LinksLifeGolf

by Jeff Skinner

When our visionary forefathers crafted the Declaration of Independence they thought they were forming the framework for an independent nation.  I doubt that they envisioned the nation that the thirteen colonies have evolved into.  The United States of America protects more than just its own citizens within its borders.  It protects people and countries around the world.  Whether we agree or disagree with the policies of this country, one thing is undeniable; our armed forces personnel sacrifice much to preserve our way of life and protect citizens worldwide.

One such soldier is Brendan Marrocco.  Brendan is recovering from horrific wounds he sustained in Iraq.  He lost both arms and both legs and his doctors can’t explain how he survived.  Maybe it is his indomitable spirit.  He is an amazing young man with an outlook that has aided his recovery.

Lizette Alvarez profiles Marrocco in today’s New York Times.  You may remember Brendan from last year’s AT&T National or the articles by David Feherty in Golf Magazine.

Take a few minutes to reflect on the millions of men and women, soldiers and citizens alike, that have banded together over the past two centuries to make The United States of America the nation it is today.

by Jeff Skinner

Justin Rose may be leading The AT&T National but it was Tiger Woods that kept us interested in this tournament.  Wood went out early and shot an even par 70 that left him directly on the cut line.  Is this the same golfer that is chasing Jack’s 18 majors?  I don’t think so.  The only thing that is consistent about Tiger’s game is that he is inconsistent.  One round he can putt and the next he can’t.  His driver is on for a round and then it leaves him.  It was his short game that failed him and prevented him from moving up the leader board.

His wedges were spotty, he chunked a chip and lipped out two short putts.  He has been saying that his game is close to being where he wants it but we are not used to seeing Woods back in the pack with the mere mortals.  He did drive the ball well in the second round but you have to wonder: is it more than just rust that is affecting his game? So far this year he has only 19 full PGA Tours rounds under his belt but this is the guy that could will the ball into the hole.  Woods’ mental strength was one of his main weapons in his golfing arsenal.  If his off course troubles have affected Tiger’s super human power to focus on the course he may be just another skilled golfer.  Has Super Golfer met his kryptonite?  I think we’ll have to wait until the Open Championship to find out.

For those of us naive enough to believe that the removal of Tiger’s name as host of the AT&T National had any effect on the tournament John Feinstein sets the record straight.  On The Golf Channel Feinstein said that Tiger’s people are still running the show at the AT&T.  Nothing has changed from last year and he expects Tiger to be back on the marquee as the host next year.  I noticed two distinct areas that are proof Tiger still claims this tournament as this own.  First he is talking to the press after his rounds.  How many times has Tiger blown off the press when he shoots over par, almost always. Second, take a look at the sponsor’s exemptions.  Of the eight exemptions there are three good friends of Tiger.  His new practice partner Arjun Atwal is playing.  His old college buddy and closest friend on the tour, Notah Begay played.  His 2008 US Open playoff buddy, Rocco Mediate teed it up.  Even a hacker like me can see his finger prints on those selections.

by Jeff Skinner

This is part two of my adventure at Bethpage Black.  Click here for part one.

We got to Bethpage State Park around noon and checked in.  It is an amazing place with five eighteen holes courses, three designed by Tillinghast.  We hit a bucket on the range, had a little lunch, putted a few and watched as the groups ahead of us tee off.  Oh yea, it was 95 degrees and as humid as a steam bath, but we were playing The Black.

On a course like this you would think that the golfers that play here might be an experienced and passionate group.  Think again.  One of the best things about The Black is that anyone can play it.  One of the worst things about The Black is that anyone can play it.  One of the guys ahead of us teed off in flip flops. That’s right flip flops.  We then watched him and his caddy search for his ball in the tall fescue grass on the left of the first fairway and waited for our turn.

The four of us stood on the tee and no one said it but we all were nervous as hell.  It wasn’t that there were a few groups waiting behind us.  It wasn’t that we feared a shot in the rough.  I think that it might have been the fact that this was a special place and we didn’t want to disrespect The Black.

The course looked so different compared to the last time I saw it.  Gone were the concession stands, the merchandise shops, the port-a-johns, the bleachers and the gallery ropes.  There were no ropes at all, just a great course waiting for the next shots.  There wasn’t a single sign that this was nothing more than a public golf course.  That is until it’s your turn and you tee it up.  I don’t know how I did it but I fought off a near terminal case of first tee jitters and hit it straight down the middle, right next to my brother-in-law Matt.  The old guys had shown up the young guys.  My son, Tyler and my nephew, Bryan were longer but both had hit the rough and Matt and I reveled in the glory of a shot right down the middle.

Of course none of us hit the green but three bogeys and a double were good enough for us and we walked to the second green all finally voicing how nervous we were on the first tee and how glad we were to walk off number one without a major train wreck.

It was our consensus that the fairway was absolutely plush and unlike any we had played on.  The first green rolled very true but wasn’t as fast as we anticipated.  The rough however was as advertised; deep and thick, as thick as we had seen at The Opens at The Black and at Winged Foot.  It was deep and we were in trouble if we spent much of the day in there.

