PGA Tour

The PGA Tour moves to Muifield Village Golf Course in Dublin, Ohio for the Memorial.  This tournament is also known as "Jack's tournament" as Jack Nicklaus is the host.  This week's total purse is $6.2 million with the winner taking home $1.116 million and 500 FedEx Cup points.

Field

There are some bombers returning to the field after quite a bit of time off.  Masters champion Bubba Watson makes his debut since winning the Masters back in April.  Another bomber returning to action is Dustin Johnson.  Johnson strained his back lifting a jetski of all things, the week before the Masters.  The layoff has hurt Johnson, who was in 11th in Ryder Cup standings before he left and has now dropped to 24th.

Tiger Woods is in action this week and like his last tournament, skipped talking to the media in favor of doing an online chat on google+.  Other big names this week include fresh winner Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and the struggling Rory McIlory.  Should be some interesting viewing.

Course

This week's course is Muifield Village.  This course is a Jack Nicklaus design, considered to be a dream work.  The course opened on Memorial Day in 1974.  The course is rated as #16 in Golf Digest's "America's 100 Greatest Courses."  Par for the course is 72 with a total yardage of 7,265.  Accuracy off the tee is less important on this track as is greens in regulation and putting.  The greens on this course prove to be fairly easy for Tour players to make birdie on, provided they hit them.

TV

Thu, 5/31: GOLF 3p - 6p ET

Fri, 6/1: GOLF 3p - 6p ET

Sat, 6/2: CBS 3p - 6p ET

Sun, 6/3: CBS 2:30p - 6p ET

Champions Tour

The Champions Tour is at Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa.  The tournament is the Principal Charity Classic.  Total purse this week for the seniors is $1.75 million with the winner stuffing $262.5K in his pockets.

The field this week features Kenny Perry, #5 in Schwab Cup points.  Other players to watch include Bernhard Langer, Fred Funk, Gil Morgan and John Cook.

The Course this week is Glen Oaks CC, designed by the famous architect Tom Fazio.  Yardage is 6,877 with a par of 71.  Errant shots will find tough native fescue grass.

Fri, 6/1: GOLF 6:30p - 8:30p ET

Sat, 6/2: GOLF 6:30p - 9:30p ET

Sun, 6/3: GOLF 7p - 9:30p ET

Other Tours

The Nationwide Tour is contesting the Rex Hospital Open in Raleigh, North Carolina. Total purse for this event is $550,00 with the winner's share coming in at $99,000.  Of the top 25 players on the NWT this season, only one player is missing from the field.  The host course is TPC Wakefield Plantation, a par-71 course which measures out at 7,257 yards.

The LPGA Tour is at the Shoprite LPGA Classic in Galloway, New Jersey.  Purse $1.5 million.  Returning champion is Brittany Lincicome.  Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club is the host venue, a par-71 measuring at 6,155 yards.

There's nothing more tough to gauge than those awkward 1/2 wedge shots and short distances.  I know how far my clubs go when I hit them full, but when I have a shot like a 40-50 yard pitch, figuring out how hard to hit it or even what club to use is tough.  Here's one way to hit the 40 yard shot.

Setup

We are going to use a 56 degree club, or sand wedge for this shot.  It is tempting to use a lob wedge yes, but we are using the sand wedge.

We will place the ball in the middle of our stance to perhaps 1-3 inches toward the front foot.  Don't set the ball up too far toward the back foot as this will effectively deloft the sand wedge and turn it into a longer club.

The face of the club or the blade will be aimed at the target.  In other words, the blade will be perpendicular to the intended target line.

Our feet will be setup for this shot is with a slightly open stance, weight more on the front foot at about a 30-70 ratio.

Swing

We will swing the wedge back about half way.  We will not be cocking the wrists.  It is important to make sure that the plane of the club is never extreme on the outside or inside of the line.   Bring the club back fairly straight from the ball.

In the downswing we will accelerate through the ball.  Do NOT slow the club down in fear of hitting the ball too far.  This will produce all sorts of bad results!

The follow through will be low, about 1/3 to 1/2.  Make sure on the follow through that the club stays on a similar straight line without finishing outside the line or way around the body.

Practice

It may seem uncomfortable or foreign at first, but take a small bucket of balls on the range and try a handful of these shots with the techniques and setup above.  Once you have it down you can confidently hit that uncomfortable half wedge shot from 40-50 yards and save par, or even better make birdie!

Champions Tour

We lead off with the Champions Tour this week because they've just completed their first major championship of 2012, the Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores in Michigan.

Englishman Roger Chapman had never won on the Champions Tour.  In fact the highlight of his golf career was a win on the European Tour back in 2000.  Champman started the tournament with the lead on the first day and never gave it up.  By the 7th hole of his final round Sunday Chapman had built up a NINE stroke lead.

