Ged Walters on Hitting a Draw (Video)

Golf Monthly's Ged Walters did this cool video on hitting a draw. Why is it so cool? Because he's hitting irons off the fairway, not drivers off the tee! And to make it even better, he's hitting from a hanging lie, which makes the shot even tougher.



The fundamental things he teaches here are not new or unique, but his presentation is one of the simplest I've seen. Let me point out a couple of things he says.

First of all, I like how he distinguishes between a draw and a hook. It's not about how big the curve is, but about whether the ball is getting closer to the target or farther away at the end. A draw curves out and and finishes "on target" -- that means it's still moving toward the target when it stops. A hook curves around too much, so that it moves past the target and keeps moving away from it. A hook is out of control. That's a good way to think about it.

He likens the way you strike the ball with the club to the way a footballer kicks the ball. (For my American readers, we'd call it soccer.) The kicker strikes the ball with the inside of his foot; the inside of his foot is facing the target while his foot is moving out to the right (you lefties would be moving to the left).

And playing off a hanging lie? You just exaggerate this action. A very simple explanation.

If there's one key technical thought I'd like you to remember, it's that you position the ball just slightly back of center in your stance. You want to come at the ball slightly from the inside with your swing -- that's the footballer analogy again -- and moving the ball back slightly encourages that, without having to make a huge change to your swing. You might even want to stand slightly farther from the ball, simply because that will help you hit from the inside more easily, without a lot of conscious thought.

Walters has -- in my opinion -- done a real service to weekend players with this explanation of how to play a draw off the turf with an iron. So spend a little time with this video. It'll be well worth your time.

Golf.com's Michelle Wie Interview

Yes, yes, guilty as charged -- I was way too excited over the US Soccer Team surviving the "Group of Death" Thursday to really focus on golf. As a result, I'm just going to post something many of you may have missed -- the interview golf.com did with Michelle Wie earlier this week:



It's only about 6 minutes long but it has some interesting moments... like when Michelle is asked how she feels about "taking so long" to win a major when Mickelson took even longer but wasn't criticized as harshly. Interviewer Jessica Marksbury definitely deals more with Michelle's mental approach to the Open than most of the other interviews I've heard.

It's different enough from those other interviews to be worth a listen.

And as usual, in case the video didn't embed properly, here's a link to the original.

So the 2013 Golf Season Starts When?

It's a good thing the NFL playoffs started this weekend because we're still waiting for golf. I saw both the Houston Texans beat the Cincinnati Bengals AND the Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings. (I even got to see Manchester United squeak out a tie against West Ham in the FA Cup third round. Yes, I had a busy Saturday. ;-)

The reason for the delay? Wind. The sideways rain might not have been such a problem if not for the 40-50mph wind gusts. I snagged this photo off GC that shows the conditions. Look at them try to pour water into a cup!



When the wind is stronger than gravity, it's not a good day for golf.

At any rate, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions is now a 54-hole event, with 36 holes planned for today and 18 tomorrow. I suppose that's subject to change, depending on the weather. The word from the Tour was that today's wind would only be 5-10mph slower. I can only assume they believe the course will be playable in 30-40mph gusts.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Dustin Johnson remarked that he's done well in these shortened events, and I have to concur. I'm guessing either he or Webb Simpson (who played well in Friday's cancelled round) will -- pardon the pun -- blow away the competition.

And if they don't get to play today... well, at least there are two more NFL games scheduled.

And So the Intimidation Begins...

Before I start, gotta send out a quick farewell to Pia Sundhage, the Head Coach of the U.S. National Women's Soccer Team for the last 5 years. Wednesday night was officially her last night as Head Coach, and the team gave her a proper sendoff by winning against Australia 6-2, letting Sundhage finish her tenure on a 14-win streak. Her replacement's gonna have some big shoes to fill!

And today Rory gets to resume his "intimidation" of Tiger. GC begins their broadcast at 11am ET. Well, technically that the pre-game show; GC lists the official broadcast at 1pm. The LPGA will be broadcast starting at 6:30pm.

I have to admit, despite being a huge Greg Norman fan, sometimes Greg says things that make me just bury my face in my hands and shake my head. (You really can do both at the same time, just try it.) Everybody seemed to be having fun with it Wednesday, especially Rory and Tiger. Rory says Tiger has nicknamed him "Intimidator."

Personally, I was relieved to find that Tiger would find it somewhat intimidating if Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was coming at him. At least now I know Tiger and I have something in common. ;-)

Remember: Pre-game at 11am ET (they'll probably do some spot coverage during that broadcast) and the official broadcast of the first round at 1pm.

And also remember to tremble a little (for Greg's sake) when Rory gets some screen time... and don't laugh when you do. Be respectful.

WE WON!

A quick shout out to the USA soccer team for breaking a 75-year winless streak against Mexico IN Mexico. Not only did they pull out a 1-0 win, but they did it with some solid defense down the stretch in Mexico City -- yes, in the altitude and the thin air.

Granted, this was only a "friendly" but combined with our first-ever win over Italy earlier this year, this is incredibly encouraging for us US soccer fans. Maybe the men will finally catch up to the women! ;-)

You can read more details about the match here. I'm just so excited about this win that I can't think about golf tonight! I'll get back to it in the next post. For now -- IT'S PARTY TIME!!!