Tiger Woods announced today that he will play next week at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open. He has won the tournament 7 times and won the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, the most recent of his 14 major titles. He tied 23rd last year after surgery to fuse his lower spine. It will be his first PGA Tour event since he won the 2018 Tour Championship last September, his 80th PGA Tour victory.
Pastor Todd Follett broke off his sermon and otacticed his chipping.
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I once made a trip to Royal Westward Ho! and there were sheep all over the fairways, which probably saved a lot of money on agronomy, this Australian club has the same idea. I then moved down the coast to Saunton and because HRH The Duke of York was playing there were as many detectives all over the course. All dangerous.
They’re sneaky and crafty but that’s the fun of designing a golf course. Architects use a number of illusions to trick golfers into making bad guesses about distance. A yardage chart becomes essential, hence my own large collection of the things which I always carry when I’m watching professional tournaments too. It’s interesting to see how designers use illusions to entice the golfer to see things that might or might not be there.
One technique is with bunkers, Some can be built so the top edge appears to be level with the putting surface. So that the area between the bunker and the green is hidden. This can cause underclubbing. Swales in the fairway can confuse the eye into thinking the distance to the target is shorter than it actually is. At Riviera Country Club, site of the Los Angeles Open, large expanses between the tees and fairway bunkers are camouflaged hiding swathes of nasty kikuyu grass which can tangle the club and limit the balls bounce and roll.
An illusion in this sense is a misleading image presented to the eye the true characteristics of the hole are different from how they appear. This distance puzzle makes golf a unique challenge. Other sports use consistent measurements in standardised playing fields. In golf so many factors come into play that distance measurement is variable giving the risk of under or over clubbing.
Another trick is relative size. If two trees are planted near each other the smaller one will appear further away. Architects will plant taller trees further down the fairway can lead us to underestimate the relative distance between taller and shorter trees.
Designers tempt you to focus on the near edge of a feature while ignoring the far edge. The near portion is made prominent while the distant edge is less visible. On doglegs a bunker placed on a corner can lure you into attempting to carry it to shorten the hole. underestimate the distance and end up in the bunker. A bunker with a dominant face in this position might make the golfer choose the longer route around the dog leg because you would think the landing area is narrower.
A hole may appear to be longer than it is by running a water hazard alongside it. Trees either side of a fairway give the impression of a narrow landing area. Trees positioned at the back of a green may induce a player to hit short, particularly if the trees are taller than other trees along the fairway.
Flagstick heights can cause distance calculation problems. On links courses which are more exposed to the wind shorter flagsticks tend to be used, these can confuse the eye into overestimating yardages. There is a general human tendency to think of objects to be closer than they really are.
If a hole ascends from tee to green there can be a tendency to underestimate the steady increase in elevation and underclub. Descending holes tend to play shorter because of the drop. A ball carries further at high altitudes, and in high humidity and temperature.
Wind is an invisible hazard which the course designer takes into account prevailing wind patterns in deciding how course features are configured. If the prevailing wind blows east to west then putting greens will often be laid west to east to counteract the wind.
Tailwind – from behind the golfer – blows in the direction of the target. Spin has less effect and it is more difficult to shape the shot, the ball will carry further.
Headwind – blows toward the golfer from the target and makes the ball spins more. Draw or fade will curve more. Shots have a tendency to balloon reducing the carry. Use a less lofted club, play the ball with a lower trajectory, swing easier.
Crosswind – Cuts across shot lime and will cause the ball to move right or left.
Apparently today, January 15, is #National Hat Day. Here are a few of mine collected from golf travels.
While Dustin Johnson’s swing is the most powerful and athletic on tour, Jon Rahm’s swing must be the most talented. To be able to return the clubface square to target from the position that he gets at the top, and to generate such huge length with not as much clubhead speed as some of the other top golfers, that is a thing of awe.
It’s a unique and unorthodox swing, but one which garners great power. From an orthodox one piece take away he sets the club upward and then his wrists get into a bowed position at the top. The club doesn’t reach 90 degrees but unusually, the clubhead doesn’t close at the top, showing Jon Rahm has immensely strong hands holding the club in position. He sets the wrists late after making a complete 90 degree shoulder turn. Coming down he creates huge torque. It’s so interesting watching this in slow motion because the club seems to lag as he drives pressure through his legs before releasing his legs through impact. He has a low centre of gravity which helps him pivot and create power and speed. It’s so cleverly done. He is currently 2nd in the stats off the tee and 20th tee to green.
He is admired because he is a well rounded golfer with no apparent weaknesses, he putts well and has a strong short game. But he openly admits that his challenge is as a competitor – controlling his fiery temperament. He says that getting mad helps him to play better but he needs to channel it “I’m working really hard to stop complaining” he says.
Japan will host its first PGA Tour event this October 24-27. The Zozo Championship will be a FedEx Cup event as part of the 2019-2020 season with a purse of $9.75 million, on the Narashino Country Club in Chiba. The field is 78 players comprosing 60 PGA tour professionals, 7 Japan Professional Golf Tour Organisation players, the top 3 from the Bridgestone Invitational and 8 sponsor’s invitation players.
The tournament is sponsored by Zozo Town fashion website, whose billionaire founder Yusaku Maszawa is famous as the first man to sign up to go to the moon on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Craft. He calls the tournament “a moon shot for Japanese golf. He is extremely honoured to have been approached by the PGA Tour”.
Former PGA Tour player and Chairman of the JGTO Isao Aoki (pictured far left) said
”Finally this day has come, I wish it had come earlier. If I were you get I would want to compete. It is a dream of Japanese golfers to compete in a PGA Tour event”.
Top Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama (pictured second right) , who has 5 PGA Tour wins says “there are a lot of differences between PGA tour golf and JGTO golf and the fans will get to see this with their own eyes not through TV. I want to play in front of my Japanese fans and show my appreciation to them”.
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