Captain Pavin

Captain Pavin, I like the sound of that. Even though I am still on a high after Valhalla, I can't wait for 2010 and Celtic Manor. Before I get to Pavin and 2010, a couple more thoughts on Azinger. First, I think that it was the right decision to go with a new Captain. I see each Ryder Cup as a distinct event, and I would not want to spoil 2008 by trying to replicate it in 2010. Second, I was a little dissappointed that there was all this talk about Azingers strategy and the "pods". I think Azinger should have kept that one to himself and then passed it on the next captain...why tell the world.

I think Pavin was the right pick. The guy is a three time cupper, he won a tournament 2 years ago, he bleeds the Ryder Cup and no one will fight harder than Pavin. I think he will do a great job. It is a bit early to get to excited, but I think we are back on the right track. What I think will be interesting is who the captain will be in 2012. My pick right now is DL3. The guy is a PGA Champion, a veteran Ryder Cupper and everyone like Davis. I would even put a bet on right now that he makes the 2010 team. He is back on to form and I think he will have a big desire to make the team and then take over as captain in 2012.

Update

Haven't been playing any golf lately...and so no posts on the board. I was just going back and reading the last post on the Ryder Cup. Noticed on Sunday morning I picked the US to win 16-12. Turns out the final tally was 16 1/2 - 11 1/2, so I was pretty close with my pick.

The weather has started to turn cold here on the east coast, so not sure how much more golf I will get to play this year. That being said, I am really looking forward to next year. My knee is fully healed and I think I am going to get a package of lessons early in the spring. Really going to try and get the handicap down to single digits this year and start shooting some scores in the 70's.

Ryder Cup - Post 2

Sunday morning and three hours to the first ball of the day. Watched the entire day yesterday and was completely riveted the entire time. What a great set of matches. The golf was fantastic with some excellent matches. Read the paper this morning to see the pairings, and I like the US chances. I really like the way that Azinger went out with the big guns early. I think putting Anthony Kim out first was a brilliant pick. I don't want to spend a bunch of time analyzing all the pairings, but in the end, I think the US will win, 16-12. I am hoping for a close set of matches with a US win.

Ryder Cup - Post 1

Well, the teams are set and I am really starting to get Ryder Cup fever. Let me give you my perspective on the teams, especially the captains picks. Lets start with the Euros. Everyone seems to be fine with the Paul Casey pick, but they have really been giving Faldo a hard time because he did not pick Darren Clarke. I actually agree with the fact that Clarke should have been picked. The guy just won a couple of tournaments and is a Ryder Cup veteran. The guy plays extremely well under that type of pressure and if you pair him with Lee Westwood, you are almost guaranteed a point. I actually think Poulter is a good pick. I like the way the guy got fired up at the Open Championship when he thought he was making that putt for atleast a playoff. That was some serious pressure and if Harrington doesn't make that fantastic eagle on 17, the tournament could have been completely different.

On the US side, I totally agree with the Steve Stricker pick. I like the JB Holmes pick, except for the fact that he collapsed in the final round of the PGA. I don't like the Hunter Mahan and Chad Campbell picks at all. I just don't think they have played well enough this season to deserve a pick. My picks would have been Stricker and Woody Austin off the bat as they were 9 and 10 in the points. I would then have picked Rocco Mediate and Sean O'Hair. I would have picked Rocco for two reasons. First, they way the guy played at the US Open, especially how he went head to head with Tiger in the playoff. That was incredible. Second, the guys just does not quit. He has a great attitude and would bring that to the team, which I think they need. The attitude he brings is go out there and try to beat the other guys brains in, have fun and then after the match, go have a beer and laugh. I have heard some folks say that Rocco's back won't hold up. Rocco is not they guy you have play 36 holes in one day. If all you do is play him in one match on either Friday or Saturday, and then in singles, he stills brings a lot to the overall team. On O'Hair, I just like the way the guy plays. He doesn't get overly excited and the guy played to win at the Players.

Twin Lakes

Played a round last week at Twin Lakes, a county owned course in Fairfax, Va. Played it from the back tees at about 6,850 yards. Didn't hit the ball particularly well, but I got it up and down from absolutely everywhere and shot 39 on the front. Game fell apart a little bit on the back and came home with a 46, for an 85.

The best thing about this round is that I walked the 18 holes, and the knee felt great. Hoping to get out on a more regular basis this fall, not that the knee is 100%.

Congressional and back in the game

It has been a while since I have updated you on my game, which has been for a couple of reasons. First, I have not been playing that much due to work and secondly, I recently had arthroscopic surgery on my knee, which has kept me off the course for awhile. However, before I had my surgery, I got the opportunity to play at Congessional Country Club, just about 3 weeks before the ATT National. The course was in great shape. It was also pretty cool because they had already set up the bleachers behind the green on the 10th hole and on the right hand side of the fairway on the 18th hole. I hit the ball fairly well, but given that the fairways are pretty narrow and the greens are pretty undulating, I didn't score very well. That being said, we had a great day and can't wait to get back out there.

