Jack Nicklaus’s 25th Anniversary of his 6th Green Jacket – The 1986 Masters Championship
On a picture perfect Sunday in April of 1986, the golf world would witness an awe inspiring chapter in Master’s history on golf’s most revered stage, Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. The star of that show was none other than Jack Nicklaus, who had been playing mediocre golf up until the Master’s, if measured by his normal standards. But mediocre as it was, he remained on the leader board for the first three rounds despite what his critics may have thought as they virtually wrote him off for any chance at a win in Augusta. There were mutterings that Jack should think about retiring, he is too old to win, he’s washed up, but that is exactly what sparked a fire and fueled his game enough for him to draw on his uncanny ability to play his best under pressure.
Having been and remaining a huge Jack Nicklaus fan, I had been watching the hi-lights for the first three days to see how he was fairing against an iconic field of players. The leader board was a virtual who’s who of golf’s greatest players of that time or any era for that matter. The field included Greg Norman , who was leading Jack by four strokes on Sunday, Nick Price, Bernard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Kite and none other than Tom Watson, Jack’s fiercest rival in the majors. Jack Nicklaus was 46 years of age and many had written him off but I had a gut feeling that he was not yet finished. From the Carolina Cherry or the ninth hole on, my eyes were fixated to the television screen and I was glued to my seat as I was privileged to see the Golden Bear wield his magic wand and view golf history in the making. The Bear played well enough on the first eight holes to remain close to the lead but he would have to make something happen soon if he were to have any chance for a win. When he birdied nine, ten and eleven, he made enough noise to send shivers up the spine of his competitors who proceeded to falter under Jack’s heroics hole after hole down the stretch. The Golden Bear, and he was affectionately and aptly named, stumbled at the Golden Bell12th with a bogie, only to par Azalea and Chinese Fir, 13 and 14, to set up his historic run on the last four holes. Having bombed his drive off the tee at the par five 15th or Firethorn, he left himself about 200 yards to the pin. He consulted with son Jackie 11, who was on his bag and asked what he thought about an eagle here? I’m sure Jackie concurred that would further ensure his dad’s possibility for a 6th green jacket and 18th major. He skillfully laced a four iron to 12 feet and converted the putt for EAGLE!, two out of the lead. The next hole, Rosebud or par three 16th put the icing on the proverbial cake as he hit his shot, the ball tracked off the slope toward the pin and he almost holed out as the ball nudged the hole as it rolled past by about three feet. He easily made the putt, putting him eight under and ONE back - Jack was on the move! He reached the 17th hole, which was to be the defining hole of the tournament. Jack hit driver and a wedge to set himself up for a birdie opportunity. When he drained an incredibly difficult putt from about 12 feet and raised his putter toward the sky in an iconic pose, I knew my idol had secured his 6th Green jacket. Jack made a difficult two putt for par on 18 look easy while Greg Norman and the rest of the field faltered including Seve Ballesteros, whose ball found water on 15 and Tom Kite who narrowly missed a birdie chance on 18 which left him one shot short of a playoff. Jack Nicklaus’s win at the 1986 Master’s Championship, was his 18th major victory, a feat no one has come close to except Tiger Woods. Tiger’s attempt to match Jack’s record was derailed in November of 2009 when his personal life became fodder for the news and TV media. He is not yet done but no matter what the record books show, Jack Nicklaus is the number one golfer of all time, at least in my book!
It is approaching the 25th anniversary of the Golden Bear’s awe inspiring Master’s Victory and I offer my hand in applause to his expertise with golf clubs! Congratulations to Jack Nicklaus.