Chapman thought of his mentor George Will during those last holes, letting his game wander a bit.  But with a nine shot lead, he was still able to win comfortably by two shots over John Cook and three shots over the impressively surging Hale Irwin.

"In the back of your mind you think, `Can I blow a five-shot lead?' The negative man sitting on your shoulder there, telling you all the things that could happen. It is difficult, when you haven't been in that position before." ~Roger Chapman

PGA Tour

The hottest golfer on the planet is Jason Dufner.  It looked like Dufner would be the first player to notch three wins on the PGA Tour this past weekend as he came into the final round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth Texas with the lead.  He and Zach Johnson had separated from the field.

Dufner struggled in the final round, finding water twice.  The 2nd water shot resulted in a triple-bogy on the 15th hole.  Dufner's struggles opened up the opportunity for Jach Johnson to record his first win in two years.  With a three shot lead on the 18th hole it was but a formality when Johnson made the winning putt, or was it?  Johnson had moved his mark out of Duner's line but forgot to move it back to its original position before putting out.  That resulted in a two stroke penalty (we will cover that in Tuesday tips soon!).  Thankfully for Johnson he still recorded the victory as his cushion was large enough to absorb the penalty.

Strange and interesting final round no doubt.

Not all was lost for Jason Dufner.  He now sits in first place in FedEx Cup points, has the obvious lead for Player of the Year and of course leads the PGA Tour money list.  All of this with the season not even to the half way mark.  Can Dufner keep up his fantastic play the rest of the season?

We've talked about many fun golf games.  Some games like 6-holers and four-ball games require partners.  But what if there is one player missing from the group or there's an odd number of players and you want to play a two-four player team game?  The simple solution is to add a ghost player or "pro" as we call him.  We will even give the player a name, like "Arnie."  Lets look at the six hole partner game as an example.

In a regular game if six hole partners, each of the four players in a group is a partner with each other member of the group for six holes.  But if there are only three players we can implement a ghost as the 4th.  Depending on the handicap level of the players, the ghost will be counted as making a certain score.  If the players are single digit handicappers, then perhaps the ghost or "Arnie" will make a par on every hole.  If the players in the group are double digit, then perhaps the ghost scores a bogey on every hole.  Each player will have the ghost as a partner for six of the holes.  At the end of the round, the players who have the ghost as a partner will either collect winnings for himself and the ghost, or pay the losses for himself and the ghost.

Many team games in golf can use a ghost player if there's an open spot.  Use your imagination to determine where you and your playing partners can use a ghost player!

Champions Tour

We will start with the seniors this week because the Champions Tour has a major championship on the docket.  This week the Champions Tour is contesting the 73rd Senior PGA Championship.  The host course is a Jack Nicklaus design, Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  This course should be a very interesting test.  The track winds through dunes in a rugged fashion with native grasses growing wild around rough bunkers and tree lined holes.  The course is a par-71 at 6,822 yards.

The field this week will be missing the returning champion, Tom Watson.  Watson had to withdraw with a wrist injury.  One great part of the field for this event is that club pros are able to qualify for and play in the event.  There are close to 50 club pros on the field list.  Other notables in the field this week include Loren Roberts, Kenny Perry, Bernhard Langer, Tom Kite, Hale Irwin, Fred Funk, Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia.

TV Times

The Senior PGA Championship is on Golf Channel Thursday and Friday from 12-3PM ET.  Then the tournament moves to NBC from 3-6PM ET for Saturday and Sunday.

PGA Tour

The final stop in Texas is this week for the PGA Tour.  The Tour is at Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas contesting the Crowne Plaza Invitational.  This week's purse is $6.4 million with the winner's share coming in a $1.152 million, 500 FedEx Cup Points.  This is also one of those tournaments in which the winner receives a jacket, though this red and black plaid isn't quite as attractive as the green jacket from the Masters.

A solid field is in action this week, including the hottest player on the planet Jason Dufner.  Other notables in the field include Sergio Garcia, Bill Haas, Louis Oosthuizen, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Gary Woodland and Jach Johnson.  Who will brave the Texas heat and winds?

Colonial Country Club is known as "Hogan's Alley" from the success that Ben Hogan had at the course.  Hogan recorded five wins at Colonial.

The course is a par-70, measuring out at 7,204 yards.  Phil Mickelson calls it "one of the best tests that we have in the game of golf."

TV TIMES

Thu, 5/24: GOLF 3p - 6p ET

Fri, 5/25: GOLF 3p - 6p ET

Sat, 5/26: CBS 3p - 6p ET

Sun, 5/27: CBS 3p - 6p ET

LPGA / Nationwide Tours

The LPGA and Nationwide Tours are off this week.

