Joey's Golf Bag

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the EDS Byron Nelson tournament. We arrived around noon on a cold, cloudy, blustery day, had some lunch and huddled in the stands above the 18th hole for most of the day. Some thoughts:

• Course changes. I only got a close look at the first and eighteenth holes, and the course conditions were absolutely stunning, perfect in every way. The rough height was perfect; not high enough to keep players from going at the hole, but high enough to keep the players from putting a lot of spin on the ball. Excellent! The USGA could learn a thing or two from the course setup here at the Nelson.
• The four-tiered lake in front of the 18th hole was a little over the top for Texas. The flowers didn’t really look natural, though I liked the reeds and if they lose the flowers and allow the reeds to grow naturally, the hole will look nice.
• These guys are slow. Jeez, I thought muni courses around town were slow, but these guys were pathetic. There was a 20 minute gap between the 4th group (Luke Donald, Ken Duke, Kenny Perry) and the third group (Dudley Hart, Jesper Parnevik, Brian Gay). It was so slow my wife took a nap. Of the 15 groups I saw come into 18, only 2 or 3 groups were on the tee when the group before them was on the green. C’mon, guys, keep up.
• The longest drive I saw on 18 was by Charlie Hoffman, who also had the best approach shot I saw. Unfortunately, he missed the short birdie putt. That cost him about $80k.
• The 18th hole played very well for a finishing hole. At least six shots were in the water while I watched. One group had all three players in the water, two off the tee and one on the approach. Kenny Perry, though, got lucky: his tee shot was left of the ponds, in the rough. Yikes!
• I was a little disappointed with Sergio’s black outfit. It’s Sunday, you’re in the next to last group, how about a little color, eh, Sergio? His putting stroke is looking a lot better, though it didn’t show up on Sunday.
• The loudest roar I heard, other than Adam Scott’s two putts for birdie on the 18th, was when Luke Donald holed his ball from the drop circle for par on the 17th. I didn’t see it live, but did see it on the TIVO afterward.
• Some drunk somewhere behind me yelled “You suck!” when Kevin Sutherland missed his birdie putt. I hope they escorted that drunk off the course.
• Around 4PM, the clouds parted, the wind eased, and the sun came out, setting the stage for the first PGA Tour playoff I’ve witnessed live. What a show!

This was the first time I’ve picked a winner not named Tiger in a PGA Tour event and had that pick win. Congratulations to Adam Scott for a fine clutch performance at the Nelson.

Adam Scott, my pick to win the tournament, is in the lead at -8, three shots ahead of four players tied at -5. My surviving dark horse picks, Luke Donald is tied for tenth at -2; my other dark horse, Scott Verplank, had a bad day and fell back into a tie for 56th place at +4. Sergio Garcia had a nice 65 today to put himself in contention at -4.

On Thursday, I teed it up at Stonebridge Ranch on the Hills course for a Shamble tournament with customers. For this event, we played a shamble (everyone tees off, the best drive is picked — everyone’s drive must be used at least once every nine holes) and you play your own ball into the hole. However, on the par-3 holes, we played a scramble. We played holes 1-9 and holes 19-27 on this 27-hole course. The weather was heavily clouded with brief moments of sunshine, with blustery winds in the 20-30 mph range.

I played quite well, although I had an inauspicious start (popped up my first drive), but otherwise played very well. We were scoring two balls per hole, and my score was used (or tied with a score used) on about half the holes. We ended up at +3 on this pretty difficult and long course (blue tees, rating and slope 71.7 / 124, 6571 yards). My drives were used a couple of times because of positioning (not length, two of my playing partners out-drove me by 20-40 yds). I wasn’t able to attend the awards ceremony, so I don’t know where our team finished overall.

Highlights: The tournament started with a golf exhibition put on by the Long Drivers of America. On two of the par-5 holes on the front, Brian Pavlet (3rd hole) and Art Sellinger (7th hole), teed off for us, leaving us with either a wedge or a 9-iron into the green on those two par-5 holes. Unfortunately, we did no better than birdie on the holes, not hitting our eagle putts. On the par-3 8th hole, there was a team filming the hole like it was a PGA tournament, complete with commentators and 3 cameras, one on the tee, one behind the green and one to the side of the green. Of our group, I was the only one to hit the green in regulation. I hit a 6-iron about 40 feet past the hole, leaving a downhill putt. My putting attempt was pathetically short, but we were still able to get two par putts to fall. We each received a DVD of the entire tournament’s play on that hole, though I’ve yet to view it.

My choice to win the Byron Nelson tourney, Adam Scott, is in the lead by one shot at -5. Sean O’Hair missed the cut by one shot at +4, as did my dark horse pick Rory Sabbatini at +6. As I expected, Trevor Immelman is still in his post-Masters hangover and failed to make the cut at +13. My other dark horse picks, Luke Donald is tied for 23rd at even par, and Scott Verplank is tied for 33rd at +1.