As we stood on the second tee and waited for Flip Flops, in the fescue again, the only thing that I feared could ruin our round rumbled closer.  The forecast was for ninety plus temperatures and thunderstorms, with a chance of hail.  The wind started to blow and the sky darkened, we knew we were in for it.

Bryan, Tyler & Matt on the 2nd tee

By the time we hit our approaches to the second green the wind was at gale force and it had started to rain.  At the green the rain was coming down harder and thunder was crashing and lightning was flashing a little too close for comfort.  Matt, Tyler and Bryan had headed for the safety of the maintenance garage that bordered the second hole but I wanted to get my ball out of the deep, greenside bunker that had swallowed it up.  After my second attempt the ball landed on the fringe and I was off to the garage, running as fast as my old feet could carry me.  A loud clap of thunder hurried my pace.  The last one was really close. As I reached the garage my son had come out to see if I had survived and truth be told, I barely made it.

After I was in the shelter for less than a minute, the group ahead of us ran into the garage and told us that they watched me run for cover and about 150 yards behind me, on the third hole, a huge tree had crashed to the ground.  I was indeed a lucky golfer.

After about ten minutes the rain stopped, replaced by a few minutes of hail.  As we made our way back to the second green, amid the sirens of the surrounding community, we all laughed at the fact that we had survived one heck of the storm.  (The storm caused thousands of homes to lose power for six days and damaged many towns in its path.)  If it was our home course, we would have been out of there, but it was The Black and we were going to finish.  But first we had to do a little housekeeping on the green.  Leaves, branches and hail covered the green so after a quick clean up we were back at it.  Unfortunately, the storm did not cool it off, it was still over ninety.

Now we were all soaked and sweaty, The Black was making us work for our first round.  We hit our tee balls to the third green and as we approached the green we saw the tree that had been felled by the storm.  It had fallen down the hill to the fourth hole and had littered the fourth tee with branches and debris.  We played out the third, the easiest hole on the course, but had only one par in the group.  Matt had back to back pars and was looking pretty comfortable despite the heat and the rain.

Matt kept it up on the fourth hole a tough par five at 461 yards and the second hardest hole on the course.  Bryan got his game going with a par but I had found my third bunker in four holes and struggled to a double.  I realized here that the fairway bunkers were so difficult that a punch out shot was my best option, rarely can you advance the ball down the fairway from these deep bunkers.

It got no easier at the fifth , a tough par four (423 yds) with a fairway that goes right and then back to the left to an elevated green.  The best we could do was bogey and we were happy with that.

Father & Son

We thought we would get a breather at the sixth, with iced teas from the snack shack and only 386 to the green.  We should have known better.  A fairway bunker did me in.  A greenside bunker took Matt out.  Bryan ping ponged his chips across the green and Tyler had been done in by his usual problem: hitting it too far.  He can drive it 300 yards but when it landed in the deep, thick rough of The Black, we could rarely find it.  Our best at the sixth was my bogey.

The par five seventh required a healthy drive over a huge bunker and we all made it.  We were ready to roll now.  Bryan and I held up our end with professional pars: on in three shots and two putts.

The par three eighth was next and it was a hole I remembered well.  We spent an afternoon there during the 2009 Open and watched the pros deal with the long downhill shot, over a pond to a two tiered green.  The golf gods smiled upon Bryan and me and again and we managed a pair of pars.  Back to back pars!  This course was easy.

Our luck ran out on the ninth, as Tyler was the only one to mange a bogey on the tough par four.

By this time we all were on our fifth or sixth real good sweat but we looked worse than we felt as we were buoyed by the spirit of The Black.  We were all struck by the difficulty of the course but on each new tee we welcomed the next challenge.  The bunkers were deep and almost impossible to get out of.  The first cut of rough, a two yard strip was deep enough to cover the top of your ball and as thick as any we had ever seen.  As far as the rough, the deep, thick juicy rough that caused every group to wander back and forth searching in vain for at least one ball on each hole, let’s just say we all appreciate how difficult it is to get your ball back to the fairway, and we gave up on hitting at the greens.

We all realized that a bogey on most of these holes should be heralded as a par, so we were happy to leave the picturesque tenth with a pair of bogeys.

The eleventh is just as pretty as the tenth, another long par four surrounded by tall fescue and a bunch of bunkers.  A wide fairway welcomed our tee balls but a well protected green cost us any chance at par.

On the twelfth, the fourth par four in a row, the fairway bunker isn’t as close as it looks as I found out but my plan of playing for a bogey worked as I carded another one.

We finally got a break from the streak of long par fours with a par five.  The thirteenth is a 480 par five, not much longer than some of the par fours but the third toughest hole on the course.  Unfortunately, the best we could do was Tyler’s bogey and moved on to the par three fourteenth.

The second easiest hole on The Black had to be a piece of cake and it could be if you hit the green somewhere near the pin. Bryan and Tyler managed to do that and had chances for a bird but both had to settle for par.  Matt and I used our ingenuity to extricate ourselves from a bunker and that rough.  We took our medicine and moved on.

