The Power Fade Golf Blog

Hands down, the cheesiest, most BS attempt to scam golfers…..ever…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg0ef3VN3DA

What crap. But, it cracks me up every time. Almost like the ShakeWeight. Enjoy, PF readers!

This is a shout out from the Power Fade to one of the best posts I’ve seen on a forum.

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/212955-i-have-to-come-clean-to-the-golfwrx-community/

Just goes to show you, it doesn’t matter the name on the club, as long as you get the job done.

Having watched the Ryder Cup last weekend, it has become apparent to me that the golf season is officially over. As we here at PF anxiously await the next season of golf, we look back at the season that was.

2009 was The Year of the Letdown.

It started at the ’09 Masters, where Kenny Perry had a two shot lead with only 17 and 18 to play. Now, 17 and 18 at Augusta are no gimmies–in fact, none of the holes are. But, this was Kenny Perry. He had been scorching through the first part of the year, playing years below his age. This was Kenny Perry, who was going to right all the wrongs of his collapse at the ’96 PGA championship.

It was like watching a horrible car crash in slow motion; no matter how much you didn’t want to see what happened, you couldn’t turn away. Perry bogied 17 and 18, bogied the 18th again on the playoff hole, and then double-bogied the 10th to give Cabrera the green jacket.

But ’09 hit us in all of the majors.

The ’09 US Open saw long shot Ricky Barnes, fan favorite Phil Mickelson, and super long shot but fan favorite David Duval in contention. Duval hadn’t truly played competitively in 8 years. He had recovered from severe back injuries, slowly making his way back to professional golf. And we could have been watching a monumental upset. Barnes, the long shot, charmed the crowd with his impressive play and exciting personality.

And then there was Mickelson. Although Mickelson had won two green jackets, he had blown chances at the US Open so many times before: he finished second in ’06 (the famous “I’m an idiot” after hitting driver at 18), second in ’04, second in ’02, and second in ’99 (the famous loss to Payne Stewart at Pinehurst). Moreover, Mickelson’s wife–who didn’t make the trip with him because she was being treated for cancer–told him there was nothing she wanted more than to see him win the trophy.

And who won? Lucas Glover. All three came up short.

Then, the ’09 Open Championship came, seeing an ageless Tom Watson schooling the field at Turnberry where he had won so many years before. Watson, at 59 years old, was poised to become the oldest man in any sport to compete at such a high level. But, although Watson held a one-shot lead on the 18th hole (thanks to Stewart Cink draining a tricky 20-footer on 18), he nuked a 7-iron from 170 yards over the green and failed to get up and down (something he had accomplished all week), leaving room for Cink to win in an anti-climactic 4-hole playoff.

The ’09 PGA was somewhat less of a letdown, unless of course you want to see Tiger Woods win at all cost. Tiger had never lost when leading a major on the final day. Although 2 shots ahead going into the final day, Tiger shot 75 to lose the championship by 3 shots to YE Yang. Letting everyone down.

So, what is 2010? 2010 is the Year of the Euro.

The ’10 Masters should’ve been an indicator to us. Mickelson won, but only a few shots behind him was Lee Westwood (England), who played solid golf the whole week. Westwood had led going into the final day, and Mickelson simply chased him down for the win. But Westwood’s solid play should’ve been an indicator.

In the ’10 US Open, Graeme McDowell (UK) became the first European in 40 years to win the US Open. Although South African Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open, Tiger Woods didn’t crack the leaderboard, no Mickelson, no Furyk. The Americans were gone. Instead, the leaderboard included Westwood (UK, 2nd), Rory McIlroy (UK, T3), Henrik Stenson (Sweden, T3), Paul Casey (UK, T3), Martin Kaymer (Germany, T7), and Luke Donald (UK, T11).

The ’10 PGA Championship at Whistling Straights saw Martin Kaymer (Germany) chase down Dustin Johnson (Mr. Sand Trap) and Bubba Watson, two big-hitting Americans, for the win.

Now, Westwood–who recently took over the #2 world ranking from Mickelson, who never could close the door when he had opportunities to take the #1 spot–is poised to overtake the #1 ranking in the world from an absent Tiger Woods.

So, it should’ve been no surprise to see Europe take home the Ryder Cup in 2010. Even though the Americans fought back to within 1/2 point of retaining, it was never going to happen. It was simply Europe’s year.

Watching PGA Tour golf is something that every (even semi) serious golfer ends up doing at some point during the regular season.  Like the talking heads on ESPN and the Golf Channel, every armchair caddy has an opinion on every golfer.  When I began watching golf 3+ years ago, I disliked Jim Furyk’s game.  He always seemed out-of-place for some reason.  Nearly always finishing in the top 10, but never really being in contention.  Super consistent, but with a swing that was once compared by David Feherty to “a squid falling slowly out of a tree.”  I just didn’t understand how someone who always placed in the top 10 could never get the W.  His game is not particularly dynamic, nor does he really have the presence of some of his counterparts.  I’ll admit, having some personality on the course makes me like a golfer, and this was not Mr. Furyk’s strong suit.  Nothing about Mr. Furyk’s game made sense to me:  the double overlap grip?  The insanely long putting routine?  come on!

How could someone who falls well below tour driving distance (Jim 276 – Tour 287) compete so successfully on courses that push 7200 yards every week?  How could someone with a swing that no professional instructor would dare mess with get a diagnosis when he’s running cold?  How could, in short, someone who totally defies the modern image of a Tour professional compete with the power hitters and short game artists that populate the PGA roster?

The answer came to me as I watched this season’s FedEx Cup playoffs:  Furyk understands his particular game better than anyone.  Earlier I mentioned that Jim does not hit the ball as far as most Tour pros.  Now on a good day, this disadvantage is neutralized by pure ball-striking, but what about the bad days?  If you’re consistently hitting the ball 15-20 yards short of your “average” playing partners,” how can you possibly compete on courses that are Tour length?  You don’t have to be a mathematician to realize that tour pros have bad days like everyone, but they all seem to keep their scores impressively low.  Perhaps what has impressed me most is that Furyk can keep up to this lofty professional standard while barely being within squinting distance of the likes of Bubba Watson or Dustin Johnson.

I recently read an article Furyk wrote about course management and understanding your own game.  His principles have really resonated with me, and hopefully will help me break 80 this year.  When Furyk’s having a bad day, he’s still hitting fairways and greens.  When he’s not hitting greens, he’s left himself the most reasonable chip or pitch to the hole.  In a word,  Jim is a grinder.  Like you, my really good playing days on the course are not as numerous as my “damn that should have been a 4” days.  What Jim has shown me is that it is possible to hit the ball 270 yards and have a real shot at par.  While we can’t all hit the ball a country mile, we can all take a thoughtful look at our own games and figure out what works for us.

What I was unable to appreciate before was the slow, methodical game.  I did not understand why Furyk would not change something in his game to try to hit the ball further or work the ball a different way.  This year with three victories, the FedEx cup, $10 million, and likely Player of the Year honors, I now understand the value of playing your own game.

See what Jim said to change my mind,  I hope it’ll help you out too.

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1664671,00.html

the most interesting man in the world…