How Do You Know If Your Quarantine Practice Is Working? (Video)

Here's a link to a Golf Digest article with some ideas on how to measure your progress if you can't take your "at home" practice to the course yet. For example, this video (from the article) shows how to set up your practice area to make sure you stop slicing.



There are several suggestions in the article, each dealing with a different problem. It's short and to the point, so it's worth a look.

Peter Finch on Pro Strategy (Video)

Let's try something fun today. Over the past few weeks I've posted some videos on how to strategize your way around a course for the best score, with videos covering par-4s, par-3s and par-5s. But what if you need more than just a good score? What if your livelihood depends on how you score?

Enter Peter Finch. It's December 2018 and he's playing the final four holes at Lumine, the venue where the European Tour Qualifying School was played, and he needs a good score if he hopes to get his Tour card for 2019...

Well, he's pretending that's what he's after, anyway. What follows is an example of why normal golfers usually shouldn't try to play like pros.



It's not like Peter played badly, and he used some good strategy as he plotted his way down the final stretch. But maybe it was good strategy better suited to a pro's game than to a weekend player's game.

And as far as I'm concerned, that's the point of this video.

Rory on GC and Sky Sports Today at 4:30pm ET

In case you missed it, Rory will be on GC today and you might even get a tweet answered if you get involved.



There are articles about this on both golfchannel.com and golfweek.usatoday.com if you'd like to read a bit more about it, but here's a brief section from the GC article:

GOLF Channel on Tuesday will air an enhanced encore broadcast of the 2019 PLAYERS Championship final round, featuring World No. 1 Rory McIlroy taking part in a live video feed that will air side-by-side on screen during the closing stretch of the telecast. McIlroy’s victory at THE PLAYERS contributed to a standout season that would later include a second FedExCup title and being voted by his peers as PGA TOUR Player of the Year.

It's going to be part of a simulcast by GC and Sky Sports. Brandel Chamblee from GC and Nick Dougherty from Sky Sports will both be there, asking questions and just generally giving Rory a hard time.

In addition, fans will be able to tweet at Rory -- and presumably at Brandel and Nick before Rory joins in -- using the #WatchalongWithRory hashtag.

Is it new golf? No. But this is something new for GC and Sky Sports, an experiment that should make for some interesting interactions between fans and hosts... and Rory. If it goes well, perhaps we'll see more things like this in the future.

At the very least, it's not just another replay. It's new programming at a time when we are inundated with replays... and that deserves a shout out.

About the "My Game: Tiger Woods" Series

Wow, this is seven Mondays without a Limerick Summary. It's always a bit of a challenge to find something I think will be interesting to you since we don't have pro golf to watch -- hell, many of us can't even get out to play golf -- so I always look for something that piques my interest.

Today it's the new internet series at golfdigest.com about Tiger. A quick disclaimer here: This isn't a free series and I don't get any money if you sign up. But it's something many of you might be interested in, so I thought I'd mention here.



The series is called My Game: Tiger Woods and it's a 12-episode series where Tiger teaches you all about his approach to the game, everything from equipment to techniques to mental game to motivation to how he teaches the game to his kids.

One thing that I found interesting in the description of the series is that Tiger has four different driver swings he will explain in the videos.  It's not that I'm surprised Tiger makes different swings in different conditions; if you have a long high drive (presumably that's your standard driver), a low stinger for narrow windy fairways, a "chipped fade" for positioning off a tree-lined fairway and a high draw (which is very hard to hit under any circumstance), that's four drives right there. But I suspect Tiger's drives are a bit more detailed than that.

It looks like the series is $12.99, which doesn't sound too bad for 12 episodes, or you can join the Golf Digest Schools feed for a monthly fee. Again, I'm not pushing this series or getting any money if you decide to join. But since you may have seen the series advertised on TV, I thought you might like to know a bit more about it.

After all, this is seven Mondays without a Limerick Summary.

Tony Finau's Cut Stinger (Video)

Let's look at a difficult trouble shot today. Josh Kelley's tutorial on how to hit Tony Finau's low slicing trouble shot may be just what you need to get out of the trees and back in play.



