Hope vs Guts for the Glory of #Golf - West or East Coast Swing?

Eleven of the top-20 golfers in the world will be swinging their clubs from west to east coast this week, kicking off the PGA Tour "Florida Swing" and advancing the season into high gear. How, if at all, does this cross-country expedition energize players and strengthen the fan base?

The West Coast Swing begins a fun and exciting journey into a new season with fans and media reviewing wins and shots from the previous season, buzzing about how top golfers like Jordan Spieth are going to come out of the gate and with the joviality and hi-jinks that are standard fare at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.

Starting out the season playing golf in Hawaii, moving through Arizona and then back to California had the pros playing on some of the most breathtaking courses in the world, relaxed and ready after the holiday season.

"Optimistic", "hopeful", "nervous" - three sentiments communicated during an interview of Phil Mickelson at the start of the golf season on the west coast.

Onto the East Coast Swing this week and the "Bear Trap", the 15th, 16th and 17th holes of the Jack Nicklaus Champion course considered to be the toughest in golf...now the season is getting serious.

As Jack Nicklaus said of his lair, "That stretch is about precision,. That stretch is about guts."

After the Honda Classic this week, the next stop on the PGA Tour is equally grueling as the players visit Doral for the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship - visiting "The Blue Monster", a golf course in the middle of a swamp with wind and water and, perhaps, a drop-in from presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Tiger Woods? Fans should definitely be watching this tournament as prior year duels at eighteen between Woods and Mickelson at dusk took on a decidedly serious tone.

Onto Innisbrook, then Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer's gem) and finally The Shell Houston Open which all lead up to...The Masters at August National...enough said.

Basically, while the West Coast Swing kicked off the season like sipping on a breakfast blend while relaxing to a beautiful sunrise, the East Coast Swing is a completely different "animal" as mentioned by Geoff Shackelford in Golf Digest, complete with bears, a monster and snakes! It's positively terrifying and, as David Duval confirmed, "There’s no faking it around any of these golf courses running up to the Masters."


West Coast or East Coast Swing - which do you prefer? Voice your opinion at the end of this golf blog and on Twitter @Golf4Beginners.

photo: Pinterest

Sabbatini wins Honda Classic with help from TaylorMade?

It is not necessarily because of the TaylorMade R11 white-faced driver that Rory Sabbatini won the PGA Tour Honda Classic but the new golf equipment surely made a positive impact on his game.

 

In addition to the TaylorMade R11 white driver with Adjustable Sole Plate Technology (or ASP), Sabbatini also used Tour Preferred MC forged irons, Burner SuperFast 2.0 TP 3-wood and the TaylorMade Ghost TM 770 tour putter. With this putter, Rory tied for second in the field in putts-per-round!

 

"I've never quite had as much confidence in a new putter as I have in this one. After picking it up last week and hitting a few putts with it, right away it just felt amazing to me. It was probably one of the smartest decisions I've ever made in my golf game," said Sabbatini after his win on the Champion Course at PGA National.

 

Sabbatini changed his golf equipment early in 2011 and has increasingly improved his performance in the last four events he played, including a tie for 5th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

 

With his win at the Honda Classic, Sabbatini has skyrocketed by fifty spots to number fifty-two in the World Golf Rankings, enters the top-ten (3rd place) of the FedEx Cup rankings and has also officially grabbed the final spot in the upcoming WGC-Cadillac Championship being held at Doral.

 

So is it the "arrow or the indian"?

 

TaylorMade's 2011 worldwide driver "wins" are at an astounding eight and with Luke Donald, Y.E. Yang and Camilo Villegas also in the field this week, the ninth victory for TaylorMade Golf could be just a swing away.

 

Here are the golf clubs which spurred Rory Sabbatini on to victory at the Honda Classic:

 

In Sabbatini’s Bag

R11 driver 10.5°  

Burner Superfast 2.0 TP fairway 13°

R9 fairway 19° 

Tour Preferred MC, 4-PW 

TP wedge with xFT ZTP 56° and 60°

TaylorMade Ghost TM-770 Tour putter

Penta TP ball

 

 

Image courtesy of TaylorMade Golf

 

Golf for Beginners does not endorse the TaylorMade brand of golf clubs.

 

Voice your opinion on Golf4Beginners on Twitter!

 

Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

Is the Bear Trap the toughest finishing stretch in golf?

Although five golf courses make up the PGA National Resort and Spa, it is the 16th hole of the Champion course that provides this week's Kodak moment at the Honda Classic.

The 15th, 16th and 17th holes of The Champion golf course, or "The Bear Trap" are legendary and have been called "the real killer in golf" by Lee Trevino.


Why is this stretch of three golf holes called "The Bear Trap"?


Although Team Fazio originally designed the course, Jack Nicklaus redesigned it in 1981. Known as the "Golden Bear", Nicklaus left his "footprint" behind on what he considered to be these "Three Great Finishing Holes on the PGA Tour."



"That stretch is about precision," said Nicklaus. "That stretch is about guts."


It is the 16th hole that has been designated as the Kodak Challenge hole for the Honda Classic and is considered the toughest par-4 of all of PGA National's 90 holes. According to PGATour.com, on this dogleg right...


"Off the tee, everything slopes toward the water on the right, but a bunker was added to catch balls that roll too far right. Those who bail out left are faced with a 220-yard second shot over water, into the wind" and on to a two-tiered green.


With strong winds whipping on Thursday, double bogeys outnumbered birdies.


The hazards and the elements of nature that golfers will contend with this week make the PGA National Champion golf course a truly memorable yet difficult experience but, are these three golf holes, as USA Today has stated, the toughest test in golf?

Last week's winner of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, Luke Donald, called the Bear Trap finishing stretch, "one of the toughest we have all year" while Ernie Els claimed, "those are the holes that really sits in people's minds."


You decide.



Photo credit:  PGA National


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How to play positive, Leadbetter's long distance putting and could you live with a tainted trophy?

Click here to listen.

During last year's Honda Classic one caddie remarked to another, entirely off-the-cuff, that his player used a certain golf club off of the tee. PGA Tour golfer Mark Wilson wound up calling a two-stroke penalty on himself after finding out about this infraction, thus proving to viewers the importance of playing by the rules. In spite of losing the two strokes he still won the tournament (in a sudden-death playoff), and with his integrity intact!

Wilson continued, "The rules should be held in high regard by every player."

With the honor of the game at stake, some people may find Rule 8-1 to be a bit illogical noting that you must still hit the shot no matter what help you receive in selecting a club. Other common rules infractions I regularly behold on the publinks include improper ball marking on the green as well as failing to hole out.

Do golfers really want to abide by the rules or simply use whatever guidelines they remember hoping they don't get caught? Everyone remembers the Wie/Bamberger incident forcing a DQ on Michelle?

The fact that the enforcement of the game lies predominantly from calling penalties on yourself, I have noticed that golf is one sport where players really want to keep the competition above-board!!!

As the great Bobby Jones once said, "When you cheat in golf, the only person you're cheating is yourself."

Greens at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship are an average of 90 feet which means long putting was the order of the week. Although Tiger Woods' putting was dynamic throughout the contest, David Leadbetter helps us get closer to the hole (and even sink a few) with an easy reminder on this week's Golf for Beginners podcast.

We also offer a few simple mental game tips to instill a positive mindset!


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