Euro 2008

I know this is a blog about golf, but I couldn't resist putting the Euro 2008 widget on my blog. This is in honor of my mate Ian, who taught me all about proper football. Too bad Beckham and the boys did not qualify, but will still be a good tournament.

us open program

Got home from work last night and the USGA's US Open program was in the mailbox. Just another piece of the puzzle coming together that makes the whole US Open experience. Based on what I saw, the USGA is planning on playing the course as a par 71 (1 par 5 on the front and 2 on the back). The first par five (#9), is over 6O0 yards and will be a true three short hole. The first par 5 on the back is also very long with a carry of 240 over the canyon. However, they have a more forward set of tees that they can use to make it more interesting. The last par 5 is 18 and is clearly going to be hole in which players can attack and go for in 2. This hole is the only one on the entire course with any water and will certainly be an exciting one to watch. I can just imagine someone coming down the home stretch and needing to make eagle and then having to hit a super shot over the lake.

From a course setup standpoint, I want to see a mixture of really hard holes and then holes that give you an opportunity to make birdie, but you have to hit a really good shot. I would like to see a winning score right around par or just a couple under. To me that shows who the best golfer is during the week.

The Players

Just finished watching the Players...and a few thoughts. First, Paul Goydos showed extreme sportsmanship over the last four days. The guys was always upbeat and had a smile on his face, even when he made a bogey. He played his heart out for four days and had a put to win the thing at 18. That was a tough putt to make and knowing that a bogey gets him to a playoff, I was not suprised that he hit it a little short. So he goes to 18, and unfortunately the wind kicks up and he hits it in the water. The ball was right on line..it just balloned up into the wind and it came up a bit short. Sergio then steps up and hits it stiff. Goydos showed a true respect for the game and his fellow competitors in his comments to Roger Maltbie. The guy is all class. I don' t want to bash Sergio, but the first thing he should have said was to mention Goydos and what a first class guy he is. But no, what does he do instead, he starts thanking Taylor Made and mentioning their new wind ball and his Burner driver. Has golf turned into NASCAR? That was very disappointing to see. The only reason Sergio even mentioned Goydos in his talk with Bob Costas is because Costas continued to mention him and Sergio finally realized, hey, may I should mentioned the classiest guy in golf. I really wanted Goydos to win, simply because he is a good guy, and good things should happen to good people.

The Olympic Club - Lake Course

I was in San Francisco last week and got the opportunity of a lifetime...to play the Lake course at the Olympic Club. The Lake course has been the home of 3 US Amateur Championships, 4 US Open Championships and the upcoming 2012 US Open. We played it from the blue tee boxes, which are marked at 6,530 yards, and this is all the golf course you could ever want. The course was in fantastic shape and is extremely challenging. There was only a slight breeze when I played it, but it was still enough to make you think on every shot. The thing that amazed me the most is that there is no let up on this course from the very first hole. The other thing is that you have to think about every single shot. There is no standing on the tee and just hitting driver to the middle of the fairway.

You really have to work the ball off the tee because all the holes, except for the par threes and the 18th, have some sort of dogleg. This is tough because the course is very tree lined and if you don't move the ball in the right direction, it will generally run through the fairway. To make it even tougher, most of the fairways are sloped, such that even a good drive might find a slope and run into the rough. This was one of the hardest parts of playing...you hit what you think is a good looking shot and it ends up in the rough. That was the story of my day. Hitting fairly decent shots the just missed the fairway or the green by just a little bit and end up in the rough or in a bunker. Needless to say, the battle scars are still a bit fresh. That being said, it is just a fantastic track and I had a very ejoyable round with some recent acquantences in the San Francisco area.

No discussion about the Lake course would be complete without mentioning the 18th hole. From the blue tees, it measures 322 yards, but it is up hill to the fairway that is just absolutely tiny. I hit my 3 hybrid into the wind and kept it in the fairway with 135 yards to the green. To say the the green is elevated is an understatement. I hit 6 iron to the green and was pin high to the right. The green on 18 is super small and still has some pretty significant slope to it. This is after they leveled it off a bit after the 1998 US Open when Payne Stewart barely touched the ball and it rolled off the green. The 18th is just a great short finishing hole.

Well, that's my story from the Olympic club and just want to give a big thank you to Dave, Joe and Pete.

US Open Fever

Tomorrow is May 1st, which in my book means that it is time to start getting US Open fever. The US Open is my favorite major for a couple of reasons. First, while the Masters is a beautiful course and has a ton of history, they would never let me in the gates to watch, much less play. It is just so far out of reach for the average golfer, it doesn't really feel personal. I love the Open Championship (that's the British Open to most folks). The problem is it looks absolutely horrible on TV. ABC does the coverage and they have all the wrong angles for TV. While I have played some of the great Open courses, it just doesn't look that good on TV.