A few simple keys:

• Take a low-lofted club because cutting the ball will increase the effective loft. Josh is using a 4-iron and he says opening the face to hit a cut will make it play more like a 6-iron loft.
• Open your stance on a line wider than the line on which you plan to start the ball, but aim the clubface down the ball start line.
• With your open stance, the clubface will be more open than it would be in your regular grip. Make sure you open the face before you grip the club; don't just take your normal grip and then twist the face open. If you do that, you'll just shut down the face at impact and hit a draw instead of a cut.
• Make sure your hands are well ahead of the clubhead when you contact the ball. If you don't have that forward shaft lean at impact, the ball will shoot up into the tree instead of staying low.

And remember Josh's main key: You need to practice this shot on the range before you try it on the course. If you haven't practiced the shot beforehand, you won't have the necessary confidence to pull it off under pressure.

Is Brooks Koepka's Swing a Classic Swing? (Video)

Although Brooks is definitely a power hitter, this video explains his move as more of a classic swing that is easy on your back. It's an unusual analysis... and it just might be correct.



Part of the key to this analysis is the emphasis on how Brooks uses a one-piece takeaway and focuses on using his shoulders to power the swing. In this approach Brooks is creating his power with his shoulder coil and arm extension, while his lower body is just shifting and turning in response to his shoulders rather than actually driving the body around to the finish.

I know, it sounds like semantics. In fact, rotary power is being created by BOTH the shoulders and the lower body in any swing. It's simply a matter of how you think about the swing, whether you think of starting your swing with your lower body and consciously twisting your hips to pull your upper body around OR you think of consciously starting your swing with upper body rotation and letting your lower body move in response.

• Think lower body drive and you're in modern swing mode, complete with extra back strain.
• Think upper body drive and you're in classic swing mode, placing much less stress on your back.

And I'll be the first to say that the difference between the two is more about feel than appearance. Your lower body has to start first in both cases; that's just simple physics. The real difference is in the violence of the move. If you try to drive your lower body hard, your hips and lower back experience a much more violent stress. But if you feel as if you originate the move with your shoulder turn, you don't have to tense your back as much and there is far less stress on the hip and lower back muscles.

To me, this analysis has some real merit because Brooks doesn't seem to have the violent hip twist I see in a lot of other swings. I'm unwilling to call his swing a classic swing because I don't know exactly how he visualizes and feels this move. But I can certainly see how this could be felt as a classic swing if it was visualized and approached that way.

In the end, I think it depends on how you feel your swing when you make it. And if it doesn't feel like a chronic back problem in the making, I'm in favor of giving it a try.

How to Play a Par-5 (Video)

I have previously posted a video on par-4 strategy and another one on par-3 strategy. Obviously these were part of a series so here (at long last) is the final video in that Golf Monthly series, this one on par-5 strategy.



Perhaps you live in an area where you can't go play golf during this pandemic, but that makes this an opportune time to focus on the mental game because you aren't under the pressure to score (and thus make bad decisions).

Mentally play several rounds at your favorite course now, thinking your way around each hole using the tips from these videos, and you'll find the proper choices come to you more easily when you finally get back out there for real.

Tiger V Phil 2

Well, Turner Sports says its a go... but this time, it will be a pairs match. Tiger and Payton Manning will play against Phil and Tom Brady, supposedly sometime in May.



There are several articles out about the match. Here are a few links:

• the golfchannel.com link
• the actionnetwork.com link
• the golf.com link
• the cnbc.com link
• the espn.com link

It's not set in stone yet, but the rumors say the event will be held in Florida, probably on either May 15 or May 24, and will benefit COVID-19 relief.

Adding Tom and Peyton should ramp up the excitement a bit, given how much the two competed on the football field. And let's face it, ANY golf is something to talk about right now.

A Quick Look at the Nicklaus Swing (Videos)

I'm linking you to a Golf Magazine article by Brady Riggs about the Nicklaus flying elbow. Instructors debate whether it's a good idea or not, but Riggs believes that it's useful to amateurs and points out that even pros do it. "Just don't let the club cross the line at the top" is his advice.

