My Take on Tiger - March 29, 2008

by Butch Bundy PGA Professional

All of my articles to this point have been related to helping you improve your game. I am going to indulge my self in this one instance and talk about the accomplishments of the best player to ever play the game of golf. That guy is Tiger Woods. It is not really even a debate anymore as to who is the best player ever.

Certainly his father rubbed folks the wrong way when he proclaimed that his son would eventually be one of the single most influential athletes on and off of the golf course. Tiger himself probably angered players and fans alike when he said that he expected to win every event he entered and occasionally he would comment after a win that he didn’t have his "A game." Turns out he and his father weren’t being pompous, they were just telling us what was on the horizon. Here are some mind numbing stats to ponder for Tiger:
* He is the youngest player to complete the career grand slam and has won each major at least twice.

* He has won all 4 majors by at least 5 strokes. His largest margins are by 12 in the 1997 Masters, by 15 in the 2000 U.S. Open, by 8 in the 2000 British Open and by 5 in the 2006 P.G.A. Championship.

* He holds the record for lowest score in relation to par in all four majors.

* He is currently tied for 3rd with Ben Hogan for most tour victories all time at 64.

* He has been the P.G.A. Tour Payer of the Year 9 times since turning pro in 1996.

* He has led the tour in scoring average 8 times since turning pro in 1996. (In 2008, has a scoring average of 66.35!)

What amazes me the most is that he is the best at each phase of the game from the short game, to the long game and it isn’t even close in terms of his mental toughness. It has gotten to the point where he stands over putts from over 20 feet to win an event and every one watching and playing expects him to make it. In the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, he stood over a 24 foot putt to win and Palmer himself told everyone around him that he was going to make it for the win. It went right in the middle.

For those that play golf, you could go weeks without making a putt over 20 feet. He routinely does it under the pressure of championship golf on Sunday afternoon. Sometimes we don’t take the time to enjoy watching history, but we all owe it to ourselves to stop and put this man’s accomplishments in perspective. He is rewriting the record books right before our eyes and since he still out works everyone else on tour, there is no end in sight

Your Spring Checklist - March 13, 2008

By Butch Bundy PGA Professional

It must be getting close to golf season again. Like clock work my phone begins ringing on March 1st with golfers looking to get their games in shape. Here are a few things to focus on as you get back in to golf.

1.) Grip. This is where it all starts. A poor grip makes it virtually impossible to square the clubface consistently. Make sure that both palms are matched up on the golf club and that no matter what grip style you use, that you don’t have any gaps between your top and bottom hands.

2.) Posture. As you address the ball, make sure that you are bending mostly from the hip sockets and very slightly at the knees. Most of us tend to get a bit sloppy with our posture even when we are playing a lot. Bending too much from the knees and reaching for the ball are pretty common posture errors to keep an eye on.

3.) Alignment. I don’t know a golfer that doesn’t fight alignment on some level. Make sure that your body alignments are parallel to your intended target line. Most golfers think you aim your body directly where they want the ball to go. That is not correct. A good way to make sure you are aligned properly is to lay a club on the ground aimed where you want the shot to go. Next lay a club on the ground that lies along your toe line. This line should be parallel left of the target. It will look like you are hitting a ball off of railroad tracks.

If any one reading this has ever taken a lesson from me you hear constantly that "there are no gaps in a good grip." You also get asked the question "where are you bending from and where is your weight?" Obviously as a teaching professional I don’t understand people who play golf that don’t take lessons. It can only help you if you have a set of eyes checking you that can steer you into the right direction as it relates to your golf swing. Reading books, watching videos or trying to fix it yourself can be effective sometimes, but typically what we think we are doing and what we are actually doing are very rarely the same thing. You don’t have to see a professional consistently to get results either. If your teacher is instructing you properly, they should be teaching you how to practice and what to look for to correct your swing flaws without having to constantly run back to them.

Good luck this golf season.