New Balbi Golf facility

The new Balbi Golf facility is now open at 1100 Industrial Road #10 in San Carlos and there are lots of new things to see.
The new 1800 sq ft AimPoint putting green is the first green of it's kind in the world. Designed by AimPoint founder, Mark Sweeney, the green features 15 hole locations, slopes between 1.5 and 3 percent and is the ideal place to learn the basics of AimPoint green reading.
Another new feature is the addition of a FlightScope radar launch monitor which gives an unprecedented level of information about the ball and club during and after the swing. Club fitting just got elevated to a whole new level.

Many of you will know Leith Anderson from The Golf Lab in Palo Alto. Leith and I have joined forces in the new location to offer the most state of the art custom club location in the Bay Area, if not in the country.

We look forward to welcoming you to the new facility. My new online reservation system an be accessed at http://balbigolf.uschedule.com where you can see my calendar openings and make your reservations. I think that you will find this to be very useful.

Close but no cigar

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

So, a top 10 finish for Tiger but the win goes to Phil. When you look at the stats for the week it all came down to the putting. Tiger beat Phil in driving, greens in regulation and distance to the pin but had twelve more putts. If Tiger had the same number of putts as Phil, he wins, simple as that.

Phil is off to a roaring start to the season but I thinking that his success will just inspire Tiger to greater heights, there's no one he want s to beat more than Phil.

Tiger said that he lipped out a number of putts which suggests that his speed control was to blame. I'm sure that he'll have the putter dialed in before the Masters in which case we might be in for a fantastic tussle for the Green Jacket.

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He's BACK

Image via Wikipedia

Tiger's back and the world seems just a bit brighter, even the stock market seems to be rallying!
Golf just hasn't been as interesting for the past 8 months without the game's greatest player but now he's back on Tour and I'm wondering when he will win.
This week's tournament in Doral is one where he's highly favored but a six shot deficit after one round might be hard to overcome. It really depends on the putter. Tiger said yesterday that he lipped out 5 times and could easily have shot 66. Phil Mickelson needed only 20 putts during his opening round to vault him to the top of the leaderboard.
I'm certainly hoping that Tiger can finish high up the leaderboard this week. We need something to cheer about and Tiger is the game's biggest draw and so I'm pulling for him to win the tournament, solve the financial crisis, re-invigorate the economy, create world peace and discover life on other planets. Oh and after he's done with those trifles he can jolly well win the Grand Slam this year.

Seve

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeMany of you will have read about Seve Ballesteros and his battle with brain cancer. This hits home for me, not only because we're the same age but also because I met Seve at the site of his British Open victory at Royal Lytham, only minutes after his victory. He came into the pro shop to escape the crowds whilst waiting for a TV interview, he was so excited to have won the Open Championship and in such spectacular fashion. His birdie from the parking lot on 16 was one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed.
Our paths crossed again a few years later on a flight from London to Barcelona and he was thrilled to relive the memories of his first major win.
Seve was a short game genius and one of the most imaginative players that ever played, sometimes his genius was born of necessity because he wasn't the straightest driver of the ball.
Seve is also a great example to those of us that weren't born with his prodigious talent - That we need to simplify our swings in order to ensure longevity. We didn't see much of Seve as a golfer after the age of 40, even he could not prevent the degeneration of his handy swing as the years progressed, despite having access to all of the world's top teaching talent.
In partnership with Jose Maria Olazabal, Seve established the greatest Ryder Cup partnership ever 11-2-2, a record that might stand forever.

So get better soon Seve, we may not see you on the leaderboard again but golf is a better game and the Ryder Cup is a better competition because of you.

Birthday Golf

Image by danperry.com via FlickrIt was my birthday yesterday and two of my friends got together and conspired to arrange a surprise Golfathon - 3 days of golf and friendship - to help me celebrate.
I'm not normally big on surprises but this one was awesome. One of the guys flew in from Florida so it was both completely unexpected and totally awesome that he did that.
You might be wondering by this point why I'm blogging about this. Two reasons -
1. Playing three days in a row is a great way to judge the state of your game. If you're a once a week golfer like me and seldom have time to practice, you can get a better feeling for how your basic skills are. If you're in good shape you will get better each day. If your swing is not sound, you'll get worse and will probably develop some new aches and pains.
2. Going into a Trip like this requires either practice or realistic expectations. Don't beat yourself up if you have some bad shots. You're there because your friends enjoy your company, not because they expect you to play to some unrealistically high standard. So be gracious and happy - no one enjoys a grouch. Take time to smell the roses and make sure that you're friends know how much you appreciate the time that you're spending together.