The Monster 15th

The fifteenth is a memorable hole.  Just ask Phil, his bogey in 2009 probably cost him the tournament.  A long par four to an extremely elevated, two tiered green, it has beaten better men than us.  I played it as a par five and was on in three and ran my first putt two feet past the hole at the back of the green.  I felt I had won this hole.  It was a par five to me and I was about to reap my reward when I swear the spirit of A.W Tillinghast reached up and swatted my putt away from the hole.  A two foot lip out left me with a humbling, double bogey.  How dare I play Tillie’s fifteenth as a par five.  How dare I think I had a gimmie on one of those greens.  I should have known better, there are no gimmies here.

The climb up fifteen took a toll on us but we had a chance to rest on the sixteenth tee as the flip flop guy was in the rough searching for his ball again.  We sat for a minute and had a chance to appreciate our surroundings.  It is a beautiful spot and the late afternoon sun cast a golden hue across the sixteenth.  We all felt the same and even forgot how overheated we were; it’s a great place.  I said, “Come on let’s par in.”

Tyler took honors for longest drive on the sixteenth and even followed it up with a great approach and a real chance at a birdie.

17th green from the 18th tee

Alas, he settled for par and our quest for three straight pars was under way.

As we stood on the par three seventeenth it looked a heck of a lot longer than the hole we watched all day at the 2009 Open. From the bleachers then it looked like a chip shot for the pros.  Standing there it was about 190 yards, uphill to a sloped green surrounded by the nastiest bunkers on the course.  With the sun in our eyes we teed off and promptly lost sight of a few of our shots.  The green was safe as we all came up short with two in the bunker and two in the rough.  My ball had nestled down in the deep rough on a narrow strip of land that divided the bunkers.  My only option was to try and chop and flop it out of there and hope we could still find it when and if it came down.  With a mighty Philly Flop swing I chopped at it and hoped for the best.  Tillinghast gave me one back as it flopped on to the green and settled one foot from the hole.  It was by far my most memorable and luckiest shot of the day.  Par number two on our quest for three was in the bag and we humped it up to the final tee.

On the eighteenth we again had the chance to reflect on our day as Flip Flops was in the rough again.  I swear I think he was looking for his flip flop this time, but we took a moment to look up at the clubhouse and the elevated eighteenth green.  It measured less than 400 yards but a lot of it was uphill and we had been drained of any long, straight drives a few holes ago.  No one could hit the green and the heat had sapped our putting stroke so double bogey was all we could muster.  It didn’t matter.  We had played The Black and none of us could hide our smiles.

The four of us all agreed that The Black was indeed as difficult as advertised.  The fairways were as perfect as they could be and must be hit if you want to score.   The rough was so penal it cost you a shot if you found it.  The only thing tougher than the fairway bunkers are the greenside bunkers.  You need a periscope to see the green and a canon to get the ball out of them.  The greens were not rolling at tour speed, thank god, but still presented a real challenge.  They rolled really true but we all played a bit too much break all day.  The condition of the entire course was immaculate.  It certainly isn’t your typical municipal golf course.

Our day at The Black had a little bit of everything.  We started off in extreme heat and made it through a dangerous storm.  The heat certainly made the day a little bit more difficult but even though each of us had our ups and downs throughout the round we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.  One of the striking things about The Black is that it is all about the golf.  There are no houses or condos.  You won’t find any real estate developments on the course.  There are no tricks, no carts and no beverage cart.  Only golfers.  That’s one of the aspects of the Black that I enjoyed the most. I was impressed with the solitude to be found out there.

All of us were exhausted and elated at the same time.  We came to The Black with high hopes and a lot of apprehension.  It’s a lot of course for hackers like us but we were leaving delighted with the fact that we all survived, made a few pars and had a ball.  Our best ball score was an 83, but you would have thought we had shot ten under.  Our scores didn’t matter, our memories do.  It was great.  It’s big, it’s bad, it’s tough.  It’s The Black.  We can’t wait to go back.

by Jeff Skinner

What a difference a year makes.  Last year at The AT&T National Tiger Woods was the official host and played an important part in the entire weeks festivities.  He not only served as host but he went on to win the tournament which at the time was the third win of his six wins in 2009.  All this took place before his life changing fender bender on Thanksgiving weekend.

This year at the AT&T Tiger’s name is only listed as the defending champion and there is no official connection to the tournament other than as a player in the select field of 120 players.  Any official connection ended when AT&T chose to end their sponsorship of Woods after news of his many “transgressions” came to light.  AT&T had been a big sponsor of Woods but removed themselves from the Woods roster which left Tiger’s bank account a little lighter and his golf bag vacant.  Since the crash Woods has put his Tiger Woods Foundation logo on his bag and tried to get his level of play back in championship form but has had little success in finding any level of consistency.

This week may be Tiger’s best chance to win so far this season.  All of his previous five starts have had major championship fields. The Masters, The US Open, The Players, The Memorial and Quail Hollow all had superb fields of players.  The AT&T can’t boast of a field that compares to those tournaments.

