Hollywood Finish to Zurich Classic

Chris Couch barely made the cut on Friday and ended up winning the tournament with a 64 and 65 on the final two days. If that wasn't enough he chipped in on the 18th hole to win the tournament. This reads like something out of a Hollywood script.

Chris Couch earned $1,080,000 with his victory on Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Coming into the week he had career earnings of $340,979 in 64 professional starts, including a career best payday of $75,660 at the 1999 Sony Open in Hawaii, his first professional start on the PGA TOUR.

The last four players to make the cut on the number after 36-holes and go on to win the tournament:

Chris Couch, 2006 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 64-65--269; Brad Faxon, 2005 Buick Championship, 65-61--126; Jose Maria Olazabal, 2002 Buick Invitational, 67-65--132; Mike Sullivan, 1989 Shell Houston Open, 68-65--133.

Chris Couch closed with a 7-under 65 to win by 1 stroke at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He chiped-in (54 feet, 1 inch) from off the green for par on No. 18.

Golf's Dreaded Worm-burner

I know most of you know what I'm talking about when I say "Golf's Dreaded Worm-burner." It's that golf shot where you just about get all of it, but it barely gets off the ground flying at a high rate of speed.

I've hit my share of worm-burners playing golf, but one time I won't forget. I was teeing off on the par 5 4th hole at Meadowlark Golf Course in Huntington Beach. I hit a solid worm-burner with my driver and about 50 yards out I hit a mallard duck right in the head. It instantly dropped it to the ground. When we got up to the mallard it was barely alive. At the time I was only 13 years old and it made me really sad that I hit it. A friend that I was with hunted ducks with his dad and said we had to kill it to put it out of its misery.

There was no way I was going to do that so my friend took his 5-iron and with one hit it was dead. It was the humane thing to do, but it was still a very sad day. I continued my golf round, but I couldn't stop thinking about it.

To this day when I'm playing golf I make sure the first 100 yards off the tee is clear so that I don't put myself in that situation again because I don't want my day of golf to be ruined by something like this.

Has this every happened to you while playing golf?

Fore On The Tee With A 3" Bump

About 10 years ago I was playing a round of golf with some friends from work at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach, CA. The friends I was playing with weren't the greatest golfers, but they were fun to play 9-holes with after work.

We were on a par 3 and everyone hit except for Dave. Dave got up to the tee and pulled the heck out of his tee shot. About 100-yards away and to the left were a line of Cypress trees protecting the tee box on the next hole. We all yelled "Fore" as we saw the ball heading towards the Cypress protected tee box. The ball cleared the Cypress trees and we heard the ball hit a tree pretty solidly... you know that solid deep sounding noise you hear when hitting a tree.

We picked up our clubs and started walking up to the green and that's when two guys came out from behind the Cypress trees with one of them holding his forehead. The one guy yelled over to us saying that we hit his friend in the head. We all walked over their and the guy that got hit lifted his hand from his forehead and my mouth dropped open.

He had a bump on his forehead that looked to be bigger than a golf ball. The bump was so big that it didn't even look real. I was a little scared because I didn't know what was going to happen to this guy. I'm sure he had some kind of concussion because that was one wicked bump on his head.

I realized that from a 100-yards away to hear the ball hit what we all thought was a tree, but in reality it hit some guy in the head was pretty surreal. If you were there and heard the ball make the noise that it did... and know that it was someone's head. Damn!!! That's just not something you want to hear or remember.

Every since then when I hear a golf ball strike a tree with that solid sound it brings me right back to that day at Skylinks Golf Course... and the visual of that 3 inch bump rising from his head.

Have you ever experienced something like that?

Teen Golfer Dowd Makes Ailing Mom Proud

REUNION, Fla. (AP) - Dakoda Dowd had two sets of three-putts, made three bogeys, finished nine shots off the lead and the 13-year-old doesn't expect to make the cut.

And in her mother's eyes, the day was perfect.

"Fantabulous," Kelly Jo Dowd said. "I have to make up my own vocabulary to describe it."

With one swing of the driver at 9:32 a.m. Thursday, and the 73 shots that followed over the next five hours, Dakoda made Kelly Jo's dream came true. The teen made her LPGA debut at the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open, which extended the terminally ill mother a chance to see her daughter compete against the game's best.

