golfweloveit

Rickie Fowler’s swing has changed a lot since he first began competing on the PGA Tour. he used to be very laid off at the top which meant he had to manipulate his hands through impact. It was a swing of moving parts. he swung fast and the club could rotate off line. To keep the club face square required perfect timing.

Since working with Butch Harmon there are much fewer moving parts in the backswing. His takeaway is smooth, and he is now going back on the inside better, a neutral backswing means that he transfers the energy much better starting the downswing, producing a straighter drive with less side spin to the ball.

He is a very good competitor who wants to score. his short game is sharp he changes trajectory in his wedges. he likes to hit the ball low is creative and improvisational. He is not a robotic player, he has flow and attack and likes to take risks and chances. His putting can be vulnerable in pressure situations which is where he needs to rely more on technique and less on inspiration.

Having seen another advert for a golf pop up venue in London I decided to have a look at London’s permanent venue. It’s the unfortunately named Swingers. A google search produced the inevitable as its top search result. Eschewing people who were exchanging car keys I found the information for the golf venue further down the listing. now moved from trendy Shoreditch to 8 Browns Buildings, EC3, it is open from noon until 1am.

Two nine hole courses, street food stalls and licences bars it gets very busy in the evenings and is worth a look. Music pumps in the background as you play though a 6 foot lighthouse, loop-the-loop and windmill. A new venue will be opening in the West End in February with a British seaside theme a promenade, bandstand and big wheel.

Multiple world champion surfer Kelly Slater has been awarded Golf Digest’s Arnie Award for golfers who give back.

i had the pleasure of watching him play at the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in October where he was playing with Sprinbok rugby player Rob Louw. At Kingsbarns GC he remarked on the waves crashing by the 15th green that the swell breaking off the right reef made good surfing waves (not that I know what that means). A 2 handicap golfer he plays golf over 100 rounds a year. He took up the sport aged 23 teaching himself from Ben Hogans Five Lessons book.

Slater is an environmental activist, involved in hurricane disaster reliefdand involved with More Than Sport which raises funds for college educations for disadvantaged children.

He also plays the drums well as noted at one of the parties during the tournament. golf seems to be the sport of choice of many competitive surfers lately. check out the Instagram page @golfgeek

Less than a year to the start of the Ryder Cup matches in Paris European Captain Thomas Bjorn and American Captain Jim Furyk just decided to hit some drives off the atop of the Eiffel Tower.

Wouldn’t get me doing that, notorious vertigo sufferer!

It was sad to hear of the sudden passing of Tommy Horton, one of professional golf’s fine gentleman. He was a dominant player on the European Seniors Tour having won 23 times and topped the Order of Merit five times. He was also a Ryder Cup Player in 1975 and 1977. On and off the golf course he had a lovely relaxed demeanour and was devoted to the PGA and the progress of club professionals. Condolences to his wife Helen and family and the Royal Jersey Golf Club.

Ernie Els tweeted excitedly a few days ago Thank You for the great Xmas present @TheMasters can’t wait!

Having received an invitation to be at Augusta National as an honorary invitee. However, all was not as it seemed.

Days later he had to say “work continues to qualify to compete at The Masters”

Ernie’s 5 year exemption to play in the Masters for winning the 2012 Open ran out in 2017 and sadly he found out that being an honorary invitee only meant being given two clubhouse passes and a present from the Masters Committee. Even the privilege of being allowed to play practice roy do and the Par 3 contest ended this year.

So, back to having to qualify…

December 30 is an important day to pop back up and wish Tiger a happy 42nd birthday. His solid showing in the recent Hero Challenge will have made his harshest critics back off a bit, even though he faces an uphill task preparing to come back properly without a swing coach. Butch Harmon is just waiting to be asked back, and says that he strongly believes Tiger will win again. I do too, he is an extraordinary person and athlete.