Woods and Jim Furyk are the only players from the top ten in the World Golf Rankings in the field.  There is no Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Steve Stricker or Ernie Els and all the big name European players have opted out.  The field looks more like The John Deere than it does The Players.

If Woods can put four decent rounds together he may be able to contend at a course few PGA players have seen before.  The Aronimink Golf Club is hosting the AT&T while Congressional is being refurbished for next year’s US Open.  The par 70 course has only two par fives which may put Woods at a disadvantage, Woods has made his living making birdies on par fives.

With Woods returning to his former tournament there has to be a bit of awkwardness in the air.  Woods was recruited by AT&T and The PGA Tour thought they had another top tour stop when Woods was brought on as host.  In the same mold as Arnie’s Bay Hill Championship and Jack’s Memorial, the AT&T was expected to grow in stature.  After all, the best golfer in the world was the host and the Tour was ready to prop up this tournament all it could.  What a difference a year makes.

Tiger’s star has lost its luster and with it the AT&T has lost its main attraction.  This was supposed to be a premier tournament, with all the top players, hosted by one of the best players in the history of the game.  With Tiger’s personal problems affecting his on course play and his image, this tournament is just another week on the tour.  Maybe Tiger will contend this week or even pull off a win.  Maybe one of the young guns will step up and claim their first PGA title.  Or an older veteran will add another win to their career total.  Whatever happens it won’t be a major win, it’s not The Players or The Memorial or Bay Hill or even Quail Hollow.  It’s another weekly tour stop and the luster of what once could have been grand and special has faded, just like it has for Tiger Woods.

I published this story last Father’s Day and it is still relevant today.  Being a father, I cherish my time with my children whether it is on or off the course.  It’s not easy being a good, involved parent.  It takes hard work and dedication and sometimes it takes some help from other role models in your life.  Aunt Vi was one of my role models, she still is.  And she still is out there playing golf.

by Jeff Skinner

Since the USGA began its tradition of finishing the US Open on Father’s Day you can always count on a few stories on the networks about the father/son relationship in golf. Many golfers were introduced to the game by their fathers and the father/son bond in golf is legendary. There is no doubt that fathers and sons that play golf together are certain to develop a special bond with each other. However, the special relationship formed on the course during our early years in the game are not limited to fathers only.

My dad never played golf, so we never had a chance to have that “golf bond.” We were very close and shared many interests but golf was not one of his hobbies. He was a child of the depression years and never really exposed to golf. My dad was an anomaly: a Scotsman that did not play golf. I was left to find the joys of the course on my own and my ancestral urges drew me to the game in my mid-twenties. Although my dad did not play, I was not without a golfing role model in my family. In my rather large family of aunts, uncles and cousins, if you wanted to start to play golf you called my Aunt Vi. You see, Vi played golf for years and was fairly good in her day. She learned the game from her husband and was always willing to play or talk golf and to share all her experience with any one that cared to ask. So, I asked my Aunt Vi if we could play golf some time and before I knew it we were playing together each week.

Aunt Vi is a truly special person. She is my Mom’s sister and she spent plenty of time with me and my brother and two sisters. She has had her share of challenges, but her attitude never changed from anything other than positive. Vi was widowed while her two children were still young and she was left to raise them on her own. She was one of the hardest working people I know. One of my first memories of Vi was watching her pump gas at the service station she and her husband ran. As a kid we would go to her house for parties and celebrations and my brother and I always wound up in her basement. Down there we would shoot darts or play the bowling game that was there, but we always were amazed by the dozens of golf bags filled with clubs that stood against a wall in the basement. There were buckets and buckets of balls and boxes of golf trophies mostly her late husband’s, but I suspect there were a few of her own in there.

Vi worked  hard for years and took great effort in raising her two children. All this took place during the sixties, when most women were not in the work force. Vi was out working her entire life and raising her family as a single mom at the same time. This wasn’t easy and it was long before the time when a woman in the work place was common. She was hard working and dedicated and a role model for all of us.

When Vi and I started playing golf together it was the highlight of my week. You could always count on Vi to be funny, upbeat and interesting. There wasn’t a time we played together that we didn’t laugh, mostly at ourselves, or share a great joke or story. She was teaching me the game and the etiquette of golf, but she was really teaching me much more. Vi was a model of independence and self reliance. She was an independent women decades before it was in vogue. No matter what problems or issues she had to deal with, and there were many, she always chose the high road and acted with class and dignity. It didn’t matter if it was being a widow, or cancer, or a slice into a bunker, she took everything in stride and always had a smile on her face and a joke to share. She has showed all of us in our family what real independence and true integrity is. It was not just golf we learned from Vi, it was life.

I liked to bust her chops about her age, she’s a little north of eighty and a little south of ninety, but she takes it and gives it right back. She’s a tough old broad that loves the game. Awhile ago she was getting ready for her weekly Wednesday foursome when she dropped something on her foot. She knew from the pain that something was not right and she was faced with a choice: go check out the foot now and not play golf, or play her round and care for her foot later. She played her round and then found out she had a broken toe. She didn’t care, she got her golf in. Like I said she’s a tough old broad.

