Joey's Golf Bag

Michelle fired a hole-in-one at the Canadian Women’s Open and leads by 3. Go win!!!

Michelle Wie fires hole-in-one, seizes Canada lead

Michelle Wie has had the second hole-in-one of her professional career Thursday on the way to a 7-under 65 and a three-shot lead after the first round of the CN Canadian Women’s Open.

The 6-foot-tall Wie says she’s notched eight holes-in-one in her career, but only one other as a pro, in her rookie season at last year’s LPGA Championship. This on came on the 190-yard, par-3 11th hole.

Three days after finalizing his divorce, Tiger looks like he’s getting his mojo back.

Tiger picks good time for best round of ’10

Not far from the bright lights of the Big Apple, Tiger Woods put on a show worthy of Broadway.

He shot an opening round 6-under 65 to share the early lead with Vaughn Taylor during the first round of The Barclays.

Woods was all smiles after holing an 8-foot birdie putt to complete his round, which ended with his first fist pump on an 18th green in recent memory.

“It’s exciting to hit the ball flush like this again,” he said. “It’s something I’ve missed all year.”

… Tiger Woods could be eliminated from the FedEx Cup this weekend. The PGA Tour says only the top 96 positions are guaranteed a spot in the first FedEx Cup event, and Tiger Woods is in position 108. (via a Retweet by Geoff Shackelford from sdimegUSATgolf).

Update: Tiger is 112th in FedEx Cup standings, so his season lasts at least one more tournament.

A fine performance by Louis Oosthuizen at the Open Championship today, which he won by 7 shots. After Paul Casey’s meltdown on the 12th, I had a good snooze and woke up just in time to see Louis’ tee shot to the green at 18.

The most interesting happenings during the Open:

• Tiger Woods forgets how to putt. He had at least nine or ten three-putts. If he’d 2-putted all those holes, he would have been in the final group on Sunday.
• Rory McIlroy has got a lot of game and even more heart. After his meltdown 80 on Friday, he shot 68-69 on the weekend to tie for third.
• Lee Westwood gets yet another 2nd place finish in a major. If only he could have made a few more putts this week.
• Phil Mickelson and the Open are incompatible.

The wind was really howling on the Old Course at St. Andrews in the Open Championship and the bulk of the field went backwards. Louis Oosthuizen leads by 5 over Mark Calcavecchia, but Louis has never lead a major before and Mark plays on the Old Farts Tour. I’m thinking Tiger is really only two back of the real leaders, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood, who are at -6.

This morning, I played 18 at WestRidge Golf Course in McKinney. We went off about 11:30 and finished a pretty slow round around 4PM. The day was sunny and hot, with a 1-2 club breeze most of the day. The greens had been recently punched, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. I had my best ever nine holes with a score of 38 (+2) on the front, with 3 birdies. I added a fourth birdie with a chip-in on the back, but otherwise played poorly on the back. Still, 86 is my best score ever, so I’m not complaining.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit only five fairways, which is my worst performance in a while. I also had three penalties off the tee, two into hazards and one out of bounds. I also hit two par-3 holes in regulation.
• Approach shots. Not very good, since I hit only two holes, other than par-3 holes, in regulation. One was stellar, though, a gap wedge to a foot on #6. I had one penalty on an approach, a 4-wood hit into a hazard I didn’t know was there.
• Wedges. I had a mixed day with the wedges. The good: A nearly perfect gap wedge to a foot for birdie on #6. The bad: A perfect drive on #10 and I chunked the gap wedge from the center of the fairway. My next wedge was good but I missed the putt for par. I also had a dead shank with a sand wedge. Yeech!
• Chips. I chipped in for birdie on #12 from about 3 yds off the green, and got up-and-down only three times all day.
• Sand shots. I hit into one fairway bunker, which I hit a good 9-iron out, but well short of the green, and into one greenside bunker that was full of water, from which I took relief.
• Putting. My putting was good today. I hit four greens in regulation, and made three birdie putts. I had 29 putts total, and no three putts at all. Probably my best putting day ever.

I was very, very pleased with my front nine, the best golf I’ve ever played. This was especially nice since I spent the week before I played unable to practice at all due to muscle spasms in my back. My back nine was mediocre, but I still managed to get home with my best score ever.

