Golf from the 1930s

A lifelong historian and history teacher for 42 years I am always looking for new/old adventures. And if it involves golf – all the better. This past week I hit some balls on a course that has been out of business for more than 70 years.

Great fun, still could find several of the tee-boxes and old sand greens, although they didn’t look much like it any longer. And no I didn’t use my new Adams irons. I used some clubs from the fifties as I was afraid I would break my old hickories if I tried them.

No old golf balls though, I just teed up a modern Tommy Armour, not because I like this ball but because the Worthington, Tommy Armour, was the ball of choice when this course was up and running in the 1930s.

Great way to spend a warm early spring day in Wyoming.

I have managed to play several rounds this month, today the wind is blowing, and I will settle for a hike in the state park and some TV golf.

Miguel Angel Jimenez - a Very Flexible Man

Like many golf fans I have long been intrigued by Miguel Angel Jimenez. Doesn’t look like he is in the best of shape, and there are always photos of him drinking and smoking cigars. He is partying while the rest of the tour guys seem to be running, lifting, resting, meditating, visiting with their personal sports psychiatrists or any number of stroke loosing activities.

But players on tour refer to him as the Mechanic, and for a reason. He is good, and can adjust on the go, he can easily fix things with his swing when needed and even if he is 50 he can still play with the young guys. Last year he became the oldest winner ever on the European Tour breaking the record of a 49 year old winner –oh, never mind, that was him also.

It is well known that he doesn’t practice much, other than hitting some balls before he plays, so what is his secret?

Flexibility, he seems to be blessed with it. Watch the video below, forget what he is saying just take a look at the 50 year old and see how flexible he is, that is why golfers, above all else, must stretch and stay flexible.

 

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/grill-room/video-jimenez-leads-group-stretching-class/

 

Miguel Angel Jimenez one of my favorite golfers!

Stadley, Buba and Four Guys on a Golf Course

Good to see young Stadler finally get one, even if I kind of wanted Buba to win. Looks like we will have two Stad's at the Masters this year.


Just for fun another golf joke!


A Foursome of young married guys playing golf on Sunday - One the second hole the following conversation took place

First Golfer: "Man, you have no idea what I had to do to be able to come out golfing this weekend. I had to promise my wife that I will paint every room in the house next weekend."

Second Golfer: "That's nothing; I had to promise my wife that I will build her a new deck for the pool."

Third Golfer: "Man, you both have it easy! I had to promise my wife that I will remodel the kitchen for her."

They continue to play the hole when they realized that one player has not said a word. So they ask him. "You haven't said anything about what you had to do to be able to come golfing this weekend. What's the deal?"

Fourth Golfer: "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say that the foundation for the new house is being poured next Tuesday."

New Clubs Time of Year

Are your clubs more than five years old? If they are you are likely missing out on the best of new technology. Now is a great time to buy new clubs. There are some great deals on end of the year clubs, new clubs are coming soon. If you buy the 2013 there are many, maybe too many, reviews of what you will get. Buy 2014 and you might be taking a bigger chance. Right now E-bay and Amazon have dozens of sellers hawking last year’s latest technology.

Not in the market for new clubs, did you know that you should change your grips every year. Some of mine are five years old and I play a lot of golf, 200 plus rounds per year. But I am not going to take my advice on grips; instead I am going to order new irons. I bought new Calloway woods last year, and love them. I bought a new putter two years ago and will probably buy a new one this year. I have been looking at some new Adams hybrid irons and Ping putters so believe that is the way I will go.

-Laugh for the day-

A golfer, playing a round by himself, is about to tee off, a non athletic looking salesman runs up to him, and yells, "Wait! Before you tee off, I have something really amazing to show you!"

The golfer, annoyed, says, "What is it?"

"It's a special golf ball," says the salesman. "You can never lose it!"

"Whattaya mean," laughs the golfer, "you can never lose it? What if I hit it into the water?"

"Not a problem," says the salesman. "It floats, and it detects where the shore is, and spins towards it."

"Well, what if I hit it into the woods?"

"Easy," says the salesman. "It emits a beeping sound, and you can find it with your eyes closed."