Vi has had a special influence on me and many members of our family. I’ve learned much more than golf from VI. I learned independence, integrity and the inter-locking grip. She has helped all of us to see that no matter what life throws at you, you can always live your life with class and dignity and a good laugh or two. Thanks Vi, Happy Fathers Day.

by Jeff Skinner

I love watching the pros play golf, I really do.  I’ll watch any tour, PGA, LPGA, Champions, Euro, Nationwide, it doesn’t matter.  I’ll watch and enjoy them all.  But I felt very strange yesterday as I watched a little of The Memorial.  For me this tournament ranks up there really close to the majors.  Seeing Jack Nicklaus showcase his baby, Muirfield, and listening to him all week is the best.  But yesterday brought out a side of me I didn’t like.

Most of the time I’ll cheer for whatever golfer is swinging the club.  It doesn’t matter who The Golf Channel or CBS is showing I am hoping that golfer executes a good shot.  Even when I am on the course, playing for a few bucks, I rarely root against my opponent.  I want them to make good shots but I want to make a better one.  However, during the short time I was watching the boys at Muirfield yesterday I was rooting against a golfer.  I was hoping he would make a poor shot and when he did I liked it.  I never thought it would come to this but I was rooting against Tiger Woods.

Last year at this time I was one of the gazillion Tiger fans.  Like everyone else I was amazed by his golfing skills and his mental toughness.  I knew we were watching a once in a lifetime golfer.  Even as he hunted down my hero Nicklaus, I couldn’t help but appreciate the greatness that was his.  But with his scandal revealing a man that was so contrary to his “image” I am finding it difficult to fall back in line with the other Tiger fans.

Is it wrong to root against Tiger?  I don’t know, but I don’t like the fact that he has brought out a darker side in me.  There are so many positive stories on the PGA Tour.  There are so many likable players, that’s one of the aspects that makes the tour so much fun to watch.  But Tiger was always fun to watch.  His ability to make the shot at the most pressure filled moment and his ability to always be in contention brought him more fans and adulation than any golfer ever.  But I am still having issues with him.  I guess I am still pissed off that I was dumb enough to buy into everything that Tiger sold us.  I am upset that he was able to perpetrate a hoax on me and millions of others.  I’ve seen Tiger play many times and there was nothing to compare it to when you are with him in person.  He was a rock star and the President all rolled into one.  The atmosphere was electric wherever he was.  I am upset that I was duped and cheated by Tiger.

Maybe it will pass in time, maybe not.  But if Tiger doesn’t scale back his arrogance and change his ways and show some humility like he said he was going to I am probably off the Tiger band wagon for good.  I’ll still appreciate his great shots on the course but I am still waiting for him to become a better man.  He may find his golf game soon enough but he has certainly lost his humanity and he needs to find it, soon.  I’ll hold off on cheering for him until he does.

by Jeff Skinner

This past Sunday could have been billed as “Redemption Sunday” on the professional golf tours.  We saw two comebacks culminate in victory for two players that have struggled recently and watched another dramatic comeback, still in its infancy, continue to make huge progress.

Adam Scott had been billed as the next Greg Norman when he first came on to the PGA Tour.  Like his fellow Aussie he had a big game and his movie star good looks made him a crowd favorite.  It didn’t hurt that Norman had taken him under his wing and served as a mentor for Scott.  Prior to 2009 Scott had six PGA Tour wins including the 2004 Players Championship.  Then in 2009 he made headlines for his breakup with his long time girlfriend and all the famous, young women he was dating.  His golf game suffered as he only made nine of nineteen cuts on the tour and he finished 108^th on the PGA Tour Money List.

A bold move by his mentor, Norman, changed his career.  Scott was selected by Norman to play for his President’s Cup Team.  It was that move that helped Scott’s confidence but it was his meeting with putting guru, Dave Stockton that really changed his game.  Scott spent thirty minutes with Stockton who had him move his hands forward at address to get the forward lean that Stockton thinks is critical for a good, consistent roll.  Scott finally had the confidence back in his game and it worked as he played wonderful golf and putted better than he had in years.  Scott collected his seventh PGA Tour win and a whole lot of confidence with the victory.

Se Ri Pak had started a revolution in South Korea when she turned on an entire country to women’s golf.  In her rookie year in 1998 she won four times on The LPGA including two majors, The US Open and The LPGA Championship.  She followed that with another four win season in 1999 had had back to back five win seasons in 2001 and 2002.  She was responsible for the explosion of golf in her home country and subjected to the pressures of being a national hero.  By 2007 she had amassed 24 wins, 5 major championships and admission to the World Golf Hall of Fame.  She was twenty four and the youngest player ever elected into The Hall of Fame.

2007 was the last season that Pak had a win on the LPGA Tour.  She has been going through some personal issues as well as searching for her game. After two years of searching she finally found it with her win at The Bell Micro Classic.  She was emotional after the win, “I’ve been here so many times, but I think I’ve been having a hard time the last couple of years,” Pak said. “I’m trying to get myself to better momentum. I work really hard every single day, every single moment, every single tournament. I knew this day was going to come. All I could do is be patient and work hard.” She shed a few tears and I’m sure a few were shed for her.  It’s a wonderful story: former great makes it back to the top.  Pak has never displayed anything other than class on the tour.  It has to be a very rewarding moment for her.

