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Learn how to generate more power by turning around your central axis from 5-time Long Drive Champion Jason Zuback.

Each week “Hooks and Slices” will bring you our view on whats happening in the golf world.

By Jeff Skinner

The Champions Tour starts its regular season Friday in Hawaii at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. The course at Hualalai always yields low scores and 20 under might not be good enough to win.

With the regular PGA Tour showcasing more celebrities than tour winners this week, the Champions tourney is the one to watch. Hawaii this time of year looks pretty darn good.

Here is my case for the round bellies over the flat bellies this weekend. Fred Couples, David Duval and maybe a first time winner are the stories at the Hope. It is so tough watching those pro-ams. It is only fun for the amateurs and celebrities that are playing. It is no fun to watch; maybe the tour should get the message.

If you want personality along with great golf, watch the Champions this week. There are eight players that have won a PGA major at the Hope this week. There are eleven players in Hawaii that have won PGA majors. The eight have won a combined total of eight majors, each having one win each. The eleven “old” guys have a combined 32 major wins. That’s right 32. Oh yea, the Champions event boasts seven World Golf Hall of Fame members. Gary Player has more major wins then the entire Hope field and Tom Watson has just as many.

Gary Player, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin these guys are icons that have shaped the golf world, and they still got game! Player is 73 and still beats his age. He is in better shape then 99% of the PGA tour and he’ll let you know it. Player has been the best international ambassador for golf for over 50 years.

Tom Watson has eight PGA majors and has battled all the greats over his career. He always manages to sneak into contention at the Masters. He is a living testament to the qualities that this game encourages.

Hale Irwin at 63 is the all time Champions Tour winner with 45 wins. These guys still can play some great golf.

Look at this one grouping, Player, Watson, and Jay Haas. Haas is the current Charles Schwab Cup champion and the 2007 player of the year. Watching that threesome alone is worth it.

Check out these names that are playing: Kite, Pate, Sluman, Stadler, Langer, Crenshaw, Strange and Roberts. These guys are good.

With all due respect to Arnie, who is hosting the Hope, I’ll spend my time watching some of the all time heroes of the game. I’ll take Player and Watson any day.

Okay Mr. President the party’s over. Hope you enjoyed yourself yesterday and you were able to get some sleep last night after all those parties and balls. Mr. President, I understand that you have many challenges ahead of you, but you must use all your power and influence to address the most important problems facing the golfers of this nation today. You must pass The Golfers Bill of Rights!

We have suffered too much. We have labored too hard. We have waited too long. We need you to rid us of the problems and difficulties that we face each time we play and watch this game we love. Pass the Golfer’s Bill of Rights!

1. Outlaw five hour rounds. Any golfer that takes five hours to play eighteen holes of golf should be banned from the links. If you can’t get around in four hours go play checkers.
2. Ban the $200 plus greens fee. Pebble Beach, Whistling Straights, Pinehurst #2 all the great old courses and new high end courses are intent on grabbing as many bucks as they can from the working man.
3. Make the television networks that broadcast golf, show golf shots. We are tuning in to see the players play, not the talking heads talk. They can talk while we are watching golf shots.
4. Make Nick Faldo shut up until Paul Azinger gets back in the booth with him. The Nick and Kelly pairing is stale and Nick is showing signs of that butt kicking that Zinger laid on him.
5. Appoint European Tour announcer, Renton Laidlaw as Commander of the Television Broadcasters. Make each announcer copy his humor and eloquence.
6. Give women longer to play the course. Any manager, starter or ranger that thinks women don’t need more time to play is crazy. They do! So, it is simple. Give them more time between tee times.
7. Make Golf Etiquette Education mandatory for all golfers. Even the experienced golfers need a refresher course. Please play ready golf. If you hit it in the woods don’t take forever to drop one. Rake the bunkers. Forget the plumb bob, just putt. Replace your divots and repair your ball marks. Leave the course in better shape than you found it.
8. Ban Jerks/Knuckleheads/Morons from the course. It is easy. All the “know it alls”, the “I played them all,” the wannabe pro, the drunk, the screamer and most of all the cheater.
9. Legislate that Phil and Tiger must play the first two rounds of every tournament together. If they happen to play together on Saturday and Sunday, that’s great too.
10. Fix the Fed Ex Cup. The heck with the BCS. The Fed Ex Cup is in worse shape. If the tour insists on a Nascar like championship then they should get it right.

By Jeff Skinner

Since the PGA and Champions Tour are in Hawaii now and the LPGA will be there next month I thought we could use a little bit of the Aloha spirit. There are few places on earth as beautiful or spectacular as Hawaii. With all the cold and snow covering us here on the mainland, thoughts of warm breezes and sandy beaches will surely warm us up.

There are many quality golf courses on all the Hawaiian Islands. On the North Shore of Oahu sits a wonderful resort, The Turtle Bay Resort. Turtle Bay is home to two quality courses, The Palmer Course and the Fazio Course. The Fazio course is the less renowned of the two. Palmer’s course, designed with his partner Ed Seay, has been host to PGA and Champions tour events and the LPGA SBS Open starts there next month.

The Palmer Course sits on some of the most beautiful land on Oahu. The course is built around a protected wetland, the Punaho’olapa Marsh. Water is in play on fourteen of the holes, but it is never the ocean. The staff at Turtle Bay likes to describe the front nine as a links type layout. I think the main similarity between a links course and the Palmer course is the wind. The wind on the North Shore can blow really. We estimated it to be a four club wind when we played. It was great downwind, but against it you really to struggle to get the right club.

Turtle Bay has been recognized with many awards and appears on several “Best Course” lists. The history of all the professional tournaments that have been contested here speaks to the quality of the layout and the conditioning of the course. The course was in great shape, fairways were perfect, greens were fast and true and the bunkers meticulously kept. The bunker sand was as fine as baby powder and results in a testing shot to recover.

You can certainly tell this is an upscale course. Playing where the pros play is always a thrill. Fortunately, there are five sets of tee and you can take your pick from 7218 yards to 5574 yards. We played the gold and that yardage is close to what the LPGA plays from. We had a ball on the course. I hear the course is rarely crowded on weekdays and that was the case for us. We had the course to ourselves and had a chance to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous surroundings.

The front nine gets your attention immediately. Trees and waste areas, bunkers and water and bunkers and doglegs and did I mention the bunkers? Playing a new course for the first time it is usually difficult to score well. Playing a course as challenging and as lovely as this, it is best to enjoy the beauty and not worry about scoring. Leave the scoring for the next time because you’ll definitely want to come back.

One of the things I enjoy is when each of the holes is named, not just numbered. That is the case at Turtle Bay. You get a nice yardage book with your greens fee and it has the name of each hole. Number three is the very aptly named “ Pa Abamanu” or the “Strong Winds of Kabuku”. It is a par five with water on the left and a bunker in mid fairway and plenty of mounds to contend with.

The back nine meanders through a jungle and a forest of ironwood pines. The scenery here will take your breath away. We had plenty of time to take some photos and look for a wayward ball or two. Many of the hole names on the back reflect the Aloha Spirit of Hawaii. “To Make Peace, To Have Patience” and “Healing Land” are a few that tell you that being here should be more that just a day of golf. If you spend any time on the Islands you are made aware that life and nature and spirit are very important to the native Hawaiian people.

Turtle Bay calls hole number seventeen the “signature” hole. It is a truly wonderful hole, but they need to change the name. It is called “To Forgive”, but it is anything but forgiving. Seventeen has a rolling fairway filled with mounds and fairway bunkers that cut across the fairway and back again to front the raised green. It is a pure target golf hole with the most spectacular view as you approach the green. A mere foot from the green is the beach and a postcard view of the Pacific. This is the scene you’ll remember forever, and isn’t that what this is all about. You pay these high green fees to play a course that the Big Boys play and hope to come away with a memorable experience. You get it here on the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay.

Overall, Turtle Bay is a wonderful facility. The Pro shop is expansive and the people are the extremely friendly and considerate. The range was the only area that was not up to the caliber of the rest of the resort. For me though, it is all about the golf and the experience. Turtle Bay’s Palmer Course was well worth it and rewarded me with a great day of golf filled with the Spirit of Aloha. I can’t wait to go back.