Dakoda finished the day with a 2-over 74, nine shots behind Cristie Kerr. Yet for the first time in Dakoda's golf life, winning wasn't the goal, nor the plan.

"I didn't have any expectations for this tournament, except to go out there and have a great time and look over and see my mom," said Dakoda, a winner of more than 100 tournaments and ranked among the nation's best 13-year-old players. "It did feel good shooting 74. I'm just really happy to be here."

So is her mom, on a number of different levels.

Kelly Jo Dowd is fighting cancer for the second time in four years. She was given a clean bill of health after doctors believed she beat breast cancer, but she learned last year that she has terminal bone and liver cancer — and, conceivably, only months to live.

Click here for the rest of the story

Golfing In A Hurricane

About 15 years ago I was playing golf in the Santa Barbara City Championship in Santa Barbara, CA. It was 2 rounds of golf and I was in the 0-5 handicap flight. I woke up Saturday morning to 30 to 50 mile winds and new it wasn't going to be pretty out on the golf course.

Needless to say the golf was pretty crazy that day and there were some pretty big numbers being posted including me. I took a 9 on a 135 yard par 3 with 2 OB's. This hole was almost impossible because the wind was blowing 30 to 50 mph from right to left with OB on the left. On my 3rd shot from the tee I was hitting a choked down 5-iron and aiming 30-yards to the right.

On the next hole, a 420 yard par 4, the impossible happened. The wind was somewhat helping and quartering from left to right. I was hitting my approach shot from 150 yards with a sandwedge. I aimed about 20 yards left of the green and I watched the wind pull it back towards the hole. It landed on the green about 30 feet away from the hole, but the wind continued to push it towards the hole. I continued to watch the golf ball and it disappeared in to the hole. I went from a 9 on the previous hole to an eagle 2 on the next. Talk about a roller coaster round of golf.

Putting on the green was a crap shoot. Not only did you have to play the break of the slope, but you also had to play the break of the wind. I had a putt on one hole where on a normal day would have broke 8 inches from right to left, but with the wind it broke about 12 inches from left to right... it actually broke up hill. I even made a 50 foot putt that must have broke 3 times because of the swirling wind. I must have had 4 or 5 3-putts that day and I think I had a 4-putt. One of the 3-putts was from 5 feet because even the 3 to 5 foot putts were an adventure.

I ended up shooting 84 the first day and 82 the second day. I learned that I suck at playing golf in the wind mainly because I hit my irons very high. While I wasn't actually golfing in a hurricane it was the closest I've come to playing in one.

Have you played golf in conditions like that or worse? If so I'd like to here your story.

Golf Cheater Sent Off To Siberia

Now this post might strike a nerve with some of you because I know it does with me. There's nothing worse in golf than someone who cheats on their golf score.

When I was around 13 years old I used to occasionally play golf with my friend and neighbor Todd. He liked to play golf, but rarely practiced to improve his game. I would practice and I was getting better, but I could tell Todd didn't like that I was getting better. I think more importantly he didn't like that I was getting better than him.

Well we were playing one afternoon at Meadowlark Golf Course in Huntington Beach, CA and we were walking off the first green on to the second tee. I told Todd I had a par and he said he had par too. Now I know for a fact that he had a 6, but I didn't say anything. We played the 2nd hole a par 3 and I bogeyed it and Todd said he bogeyed too, but he actually had a double-bogey.

I wouldn't have been as made as I was getting if it weren't for the fact that we placed a $2 bet on the best 9-hole score. Here I am busting my butt to beat him and he continues to give himself scores that he doesn't deserve. I realized that no matter what I scored Todd was always going to score the same or better than me.

So that's when I took out my 7-iron and started to beat the shit out of him until he said he wouldn't cheat anymore. Well that's not exactly what I did, but it was what I was thinking. I was so frustrated that Todd was cheating and he didn't think twice about it.

What should we do with these cheaters? How about we treat them as outcasts and send them off to Siberia?

Do you play golf with someone who's like this? What do you do when they start cheating on their golf score?

RE/MAX Long Drive In Shorts & Flip-flops

Yes the title of this post is correct. About 6 years ago I was on vacation at the Omni Tucson International Resort in Tucson, Arizona. It was in August and disgustingly hot, but we spent most of the time in the pool.

One of the nice amenities was a complimentary golf range that just happened to be steps from our suite. I was with my son and every afternoon around 3 or 4pm we would go out and hit a bucket or two. This particular day we had just left the pool and on my way back to the suite I saw a RE/MAX tent over by the clubhouse.