The real winner at The Champions Tour wasn’t Dan Forsman even though he did get the trophy and a nice check.  Ken Green continued his comeback to golf from his horrific RV accident.  This was his first individual event since he started playing again and each week has to be an emotional and physical strain.  Green had said his goal was to stay out of last place and he accomplished that by finishing T73 and besting three other players.

Green said the hilly course was difficult for him as he really hasn’t perfected his swing from an uneven lie.  He is the first golfer to play on tour with a prosthetic leg but for him he is just trying to get his old life back.  It’s less than a year since the accident and his competing is nothing less than miraculous.

“I’m pretty happy with the week. This is a tough course with the different lies you can get here. This is my first individual tournament in awhile where every shot counts. The one thing I have to keep remembering is it seems like it’s been an eternity, but it’s only been 11 months. I’ve done very little in terms of golf. It’s definitely a home run for me. I got through the week. I hit a lot of good shots and some bad ones. I’m happy with it. It’s encouraging that there is some hope that I can go out there and play some good golf. The support has been unbelievable. I can tell you how much it means to me when people come up to me and tell me that I’m an inspiration to them and that my story is wonderful. That gives me so much joy and happiness. It’s been a pretty tough time. When people come up and give me a boost of energy and love, it makes me feel good. The players have been wonderful. I was a little worried. I thought they would wonder why I’m playing, that I really shouldn’t be out here because I’m not playing good enough. They’ve been just the opposite. I misread the reception of the players and I’m glad I did. They’ve all said it’s wonderful for me to be out here, go ahead and play, it doesn’t matter what you shoot, you’re playing golf again.”

Green was known as a free spirit in his younger days on tour.  Today he is inspirational.  If he never wins again it won’t matter.  He is playing golf again and is trying to put his shattered life back together again. Green is attempting to rescue himself from the darkest time in his life. Regardless of his score, each week he tees it up he is a winner.

by Jeff Skinner

The Golf Channel aired the full Jim Gray interview with Hank Haney last night and as usual Gray did a superb job.  He asked all the right questions and if Tiger Woods wasn’t going to be sitting down with Gray then Hank Haney is the next best choice.  Haney spent over 100 days per year over the last six years with Woods tweaking his swing and picking his brain.  He gave Gray some surprisingly honest and insightful answers to questions that Woods would never answer.  The fact that one of Tiger’s inner circle is speaking out is shocking.

Tiger has always insisted that his associates keep quiet about all things Tiger.  He has jettisoned an agent, caddy and swing coach for remarks made to the public or the fact that they were a little too forthcoming with information about Tiger.  With Haney, Woods had found the ultimate company man.  Prior to this he only spoke of Woods in positive terms and always skirted any sniff of controversy.  Haney knew enough to not “bite the hand that fed him.” With Haney’s resignation he was free to speak openly.  Gray asked him about being in Tiger’s inner circle and Haney said no one ever told him how to behave with the press but he did admit that Tiger liked to keep things private and it’s not easy being Tiger nor is it easy being in the inner circle.  In this interview we see an insider speak more openly about Woods than we have ever seen before.

One of the questions that Woods refused to answer many times was “What are you in therapy for?” His response was always a terse “It’s personal” followed by a glare and a “Next question.”  Haney actually says the previously forbidden words, sex addiction.  When Gray asked what Woods was in therapy for Haney seemed a little uncomfortable but said in an almost whisper of a voice, “The only thing I knew about was his issue with sex addiction.”  Woods can’t be happy with that.

Asked how much the scandal was effecting Woods he said “100%… it is effecting him, how could it not, he is a human being.”  He denies knowing anything about Tiger’s extracurricular activities but said he was there for a friend that needs help.  He thinks that if there was no scandal, Woods would be playing better and he would probably still be coaching Tiger.

Haney defended Tiger’s driving and even compared him to all of us that hit it well on the range but can’t bring it to the course.  Imagine that, Tiger has the same problems as we do.  I think not.

Gray got Haney to discuss Tiger’s reluctance to be open with the media and Haney said “I think Tiger would be better off if he was more open” but he also said he never wants to make any excuses for how he plays and that is part of the reason he doesn’t discuss his injuries more openly.

As far as the rumors about performance enhancing drugs he was adamant that Woods has not taken any and those rumors are “100% false.”  He did say there is a lot of jealousy on the tour but says he witnessed the blood spinning procedures and there was never any foreign substance put in Tiger’s body.

Haney was always a loyal Tiger supporter and did nothing but speak in encouraging and positive tones.  But he was disappointed with Tiger’s lack of support for him over the last few weeks. “I feel like I was treated well for the most part. Obviously, I took a lot of criticism and he could have stepped up, maybe a little more and been a little more supportive.”  It did bother him that Woods didn’t come to his defense when he was taking so much heat recently.

Haney insists it was his decision to resign and that he is still Tiger’s friend and will support him and help him anyway he can as a friend but his days as a coach for Tiger are done.

