Thursday, May 27, 2010

Do You Think Tiger Woods Should Represent the USA at the Ryder Cup?

Corey Pavin recently said that Tiger Woods would have to earn his way onto the U.S. Ryder Cup Team.

"I'm not going to treat Tiger any different than any other player," Pavin stated. "He's certainly not going to be an automatic pick. He's just going to be treated like everyone else. I'd love to have him on the team, but I want him to be playing well."

I agree with Pavin that Woods should be treated equally with regards to his past Ryder Cup record.: 10-13-2 is not as great an accomplishment as another option for the team, namely Tom Watson, who has a 10-4-1 record. Problem with Watson is he may have already mentally defeated himself by saying, "I've never played the golf course before. That's where the Europeans have out-smarted us."

Woods has only been on a winning Ryder Cup team once in 1999 and didn't even play when Team USA ended it's losing streak in 2008.

With Woods' limited play this year, inconsistencies in his game may translate into lazy play against Team Europe. Pavin doesn't want to risk a loss.

Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers to have ever played the game and is extremely close to tying Jack Nicklaus' all major record of 18 (Tiger is only four events shy of this feat.) Jack Nicklaus believes Corey Pavin would need a "brain scan" if he left Tiger off the team but the negatives may outweigh the positives in this instance.

And so I ask the public, if you were Captain Corey Pavin, would you ask Tiger Woods to play in the Ryder Cup?


Ask Team Europe and I'll bet the answer will be a resounding "NO!"

Monday, May 24, 2010

Back 9 Network wants golf fans to help create Must See TV

Back 9 Network
Move over Golf Channel, there's a new golf network making its way to a television, PC/MAC and mobile device near you. Welcome Back 9 Network!

What makes Back 9 Network different than what you have ever experienced on current television is that this station is going to be created, "by the fans, for the fans" as stated by its President, Dennis Allen.

How is Back 9 Network planning to do this? With the help of the fans. Fill out a brief (5 minute) survey about what you like, and don't like, about current golf programming.

Take the survey now:  http://bit.ly/9maac7

Tell Back 9 Network what kind of golf shows you want to see...they're listening!

You can also follow Back 9 Network on Twitter. What do you think of their logo?

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Great golf photos and finishes at the Sybase but not for Michelle Wie

After a wonderful day of watching the best LPGA golfers on Tour, I have a great picture diary to share with my readers. I suggest that, if you ever get the opportunity to see a professional golf event live, GO! For those people living in the New York, tri-state area, there are still tickets available for the final round of the Sybase Match Play Championship, under an hour from New York City.



Hamilton Farm Golf Clubhouse


We arrived just before the Quarterfinal matches and watched the LPGA ladies prepare at the driving range and on the greens. Here is Amy Yang in her backswing and in her downswing. It's amazing what you can do with a speedy shutter!





Michelle Wie and Yang on the putting surface:



Watching the professional golfers tee off. Amateur golfers can learn a great deal from the LPGA finish position:





For golf aficionados, it's amazing how close you can get to the action!

Here are a few more pictures from the 9th green.






Although all of the ladies were cheered on, the one with the throngs of followers was none other than Michelle Wie.




I was standing next to the loudest of Michelle Wie's cheering section, Christina Kim, who mentioned that she wasn't "tweeting" today, but I was! You can see my cell phone action pics on Twitpic.com and you can always friend me on Twitter.com/Golf4Beginners.

As for Michelle Wie, she was eliminated by six-time LPGA winner Jiyai Shin. After winning 2&1, Wie was asked about her game and she said, "I didn't play as well as I wanted. I think I know exactly what I need to work on. I'm going to work hard the next two weeks and try to win."

Perhaps Wie shouldn't have been so concerned with changing outfits during the break...

Too bad both Ai Miyazato and Michelle Wie were knocked out of contention at the Sybase event but there will be great final round golf action tomorrow when Shin rallies against Sun Young Yoo and Angela Stanford battles against Amy Yang.