This morning, I went off at 9:33AM at Grapevine Golf Club in the June GGA tournament. The weather was hot and breezy. I went off on Mockingbird and finished on Pecan. As usual, it took a little less than 5 hours to play the round. The course was soft due to a heavy thunderstorm earlier in the week.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit 8 fairways (by some miracle — I hit mostly hooks with the driver). I also hit one of the par-3 holes in regulation. I fought the hook all day with the driver, and the one time the ball didn’t hook, I pushed it into a fairway bunker. On the holes I hit 4-wood, I hit every fairway. I loved my 4-wood all day. I had three penalties off the tee, all on par-3 holes.
• Approach shots. Aside from the par-3 hole, I hit 4 greens-in-regulation. My main miss was short.
• Wedges. My wedges were pretty mediocre today; I got up-and-down only three times, and one of those was out of a greenside bunker.
• Chips. I had two chips today, and didn’t get up-and-down from either one.
• Sand shots. I hit into one fairway bunker and one greenside bunker, both on the par-4 3rd hole on Pecan. My greenside bunker shot was almost perfect; I had a 1 foot putt left. The fairway bunker shot was hit very fat and didn’t go more than 50 yds.
• Putting. Terrible. Other than my 20 ft putt I nailed for birdie on the last hole, and a 30 ft putt for bogey on the first hole, I didn’t hit a putt outside of 4 ft. 36 putts total, and three 3-putts (two on greens hit in regulation). Yeech!

I was pretty amazed that I was able to post a score in the money considering how badly I struck the ball today. The hook bedeviled me with my driver all day. Three penalties on par-3 holes was just ugly golf. Still, once I gave up going for everything and played for bogey, I did OK. A score under my handicap is still pretty good.

Update: Finished 2nd (gross) in my flight.

Filmed this afternoon at Golden Bear Golf Center by Russ from Fit2Score. The camera used was a Casio EX-F1 at 300 fps, edited in iMovie to MPEG4, and then uploaded to YouTube.

So, here’s what is going on. Obviously, way past parallel at the top, which causes me to be a little out of control. Swing is too much from the inside (mostly!) with an open club face (really need to work on my release — fear of the hook, I guess). The ball will end up in the middle of the fairway, just not the one I’m aiming at.

I really, really need to see Mike again. Get well soon, Mike.

This weekend, Johnnie and I played the GGA away tournament at Squaw Valley Golf Club in Glen Rose, TX. Last Thursday, we held the Calcutta auction for the tournament, and Johnnie and I paid $200 for our team. On Saturday, we were up at the crack of dawn and on the range before our 8AM start. I warmed up poorly, but had a good putting warmup. We went off #14 on the Comanche Lakes course in a shotgun start. My first tee shot was well-struck, clearing the water on this long par-5 hole nicely in the middle of the fairway. Two shots later I was on the green in regulation and 2-putted for par to open the tournament. Seventeen holes later, I had shot my personal best score, 87. Johnnie had a pretty good round of 96, and by the magic of handicap, our best ball total was 80 gross and 55 net. We were 4 shots up on our Calcutta flight and tied for the overall lead (net), after the first day.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I hit a total of 6 fairways, and had two penalties off the tee (balls in the water on #11 and #13). I didn’t hit any of the par-3 holes in regulation.
• Approach shots. I hit 4 holes in regulation and had one penalty on an approach shot (ball in the water going for the green in two on #2). My approach shots were better than indicated, as I was often putting from just off the green, which makes my putting stats better and my approach stats worse.
• Wedges. My wedges were pretty good on this day.
• Chipping. I didn’t have any chips, instead, putting when close to the green.
• Sand shots. I didn’t hit into any bunkers.
• Putting. My putting was good, as I had only 28 total putts and had eight 1-putt greens. I missed all of my birdie putts and had but a single 3-putt.

On the second day, we pretty much followed the script from the first day, except going off on #17. Despite hitting my first fairway (and the next five fairways), I played the first hole poorly, making double bogey. I did bounce back with a nice 15 ft putt holed for birdie on #18, but the rest of my game on Sunday wasn’t very good. Fortunately, Johnnie had a good day, shooting 90, so with my 95 and the magic of handicapping, we shot 84 gross and net 59. Our two day total of 114 gave us a victory by 5 shots (net). We didn’t win gross, naturally (coming in at 164, well off the winning score of 123). We also won our flight in the Calcutta draw — the big money!

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. I hit my first 6 fairways, but hit the 7th drive out of bounds left. I hit only two more after that for a total of 8 fairways hit.
• Approach shots. Not good. I hit only four greens in regulation. I sprayed balls everywhere but on the green. And two of the shots weren’t close, as I three-putted two of them (but did nail a putt for birdie).
• Wedges. How bad can it get? Here’s how bad: Three shanks, and three balls hit thin over the green. Terrible.
• Chipping. No chips today, that’s how far I was from the green most of the day.
• Sand shots. I hit into two greenside bunkers and two fairway bunkers. I got out nicely from one fairway bunker with an 8-iron, but hit a pitching wedge from another fairway bunker a little fat and not more than 50 yds. One of the two greenside bunker shots was good, but the other barely got out.
• Putting. I had two 3-putts, but other than that, had a pretty good putting day with 32 putts, including one for birdie. I had six 1-putt greens, but none of them was for par.