While Haney still insists that it was his decision to leave Woods you can’t help but think that the writing was on the wall and this was a mutual decision made by Hank and Tiger with Haney given the option of resigning before he was let go.  Haney says if Tiger were to call him he would help him, as a friend, with anything he asked.  If Tiger is still Tiger, and it looks like he is, I don’t think Hank has to worry about getting that call.  Tiger’s camp can’t be thrilled with the content of Haney’s remarks and Hank may have hurt any chance of remaining “Tiger’s friend” but at least we got an insider’s perspective from one of Tiger’s inner circle.

Link to full Golf Channel Interview

by Jeff Skinner

Last year during the third round of The Deutsche Championship I followed Tiger Woods and Lucas Glover for their entire round.  On one hole the tee was very isolated and roped off from the entire gallery.  The only one inside the ropes and a hundred yards away from anyone were Woods, Glover, their caddies, myself and one lone policeman on security duty.  It was the only time during the entire round that Tiger wasn’t surrounded by thousands of eyes.  We were so alone that Tiger did what many of us do while we are out on the course: he found a tree and relieved himself.  After the players pounded their drives down the fairway the cop and I walked behind them and chatted a bit.  We both decided that we wouldn’t mind having Tiger’s bank account but neither of us wanted any piece of his life.  His total lack of a normal life turned us both off.   Those were the good old days for Woods, before his dark, scandalous secret life was brought to light.

These days Woods is faced with more issues and problems than he can count and any “comeback” has been derailed by one dilemma after another.  It could be a long time before we see the “old Tiger” on the course.  Which difficulty will give Tiger the most trouble?  Take your pick.  There are no wrong answers here.

Tiger was used to having women whenever and wherever he liked.  It didn’t matter if it was an expensive hotel or the back of his car, if Tiger wanted a little action he got it, no matter what.  So now with his every move being followed by the tabloids and photographers he can’t expect the same “freedom” if you will.  If Team Tiger wasn’t involved with arranging his hook ups before (cough, cough) they must be now.  It probably takes as much planning as the D-Day Invasion at Normandy to get Tiger and one of his female friends together now.  Tiger’s sex life has probably changed a little bit from what it was before Thanksgiving.

Right now Tiger’s marriage is like one of his wayward drives: long gone and in deep trouble. According to all accounts, Tiger and Elin’s marriage looks to be over.  The delay in a divorce filing is said to be due to negotiations of the settlement.  A custody and financial arrangement needs to be agreed upon and it can be an exhausting and excruciating process.  Elin is said to be ready to take the children to her native Sweden where she wants to raise them away from the glare of the press.  Tiger supposedly isn’t willing to give up the kids and wants an agreement that allows him some type of custody.  Tack on the financial settlement, which probably will include a check with a whole bunch of zeros, and you get a distraction of the monumental kind.  As usual, there is nothing normal in Tiger’s life.

While many, including Tiger, may be focused on the Divorce/Custody settlement it’s the life after the divorce that could bring more stress into Tiger’s life.  Raising kids is tough enough under normal circumstances.  If Tiger wants to be a good father, in my book he has blown it so far, he’ll have many issues to deal with. Factor in his divorce, single parenting, the media spotlight, rebuilding a shattered career and a five thousand mile commute to pick up the kids and Tiger doesn’t have an easy road ahead of him as far as raising his kids.

Tiger’s neck injury is the most recent pothole on his road to playing good golf once again.  He is hoping to return to play at The Memorial but if his game hasn’t improved what’s the point.  Could his body be breaking down?  After years of brutal workouts and a million or two balls pounded it may be that his body has had enough.  The problem with speculating about Tiger’s health is that it is just that: speculating.  We are not sure of his physical status because he isn’t really being truthful about his condition.  He likes to say that he won’t comeback before he is physically ready to win, not just compete, but we have seen that not to be the case.  He returned to The Masters and claimed he was healthy.  After the second round of The Players he said he was fine, had no issues and was one hundred percent.  Then he withdraws during the third round and says his neck has been bothering him since before The Masters.  Can we believe anything that comes out of his mouth?

Tiger’s swing, his good swing, whether it’s The Harmon swing or The Haney swing, the swing he uses to make a ball do things only he can is nowhere to be found.  Sure, it looks like Hank Haney took one for the team here in resigning before Tiger lowered the boom himself, but Hank doesn’t swing the club.  Woods won six majors with Haney and that swing and Hank’s departure is more a sign that Tiger has lost confidence in his own swing than a reflection on Haney.  Maybe he needs a new coach or maybe he doesn’t and can go solo for awhile.  However, he has as much work to do on his swing as he has to do on rebuilding his personal life.  Either task is enough to consume one man, both together is a colossal chore.

In addition to Tiger’s ability to make a golf ball behave on command it was his mental toughness that further separated him from the rest of his contemporaries.  No golfer since Jack Nicklaus had the reputation of being a closer, a finisher like Tiger Woods has.  His reputation was good for a few strokes a side when he was in the final pairing on Sunday as he intimidated all comers, veterans and rookies alike.  If he needed a clutch putt for par or a creative shot to rescue him from trouble he rarely failed to execute it.  Everyone knows that if Tiger needed to sink a putt on Sunday at the eighteenth it was money in the bank.  His ability to focus, to almost will the ball in the hole is legendary.  Regaining his mental edge could be Tiger’s biggest challenge.