Greg and Michelle

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeGreg Norman is poised on the brink of an historic victory at the British Open and at the opposite end of the golf spectrum Michelle Wie was disqualified for not signing her scorecard. What do these things have in common? Neither one of them is supposed to happen.

Greg's appearance at the Open Championship was intended to be a warm up for next week's Senior British Open. A casual stroll around the links attended by his new wife Chris Evert. I'm sure that Greg would not have been too disappointed to miss the cut. Instead he finds himself on top of the leaderboard with a 2 shot lead over KJ Choi and the defending champion, Padraig Harrington.

Whatever happens tomorrow and I sincerely hope that Greg wins, this has been an amazing tournament. Greg is the oldest man to have the 54 hole lead and the way that he is playing, one would have to be foolish to bet against him.

At the other extreme is Michelle Wie. I have often been critical of her performance and behavior but I was genuinely happy to see her in contention after two rounds and a third round 66 put her one shot behind teenage phenom Yani Tseng until the news broke that she had been disqualified for failing to sign her second round scorecard. Michelle said that she'll use this as a learning experience which might be believable had she not used the same excuse when she forgot to sign her card in her LPGA debut. Apparently she didn't learn from it.

To see such a talent going to waste is anathema. Michelle is obviously book smart - they don't let dummies into Stanford - but she's not exhibiting much good common sense. Women's golf needs good role models but right now Michelle Wie is about as good a role model as John Daly.

Cut Kenny Some Slack

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeWhat's the deal with all of the criticism of Kenny Perry? He decided to skip the British Open because he is the defending champion at next week's Tour event.
Apparently loyalty is not prized very much by some people and in any case, who's business is it where Kenny plays?
Kenny Perry is one of golf's gentlemen and it's a recognized tradition that the defending champion does not skip out on a title defense unless there are extenuating circumstances.
What next? Will we hear criticism of Tiger for not defending at the PGA Championship? He won the US Open on one leg, can't he defend the PGA on crutches, or better yet from a wheelchair? What kind of wimp is he anyway?
So give Kenny Perry a break, he's showing some integrity and doing the right thing and you know you'll be rooting for him in the Ryder Cup later this year.

US Women's Open

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeThe US Women's Open starts tomorrow and Annika Sorenstam is the emotional favorite as she bids to become only the third woman to win four titles.
As this will be her final year on Tour, she would love to go out with a Major title.
Lorena Ochoa is is the process of recording the best year ever for a woman professional. She may go over the $4 Million mark if she continues her early form.
Michelle Wie is an outsider's pick. Her lack or tournament experience this year probably will prevent her from winning but she's in good form and will probably post a top ten finish.
A crowd favorite will be Paula Creamer, probably the best US golfer at the moment and it is only a matter of time till she wins her first major.
Hoping ti make the cut this week for the first time is my student, Joanne Lee. This wiil be her third consecutive Open and she's looking for a strong performance against the strongest field in Women's golf. Go Joanne!!!

Finally, It's not about Tiger !!

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeI know, I've been writing regularly about Tiger for the past 10 days - but really, he deserved it.
Time for a new topic though.
Nice to see Stuart Cink win one this weekend. It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since his last victory, plus he's one of the good guys.
Nike is having a great year, the first two majors plus numerous other wins. They are getting serious about being the number one company in golf. Titleist, Taylor Made and Callaway will need to sharpen their design and marketing pencils if they want to stay ahead of the Nike surge.
I've been playing the Nike One ball for about a year and prefer it over the Pro V.
I use the Nike driver, fairway wood and hybrids and would play the irons if not for my allegiance to Henry-Griffitts.
Nike are also rumored to be interested in acquiring a putter company, their putter offerings are currently the weak link in the line up but watch out if they buy Yes or another similar high end putter line.

No relief for Retief

Image by Stewart Ho via FlickrRetief Goosen was struck by lightening as a kid and blown out of his clothes. This is the reason given to explain his lack of personality and may also explain why he made a complete ass of himself this week with his comments about Tiger.
Asked about Tiger's US Open victory, Goosen suggested that Tiger was making more of his injury than was actually true - "Nobody really knows if he was just showing off or if he was really injured. I believe if he was really injured he would not have played" said Goosen.