Tiger announced today that his next competitive outing will be at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines followed by the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles in February. The tournament was his first ever PGA Tour start, aged 16, and is now supported by the Tiger Woods Foundation.

He admitted that during his recent 10 month layoff from the game there were times that his injured back was so painful he couldn’t walk. Not knowing the condition of his back means that he is unable to commit to a full time schedule “I wish I knew when I would play and where it would make it so much easier to prepare. My swing is shorter because I cannot turn as much.

He said he was pleased with how explosive his swing was during the Hero Challenge, also how well he putted, He said it felt good to have an adrenaline rush again “I appreciate competitive golf now more than I ever have”. Player of the Year Justin Thomas who played the last round with Tiger said he had never seen him so happy to be back and to compete so strongly”

He’s a fighter of a competitor, gritty and determined. Overcoming a lot of barriers to get to the top.

His athletic swing is compact and strong, he doesn’t over swing but generates huge clubhead speed. he can move the ball in both directions and has great turn in his upper and lower body. The  coil of the backswing builds up speed loading the power to swing at the ball. He has power and accuracy with control and great distance.

His acceleration towards the ball is consistent and well timed. His body delivers on the downswing lower body, chest and arms. He goes at it very hard and gets a long distance. However, such an athletic movement inclines him to injury and combined with various health issues he mY not have the longevity of career as others.

His technique in his short game is simple. stable hand and arm movement controlling the spin on the ball he is very good at pitching and chipping but outstanding with his putter. He putts well under pressure and his technique is perfect.

What makes Jason Day special is he is passionate and works very hard, a steely competitor to be feared.

He’s so good at everything but if you had to pick out his biggest strength it would be his ability to score. He finds a way to get the ball in the hole, and when he misses he still puts it in the best position to salvage the best score he can get.

Mentally, Spieth is very strong and a formidable competitor. he enjoys the heat of the battle and is incredibly resilient. He has the ability to forget and gets over his mistakes quickly which shows his focus on his score.His course management and shot selection is very intelligent and he keeps a cool head under pressure.

He is not an athlete in the mold of Dustin Johnson or Jason Day and if he has a flaw it is that he tries to force his swing to get more distance. His swing involves a lot of hand eye coordination. His grip is very weak and this makes his swing a left sided motion. He doesn’t hit the ball with great speed and so where other players might hit 3 wood off the tee he will use his driver.

His natural shot is a fade and through the ball he tends to go over onto his left foot a lot. He is very accurate and straight. His swing is a stable, compact motion which puts a lot of spin on the ball.

His short game and putting are superior. He chips in a lot and he has a great technique pressing the last three fingers in his grip to keep the club face square and keeping control of distance. He holes so many putts and enjoys practicing his putting.

But most of all as a competitor he is genius level.

Amongst all the PGA Tour professionals Dustin Johnson looks the best athlete. at 6 feet 4 inches he has a huge high arc to his swing, and with his flexibility and strength he hits the ball huge distances and is straight with it.

He has a huge turn on the backswing and gets into a consistent position at the top. His left wrist is bowed and it seems only when he over rotates the wrist does he hit a bad shot. HIs flexibility gets him into a strong position on the backswing, storing up energy for great speed and power on the downswing.

The height he gets on the backswing allows him to accelerate through the ball with minimum rotation through impact. It’s keeping a stable and square position through impact that gets him to hit the ball as straight as he does. it’s a swing of amazing control and power, he consistently hits his driver 320 yards.

What I like about his swing is it is not overly techical. It’s the natural swing of a gifted athlete, he doesn’t have to have too many swing thoughts.

His natural shot is a power fade, something he achieves by keeping his hips stable and not rotating through impact.

His short game 150 yards in with his wedges is superb. He’s also a great putter with a natural feel for pace.

His weakness is that he can sometimes lose concentration and make poor decisions, particularly under the pressure of major championship. If he had Jordan Spieth’s mind he would reign supreme.