For more information visit the Sybase Match Play Championship or LPGA.com website.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Stacy Solomon, Golf for Beginners Bio

Stacy Solomon, Golf for BeginnersStacy Solomon has been a student of the game of golf since 2000 and blogger for "Golf for Beginners, because we're always learning" since 2004. She has written hundreds of articles and blogs for well-known internet websites such as Worldgolf.com, AT&T and IBM and her work has been reprinted on thousands of sports websites.

Hi Friends,

Golf for Beginners started out as a way for me to keep my lessons in a format where anyone could see them and benefit from them. The website has grown to include PGA Tour and LPGA Tour commentary, equipment news and reviews of travel destinations. I am very proud to consider Golf for Beginners a worldwide blog, realizing that golf is growing on a global level!

An amateur golfer, my handicap stands at about a sixteen which drops as the year progresses and as my short game improves! As I always say, "the game is played from 100 yards and in!"

Although I began my writing career in 2004 working for various online media outlets, in 2006, I was asked to join the Worldgolf.com golf blogger team. In addition to a weekly column on their site which reached out to over 2.5 million golfers per month, my husband and I also produced the popular five-year long Golf for Beginners Podcast, a regular top-ten on iTunes amateur sports listings. We earned kudos as a pioneer of podcasting by several newspapers including New Jersey Jewish News, "Couple Uses Media Technology to Teach golf to beginners" and The Working Musician. Portions of the Golf for Beginners podcasts have been reproduced on radio stations as far-reaching as South Africa!

I am very proud that I have helped to make Golf for Beginners so recognizable: my blogs can found re-posted in the NY Daily News Sports Section online and in South Florida Golf Magazine. My editorial selections can be accessed via Riversip News app.

Golf Channel has scrolled my tweets on TV in order to highlight their 2012 U.S. Open rebroadcast, I have partnered with corporations as an "Influencer" for IBM in order to bring awareness to their vision of Smarter Commerce and with AT&T to introduce their latest smartphones as well as to bring visibility to the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

I am proud to have worked with Legends Invitational Golf Event to bring awareness and support to the National Navy UDT SEAL Museum, a patriotic and worthwhile charity which educates, enlightens and helps families of fallen SEALs - I am very honored to have been of service.

I have been invited as a guest on several radio shows such as AOL Sports Radio, the GolfClubRadio Show with Danielle Tucker and the Enlightened Golfer Radio Show. Ms. Tucker has mentioned that Golf for Beginners offers "positive and constructive feedback plus great blogs and insight." My most recent radio appearance was as a guest on the On Par Radio Show with Anthony Scorcia. 

Inciteful and instructive interviews have been conducted through email, podcasts and Twitter with some of the best-known golfers and thinkers in the industry including Hank Haney, John Daly, Morgan Pressel Jim Furyk and former PGA President Brian Whitcomb.


Golf4Beginners has taken flight on Twitter and, because of the thousands of friends I have made there, was recently asked to reveal some of my expert secrets in the premier issue of 914 Inc. Magazine.

I had initially chosen to keep Golf for Beginners on Facebook for personal communications but now, since many of my golf fans are friends, I publicized it to my many friends in the social media arena. Within six months of going public, I now have about 3,000 golf-loving friends and have just begun a Facebook page for Golf for Beginners so that all fans have a voice!

Dennis Allen, a twenty-five year golf industry veteran and Executive Vice President of the new Back9 Network stated, "she cares about the game of golf and is insightful. She has lots of ideas percolating in her head that she willingly shares."

Probably not even realized by many in the industry is that, because of both my husband Barry Solomon's and my continued fight for the rights of new media talent to be considered as knowledgeable and respected writers, we helped set the stage for bloggers to gain media credentials at professional golf events such as the 2010 Sybase Match Play Championship and the Puerto Rico Open.

My career has been as varied as a Party Planner for Billboard Magazine to Circulation Sales Director with magazines at Fairchild Publications. I accepted a volunteer position on the Steering Committee for The Club Cup, an inaugural social media event designed to help grow the game of golf among the masses with the assistance of PGA and LPGA Tour players. For the past several years, I have committed myself fully to internet media as a Digital Content, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Manager.