We got our clubs and went over to the clubhouse to see what was going on and that's when I saw it was the RE/MAX Long Drive contest. It was the regional qualifications and it was open to anyone. It was about 4:15 and the contest was ending at 5pm so I went to the range to hit my driver because I decided I was going to do this.

I hit for about 20 minutes and went back up to the clubhouse and signed up for the contest. It cost $30 for 6 balls and you could do it as many times as you wanted. I got the 6 balls and waited my turn. I had to wait about 10 minutes and while I was waiting I saw some of the guys hitting their drives about 320 to 340 and then they called my name "Don Smith from Fountain Valley, CA".

I walked up there with my Taylormade Burner 2 in board shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops. It was a small crowd of about 30 people and I'm pretty sure they thought they were going to see me hack my drives out there. I couldn't believe how nervous I was. I've played in many tournaments before in high school and at the club level and I've always been able to calm myself down and do well on the first tee, but this time I couldn't. I had a hard time getting the tee in the ground and keeping the ball on the tee.

I finally took a few deep breaths and settled in behind the ball. I was so amped up and I was trying so hard to bring myself down, but I just couldn't do it. My first drive was a 200-yard duck-hook, which I followed up with 3 more duck-hooks in the 220-yard range. I was swinging so quick because of the adrenaline that it was uncontrollable.

I stepped away and took a few more deep breaths and on my 5th drive I hit it semi-solid about 260-yards. It wasn't my best and I knew I could do better, but I just needed to settle down because I was down to my 6th and final ball. I took a few more deep breaths and told myself to take it away slow and I did just that. The ball came off the face with the crack of a well hit drive and it had a soft draw to it. I heard the small crowd approve of the drive and when the ball stopped rolling it measured 304 yards and they applauded.

I walked away happy with my performance and hoping I gave them a story they could tell about a guy in board shorts and flip-flips entering the long drive contest.

Have you every tried the long drive contest? Have you been in a golf situation where you were this nervous?

Greengos On The Golf Course

If you had read a few of my previous posts you'd know that me and my brother used to go into the golf course lakes at night to search for golf balls. We made pretty good money for 11 and 12 year olds.

Well one night while we were scrimpin (see previous post for definition of scrimpin) for golf balls the hispanic maintenance guy was approaching the lake in his gas powered cart. Normally we didn't pay much attention because he rarely came close enough to the lake to see us, but this time it was different. He was still coming straight towards the lake and that's when me and my brother got out of the lake and started to make a run for it.

We had our wetsuits on and after about a hundred yards we were getting really tired. Have you ever tried to sprint in a wetsuit? Needless to say we kept running and the maintenance guy kept gaining on us. We both could see a low part in the chain-link fence that we could make over pretty quickly. We reached the fence before the maintenance guy caught up to us. We both flew over the fence like Navy Seals on a mission, but as I was pushing myself away my hand got caught on the top of the fence. The top of the chain-link fence had the ends sticking up and my hand snagged one of them. I didn't know it at the time because of all the adrenaline, but the fence went into my hand pretty deep and it ripped a nice chunk of skin from my hand.

I didn't noticed my hand until we were far enough away and my hand started to throb. We went home and I cleaned up my hand with water and a bandaid. I couldn't go scrimpin for golf balls for a couple of weeks because I didn't want to get an infection from the lake water. After it healed up me and my brother were back at the lakes.

What's In Your Golf Bag?

I thought I'd share with you what I currently carry in my golf bag. I'd be curious to hear what you carry in yours.

Driver - Taylormade TP r7 with an Extra Stiff Fujikura Speeder 757 shaft and Tour Velvet grip.
3-wood - Sonartec SS-2.5 13 degree Mid-Face Fairway Wood with a Stiff YS-6 shaft and Tour Velvet grip.
Irons - Cleveland TA2's 2-PW with Stiff Dynamic Gold Sensicore shafts and Tour Velvet grips.
Wedges - Cleveland CG10 Perl Black 53 and 56 degree wedges with Tour Velvet grips.
Putter - Scotty Cameron Studio Stainless Newport 2.5 cut to 33" with a blue Winn grip and 4 strips of lead tape underneath the grip to counter-balance the putter.
Ball - Titliest Pro V1x.
Shoes - Nike SP-5 Black.