On the other hand, the US Open. Played on a different course every year so no one gets a home field advantage (except the course). It is Open to any one who meets the requirements (very democratic). NBC does great coverage for almost the entire weekend. And last but not least, it ends on Father's day. The best thing about the US Open ending on Father's day is that I get to say, Hey, its Father's Day and I want to sit in front of my TV for 8 hours watching golf.

Over the next several weeks, my posts on the US Open will touch on different aspects of the Championship. Today I wanted to mention an article I saw the other day that said that because the US Open is on the West Coast (Torrey Pines) this year, they are going to try for a prime time finish on the east coast of 9:00 pm on Saturday and 8:00 pm on Sunday. I think this is a great idea and should go over really well, assuming the weather cooperates. However, this got me thinking. The only reason they can do this is because the USGA is the last governing body in golf who insists that even the Championship is tied after 72 holes of stroke play, they have an 18 hole playoff on Monday. If there is a tie after the 18 holes on Monday, then they go to sudden death. I know it is tradition, but I have to tell you, I think the 18 hole playoff system has go to go. It is just not fair to the fans, especially the ones at the Championship, if there is not a Champion at the end of the day on Sunday. In my opinion, I think that if there is a tie after 72 holes, then they should go back out to the course and play the last 3 holes and the person with the lowest aggregate score wins. If there is still a tie, then sudden death on 1 and 18 until there is a winner. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Brand New Putter

As every golfer will attest, there is no feeling quite like the feeling when you get a new club, and for me, that feeling happened last night. I had been accumulating some Amex points for a while now and decided to redeem them for a new putter. I checked out my options on the Amex website and narrowed it down to the Odyssey Black Series I1 or the Scotty Cameron Red X. I have always wanted a Scotty Cameron, so I was a little bit biased.

So I trucked on down to the local golf shop and spent a good 45 minutes hitting putts with both putters. It was tough decision between the two, but in the end, the Scotty Cam won out. Ended up getting the Scott Cameron Red X3. The Red x3 is a small mallet headed putter with a 1/4 of offset in a classic shaft shape. http://www.scottycameron.com/putters/puttermodel.aspx?id=20 The other option was the Red X5, which has a plumbers neck, but just did not like the look of it.

Hoping to get out soon with my new putter, but unfortunately, I strained a hamstring a few weeks ago and the legs is still a little sore and still needs a bit more healing time before I can get out. It looks like I might get to play again by early May.

first round of the year

Well, spring is here and the first round of the year is behind me. My son and I played at the Rookery on March 19th. The temps were in the 60's and the winds were in the 40's. It absolutely howled. I hadn't really swung a club in about two months and we just went out cold with no warm-up whatsoever. The course was in decent shape given the weather, but it was hard to tell what shape my game was in due to the wind. The wind really magnified everything. We were on one par 3 and the wind was blowing left to right. I aimed up 25 yards right of the green and unfortunately drew it just a bit and next thing you know the ball is 25 yards left of the green. That's ok. It was an enjoyable day and we each hit a few good shots.

Couples - Captain of 2009 Presidents Cup Team

Quick post, as I am traveling for work, but I am extremely excited about Freddie Couples being named captain of the 2009 Presidents Cup team. Norman is a good choice for the International team, but in the end, it won't matter. Will follow up with a longer post, but just had to get the news out there.

New Titleist Wedge

Ok, so with the winter blues setting in because it is very cold and I haven't played golf since October, I just had to go out a buy a new wedge. On the recomendation of muy buddy Ian, I went ahead and got the 60 degree wedge. I went with the Titleist Spin Milled Vokey wedge to match my current 56 degree wedge. It has 8 degrees of bounce and should be in the bag sometime next week. Not a lot of good it will do, since I don't see my self playing until late March.

In other news, Tiger wins the Buick by 8 shots and then proceeds to fly to Dubai where he shoots a smooth 65 int he opening round. It is still early in the year, but it could be a very long PGA tour season everyone except Tiger. I also read the Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott are going to be playing more on the European Tour and less on the US Tour. My opinion is that Garcia is doing that because he wants to ensure that he makes the Ryder Cup team and can get more points playing in Europe than he can in the US. I can respect that since I think being on the Ryder Cup team, for either side, it the most important honor any golf can achieve. Not sure why Scott is doing it, other than he certainly likes winning.

Scores at the Buick

Just checked the scores at the Buick and getting pysched about a good weekend of golf. Tiger is currently at 5 under and with Mickleson at 3 under. Sabatini is also a 5 under at the moment. Can't decide who I want to play together on the weekend (Tiger - Sabatini) or (Tiger - Mickelson).

Also, just put a call in to my club guy to order a 60 degree wedge. Will post the juicy details once I have it in hand.

Unfortunately, still a good bit of snow on the ground and pretty cold, so looking like it will be a while before I actually get to play, but can't wait.