Listening To The Coach

Ok, now I’m freaking nervous. Up until now I was just mouthing off about this fantasy that I had about qualifying for the “City.” Then, the tee time was in the paper and no really big shot of adrenaline. But, after reading the Coach’s post, I’m shaking like Padre on his second day without a Bud Light infusion. I kind of liked it better when the Coach was ridiculing my complete lack of stamina and my near death by hill on 15.

He’s right, I’m not a big fan of pounding balls on the range. Because, like many of you Bozo’s, I start off hitting it good and then things get silly. “Hey, Mook, watch I’ll hit a draw over the top of that banged up Volkswagen.” “I bet I can hit a wedge straight up and catch it through the pee flap in my underwear.”

Do I ride in a cart on Saturday or do I take a caddy? I talked to a guy today that has tried the qualifier before and he said that he always had a looper for the round because he didn’t want to ride in the cart with a guy he didn’t know and listen to him gripe all day. He said it seemed like the guy was really good “except” for today. The Coach is coming down to be my sidekick IF I make the tourney, but I’ll decide tomorrow.

The RBC Canadian Open is on tap this weekend on the Tour. A Shot Of Golf Favorite Josh Teater tees off at 8:30.

Power Rankings: RBC Canadian Open
 (courtesy of PGA.com)

1 Sean O'HAIR Six top 25s in his last seven starts and nothing worse than T12 over the last four. That includes a T7 at the British Open for a share of low-American honors. He was also T6 in fairways and T13 in greens at the Memorial, and T3 in greens at the AT&T National.

2 Paul CASEY Slotted eighth in the Official World Golf Ranking, he's the highest-ranked player in the field. He's coming off a great showing at St. Andrews and sits ninth on the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation and 35th in birdies or better on par 3s.

3 Matt JONES Finished fifth at the John Deere, where he was T15 in greens, 12th in putting and fifth in birdies. Currently seventh in the all-around ranking, 22nd in sand saves and 41st in birdies or better on par 3s. Eight top 25s in 19 starts in 2010.

4 Charlie WI String of three top 25s entering this week. Led the field in putting at the AT&T National, where he placed fourth. Ninth on TOUR in scrambling, 17th in birdies or better on par 3s and 40th in sand saves.

5 Tim CLARK He's third in fairways hit, 46th in greens, 11th in sand saves and fifth in birdies or better on par 3s. Course is plenty short, and will play difficult, which fits the South African's profile for success. Also might be a little more rested after missing the cut at St. Andrews.

6 Luke DONALD One of the hottest golfers in the world over the last couple of months. Coming off a T11 at the British Open. Leads the PGA TOUR in sand saves and sits third in scrambling. He's also first in putting inside five feet and 15th in par-3 scoring average.

7 Matt KUCHAR Remains one of the best this season without a victory. Leads the PGA TOUR in the all-around ranking and scrambling. Also 20th in greens in regulation and 25th in sand saves. Finished T27 at the British, and has over $2.3 million in earnings this year.

8 Brendon DE JONGE En route to a T7 at the John Deere, he finished inside the top 25 in fairways hit, greens in regulation, putting and birdies. Currently 15th on TOUR in GIR and 39th in sand saves. His 2011 card is locked up, so he can continue to be aggressive.

9 Ricky BARNES Faded to a T44 at the British after a Sunday 77, but he remains solid overall, ranking 44th in greens, 20th in sand saves and 29th in scrambling. He has six top 10s in 2010. Eight of the last 13 winners on the PGA TOUR were first-timers.

10 Mark HENSBY Four top 25s in 15 aggregate starts on the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour. Finished T15 in Reno and if he was eligible to be ranked (insufficient number of rounds played), he'd sit second in birdies or better on par 3s, sixth in sand saves and 29th in scrambling

Official World Rankings 


1 Tiger Woods


2 Phil Mickelson

3 Lee Westwood


4 Steve Stricker


5 Jim Furyk

Money Leaders

1 Ernie Els  3,220,969


3 Justin Rose  3,159,748


4 Steve Stricker  2,982,169


5 Jim Furyk  2,883,915






Playing at 5:30 tomorrow at Fendrich…I’ll give you a full report. Thanks Coach for the advice on staying in the moment. I fully agree, keeping the ball on the short grass will be a MAJOR focus.



Swing Hard

The Shot Taker

Tournament Week Preparation

Tournament week is here for The Shot Taker!! I will say that up to this point his preparation for success has been pretty good.  Now, you may have noticed that TST never mentioned spending any time at the range.  Well... there is a damned good reason for this.  He tends to get worse when he hits practice balls and loses his confidence.  Before you laugh....think about it.  The "average" guy goes to the range with a large bucket of balls and mindlessly hits ball after ball with no "purpose".  This is a perfect recipe for disaster and doubt to creep in your mind.  And when it gets in your mind..... YOU ARE SCREWED!   It is also "impossible" to diagnose your own swing faults and fix them yourself.... you need another set of eyes, or a video camera if you are going to fix anything. 

I know that TST will hit a few balls before each round to loosen up and work on timing and swing tempo.  Those will be his only goals.  The swing he has at the range will be the swing he takes to the course.  When he gets to the course it is time to "score", not fix his golf swing or worry about what is "not happening".  An "in the moment" mentality is all he will focus on and his pre-shot routine will carry him through this part.  After what happened at last week's British Open with a "red dot" on a golf glove, I think TST understands the importance of staying in the moment.

As far as his golf course Fendrich is concerned, he really needs to play to his strengths.  This is a short, flat track that can be a bit tight.  Since this course plays short, the smart players will plan their tee shots.  They will put a club in their hand that will leave them in the fairway with an approach shot that puts their favorite club in their hands.  They will NOT necessarily bomb every tee shot and hit it as close to the green as they can unless they have very strong short games.   This course is so short that it is an absolute disaster to give the tournament field a shot, by hitting an errant tee shot off the fairway and assuring yourself of a bogey. 

The Shot Takers goal on tournament day is to qualify and move on, not win the golf tournament and certainly not lose it.  Many players will eliminate themselves from the tournament by not properly analyzing the course as it relates to their personal games and talents. 

I know without a doubt that this is going to be a positive experience for TST.  Why, you ask...  Because he has prepared to succeed, has his gameplan intact and is confident in his routine!

Go Get It Done TST!

Coach
"The Shot Maker"