Frogger Blogger

U.S. Open
Merion Golf Club, Philadelphia, PA
Par-70, 6,996 Yards

What a fantastic weekend of golf. This past weekend the U.S. Open was full of drama and a leaderboard in which blinking might have made one miss changes at the top.

The golf course, historic Merion, was a stern test for the best players in the world. The USGA (United States Golf Association) had the course setup in “typical” U.S. Open fashion. What does that mean? It means that the greens were extremely fast, the rough extremely deep and the fairways extremely narrow. U.S. Open setups are tough physically and perhaps even tougher mentally. The mental challenge is in knowing that any mis-hit shot will result in a very bad situation which will likely cost a player 1-2 strokes. This is the the case from any place on the course, tee, fairway or even green.

The cream rose to the top as the weekend progressed. By the beginning of Sunday’s final round Phil Mickelson had the lead. Would he finally break the jinx of coming up 2nd in U.S. Opens and claim a victory? Would players who were at or near the lead without major wins finally break through? Those players included Hunter Mahan who was playing in the final group with Phil Mickelson, as well as Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Steve Stricker, Jason Day and Billy Horschel.

In typical Mickelson fashion, Phil was up and down, making double bogeys one moment and then holing out on par-4’s for eagle the next. By the back nine Merion and the USGA setup took out contenders llike Jason Dufner, Luke Donald and Steve Stricker. Down the stretch roughly 4-5 of the top horses in the race had a chance.

The two final holes proved pivotal. The player who played those two the best, with the most quality ball striking, was Justin Rose. As Rose saved par on the final hole to finish at +1, he knew it was unlikely that the only player who had a realistic chance of tying him, Phil Mickelson, would catch him. Phil would have to make birdie on the 18th, a hole that yielded zero birdies in 147 attempts that day.

Phil’s drive on the tee of #18 ended up in the left rough, leaving him nearly an impossible chance at birdie. His 2nd shot came up short and the birdie chip attempt failed. At that moment, Justin Rose’s career and life changed forever.

Justin Rose: 2013 U.S. Open champion!

With the extremely soggy conditions at the U.S. Open this week, I thought it would be a good time to describe the "Umbrella" golf game. Umbrella doesn't really have anything to do with the Open, other than the word umbrella, but I digress.

Umbrella

Umbrella is played between two teams of two players.  Each team of two can score points on each hole for five different achievements on the hole. These achievements are:

• Low individual score
• Hit green in regulation (each player on team)
• Make birdie or better
• Side has low two-ball score

In this format the game is fun enough but the big twist is the points.  Points are awarded based on the number of the golf hole.  So on the first hole, each of the achievements above would be worth one point.  If the team wins all five of the achievements, the points are doubled.  Achievements on hole #2 are worth two points each, doubled if the team wins all five.  And so on.  The 18th hole of course then would have achievements worth 18 points each, and doubled if the group wins all five.

As you can imagine this game can be exciting and volatile.  One team can have a nice lead but if the other team wins all five achievements late in the round the lead can flip flop.

Points will be assigned a dollar amount, but be careful!  There are many points available.

USGA
U.S. Open
Merion Golf Club, Haverford Township, Pennsylvania

Members from all men’s professional men’s golf tours as well as qualifying amateurs all converge on historic Merion Golf Club this week for the 2nd major championship of the 2013 season, the U.S. Open. This week should prove to be exciting, and will answer many questions about the state of players’ games like Tiger Woods, Rory McIlory and more.

Merion is full of U.S. Open as well as general golf history. The course has hosted four U.S. Opens. Merion is the home of Bobby Jones’s 8 and 7 victory in the 36-hole final of the U.S. Amateur match play, golf’s original Grand Slam. Merion is also the home of possibly the most famous photo in golf history, Ben Hogan’s 1-iron on the 18th hole in the 1950 U.S. Open.

The course will play very short at only 6,996 yards. Don’t expect to see low scores however, as the USGA U.S. Open setup will include extremely penal rough combined slick and fast greens. The ultimate setup is one which is geared toward a winning score around even par.

Weather is a huge factor this week as the course has been hammered with roughly seven inches of rain, and it is still raining. If the players are allowed to lift-clean-place, there will be some lower scoring. Should those players miss the fairway, the rough could be even more difficult.

Television Schedule

Thursday/Friday - June 13/14

9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on ESPN
3-5 p.m. on NBC
5-7 p.m. on ESPN

Satruday/Sunday - June 15/16

1:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on NBC

All times eastern.

How many times have we all done this?  We hurry from our kitchen to our car with a bagel in our mouths and a cup of coffee in our hands.  Spilling some of the coffee on our clothes, we speed to the golf course.  When we get to the course we throw our shoes on as fast as possible, grab our clubs and run into the pro shop to pay our green fees and check in.  We only have a few seconds to spare because the pro behind the counter informs us that we are on the tee.

Is it really possible to perform at our best in that situation?  No.  We are not warmed up.  We are not focused on playing golf.  We are anxious.  We are stiff.  We don't know how fast the greens are because we haven't practiced on the practice green.  We don't know that today is going to be the day that all of our shots go left, because we didn't hit some balls on the practice range.