What's in your bag?

Golf Club Throwing Is Sweeping The Nation

Have you ever been golfing and seen some guy throw his club? I'm not just talking about throwing to his cart or bag in disgust of the shot he just made. I'm talking about the kind of throw that rivals the Olympic Hammer Throw where the guy practically turns into the Incredible Hulk and throws his club well beyond his last shot.

I've been fortunate enough to see many golf clubs thrown over the 30+ years I've been playing and I've been guilty of doing it a couple times when I was on the high school golf team. I can honestly say that I probably wouldn't have done it if my best friend at the time and team mate didn't do it. Whenever he did it I would start to laugh. I wouldn't be laughing at him, but just at seeing his club flying down the fairway and sometimes getting caught up in the trees. Needless to say my club throwing days were limited to my high school years.

I actually got my first descent putter from some guy throwing his into the lake. Later that night I went back to the golf course and went into the lake to search for it and I found it. I still have that putter to this day, which was an old Wilson Tour blade putter. I played with it for over 20 years through high school and after.

The club throw of all time has to go to my brother. He plays golf maybe once a year and about 10 years ago we were out a Willowick golf course in Santa Ana, CA. We were on the 3rd hole and my brother was in the righthand rough. He pulled out a 3-iron and I told him he'd be better off taking a 6-iron just to make sure he got it out of the 4-inch rough. Well he didn't take my advice and proceeded to take hack his way through the rough advancing the ball a couple feet at a time with each swing. After his fourth attempt, which was a whiff, he turned into the Incredible Hulk and started into the hammer through twirl and unleashed his club about 60 to 70 yards, which is close to the World Record Hammer Throw of 86.7 meters. Everyone in our group was laughing so hard that we almost had tears in our eyes.

Are you a club thrower? What's your personal best?

Tiger Taking A Break

Tiger Woods will take time off from the U.S. PGA Tour while his father battles serious illness, the world No. 1 told a news conference Thursday.
Woods said it was possible he would not make an appearance in a golf tournament before the U.S. Open in June.

He did not give specific details of his planned break, except to say he would not start playing "for a while" and the failing health of his father, Earl Woods, would have a major influence on his future program.

"It's kind of up in the air with the situation back home, so I don't know what's going to happen," said Woods, who is in New Zealand to attend the wedding of his caddie Steve Williams. He is also due to drive in a charity motor race Monday on New Zealand's North Island.

"I'm taking time off. I'm here for this event and for Steve, and to enjoy time off and be with my father, so I won't play for a while," Woods said.

"My father is hanging in there, the guy is an absolute fighter and walking miracle."
Woods said he would definitely seek his 11th major title in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, New York, from June 15 to 18.

New Zealand's Michael Campbell holds the Open title.

Golf Ball Logo's

Back in the day when me and my brother used to sell used/experienced golf balls to golfers outside the fence of Meadowlark Golf Course we had a repeat customer who wanted nothing but golf balls with logo's on them. He told us it was a hobby and he said he'd by every logo ball we had that he didn't have.

We started to look at every golf ball we got good or bad from raking the lakes because the "logo man" was willing to pay for them. As a kid it was actually kind of fun to look for these balls because we didn't realize all the different kinds of logo's they put on golf balls. I remember seeing an old Disney logo of Mickey Mouse on one golf ball and thought about keeping it, but decided not to. I wonder today if any of those logo golf balls we found are of any value.

I do remember finding some weird looking golf balls with a really different dimple pattern, but didn't think too much about it. Now that I think back they would probably be worth something today, but as a kid you're not really thinking about what a white little golf ball could be worth some day.

Do you collect logo golf balls? If so how many do you have in your collection?

20 Golf Balls And A 4-Iron

Back on one of my previous posts I talked about how me and my brother used to make our money by raking the lakes at the golf course for golf balls. We did this late at night to make sure no one would see us doing it because we really weren't supposed to be there.

On one night I decided to bring my 4-iron with me. The lake we raked was on a par 3 hole so after we had raked a few times I took about 20 balls and went to the tee. I told my brother to stand by the flag stick because it was the safest spot on the green. At the time I thought it was the safest spot because the odds of hitting the flag stick were pretty slim. I wanted him on the green so he could tell me if my shots were hitting the green or not.

