Wie's void filled by Tadd Fujikawa, relax your swing without drugs or alcohol and how you can play the best courses in the world

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Although Zach Johnson created excitement at the Sony Open winning by a stroke against Toms and Scott, it was fan favorite Tadd Fujikawa whom the cameras followed with the same fervor as when Michelle Wie played here.

And why not? Both Hawaiian teenagers have caused quite a stir with solid length off the tee, hustling to create opportunities to keep them in the game. Wie's claim to fame to date has been her numerous exemptions with slim success into men's events while Fujikawa has earned his way in, with congratulations flowing from guys like 2007 Masters winner Johnson who consider Tadd, "borderline phenom."

Michelle Wie, once considered a "phenom", has finally taken the necessary steps to ingratiate herself with the LPGA Tour, hoping to reinvent herself and get the fans behind her once more. It is nice to see her name listed in the roster. There were huge crowds following Tadd this weekend, hoping to see the short, stout-framed teen make the cut and put pressure on the leaders.

With the season-opening LPGA event in Turtle Bay and Michelle faring well out of the gate, Wie could easily make this combo a one-two Hawaiian punch!



Kidzworld.com thinks these two would make a great couple. "Perhaps he'll hit a growth spurt and she won't wear heels?"



Aside from a blatant man/woman distinction, Golfchannel.com jokingly calls this a "game of inches" noting that Fujikawa almost shot his height this weekend, 62, which would be easier for Wie to do on any given day considering par is a very likely score.

This week we discuss the Fujikawa/Wie phenomenon as well as offer an easy drill from Jim Flick which could help to relax you before a round of golf.

We also talk about the 3-Trak technology behind About Golf high-tech indoor simulators and the PGA Tour's agreement to partner with this innovative leader. With Immersive Play Technology, the PGA Tour hopes that the average golfer will soon be able to actually feel as if they are on golf courses once only available to professional golfers or amateurs with plenty of bucks to spend. But I ask, while in this simulator, can you flip grass into the air to determine the wind direction?

Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages, 1-866-444-0992.



Photo Credit: © Kidzworld.com

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Vijay Singh follows in Tiger Woods' footsteps. Sorenstam returns and how to practice the aloha shot at home

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With the feature golf story of 2008 being knee surgery for Tiger Woods, it seems almost ironic that, just after winning the Chevron World Challenge, Vijay Singh would be in a similar predicament. Singh claims that he was hurt during the event but obviously didn't know the extent of his injury.

Waiting for Tiger to arrive at the podium, Vijay cajoled, "Tiger, take your time. Don't come back too early. In fact, take a year off." Isn't Singh aware of the saying, "be careful what you wish for?"

It is said that Singh is looking at a recovery time of about five weeks which puts a comeback a bit closer to the Masters Tournament than should be attempted. I know that it took much longer for my husband, who underwent similar surgery, to be 100% so I doubt that Vijay, even with his ménage of sports trainers, will be in tip-top form.

Following in Tiger Woods' footsteps, in this case, is not necessarily a good thing for Singh as the past several years of developments have kept Singh on Tiger's tail. In 2003 it was Vijay who took the money spot on the PGA Tour away from Woods by almost a million dollars (of course Singh played a third more tournaments than Tiger in order to accomplish this feat.) In 2004 Singh dethroned Woods at the top of the World Rankings, if only for the single year when Tiger battled back.

More recently Tiger won the inaugural FedEx Cup, Singh rallied to take the second cup, both accomplishing their respective goals in similar gung-ho fashion.

Also, did you know that Vijay Singh's name means "Victorious Lion"? Quite a coincidence to Tiger Woods' moniker!. However, in the battle of tiger versus lion, it is theorized that the tiger would be victorious under most conditions.

This week we not only discuss the departure of Vijay Singh but the return of both Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam-McGee. Wait a minute, didn't the LPGA superstar recently retire?

Also, in honor of the return of the PGA Tour to Hawaii, we offer a drill to help with the "aloha shot".





Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

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!

Check us out on MySpace!

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

This podcast is supported by MyrtleBeachGolf.com, 866-409-2177.


Photo Credit: © indrajit.wordpress.com

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Tiger Woods' billion-dollar record, Daly's down-under, winter golf drills

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Fear not Bill Gates! Tiger Woods will not topple the richest man in the world off of his pedestal! Tiger would require about $57 billion in order to achieve this goal but he is certainly on his way! It has been reported that Woods, even with a bum knee and attending only six golf tournaments this year has made (both on and off the course) an estimated $117 million, bringing his total earnings to just under $900 million.

If Tiger plays equally as well in 2009 as he did last season and picks up another sponsor to offset the $50 million loss of his General Motors contract, there is the possibility that Woods could crack the $1 billion mark by the end of the year.

Even if Woods barely grazed the billion dollar ceiling, it is improbable that he would join Gates on the Forbes 400 as "the price of admission … is $1.3 billion for the second year in a row." Heads up, George Steinbrenner, the Tiger is on your tail!

Prediction as to how Tiger Woods will climb the ranks of the world's richest humans? His "mini-tour" will become the place where the top golfers play for high purses, turning the PGA Tour into a shell of its former self.

While Tiger is busy building golf courses and instituting himself as the harbinger of a new age in sports, John Daly is complaining that this is the "lowest point" in his life. At one point, Daly had enough money to gamble away some $50 million but now the US PGA Tour has suspended John, forcing him onto the European Tour to play in their events.

Daly, who has dived to an unimpressive 736 position in the world rankings, should be grateful for this new opportunity to "reinvent himself". Unfortunately, I think the European Tour would be more appreciative if John would continue his antics across the pond. The Australian Tour offers him a pittance, equivalent to about $50,000 of flights and accommodations (and probably all of the beer that he wants) and, in exchange, receives about $3 million in publicity that they certainly would not have had otherwise!

This week, Golf for Beginners talks about Tiger Woods' ranking both on and off the course as well as John Daly's opportunity for a change of pace. We also offer a few golf drills to practice during the cold of winter.





Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

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!

Check us out on MySpace!

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages, 1-866-444-0992.


Photo Credit: © Smh.com/AP, stopmikelupica.com

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