By Jeff Skinner

What do you call someone that follows you to work each day and watches everything you do? Under normal circumstances that would be a stalker. In this case his name is Bob Smiley the author of Follow the Roar and he is not a stalker. Smiley came up with the idea to follow Tiger Woods for every hole of every tournament of 2008.

It is not that Smiley had many options to choose from before he started his season long task. As he explains, he was an out of work writer with out many prospects. He came up with the idea to follow Woods so he may try to improve his own golf game. Well, he may or may not have succeeded, but he could not have timed it any better. Smiley was front and center for one of the most memorable golf seasons in history. Timing is everything sometimes and Smiley happened to pick the right time to stalk the greatest player in the world.

Tiger Woods and all the players on the PGA tour are followed by hundreds of reporters and journalists each week they play. The difference between them and Bob Smiley was that they were legitimate members of the press. Bob was not. He had no credentials or press passes. He was a fan. Just like all the thousands of ticket buying regular Joe’s who stand behind the ropes. He had no special access or parking pass or free food or air conditioned press tent to operate from. Smiley was stuck in the pack with the real golf fans. It is from that perspective Smiley tells his story and that is what makes this book fun.

Originally, Smiley had planned to go the entire season and that would have cost him money he did not have. He certainly had a very understanding wife. He was determined that this had the potential to be a successful undertaking for him, but even he could not have seen the dramatic climax Tiger’s year was to have.

If you live on the planet earth you know how Tiger’s season ended. So there is not much suspense here. The joy in this book comes from Smiley’s journey. He traveled far indeed but it is his travels that entertain not his miles. The characters he met and the friends he made along his way are interesting and entertaining.

Smiley started this trip anything but a Tiger Woods fan. He says he actually hated Tiger and would root against him each week. Smiley was eventually won over by Tiger’s talent, determination and courage. He is like many that witnessed this season. All of us were astounded by the way Woods finished the season with the U.S. Open win on half a leg. Smiley’s account of this wild season makes you feel like you were there for each shot, standing behind the ropes with all those converted Tiger fans.

Each week “Hooks and Slices” will bring you our view on whats happening in the golf world.

By Jeff Skinner

The news that Tiger has decided to speak at Obama’s inauguration celebration comes as a surprise to most people. Tiger is usually very reserved when it comes to politics or any other topic that may cause controversy. The fact that Mr. Woods has agreed to participate is almost as exciting as the election itself.

The President Elect better come up with some good quotes in his inauguration speech. He should be paying his speech writers overtime to come up with a big time speech. He needs something to compete with the Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you…” quote. Obama has some major (14 majors) competition here with Tiger. More people are going to be waiting to here what Tiger has to say, then what Barack will say. Maybe Barack should ask Tiger to mention his plans for the economic recovery or his Iraq withdrawal plan in his speech. It may have more effect coming from the number one athlete in the world.

After all, sports versus politics,…sports wins every time. Let’s face it. More people wake up each morning with sports on their mind then politics. We have been listening to Barack for two years. He never runs out of things to say, and yes he is very intelligent and well spoken, but we’ve heard him before and he now has a pretty big pulpit. We never hear from Tiger. Tiger Woods keeps his private life private. He only has recently let us in to see a glimpse of him and his family. I respect and understand that but, Tiger has to realize that by doing so he creates an even larger demand for his thoughts.

I bet that if Tiger has any input into his role in the inauguration concert he will want to keep it small. Like maybe, “Let’s hear it for Beyonce!’ or “Here’s U2.”

I hope it is more. It does not have to be an “I have a Dream” speech or anything that will be engraved on a monument but, Tiger, please give us something. Don’t worry about the writers and critics reaction to what you say. They only make news when they bad mouth someone anyway.

Give us something. Tell us how Sam’s potty training is going. Tell us what company will be on your bag this season. Tell us the Fed Ex Cup stinks and you’ll never play in all the events. I don’t care what, but tell us something. You have a forum that few rarely do. I respect the fact that you are a private man but I hope you can show the casual fan that you are more than the most successful athlete of your time. It is time you shared your ideals and your character with us.