An honor graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, I chose to remain in my hometown attending New York University on a full four-year scholarship. I love new technology and to be able to explain and engage others with my passion. Combining my love of tech with golf has been a long-term goal for me.

Several years ago, I became a member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association and am very proud to be one of the few females in the group as well as one of the only golf writers exclusively serving the online community.

I have always promoted causes that are near and dear to my heart and will never compromise on my resolve to be the best person I can be. The message in golf is a good one and I live by the rules of the First Tee Program; be honest, have integrity, confidence, and respect, play by the rules, and persevere despite challenges!

Miyazato, Wie Match still possible at Sybase

Ai Miyazato and Michelle Wie both defeated their respective opponents in first round action at the Sybase Match Play Championship which leads them closer to a final round duel. As I mentioned yesterday, I think this type of golf game will be perfect for Wie (remember her great play against Team Europe at the Solheim Cup?) and, if she can win this event, Michelle will get the much needed confidence that she needs to be a leader in the LPGA.
Here are a few of the notable second-round pairings:

10:30 a.m. Morgan Pressel (14) vs. Sophie Gustafson (19)
10:40 a.m. Amy Yang (30) vs. Juli Inkster (35)
11:20 a.m. Ai Miyazato (2) vs. M.J. Hur (31)
11:40 a.m. Karrie Webb (7) vs. Amanda Blumenhurst (55)
12:20 p.m. Cristie Kerr (5) vs. Sun Young Yoo (28)
12:30 p.m. Azahara Munoz (54) vs. Beatriz Recari (62)
12:40 p.m. Jiyai Shin (1) vs. Hee-Won Han (32)
1:00 p.m. Michelle Wie (8) vs. Hee Young Park (25)

I hope that Barry and I can get over to Hamilton Farm Golf Club tomorrow where we will tweet and send pics from the event.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Why Miyazato, Wie should be paired at Sybase Match Play

Listed below are the Round One pairings for the Sybase Match Play Championship. I'll be curious to see if Ai Miyazato, winner of three LPGA events this season, will be as successful in match-play as in stroke play.

I also want Michelle Wie to make a move into the second round. Match play may be a better format for Wie because she can move past the blow-up holes, regroup and take back control of her round.

Wouldn't it be exciting to see a final round pairing of Wie vs Miyazato? Michelle should probably be paired against Ai in order to learn better how to keep emotions under control. Perhaps Wie may struggle at first but instinct may then prevail with great final round action.

As Michelle mentioned in her pre-tournament interview this week, "It's kind of nice to change it up a bit. I remember I played a lot more match play in amateur events in USGA golf. It's nice to switch it up."

8:50 a.m. Morgan Pressel (14) vs. Jimin Kang (56) 
9:06 a.m. Suzann Pettersen (3) vs. Juli Inkster (35)
9:30 a.m. Jee Young Lee (27) vs. Christina Kim (40)
10:16 a.m. Ai Miyazato (2) vs. Jeong Jang (51)
10:40 a.m. Stacy Lewis (26) vs. Amanda Blumenherst (55)
11:16 a.m. Candie Kung (29) vs. Natalie Gulbis (44)
11:32 a.m. Momoko Ueda (21) vs. Vicky Hurst (37)
11:56 a.m. Cristie Kerr (5) vs. Meaghan Francella (53)
12:08 p.m. Se Ri Pak (17) vs. Azahara Munoz (54)
12:16 p.m. Brittany Lincicome (16) vs. Beatriz Recari (62)
12:32 p.m. Jiyai Shin (1) vs. Kyeong Bae (42)
1:04 p.m. Michelle Wie (8) vs. Stacy Prammanasudh (50)


Golf Channel coverage for the first round of the Sybase Match Play Championship is:

            1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST (Live)
            6:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST (Tape Delayed)