Who’s Jamie Sadlowski ? I may have asked myself that a few months back but his performance in the last two long drive competitions and his exhibitions around the country have clearly established this young man as the longest hitter of the golf ball in the world by far. If you doubt what I am saying check out his swing analysis video and listen to what the golf pros and other long drivers of the golf ball have to say about him. He can probably hit a seven iron farther than most accomplished golfers can drive the ball, I think about 245 yards if I’m not mistaken. Standing at about 5′ -11″ and weighing arpound 168 pounds, he recently competed with some of the longest golf professionals on tour, like Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, who can regularly hit golf balls well over 300 yards. Jamie was passing them by at least 50 t0 100 yards, which is phenomenal to say the least. Check out the video of Jamie http://www.golf.com/golf/video/article/0,28224,2023121,00.html
Mere mortals like you and I can never hope to emulate his swing mechanics to achieve his distance, as he is one of a kind, at least for now. Jamie has significantly impressed many of the world’s finest teaching professionals, who are using the latest in computer technology to break down his swing and see if they can determine what makes him tick. Even if we can’t achieve the same results as Jamie, utilizing even some of his techniques can probably allow us to achieve greater distance hitting the golf ball than we ever imagined. I am quite certain that Jamie has now set a precedent, that many new young players will try to emulate and strive to equal or beat his accomplishments to date. That is what it is all about, striving for new and better techniques to gain more distance and become a better player. The teaching pros will most definitely use this young mans techniques and adjust the information they impart to their students to meet the ability and goals of the individual they are working with. Jamie Sadlowski is an interesting individual and I am curious to see how far his ability can take him if he decides to turn pro and compete on the PGA Tour. I’m sure the present players on the Tour circuit are not that eager to have him join their ranks. It’s like Tiger Woods arrival on the golf scene in 1997 all over again. On the other hand, the smart player will recognize that he will be good for the game, drawing more media attention to golf and additional sponsors and advertisers, thus converting to larger prize money for all! I have to go now- need to start stretching, losing weight and practicing my shoulder turn, hip rotation, etc. so I can be like Jamie! Happy Golfing to All!
Jim Furyk showed his metal by making clutch saves through out the Tour Championship this weekend. But none of those shots were as critical as his sand shot from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole Sunday to about two and a half feet. He could have been at -9 and easily took the championship but his missed putt from about 10′ on seventeen left himself only one shot in the lead. He needed par on the par 3 eighteenth to avoid a playoff with Luke Donald, who was in the clubhouse at -7 awaiting his fate and the possibility of a play off with Jim Furyk. He converted the putt and not only won the championship and $1,350,000 but a $10,000,000 bonus for also taking the Fed- Ex Cup. Tiger Woods was the only other player who won the Tour Championship and also the Fed- Ex Cup in the same season in 1997.
Tiger was not around this year as his game is off and he needs time to rebuild and regain his composure after the tumultuous year he has had since last November around Thanksgiving. Jim Furyk has been in contention on many occasions and has won three times this year which is a first for him. This is a great lead in to the Ryder Cup next weekend, as the top American Golfers vie for the title in Europe which will not be an easy task. If Jim can maintain the form he exhibited this past weekend he will definitely help provide the European team the competitive spirit they are expecting from The USA.
Congratulations to Jim Furyk, who has been consistent with the striking of the golf balls and who rose to the occasion at the right time to win the biggest monetary prize in golf, The Fed-Ex Cup!
Louis Oostuizen’s final total score of -16 was good enough to beat the field at this years British Open handily. Lee Westwood finished seven shots back at -9 which shows how well Oosthuizen played for this prestigious tournament at the oldest and most revered golf venue, St. Andrews. This years British Open was a bit boring for golf fans in the United States, since the top American player, Sean O’Hair finished at -6, ten strokes back and tied for seventh place. None of the U.S. players was even close to the top three spots, which is unusual for the U.S. team.
Tiger Woods, who has not yet returned to Tiger form, had a hard time with the putter and settled for a tie for 23rd with a -3 total on Sunday. John Daly was on the leader board on Thursday with a first round sixty six, Stewart Cink, last years winner in the Open over Tom Watson, and Phil Mickelson, a fan favorite, all shot plus one and tied for 48th place. This score is not that impressive for these U.S. players. I had high hopes for Phil Mickelson coming into this championship but he his play has been less than stellar since his Masters victory in April of this year.
The British Open was the second major golf tournament in a row where the European and other top world players have kept the United States off the leaderboard. In the U.S. Open in June, the top three places went to Graeme McDowell, the Frenchman, Havret and Ernie Els from South Africa. The outcome and lackluster performance by the American players in these last two major venues does not bode well for the U.S. in the coming Ryder Cup championship in September of 2010. Corey Pavin, the captain for the U.S. has his work cut out for him if the Amercian team is to be competitive enough to win this years Ryder Cup. I wish the U.S. Team luck as they may surely need some this year. The United States players had better get their golf clubs and spend some time at the golf range to prepare for the challenge they face ahead.
Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen on his performance in this years British Open. Happy Golfing to All!
In my opinion Tiger Woods has a very long hard road back. He may never reach the success in golf that he could have achieved had it not been for the revelation of his mere mortal existence. Prior to the incident last November and the exposure of his sex addictions, his many dalliances while married and his self imposed isolation from the PGA Tour, he had been placed on a pedestal by his peers, his fans and the golfing public. His immeasurable feats while on the golf course and his ability to intimidate his opponents in competition made him appear almost superhuman to most.