Adam Scott is the highest ranked player in the field, and he’s my pick to win. I followed him for a couple of holes the last time he played here in 2006, and was amazed at the way he controlled his trajectory in the Texas wind. It’s supposed to be windy tomorrow, so he is likely to be high on the leaderboard.

I’ve been admiring Sean O’Hair’s game for a while as well. I last saw him in 2006 playing in the Nelson. On that day, he was hitting the ball quite high and the wind was having its way with it. He’ll need better trajectory control if he’s going to win.

I’d love to pick Trevor Immelman, but since he’s bound to be still on cloud 9 from his win at the Master’s, so he’s not my choice. I’ve admired his game since he beat Tiger at the Western Open in 2006.

My dark horses are Rory Sabbatini (a local), Luke Donald, and Scott Verplank. Scott, last year’s winner, who confessed this morning on XM PGA Tour radio, that his game isn’t great right now. But that’s what he said last year, before he won it.

Yesterday, I completed construction of my new Wishon Golf 919THI driver. I built the driver to 43.5 inches in length using a Wishon Golf 7-B2P driver shaft, R-flex, and a Wishon Golf V-Series oversize grip. I swingweighted the club to a swingweight of C-8, as I intend to test for best swingweight from C-8 to D-2 or higher, by adding lead tape to the club. I’ll measure how well each swingweight works by noting which swingweight yields the most strikes closest to the center of the clubface.

Some photos. First, the 919THI driver.

525GRT vs. 919THI, face.

525GRT vs. 919THI, from above.

Golf Magazine has an article on the renovation of the course in Organizers hope a redesign will save struggling Byron Nelson Classic. I will attend the tournament on Sunday to see the winner come in and to check out the new course design.

After holing out for a 67 and the first-round lead at the 1983 Byron Nelson Classic — the first Nelson played at the just-opened TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas — the dependably impolitic Lanny Wadkins addressed the media by the 18th green. The moment begged for a kind comment about the eager-to-please new venue, but Lanny couldn’t help himself. “This is not my favorite golf course,” he said.

Wadkins was only saying aloud what others were whispering and what they would continue to mutter under their breath through the years. Although the superbly maintained course had good bloodlines — Jay Morrish designed with Ben Crenshaw and Nelson consulting, and it was a hit with members and resort guests — these are Tour players we’re talking about. They had played gems like Augusta National and Harbour Town before the Nelson, and would play Muirfield, Colonial and the U.S. Open after. By comparison, the TPC Four Seasons Resort was as clunky as its name, a themeless journey between its namesake office park and tile-roofed homes built in the Texas-giant architectural style. So when Byron died in 2006, and the tournament got an unattractive date two weeks after the Masters, a lot of the best players, by which we mean Tiger and Phil, found something else to do.

Another article from the Dallas Morning News, Golfers give TPC a round of applause.

At the TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas on Monday, it seemed that the drugs had taken effect.

“These are some of the best greens I’ve seen,” Tour player Troy Matteson said after walking off 18.

Veteran Paul Goydos also appeared to be hallucinating as he practiced for the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, which begins Thursday.

“The conditions are mind-boggling,” he said.

Wasn’t this the course that was awash in criticism last year? The one where players cursed the brown, bumpy greens? That same course was swimming in superlatives Monday.

Players hailed the remodeling job of D.A. Weibring’s Golf Resources Group. They praised the smooth greens, lush fairways and uniform rough.

I won’t be able to take photos unfortunately, as cameras aren’t allowed during the tournament and I’m not going to be able to sneak out of work and take in a practice round.

I’m happy to report that my back is feeling much better, and I believe I’ll be ready to play on Thursday. In the meantime, I built a new driver (photo tomorrow). I built a Wishon Golf 919THI driver using a hand-selected 11° clubhead, square clubface (normally 0.5° closed) with a Wishon Golf 7-B2P driver shaft, R-flex and a Wishon Golf V-Series oversize grip. I swingweighted the club to C-8 this time. I plan to test the driver at each swingweight between C-8 and D-2 and see what swingweight yields the best ball-striking, using lead tape to add swingweight.

Since I had the gripping equipment set up, I also regripped my Wishon Golf 949MC 7-wood, my Wishon Golf 915F/H 4-hybrid and my Wishon Golf 525GRT driver. I used the same grips I had previously on each club, which were the Wishon Golf V-series putter grip for the putter, and Golf Pride DD2 midsize grips for the other clubs. While I love the feel of the DD2 grips, they aren’t very durable. I got about a year’s use on the 525GRT driver, but only about 9 months on the 7-wood and 4-hybrid, but I really should have regripped these clubs about 3 months ago as wear was evident then. I need to replace the grip on my 949MC 4-wood also, but didn’t have another grip to put on it. Because of the cost, I’ll probably revert all my fairway woods and drivers to the Wishon Golf V-series grip. That grip has nearly the same feel as the DD2, but only costs about 1/3 as much (and is more durable to boot). I do have to put 3 layers of tape under the V-series grip to get the same diameter as the DD2 grip, a minor inconvenience.

