Tackling the Downhill Lie
What do you think was the outcome of this shot based on the stance of the golfer? Do you think it will be a top ball? Do you it will be a flawless execution?
Some tips from Paula Creamer:
(1) Your shoulders need to get parallel with the lie.
(2) Narrow your stance.
(3) The ball should be further back of your stance
(4) On the follow through you need to chase it with your upper body.
My Swing is Back, Baby!
After a long spell of not playing (since March and only once in May), I couldn't feel my swing anymore at the driving range. Every hit felt just like that, a hit.
Time for a refresher round on the green, I thought- just playing and not thinking about all the mechanics of the swing which I know is my weakness, over analysis. Keep knee bent, head still, arm straight, follow through- it just muddles the actual swing in the end because you're focusing so much on one but the swing itself is faster than your ability to adjust.
So we went to play a nine-hole game and it wasn't great but it wasn't disastrous either. For the most part, the ball flight was true and straight and while the short game needs serious work, there were also some shining moments in the rough.
This evening we went back to the range and I could feel my swing! My swing is back, baby! Gotta love this game.
No. 1 for just One Week
If I was going to be declared no. 1 in the world and have it be taken away from me after just seven days, I think I would decline the initial honor. Japan's Ai Miyazato didn't even have any time to get used to be being no. 1, as her throne was immediately usurped by Christie Kerr in a phenomenal showdown where she won the LPGA Championship by 12 strokes at the Locust Hill Country Club.
Ai Miyazato needed to finish second to guarantee she would remain at No. 1 but after seven birdies she closed with a bogey 5 after hitting her tee shot into the rough. She shot a 66 to finish at 5 under in a tie for third with Jiyai Shin (71), the world’s No. 2 player (also recently No.1 as well). Song-Hee Kim (69) finished second at 7 under.
Photo from official LPGA site
“That’s almost too good,” Miyazato said referring to Kerr, figuring 8 under would be good enough to win the tournament. “She’s just amazing. I played really good, too, but she is just better than me.”
Who is Graeme McDowell?
A plucky Irish lad with 3 decades of earth living under his belt won the 110th US Open (2010) at Pebble Beach as those around him lost their heads.
McDowell said the first time he had looked at a leaderboard in the last round was on 11, “because I'd just bogeyed nine and 10 and was feeling like I needed something to spark me”, he said. “I saw I was two clear and just drove myself at that point to really dig in.
“You can't get ahead of yourself. You think about picking the trophy up, you dream about picking that trophy up, but you've got to stay right in the present out there because there are so many tough shots to come.
“There were so many names popping into my head. I thought of Padraig Harrington. I thought of Zach Johnson, YE Yang and Lucas Glover, Trevor Immelman, all these guys who won Majors for the first time. I thought, ‘they could do it, so can I'.”
And he did.
McDowell lifting the Scottish Open Trophy in 2008, picture by Daily Mail UK.
Gorgeous Day at Ria Bintan
I was burnt to a crisp despite having applied a lot of sun block so I decided to just enjoy the views on a few holes instead of playing them. There are two Gary Player designed courses at Ria Bintan and we took the Ocean Course.
You have to take a ferry from Tanah Merah to Bintan and then a land transfer is provided to the golf course.
Description: Ocean Course
No. of holes: 18
Total distance: 6470 metres, Par 72