2012 Pre Season Golf Picks - Top 5 Players

Okay, the crystal ball is out!!  My Top 5 Pre-Season Picks for the 2012 Golf calendar are as follows…  

1)      Tiger Woods – Experience, a nasty short game, and a desire to dominate again will have him remain a fixture at the top of the leaderboard as long as he stays healthy.

2)      Luke Donald – Let’s face it, Luke’s golf game is consistent and I don’t think he gets enough credit for his putting.  He may not win a ton, but he is going to be in the mix a lot.  The win against Webb Simpson, when he needed it, says a lot about Luke.   

3)      Dustin Johnson – He is long and can get super-hot.  Now that he has had some time to reflect, I think he’ll get a Major this year. 

4)      Phil Mickelson- Who’s better than Lefty in the spring?  I’ll take Lefty from January thru June, July he’s yours, then I’ll pick him back up again in August-September.  Hey everyone deserves a month off and he’s a family man. 

5)      Rory McIlroy- Sometimes I think he is so good that even if he plays bad, he’ll accidentally win a few.  It doesn’t take long to warm up talent and Rory has lots as well as youth on his side.  The youth-factor helps on the recovery.  I think he’ll get 3 wins worldwide minimum. 

6)      *1^st Alternate - Keegan Bradley- Normally I don’t like picking first time major winners in their next season.  Usually they are so worn out from their newfound celebrity that they spend 12 months underachieving.  My gut tells me Bradley will be different. 

Did I miss any?  Let me know what you think!

Tiger Actually Wins Again!

Move over rover, that winning cat is back.  Tiger Woods actually won again and in Tiger-esque fashion.  Tiger didn’t melt the competition into submission but made 2 clutch putts down the stretch to pull ahead of red hot Zack Johnson.  And how do you think the crowd reacted to Tiger’s win?  Were they politely clapping?  No they went crazy!  The crowd was loud.

Winter Golf and your Comfort Zone – 2011-2012

Every golfer has a comfort zone (i.e. shooting 85-90).  Well guess what, it takes a serious intensified effort to lower your golf scores to the 80-84 zone.  Once you are in your new scoring zone, it is easier to maintain your new scoring level.  Here is the Takeaway: this winter don’t let your golf game regress!  Go to the golf dome and stay sharp.  If you choose to let your game rust up, next summer all of your effort will be used to climb back up to the 80-84 range instead to going for the 76-79 zone.  It is common sense.  However, 99% of golfers will shelf the clubs for the winter and then ponder why they never get any better.  This winter make the change.  Maintain your golf game.  When spring gets here, grab a bucket of range balls and take your game to the next level!!!  If you’re stuck, call me or your PGA Pro and let’s get a game plan.

Wow!  What a tournament.  I mean who didn't think Dufner had this thing all wrapped up with 4 holes to play?  Dufner was like iceman, just super cool making all the shots.  Then he bogeys a few in a row.  Now that would have normally been fine, except Mr. Keegan Bradley decides he is going to do the super improbable and birdies 2 of the last 3!  He almost rolled in his birdie putt on 18 too.  Now that would have been something.  Dufner steadied the in time and makes a great par on 18 to force a playoff.

In the playoff, my favorite moment was Bradley sticking it tight on 16 immediately after watching Dufner almost hole it out.  It was like poker... "I'll see your 6 footer and raise you a 3 footer".  This birdie-par turnabout turned out to be the difference maker and amrgin of victory.  Major credit goes to Dufner for being 1 of 4 guys to birdie 18 all day and he did it in the playoff when he absolutley needed it.  Unfortuate for him, it was too late as Bradley was on autopilot and playing some serious good golf.  2 putts = 1 par and a PGA championship. 

Making this victory extra sweet is the fact that Keegan's dad is a PGA member.  I wonder who is happier, father or son?

The Major Championship season is finished, your 2011 Major Champions are...

• 2011 Masters Champion- Charl Schwartzel $1,440,000  
• 2011 US Open Champion- Rory McIlroy $1,440,000
• 2011 Open Championship- Darren Clarke $1,452,078 
• 2011 PGA Champion- Keegan Bradley $1,445,000

What a strange world we live in when Tiger Woods, the most magnetic golfer of our era, is reduced to an also ran?  I mean 18 shots back from Adam Scott... are you kidding me?  To make matters worse, Steve Williams, Tiger's old caddy was on the bag of the winner.  Looks like Steve knows how to pick a horse, from Greg Norman, Tiger and now Scott.  Adam Scott was supposed to be the next Tiger Woods back in 2004.  However, like the search for the next Michael Jordan, it is hard to put that kind of pressure on any mortal.  Who knows.. perhaps a new bagman with obviously some intangibales has made a difference for the now seasoned Scott who tallied his 8th win.  

Either way, this is Tiger's first tournament back and I am sure with his short game's potential, 2012 should be the year of the Tiger.  For his sake and the fans sake, I certainly hope that is the case because I do know one thing, golf is just more fun to watch when the Tiger's, Jack's, & Norman's of the world are in the mix.  Practice up Tiger, golf needs the player in you.