Greenies are most often played on only the par-3 holes of the course.  In our first example we will assume a group of four players is playing the game.  The player in the foursome whose ball is on the green closest to the pin wins a greenie.  A greenie can be worth a specific betting amount as determined by the group.

In the 2nd example here I'll explain how my group of two foursomes did it last week.  As foursome #1 plays a par-3 hole, the player whose ball is closest to the hole and on the putting surface marked his position with a golf tee.  The following group plays the hole and will compare their greenies to the tee.  Whichever player is closer wins.

Options

One crazy betting group I used to play with played greenies on every hole.  In the case of par-4 or par-5 holes, the greenie would be hitting the green in regulation, closest to the hole.  Therefore the 2nd shot on a par-4 or 3rd shot on a par-5 closest to the hole won the greenie.

Carry-overs are another option.  Lets say two groups totaling eight players are playing greenies for nine holes and there are two par-3 holes.  All eight players miss the green on the first par-3.  The greenie is then "carried over" to the next par-3.  Should a player win the carry over, that player would win the bet amount for all the greenies on both par-3's.

Validation

An optional twist to greenies is validation.  To validate and complete the greenie win, the player must two-putt or better.  If the player 3-putts the greenie is lost.

Tournament Information

• Tournament dates: May 23-26.
• Host course: Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri
• Total purse: $2,000,000
• Winner's share: $378,000

Host Course

Bellerieve Country Club first opened in 1897.  The newest rendition of the course opened in 1960 and as designed by renowned golf architect Robert Trent Jones Sr.

For the tournament the course will be playing at 6,959 yards for the seniors, though the longest tees measure out at over 7,500 yards.  Course rating for this course is 76.5 with a slope of 141.  Par value for the Senior PGA Championship is 71.  Water comes into play on 11 holes on this tough course a local creek comprising 9 of those 11.  The putting surfaces are large and undulating.

Field

In the field this week are all the biggest names in the 50 and older crowd.  The player to beat as is often the case on the Champions Tour, is German Bernhard Langer.

Television Schedule

Thu, May 23 12:00-3:00 p.m. Golf Channel
Fri, May 24 12:00-3:00 p.m. Golf Channel
Sat, May 25 3:00-6:00 p.m. NBC
Sun, May 26 3:00-6:00 p.m. NBC
all times eastern

Understanding the anchoring ban. Click to enlarge.

Still Time

Those of you who use anchored clubs may still use them.  The ban will not come into effect until January 1, 2016.  Start practicing with the short putter!

Anchoring Banned, Not Equipment

It is important to distinguish between anchoring and long clubs.  The act of bracing a club against one's body is what is ruled illegal, not the golf club itself.  Those who use a long putter, or any other club for that matter, may continue to use it so long as they do not anchor it to their body.

What Will The PGA Tour Do?

The PGA Tour came out against the ban a few weeks ago.  This puts the USGA and PGA Tour in an interesting position.  Will the Tour, which has the right to make any rules for itself it wants, choose to allow anchored putters?  If they do, what does that do to the USGA?   That part of this situation should be very interesting.

PGA Tour

The first round 60 was a heck of a start for 2011 HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Keegan Bradley.  The 2011 win was Bradley's first on the PGA Tour.  Thursday's 60 was a course record (-10) included two bogeys believe it or not.  Bradley would have a hard time scoring the rest of the weekend though, only able to better his score of -10 by one over the next three days.  Despite the troubles Bradley held the lead until Sunday and had a chance to force a playoff if he could make par-birdie over the final two holes.  Sang Moon Bae would have something to say about that.

Sang Moon Bae, a 25 year old Korean golfer, took the lead Sunday and led Bradley by one shot on the 17th tee.  A gutsy tee shot on the par-3 hole left Bae and uphill birdie putt while Bradley's tee shot was long over the green, leaving him a near-impossible proposition to get up and down for par.  Bae two-putted and Bradley made bogey.  Bradley's bogey on the 71st hole gave Bae a two-shot lead on the final tee box.  A solid tee shot and approach gave Bae a routine two-putt par which he executed flawlessly for his first win on the PGA Tour.  The win also marked the first win for an Asian born golfer on Tour since 2011 (Kevin Na).

With the win Bae jumped up from 95th in FedEx Cup points to 18th.

European Tour
Volvo World Match Play Championship
Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Kavarna, Bulgaria

The Volvo World Match Play was held this year at an astoundingly beautiful and intriguing course on the edge of the Black Sea in Kavarna, Bulgaria.  The course, Thracian Cliffs, was designed by Gary Player and proved to be a great venue for this match play championship.

