toe pointing skyward and the shaft parallel to the target line, if the palm is facing directly at someone standing across from me and not tilted toward the sky at all, then my spine angle is likely to be correct. Try holding this angle for yourself and you'll see what I mean. If you change your spinal tilt it ends up affecting the position of your palm, because of the way the hand and arm are connected to the torso.

Try a swing in slow, slow motion. If your right palm is facing out as described above and not tilted at all upwards, where is your spine? Conversely if you tilt your palm slightly skyward you lose spinal tilt. To keep the palm of the right hand in the position described is not easy, you really have to stay down. You'll also get the feeling of 'covering the ball' at impact, something you've probably read about numerous times but, maybe, haven't understood.

This isn't a cure-all. You still have to swing on the right path, transfer weight, etc. But I believe it's absolutely necessary to staying down. It won't hurt your wood play either. Happy Golfing!

Can Clubs Make You A Better Player?

Not all clubs are created equal. Could Tiger use your clubs and shoot par - sure! But he can do better with his own clubs. And think of the pros that have switched clubs, ruined their game, and had to come running back to their old sponsor.

Of course this doesn't mean that new clubs will fix your slice or suddenly have you hitting down on your iron shots. Probably most of how you hit the ball has to do with the quality of your swing. But there is still enough variation beyond that to make club selection important. Certain types of clubs are better for certain types of games. If you are a 20 handicapper, you're not going to play better golf if you suddenly find Tiger's clubs in your car. If you're not hitting the center of your irons 9 times out of 10, then a perimeter weighted cavity back club is going to help.

And then there's the mystique of a club - how it looks to your eye, feels in your hands and whether it inspires confidence. Up until yesterday I have been playing the last 7 years with custom Ping I3 blades. The custom being an inch and a quarter longer, a bit more upright and oversize grips. I traded them in Sunday for a new set of Cleveland CG4 Tours with stiff True Temmper Actionlite shafts.

Of course I had to play them the same day. Never even went to the driving range. I LOVE them. I'd sleep with them except that my wife would make me and the golf bag use the couch. Are the CG4 Tours better than the Ping I3's? Darned if I know. I only know they're better for me. The again maybe it's just the fact that they're new and shiny.

I've got to add that the new clubs are not custom, they're straight off the rack. Not sure if I'll lengthen them or have the lie checked. I may change the grips, but even that's not a given. For now, I'm enjoying them too much just the way they are.