"Okay," says the golfer, impressed. "But what if my round goes late and it gets dark?"

"No problem, sir, this golf ball glows in the dark! I'm telling you, you can never lose this golf ball!"

The golfer buys it at once. "Just one question," he says to the salesman. "Where did you get it?"

"I found it."

How To Find Lost Golf Balls

Americans lose 300 million golf balls a year.

The reconditioning and reselling of those used balls has become a hundreds of million dollars a year industry. The Internet and large retailers like Wal-Mart sell thousands of dozen each week. In the old days the only place you could find these ‘water balls’ was in the golf shop. Why don’t we find a few ourselves and cut out the middlemen.

So where do you look to pick up a few of the millions of lost golf balls.

When looking for balls try the out of bounds to the right 170 to 180 yards off the tee.

For the expensive balls try about 220 yards but still the right side.

Most golfers that should be looking in the 170 area look in the 200 yard area and most that should be looking in the 220 range look in the 250-260 area.

If you can’t find your own ball walk back, you likely didn’t hit it that far.

Better balls are often found left and behind longer holes.

When looking along water, more balls are found on the tee side than the green side.

Check out new tree wells, the edges of paths and any grass boarders that need a weed eater.

And lastly, if you find one, there is a good chance another is hiding nearby, make a circle around where you found yours.

Please don’t stop and look while playing, but there is always a chance to walk by some of these ball happy areas. Remember if you hit it here someone else probably did too.

Another Golf - Player of the Year

Adam Scott has been voted the Male Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America, Tiger Woods finished second. Before you ask who the writers in the GWAA are, I will answer for you. Writers who publish a lot of words about golf but fail to watch or understand that winning a major and two small tourneys in Australia does not make a player of the year.

Tiger won the money title and the Vardon Trophy (lowest scoring average) who, on tour, wouldn’t want to win these two? If not Tiger, Henrik Stenson gets my vote for player of the year, wait, I don’t have a vote.

I might be prejudiced against Scott, and I admit it, I hate the long putter. He is a big young guy and, too me, looks silly with that senior tour putter. I for one will be glad when they are gone.

Looks like golf for me this afternoon, nice day!

Congratulations to Adam Scott for winning the GWAA player of the year – even if no one has ever heard of this award.

Indoor Winter Practice

And old golf adage say’s most golfers practice too much, too little or just plain wrong. If you are not sure what to practice, start at about three feet and move out from there. A majority of all shots in a round are from 100 yards and in, practice hard from three feet to 100 yards and you will get better.

Best thing about this you can work on your putting stroke indoors, watching football. But make sure it is repeated and repeated, same setup, same takeaway and same smooth stroke.

Anyone else watching architects week on the golf channel, good stuff?

Winter Golf - You Bet

Played in shirtsleeves Tuesday and last night we had snow and zero temperature early this morning. But then again that is life in Wyoming, ski in the morning and play golf in the afternoon.

If you have not tried it yet, http://www.golf18network.com/, is terrific, try it. Deep discounts for golf in whatever area you wish. I have no connections with these people, just wanted to let you know about a great golf deal.

-JUST FOR FUN-

 Every Saturday morning, Josh headed to the golf course. It didn't matter what the weather was like. It could be raining and 40 degrees, but Josh didn't care. It was off to the course, every single Saturday morning for than ten years.

But one Saturday, Josh finally met his match with the weather. He got up early and drove out to the course, hoping the weather would improve by the time got off the first tee. But once at the course, he knew he couldn’t do it. It was just a few degrees above freezing, and snow was spitting down steady and icy cold.

For the first time in years, Josh headed back home on a Saturday morning.

His wife was still in bed when he got there, so he took off his clothes, snuggled up to his wife's backside and said "Terrible weather out there."

"Yeah," his wife replied, "and can you believe my idiot husband went to play golf

 

 

Golf In Turkey and Veterans Day

You can tell it is getting toward the end of the golf season when the big tourney of the week is in Turkey. Most Americans are thinking about Turkey, but as in Thanksgiving, not golf. The tournament was fun to watch and the course was beautiful.