One of the surprises of this tournament was the early exit of Ian Poulter, regarded by many as the best match play player in the world.  Poulter was entertaining in his brutal honesty about his performance on Twitter.

Graeme McDowell faced Thongchai Jaidee in the final match Sunday.  Winner of the 2012 event, McDowell found himself two-down after four holes.  A run of birdies on the back nine helped McDowell take the lead and eventually win 2 & 1 (two holes up with one to play).

McDowell now has one win on the PGA Tour and one on the European Tour.

LPGA Tour
Mobile Bay LPGA Classic
RTJ Trail, Magnolia Grove, The Crossings Course, Mobile Alablama

Low scores were the norm on the Crossings Course this week as the LPGA ladies tore up the scorecards.  Many mid-60's rounds were recorded with two special rounds of 63 and a round of 64 fired by Jiyai Shin, Pomanong Phatlum and Mo Martin respectively.

Carding two rounds of 65 on Saturday and Sunday, Jennifer Johnson finished at -21, one shot ahead of Phatlum and Jessica Korda.   The winning score of -21 broke the tournament scoring record.

With the win Johnson broke into the top 10, 10th position, in the 2012 Solheim Cup point standings.

Just when I thought I'd found every variation on the golf scramble, I found another! We're talking about a Florida Scramble today.

First we need to understand a basic scramble, which you can read more details about here.  Essentially a scramble is a team format in which all players on the team hit each shot and the best of those shots is chosen for the next shot.  This process is repeated until the hole is completed.

In a Florida Scramble the person whose last shot was chosen must sit out for the next shot.  As an example we will take a four player team as an example.  All four players tee off on a par-5.  One player (player A) crushes a drive 325 yards in the middle of the fairway.  The group chooses to use that player's shot.  On the next shot, the player who hit the 325 yard drive must sit out.  Of the three players who hit the 2nd shot, player B hits the green.  The group chooses his shot.  On the 3rd shot, the putt for eagle, player A is now back in play and player B must sit out as his shot was the previously chosen shot.  Player C hits a great putt which does not go in, but is chosen as the 3rd shot.  For the 2nd putt, player C must sit out and player B is back in the game.

A.K.A.

The Florida Scramble may also be referred to as a Mexican Standoff, Stand Out, Stand Aside, Step Aside or Dropout Scramble.

"TPC" stands for Tournament Players Championship. Typically TPC courses are designed for PGA Tour events and for stadium style grass seating for the fans (photo above).

TPC Four Seasons Overview

TPC Four Seasons is a par-70 track which plays very difficult during the Byron Nelson. When the winds kick up the course is very tough.

Back in 2011 winds were high. The only tournament on the PGA Tour which had higher scores that year was the U.S. Open.

Design

The TPC Four Seasons was designed by Jay Morrish in 1983 and went through a large renovation and redesign in 2007-2008 by D.A. Weibring and Steve Wolford.

TPC Four Seasons winds through a very hilly area. Those hills produce some great elevation changes from tee to fairway to green. Players must calculate yardages precisely, accounting for rises or dips in altitude. Not only are the undulations of the fairways and greens a challenge, the course is lined with trees. 68 sand bunkers and eight water hazards round out the challenges to the players.

Scorecard

• Par: 72 (70 for PGA Tour)
• Yards: 7,166
• Rating: 76
• Slope: 142
• Tee sets: 4

Amenities

The Four Seasons resort is a large, multi-faceted resort which offers not only golf but luxury lodging, dining, tennis, extensive golf practice facilities and more.  The clubhouse is very large and capable of hosting major events.

Contact

4150 N MacArthur Blvd
Irving, Texas 75038
Dallas County
Phone: (972) 717-2525
Website: www.thesportsclubfourseasons.com

Keep Up

Many scorecards have printed right on them, "keep up with the group in front of you."  This is one of the most basic concepts.  You should always be on the tail of the group in front of you.  If they're on the green and you're on the tee of a par-4 or par-5, you need to pick up the pace.  If they're on the next hole and you're on the tee you really need to pick it up.

Ready Golf

"Ready golf" should be played all the time.  Quite simply "ready golf" means that players hit their shots when ready.  It doesn't matter who has the honor or who is farthest out on the hole.  Just go when you're ready.

Be Ready

Be ready to hit your shot when it is your turn!  While other players are hitting their shots, plan yours.  Get your yardage or make your club decision.  Line up your putt.  Do whatever you need to do in order to be ready to pull the trigger when it is your turn.

When approaching the position of your ball, you can save time by getting your yardage as you walk up to it. You can analyze the situation on the way to your ball so you have a good idea of what shot and club to play when you arrive at your ball.