Since his arrival on the golf scene in 1997, and his dramatic win at The Masters, where he decimated the field by 12 shots, he has exuded superior golfing skills most other players on tour. Over the last few years Tiger Woods has seemed out of sorts at times and faltered during competition where that would have never occurred prior to that time. It became painfully obvious during the PGA Championship last season when he lost to Y.E. Yang on the back nine on Sunday after being in the lead after 54 holes. It has become clear what caused the lack of concentration and his unprecedented collapse at the PGA. His distraction and pre-occupation with his personal life exposed his shortcomings and frailty to his peers and he has now let the door open for another great player to potentially fill that void. Great people and players rise to the occasion when the opportunity presents itself and he provided that possibility to happen.
Despite his shortcomings it will be no easy task to dethrone Tiger Woods as the # 1 golfer. He is still an extremely skilled golfer no matter what turmoil has befallen him in his personal life. Besides his divorce proceedings which are underway and his neck injury which caused him to withdraw from The Players Championship, he has just split with his long time golf coach, Hank Haney. The split was reported to have been initiated by Haney and understandably so. Tiger will have an uphill battle to regain his place in golf immortality but an even tougher one to reacquire the respect of his peers, his at one time many fans and his sponsors. His ability to hit golf balls is perhaps matched by no other, but it takes more than skill to make a man the gentleman he is supposed to be in order to participate and compete in this centuries old game! Happy Golfing to All!
I had the opportunity to play Trump National Golf Course located in Colts Neck, NJ this past Friday. I must admit that Donald Trump knows how to do things one way, top notch. The course was taken over by the Trump Organization a short time ago and was revitalized to the tune of approximately $10,000,000 in upgrades.
The one upgrade that impressed me the most was the addition of a 19th hole situated at the rear of the club house just off the dining veranda. The hole is scheduled to be completed by the end of June. Anyone having lunch or enjoying a beer or other libation after the golf round can watch the golfers hit their golf balls onto the green or in the water as it is an Island Green for all intents and purposes. This is a fun innovation where all the bets made during the golf round will be doubled or lost, depending on who can handle the pressure better. Donald Trump has added another fine golf course to his portfolio and I look forward to playing there again soon. Happy Golfing to All!
When hitting golf balls at the range make sure to perform your set up routine for each shot as if you were actually on the golf course. This is an invaluable tip for bettering your game. Many golfers, especially beginners go to the range and just hit balls without aiming at a target or having a goal in mind.
For your next session at the driving range make use of the time there to work on even a single aspect of your game. Whether it be your chipping, long irons, woods, driver or other part of your game that is giving you the most problem, concentrate on improving for your next time out on the course. If you visit the range about once a week you will be surprised how fast you will lower your scores on the golf course. Happy Golfing to All!
Phil Mickelson won this years Masters in dramatic style. During his golf round on Sunday he shot a bogie free 67, not an easy task for any professional golfer. Last year I posted about my disappointment in the major golf tournaments because golf ’s greatest players were never able to seal the deal in the final round. I think we may be in for the best year in competitive golf that we’ve seen in a long while if The Masters is any indication of what we can anticipate. The last Masters I watched as exciting as this year was in 1986 when golfing legend, Jack Nicklaus rallied on the back nine holes on Sunday to become the oldest player to win a major at age 46. Another fan favorite, Fred Couples and golfing legend Tom Watson set a good precedent for any golfer who thinks there may be an age limit to determine ones golfing skills by playing as well or better than many of the younger players in the field. They accomplished this feat at age 50 and 60 respectively. Tom Watson faltered after the first round but he played well enough to make the cut which is an accomplishment in itself at any age. Fred Couples, a past Masters Champion from 1992, is now dominating the senior tour and he led the field after the first round. Fred, at 50, played better than the majority of his peers finishing alone in sixth place at -9, just two shots back of Tiger Woods and K. J. Choi. Tiger and K. J. Choi were paired together and matched each others score for all four rounds and finished at -11, tied for fourth place. When Tiger Woods was interviewed on camera he expressed disappointment in his performance in this years Masters Tournment. His only goal was to win the tournament as his competitive nature will not allow him to settle for anything less than victory.