I got a piece of advice from a pro last week who helped me quite a bit with this situation.  Right now in springtime the grass is thick and wet.  Chipping around the greens is very difficult, especially controlling distance.  Sometimes the club is grabbed by the grass, killing the club head speed and shortening the distance.  Sometimes the ball flies out of the lie like a rocket, traveling way too far.  Other times the hozel catches, turning the face down and making the shot go left.  And yet other times the toe catches the thick grass, opening up the face and making the shot go right.

Tighter Left Hand Grip

When I asked my friend the pro about this situation, and told him all of the above problems he gave me a five word lesson, "tighten your left hand grip."  Could it be that simple?  I went out to practice chipping two days ago to find out.

A few shots into practicing with the tighter left hand grip I noticed that I was able to slide the club under the ball much easier and more crisply, even in thicker lies.  I found that the tighter left hand grip helped even on tight lies, mainly with making solid contact.

The issues with the blade being stopped by the thick grass, or opened/closed are greatly reduced with the tighter left hand grip as well.

Conclusion

There is a reason why golf pros are "pros."  They know what they are doing.  It is amazing to me that I can struggle with an issue for months and it can be solved in seconds when going to a professional instructor.  Personally I don't use professional instruction enough, and most amateurs don't either.  This is one of many great arguments to consult your local pro.  The results can often be INSTANT.

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour was in windy Irving, Texas for the HP Byron Nelson Championship at the TPC Four Seasons.

There were some wild shots this past weekend, the most amazing the ace by J.J. Henry on the 5th hole.

"It just kind of landed downwind past the hole and trickle, trickle, and we saw it disappear and everyone went nuts.  It was a great start to the day." ~J.J. Henry

That ace launched Henry into the lead.  But another par-3, the tough downhill 17th would produce a bogey which would put Henry back into a tie for third.

Phil Mickelson came into the day six shots off the lead and didn't figure he had much of a chance until he recorded four consecutive birdies on the front nine.  Those birds brought him to within two shots of the lead.  Pressing, Phil made bogeys on the last two holes and finished tied for seventh, five shots back.

Jason Dufner came into Sunday with the lead.  Prior to last month, Dufner had not won a Tour event in 163 starts.  Now he has won two of his last three starts.  The win didn't come easy though.  He lost the lead through the mid part of the round.  Coming into the tough 18th hole, Dufner had a chance to win with a birdie.  His 25 foot birdie putt dropped, launching Dufner to #1 in FedEx Cup points and to #1 on the PGA Tour money list.  What's different in Dufner's life recently that has helped his game?  One might look to the fact that he was recently married.

"You probably couldn't dream it any better than what's been going on here.  The wedding has been in the works for close to a year, so we know that's been coming around the corner. And there's been a lot of good golf since then, but to win two events and get married in the span of 22 days, pretty remarkable." ~Jason Dufner

LPGA Tour

The LPGA was at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, New Jersey this week for the Sybase Match Play Championship.  Azahara Munoz defeated Candie Kung 2&1 in a tight match to win the championship.  Munoz finally notched her first LPGA victory (and $375K in prize money) despite playing with the sadness of her grandmother's passing.

"It feels amazing. You know, I've been close a few times, but I just never knew if I was good enough to win. Finally having got it, it feels really good." ~Azahara Munoz

En route to the victory, Munoz defeated Lindsey Wright, Karrie Webb, Jodi Ewart, Stacey Lewis and Morgan Pressel.

In the consolidation match 15 seed Morgan Pressel defeated 37 seed Vicky Hurst 2&1.

Here's a fun game which can really be beneficial to players.  The Fairways And Greens game helps bring attention to the most basic of golf strategy.

In Fairways And Greens a minimum of two players is required and up to a group of four can play.  The object of the game is obviously to hit fairways and greens.

At the beginning of the round the group determines the value of a bet, say $1.00.  Each fairway and each green is then worth $1.00.

If a player is the only one to hit a fairway, he wins the bet just like in a skins game.  If two or more players hit the fairway the bet is carried over to the next hole and would be worth $2.00.

The same applies for greens in regulation.  Each green is worth one bet.  If only one player hits the green in regulation, he wins the bet.  If more than one player hits the green in regulation, the bet is carried over to the next hole.

An option for the green in regulation portion of the game could be a validation.  If a player is the only one to record a green in regulation a possible requirement is that the person make par or better to secure the bet.

Benefits

The benefits are obvious.  The most basic of strategy in golf is to hit fairways and greens.  This game brings a focus and intensity on that task.  Try it next time you play with your group!