This week the PGA Tour is playing the AT&T in the Philadelphia area.  Though the AT&T is known as Tiger Wood’s tournament, the only competition Woods may provide this week will be playing against kids on the XBox version of his golf game.  Tiger is still injured and won’t be playing.  In fact the date of his return to the PGA Tour is unknown.  He hasn’t taken a full swing with a golf club since withdrawing from the 2011 PLAYERS Championship.

The Course

This week’s course is a special one.  Aronomink is an old school design by the famous golf designer Donald Ross.  Ross is famous for designing dozens of courses in the east and perhaps most famous for designing Pinehurst #2.

Aronomink is a tree lined course with nice elevation changes, tight fairways and extremely difficult greens.  When brought up to tour speeds, the greens at Aronomink could easily compete with the greens at Augusta National.  It is extremely important for players to be accurate off the tee so that they may place their approaches in the proper area of the greens.  Once on those greens, putting will be at a premium.

Players To Watch

Thursday and Friday at the AT&T there are a few cool groupings.

The first featured group includes Gary Woodland, Nick Watney and Dean Wilson.  Dean Wilson hasn't really done much on tour the last few years but Woodland and Watney certainly have.  The word behind the scenes is that Watney is testing out new irons from his equipment manufacturer.  Keep an eye on his iron game.

A 2nd fun grouping to watch will be that of Justin Rose, K.J. Choi and Adam Scott.  Once again this week Tiger Woods' caddy Steve Williams will be on the bag of fellow Aussie Adam Scott.  The ball striking in this group should be fantastic.

Other single players to watch include Rickie Fowler, multiple 2011 winner Mark Wilson, Jhonny Vegas and new rooking winner Keegan Bradley.

Yes we at Frogger Golf are going social.  You can’t do that without having your own YouTube profile can you?  So we’ve finally got our new YouTube page set up at the link below.  Bookmark it!

http://www.youtube.com/user/froggergolf

Be sure to stop by there and check out our videos and subscribe.  We’ll also favorite any other videos like interviews or pieces from trade shows which cover Frogger.

We get a lot of requests online from people who want to see our ads, especially the funny HOP! spot, so here it is for your enjoyment!

http://youtu.be/MM3ofFgrbUk

The next time you play golf, take a scorecard separate from your group or fellow players and use it to track something other than just score.  Keeping stats, even the most basic, can give you great insight into your golf game and what you can do to improve it.  The stats can also tell you what you do well.

Start with putting

Rather than overwhelming yourself with a million stats at first, start the most important single stat you can focus on: putting.  Putting can comprise from 40-60% of all strokes on the course.  Based on those numbers alone you can determine the best place to shave strokes off your score quickly, the greens.

Most golfers write their score on a line of the scorecard, then put a small sub-number below right of that score to indicate putts.

Something like this: ⁵₂.

In the example above the score on the hole is a 5, and the number of putts on the hole is 2.

At the end of a round, count your putts up and write the total down.  Total putts per round is a good stat to be aware of.

Putts per hole

Next, take the total putts number and divide it by the number of holes played which is usually 9 or 18 holes.  A decent golfer strives to 2-putt or better on every hole.  So if you have 36 putts or less for 18 holes, you're not doing too bad.  Think about this for a minute.  Par for 18 holes is usually 72, and it is expected for a good player to 2-putt every green.  18 holes times 2 putts = 36 strokes!  Therefore, putting could be as much as 50% of of a great score.

For an idea of what really good putting is, the leading putter on on the PGA Tour this year in putts per round is Kevin Na, who averages 27.3 putts per round.  His low total putts for the hear is 22 in 18 holes.  Statistically dead last in putting this year on the tour is Ernie Els at 30.84.  The current #1 ranked player in the world, Luke Donald, comes in at 4th place in total putts per round at 27.88.

Those numbers show you how fine of a line there is on tour and how important even a single putt per round can be.

Conclusion

Track your putts per round and try to focus on improving the numbers and your scores will start going down!

Next week we'll talk more about some interesting putting stats and how you can further improve your scores.

I've been watching Fredrik Jacobson all year.  Even followed him around at a tour event or two.  He has been in the mix, close to winning for a few weeks now.  This past weekend at the Traveler's Championship the 36 year old Swede finally broke through for his first PGA Tour win.  Jacobson joins a large and growing group of 1st time winners on tour this year.