Get To The Course Early

There are so many reasons to get to the golf course early, from loosening up to relaxing and focusing on playing a good round of golf.  Given that we allocate enough time before the round we can do the following, which will help our round, final score, and overall enjoyment of the day.

• Stretch and loosen up.  Muscles can be tight from the night's sleep or a day at the office.
• Get a feel for which swing we brought to the course. The swing changes and we need to adapt!  Hit the practice range for a small bucket.
• Practice putting to get the speed of the greens.
• Hit a few chips and pitches to get the short game feel.
• Talk to the pro shop and/or the starter for pointers on playing the course.  Get some tips on where to aim, or how to read the greens.  They'll be valuable.
• Clean the clubs and make sure they're ready to hit quality golf shots.
• Wet the towel, preferably a Frogger Amphibian towel.
• Plan a course strategy.

Getting to the course early can be a big boost to performance and lower scores.  Don't hurry to the first tee.  Be ready in plenty of time for your next round.  You'll be glad you did.

PGA Tour
FedEx St. Jude Classic
TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee

Many big name players skip this past week in Memphis to prepare for this week's U.S. Open at Merion.  Some players like to compete the week before majors to get in the flow of competition, like Phil Mickelson.  Phil did play quite well this past week, nearly holing out his approach on the final hole for eagle, which would have tied him for the lead at the time.  But Harris English had other thoughts.

English had some great memories of winning in Tennessee.  He was on a high school teem in Chattanooga which won FOUR state championships.

With a one stroke lead coming into the 17th, English hit a brilliant punch 2nd shot from under the tree line to about 20 feet.  The curling birdie gave him a two-shot cushion and allowed him to be fairly relaxed as he walked up the 18th en route to the first victory in his PGA Tour career.

With the win English collects a large check of over $1 million.  In addition, he receives a two year exemption on the PGA Tour, an invitational to the Tournament of Champions and an automatic invitation to the 2014 Masters.

It was a good week.

Champions Tour
Regions Tradition, a major championship
Shoal Creek Golf Course, Shoal Creek, Alabama

David Frost won his first Champions Tour major at Shoal Creek by one shot over Fred Couples and two shots over Esteban Toledo and John Cook. It took Frost 17 attempts to get that first Champions Tour major. The victory marks Frosts 5th in his Champions Tour career.

LPGA Tour
Wegmans LPGA Championship
Locust Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York

Inbee Park of South Korea captured the Wegmans LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club, but not without some drama. Park could have won easily if not for a final round 75.

Park entered a playoff with Catriona Matthew after both players finished regulation at -5. On the third playoff hole Park made birdie to Matthew's bogey.

Here's a golf game similar to the Rabbit game covered some time ago, but with a little more volatility:  The Bear.

The Bear is best played with groups of at least two, but larger groups are better.  At the beginning of the round an initial bet amount is set for the Bear.  In our example we will say $1.00.  If a person is the sole low score on a hole, he captures the Bear.  That player will hold onto the bear as long as no other players beat him on subsequent holes and the Bear value doubles.  When another player does beat the original player who captured the Bear, he captures the bear and wins the doubled bet amount.  At the end of each nine the person holding the bear wins the current bet amount from the group.  At the beginning of the next nine, the Bear starts over.

Example

Four players start with the Bear at $1.00 and are playing nine holes.  All players tie the first hole.  On the 2nd hole Player A makes the sole birdie in the group.  Player A now holds the Bear.  If he can hold onto the Bear the rest of the nine, he will win a dollar from each group member. The next Bear is worth $2.00.   On the 3rd hole, Player B has the only par of the group which is the lowest score.  Player B now holds the Bear and would win $2.00 from each group member if he kept it the rest of the nine.   Two more times during the nine the Bear changes hands with Player D holding the Bear when the nine is completed.  Player D would win $8.00 from each of the other players.

As you can imagine, Bear can be volatile. If the Bear were to change players on each hole, the final Bear holder would win $18 from every player!

The new Frogger Golf Cart Poncho has received its first review!  Right on!  Our friends at Hooked On Golf Blog put the poncho into play a couple of weeks ago during a golf tournament and with great results.  Glad to have saved the day during the rainy competition!

Here are a couple of quotes we particularly like from the review:

"The Poncho did a great job keeping us dry."

"Putting the Golf Cart Poncho on is far easier and doesn't take two people like those bulky canvas golf cart covers."

"At under $50 bucks, the Golf Cart Poncho is a no-brainer.   It is light, easy to install and keeps things dry which should be."

Thanks to Hooked On Golf Blog for the great Golf Cart Poncho Review.

This is the 2nd in a one billion part series on combatting slow play. Slow play is one of the primary reasons the golf industry is struggling. It simply takes too long to play golf as 9 hole rounds can take up to three hours and 18 hole rounds taking 5-6 hours. Here is the next set of four big pointers to help speed up play.

Though we are trying to speed up play, we’re not rushing our golf shots. A great saying in golf is to “quickly proceed to your next shot but take time hitting it.”

Take Some Clubs

When searching for your ball, take the clubs you think you may need so you don’t have to return to your golf bag or golf cart to get them.