When the true extent of Tiger's injury was revealed on Wednesday, Goosen back-peddled somewhat - “I was being light-hearted,” he told The London Times. “No one but Tiger knows how badly hurt he was. But if he was really badly hurt, he would have withdrawn, wouldn’t he?”

No Retief, you would have withdrawn and that highlights the difference between you and Tiger. You can't imagine playing hurt because like many other Tour players you've become over-payed and soft. Tiger can't imagine giving up and I for one can't wait to see him return and continue to kick your sorry butt for many more years.

Maybe next time you'll wait for the facts before you open your mouth and spout a bunch of garbage about someone else's injury, who do you think you are - Johnny Miller?

Economic Effects of Tiger's Injury

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeDid you stop to consider the wide ranging effects on the economy that will result from Tiger's forced absence from the game?
Attendance at tournaments will be lower, affecting gate receipts, food and beverage sales and merchandise sales and requiring less staff for the events. Sales tax receipts will also be down.
TV advertising revenues will be down for the events that Tiger would have played. Golf fans who only tune in to watch Tiger will find something else to do and may be lost from the golf audience forever.
Less people will be inspired to try golf, resulting in less equipment sales, less lessons taken and less rounds played.
This may be an early knee-jerk reaction but several of my clients have said that they won't watch golf again till Tiger returns and I must admit that my enthusiasm for the remaining two majors has waned significantly.
Has one athlete ever had such an economic impact on the US economy? I doubt it.
So get well soon Tiger, we need you, your country needs you and the economy needs you.

Tiger's bitter/sweet victory

Image by sammiemo via FlickrSo now we know the price that has to be paid for the greatest US Open in history.
Six months without Tiger!!
A broken leg and a torn ACL couldn't stop Tiger's assault on a 14th major championship. We are told that he knew about the stress fractures and decided to play anyway. We can only imagine the pain he played through and the mental discipline that was required to keep playing.
Some will say that he was crazy to play and some will say that it was the greatest performance in modern sports history.
I'm not sure where I stand on the issue. Obviously the injury had already been sustained, he knew that another surgery was necessary and he would probably be out for six months whether he played or not. If that's the case then it was an incredibly courageous performance.
If playing made the injury worse then the decision will be second guessed for ever.
In reality the general public will never know. Tiger will keep the full details to himself and his victory will become part of the Tiger legend.
Tiger, we will miss you for the rest of 2008 and we can't wait for your return - perhaps at Torrey Pines for the 2009 Buick!!

What about the Ladies

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeI know, I know, it's been Tiger this and Tiger that for a week now and some of you are reminding me that there are other Tours besides the TGA of Woodsmerica.
The LPGA swing back into action this week ahead of next week's US Women's Open where I have more than a passing interest in the results since my student, Joanne Lee, will be playing in her third Open in 3 years.
Michelle Wie has qualified and could be a factor as she has been playing much better of late. However she would not be considered as a good bet to win since she has not played very much tournament golf in the past 8 months because of being a freshman at Stanford University.
Annika and Lorena will be the favorites and I'm sure that Annika would love to top off her final LPGA season with another US Open title.
As you watch the play from Interlachen you will see many things that would do well to emulate.
Few of us will ever have the strength or talent of a Tiger Woods but we can swing like an LPGA player in many ways.
I had the pleasure of attending the last two Opens with Joanne and the most noticeable thing about the way that most LPGA players swing is that they concentrate on turning fast rather than hitting hard. Their swings are very balanced and co-ordinated which is a huge advantage if you are not tall or muscular. Also, a co-ordinated swing is easier to repeat whan you only play once a week.
So watch and learn, it's fun to see the men smash it 320 yards but realistically you're never going to be able to do that. However, perhaps you can emulate the women and hit it 260 straight down the middle.

Tiger Wins, now what?

Image by thegordons via FlickrSo now it's official, Tiger is the 2008 US Open Champion and this was the most exciting US Open I've ever seen. All credit to Rocco Mediate, what a great competitor - he never gave up, but Tiger isn't the number one player in the world for nothing. He showed us that even playing hurt he is a force to be reckoned with.

The question now is "Will he play in the British Open?". Frankly I doubt it, we may not see him before the PGA Championship in August where he is the defending champion. This time he will make sure that his rehab is complete and that he's completely cleared by his doctors.