Today is Veterans Day, if you are one, thanks for serving, today less golf and a little about Veterans Day.

World War I ended, June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The fighting had ended seven months earlier with the armistice, signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday in 1938. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day, honoring all U.S. veterans.

In 1968, new legislation changing four holidays, including Veterans Day, to Mondays, creating three-day government weekends. Veterans Day was to be celebrated on the fourth Monday of October. It soon became obvious that America was not buying the change and not about to change Veterans Day because November 11 was a date of historic significance to so many Americans. Because of this the government backed off the change and in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional day.

Fed-X Cup Race

Well at least golf is still important, until Thursday night when the NFL starts, then we will have college and pro football and golf may not seem as important to sports viewers.

Three unmarried men were waiting to tee off when the starter walked up to them and said, "You see that beautiful blonde practicing her putting?"

"Her? Wow, she is beautiful," they all said.

"She's a good golfer," he continued, "and would like to hook up with a group. None of the other groups will play with a woman. Can she play with you? She won't hold you up, I promise." They looked at each other and said, "Sure! She can join us." Just as the starter said, the woman played well and kept up. Plus, they kept noticing, she was very attractive.

When they reached the 18th hole, she said that if she sank her 18-footer, she'd break 80 for the first time. "Guys, I'm so excited about breaking 80 that I have to tell you something. I had a great time playing with you. I can tell you all really love golf. I want you to know that I'm single and want to marry a man who loves golf as much as I do. If one of you guys can read this putt correctly and I make it, I'll marry whichever of you was right!"

All three jumped at the opportunity. The first one looked over the putt and said, "I see it breaking 10 inches left to right." The second looked it over from all sides and said, "No, I see it breaking eight inches right to left."

The third man looked at the woman, looked at the ball, and said, "Pick it up. It's good!"

Played Today

I am starting to feel better, finally, after a month of the worst sinus problems in all my 65 years. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t hear (my wife says it was even worse than my normal selective hearing), tough time sleeping and got little or no work done. Hope to be back blogging in a few days, the nice weather here in eastern Wyoming is helping. See you in a week or so.

Neil

I did make it out to the course today, hit the ball OK. Not up to walking but my cart was fine, enjoyed the sunshine and the fresh air.

Stretch Your Way to Better Golf

People, usually older people, might ask, “when is a senior citizen a senior?” and the best answer, should be “when they think they are senior.” Don’t let it happen, fight it off, head to the golf course or your favorite walking or biking path forget about the easy chair and TV, save that for later in the day.

Keep the senior tag away by staying active. And if you are active you need to stay fit. Playing golf is a great way to stay fit, but once a week will not be enough. Fitness is ongoing and something that needs to become a daily habit for seniors, just like it was when we were little kids.  If you only play once a week, swing a club for a few minutes on the off days, walk, bike, stretch, twist and turn, stay ready to play again.

One of the keys to fitness is to stretch daily. Yes, daily! It will take you only a few minutes to get them done, but the improvement in your fitness and to your golf game can be fast and you might be surprised at how much better you feel. The time invested (usually not more than 15-20 min a day will be well worth it.

Stretching exercises alone will energize even the stiffest joints and muscles. And will help you body and soul.  Stretching does not have to hurt burn or be difficult, in fact it should be kind of easy. If the stretching exercises are difficult, they are not correct!

Google some stretches today- try, golf stretching, or stretching for senior citizens, for a start and you will find some very good and easy, workouts, What are you waiting for golf is just around the corner, get started.

 

Bill Murray Warm up

Bill Murray Warm up

Golf announcers know some things but they don’t know it all, and they proved it with their comments last weekend on Bill Murray’s baseball swing warm-up before hitting driver. This is not a bad thought process warm up; the baseball swing is a great reminder of weight shift.  Getting weight forward becomes increasingly difficult for senior golfers. Although it may look unusual the move is good. Back foot weight to front foot is important to distance with the clubs. If you would like to use this warm-up it might be a good example to make it look half baseball and half golf. That way the playing partners will not ask what you are doing.

