First Day With The New Camera

Here are two of the better swings we made on the range today. Good times.

I'm going to need a place to post a bunch of these, any suggestions? Google video maybe?

2008 United States Ryder Cup Team

With last week's PGA Championship came the announcement of the first eight of the twelve American players for this year's Ryder Cup team. These guys earned their way onto the team by way of a points system. The final four will be hand picked by captain Paul Azinger.

The first eight: Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Jim Furyk, Anthony Kim, Junsin Leonard, Ben Curtis, and Boo Weekley. In case you live in a cave, Tiger's not there because he's hurt.

Biggest surprise? Ben Curtis. If you've heard of him, you now doubt know him as The Guy Who Won The 2003 British Open, a.k.a. Ol' Flash In The Pan. Go ahead, Google him, he's not even the first Ben Curtis to come up.

Most awesome-ist team member? Boo Weekley. I would enjoy nothing more than to see European Ryder Cup superhero Sergio Garcia lose to a guy named Boo wearing a camouflage hat. Come to think of it, they wear those God-awful uniforms at the Ryder Cup, so Boo will have to leave the camo at home.

Worst Ryder Cup uniforms ever? 1999.

Dave's picks for the last four spots? Steve Stricker, Rocco Mediate, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson.

Post-Standard Qualifier Follow-Up

My friend Ron played in the second day of qualifying for the Post-Standard Amateur, which was held today at the same course that I played yesterday. He faired a bit better with an 84, missing the qualifying number by four strokes. Hats off to you Ron, a valiant effort!

I'll be rooting for Shane and Matt at the first stage of the Post-Standard and I'm looking forward to my next chance to tee it up in a local amateur event!

By the way, two poor guys failed to break a hundred today, proving my hunch that my 90 from yesterday could have been much worse.

Post-Standard Amateur Qualifying (Or Lack Thereof)

I played in one of the qualifiers for the Post-Standard Amateur on Tuesday and I'm afraid I did not meet with tremendous success. On a positive note, I was not DFL (Dead Fucking Last).

Synopsis: Super nervous on the first tee, I hooked my tee shot out of bounds, hobbled through the rest of the hole and carded a quadruple bogey right off the bat. All this in front of some rather serious-looking Central New York PGA officials. It was a par 5, which one of my playing competitors reached with two irons (more on that below). I went driver, five iron, wedge and still missed the green.

I calmed down after hole #1 and played mediocre golf the rest of the way. Mediocre golf plus a quad equals 90 for Dave, 12 strokes off the qualifying number. It was all between the ears of course. I shot 83 on the same track last week which wouldn't have gotten me in but would have been a bit more respectable.

My playing competitors, Shane and Matt, are the two best golfers I've ever seen outside of the PGA tour. One plays division I college golf for Lehigh University. The other guy was no slouch either and carded a 72, one shot behind the day's lowest score. I was mentally prepared to be out driven by forty yards all day, but these guys could literally out drive me by 100 yards. I'm usually not impressed with long hitters because so many of them actually suck at golf. Not so with these fellows. Impressive indeed.

Dave Breaks 80 For The First Time Ever!

I shot the best round of my life this morning with a 79 at Radisson Greens! Yee-Haw!!

I get the first-hole jitters all the time, but I've never had the eighteenth-hole jitters like this before. Parring the home hole at Radisson for a 79? Unfreaking believable. With the Post-Standard qualifier on Tuesday I feel like I'm playing with the house's money--even if I shoot a hundred it's still a career week.

Post-Standard Amateur

Next week I'm trying my luck in a bona fide golf tournament, the Post-Standard Amateur!

I played in some Golf Channel Amateur Tour events last year and it went pretty well. Those events are handicapped though; they divide you into flights based on your ability. The Post-Standard Amateur is legit stroke play with no funny business. Last year's winner was a college golfer named Zach Vinal, and the year before that it was won by Jim Roy, who used to play on the freaking PGA Tour. Needless to say, the smart money is not on me.

I don't really have a goal in mind other than to go out and experience playing in this type of tournament. There is a qualifying stage to get into the tournament proper, so that's where I'll start. I'm playing on the first day of qualifying and the listing in the paper says that I'll be competing among 66 players for 24 spots in the field.

Wish me luck!

Help Me Win A Round At The US Open

Golf Digest is running a contest to give a way a round of golf at the 2008 US Open (Torry Pines, June 12-15). They are going to group the winner with three celebrities and have them play under the same course conditions as the tour players. To enter, you need to tell them what you think you would shoot, and why you should be in the foursome with the celebs, in a hundred words or less. Here's what I'm going to say:

"After weighing my strengths, my weaknesses, and the inhumanity of a US Open venue, I have determined that I would shoot 105, plus or minus twenty strokes. The length of Torry Pines will cost me a dozen strokes, and the green speeds a dozen more. But with all those cameras, at least one person will have seen where the hell my ball landed, saving me a walk back to the tee. In your face, Jack Wagner."