It was a full moon so I was able to see the green and my brother from the tee box. I yelled to my brother, "Here I go" in the softest voice possible so I wouldn't wake up any of the houses surrounding the golf course. I hit my first ball and it felt pretty good. Even with the full moon I wasn't able to see if the ball was going to land on the green or not, but that's where my brother came in. I didn't have to ask him if it was close or not because he yelled out "Hey that was close watch it!!". I kept firing away and after about 5 balls he told me to stop because I was getting too close.

Being that it was my brother there was no way I was going to stop. I started to laugh and proceeded to hit ball after ball in a rapid fire with my 4-iron. My brother started to run and take cover and of course I had to adjust my aim like a tank taking fire on the enemy. I launched one white heat sinking golf ball after another until I ran out. To say the least my brother was pretty mad at me, but what are brothers for?

He calmed down after a few minutes and we started to laugh about it. We finished up our raking and called it at night.

Now that I think about it we weren't very bright in doing this because my brother could have gotten hurt, but when you're 14 and 15 years you think your invincible and do stupid stuff.

Tiger Will Dominate This Year

If you watched Tiger Woods play yesterday then you know he's about to take it to another level. All of his swing changes and hard work looks to be paying off. During Sunday's round at Augusta I felt he had the best control of his game from tee to green that I've seen in a long time. Probably not since his first two years on the tour when he completely dominated the golfing world.

What hurt him on Sunday was his putting, which has been his savior while his swing was under construction. He was quoted yesterday saying, "In the final round of a major, it's exactly how you want to hit it, but I absolutely lost it out there on the greens. ... I putted atrociously today. Once I got on the green I was a spazz. This is the most three-putts I've ever had here."

I truly believe that if Tiger had his putter on he would have won. Look at these statistics... He three-putted three times. He missed two eagle putts from inside of 10 feet. He missed three birdie putts -- skimming the edge each time --on the front nine that would have tied him with Mickelson.

I think we're going to be in for a treat this year watching Tiger dominate again.

Don't you agree?

Michelson Does It Again!

I have to say I was very impressed with Phil Michelson's play on Sunday at the Masters. He played within himself and played the percentage shots. I felt he was definitely on top of his game and seemed unflappable... especially with his putting.

I know there have been a lot of nay sayers, me included, but I have to give Phil the respect he's due. Two masters in 3 years is very impressive and he looks like he'll be a force to be reckoned with this year on the tour.

Congratulations Phil!

David Duval Please Stop The Madness!

This has to be one of the saddest sports stories in the last 5 years. I remember when David Duval was on top of the golf world. He was basically winning everything. I still remember when he shot the coveted 59 and the Bob Hope Desert Classic.

Now his name on the leader board is synonymous with being near the bottom and missing the cut. It is so agonizing to see him struggle like he has knowing what he was capable of. I almost think the longer he stays on the tour and struggles the chances of him ever getting back to his old form gets smaller.

Duval shot a first round 84 and a second-round 75 including a quintuple-bogey 10 on the par-5 second hole could have played his final Masters round on Friday. He missed the cut with a two-round total of 15-over 159. The 2001 British Open champion, who had fallen to No. 436 in World Golf Rankings heading into the week, has been getting Masters invites thanks to his major victory at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

He will now have to win another major or regain his status as one of the top 50 players in the world to play in The Masters again.

I think David should give it a rest and retire. He should accept that he had his 15-minutes of fame in the golf world.

What do you think?

Calloway's OptiFit Driver System Is Hi-Tech

I recently read about Calloway's new customer driver fitting system called the Calloway OptiFit Driver System and I was thoroughly impressed. One of the problems with existing club fitting systems and analysis is that you rarely get to hit the actual club head and shaft combination that you get fitted with, but that's not true with Calloway's OptiFit Driver System.

In the traditional club fitting scenario you hit some balls with a club that's about the one you would play with and from there the pro analyzes you swing through sophisticated swing monitoring software. From all the numbers they get through the monitor from your swing they determine the appropriate club for your swing. With Calloway's OptiFit Driver System the pro is able to create hundreds of club head and shaft combinations on the spot for you to hit with. Here are few things about Calloway fitting system:

The OptiFit Driver System equips retailers and pros with a compact, hi-tech fitting tool that can quickly identify the precise club head-shaft combination for each golfer's individual swing. A significant leap forward in custom driver fitting, the OptiFit Driver System will dramatically improve the process whereby consumers select a new driver.

