Tiger Woods' daughter begins early training to defeat Michelle Wie by age ten. Also, how to lower your score at the driving range

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Tiger Woods is probably just as interested as the rest of the world in knowing whether or not his daughter will take to golf as early as he did. Although I think it's too soon to bring a five-month old baby to the driving range, obviously Tiger believes that placing Sam in this environment will nurture her taste for the sport, and maybe it will. As Woods said, "She kind of shakes every time I hit a shot, like, she gets excited. This could be good."

Yes, this could be good on several fronts. For one thing, it would make for great television. ESPN has already bought the rights to air the Masters Par-3 contest starting next year, most possibly in anticipation of Sam Alexis buzzing alongside of daddy in her electric crib, handing Tiger is putter.

And, if by the time she's five Sam takes to golf, she might have the opportunity to play veteran Michelle Wie for a winner-take-all LPGA tournament (I'm sure the LPGA will offer Sam an exemption!)

Sam's future is already laid out before her, thanks to Woods. Nike is probably planning a line of baby clothes and short sticks to offer parents interested in the "Tiger Woods method". If baby Sam inherits Elin's good looks, look for her face to be splattered all over the media, eventually taking over the top spot of the Forbes' 20 under 25.

Golf for Beginners also discusses Tiger's probable top-five finish at this week's Target World Challenge. But it might not be so easy for Woods this year. Look for a pumped-up Calcavecchia, who just took home a win at the Merrill Lynch Shootout and was given an exemption by the Foundation, to be nipping at Tiger's tail.

Our golf tips focus on how Tiger Woods prepares for a tournament at the driving range.

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.

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages and Florida Golf Travel.

This podcast is supported by New Roc Harley Davidson, your worldwide parts and accessories distributor. Great rides start here!.

Will Lickliter lose his PGA Tour card in 2008? Also, regroup, regrip, reevaluate and getting from the rough to the green

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Frank Lickliter may be making Q-School look easy this week, but, taking a look at his 2007 stats, you would never think that this same man was cut from ten PGA Tour events and DQ'd twice! Even if he becomes the medalist this year, how well do you think he's going to perform in 2008?

On the flip side, many of the guys struggling out there this week may work even harder to keep their card once this pressure-cooker is finished. Breathing easy will accompany that final 18th hole putt for some and, for others, many a tear will be shed in the privacy of their RV's and/or motel rooms.

After reading an article by funnyman/caddie Michael Collins I better understood how golf may be a game to some but, at the end of a week of Q-School, it is more of a relief than a sense of joy and accomplishment.

The golf course and range are eerily silent during those final six rounds. Collins claims that you can almost tell which golfers will be around for the final day by their demeanor and attitude...whose shoulders are slumping, "shoulders at the belly button, bottom lip on the ground." Collins claims that you can "see it in their eyes, they haven’t 'quit', but they have accepted the fate."

This week we place the onus of Q-School on the average golfers shoulders. Tivo the final round of Q-School tonight, when the pressure is really on, and replay it right before you go out for eighteen holes. You might play better than you think!

Meanwhile, Greg Norman and John Daly make their appearance at the Merrill Lynch Shootout. This particular "silly season" event is better suited for the likes of both golfers. Could they survive, at this point in their careers, if Q-School was their only option? Or, have they both become too comfortable?

New York's first official snow fell this weekend, but that doesn't stop Barry & I from thinking about the importance of a practice ritual over the winter. In addition, we advise you on ways to regroup for opening day on your favorite course. We also offer golf tips to get you to the green (instead of just back into play) from the rough with the assistance of Kevin Walker, a Golf Magazine Top 100 instructor.

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.

Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on "sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages and Florida Golf Travel.

This podcast is supported by New Roc Harley Davidson, your worldwide parts and accessories distributor. Great rides start here!.

Tiger Woods moving on up, Greg Norman selling out. Also, how to get out of hardpan sand and putting tips

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The world's most affluent zip code has been getting a workout as of late. Tiger Woods is flattening existing edifices on his estate, replacing the original mansion and assorted other buildings, with updated but "quite modest" appointments.

Approved plans include a 10,000 square foot dream house, a guard house, small golf course, pool and other amenities necessary to the enjoyment of the world's richest PGA Tour golfer and family. Famous neighbor Celine Dion won't be angry with the constant commotion as she began building her new digs earlier this year.

Not to be outdone by Tiger Woods, Greg Norman is seeking $65 million for his home on Jupiter Island after a messy break-up to his estranged wife. Originally purchased for $5 million sixteen years ago, the Shark is looking to make a real estate killing. Always the saavy businessman, Norman realizes that the elite will pay BIG to live near the greatest golfer on the planet (Jupiter?).

The rich just keep getting richer. But just how much is too much?

The cold weather has not put a damper on our golf activity but we must remember the importance of playing smarter and considering every shot. For example, Barry found himself in a sand trap that had frozen over. Golf for Beginners discusses the correct way to exit this trap the very first time. We also talk about an easy way to visualize your putting line.

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.

Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on "sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages and Florida Golf Travel.

This podcast is supported by New Roc Harley Davidson, your worldwide parts and accessories distributor. Great rides start here!.

