Joey's Golf Bag

Michelle Wie shot a disappointing 73 to lose by 3 to Angela Stanford at the SBS Open in Hawaii. Michelle had the tournament victory in reach until a double bogey at the 11th hole left her with a one shot lead over Angela. Two holes later, Angela reeled off three straight birdies and cruised home for the victory with a 2-under 70.

Go, Michelle!!!

Michelle Wie shoots to top of leaderboard.

Michelle Wie put herself into contention for her first LPGA Tour victory, shooting a 2-under 70 in difficult conditions Friday in the second round of the season-opening SBS Open.

Making her debut as an LPGA card-carrying member, Wie used a three-birdie run to surge to the top of the leaderboard and finish with an 8-under 136, where she was tied with Angela Stanford (71) heading into Saturday's final round.

“It feels good,'' Wie said of being in contention again. She will be in the final group for the first time since the 2006 Evian Ladies Masters, where she tied for second and picked up her biggest tour paycheck of her career.

Wie said she couldn't remember the last time she led going into the final day. It was at the 2006 U.S. Women's Open where she was tied with Annika Sorenstam and Brittany Lincicome. Wie finished tied for third, two strokes out of the playoff.

Good playing today, Michelle. Good luck the rest of the way.

Golf | Wie storms out of gate in paradise.

Michelle Wie made her much-anticipated debut as a full-fledged LPGA member, birdieing her final three holes for a 6-under 66 on Thursday in the first round of the season-opening SBS Open.

The 19-year-old Wie was a stroke behind leader Angela Stanford.

Wie was tied with rookie of the year Yani Tseng, who was ranked 133rd a year ago and is now No. 2. South Korea’s Kyeong Bae had 67, and Japan’s Momoko Ueda shot a 68.

Wie looked comfortable playing in front of the largest gallery and on her home island of Oahu. It was her first U.S. start since July when she was disqualified from the State Farm Classic after opening with a 67. She earned her tour card in December with a seventh-place tie at Q-school.

Congrats, Tiger. I look forward to seeing Charlie at the 2030 Masters.

Tiger and Elin Woods welcome their second child, a son named Charlie.

Tiger Woods's wife, Elin, gave birth on Sunday to a boy, Charlie Axel Woods. It is the second child for the couple; their daughter Sam was born in 2007.

The birth, first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune, was confirmed on tigerwoods.com.

“Both Charlie and Elin are doing great and we want to thank everyone for their sincere best wishes and kind thoughts,” Woods said in a statement on the site.

Woods has not released any photos of the baby yet, but said he and Elin “look forward to introducing Charlie to you at the appropriate time.”

This afternoon, I played 12 holes at Coyote Ridge Golf Club. The weather was sunny but cold, around 50F. There was only a little wind from the south. I warmed up pretty poorly on the range, hitting a lot of fat short wedges and short irons. Longer clubs were pretty good. I didn’t get a chance to putt before playing. The course was very firm and fast, and the greens were speedy. We played from the blues, which I don’t usually play, but since I’m playing the GGA tournament next week, need the practice playing a longer course.

My round:

• First hole. I hit my hybrid thin and straight at the tree on the right of the fairway. I’ve been in that spot many times it seems. My 6-iron from the rough was hit thin and struck a branch on the tree. The ball ended up in the middle of the fairway, but only advanced about 20 yds. My third shot with a 7-iron was hit thin as well and over the green. I putted from the fringe to about 3 ft and made the putt for bogey.
• Second hole. I hit a thriver to the right side of the fairway. My second shot with the hybrid was pushed right into the rough. My third shot was high and short into the bunker in front of the green. I got out cleanly but short of the green. I putted from the fringe to about 4 ft, but lipped out the putt and tapped in for double.
• Third hole. I pulled my hybrid tee shot from 190 yds left of the hole but pin-high in the rough. My lob wedge was struck thin and over the green into the bunker, where it embedded in the sand below the lip. I had an extremely difficult shot, which didn’t get out of the bunker. My fourth shot was hit thin and over the green and put an X on the scorecard so as to not hold up play.
• Fourth hole. My tee shot with the driver was well-struck but right of my target line. A bad bounce put the ball into the ditch. My second shot with a 7-iron was well-struck but rolled into a grass bunker on the left side of the fairway, leaving me with a 9-iron into the green. My shot was hit a bit fat (that’s an improvement over thin) and short. My chip was pretty good, to about 4 ft, but the putt lipped out and I tapped in for a disappointing bogey.
• Fifth hole. I hit a nice drive into the center of the fairway, but my second with a 6-iron was right and short into the bunker. My bunker shot was fat and short. I chipped poorly and compounded it by three-putting for triple.
• Sixth hole. My driver hit the center of the fairway, but my second shot was left of the green. I chipped nicely to about 5 ft, lipped out the putt and tapped in for bogey.
• Seventh hole. I hit a 7-iron short into the water. My third was hit onto the green but well right of the pin, where I three-putt for triple.
• Eighth hole. I hit a long drive over the two bunkers but into the rough. My second shot was pin-high right into the greenside bunker. My bunker shot was hit thin over the green into the long rough over the cart path. My fourth with a lob wedge struck the flag and ran about 9 ft past the hole. I two-putt for double.
• Ninth hole. I hit a perfect 5-wood right into the center of the fairway. My second shot with a 5-wood came up just short of the green. I chipped poorly to about 30 ft, but nailed the long uphill putt for par.
• Tenth hole. I hit a hybrid left of the fairway just in front of the creek. Since I was behind a tree, I had to hit a 7-iron to get over it. My shot hooked way left of the fairway. I was too long to go for the green, so I hit a pitching wedge layup shot. My fourth shot was into the greenside bunker. I got out cleanly but just short. I putted from the fringe and then tapped in for double.
• Eleventh hole. I hit a well-struck hybrid onto the green but about 35 ft from the hole. My birdie putt didn’t break as I expected and was left with about 6 ft, which I read perfectly for par.
• Twelfth hole. My driver was perfectly struck into the center of the fairway. My second with an 8-iron was nicely struck leaving me about 12 ft for birdie. My birdie putt didn’t break at all and I tapped in for par.

Other than the ball I hit into the water, my tee shots were pretty good, hitting five of nine fairways, and one par-3 hole in regulation. My approach shots still leave much to be desired, as I hit only one green on par-4 or par-5 holes. My sand play was just terrible. I had a few good chips and a few left well short. My putting was mediocre, other than the 30 footer I nailed on the ninth hole and the breaking 6 footer on the 11th. I only got up and down three times on 12 holes (only once for par).

I’ll spend the week working on chips, pitches and wedges. My long game (driver, thriver, 5-wood, hybrid) is pretty respectable right now, but my poor iron play into the green puts too much stress on my short game. I’ll spend what practice time I have this week on short irons, chips, pitches and wedges, along with lots of putting practice.

My goal for the next tournament is to break 100.

This afternoon, I played a practice round at the Grapevine Golf Course in preparation for the January GGA tournament. We played the Mockingbird and Pecan courses, the same courses that will be used for the next tournament. We played from the blue tees, as that’s where the tournament is played. The weather was very nice for January, mid-60s by the afternoon. There was a strong wind on a couple of holes, but mostly light and variable.

The course was playing firm and fast, greens very fast.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I hit 7 of 14 fairways and one par-3 hole. I had two penalties off the tee, one an unplayable lie under one of those ball-eating grass bushes (9th hole Mockingbird), and one dunked in the water (9th hole Pecan).
• Approach shots. Not good at all. I didn’t hit a single green in regulation, except for the par-3 hole. I had two penalties on approach shots, both balls lost into the woods. I did have a few shots that were pretty good and just off the greens.
• Chips and short wedges. My chipping and pitching was very mixed. I got up-and-down four times, but I thinned two or three chips over the green.
• Sand shots. I was in two greenside bunkers, and got out cleanly from both, though I didn’t get up and down on either one.
• Putting. Pretty pathetic. Aside from a 12 foot putt, I didn’t hit any long putts at all. I three-putt my only green in regulation, and added four more three-putts to go along with it. 36 putts total. Yeech!

I wasn’t particularly happy with the way I played. I didn’t use the driver or thriver at all, as my practice time has been very limited and I’ve been fighting big hooks with these clubs. My 5-wood was used on almost all of the par-4 and par-5 holes. I’m going to have to get the driver and/or thriver to work. Having long irons or hybrids into most of the par-4 holes is quite challenging.

Still, I did manage to shoot 5 shots better than the last time I played this course.

On Sunday, John and I played 14 holes of match play at Coyote Ridge Golf Club. We went off at around 2PM on a 50 degree day, cool but sunny with barely any wind. The course was playing very firm and fast. Unfortunately, we were behind some very slow groups and were only able to complete 14 holes.