As for Rocco, doubtless he's disappointed but he seems to have a realistic handle on the enormity of what he achieved. He rose into the top 50 in the World Rankings and that will give him access to opportunities that he never had before this weekend. He may also have just played himself onto the Ryder Cup team where he will be a great asset for the USA. If Paul Azinger doesn't team Rocco and Tiger on the first day he's crazy.

Tiger - The Legend Grows

Image by Jim Epler via FlickrIn almost 40 years as a golfer, having attended many Majors and having watched hundreds of televised golf tournaments, I've never seen a more thrilling 6 holes of golf than Tiger played at Torrey Pines today.
In obvious pain from his recently repaired left knee, Tiger overcame a deficit of 5 strokes with 6 to play.
In 13 previous US Open starts he had only two eagles, today he had two eagles in 6 holes. One can only imagine how far ahead he would be if he was 100% healthy. This was a performance to rival Ken Venturi's Congressional win and Hogan's post car crash wins.
Unfortunately, win or lose tomorrow, we've probably seen the last of Tiger for several weeks. I will be very surprised if he even returns for the British Open. If this week was a regular Tour event he would probably not have played, but it's a Major and Tiger lives for Majors. I just hope that he doesn't miss the rest of the season, having re-injured his knee.
Only time will tell but for now I'm more excited about tomorrow's final round than I've been in years.

Amateur's in the Women's Open

Image via WikipediaOne of the notable things about this year's USGA Women's Open will be the number of amateurs that qualified - one of my student's qualified for the third consecutive time as an amateur.
At the San Diego qualifying site, 9 of the top ten qualifiers were amateurs, the exception being Liselotte Neumann, a former Open winner.
Last year at Pine Needles, 4 amateurs made the cut. I'll be surprised if any amateurs play on the weekend at Torrey Pines.
The presence of great amateurs is a good sign for the long term health of the game and it's a great incentive to juniors coming up on the ranks to see that they have a change to play in the national championship as they are grooving their games for the pro ranks.

US Open Week

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeSo it's US Open week and Tiger is back after 8 weeks away from competition. He played horribly and in true Tiger fashion managed to scrape in with a 72 which included some of the greatest par saves in Open history. He's obviously rusty but he'll be right there on the weekend. I expect him to win the event despite his lack of play.

19 Year old Wins a Major

Image via WikipediaYani Tseng moved one step closer to LPGA Rookie of the Year honors when she won the McDonald's LPGA Championship today. The Taiwanese youngster survived a 4 hole playoff against veteran Maria Hjorth to capture her first LPGA win with a clinching 6 foot putt on the fourth playoff hole.
Yani became the second youngest winner of a women's major and looked extremely cool in the process.
So why is it that the winners on the LPGA Tour are getting younger. Seems like the same phenomenon as occurred in women's tennis in the 80's.
Is it because girls mature earlier or because the talent pool is smaller? Whatever the reason it's a great win for Yani and a big boost for golf in Taiwan.

How consistent is consistent?

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeOne of the most frequent comments from a new client is that they want to be more consistent, but what exactly does that mean? If you want to shoot 80 every day you probably need to find another game because that isn't a realistic goal.
You can check the PGA Tour statistics every Monday and you will find that at least one player that made the cut had a 10 or more strokes variance between their low and high scores.
This week after three rounds, Boo Weekley has already recorded a 65 and a 75.
If the best players in the world, playing on immaculately maintained courses and with the best equipment are susceptible to these fluctuations, maybe you shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
It's also not unusual for a Tour player to have a 17 to 20 stroke difference over the course of a season. So enjoy each day, take the rough with the smooth and don't make a catastrophe out of the high scores.

UPDATE - Tim Clark shot 64, 76 for a 12 shot difference.

The proof is in the Putting

Image via WikipediaMy last two blogs were about custom putters and the SAMS Putt Lab. This one is about my own results. One of the key elements that I discovered about my own putting was that I did not have enough "rise angle" so that my putts were actually starting with back spin rather than topspin.
I already have a custom putter so I worked on my stroke for three days - about 20 minutes per day. Today I played golf and had 25 putts for 18 holes !!!!!
Obviously one round is not a statistically significant sample but in 38 years of golf I've only had 3 or 4 better putting days and they occurred when I was playing and practicing daily.
Don't wait another minute, call for your putter and stroke evaluation now!