Tiger Woods advice an about-face to Daly's "Golf My Own Damn Way". Also Ernie Els on reading your lie in a fairway bunker

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While PGA Tour leader Tiger Woods and LPGA's number-one golfer Lorena Ochoa maintain a strict workout and practice regimen in order to achieve their highest goals, John Daly's offbeat approach of how to "Golf My Own Damn Way" relies on unconventional wisdom.

He claims he prepared for his Open win by downing ten chocolate-filled croissants. He also loves M&M's and ate twenty packets in a single round. Daly says that your belly is the key to a solid golf swing.

Could you imagine Tiger Woods utilizing this advice? Daly's book is like the Antichrist to Woods' book, "How I Play Golf".

Daly's approach to a solid golf score far from scientific but he does make some interesting points which might help the amateur. And, he's just plain funny. Golf for Beginners realizes that a happy demeanor during your round will offset the occasional poor shot and so this week's podcast is chock-full of golf tips from John Daly's new book.

This is golf's "silly season"...what did you expect?

On the serious side, we also discuss a tip from Ernie Els, found in the pages of Golf Digest Magazine. The fairway bunker offers many challenges because it's not necessarily a shot you regularly practice. This tip on how to correctly read your lie and select the appropriate golf club for the situation will take the guesswork out of your next bunker challenge.


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.

Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on "sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages and Florida Golf Travel.

This podcast is supported by New Roc Harley Davidson, your worldwide parts and accessories distributor. Great rides start here!.

Pressure creates drama for Mickelson at HSBC Champions, high-tech golf instruction with K-Vest and Annika Sorenstam's tips off the tee

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Phil Mickelson earned the title of "Champion of Champions" at the HSBC in China, narrowly defeating two Englishmen in a sudden death showdown.

Tiger Woods wasn't in attendance and so Mickelson could also be considered the "Best of the Rest Champion". Lefty's play was less-than solid but still good enough to defeat Lee Westwood who made as many cuts as there were events during the PGA Tour season, currently ranked 177th on the money list. Oh, and then there was Ross Fisher whose only experience on the PGA Tour this year was at the Open Championship where he m/c'd: his rank is 257th.

Still, this is a checkmark in the "win" column and Mickelson will have this memory to comfort him during his long winter's nap, along with the knowledge that a 76 was all that was needed to get him into a playoff.

This week on Golf for Beginners, we discuss how the pressures of the game can throw away a five-stroke lead, making even the top golfers in the world look amateurish. Mickelson had six penalty strokes in his final round and more golf balls found the water than the fairway.

We also talk about how new technology is helping golfers become their own instructors. In the past we reviewed the Suunto G6 watch, a great training aid for tempo and rhythm. We also assessed the RedEye i330 laser putter which forces your eyes to see the correct line on a putt.

This week the K-Vest is featured, techno-gear which gives a three-dimensional view of your golf swing and offers immediate feedback of your alignment and posture. This vest could be the wave of the future for golf instructors!

Annika Sorenstam says she has fully recovered from her spinal injuries. Even so, Sorenstam has been busy with other ventures including but not limited to course design and the new Annika Academy. Golf Magazine featured her tips on safe play off of the tee. We review these pointers querying when it is better to use a three-wood versus a driver off the tee.

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. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on "sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

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

This podcast is supported by Arizona Golf Packages and Florida Golf Travel.

This podcast is supported by New Roc Harley Davidson, your worldwide parts and accessories distributor. Great rides start here!.

Why doesn't Leadbetter cut Michelle Wie loose? Also, putt like Tiger Woods and a new line of golf gloves by Taylor Made/Adidas

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Michelle Wie's golf career has been in a downward spiral for the past year. She has run the gamut from physical to emotional trauma. Her "people" have been jumping ship, most recently Greg Nared, her second manager of the year. As you know, everyone loves a winner, and Michelle Wie hasn't won.

Wie has gone from media darling with cameras frantically clicking and both PGA and LPGA Tours throwing exemptions at her to being shunned by the Casio World Open, an event on the Japanese Tour which has, in the past, always welcomed her with open arms. Spokesman Yuichi Miyakawa contended, "We have concluded that it is important for her to fully recover from her hand injuries before playing to her potential". The key word here is "potential".

Golf.com has even decided that Michelle Wie is no longer "hot".

But in all of the darkness that surrounds Michelle Wie there is one bright light, one person who will stick by her no matter how far she falls...besides B.J. and Bo, and that person is...David Leadbetter.

Leadbetter realizes that he stands to gain either way from remaining on Michelle Wie's payroll. If she does indeeed make a comeback (which is possible if she reinforces her mental game), he may claim that it was because of his steady instruction that she persevered. If she fails, Leadbetter can always shrug his shoulders and say that he tried...and he did.

You have to give David Leadbetter credit for his dedication to Michelle Wie in the face of her overbearing parents, her lack of common courtesy and somewhat dubious knowledge of the Rules of Golf.

In this week's Golf for Beginners podcast we discuss the Wie/Leadbetter relationship. A putting tip by Tiger Woods regarding grip is also featured. Since we're on the subject of the grip, we also take a look at the new golf gloves being offered by Taylor Made and Adidas for the 2008 season.

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. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on "sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

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

This podcast is supported by Myrtle Beach Golf and Florida Golf Travel.

This podcast is supported by New Roc Harley Davidson, your worldwide parts and accessories distributor. Great rides start here!.