The Jack Wagner comment is in reference to Golf Digest's 2007 ranking of celebrity golfers, in which he finished first. Apparently he played Frisco Jones on General Hospital and Dr. Peter Burns on Melrose Place.

What do you think? Have any ideas to improve my entry?

Book Review: The Impact Zone

Earlier this summer I read The Impact Zone by Bobby Clampett, and a book review is well overdue. I give this book three and a half stars with a cautionary asterisk. The stars are because it presents a genuinely new and insightful view of the golf swing and I thought it was great. The cautionary asterisk is because this book is for full-blown golf nerds only. If you've spent hours comparing and contrasting the swings of tour players on YouTube, you'll love this book. If you're a beginner, you may want to keep your distance from The Impact Zone.

For those not in the know, Bobby Clampett is a former golf prodigy and ex-tour player who currently works as a commentator for CBS. He is an awesome golfer and golf uber-nerd, and I trust what he has to say.

The gist of the book is pretty logical: all that really matters in the golf swing are the dynamics at work during the period of impact, when the club head is in contact with the ball. He considers many of the commonly-stressed aspects of the swing to be matters of style. In his opinion, the important dynamics that players must strive for are: 1) the flat left wrist at impact, 2) the forward swing bottom, 3) loading, 4) lag and the body pivot, and 4) the straight plane line. Each dynamic gets its own chapter, followed by a chapter on equipment and a chapter on visualization.

I got the most out of dynamic #1, the flat left wrist at impact. I'm a mid-handicapper who makes classic mid-handicapper mistakes: I tend to over-swing, come over the top, and then compensate with a chicken-wing move. Focusing on obtaining a flat left wrist at impact really did help with my swing. It also paid dividends with my bunker shots, where like many players I fight an urge to flip my wrists to get the club under the ball.

In short, I recommend The Impact Zone to anyone who considers themselves a student of the game.

Goodbye, Dome

My beloved winter golf sanctuary, The Golfer's Dome, has closed its doors forever. Apparently the dome was purchased by Wegmans, who will deflate it and replace it with a warehouse or perhaps some sort of Wegmans super store.

Rae and I had a great routine over the last few years of heading out to Clay and doing work in the Barnes and Noble cafe. I snuck across the street every time to hit a bucket in the dome. I also took lessons there from Paul, who is now out of a job.

The good news is that there are a few winter golf alternatives near Syracuse. Paul is trying to set up a teaching facility in the indoor soccer / lacrosse facility off highway 481. And of course there is always the dome at the Turning Stone, which I happen to drive by on my way to and from Troy every week.

Turning Stone Resort Championship

The PGA tour came to town this weekend for the first annual Turning Stone Resort Championship! I went for the day on Sunday and was downright inspired.

The tournament was held at the Turning Stone's Atunyote course, which I am told means eagle in the Oneida language. It was the first event in the tour's Fall Finish. PGA golf is effectively finished for the year now that the FedEx Cup is over, but there are still a few more events on the calendar. The Fall Finish tends to draw tour players who still need to make some money so that they can keep their tour cards for next year (only the top 125 get to come back, the rest need to re-qualify). This means either youngsters (Andrew Buckle) or the slightly over the hill (Corey Pavin, Fred Funk). I did get to follow Stewart Appleby, who is a genuine superstar, as well as fan favorites like Tim "Lumpy" Herron. Steve Flesch ended up winning, and he's not exactly a slouch either.

The big highlights for me were hanging out at the driving range and being dumbfounded by how far these guys hit their drives off the tenth tee. The range was great, because I was able to sit no more than twenty feet behind the pros and soak in all their swinging greatness. I look at a lot of swings on YouTube, but the real thing is something else. It looks like they're swinging at half speed, but then the ball rockets off the club face and you say damn. The tenth and eleventh holes made a nice little loop, so I followed a few groups there. No big-name players means no big crowds, which was great. Walking from the tee down to where they hit their shots rattled my brain, because the hole is 420+ yards long and every one of them was within 100 yards of the green in the center of the fairway. That's 320 off the tee, and is much more impressive in person than on t.v.

Mill Creek Golf Club

I played in my fourth and final Golf Channel Amateur Tour event last weekend at the Mill Creek Golf Club outside of Rochester. This was a combined event for the Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse tours. Forty-five players entered, which is a great improvement over the previous events I played in this year.