Stating that Tiger has a few distractions in his life may be the understatement of the year.  Any one of the issues that confront him is enough to overwhelm any man.  He has physical, personal, professional and mental issues all pulling at him.  A normal person would be hard pressed to recover from all this but as we know Tiger is anything but normal.  He is certainly flawed, with an insatiable appetite for certain off the course activities but no one can argue that he hasn’t had the mental strength to overcome challenges before.  The question here is: does he have enough left in his tank to climb out of this deep, deep hole?

Time will take care of some of his troubles.  People live with divorce and custody arrangements all the time.  He’ll be able to take care of his personal needs soon enough.  If he can get his body healthy again he’ll find his swing or create a new one to win a few more majors.  If his injuries persist he may not catch Jack’s eighteen majors a quickly as he likes.  But he’s only thirty four and he’ll have another ten solid years to get to nineteen majors.  It might be his mental edge that will be his biggest challenge.  How much stress and pressure can one person take?  For once in Tiger’s life he is not in control.  It is not a familiar position for Woods.  Tiger is an admitted control freak and right now he isn’t in control of much in his life.  This will be the toughest mental challenge of his life.  He would do well to take things slowly and get his personal life settled. He shouldn’t rush back to the gym or the course or the bars or anywhere.  All things must pass.  He could use a little patience for once, something that he rarely has a use for.  For Tiger things seem to take too long sometimes.  He is not good at taking it easy, he is never one to let things come to him.  He is a “type A personality” to the tenth power and he usually goes after want he wants and goes hard.  For him to deal with all these issues he’ll need a different tact.  Patience is a virtue and we have seen everything but virtuous behavior from Woods of late.  If a man ever needed a little virtue and a bit of patience it’s Tiger Woods.

by Jeff Skinner

The resignation of Hank Haney as Tiger Woods’ swing coach has finally put an end to all the rumors that were circulating about his relationship with Tiger.  You can call me crazy but I think Hank Haney is the big winner here.  Right now hanging out with Tiger Woods isn’t what is was in years past.  Tiger’s inner circle has never been so criticized or scrutinized.  For a guy like Haney who finds no joy in the media spotlight he has to feel a little relieved that he’ll no longer have to deal with all the baggage that goes along with coaching Tiger Woods.

Tiger enjoyed success with Haney over the past six years, 25 wins and six major championships, but their relationship has finally run its course.  After Tiger dumped the outspoken, media loving Butch Harmon he found “the Anti-Harmon” in Hank.  While Harmon loved to talk, Haney was reserved.  Where Harmon reveled in the glare of the media, Haney would avoid it as best he could.  Their methods were different, but their student flourished under both of them.

With Tiger’s life in pieces since November, everyone on Team Tiger had come under attack.  When Tiger couldn’t hit a fairway with a bucket of balls Haney became the media’s biggest target.  Hank knew where this was going to end, he was going to be let go, and he probably discussed it with Tiger.  So Haney, being Haney, takes the proactive approach and quits.  He puts it on himself and quits.  He won’t let his role in this soap opera of Tiger’s life continue and leaves what he called the greatest job in the world.  That’s Haney’s style.

One of the qualities of Hank that Tiger had to appreciate was his loyalty.  He never spoke out of turn, Tiger never tolerates that, and he was always positive about his relationship with the world’s number one golfer.  Woods was not treated kindly by Harmon after his departure and that has probably kept him off the list of candidates to replace Haney. (Hank Haney is not Butch Harmon.)

So while some may be asking what Tiger’s life after Haney will bring, I am wondering what Haney’s life after Tiger will be like.  I would imagine it is a bitter sweet time in Hank’s life.  He is out of the line of fire from Johnny Miller and the rest of the analysts that were calling for his dismissal but he’s gone from the job that most swing coaches would kill for.  Working with the best players in the world is what a guy at Haney’s level relish.  Haney’s career and bank account exploded during his time with Tiger.  The Golf Channel gave Hank three different shows, his golf schools were jammed and his profile was never higher.  He certainly owes much of his success to Woods and he acknowledges that.

Tiger will go on and find another coach and win again, as soon as he gets his head on straight.  I would think Haney would still have a successful career and maybe just enjoy life a little more without all the distractions that come with Tiger Woods.  These things happen in sports. Coaches and players separate and Hank has said it was just time to move on.  Woods will have to search high and low to find a guy that is as loyal and humble as Haney.

Woods and Haney both enjoyed professional success during their time together.  Tiger’s life right now is like living next to a nuclear power plant, you’re afraid that tomorrow could bring another meltdown.  Hank is probably breathing a sigh of relief.  He can kick back for awhile and he still has Ray Romano to work with.  I bet Romano is a heck of a lot more fun than Tiger Woods right now.

Check out Tim Rosaforte’s piece on Tiger and Hank.