See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil..

I finally got to see the final round of the 50th Bob Hope Classic this afternoon. I know it's been like two days right..?! I DVR'd it (..mine's not a TiVo) and was fast forwarding through to all the good parts. I, like many of you, were hoping for a tight 3-way play-off right with Pat Perez, Steve Stricker and John Merrick (who's that..?)

It looked pretty tight until Stricker had that devastating blow out on the 10th hole tee box. I was keeping an eye on Merrick, but he just lacks "being there" to keep it under wraps. I would say he was trying to just keep pace with Perez, but I'd say the lack of experience and keeping cool got the better of him. Perez wasn't any better than these three, BUT was cool under pressure and that laser on the 18th was the nail in the coffin.

BUT..what I kept replaying the most was Pat Perez's second shot at the 15th hole, Par 3. When I saw it for the first time I was like "What the..?"..did that just happen? I've been searching numerous golf forums and there seems to be alot of discussion about this particular incident, particularly at The Golf Channel Discussion Board. (search the "Rules and Rulings" forum and it's the "Pat Perexzs chip shot on 15th hole" thread) - sorry I'm not able to direct link as The Golf Channel seems to be hiding the url. Alot of good info. on this though.

Here's the shot in question:



From what I've been reading, as long as the ball returns to the place of rest then we're kosher. My other question though is isn't he improving his lie when he taps/pushes down the grass before the ball. Something doesn't seem right?

Natalie Gulbis Tip..it works!

I used to watch the Natalie Gulbis show on the Golf Channel. I was happy when she finally one her first tournament..think it was the Evian Masters in France. I'm not sure if they still show episodes of her show or if if there are new ones out.

I happend to watch this one episode where she was talking about her pre-shot routine. Anyway, she said when you tee the ball up (driver), visuallize the WHOLE area (from the top of the tee'd up ball to the point where the tee goes into the grass) as your sweet spot.

This made so much sense to me and helped out immensely. I'm sure, at least I did, that you focus on hitting that itsby-bitsy ball at the bottom, right? Well, why not focus, not on just that little white thing, but the whole area from the top of it to the bottom..? Imagine hitting a softball on the ground..easy 'huh?

88

That's what I shot at Skylinks yesterday..and I am more than excited..still. It's quite weird the type of chemicals that get released into our brains when we shoot a score that we like. I'm still giddy about it. On the flip-side, for me, when I shoot a bad round I get bummed out and it does affect me for the rest of the day.

I see it this way, I'm spending close to 4-5 hours out there playing a round and as a result of spending this time out there I DO expect, of myself, to show for it. For me these "results" is a round in the 80's. I, and the rest of you who may be reading this, take golf a tad more seriously than "just having a good time". I'm not out there flipping clubs of course on errant shots, but I'm going to try my hardest to save par/bogey..I just may not be "showing" it to you.

Anyway, I have to agree that when you take time away from the game your swing "resets" and your mental aspect of the game gets "cleansed"..no bad thoughts. I have also been toying with my swing and tried something "new" a couple weeks ago.

I started to take my swing back on a shallower plane, which I thought it felt like, and I was hitting the ball the best I've ever had in my life. The consistency of making solid impact was the first thing I noticed and then distance. I played with a buddy of mine yesterday and I asked him to really watch me and see if I was too shallow..which it still felt like. He said he has never seen me on this consistent plane ever before AND that the swing was not shallow. This was it!

My biggest swing inconsistency contributor has been my right arm (righty) on the backswing. I've been under the impression that you wanted that classic "L" at the top. I said screw it, because it's another thing I have to remember to do. I just let my right arm stay relaxed and it's just sitting lower at my side..there's no active effort to control it. BINGO! All I think about now is the downswing..what a relief!

The last two times I've played with this "new" swing I have only missed four fairways..and not by much..it was either a weak push or a low hook..none which were at all damaging to the hole at hand. I've actually gotten a "tad" confident where I'm stepping on it a little bit more to get a little more out of it..at certain times.

Anyway, to get back to my 88. I'm on the 18th hole, I drove it into a bunker and had to chip out, and was lying 4 on the green. I quickly added the score and I needed at least a double to break 90. The putt was about 10 feet out, downslope, with a slight downward break, right-left, and it was playing fast..not fun. I got up there and and took the putt and it was moving at a perfect speed..and went in..I haven't felt the warmth of golf happiness in awhile.



and HAPPY NEW YEAR!