The results are posted here. I am happy to say that once again I finished at the top of my flight (so what if there were only three people in it)! Even better, my 83 would have tied me for first in the next flight up (the Sarazen flight) and would have put me in solo second in the Hogan flight.

My overall experience with the Golf Channel's tour was definitely positive, but I'm not sure if I would do it again. The best part was that I got to play in bona fide tournaments, which I had never done before and hope to do more of. This was a great place to get my feet wet since there was a wide variety of skill levels and everyone was serious about golf but not ultra competitive.

Going in, I wasn't sure how I'd do in an actual tournament where everyone follows all the rules and there are strangers watching you play. It was a bit daunting, and indeed some players folded under the pressure (I have lots of theories on this, perhaps another post is in order). It turns out that I do pretty well and have fun doing it. The way I see it, I follow all the rules and put pressure on myself whenever I play, so this really wasn't any different.

The downside of the Golf Channel's tour is that it's too expensive. Even after winning three events, I was still out about $350. That's a lot for four round of golf, particularly in upstate New York. Next year I might enter some different local amateur events, like the Post Standard Amateur. Heck, if I knock another four strokes off my handicap, I'll be eligible for the US Amateur Public Links.

Photo credits: Mill Creek Golf Club web site

2007 Golf League Recap

Last week was the final match of the season for the No Name Golf League. We played nine holes every Tuesday evening at Frear Park for 18 weeks straight. No rainouts! I missed the first week, but made every week after that, due largely to Frear Park's liberal make-up policy.

This was my first time in a league, and I am definitely glad I joined. It made for a great Tuesday ritual: leave work early in the evening, play nine holes, and then get dinner at the Park Pub. I lucked out with the No Name league in that it's full of nice guys and the drinking is pretty limited. I was a bit worried that I would end up in a league full of middle-aged drunks storming around like a bunch of gorillas. As far as I can tell, that's the Thursday night league, so we're good to go on Tuesdays.

I'm not sure where I finished in terms of league standings. I know that Don M. won the first half, and Bob W. won the second half. Our league is handicapped, so to win what you really need to do is get progressively better so that you play at or below your handicap. Bob put in a lot of practice time, and it paid off. I did achieve a moral victory in that I ended the year with the lowest league handicap.

Here's my recap:

• scoring average: 41.8 (6.3 over par for nine holes)
• fairways hit: 43%
• greens hit: 45%
• putts: 17.6 per nine holes

Photo credits: Philip Kamrass/Times Union

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University

My win streak came to an end this weekend at the Golf Channel Amateur Tour event at The Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Cornell University. The field was pretty thin, with only nine people playing, but I struggled early with some rather frustrating double bogeys and ended up shooting 89. Not a bad score for me, all things considered, but it left me in the middle of the leader board.

Robert Trent Jones was a student at Cornell, and he designed the course. Hence the rather unimaginative course name.

Revenge Is Sweet

I played Burden Lake Country Club this morning and shot an 81. I'd played this course once before, last September. Yes, it's true, I kept the score in my golf files. But even without looking I remember the day because I struggled mightily and carded a 107. That means I improved my score by 26 strokes. Take that Chuck Baltzel, mister golf course architect.

The big highlight came on the 16th hole. There were a number of junior golf groups out on the course. Each group was comprised of four kids and an instructor. It looked like they were starting each hole at the 100-yard marker and playing putting games once they reached the green. They were up at the green on 16, and the instructor waved at me to play through, so I promptly pulled my approach shot into the green-side rough. Then, in front of the gallery of eight-year-olds, my chip shot landed softly on the green, tracked to the hole, and rolled right in the heart of the cup for a birdie! Naturally, I received an instructor-prompted round of applause.

Foxfire

I played in my second Golf Channel Amateur Tour event on July 14th at Foxfire in Baldwinsville. Once again, I came out on top! This time there were 16 players in the field. As in the first event, we used a quota system where everyone is assigned an initial negative score based on their flight. I shot an 85; highlights included my first-ever left-handed shot and a gold star for mental fortitude for following up a snowman 8 with three straight pars.

Here's a stock photo of Foxfire. My next event is August 18th at Cornell. Wish me luck!

Photo credits: Foxfire web site, Golf Courses 365

Seven Oaks Golf Club

I played in a Golf Channel Amateur Tour event last weekend at the Seven Oaks Golf Club. It was my first time playing in one of these tournaments, and I'm psyched to say that I finished first in a field of eight. Normally they divide players into six flights based on handicaps, but because only eight people showed up, they instead used a quota system in which you get one point for a bogey, two points for a par, four points for a birdie, and six points for an eagle. Players are assigned a negative starting score based on their flight. I finished at plus three, thanks to a stellar back-nine 40. My total score for the round was 89; highlights included four of the best bunker shots of my life and a great bounce off a tree after I jacked a tee shot straight toward someone's house out of bounds.