Each OptiFit Driver System comes with 13 Big Bertha Fusion FT-3(TM) Driver heads and 23 separate shafts from the most-respected and most sought-after shaft manufacturers in the marketplace, including Aldila, Fujikura, Graphite Design(TM), Grafalloy, UST and Mitsubishi Rayon. Driver heads for the new X460 Driver will be added to all OptiFit Driver Systems as they become available, increasing the number of head-shaft combinations to more than 700.

The heads and shafts can be mixed and matched, with each shaft quickly and easily inserted into the clubhead and locked into place with a proprietary torque wrench customized for Callaway Golf, which is what the OptiFit Driver System is. The head and shaft are fitted together with a precision screw designed to securely attach the head to the shaft. The resulting 299 different head and shaft combinations that the OptiFit Driver System can create for a club-fitting professional helps them zero-in on and match the needs of virtually any golfer.

The production-quality of the drivers assembled by the OptiFit Driver System distinguishes it from other attempts at interchangeable shaft systems. At the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando last month, industry representatives and PGA Professionals who saw it for the first time were amazed at its efficiency, precision and reliability.

Among the other unique aspects of the OptiFit Driver System is the proprietary keyed assembly mechanism that renders foolproof the switching of clubheads and shafts. Aligning the shaft is quick and easy and an ergonomic torque wrench designed for Callaway Golf ensures "no-doubt" assembly by signaling with a loud "click" that the shaft is properly locked into place. The Calloway OptiFit Driver System is expected to be available at select green grass and off-course retailers in April.

Strength Training Is A Must For Golf

Do you workout and/or lift weights to improve your golf game? The golfer today is becoming much more of an athlete than the golfer of 15 years ago. Tiger Woods is definitely the epitome of a well tuned and oiled machine. He's put on about 15-20 pounds of muscle in the last 5 years to help strengthen his body and a lot of the young blood on the tour are following his lead. Even the veterans on the tour are doing it just to keep themselves on the same level as everyone else.

I've been working out for about 2 years on a regular basis and I can state for a fact that it does make a difference in your golf game. I'm able to swing with less effort and still hit the ball farther than I was 2 years ago, which saves my lower back. For me I used to always have problems with my lower back when I played a lot of golf, but since I've been working out I rarely have a sore back after a round. I've also found that if I've had any kind of layoff from golf it's been much easier to get back into the swing of things without my backing hurt for a couple weeks after going to the range a few times.

There used to be nothing in terms of golf specific workouts available, but today they're very common. One in particular that I've used is by Mike Pedersen, which has been around for a while and has gained tremendous support from the golf community. His program called "Power Performance Program" has several levels to it from beginner to advance and it's used by all ages of men and women... as well as kids.

You don't need a bunch of expensive equipment to use his program and the website goes into extreme detail on how to perform each exercise, which includes online videos that show you how to perform each exercise. Each level (beginner through advance) has a program of exercises you follow. Each exercise was selected to target the specific muscles used in a golf swing so by performing them you're guaranteed to improve your game... and Mike backs it up with his own guarantee. All of the exercises can be performed in your own home. It's basically a recipe for success. Mike also provides email and phone support if you need to ask him a question.

There are some copy cat sites popping up now, but Mike Perdersen's web site Golf-Trainer.com is one of a kind.

You should really give it a try because it WILL improve your game.

Are You A Golf Equipment Junky?

You're probably wondering what a Golf Equipment Junky is. Well if you think about it for a minute you can probably guess. It's someone who has to have the latest and greatest golf equipment no matter how long they've had their current equipment. They could even be playing good golf with the golf equipment they have, but if something new comes out then they have to have it. They feel if they don't get the latest golf equipment they'll be missing out. They think they can buy their golf swing through new equipment.

I have a golf buddy who is a golf equipment junky in the truest sense. I think the the people at Roger Dunn's Golf Store in Santa Ana, CA know him by his first name. I bet when he walks in the door they all say "Gary" kind of like they used to say "Norm" on the TV show Cheers whenever Norm walked into the bar.

