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Tiger Woods won’t be holding a golf club until 2009!

0 Comments Published August 14th, 2008 in Golf News, Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods won't be holding a golf club until 2009!

It looks like Tiger Woods won’t be holding a golf club until 2009 folks. Well, that’s what I expected after all those surgeries but the real bad news is for the PGA Tour sponsors.

With absence of Tiger Woods, TV ratings have dropped over 50% over last year. That won’t be a big problem for most folks but for people who are sponsoring the tournaments, they are really losing 50% of their ad revenue.

What’s amazing is that a single human being can effect the TV ratings, especially when you consider the other 200 top players in the world.

Yes, most people would like to watch #1 golfer in the world, not #2 or #3.

As for waiting, I am also really tired of watching golf tournaments without Tiger.

My typical thought process when watching a major these days, “If Tiger was playing, he’s probably going to be 3 better than the field, of course leading the tournament”.

I am sure Padraig Harrington will have plenty to worry about when Tiger comes back. In the meanwhile, he’s free to take all the freebie tournaments as he can.

Excerpt from LA Times:

“As far as swinging a club, that’s not going to happen until next year,” Woods wrote in a blog on tigerwoods.com. “I just don’t have a choice. We simply don’t know what type of swelling there would be or if there would be any residual effects the next day once you start wheeling and dealing on the knee.

Without Woods, the Nielsen ratings for the last two majors were dramatically lower, despite consecutive inspiring victories by Padraig Harrington.

The PGA Championship on CBS had a final-round overnight rating of 3.0, a drop of 55% from last year when Woods won. And the final round of the British Open on ABC had an overnight rating of 3.5, a decrease of 14.6% from last year.

If the Ryder Cup on NBC can’t deliver big numbers, without Woods, it doesn’t bode well for the upcoming FedEx Cup series, in which Woods won $10 million last year.

One thing I realized though, “Tiger Woods is golf, golf is Tiger Woods“. Without Tiger, there would be no $10 Million in prizes, we might still have boring PGA Tour pros fighting for $1 Million.

At least for the time being that Tiger Woods is breathing, we will get to be part of golf where purses are worth 10 times more than what they should be.

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Bubba Watson Driver Swing Analysis

0 Comments Published July 12th, 2008 in Bubba Watson, Swing Tips, Swing Vision, swing analysis.

Bubba Watson Driver Swing Analysis

Bubba Watson is probably one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour today. Let’s look at his unstable swing that makes the ball go far.

At takeaway, Bubba transfers his weight far into his left leg. This might cause him to miss a lot of shots.

At the top, Bubba’s almost falling over his left side. Not good, but maybe the only thing it’s good for is distance.

On half-way down, Bubba’s head is still over his left foot or even slightly outside. This is asking for disaster in pro golf.

At impact, Bubba looks like his swinging a sledge hammer, not a golf club.

After impact, Bubba is completely out of balance with his right foot sliding forward and hit left foot coming out.

This is probably not the swing that’s going to win whole lotta PGA tournaments unless Bubba learns to control his swing. It’s not about the distance, it’s about scoring low every week.

If he did however change his swing to be in more control, he should be able to win a lot of tournaments.

Here’s Bubba Watson’s Ugly Driver Swing Sequence in Slow-mo:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

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China to host first LPGA tournament in October!

0 Comments Published July 8th, 2008 in Golf News, LPGA.

China will be hosting its very first LPGA tournament this October. Although LPGA is held in many other countries, it’s nice to see it held in China, not that I’d want to go there. (just my personal preferences)

World number two Annika Sorenstam will top the bill when China stages its first LGPA tournament, the $1.8 million Grand China Air in October.

Golf has boomed in the world’s most populous nation in recent years and six men’s European Tour co-sanctioned events took place in greater China last year.

The new event will take place from Oct. 24-26 at the Hainan West Coast Golf Club in Haikou, the capital of the island dubbed “China’s Hawaii”.

Sorenstam, who is bowing out of competitive golf at the end of this season, said the new tournament would be a major milestone for the LPGA.

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Ian Poulter Driver Swing Analysis - 1 Plane Swing

0 Comments Published June 23rd, 2008 in Ian Poulter, Swing Tips, swing analysis.

Ian Poulter comes as close to a 1-plane swing other than Tiger or Adam Scott in my mind.

Let me show you why.

Take a look at how Ian’s clubface is pretty much dead on-plane. A lot of pro tour players are inside this point, Ian does pretty well of keeping that club wide and extended. I love Ian’s takeaway, everyone should copy this…

At half-way point, Ian is still on-plane, maybe slightly flat but that’s good enough.

At top of Ian’s swing, his hands are “almost” on plane. It’s a little upright but it’s okay.

Also note that his club is pointing way left of target, this usually is okay as long as Ian is on-plane.

At half-way down, Ian is perfectly slightly inside the plane.

At impact, Ian does a pretty good job. There actually space in-between his right elbow and hips. This is a good thing and he has not “dipped” a lot like a other players.

After impact, Ian’s extension shows that he’s on perfect plane. Also note how “tall” Ian is standing. This is great for hitting the ball good and the back.

What a lovely finish.

What to learn from this?

There are lots of ways to swing the golf club. Some can hurt your back some can help your back but both achieve the same results as far as golf shot goes.

You need to pick the right swing mechanics for your golf game so you don’t end up one day with a golf swing you can’t play as you get older.

Swing Tip: Try to stand very very tall when swinging the club. Never stress your body, let the club do the work for you. If you swing the club and you feel tired after couple swings, you are probably not swinging, but “bashing” or “hitting” the ball. Never hit the ball, let it come in the way of your swing.

Watch out as I think this young Ian guy can win lots of tournaments in the near future.

Here’s Ian Poulter’s swing in action:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode