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by Jeff Skinner

So it’s Sunday and the boys on the PGA Tour are enjoying their weekend off before the final “Playoff Game” at the Tour Championship. Do you think Tiger is sitting on the couch dropping salsa on his lap as he watches some NFL? Is Stricker cheering on the Packers with a Cheese Head on instead of that Titleist hat? The FedEx Cup has given us an exciting three weeks of golf. It has been fun following the guys as they maneuver up and down the FedEx Cup points list. Here’s a recap of some of the most interesting happenings in the last three weeks.

Tim Finchem is really Dr. Frankenstein.

I walked 18 holes inside the rope with Tiger Woods.

Really slow play at The Deutsche Bank Championship.

Heath Slocum, #124, beats all the big boys at The Barclays.

Heath’s Top Ten List.

The LPGA finally gets a weekend to itself, on a great course that everybody loves in beautiful San Diego and what happens? The fog rolls in at Torrey Pines and the picturesque, Pacific coast setting is reduced to a gray, foggy scene that looked more like Scotland than it did southern California.

It didn’t bother run away Rookie of the Year, and potential Player of the Year, Jiyai Shin as she eagled the eighteenth hole to forge a one stroke lead over Lorena Ocha and Ai Miyazato. Take a minute to watch Shin’s video. She has six wins in two years of playing on the LPGA and is trying to match Nancy Lopez in winning both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year. She is the new force to be reckoned with on the LPGA Tour

by Jeff Skinner

Among the many aspects that make golf a great game is the deep-seated sense of tradition. Along with the rules of golf, the traditions and etiquette of the sport are passed on from golfer to golfer and hopefully from generation to generation. I try to always respect the traditions and etiquette of game. I think I had one of those “pay it forward” experiences the other day.

I had called one of my favorite courses and made an early morning tee time. My buddy and I like to go out first, play a quick eighteen and have the rest of the day to work or goof off. He works, I goof off. Anyway, the next day I get a call from the course asking for me. They were calling to tell me that the greens were being aerated and that if I still wanted to play I would have to play the front nine twice on aerated greens. Now, let me say this. I play this course regularly and when I can’t make a tee time I always call to cancel. I figure this is the polite thing to do, but I never had a course call me to do the same.

My buddy and I chose to cancel our tee time as we really didn’t want to putt on freshly aerated greens. When I called back to cancel it took me a few times to get through as they were calling the other tee times to do the same. When I got through I made sure to thank them for the call and expressed how surprised I was about the call. They acted like it was no big deal, but I think it was.

I think their action is an extension of the etiquette of the game and at the very least great customer service. We have all showed up for tee times at some course, only to find out that the greens were aerated yesterday, but they failed to tell us when we made the tee time for fear of losing the revenue. I can tell you this. The fine people at Garrison Golf Club just increased their customer loyalty by a few points. I applaud their honesty and courtesy and can’t wait to tee it up again; as soon as those greens grow in. Thanks guys.

Check out our review of Garrison Golf Club.

Garrison Golf Club Link

Since the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup has the week off the women of The LPGA have a chance to grab some headlines at the Samsung World Championship. The limited field event has twenty of the world’s top players on the classic and popular course, Torrey Pines South. Top Americans Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford and defending champ Paula Creamer will try to break the string of non-Americans winners on the LPGA Tour. The last American to win was Cristie Kerr in May at The Michelob Ultra Open.

The player to beat lately is Jiyai Shin as she is the hottest player on tour. Technically a rookie, although she had three wins last year (only in the LPGA can that happen), Shin has three wins this year and leads in Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year points. The LPGA has had some good new recently with sponsors committing to next year’s events so an exciting tournament with television exposure this week should help to keep the ball rolling.

Torrey Pines is a beautiful course and should be a great showcase for the women and a chance for the LPGA to get some needed publicity.