Seven Oaks was a great place for the tournament. It is the golf course of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and was designed by Robert Trent Jones. It has hosted a NCAA Division I Championship and two New York State Men's Amateur Championships. The course is definitely challenging, but not so penal that folks were loosing balls all over the place. The greens were something else, definitely the fastest putting surfaces I've ever played on. I saw more than one two-footer turn into a twelve-footer coming back the other way.

The next event is on the 14th at Foxfire in Baldwinsville, New York. Wish me luck!

Photo credits: Seven Oaks web site

UCRBF

I played nine holes this morning and was matched up with some uptight cart-riding ball fluffers (UCRBF). Allow me to explain.

Golf is a walking game, and although I am not anti-cart, I feel that walking is the best way around the course. It's better exercise, it keeps you loose, and you can better enjoy the surroundings. Admittedly, there are resort-style courses where riding is a necessity, but this is not the case at most places I play.

Secondly, I like to follow the rules of golf. Improving your lie (ball fluffing) is cheating. Improving your lie when you have a good lie to begin with is ridiculous.

Finally, being uptight, particularly about the pace of play, is annoying at best and can in extreme cases poison the universe.

There are, in fact, two distinct flavors of CRBFs: the uptight cart-riding ball fluffer (UCRBF), and the laid-back cart-riding ball fluffer (LBCRBF). I have no beef with the later, those who just want to ride around the course with their buddies and don't really care about their score. In a sense, I envy the LBCRBF's indifference toward an impending triple bogey. Ball under a tree? Just kick it out! Put me down for a five.

If you are a cart-riding ball fluffer, the following questions can help you determine which class of CRBF you fall into.

1) Must you point out every group of walkers on the course and exclaim (with a sigh) "We're behind a foursome of walkers, looks like a six hour round."

2) When you reach the green, do you simply knock the ball in the general vicinity of the hole, then walk over and pick it up for a self-conceded two putt? (Bonus points if you do so with a putter that cost more than $150.) When others are putting, do you instinctively stand two feet from the hole with the flag stick in hand and stare them down until they're finished?

3) Are you incapable of writing a number larger than six on your scorecard? After the round, do you ceremoniously declare your score as if it's legitimate, failing to mention the mulligans and gimmes?

If you answered yes to the above questions, you may have a problem with UCRBF-iness.

It's A Girl!

One other big piece of golf news this week--it's a girl! Tiger's wife Elin gave birth to their first child, Sam Alexis Woods, on Monday. Thankfully Tiger couldn't make a birdie coming down the stretch Sunday. Had he pulled into a tie, he would have been in an 18-hole playoff Monday morning just after the baby was born.

Angel Wins US Open

Angel Cabrera of Argentina won the US Open on Sunday, beating Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by a single stroke. Congrats Angel!

He's looking pretty relaxed with the trophy, but earlier he was stressin'. Bob Verdi of Golf World nailed it when he said Cabrera could make coffee nervous. Here's Angel in the home stretch:

The US Open is put on by the USGA (as opposed to the PGA) and is known for its brutal setups. For the second year in a row, the winning score was five over par. If that doesn't mean anything to you, check out this picture of one of Oakmont's "church pew" bunkers. Those are golfers out there, not ants.

Photo credits: Simon Bruty/SI, J.D. Cuban, Fred Vuich/SI

Lake Placid Club - Mountain Course

I finished off the long weekend by playing 18 holes at the Lake Placid Club's Mountain Course. The Mountain Course was built in 1910 by Alexander Findlay, and then remodeled in 1931 by Alister MacKenzie. Golf nerds will recognize Mr. MacKenzie as a co-designer of Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament. The round cost me only $30 and there was barely anyone on the course. Perfect. I ended up playing with a friendly chap named Stewart who teaches cooking at a chef school. He played lacrosse for Syracuse University, and believe it or not, this is not the first time I've been paired up with an ex-Syracuse lacrosse player. Small world.

Here's a stock photo of the first hole. Notice the Olympic ski jumps in the background. They're so tall they look like TV towers.

I was happy to shoot an 89, although my card was rife with penalty strokes due to a few humdingers that I launched into trouble. The one piece of local knowledge that I was sorely lacking is the fact that there are no water fountains on the course. To make matters worse, the first nine holes take you away from the clubhouse, and then the back nine bring you back. In other words, after nine holes you are really far from anywhere to get a beverage. I ended up buying a bottle of water from some construction guys who where working across the street at a motel.