Is Nicklaus ready to skin Woods before the Memorial?

When Jack Nicklaus instituted the first nine-hole skins game before the 2009 Memorial Tournament, he chose Tiger Woods as one of this group. Fans got an eyeful watching the two greatest golfers in the world play side-by-side with Woods chipping in at eighteen to seal the deal.

Last year, Nicklaus said, "They had me paired in the other group, and I said, uh-uh. I said, 'I haven't played with him for nine years. I'd like to play with Tiger.' So they said OK. I'm really looking forward to it."

This year tells quite a different story as Nicklaus has extricated himself from Woods' group instead pairing himself with Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sean O'Hair and Kenny Perry, all perceived by the public to be stand-up guys.

Not that Steve Stricker (one of my favorite golfers besides Mickelson), Zack Johnson or Jim Furyk won't add a bit of pizazz to Woods' foursome (Rory McIlroy has possibilities as you can watch the girls swooning all around him) but what was the method to Nicklaus' decision?

Bleacher Report asks, "Couldn't Jack have played with both of them?"

A Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson pairing would have left all of the other great PGA Tour golfers struggling for television time. The only way you could get the cameras rolling on Team "B" would be if there was a hole-in-one or if one of the guys started cussing about something (microphones will be in use by the players.)

It's also good to switch up the golfers from one year to the next. Kenny Perry played in the 2009 Woods/Nicklaus group and he isn't in the Golden Bear's 2010 "fivesome".

Maybe Jack just doesn't want to hustle too much. In 2009 Nicklaus "made fun of himself for playing several of the par-4s like par-5s and suggested he needed to play from the forward tees." Tiger may be a tad too competitive for Nicklaus. Mickelson, just cut from the Colonial last week, may be more to his pace.

This feels a bit like Ryder Cup whimsy, doesn't it?


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Did Tom Watson do enough to win the British Open and Camilo Villegas' backhand move

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When asked about Tom Watson's chances of raising the Claret Jug at the 2009 British Open, Jack Nicklaus replied, "It is going to take constant concentration and discipline." The Golden Bear asserted, "whether or not Tom plays well tomorrow, whether or not he wins, it doesn't make a difference."

After watching Watson's head held high in spite of the occasional tear being wiped away by the fifty-nine year old legend, one can truly say that Nicklaus could not be further from the truth.



With an invitation to play St. Andrews in 2010, Tom will be sixty. This was his swan song. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? Will Watson will be in the same condition and if so, will he even want to play in another Open? Tom mentioned that he isn't anxious to play in another Masters because he doesn't want to be the "memorial" player in the field, applauded by the crowd as the old guy on the tee. Can you blame him?

Although in five events on the Champions Tour, Watson has made every cut with one top-ten to his credit, the golfers playing in those events are also coming off of the PGA Tour at fifty, making it more of a struggle for Tom to stay competitive. The money isn't that great either, compared to the PGA Tour. Even though Watson is currently ranked in 47th place, his total 2009 earnings are a mere $183,000 to date. Ernie Els, who ranks 47th on the PGA Tour after playing in thirteen events has over $1 million. With his $700k second place winnings, Watson has been able to close the gap but perhaps this is a good time to write another book?

Hats off to Stewart Cink who came through with clutch play. As for Tiger Woods, he could still learn a few things about staying even from Tom Watson, whose gentlemanly demeanor totally collided with the thuds heard from Woods' clubhead as Tiger slowly but steadily fell to pieces.

Golf for Beginners also discusses Camilo Villegas' easy backhand move for straight contact.

Did you know that Amsterdam Hotels are just 221 miles away from London? After the British Open, take a whirlwind tour of the surrounding areas!


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Nicklaus builds a golf town, will Tiger Woods erect a city? Also, playing in the zone.

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Don't tell Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods that the country is in a recession and that the rest of the world is suffering as well because neither will believe you. Both golfers have moved forward with plans to build high-end communities in spite of the downward trend perhaps hoping that the number of "haves" will be enough to pave the way for future development.