Let Slower Groups Play Through

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, your group may be playing too slow.  If you are holding up players behind you, get their attention and wave them through.  It is the right thing to do.

You're Not Putting To Win The Masters

We see tour pros lining up putts from all sides, discussing them with their caddies etc.  That's fine when you are on tour and the put is to win a million bucks or a huge championship.  But if you're just an amateur golfer, read your putt quickly and let it rip.  You're not putting to win the Masters, though winning $2.00 from your buddy may feel like it.

Conclusion - Pay Attention

Personally I play better when I play fast.  Waiting around between shots breaks up my rhythm.  Try playing faster and see if your scores improve.

Be aware of your position on the course.  If you're behind, catch up.  If you're holding up groups behind you, let them through.

PGA Tour
THE PLAYERS Championship
TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

This past week the PGA Tour held THE PLAYERS Championship on their home course, TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, built by Pete Day.  The Stadium Course was built to be a great test of PGA Tour players and also provide "stadium" viewing for the fans.  Thus the "Stadium" part of the name.  THE PLAYERS boasts the strongest field in professional golf, and the biggest single purse as well, with $9,500,000 in prize money.  The winner takes home $1.71 million and 600 FedEx Cup points.  Was the quality of golf high and the viewing for the fans great?  It almost always is at this event.

In the first round of the tournament Roberto Castro took the lead with an amazing 63.  Most players don't follow up super low rounds with another one, and Castro's 2nd round 78 was a prime example.  In striking range after day one though, were Rory McIlory and Tiger Woods.  Day two found Woods firing a 2nd consecutive 67, putting him tied at the top of the leaderboard with Sergio Garcia.  They played the third round together, where Garcia edged Woods by a shot.  During the round there were "words" between the two and post-round both expressed that they weren't big fans of each other.

Garcia and Woods would not be in the final pairing Sunday.  Woods was in the 2nd to last group and Garcia was in the last group with unknown David Lingmerth, fresh off the Web.com Tour.  Players like Jeff Maggert (49) and Lingmerth had flashes during the final round, flirting with the lead.  In the end it came down to Garcia and Woods in the last three holes.

Woods and Garcia were tied for the lead while woods was on the 18th tee and Garcia on the 17th tee, the island par-3 green.  What happened next was, shall we say, interesting.  Garcia hit pitching wedge to the right pin on the island green.  It didn't have enough to carry onto the green and splashed into the pond.  Garcia re-teed from the same spot and hit another shot in the water.  On the 2nd re-tee, he was hitting his 5th shot.  That one hit the middle of the green where Garcia would two-putt for a quadruple bogey 7.  For good measure, Garcia hit his drive in the water on the 18th.

Garcia's water issues left only one competitor with a chance to challenge Tiger, who had now finished his round and was in the clubhouse sitting at -13.  David Lingmerth was was one shot behind Tiger on the 18th tee.  His drive went through the fairway into bermuda rough which made it hard to control.  His approach ended up some 60 feet long.  He'd have to make a 60 footer to force a playoff, an "one in 50 putt" according to Johnny Miller.  Lingmerth 3-putted, cementing a two-shot victory for Woods.

This win for Woods marked the fourth of the 2013 season.  In NO season during Tiger's career has he reached four wins so quickly.  This win was also on Tiger's 300'th PGA Tour start.  On the season Woods has four victories and no other player has more than one.  Player of the year could be wrapped up before the halfway point of the season.

Other Tours

The other major tours, LPGA, Champions and European Tour, were off this week.

Holes 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16

On the first hole, and the first in each set of three holes, the single player with the lowest score on the hole is the one whose ball is counted.  So if player A scores birdie and B, C and D score par or worse, player A's ball is the one which is counted.

Holes 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17

On the second hole, or second in each set of three holes, the two lowest player's scores are counted.  In this case lets say that player A and D made bogey, while players B and C made par.  Players B and C would be the scores used.

Holes 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18

On the third hole, or third in each set of three holes, the three lowest scores are counted.  Lets say player D makes birdie, C makes par, B makes bogey and A makes a double bogey.  Players D, C and B are the three lowest scores and theirs are the scores counted for the hole.

Dan's Ball Towel

Dan had a Frogger BrushPro on the bag (nice play) which he swore by.  He touted the advantages of having clean grooves and how they helped his short game.

Dan also had a Frogger Ball Towel.  Rather than hanging the ball towel on his golf bag or putting it in his pocket, he used the included caribeaner to hang it on a belt loop (picture above).  Very nicely played Dan!