In that same vein, teachers now are saying to do away with the weighted club swing as a way to increase swing speed. Maybe, but it is still a good stretch exercise for senior golfers. I would not suggest that you use it on the course, better to use in the off season. I even swing mine like a baseball bat, you got it, working on weight shift.

Ball Flight

Help the ball doesn’t go where I am aiming! We have all heard someone (never ourselves) say something like this. Here is what the ball will tell you after you hit it.

·        Club head speed determines how far the ball will go – this can be a problem for older golfers, stay fit, work on swing balance and swing the clubs, or at least one every day.

·        Where the clubface points the ball will go – more armatures are prone to closing the face, especially on Irons and opening the face (slice) with the driver  (pulling irons and bending the driver into the right side woods)

·        The path the club travels tells the golf ball where to start out. The club face angle will tell it where to continue.

·        The angle the club takes to approach the ball determines the trajectory (high or low) of the shot.

“What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive.”  Arnold Palmer

 

Tee It Forward

The tee it forward movement is a great idea and one I hope more courses find the time and place to let people tee it forward. Of course I am an old guy that doesn’t like hitting a three wood second shot into a par four. 

According to the tee it forward people if your average drive is only about 220 you should be playing courses around 6,000 yards or less. I think it would help if the forward tees would keep par threes at 165 yards or less also. It is really no fun to hit three or five wood on a par 3.

Also seems to be a men only idea, I see many women, maybe past their golf prime, who would love to tee it forward.

It’s still a great idea but there are problems, like the following example. This example would be someone like me playing a par five with a (20 or 30 something) single digit handicapper. He will be hitting from the members tees and some old guy, like me, will play it forward.

The hole we play will be - Par 5 - 520 yards

His tee - 520 yards – drive 300 – distance to green 220 yards, a hard 4 hybrid

My tee - 450 yards – drive 220 – distance to green 230 yards, can’t reach with anything

See the problem? We are in approximately the same place after shot #1, but shot number two is still too long, but even this old golfer does not want to play par 5s that are 390 yards long  (my 220 drive and  a 170 yard 4 hybrid). So tee it forward, just not too far.

*Special note - I can still hit it 250 on occasion, and hit my three wood 215.  On the above example I would have about 50-90 yards left with my third shot to hit the green in regulation. (Not Bad)

Down wind, downhill, hard fairways, I can reach about 500 in two. Not bad for a 65 year old 12 handicap.

Big Money Golf Stuff

I’m looking for a new set of irons after just ordering a Callaway driver and three wood. Prices are getting a little much for this old retired golfer. Thought it might be interesting to see how much someone might pay if they had all the money they ever needed. How about these prices?

I probably will not go for the $32,000 set of irons. Each of the 14 clubs is made of platinum and gold. Reported owners include well know golfers Donald Trump and Jack Nicholson. By the way, I think I can beat both of those guys.

Need some golf balls? Dixon Golf Balls can be as high as $74.95 a dozen although they do have some cheaper. I also noticed that Titleist suggested retail for 2013 is $62.00 a dozen – OUCH!

I tried a few of the Wilson Staff balls last summer, liked them a lot and loved the price.

How about a nice round?  - Try, Shadow Creek Golf Course, Las Vegas, NV $500 to play 18. A top 100 course, but come on, $500, they really don’t want guys like me; it is indeed a high roller course.

If you need a new putter you cannot go wrong with a Scotty Cameron, but they are pricey. I must be turning into my James Joyce like, stream of consciousness thinking, started wondering about Scotty Cameron the man.
Well he is still around, just turned 50 – come on now how many of you thought he had been dead for 50 years?

Cameron turned a basement business into one of the most known names in all of golf. In early career he worked for, Ray Cook, Maxfli, Cleveland, Founders and Mizuno before selling his name and designs to Titleist.

My designs never did quite so well!

-Great Pro Golf this week from Pebble Beach and the seniors in Florida-

 

Tger and Phil -- Back to Back

Tiger, #75 and Phil, #41, back to back, if you are a PGA fan, it doesn’t get any better kicking off the new season.