The article also includes this video summary of Jack's swing. Consider it a primer on greatness.



Also, some more videos of Jack are running in series at the bottom of the article. This one about why Jack never tried to hit a straight drive is worth a watch as well.

Annabel Rolley's Bunker Drill (Video)

I've got a short video today (for a change). You all know I like Annabel Rolley's teaching style, so here's a bunker play drill from her.



I particularly like the use of a 10-foot line of continuous strikes, as opposed to individual swings. It's too easy to get stiff and tight when you set up over the ball each time. This way, you'll stay more relaxed when you swing and also develop a better rhythm to your stroke.

While she says this drill is for learning to cup your wrists and "slap the sand" when you play bunker shots, it's also yet another way to learn how to use the bounce on your wedge. But this is a slightly different take on how to acquire this skill and many of you may find it 'speaks' to you more clearly.

Danny Maude's Balance Drill (Video)

It's "not Limerick Summary" Monday again, so let's try another drill. While Danny Maude calls this a contact drill, it actually teaches you a number of important skills, especially balance and creating clubhead speed. If you're interested in learning the basics of a classic swing -- and why wouldn't you? It's the easiest way to swing -- this is a wonderful drill for getting all the important skills down.

I know you'll think you've seen this drill before, but you'll learn way more from Danny's approach than you ever knew you could.



One of the most important things Danny teaches in this video is how to integrate the skills you learn with the drill into your regular swing. The biggest problem with most drills is that you can do the drill perfectly on the range but things fall apart on the course. Danny shows you the process of taking the skills you learn and slowly making them part of your full swing. That alone makes this video 'must see TV'!

Rick Shiels on Tricks That Serve as Drills (Video)

Rick Shiels says that bouncing the ball on the face of your club is more than just a trick -- it can improve your eye-hand coordination AND your ability to hit the center of the clubface more often. Since it's a drill you can do inside, why not start practicing now?



This is the best video I've seen that explains the nuances of how to learn this skill. So get out that lob wedge and get to work!

Let's Have Some Fun Today and Go Lefty! (Video)

The guys over at the Golf Leadership Academy YouTube channel are going to give you righthanders a half-hour lesson on how to play lefthanded. (This video has only been out for a couple of weeks.)

Maybe you lefties will find something helpful here.

Maybe you righties will learn to visualize your swing in a different way.



And maybe, just maybe, you'll all get better at playing lefty!

The PGA Tour Schedule Changes Again

When I posted the tentative Tour schedule on Monday I said I believed sponsors and events would cause the Tour to make more changes as the COVID-19 situation evolves. I specifically mentioned Jack's comment that the Memorial would likely be moved to the previous OPEN week, and indeed the new schedule has done just that... among other changes. (The asterisks mark FedExCup events.)

---

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
June 11-14	Charles Schwab Challenge	Colonial CC, Fort Worth, Texas
June 18-21	RBC Heritage	Hilton Head Island, S.C.
June 25-28	Travelers Championship	TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
July 2-5	Rocket Mortgage Classic	Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Mich.
July 9-12	John Deere Classic	TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill.
July 16-19	Memorial Tournament	Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio
July 23-26	3M Open	TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minn.
July 30-Aug. 2	WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational	TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.
July 30-Aug. 2	Barracuda Championship	Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California
Aug. 6-9	PGA Championship	TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 13-16	Wyndham Championship	Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, N.C.
Aug. 20-23	The Northern Trust*	TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.
Aug. 27-30	BMW Championship*	Olympia Fields CC (North), Olympia Fields, Ill.
Sept. 4-7	Tour Championship*	East Lake GC, Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 10-13	Safeway Open	Silverado Resort and Spa North, Napa, Calif.
Sept. 17-20	U.S. Open	Winged Foot GC, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Sept. 24-27	Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship	Corales Golf Club, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Sept. 25-27	Ryder Cup	Whistling Straits (Straits Course), Kohler, Wis.
Oct. 1-4	Sanderson Farms Championship	CC of Jackson, Jackson, Miss.
Oct. 8-11	Shriners Hospitals Open	TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nev.
Oct. 15-18	CJ Cup	Nine Bridges, Jeju Island, South Korea
Oct. 22-25	Zozo Championship	Accordia Golf Narashino CC, Chiba, Japan
Oct. 29-Nov. 1	WGC-HSBC Champions	Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, China
Oct. 29-Nov. 1	Bermuda Championship	Port Royal GC, Southampton, Bermuda
Nov. 5-8	Houston Open	GC of Houston, Humble, Texas
Nov. 12-15	Masters Tournament	Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.
Nov. 19-22	RSM Classic	Sea Island Resort (Seaside), Sea Island, Ga.
Nov. 26-29	OPEN	OPEN
Dec. 3-6	Mayakoba Golf Classic	El Camaleon GC, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

---

There are two articles at the GC website that summarize the changes -- this detailed one from Rex Hoggard and a shorter one from GC Digital. A couple of events are missing that were on the original proposed schedule, the Barbasol Championship and the RBC Canadian Open. In addition, the Greenbrier event has now permanently ended its relationship with the Tour due to continued scheduling problems.

Note that there is overlap between this season and next season, as well as events that might not be played at all. As Hoggard's article says:

The Tour also unveiled what the fall portion of the 2020-21 schedule could look like if play resumes in June. The new season would begin at the Safeway Open (Sept. 10-13) followed by the U.S. Open (Sept. 17-20) and the Ryder Cup (Sept. 25-27).

The updated fall schedule also includes the Asian swing with events in South Korea (CJ Cup), Japan (Zozo Championship) and China (WGC-HSBC Champions) in October although current travel restrictions would make those events unlikely.

And the Tour is planning to play the first four events of the restart without fans.

It's worth noting that this Tour schedule is still a work in progress, because a mid-June start isn't a given at this point. If this schedule holds up, the 2019-2020 schedule will still play 36 events.

But I have to say that this schedule seems over-complicated to me. While I appreciate the Tour's efforts to get back up running as soon as possible and provide as many opportunities for players as they can, there comes a point of diminishing returns. Perhaps it would be better to accept this year as a lost season and simply merge these two partial seasons into one large one ending in 2021 for the purposes of determining a player's Tour eligibility. Then, rather than cramming every possible event into such a short (and unpredictable) time frame, they could focus on providing a less hectic schedule.

I realize there are charitable considerations that must be taken into account, and I'm all for that. Charities are more important than normal at this point, and I applaud the Tour for not leaving their charitable partners in the lurch. I just wonder if this is the best way to accomplish that goal. As we are so often reminded, rescheduling on this scale carries a hefty price tag of its own.

This schedule will change, of course. But this is the official plan for now so we'll see how it goes.

Peter Finch V Charley Hull (Video)

Just a little fun today. This is a Women's British Open special Peter Finch shot with Charley Hull at Woburn last year. The two play six holes (from the same tees).



With all the replays being shown on TV now, this is a show you might not have seen. And who knows, you might even learn something.

Better Scores with the Same Old Swing (Video)

I discovered this video yesterday when I posted the equipment and rules video. This one has seven things you can do to improve your score without having to make swing changes.

Yes, it's a video about strategy... but some of the strategies may surprise you. PGA pro Alex Elliot doesn't believe you should always make the high percentage choice.



I really like this video because it doesn't just give you strategies; it tells you what you need to use them properly. And if it recommends higher risk strategies, it gives you solid advice on how to accurately judge how much risk to take.

Again, like yesterday's video, I think this is one you'll want to watch several times.

Your Golf Gear and the Rules of Golf (Video)

As you all know, the Rules of Golf have changed in the last year or so. Several of those rule changes affect your equipment, both what you can use and how you can use it.

About a week ago, Golf Monthly made a video that explains seven equipment rules you should know if you want to avoid penalties. That's right -- today we're hitting the books! You probably know some of them, but do you know them all? (I bet the last rule surprises you!)



I like this video because it's a very simple explanation of the new rules that affect your equipment. Best of all, it clearly draws a line between what is okay and what isn't. This video is worth watching several times!

The PGA Tour Schedule Still in Flux

Another Monday passes without a Limerick Summary. But life goes on and, over the last week, the PGA Tour has posted a tentative schedule, shown below. (The asterisks mark FedExCup events.)

But it's hardly set in stone. The Tour has stated that they expect to announce more changes, and you can bet that some will originate from the venues and sponsors themselves.

---

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION
May 21-24	Charles Schwab Challenge	Colonial CC, Fort Worth, Texas
May 28-31	Rocket Mortgage Classic	Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Mich.
June 4-7	Memorial Tournament	Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio
June 11-14	RBC Canadian Open	St. George's G&CC, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
June 18-21	Potential PGA Tour event	TBD
June 25-28	Travelers Championship	TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
July 2-5	Barracuda Championship	Tahoe Mt. Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, Calif.
July 2-5	WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational	TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tenn.
July 9-12	John Deere Classic	TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Ill.
July 16-19	Barbasol Championship	Keene Trace Golf Club, Nicholasville, Ky.
July 23-26	3M Open	TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minn.
July 30-Aug. 2	Potential PGA Tour event	TBD
Aug. 6-9	PGA Championship	TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, Calif.
Aug. 13-16	Wyndham Championship	Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, N.C.
Aug. 20-23	The Northern Trust*	TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.
Aug. 27-30	BMW Championship*	Olympia Fields CC (North), Olympia Fields, Ill.
Sept. 4-7	Tour Championship*	East Lake GC, Atlanta, Ga.
Sept. 17-20	U.S. Open	Winged Foot GC, Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Sept. 25-27	Ryder Cup	Whistling Straits (Straits Course), Kohler, Wis.
Nov. 12-15	Masters Tournament	Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.

---

For example, Jack Nicklaus has already said that he doubts the Memorial could be played in June as originally scheduled. He says the week of the now cancelled OPEN, opposite the Barbasol Open (an alternate field event one month later), is more likely.

It's also likely that some sponsors of earlier events will hesitate to go ahead with those dates, simply because they feel uncomfortable playing while so many people are still struggling with the effects of COVID-19. The Tour's belief that they can run some of the earlier events without fans on site may not convince those sponsors otherwise -- remember, several sports had similar plans early on but cancelled them when the sponsors balked under social pressure.

Nevertheless, planning -- at least, of a tentative nature -- has to start now if the Tour has any hopes of getting any events ready to go when the time is right.

It's just that the "right time" is merely a concept at this point. It may be closer to June before we have any clue about when that is.

Patrick Nuber on Hooking It Less (Video)

While I know that most of you fight a slice, there are certainly some of you who struggle with a hook. GOLFTEC's Patrick Nuber has a drill to help you straighten out your ball flight.



Because this is a drill to improve your followthrough position, it works very well with the L-to-L drill (this link is the most recent post with the video demos). Because the L-to-L drill focuses on impact, where all the work gets done, this is a good way to make sure your swing is on track where it counts.

And pay special attention to the first 30 seconds or so of the video, because that section will help you troubleshoot your bad shots while you're still on the course.

Henni Zuel's Interview with Tiger Woods (Video & Podcast)

Henni Zuel from GOLFTV did an interview with Tiger on Thursday so, in case you missed it, I'm posting it here. You can see the original Golfworld post at this link. The video of the interview should be right below this paragraph, assuming I can get it to play properly on the blog.



If you prefer, you can listen to the podcast of the interview right below this paragraph (or at the link above). There's a brief intro before the actual interview starts.



It's not the Masters, but at least we got the defending Masters champ.

Mike Malaska on Incorrect Hip Turn (Video)

It's a brand new video from Mike Malaska, just released Thursday!

Mike Malaska worked closely with the late Jim Flick, so he is yet another classic swing teacher -- and I like the way he focuses on what you feel when you swing rather than what it looks like you're doing. You've seen his videos on my blog frequently, especially the ones on the L-to-L drill. (That drill is the Swiss Army knife of drills!)

Anyway, in this new video he explains why what you see in a golf swing can be very misleading...



There is more than one way to get your hips to turn, and actually trying to turn them is probably the most difficult way to get it done. Malaska is just pushing his hips back, one at a time, but that creates his hip turn. It's a much simpler motion, don't you think?

And since we're trying to describe a feel here, let me give you one more way to feel this movement. Try copying Arnold Palmer -- he just straightened his trail leg during his backswing and pushed up with his lead leg during his downswing.

Remember: There's more than one way to create rotation in your swing. Learn the way that feels most simple to you, because that's the one you'll be most consistent with.

Manuel de la Torre on the Grip (Video)

I thought today I'd post a second video by de la Torre, this one on the grip. (John Hayes has a total of six videos from this series on his channel, if you'd like to see more.) The first four minutes of this 43-minute video show you a test to find out if your grip is 'balanced' or not.

As he says, if your grip isn't balanced, the better you swing, the worse you'll hit the ball.



Between this video and yesterday's video on the full swing, you have a good introduction to what de la Torre taught. I think it's all still very valid for today's players.

Manuel de la Torre on the Classic Swing (Video)

The late Manuel de la Torre is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated instructors the game has ever seen. This 48-minute video simply called The Swing Concept is a great example.

Watch just the first eight minutes and I think you'll start to understand what I mean... and why he says, "You can't teach anyone how to swing; you can only teach them what to do."



The classic swing is more about feel than technique. If you're willing to approach the game a bit differently, Manuel de la Torre can help your game a lot.

The Majors Rescheduling Is Finalized

Well, at least we know now. The powers that be still plan to hold most of the majors this year, albeit very late in the year.



Here's a link to GC's announcement of the new schedule. It looks like this:

• The U.S. Open will be relocated to Sept. 18-21 and will remain at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck NY.
• The PGA Championship will be held Aug. 6-9 and will remain at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco CA.
• The Masters will be played Nov. 12-15
• And THE OPEN becomes the first major since 1945 to be cancelled. The R&A has announced that the 149th championship will be held at Royal St. George’s next year and the 150th edition at St. Andrews in 2022.

All things considered, this is an ambitious plan. We still don't know how soon things will return to some semblance of normality, whether we're talking about transportation or site prep or just the players' ability to get ready both physically and mentally.

In fact, there's a video interview with Dr. John Torres from NBC at the GC link about how the sports landscape looks over the next few months and how soon the various sports can get back in action. (He does think that sports will be the first thing to ramp back up as the virus comes under control.) He seems to be looking at a date later in the summer.

But at least we have something to shoot for now. I'll take it.

Toski and Flick: Basic Swing Training (Video)

Many of you have expressed an interest in learning more about the classic swing -- that is, the classic method for creating maximum clubhead speed with minimum effort. You may have heard this method described as "effortless power, but I prefer the more accurate term "relaxed speed."

In this 25-minute video the late Jim Flick and his teaching partner, legend Bob Toski (still teaching at 93!) introduce you to some of the basics they taught as the head instructors at the Golf Digest Schools. You'll learn how to start thinking about your swing from aiming properly to creating speed with natural movements, as well as learning some drills that will help you turn this knowledge into habit.



One of the things I love about the classic swing is that it uses natural movements that we use all the time, although we tend to do them without much conscious thought. That means that a classic swing tends to "feel right" and can often be repeated more easily than other methods. You might be surprised how much you'll learn from this video.

Hopes for a 2020 Golf Season Continue

In case you missed it -- and no one would be surprised if you did, given how crazy life is right now -- the tours are still in hopes that the 2020 season will get underway sooner rather than later. And some of those hopeful plans have begun to take shape. Here are a couple of articles that GC posted recently on their website.



Brentley Romine posted this article about potential dates for the majors, the Ryder Cup and the PGA Tour schedule in general. And it links to a more detailed article at the Golfweek site, which you can find here. I don't suppose there's much new in these pieces, as we knew that the majors had been postponed rather than cancelled, but the thought that the Masters could be played as late as November is still somewhat shocking to me.

Still, given the limited field size that is typical of the Masters, I suppose daylight is far less of a consideration for them than for the other majors.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of all this is the (in my opinion, somewhat optomistic) idea that the PGA Tour might be able to resume in mid-July. This, not surprisingly, is in line with the LPGA plans reported by Randall Mell in this GC article. But it is interesting to me that the Women's US Open has been tentatively rescheduled for December while the men's US Open has yet to be officially postponed. Mell's article also posts the following tentative LPGA schedule.



Don't misunderstand my pessimism. I do hope that these new schedules play out as planned and we can get the golf season -- and all of the sports seasons, as well as life in general, for that matter -- back in action. I think the world can certainly use some good news right now.

But I'm not sure that it's going to be that easy to get everything restarted in less than three months. I don't think we're going to truly understand how seriously our lives -- indeed, our entire world -- has been disrupted by this pandemic until we attempt to find out what the 'new normal' is going to be like. We didn't understand how deeply this virus was going to hit us when it started, and I doubt that it will go out quietly either.

Still, the mere fact that we're beginning to talk about normalcy in any aspect of our lives may lift the spirits of us all, especially those who have been hit really hard by COVID-19. And we should never underestimate the power of hope, especially when facing an enemy that we can't even see.

So let's hope these plans turn out to be good ones.

Seve on the Short Game (Video)

This week we're time traveling back to happier times. Yesterday we went back to Butch Harmon's younger days; today we head back to Seve's for a short game video he made about 15 years into his pro career. This 64-minute instructional video covers his game from 100 yards and in.



For those of you who are interested, you can buy the video -- I presume it will be a better copy -- from Amazon Prime for $8.99 US. (And no, this isn't an affiliate link from me; I get nothing if you decide to buy it.)

If you're looking to study Seve's techniques in depth, this looks to be a good reference source.

Young Butch Harmon on the Short Game (Video)

I was looking for something out of the ordinary and found this old video Butch Harmon did on the short game. Wow, he's young here, isn't he?



The video's a bit over 42 minutes long, much longer than you're likely to hear Butch talking these days. Hopefully you'll find some useful info that you can incorporate into your own game.

Nick Clearwater's Doorframe Drill (Video)

This video is an expansion of a small piece Clearwater did in the January Golf Digest.



This video explains why the common advice to "get behind the ball" during your backswing can actually shorten your backswing, and how staying centered over the ball can actually give you a better shoulder coil as well as the spine extension you want during your swing.

Ironically, it seems to me that this drill will also cause you to straighten your trailing knee more during your backswing, which was a standard move for many legendary players like Arnold Palmer. I most recently did a post about that move at this link, and you might want to experiment and see if Clearwater's drill also causes you to recreate a similar position.

As Clearwater says, you can do this drill indoors as much as you want... and we're all indoors a lot more lately, aren't we?

Domingo Lopez on Golf in General

For those of you who don't know, Domingo Lopez was Nancy Lopez's dad and swing coach. In her book The Education of a Woman Golfer Nancy included this quote from her dad, which even she says is an exaggeration, but there's a lot of truth in it. So I post it today for your consideration.

Golf is in its essence a simple game. You laugh in a sharp, bitter, barking manner when I say this, but nevertheless it is true. Where the average man goes wrong is in making the game difficult for himself. Observe the non-player, the man who walks round with you for the fresh air. He will hole out with a single care-free flick of his umbrella the twenty-foot putt over which you would ponder and hesitate for a full minute before sending it off the line. Put a driver into his hands and he pastes the ball into the next county without a thought. It is only when he takes the game in earnest that he becomes self-conscious and anxious, and tops his shots even as you and I. A man who could retain through his golfing career the almost scornful confidence of the non-player would be unbeatable. [p20]

Yeah, it's an exaggeration. But there's a lot of truth there, not only for golf but for life in general.

In times like these, keeping some perspective is critical. So don't get obsessed with the small stuff, and keep the important stuff in its proper place. Life's a lot easier to deal with when you do.