Nicklaus, for example, has just entered into an agreement with Grupo Viveros to create a private town complete with two hotels, marina, airstrip, hangars, two hundred fifty high-end villas as well as a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course on a currently uninhabited island off the coast of Panama. Oceanfront lot prices start at $530,000.

Tiger Woods, is working on courses in Dubai, Punta Brava and in the high Carolina area where two of Jack Nicklaus' Signature golf courses are already situated alongside of courses designed by Gary Player and Tom Fazio.

Woods mentioned recently during his tour of the Punta Brava site, "My goal is to design a collection of amazing golf courses around the world." Following in Nicklaus' footsteps as he has chosen to do will be a lifelong venture as the Golden Bear currently has 337 courses open for play in 33 countries with 55 golf courses and projects under construction in 45 different countries.

Will Tiger Woods find filling the shoes of Jack Nicklaus an easy feat and will he be able to conquer all of Nicklaus' accomplishments both on and off the golf course? Nicklaus recently stated that he doesn't want Tiger to break his records. Do you blame him? Just ask kids today if they ever heard of the Beatles and about their contribution to music. Nicklaus just doesn't want to fade into obscurity.

As for the race for "best golfer ever", Woods may well be on his way to beating Nicklaus' record but, with a recurring bum knee thrown into the equation, only time will tell.

In this week's Golf for Beginners broadcast, we discuss "King" Nicklaus atop his huge empire and Tiger Woods' need to build equally large scale private communities for the wealthy. With the assistance of Joan King we also identify "the Zone" and discuss ways that the average golfer can use the mental game to their advantage.

Don’t forget to check out our Holiday golf gift-giving guide!




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Photo Credit: NY Daily News/Haynes/Getty

Miller sends Tiger Woods a "Dear John" letter. Aging Mickelson falls prey to Villegas, Kim. Nicklaus hits it big with Performance 18

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Golf Analyst Johnny Miller maintains that Tiger Woods was not missed at either the Tour Championship or the Ryder Cup. He has even gone so far as to blame Woods for Team USA's problematic history. I can understand Miller's Ryder Cup theory as Tiger Woods has rarely been known to be a team player but, taking his idea a step further, would the PGA Tour be better off with, or without Woods?

It's true that some of Miller's off-the-cuff commentary can be a bit absurd (Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s swimming pool, for example") but after watching up-and-coming flamboyant and charismatic young guns Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas excite the crowd time and time again, some of Miller's musings are believable.

I disagree, however, that age played a factor with Mickelson, ever the punching bag, who was beaten over the head for being thirty-eight years old. Age is not the reason why Phil could not make putts, and I'm sure that V.J. Singh would concur with that fact.

Johnny Miller, whose ramblings are worthy of note (that's why he's a commentator), should aspire to change the FedEx Cup points distribution system. Under the close circumstances in which both Singh and Villegas came to their eventual respective positions, perhaps a play-off would have been in order to create that end-of-season fervor that the PGA Tour, and the fans, are desperately looking for?

In addition to our commentary about the Tour Championship and both Mickelson and Garcia's inability to win in the face of challenge, we also offer our experiences while wearing Jack Nicklaus Performance 18 apparel at Turning Stone Resort. Performance 18 offers Coolplus® technology, UV protection, is fashionable and lightweight and had me feeling so stylish and comfortable that I felt as if I was on the LPGA Tour!

A golf tip on how to hit a 460cc driver is also featured. With clubheads as large as garbage cans, it shouldn't be that difficult, should it?


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Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed:http://feeds.feedburner.com/golfforbeginners or through iTunes.

Click Here to receive our archived podcasts and 100's of easy golf tips free! and check us out on MySpace!

"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by Premier Golf, 888-439-1831.

Photo Credit: © Outside the Beltway.