• Samsung World Championship
• Sep 17 : GC 8:30-10:30 PM ET
• Sep 18 : GC 8:30-10:30 PM ET
• Sep 19 : NBC 1:30-3:30 PM ET
• Sep 20 : NBC 4:00-6:00 PM ET

by Jeff Skinner

So the boys on the PGA Tour get a week of rest before the big Playoff showdown at the Tour Championship. It gives them a chance to catch their breath and us a chance to assess the “playoff” format. These FedEx Cup Playoffs have given us plenty of excitement the past few weeks. Tim Finchem has played Dr. Frankenstein and borrowed pieces from NASCAR’S Chase, the NFL Playoffs and threw a little bit of golf into the mix and built the New and Improved FedEx Cup. I wasn’t a fan of this idea when it first debuted. I think the quality of the golf on the PGA Tour can stand on its own merits. With or without Mr. Woods the PGA Tour puts out a great product, unfortunately television ratings drive a lot of cash for the Tour and Woods drives the ratings. Finchem and the tour big shots wanted to broaden the tour’s appeal. So Dr. Tim Finchemstein went into his lab and came out with his latest version. I can’t help but think that while Tiger was walking up the eighteenth hole on Sunday on his way to winning The BMW Championship, the good Dr. Finchemstein was screaming, “It’s alive, it’s alive!” His creation was alive and well and probably giving him everything he wanted.

They were hoping to get all the top players to play all the events and they did. Woods won The Cup the first year by skipping one event and Phil Mickelson skipped one also. This year all the top guys played all the events, except for Paul Casey due to an injury.

Dr. Finchemstein wanted excitement and he got it. How is #124, Heath Slocum, sinking a putt on eighteen to close out The Barclays and shutting the door on Woods, Els, Stricker and Harrington who all tied for second place?

There wasn’t enough chance for players to come from back in the pack to win The Cup. Last year Vijay Singh had it locked up after the first two events. This year thanks to a new points system, just about anyone could make a run from anywhere. Case in point is Marc Leishman. He missed the cut at The Barclays but got hot and has a T15 and a T2 and sits in sixteenth place. He’s a rookie and his last top ten was back in May.

They didn’t want to dilute the regular season winners. If you had a good season but cooled off towards the end of the year the Cup Points you accumulated carried you into the playoffs. It has worked this year.

Drama, most of all Dr. Finchemstein wanted drama. He may have overdone it. Drama can be ugly as well as exciting. Just ask Brandt Snedeker when he four putted the final hole at The BMW to miss getting into the Tour Championship and miss out on a bus load of cash and free passes into the Masters, The US Open and The Open Championship.

Dr. Finchemstein got just what the doctor ordered. The top five in the points race are Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum and there are twenty five other golfers waiting to take a shot at each other at The Tour Championship with a ten million dollar first prize. It’ alive, it’ alive!

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

In the October issue of Golf Digest Tom Watson bares his soul about the lessons learned and the memories he has taken away from his near miss at Turnberry. Watson realized how special The Open was this year but he is a realist and he says,” But it’s the outcome that matters, not whether you hung in there at 59 and put on a good show and almost made for a hell of a story.” (Golf Digest)

Tim Rosaforte says “The best thing for the PGA Tour Playoffs is that Tiger Woods didn’t win a major this year.” He thinks that if Tiger won a major he wouldn’t be on his mission to win the FedEx Cup. He’s right. If Woods won a major or two he probably would have blown off a Playoff event to get some rest. But a FedEx Cup only gets you a ten million dollar paycheck, not a major championship.(Local Knowledge)

The only thing more uncomfortable than watching Brandt Snedeker four putt the final green at The BMW Championship is realizing how much cash it cost him. Ouch! (Devil Ball Golf)

Leave it to the fairer sex to take a proactive role in trying to remedy the scourge that is slow play. It seems that the Ladies Golf Union of Great Britain and Ireland has instituted new rules into all its championships. It’s simple: four check points around the course. If you don’t keep up, you’re penalized. Great! Let’s try it over here! (Scotsman.com)

Tiger’s coach, Hank Haney has the most thankless job in golf. If Tiger wins it is because he is the best. If he loses, it is Hank’s fault. He is in a lose/lose situation. He doesn’t really care. “I didn’t get into this looking for any credit,” Haney said. “But I don’t understand where so much of the blame comes from. Some of what gets written is almost comical. But I’m a human, you’re a human, some of these things do hurt. I guess the great thing about the position I’m in is that I only have to please one person.” Haney is as humble as a man can be and still be considered one of the best in his field. (Golf.com)

Do you play golf, or are you a golfer?  There is a difference.  Millions of people are playing golf each and every day across the world but not everyone can be called a golfer.  It may sound pompous but it is not meant to be.  There is a definite difference between golfers and people who play golf.  Just because you play golf and chase that little white ball around the golf course does not qualify you as a golfer.  There is more to it than that.
Here are but a few of the differences between golfers and those that play golf.