A player riding in a golf cart with a partner should be dropped off in the area of his/her ball and should take the clubs he/she thinks he will need for the next shot. The cart driver can then proceed to his/her ball. Both players can be preparing to hit their next shots at the same time.

Don’t Travel In Groups

Along the same lines as the previous paragraph, don’t travel in groups. Often times I see a foursome which all walks (or rides) to a player’s ball. They watch him hit. Then the group walks to the next player’s ball to watch him hit. This repeats for every player on every shot. This is a HUGE waste of time! Each player walking should proceed to his own ball and do whatever is needed to get ready for his shot, like reading the wind and the yardage.  Think about the time in the round which could be saved.

Play From The Correct Tee!

This one is a big problem. Too often amateur golfers think they’re better than they are. 15 handicap players should not be playing from the tips on a course which is 7,400 yards and has a course rating of 73.9. They’ll shoot about 500 over par, each shot taking up more and more time.

Playing from the correct tee will not only present a more matched challenge for the player, it will result in a quicker round with a lower score!

Read The Next Shot Before You Get There

When approaching your next shot, be reading the conditions, the layout, the course setup, the breaks in the green etc. Much of the process of choosing what club and what shot to play next can be done en route to one’s ball.

PGA Tour
Memorial Tournament
Muirfield Village, Dublin, Ohio

The buzz before the Memorial Tournament this week was that the world's #1 and #2 players would be in the field, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory.  Come Sunday there was no buzz as McIlory missed the cut and Woods fired a disappointing 2nd round 79.  Woods finished tied for 65th, five spots from last place amongst those who made the cut.

By tournament's end the buzz was surrounding Matt Kuchar.  The crowds were not booing.  They were yelling "Koooooch!"  Kuchar's play was the model of consistency this week.  68-70-70-68.  The final round 68 was enough to hold off Kevin Chappell for a two shot victory.

With the win Kuchar moves to 2nd place in FedEx Cup points behind Tiger Woods.  Kuchar also becomes the only player other than Woods to have multiple wins on the 2013 PGA Tour season.

Champions Tour
Principal Charity Classic
Wakonda Golf Club, Des Moines, Iowa

2012 was a tough year for Russ Cochran, bitten by the injury bug with shoulder and rib problems.

2013 is already brighter for Cochran, who won the Principal Charity Classic by one shot over Jay Don Blake.

"I didn't really expect to win. But I knew I could compete and get in contention. Of course, when you do that, sometimes good things happen."

LPGA Tour
ShopRite LPGA Classic
Stockton Seaview Golf Club, Galloway, New Jersey

Karrie Webb picked up the win and the cool $225K that comes with winning the ShopRite LPGA Classic.  In this 54 hole event, Webb fired rounds of 72-69-68 to give herself a two shot cushion over Shanshan Feng and three over Hee Young Park.

The win marked the 39th of Webb's LPGA Tour career and moved her into 11th in the all time career LPGA Tour wins position.

Slow play is a big problem in golf.  Perhaps the biggest.  The amount of time it takes to play 18 holes is a big reason why more people are leaving the game and less people taking it up.  These days most golf rounds simply take too long.

As amateurs we should all play "ready golf" to speed up play.  We are no on the PGA Tour and don't need to take 5 minutes looking at a three foot bogey putt from 12 different angles as if it were to win the U.S. Open.  We need to "find it and hit it."  Below are a few "ready golf" tips for faster play.  After all, golf is more fun if it doesn't take too long.

Hit When Ready

Yes in regular golf we wait for the person farthest from the hole to play his/her shot.  In ready golf though, whoever is ready to hit pulls the trigger rather than waiting for the person farthest out.  When you get to your ball, go for it.  Don't wait.

Pick Your Club While Others Are Playing Their Shots

While other players are playing their shots is the time to calculate yardages and select a club.  On the green, read the break of your putt while others are putting.  That when when they are done with their shots or putts, you can pull the trigger immediately.

Short Pre-Shot Routine

The pre-shot routine is a process most golfers go through before hitting the ball.  Some take a practice swing or pull up their shirt the same way before each shot.  This is a good thing as long as it doesn't take too long.  A pre-shot routine should only be 10-20 seconds.

ONE Practice Swing Or Even None

How many times have you watched an amateur take 10 or even 20 practice swings before hitting the shot?  At 2-3 seconds per practice swing the time could really add up.  Consider that an average amateur probably shoots 100.  So if the player took five practice swings that would be 600 total swings.  600 x however many seconds per swing and we are talking about a LONG round of golf!

Take ONE practice swing.  10 more on the course are not going to help.  Save them for the practice range.

Take Your Bag/Clubs With You

If you carry or use a golf cart, always bring clubs with you when searching for your ball.  That way you are ready with club in hand rather than having to go back to your bag and grab one.

Play REAL Golf

No mulligans or extra shots!  Amateurs often hit another shot if they disliked the previous one.  Mulligans are time killers because there are more shots and the player has to retrieve them.

Just A Start

These are just a few tips for ready golf.  Stay tuned for part two coming up in a future blog post!