Promise Kept

This win was for his 5 year old daughter, who on a weekly basis asks her dad if he finally won a trophy.  Jacobson promised his daughter that he would win a trophy this year, and finally was able to keep his promise.

"It's been haunting me. I've been on the board, I've been asked so many times from the kids, 'Did you get a trophy this week daddy? Did you get a trophy this week?' Nope, no trophy. So, I'm excited about that. I'm glad I'm not breaking that promise for her." ~Fredrik Jacobson

As I've mentioned many times now, a first win is huge on tour.  It guarantees a spot in the season opener in Hawaii the first week in January as well as trips to majors and large jumps in money and FedEx Cup point standings.

Being the week after the U.S. Open, a few big name players take the week off, so the field in this event is more wide open.  That said, surprisingly some of the bigger names in the field missed the cut like Anthony Kim, Jim Furyk, Lucas Glover and Geoff Ogilvy.

This past week's Traveler's doesn't shake up the FedEx Cup standings or the world rankings much.

History is in the making on the LPGA Tour as 22 year old Yani Tseng notched her fourth major victory this past week at the Wegmans LPGA Championship.  Tseng follows up Rory McIlroy's field thumping round at the men's U.S. Open by lapping the field by 10 shots at -19.  With the fourth major, Tseng extends her previous record of being the youngest LPGA player to record three major victories, to the youngest to win four.

Another record tied is the total under par for an LPGA major at -19.  Tseng joins a big name group with that distinction which includes Dottie Pepper, Christie Kerr and Karen Stupples.

"You know, I ask my coach this morning, what can I do today?  I have a five shot lead.  You never know on this golf course.  He told me just go out and have fun.  You always show your big smile this week and just do the same thing as yesterday.  And I was really, really nervous on the first hole.  I pulled my drive and made bogey.  I made like 3-foot putt for bogey.  My hand was shaking.  I just tried to save par from the first hole.

The second hole I feel better.  I had three birdies in a row and after that I calmed down and everything.  I realize today, let's break a record.  It was a totally different mind for the first hole.  I am having so much fun out there.  I smile all the way and see all of the fans and media was following.  It was just really big crowd there and give me lots of support." ~Yani Tseng comments on her fourth LPGA Tour major victory

A distant pack on the leader board 10 shots back included 2nd place finisher Morgan Pressel and three players, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer and Christie Kerr tied for 3rd.

Future Dominant Force?

Golf writers are calling Tseng a future dominant force on the LPGA Tour and I'd have to disagree.  She isn't a future dominant force.  She is a current dominant force.

Final Wegmans LPGA Championship results
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Two days ago was the longest day of the year, or summer solstice.  On summer solstice the sun rises the earliest and sets the latest.  There's more daylight than any other day of the year and that can mean only one thing: more golf!

Many golf clubs and golf groups have solstice tournaments.  Most of them involve golfing all day and seeing how many holes one can play from sunrise to sunset.  Lets take a look at a few.

In Denver there's a "summer solstice golf marathon" tournament which is 100 holes long.  The event is a charity event which benefits Denver Kids, Inc.

The Southern Nevada chapter of the American Solar Energy Society has a Summer Solstice Golf Tournament at Angel Park Golf Club in Las Vegas.  The tournament benefits their organization and hopes to increase awareness about renewable energy in the southern Nevada area.

Our friends at Hooked On Golf Blog just participated in a Solstice Golfathon.  These crazy guys played 72 holes on Wednesday.  Amazingly they played 18 holes in four states on four different golf courses in Arizona, Utah, California and Nevada.

The Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn NY has a solstice golf marathon.  This one is a three round, 54 hole tournament which has many prizes and perks, like beer from the brewery!  Sign me up.

Next Year

It's too late to get your summer solstice golf tournament put together for this year.  Alas, the days are now getting shorter.  But there is still a lot of daylight currently.  Get out to the course and take advantage of it, and don't forget your Frogger gear!

For every 500 new followers we gain on Facebook or Twitter we are going to pick one follower as a winner who can choose any Frogger product as a prize! ALL fans are eligible, not just the most recent 500.  Tell your pals to like us and increase your chances.

Mark Razzo, come on down!