Gary has had more sets of golf irons and drivers in the last 18 months then I've had in the last 15 years. I lost count of all the latest and greatest Callaway X series irons he's had over the years. He's had over 20 different drivers in the last 5 years. Here's a current day example. The Cleveland Hibore has come out and Gary wants to get it, but since he's left handed he won't be able to get it until June because Cleveland won't have it until then. Gary was bummed and decided to get and play with the Taylormade r7 425 until June when the Hibore is available for lefties. What's even crazier is that he currently has the Taylormade r7 Quad from last year.

Gary is about a 10-12 handicap golfer, but I feel he could be in the single digits if he would stick with his golf equipment for longer than 1 to 6 months. Do I think he'll ever change even though I give him a hard time for trying to buy his golf swing? No I don't because I think it's a personality trait that some people have that may be considered a little Obsessive Compulsive (OCD).

Do you know of anyone who's a Golf Equipment Junky? I'd like to hear about it.

Golfing In The Zone

Have you ever been playing golf and you felt like you were in the zone? What I mean by being in the zone is this? You feel like golf is easy and that every swing of the golf club is effortless and perfect. All of your thoughts are positive ones and that every golf shot you make is exactly how your pictured it. You see every line of every putt and you make everything within 10 feet..

I've been playing golf for 30+ years and I was fortunate to start playing at an early age. In those 30+ years I can recall about a dozen times where I've been completely in the zone for the entire round of golf. I've had many rounds of golf where I was in the zone for a few holes here and there, but an entire round is what I'm talking about here.

When I'm in the zone it's almost surreal because I don't think about hitting the golf ball... I just do it. This is where golf professionals really differentiate themselves from amateurs. They're concentrating on execution instead of the results and that's what needs to happen to be able to play your best golf. All the swing thoughts and golf tips need to be completely out of your head. If the shot calls for a 7-iron from 150 yards to the center of the green then you just need to go through your normal golf swing with nothing but thoughts of hitting a 7-iron.

The last time I was in the zone was 2 years ago when playing in a friendly tournament at La Quinta Golf Course in Palm Springs, CA. The morning of the Saturday round I went out to the range and hit a few to warm up and the one thing I remember telling myself is to just swing with a nice and consistent tempo. I wasn't really concerned about where the golf ball went because I wanted to get into a rhythm.

The first day we played the Nickalus course and from the first tee to the 18th I was in the zone. I played one golf shot at a time with an even tempo where no shot was forced. I putted fairly well considering the greens had been aerated. I finished the round with a 75, which could have easily been 3 or 4 shots lower had the greens not been aerated.

The next day we played the Stadium course and I was still in the zone, which was rare because I had never played two consecutive golf rounds in the zone. Again my tempo was smooth providing an effortless swing of the golf club. I was hitting and placing the golf ball exactly where I wanted to on every shot. It was unfortunate that the greens were also aerated because I could have went really low that day. In fact on the last 3 holes of the round I had an eagle put from 10 feet and 2 birdie putts from 5 feet. I only came away with 1 birdie out of those 3 holes and finished with a 2-over 74. It was good enough to win the tournament, which basically covered the cost of the golf trip.

Have you every golfed in the zone? How did it feel?

Callaway Odyssey White Steel Tri-Ball SRT

Here's what Callaway has to say about the new Odyssey White Steel Tri-Ball SRT... The Odyssey Tri-Ball SRT putter has a higher MOI for a straighter back and through stroke, and a lightweight body for precise balance. Instead of the 2 ball circles behind the face, the Tri-Ball SRT has three balls for enhanced alignment. The Odyssey Tri-Ball SRT putter has the Saturn Ring Technology (SRT) for added stability and comes with either the White Steel or White Hot insert as well. This all new alignment putter is an unbeatable blend of can’t miss technologies.

I personally think they've ruined a good thing. The 2-ball putter was a revolutionary putter that's both functional and unique. The tri-ball seems more like a marketing ploy. Kind of like a bad sequel. They probably felt that if the 2-ball was so hot then the tri-ball should be even better. In this case more isn't better.

I've putted with the Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball and I liked it very much. It has a great weight and balance that's easy to execute a smooth stroke. The golf ball comes off the putter head very solid with great feedback. I putted with the 3-ball at a golf shop and I immediately didn't like it when I stood over it. It seemed clunky and just plane to much putter head. I would have to give it a 2 of 5 rating. Anyone else have experience with the Odyssey White Steel Tri-Ball SRT? If you're interested in some feedback on the Odyssey 2-Ball putter then see my post Odyssey Putter vs Scotty Cameron Putter.