-My two favorite golf quotes of the week-

Lee Westwood referring to Vijay and the Antler spray big deal. “You have to be careful about what you take. I try not to take anything now, really, other than Corona and Vodka.”

Rory Mcllroy said about his new deal with Nike, “Golf needs a younger, more athletic image, and Nike has always had that. I’m young enough. I’m not sure I’m athletic enough. But I’ll try!”

This week the PGA goes to Pebble and the champion’s Tour has their first full field tourney with the Allianz in Boca Raton. Great golf TV if you live in a cold state and can’t play yet!

 

Phi, Vijay, Sergio and # 16

Phil is tearing it up this week. I wonder if the happiest PGA pro in the world might be Vijay Singh. Phil is playing lights out and the talk is all about him and not about Vijay and the deer antler fairy dust conspiracy.

If you didn’t see the melt down, by now, staring Sergio García you really missed something. It was hilarious, although he probably is embarrassed by it now, he shouldn’t be. Golf doesn’t need to be so stuffy all the time.

Reminded me of the old time baseball managers, if you are old enough to remember Earl Weaver, or as old as me and remember Billy Martin, you know what I am talking about. They went crazy and it was fun, people loved it, they cheered and they booed.

Speaking of booing and cheering, most people watching the Phoenix Waste Management Open don’t know what to think about #16. Cheered if you hit a good one, booed roundly if you miss the green, it’s like going to a golf tournament in Arizona and a hockey game in the Bronx breaks out.

Enjoy the Super Bowl and go Phil

 

A "gimme" can best be defined as an agreement between two golfers, neither of whom can putt very well. ~Anonymous

Senior Golfer - Play the Right Shat and Hit it Deep

 No one wants to hit if farther than the typical senior golfer.

So, lets make it happen.

What shaft should senior golfers play? I believe seniors often, too soon, go for the softer shaft, then slow down their swings and seem satisfied with the down the middle 185 yard drive. Not sure that is the way to go, or best for your game.

Not everyone can have a pro check their swing and measure swing speed but everyone can do the following.

1.     Look at your ball flight-If you are hooking the ball even occasionally, do not go to a softer shaft

2.     If you slice bad and have a decent swing, go to a softer shaft or go to the drill below and help out you game and yourself

3.     If you want to stay with the shaft you are using but age is slowing you down—go to a good exercise program-too lazy to exercise? Try this drill.

-The Stay Young and Hit it Drill-

    Using a full length driver (not over length) take 20 swings a day concentrating on getting the weight on the inside of your back foot – shifting - and finishing with most of you weight on the inside of your front foot.

    Increase swing speed with each repetition until you are swinging faster than normal.

    Make sure you are getting a full turn with each swing

    At the end of the swings do five, eyes closed swings. These will allow you to feel the balance. WARNING—Start with a scaled down swing speed, you will lose your balance on these swing the first few days.

    Add 10 more swings each week until reaching 50 and stay with that.

    This drill can be done on the deck, in the back yard, driveway anywhere you can take a full swing.

    This is a great off season drill to get in shape for golf season.

One more mile-per-hour will add two or three yards. Use this drill five days a week for five weeks and you will see the gain—most senior players from 10-20 yards.

A good walking and stretching program will help get you closer to the 20 yard gain.

*Note-It’s January and I played 18 today, get out when you can!

10 Things To Remember On The Course This Year

As we all start, at least trying, to think about golf. Yes it will warm up and turn green sometime in the future.

Here are my things to remember for this year.

1.    Do not try to hit through a tree—all that stuff about trees being 80% air cannot be true

2.    If you are not sure, go around instead of over—remember trying to hit that lob wedge over a 60 foot tree 20 feet in front of you?

3.    Club up or down and hit your 70 or 80% shot from uneven lies

4.    Light rough still hit one more club

5.    Heavy rough – see #3 above

6.    Remember, direction is more important than distance

7.    Find out your distance with each club – average distance, not best distance

8.    Find a swing for the 75 yard shot – sand wedge, half sand wedge, half gap, whatever it takes

9.     A found golf ball is a good golf ball - tee it up

 

10. Remember the other nine

 

Happy Golfin'