Our 3rd Frogger 500 winner is Facebook Frogger fan Mark Razzo.  Mark, pick one Frogger product, contact us at  info @ froggergolf.com (close the spaces) with your shipping info and we’ll get it out to you asap!  Just try to do us a favor and do it within 30 days, okay?  We’d love to get you enjoying your cool golf schwag sooner than later!

Frogger 500 Overview

For every 500th fan on Facebook or Twitter, we are going to give away free Frogger products!  We will pick a fan out of our followers and that fan will have a choice of any one of our products. EVERY Frogger fan has a chance of winning every time we reach another 500!

Increase Your Chances Of Winning

The faster we reach each 500 milestone, the faster we’ll award more prizes.  So refer your friends to “like” Frogger on Facebook or follow Frogger on Twitter.

You can also increase your chances of winning by being an active member on the Frogger social streams, by commenting and liking our posts or commenting on the Frogger Blogger site!

The craziness of U.S. Open week is behind us and we have some catching up to do with the Frogger 500 winners!  For every 500 new followers we gain on Facebook or Twitter we are going to pick one follower as a winner who can choose any Frogger product as a prize!

Candace Williams Sartor, come on down!

Our 2nd Frogger 500 winner is Facebook Frogger fan Candace Williams Sartor.  Candace, pick one Frogger product, contact us at  admin @ froggergolf.com/blog (close the spaces) with your shipping info and we’ll get it out to you asap!  Just try to do us a favor and do it within 30 days, okay?  We’d love to get you enjoying your cool golf schwag sooner than later!

Frogger 500 Overview

For every 500th fan on Facebook or Twitter, we are going to give away free Frogger products!  We will pick a fan out of our followers and that fan will have a choice of any one of our products. EVERY Frogger fan has a chance of winning every time we reach another 500!

Increase Your Chances Of Winning

The faster we reach each 500 milestone, the faster we’ll award more prizes.  So refer your friends to “like” Frogger on Facebook or follow Frogger on Twitter.

You can also increase your chances of winning by being an active member on the Frogger social streams, by commenting and liking our posts or commenting on the Frogger Blogger site!

Monday U.S. Open week hangover

This past weekend was quite historic in the world of golf and the U.S. Open.  22 year old Rory McIlroy overcame the final round Masters melt down this time around at Congressional, thumping the field with nearly flawless golf.  The nearest competitor to McIlroy when the final putt was holed was the surging Jason Day, whose final round 65 brought him to eight shots behind.

With this win, Rory is the youngest U.S. Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923.

Record Winning U.S. Open Score

Rory's score of -16 is of course a record for lowest winning score ever in the 111 years of the U.S. Open.  In every aspect of the game this pas week, McIlroy was leaps and bounds beyond the field.  From greens in regulation to driving distance to only carding his first three putt  in the final few holes when it didn't matter, Rory was amazing.

Most Under Par In U.S. Open: -17

For a time, McIlroy reached 17 under par, moving the record under par in a U.S. Open to an even more lofty number than before.  Before the week started, the previous record for under par in a U.S. Open was -12 (Tiger Woods and Gil Morgan).  McIlroy left that number in the dust, and for a while it was thought he might challenge the all time record for under par in a major championship held by Tiger Woods. That record of 19 under par has stood since the 2000 British Open.

At only 22, it is very likely that this highly skilled and humble golfer will continue to break more records and win many more major championships.

Not A Typical U.S. Open

The United States Golf Association (USGA) may not be terribly satisfied with the final results of this U.S. Open.  Typically their goal is to provide a test for the best golfers in the world, which results in the winner being at or near even par. This Open and Congressional Country Club produced 20 rounds under par, and many mid 60's rounds.  In fact, Rory's four rounds were all in the 60's.  Haven't checked, but that may be a record as well.

The weather was very tame with very little wind this past week.  Combine that with rough which didn't look as deep as a typical Open, greens softened by the rain and moisture in the area, and that is a recipe for low scores.

Weather conditions aside, many golf writers suspect that as a result of this week's scores the U.S. Open will not return to Congressional Country Club.

Next Major - (British) Open

Four weeks from now is the next major championship, the Open Championship.  The Open Championship is better known in the USA as the "British Open."  Rory had the lead at last year's open before he dropped a large number in high winds.  How will Rory fare at this year's British?  Can't wait to find out.