•    Golfers play by the rules of golf.  They know the rules (most of them anyway) and follow them.  If you don’t play by the rules you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers do not take mulligans, not even on the first tee.  If you take mulligans you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers do not cheat.  They are honest and count all their strokes.  If you cheat you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers will hit a provisional ball when needed.  If you never hit a provisional you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers repair divots and ball marks.  If you don’t you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers understand the etiquette of the game.  If etiquette is a foreign word to you you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers understand that “teaming up” with other golfers is part of the game.  If you have to play by yourself, you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers appreciate a great shot, even if it is one that beats them.  If you can’t appreciate that you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers can play with players of all different skill levels including men and women.  If you can’t play with different skill levels you are not a golfer.

•    Golfers enjoy the game all the time not just when you take your buddy’s money.  If you can’t enjoy the game all the time you’re not a golfer.

•    Golfers don’t spend forever looking for their lost ball.  If you take too long looking for balls, yours and others, you’re not a golfer.

These are but a few of the qualities that make people that play golf, golfers.  Golfers are considerate, fun loving, understanding people.  You’ll see the next time you play with one.

All is right in the golf world once again. Tiger Woods has all facets of his game under control and he dusted the field at The BMW Championship. Woods made his way around Cog Hill with an effortless 68 to finish with an eight stroke lead of Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman. Tiger actually won the tournament on Saturday with his course record 62. Playing in threesomes today due to a fog delay, Woods felt no pressure from his playing partners. Rookie Marc Leishman held up astounding well and shot 69 while Brandt Snedeker appeared to succumb to the pressure of the FedEx Cup race. Coming into the eighteenth hole Snedeker needed a bogey to qualify for next week’s Tour Championship. He missed his sixteen foot par putt, missed his bogey putt and took two more putts for a four putt triple bogey and played himself out of the Tour Championship.

This his Tiger’s six win of the season and it puts him back in the lead for the FedEx Cup points race. Steve Sticker is in second place, followed by Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum.

Congratulations to the US Walker Cup Team. They won their third straight Walker Cup with a 16 ½-9 ½ win over Great Britain and Ireland. Ricky Fowler and Peter Uihlein were the studs for the US Team as they won all four of their matches.

by Jeff Skinner

Tiger Woods had his A game working at The BMW Championship on Saturday. After a disappointing tie for eleventh finish at last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, Woods was able to put together a course record 62 to pull away from the field at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. His driving was good, his putting was great, his irons were dialed in and his sand game was perfect. See what happens when he gets pissed off? He takes it out on the field. Earlier in the week he spoke in a tentative tone when he talked of Cog Hill and the new greens he was about to face. It looks like a couple of rounds were all it took for him to figure them out. At one point he was three strokes back of the lead but his eight birdies, eagle and a lone bogey enabled him to blow away the rest of the field on Saturday.
Woods will play the final round paired with Brandt Snedeker who is tied for second with Rookie Mark Leishman. Get ready for a butt whipping Brandt. If Tiger is true to form, he’ll shoot mid sixties, steal Brandt’s lunch money, whip the field by a half dozen strokes, win the BMW and move back into first place in the FedEx Cup.
Say what you will about these contrived “playoffs” it has resulted in the best players in the world playing their butts off for three weeks in a row, and that’s never a bad thing. After Tiger wins today they take a week off before they meet for the Tour Championship.
Check out some of our past articles on Tiger and the world he lives in.

My 18 Holes with Tiger

Tiger’s Season is a Failure

Tiger Can Learn from this Lose

Miracle at The Masters

Tiger vs Jack

Tiger Woods may have four wins at Cog Hill but this is Mark Wilson’s home course, so maybe Wilson will have a bit of home field advantage when they tee off together today at The BMW Championship. The recent redesign of Cog Hill may have made the greens less familiar to Tiger but it did not stop him from using a mere 25 putts on his way to a 67. Wilson matched Tiger’s putt total but used one less shot to scratch out a 66 for the second round. Woods and Wilson have gone head to head before. In the 1992 US Junior Amateur Championship Woods defeated Wilson 1 up to win his second of three consecutive Junior Amateurs. It’s a small world isn’t it?