Not a very good day for me, but we still managed to shoot 59 (net), so I’m not complaining. These two scores were my two best tournament scores, so I was pretty happy with how I played over two days. My main improvement was putting (28 on Saturday and 32 on Sunday). The rest of my game continues to improve slowly, but much, much work remains to be done. But, finally, progress!

Summer has arrived here in Big D with a vengeance. Yesterday, I was able to get out early at Golden Bear and miss the really hot part of the day. Still, I sweated like a pig, as there was little breeze to compete with the bright sunshine and oppressive humidity.

I started off in the short game area, hitting short pitches from a mound just off the green in the rough. My pitches were all long, but I soon got the swing speed right and hit some really nice shots. I’m using a Stan Utley style pitch (square, narrow stance, quick set of the club and using the bounce) with my sand wedge. Next, I hit some longer pitches from the same area but to the flag just on top of the Pete Dye style bunker. My distance control wasn’t as good with the longer pitches, plus I tended to hit them right of the flag. Next, I went into that bunker and hit about 20 or so balls out of the bunker. I got the majority of them out, and about half the balls were hit really nicely.

After the short game practice, I went to the putting green. First, I hit a few balls from 12 ft just to get a feel for the speed of the green. Next, I hit 3 footers until I hit at least 10 in a row. I then ran my usual speed drills, hitting putts from 6 to 18 ft, making sure all putts went by the cup if missed (and re-doing the putt if left short), then hitting lag putts from 24-45 ft. Since I’ve gone back to the TWGT S2R model 3 putter, I’ve putted much better than with the Odyssey 3-ball. That club is in for an extended stay in my closet.

After putting, I got a large bucket of balls. I did my usual “Every Shot Must Have a Purpose” warmup, followed by extensive work with Tour Tempo 27/9. My ball striking went from terrible to mediocre, but hey, that’s an improvement. My driving was still erratic, but distance was good; just need to get the ball to go straight. Finally, I hit half pitching wedge shots to the purple-flagged green, and managed to get that nice tempo and rhythm that I’d found before I hurt my back back in April.

This morning, I was up rather late due to staying up way too late the previous night. The heat was already in full blast furnace mode by the time I got to Golden Bear. This time, I started out on the range, after getting a full bucket of balls. Since I was already warmed up and ready by the oppressive heat, I hit 5 sand wedges to get going, then hit 3 balls to each of the five greens, followed by 5 drives. I then tried to recapture the smooth rhythm I’d found at the end of my practice yesterday, but after hitting about 20 balls, couldn’t quite get it going. I took my driver out of the bag, and boom! Now, I had my rhythm. I hit the driver quite well, mostly right down the middle of the range at the 250 yd marker (measured at 234 yds with my laser rangefinder). I even was able to work the ball a little, calling draws and fades with pretty good success. My distance was a bit short, no better than 220 yd carry, but I was pleased that I was hitting the driver so well. I hit a lot of drives, taking a break or two to cool down, and then played a mock round of the front nine at Coyote Ridge.

While my driving in the mock round was not perfect, all of my approach shots, with one exception, were really good. I even made mock birdies on the par-5 4th hole, hitting the green in 2 after a good drive and a perfect 7-wood approach, and hitting a perfect 2nd shot on the par-4 6th hole after a poor tee shot. My mock front nine was only marred by a hooked approach into the water on the ninth. Still, a really nice 39 on the front. (I have a really good imagination 😉 ).

After running out of balls in that mock round, I rested for about 5 minutes in the shade, before going to the putting green. I started out hitting ten 3-foot putts in a row, missing several times and starting over, but eventually getting 20 balls in a row before I moved on. Next, I hit a few balls from 12 ft, making 3 of 5 to start off. I moved out to 18 ft, and still managed to put 2 of 5 in the cup. Next, I practiced lag putting from 24-45 ft, hitting a lot of balls from 30 and 45 ft. My 30 ft lag putting was good, getting almost all of the balls within 2 ft of the cup, but from 45 ft, only a couple of balls were within 3 ft of the cup. I still need a lot of work from 30 ft and out.

My game is starting to improve again after my long layoff due to my back injury. I was happy to see some improvement, and I hope to get back to where I was in time for the away tournament next weekend.