Last Friday, I played 18 at Tierra Verde Golf Course in Arlington. I shot a 96 (47 on the front, 49 on the back). I hit five fairways and five greens in regulation, had 38 putts total (three 3-putts). My driving was pretty bad, having three penalties off the tee. I only got up and down once. Putting and poor driving off the tee were my major difficulties.

I practiced at Golden Bear Golf Center on Saturday, mainly working on putting, as well as the longer clubs. On Sunday, I practiced at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville. I spent most of practice on the longer clubs and felt I was making progress on them Before I ran out of balls, I was hitting long pitches at one of the nets, and felt a severe twinge in my back. I wasn’t able to finish practicing as the right side of my lower back was throbbing in pain. My muscle spasms were back, the same ones that kept me from playing for two months last year. This time, I went home, put on the TENS machine, took some Aleve and did some stretches. The next day I felt better, but I decided not to hit balls, even though the weather was beautiful.

Last Tuesday, I felt fine, so I went to Golden Bear to hit some balls. I carefully warmed up and stretched. However, I’d hit a few balls with the sand wedge and had moved on to the pitching wedge, and again, had a nasty twinge in my back. Muscle spasm was back. This time, after the TENS machine, Aleve and stretching, I didn’t feel better. In fact, today, I worked from home in an effort to give my back time to heal, as sitting in a chair is painful after a while.

I’ve been diligently stretching my lower back and doing stengthening exercises and I’m beginning to feel better. As I’m scheduled to play golf at Stonebridge on the Hills course next Thursday with customers (in conjunction with the Byron Nelson tournament), I’m not practicing until then. I’ll keep up my stretching and exercises, and if the golf gods permit, I’ll be ready to go by then.

In the meantime, I’m building another driver…

Warm spring weather has arrived here in Big D, so I’ve been able to hit some balls the last two afternoons. Yesterday, I practiced at the Golden Bear Golf Center. I started out on the putting green, and spent about 45 minutes working on my putting. The green is now mostly out of dormancy, and is rolling pretty smooth. I spent most of that practice time on speed drills, and it was one of my better practice sessions.

Next, I spent some time running the sand drill with the lob wedge, first with a chipping stroke and then with a pitching stroke. I hit a couple of balls out of the sand, getting them all out but not really very good distance control.

I collected some balls and worked on chipping and pitching with the lob wedge. My chipping was pretty good from shorter distances, but not very consistent from long range. My pitching was similar, good from short distance and not very consistent from medium distance. I didn’t hit many from long distance, and the ones I did hit weren’t stellar.

I got a medium bucket and went to the west end of the range. I’ve gone back to practicing with the 550c irons. These are, of course, much less forgiving than my 770CFE irons, but since I get much better feedback with these irons, I plan to continue to practice with the 550c irons, unless I’m playing that day. (In that case, the 770CFE irons go back in the bag.) I warmed up by hitting 3 balls with every other club. My ball striking was pretty good to start, but by the time I got to the longer clubs, I wasn’t particularly pleased. I never really was happy at all with my ball-striking this day. Even my short irons weren’t well struck, kept hitting fatties. The driver, well, yeech is the only word that fit.

This afternoon, I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch to practice. I got a large bucket and went to the range. I warmed up, badly, hitting bad shots with the sand wedge. It took about 10 balls before I hit any shots that I liked. I did finally start hitting good shots, and then something clicked when I made sure to put a little more weight on my left foot than my right, and then trying to get a late release. My swing eventually got a lot better, after I spent some time making quarter, half and three-quarter swings with the sand wedge, and then with the lob wedge. I then alternated every other club from the 9-iron through the 7-wood, and was pretty pleased with my ball striking. I got out the driver and 4-wood. The 4-wood I hit straight, but very low (was getting better distance with my high-flying 7-wood shots). The driver continues to be a disaster, either high slices or low hooks. Yeech!!!

With the last 10 balls, I decided to see how many balls I could hit on the green just in front of the pond. The distance was a perfect 9-iron, so I got it out and hit 7 of 10 balls onto the green, hitting the balls very high so that they rolled out just a little after hitting the green. Two of the balls were hit right of the green and one just to the left. I was pretty pleased, as three of the shots were within 10 feet of the pin. I also hit two pitching wedges, to see if I could get enough distance with it to put the ball on the green. The first ball was hit fat and splashed down; the second was well-struck and ended up in front of the pin about 20 feet short of the pin.

I had planned to practice short chips and putting, but the putting green still has not grown in yet, so I skipped putting.

I was pretty pleased with my practice today, much better than yesterday. I’ll be playing a lot of golf this month, so I’ll need to get that dastardly driver working, and soon. The Dye course at Stonebridge Ranch awaits…