My round:

• First hole. I hit a 5-iron thin off the tee, leaving me an 8-iron from behind the tree to the right of the fairway. I hit that one very thin and was left about 15 yds short of the green. I then shanked a lob wedge right of the green, chipped on and two-putted for double. Halved the hole.
• Second hole. I hit a perfect drive right down the center of the fairway, and then a perfect 8-iron layup to about 95 yds to the pin. Unfortunately, I hit my 3/4 approach wedge thin and long, leaving me with a downhill lie in the rough above the hole. I hit a chip long and two-putt for bogey. John hit a stellar chip to about 4 ft and nailed the par putt to go one up on me.
• Third hole. I hit a 5-iron 10 yds short and right of the pin. I hit a good chip about 6 ft by the hole and nailed the par putt. John just missed his par putt and I got the match back to even.
• Fourth hole. My drop-kicked drive was in the center of the fairway. I hit a nice hybrid shot to about 75 yds from the green in perfect position to fire at the pin. I hit a sand wedge to about 20 ft and two putt for par. John also hit the green in regulation, but left with about a 35 ft putt for birdie, which he ran 3 ft by the hole. He made the par putt to halve the hole and leave us even.
• Fifth hole. I hit a nasty duck hook into the left rough no more than a 100 yds from the tee. From there, I pulled a 6-iron into the left rough. My wedge from there was short, and I chipped poorly and two-putt for double. Fortunately, John didn’t play the hole any better and we halved the hole to stay even.
• Sixth hole. I popped up my 5-wood into the fairway. My hybrid 2nd shot was pin-high just left of the green. I chipped long and two-putt for bogey. John chipped nicely and nailed his par putt to go one up.
• Seventh hole. I misjudged the wind and overclubbed, going well over the green. However, John hit virtually the same shot. He hit a low chip that ran well past the pin, but on the green. My lob wedge was hit short, so I had to chip, but went about 9 ft past the hole. I two-putt from there for double. John two-putted from a longer distance and won the hole with bogey to go 2-up.
• Eighth hole. My 5-wood tee shot was well struck, but was right of the fairway. My second shot was a little short. I hit my pitch to about 12 ft and three-putted for double. John’s second shot was in the bunker to the right of the green and it took him two to get out. He two-putt from there to halve the hole, but he was still 2-up on me.
• Ninth hole. I hit a perfect hybrid off the tee to the center of the fairway, then a nice hybrid just short of the green. I hit a nearly perfect chip from there to less than 2 ft and was conceded par. John had hit his tee shot into the pond left of the fairway, but he played the hole well from there and managed a bogey. I made the turn down 1 hole.
• Tenth hole. I hit a hybrid off the tee a bit left of my target line. My hybrid shot from there was in the center of the fairway, but with a lengthy third. My third was thin and left. The ball hit a tree left of the green and fortunately stopped in the rough without rolling into the creek. I hit a decent wedge from there and just missed my par putt and tapped in for bogey. I don’t recall what John scored on the hole, but I won the hole to even the match.
• Eleventh hole. I hit a 6-iron off the toe short of the hole. My chip didn’t go far enough up the ridge, and rolled back nearly to the spot I’d hit from. My second chip was much better, but I missed my bogey putt. John played his hole much the same way and we halved the hole to remain even.
• Twelfth hole. I hit a perfect 5-wood into the center of the fairway, leaving me with a 7-iron to the green. John hit an iron off the tee and had a 5-iron. His shot was well left of the green but pin-high, mine was just right of the green and pin-high. John chipped onto the green, but misread his putt and made bogey. I hit a very nice chip to about 4 ft and nailed the par putt to take my first lead in the match. Alas, it didn’t last.
• Thirteenth hole. I hit a fat 5-wood well right of the fairway, leaving me behind a tree. John hit an iron into the center of the fairway. I had to lay up as I didn’t have a shot at the green. I hit my 7-iron thin and low, hitting a branch. The ball ended up right next to John’s ball, but he hadn’t taken his 2nd yet. My third shot was badly pulled and should have been lost in the woods, however, it hit a tree solidly and trickled back into the fairway below the hole. My 4th with a lob wedge was struck thin and well over the green. I conceded the hole as John had a short putt for par.
• Fourteenth hole. The flag was well up, as was the pin. John hit his tee shot into the bunker very close to the edge, leaving him with virtually no shot. I took that as a sign to hit the ball into the center of the green. However, my pitching wedge was hit very high and the ball ended up in its own crater. Even though it took John two to get out of the bunker, my own shot was hit thin over the green, where the ball rolled well down the hill. My lob wedge was short (again!) and I had to concede the hole when John rolled in his putt. I was one down at this point.

That was one ugly match play, but I greatly enjoyed being out on a gorgeous, if chilly, afternoon. The only bad thing about the day was the very slow pace of play of the groups in front of us. John and I both like to play fast and we can finish nine in an hour and a half if we don’t have to wait. But wait we did, so long that we didn’t get our match completed.