This is an exciting time of change in this country. We could use a man of Tiger’s character now. There are too few making headlines today.

If The Terminator played golf, he would most likely be seen wearing the Adidas ClimaProof Storm 3-way Convertible Jacket. Just the name alone should tell you that this rain jacket means business, and it is definitely a rain jacket. I got this jacket about a month ago and I love it. Usually you feel like you can’t swing in a jacket, but this was not the case at all. The combination of the 100% polyester laminated twill and the fully sealed seams and zippers, will keep you dry in the wettest conditions. This jacket can be worn three different ways, as a long-sleeve, short-sleeve and as a vest. The removable 360⁰ compression wrap gives the jacket a great body-clinging fit that allows you to swing without any interference. Since the jacket has such a slim fit, it may not look too good if you got a frame like John Daly or Lumpy, but it looks great on the flat-belly’s and Sergio’s out there. One of the features that reinforce the Terminator reference is the silicone gripper, located on each shoulder, preventing bag straps from ever slipping. Overall this is the best rain jacket you will ever find, it’s not cheap, but it is well worth the investment.

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Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson always thought that you need to have your eyes over the path of the ball as you putted. Looking directly down at the ball was critical to Jack and Tom. You can check and practice your alignment by taking your stance, then take one hand off of the club and with another ball in that hand, drop it straight down from the bridge of your nose. It should land on the ball you are putting. If it was good enough for them we have to try it.

Book Review – Driven

Senior Staff Writer: Jeff Skinner

In Driven Kevin Cook delves into the ever evolving world of junior golf. The David Leadbetter Golf Academy is one of a growing number of youth camps whose mission it is to create the next great, dominant golfer. Cooks’ subtitle is “Teen Phenoms, Mad Parents, Swing Science and the Future of Golf, A Year at the David Leadbetter Academy”. You get a close up view of the pressure filled life of many of the top junior golfers in the world. This academy is really a living laboratory. These kids are given the best equipment, facilities, nutrition and instructors. They spend time in classes for academics but their real focus is on golf. The mission here is to get better at golf. The kids are looking for two things…college scholarships and professional golf. The Academy is their means to that end. That end being a professional golfer… the next Tiger Woods.

Kevin Cook is a former Editor in Chief of Golf Magazine, has been a senior editor at Sports Illustrated, and an executive editor of Travel & Leisure Golf Magazine. Cook has won the USGA’s Herbert Warren Wind Book Award for his 2007 book Tommy’s Honor. With a professional pedigree like that you expect something special in this book. You get it. Cook spent a year at the academy giving him great insight into the kids, the parents, the instructors, and the pros that still seek Leadbetter’s teaching and knowledge.

The kids are from all over the globe and most of them are truly motivated to be the best. Unfortunately many things can get in the way. Cook focuses on the issues that confront the students, anything from puberty to their overbearing parents can cause the kids to struggle. This academy can cost over one hundred thousand dollars per year. That can bring plenty of pressure on a teenager to perform. Leadbetter’s instructors do what they can to get the most from their students but sometimes the kids worst enemies are their parents.
In the book, Cook gives you an intimate look at one of Leadbetter’s principal students, Michele Wie and the dynamic between her and her parents. It is apparent that while Leadbetter’s advice is sought by Michele’s parents, it was rarely adhered to. Michele Wie and her struggles were an intriguing section of Driven

The Leadbetter Academy and its students are not the only point of interest in Driven. David Leadbetter has coached or is coaching many prominent golfers. Leadbetter is credited by Nick Faldo with rebuilding his swing. Faldo then went on to win six majors. Nick Price was one of Leadbetters’ first major players. Leadbetter had his work cut out for him. It seems the two Nicks’ did not get along at all and Leadbetter would have to try and keep them apart so Faldo would not get jealous. Faldo may have been grateful to Leadbetter early on, but he showed unusual insensitivity by leaving Leadbetter and starting his own golf school and informing Leadbetter of it in a “Dear John Letter”.