Tiger Woods made his first appearance on the PGA Tour in 1997 and I immediately became a fan. The events that transpired last Thanksgiving were the beginning of a traumatic period in the life of the worlds most renowned golfer, Tiger Woods. Although he put on a smile for his fans and the camera and was received well by his peers, the media and his golfing fans, he seemed distant during this tournament and justifiably so having his dalliances and indiscretions during his marriage being so blatantly exposed for public scrutiny. Tiger Woods is an incredible golfer, and I know of no other who could have performed so well after a four month plus hiatus from golf and with his personal life turned upside down since last November. As remarkably as he played he had opportunities to score better but seemed distracted as he made some un- Tiger like mental errors down the stretch. On one of the final golf holes he took a two foot par putt for granted, missed and had to settle for bogie. If not for this error in judgement he may very well have contended for a possible second or third place finish. The miss was uncharacteristic of Tiger’s normal performance especially when the competition is heating up down the stretch.
Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, was a man on a mission as he brought home the Green Jacket for himself, wife Amy and his mom and family. His performance during the tournament and especially in the final round on Sunday showed the world the golfing skills that make him the greatest player on tour in the present day era of golf, maybe second only to Tiger Woods. Tiger exposed himself to the world as the mere mortal that he is and not the superman who some perceived him to be before the incident last year. He has left the door open for Phil to move into his # 1 slot as Phil is a spectacular player who is coming into his own and is finally believing in himself. Unfortunately, it may have taken a family crisis to make that happen. His wife Amy was courageous as she made her way to the tournament with their children to be by her husbands side despite her illness. She wanted to share in this historic moment as she played an important role by inspiring Phil to win his third green jacket. Phil Mickelson now shares this honor with some of the most renowned names in golf, Jimmy Demaret, Nick Faldo, Gary Player and Sam Snead. Arnold Palmer, another golf legend has four wins along with Tiger Woods. Jack Nicklaus leads with an incredible six victories at this prestigious golf tournament, The Masters. I thoroughly enjoyed this years Masters and I look forward to seeing Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and the other great players on tour, hitting golf balls and competing in the rest of the majors in 2010. Happy Golfing to All!
Since more than half the strokes of your total golf score are made on or around the putting green it pays to spend some time working on your putting skills. In past seasons I have been a streaky putter meaning some days I’m off and others I drop every putt I hit into the cup. Naturally the latter is the preference and lately I made some changes in my set up and technique that have made me more consistent and better when on the green.
Speed and Direction are the two key components to the putt but you have to be able to read the slope of the green to determine direction. The read and speed will come mostly from practice and experience as each green is different. The techniques I now utilize to aid with consistency are the following: 1) Use the writing on the golf balls to place your ball on line with the read you determined after viewing the slope of the green.
2) View the slope of the green from at least two directions
3) Keep your head down until your hear the golf balls drop into the cup or until well after the ball is struck with the putter. {Fore: If you pick your head up too quickly it may pull you off line on the follow thru which is critical for good consistent putts}
4) Wedge your left elbow into your left side and use your shoulders and arms in a pendulum motion as you start your putt and hold this position until you finish the stroke.
Try these different methods and see if they help your game on the green. Happy Golfing to All!
I’ve always been a proponent of golf etiquette from the time of my first golf round. Many new golfers and some experienced golfers alike do not always observe the etiquette that is associated with golf. Of the many courtesies that should be extended to your fellow players on the golf course, one I observe frequently being overlooked is allowing a single golfer to play through or asking them to join you if there are only two or three players in your group.
This infraction of golf etiquette was more apparent this past weekend when I was the single golfer and the two groups ahead of me were not observing the common courtesies associated with the game. I played the first six holes solo and finally caught a twosome and followed them for a number of holes. I caught up to them on the tee box of the eleventh hole where they were preparing to tee off and they did not bother to ask if I would like to join them or play through until about four holes later. I finally did play through and ended up behind a foursome who was more discourteous than the twosome. They ignored the fact that I was waiting indefinitely on each hole as they proceeded to hit their golf balls, one shot worse than the other. I had enough at the 17th hole and left the golf course since I was waiting at least 20 minutes on each hole for them to clear the landing area. The amount of time they took was well above the average total of about 15 minutes usually required to play an entire golf hole. If the day was beautiful and sunny like it was the previous weekend I may have played the last two holes but the cold windy conditions made it difficult to wait for each shot.
Tip for the day (Fore: Observe Golf Etiquette - allow a single to join you if you have three or less golfers in your group. It is also courteous to allow a single player or twosome to play through, especially if you notice them behind your group and waiting on every shot.)
Happy Golfing to All!