A quarter-century ago in college, I spent the better part of two semesters studying Maxwell’s equations in electromagnetics classes. Little did I know that I could use those equations to design golf balls.

The IP Golf Guy – The Golf Patent Lawyer (Golf Inventions, Patents, Litigation, Trademarks): How Is Your Knowledge of Electromagnetic Field Theory, Soddy Circles, and Circle Packing Theory? Fortunately Acushnet’s Golf Ball Engineers Know a Little About These Subjects.

A number of physical phenomena are described by Laplace's equation including steady-state heat conduction, incompressible fluid flow, elastostatics, as well as gravitational and electromagnetic fields. The theory of solutions of this equation is called Potential Theory.

One example of Potential Theory is electromagnetic field theory, which can be used to distribute objects on a spherical surface. Electromagnetic field theory has been studied extensively over the years for a variety of applications. It has been used, for example, in satellite mirror design. Electromagnetic field theory, including the obvious applications to semiconductor research and computer technology, has many applications in the physical sciences, not limited to celestial mechanics, organic chemistry, geophysics, and structural acoustics.

In many applications, the objects are treated as point charges so that principles of electromagnetic field theory can be applied to determine optimal positioning or to predict the equilibrium position of the objects.

This afternoon, I played a nine-hole Skins Game with three friends. We went off around 3PM and finished up as the sun was going down. The weather was excellent, about 70 degrees, with a soft breeze from the southwest.

My round:

• First hole. I hit a five-iron off the tee into the right fringe, about a foot off the fairway. I hit a 7-iron onto the green, but I three-putted from about 35 ft for bogey. No one won the hole outright.
• Second hole. I hit a 5-wood with good distance over the left bunker. I had 240 left to the hole, so I hit a layup shot to about a 100 yd shot just in front of the first greenside bunker. From there, I hit a fat approach wedge short of the green, but I hit a really good chip to about 6 ft and hit the putt for par, to win the hole and two skins.
• Third hole. I hit a poor tee shot short and right. I chipped poorly to about 20 ft, but ran the downhill putt well by the hole and ended up three-putting for double. Dean won the hole outright with a bogey.
• Fourth hole. I hit a long tee shot with the 5-wood, but it kicked right into the ditch on the right side of the fairway. From there, I chunked a 7-iron into the pond, took a drop, chunked a 9-iron into the pond and took an X on the hole, since one of my competitors was on the green in two. Dean, who hit the green in two, two-putted for birdie to win the hole outright.
• Fifth hole. Hooked my tee shot out of bounds left. My third shot was hit thin and left. My fourth shot was on the green, and I two-putted for double. Dean won the hole with par.
• Sixth hole. I hit a good tee shot just to the right of the fairway bunker, hit my approach pin-high, but left of the green. I hit a poor chip well past the hole and two-putted for bogey. John hit a nice putt from the fringe to win the hole with par.
• Seventh hole. I hit a 7-iron onto the green 25 ft below the hole, and two-putted for par to win the hole. All three of my competitors ended up in the left hand bunker and they weren’t able to get up and down to tie the hole.
• Eighth hole. I popped up my drive, which ended up in the left hand rough. I hit a five iron into the right hand rough, then hit a poor lob wedge short, hit a mediocre chip and two-putt for double. Two of my playing companions tied on the hole, so no one won the hole.
• Ninth hole. Hit my drive right near the out-of-bounds. Hit a 5-iron right, where it hit a mound and bounced into the center of the fairway. My third shot with the approach wedge was on the green 30 ft left of the hole. I two-putted for bogey and won the hole outright for two skins.

I ended up winning five skins. I was pretty happy with the way I played, given that I’ve been able to practice due to my sore shoulder until yesterday.

… because he wore “cargo shorts”.

Obama Kicks Off His Vacation With a Round of Golf.

Obama, a left-handed golfer, sported black shades and wore a white polo shirt, brown cargo shorts, short white socks and golf shoes. About midway through the course, Obama stopped by the snack bar, where he purchased two hot dogs, two passion-orange sodas, one Powerade and one Coke. He also bought two Spam musubi, a sushi-like Hawaiian delicacy consisting of Spam and fried egg on a slab of rice, all held together with a dried seaweed wrap. He paid a total of $17.75, but it was unclear whether the president-elect ate a Spam musubi.

At the clubhouse, Obama unexpectedly bumped into a pool of reporters, who asked how his game was going. He smiled and conceded: "I'm not that good."

For the record, I voted Libertarian.