This insider information and many more stories and anecdotes made Driven a great read for any golf fan. The Nicks, Sean O’Hair, Trevor Immelman, Ernie Els, Sean O’Hair, Paula Creamer Michele Wie and Lorena Ochoa are some of the pros that flow in and out of Leadbetters’ life, always leaving a good story.

The students in the academy offer us many interesting and genuine storylines. Peter Uihlein is the patient, mature son of the Titlest CEO. Carly Booth is the Scottish phenom who disagrees with her coaches. Annie Park is the Korean star. Charlie Winegardner refuses to change his baseball grip. Mu Hu is China’s version of Tiger Woods. The daughters of tennis great Ivan Lendl run him raged. Michael Wade is the humble, adopted son of a Pastor.

Cook follows each of these stories, and more, giving us a true, unbiased glimpse into the personal lives of these kids, their families and Leadbetters’ connection with them. The drama is not limited to the students. Cook gives us plenty of adult intrigue with details of Leadbetter’s trouble with his bickering professionals, employees that betray him, pros that desert him and of course the ongoing Wie soap opera.

Driven is an interesting book that any golf fan will certainly enjoy. Kevin Cooks’ skill as a writer is obvious and his years in the world of golf have given him an expertise and an awareness that few writers have.

Driven

Teen Phenoms, Mad Parents, Swing Science and the Future of Golf
A Year at the David Leadbetter Academy
by Kevin Cook
Gotham Books 2008

Senior Staff Writer: Jeff Skinner

It’s about time the PGA Tour took action towards John Daly. The six month suspension is a justified punishment for his recently obnoxious behavior. I am hoping that this serves as a wake up call to Daly. John Daly needs golf more then golf needs John Daly. If any golf fan thinks that Big John has the same appeal now that he had when he won the PGA Championship as an alternate, they should be suspended!

Daly had so much talent he won two Majors with a training regimen of beers, smokes, wings, and a coach named Jack Daniels. While other pros practiced their swing, Daly spent too much time self-destructing.

When Daly came onto the scene, you had to love him. How could you not? He was a no-name Cinderella who wins a major and hits tape measure long balls. He played fast on the course and faster off. We all bought into the Daly persona and he did his best to destroy any good will he had earned. After each episode of trouble, we all would start rooting for John again. All of us were hoping that he had turned himself around and would control his demons and stay on the tour. Year after year, John found new ways to sink deeper and deeper to new lows. He has lost dozens of sponsors over the years and always found a way to bite the hands that were feeding him. We wanted him to make his headlines on the course, not in bars, parking lots and jails. We all love the comeback story. John is not coming back, not for a long time.

If there ever was a case that called for an “Intervention” it’s John. He needs help, big time help, Oprah help, Dr. Phil help. This past episode of public intoxication saw John in his best denial stage yet. Sleeping with his eyes open was how he described his drunken state. The police thought he was drunk enough to keep him over night. His reaction to the Tours suspension sounded like a sociopath. “Is it fair that I got suspended?” he said. “It’s not fair in reality, but it’s probably fair in perception.” Reality….perception, John does not have any reality. He lives in his own fantasy world.

“Tim (Finchem) and his staff have to do what they do,” Daly said. “Truly and honestly, I wish Tim would get to know the facts better before he makes a decision. I would love to sit down and have a nice talk with him, tell him what really happened. But perception is reality in the world, and sometimes they have to do what they have to do.” Sounds to me like Daly does not believe he has ever done anything worthy of a reprimand. That’s a real sociopath. It is never their fault, they do nothing wrong, show no remorse and resent anyone that may confront them.

I jumped off the Daly bandwagon years ago and find it hard to understand why so many golfers still think he warrants any adulation. He used to be portrayed as the everyman golfer, the common man. He never was. Not even close. If any of us had acted like he has we would be in jail waiting for our parole hearing. He has been given too many passes.

Yes, I know he is a great friend to his friends, would do anything for you, and he helps more charities than you can count. But, it is time John helped himself for a change. He needs professional help. Help to change his life so he can be Big John again. Help to keep him alive. He owes it to his kids. He owes it to himself. He owes it to the common man.