Michelle Wie ditches Stanford for LPGA Tour; Bivens celebrates. Also, unusual golf rules and easy driver drills

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"I finally feel like I really earned it!" claimed a relieved Michelle Wie after realizing that she had, in fact, secured a place on the LPGA Tour for the 2009 season. This time there was no exemption, no secure feeling that Wie would just arrive and everyone would cater to her every whim. Michelle was on her own and at the end of a grueling week it felt as liberating as "high school graduation".

Wie has clearly been offered the easy route throughout her career but that isn’t necessarily the best way to attain a goal. It can make you soft, easily distracted and can weaken your determination, as it did to Michelle, being given fifty-three exemptions over the past seven years as well as contracts through Sony, Nike and Omega.

Her drive was replaced with crybaby fits, deciding how best to leave an event and how to blame everyone but herself if the weather or the situation was uncooperative. She was young, claimed the media, urging golf afficionados to be patient and watch as she blossomed into maturity.

Now a new grown-up Wie is emerging, hoping that the ladies of the LPGA Tour who have scorned her in the past will be a bit more accommodating now that she has gone the proper route. She intends to work hard and is "looking forward to people having that high expectation of me."

David Leadbetter made mention that Wie would stick with the LPGA Tour and would not participate in men’s events for at least a few years. Michelle countered his opinion by stating, "I still definitely want to pursue that." It’s not a bad thing to want something but it is in Michelle’s best interests right now to concentrate on the task at hand; that is, making a name for herself on the LPGA Tour.

Carolyn Bivens attempted to maintain her composure mentioning some of the other great players who are going to improve the visibility of the 2009 LPGA Tour. Although Q-School medalist Stacy Lewis was prominently mentioned as she should be, and Michelle Wie’s name was deliberately left off until the end, it was understandable how Bivens must feel relieved that the new year should bring a bevy of deals to the ailing tour.

Perhaps Bivens, Leadbetter and Wie should take this quote to heart by Alexander Pope who stated, 'Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed'.

This week on our Golf for Beginners show we congratulate Michelle Wie on her LPGA Tour accomplishment with Barry cynically querying if PGA Q-School is next for the recent "graduate". We also have some great golf tips from the PGA website on how to drive the ball better and some unusual rules we found in the 2008-11 Golf Rules Quick Reference Guide.


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

This podcast is supported by San Diego Golf Central, 866-825-4094.

Photo Credit: © Zimbio.com


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

Holiday golf gifts for every budget. Great deals from Callaway, uPro GPS and more!

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How many times have you received a golf gift from someone who has never played the game? Although well intentioned, you secretly think, "that's another one for the junkbox!"

Never fear! Instead of tossing this year's presents into an attic filled with useless golf accessories, download this week's show onto your beloved's iPod and give them an idea of what should really be stuffed into your stocking!

In addition to a great list of stocking stuffers from retailers such as Swing Reminders, Thumb Caddy and Fine Tune Golf, we also opine on a few interesting new products from some of the most popular merchandisers in golf.

For example, Callaway Golf has just introduced a fine, new set of golf clubs, the GEMS set, specifically designed for a beginner woman golfers game. The colorful GEMS set comes complete with a stand bag, Odyssey two-ball putter as well as a mix of i-brids and woods using state-of the-art design to get a higher handicapper's golf ball airborne and moving forward! Pair these clubs with Callaway's HX Pearl Golf Ball, also designed specifically for women, place under the Christmas tree and spend some great twilight moments with the one you love!


The hottest gifts this season are golf GPS systems and the newest and coolest one of those has got to be the uPro! A color screen with available "flyovers" makes you feel as if you are previewing the action from the blimp. In addition, their is no subscription fee and basic downloads are free. Try playing golf knowing the distance of your shots and you will dramatically improve your accuracy.

Every golfer needs to know the rules for when, not if, the ball gets into trouble. The easy-to-read, "2008-2011 Golf Rules Quick Reference Guide" is a bestseller because of it's glossy, user-friendly illustrations. Most answers can be found without ever opening the guide and it's available in over twenty languages!

This week's Golf for Beginners broadcast is not complete without gifts for the golfer who could use the essentials! No duffer can have enough tees or golf balls, but listen to a few of the other gifts we have in mind and you will definitely say, "I should have thought of that!"


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: © uPro GPS, Callaway Golf

Sorenstam career cut short, Wie redux. Will Thanksgiving pay off for Mickelson? Also, Kodak's $1 million challenge, play automatic golf

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Annika Sorenstam’s missed cut at the $1 million dollar ADT Championship resembles the 2008 LPGA season as a whole. As Sorenstam limped through the early rounds, a noticeably hurt Bivens on crutches did the same as she gave her “State of the Tour” address. Both were frustrated by their final tallies. Sorenstam definitely wanted to ace the finals and Bivens wanted to let everyone know that under her jurisdiction the LPGA was just dandy but neither could muster up the drive needed to do so.

The new season will show a loss of three tournaments (to 31) as well as a drop of over $5 million in prize money. To further the bad news, this year’s ending was lackluster at best as top golfers Sorenstam, Ochoa and Pressel all packed their bags early leaving the Asians to save face at the event.

To add insult to injury and add to the ineptitude of the LPGA Tour, Annika was randomly selected after her last event for a drug test after already passing one given to her last month. "Pathetic" mentioned Sorenstam’s fiancé, Mike McGee. "I don’t know what they’re trying to prove."

Wonder Woman to the rescue! Now would be a great time for Michelle Wie to ace Q-School and revive the Tour! Bivens would be grateful for any light at the end of this tunnel.

Also in the spirit of giving thanks for no more Euro Tour events, Phil Mickelson will be back in the States playing in the LG Skins Game this weekend. No trophies, no standings, means no pressure and that Mickelson can let loose, showing fans why he is rated the number three player on the PGA Tour.

We will discuss all of the above news on this week’s Golf for Beginners broadcast as well as offer up how to play golf on automatic and how to hit your woods like a pro. The $1 million Kodak Challenge is also mentioned as we further talk about the company’s switch of funding from NASCAR to the PGA Tour.


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 St. Andrews Golf Tours, 800-348-4902.


Photo Credit: © Editor’s Blog, Golf Digest, Photo Credit: © Jamd.com