WGT News

Byron Nelson: Our Last 19th Hole Conversation (Part 2 of 3)

WGTalex — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:52:00 GMT

By Peter Kessler

Byron Nelson was born in Texas in 1912, the same year as his rivals Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. He died in September of 2006. The first player to make a successful transition from hickory to steel shafts in the early 1930s, Nelson never made a swing change after his 24th birthday. He never needed to. He was the first of his great triumvirate to win majors and set records. He traveled by car when there was no modern tour, when fresh tires were a player's best friend. And after winning every important American event, he left the tour at age 34 and bought the Texas ranch he'd dreamed of. He has lived there with his first wife, Louise, who died in 1985, and then with his second wife, Peggy. Nelson played with Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen. He did better against Hogan and Snead than they did against him. The best player in the world from 1937 until he retired in 1946, he left behind one unbreakable record—his 11 straight victories in 1945—and several that were as remarkable, including 113 consecutive top-20 finishes and 18 wins in a stretch of 30 events in a single season. He was the perfect interview. Over many years, things had gotten to the point where I didn't really ask him questions anymore—I offered a phrase or a few scant words, and Byron Nelson told his wonderful stories, as fluid as honey. I was recently asked if I would like to have had a mind like his at age 93. My answer: Why do I have to wait 40 years?

We spoke for the last time at the TPC at Las Colinas, not far from his ranch, Fairway Ranch in Roanoke, Texas, where Nelson lived for 59 happy years.

PART TWO

The three great golf course designers of the classic age were Alister Mackenzie, Donald Ross and A.W. Tillinghast. Tillinghast designed Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge, Baltusrol and his favorite, Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, where you were the assistant pro in the mid-1930s.

Tillinghast wore a loose tweed coat. When he played, I mean—I never saw him hit a shot without that tweed coat on. He had a waxed moustache. A very well-ordered man who could look at a piece of property and see exactly what he wanted to do with it. Talk to him about a golf course, and there was no argument. He would say, "We're going to put a bunker here," and that's what happened.

Ridgewood was the perfect place to prepare for the big leagues.

They had three great nines—East, West and Center. I made $400 a summer as the assistant pro. I learned to run a pro shop and how to run tournaments. In 1935, the Ryder Cup came to Ridgewood. Here are these great players, and they got fine slacks and shoes and they had parties to go to and I said, "Boy, I'm going to get on that Ryder Cup team one of these days."

I made it in '37. It was a fortunate start for my career—I was stepping up.

Leading the General Brock Open by five shots in 1935, you had to wait for Walter Hagen before you could begin your final round.

Oh, fun. I only waited an hour and a half on the first tee. The officials said I could go ahead and play and I said, "No, I'll wait for Hagen." I hadn't led a lot of tournaments. The officials said, "We'll send you out with a marker if you want to go." I said no. So finally he comes. He drove up in a nice, big car. Hagen was dressed in beautiful clothes. He never said anything about it, never apologized for being late. He was cordial, but he played strictly to the gallery. He was there for them, not for me. I was so nervous playing with him, even leading by 5, that I shot a nice fat 42 on the first nine. At least I settled down enough to shoot 35 on the back nine and finish second to Tony Manero. I won $600.

That was a lot of money at the time.

I got all fives and ones. A big stack of money. My wife Louise and I hid that money all over our car. We were afraid we'd get robbed. I had never seen that much money.

How did you prepare for tournaments in those days?

I never changed any part of my swing after 1936. If I practiced a lot, it bothered my concentration because I'd start experimenting. So I would just play the golf course. If I didn't know the course, I'd play it once to become acquainted with it. In those days we didn't do all the exercises the boys do now. Nobody exercised or stretched at all. I never heard of anybody exercising other than just playing golf.

What do you think was the weakest part of your game?

I didn't putt badly except in one area—12 to 15 feet. That's called the scoring area. You need to make a lot of those, and I didn't. I didn't three-putt often and was a good lag putter, a good short putter, but I didn't make as many of those 12- to 15-footers as I should have.

Who's the best from that distance?

Tiger's the best I ever saw. It's better than even money that he'll make a putt from 12 to 15 feet.

Do you ever regret leaving the game in 1946, at the height of your powers?

I have never regretted it once. You have to look at things back then—I was making no money. I wanted to win every important American tournament once, so when I won the L.A. Open to start 1946, I had completed my playing goals. And I lost the desire to put forth the effort to stay there. Retiring was the best thing I ever did. If I hadn't retired from playing, I never would have done television for 17 years, or the other things I've been blessed to do.

You get upset when people say you had a nervous stomach.

That bothers me more than any other thing. The fact is, I had an upset stomach twice in all my years on tour. I've seen articles that say I had the yips, too. I never yipped a putt in my life. I was not a great putter but I was not a bad putter. I played very consistently my whole career.

I was raised in Texas and I wanted a ranch.That's what I wanted and that's what I got. But that is the one thing said about my career that bothers me—that I had a nervous stomach. My stomach had nothing in the world to do with me quitting.

Does it bother you when people say Snead and Hogan weren't there in 1945 when you won 18 times?

No, because they were there. In 1945 they played 46 tournaments between them. I had good luck against Hogan and Snead—I beat Snead for the U.S. Open in '39 and Hogan in a playoff for the '42 Masters.

In what order do you rank Jones's Grand Slam year of 1930, your 11-in-a-row and 18-win season of 1945, Hogan's three majors in 1953, and Tiger's three majors in 2000?

I rank them in the order you just stated them.

Tell me more about the money you couldn't make in your heyday.

I won the 1936 Metropolitan Open, my first important tournament, with $5 in my pocket. From '36 to '42 I won 19 times including four majors, and my entire winnings were $25,495. That's about $4,000 a year. So I made my expenses. My career winnings were $182,000. In 1939, Cliff Roberts, who ran The Masters, told me, "Byron, you're going to have to care for your money because you'll never make enough playing golf."

Does it bother you not to have won the British Open?

No. In 1955, long after I retired, my friend Eddie Lowery—he was Francis Ouimet's 10-year-old caddie in the 1913 U.S. Open—had gotten married and wanted to have his honeymoon at St. Andrews during the British Open. He offered to pay our expenses if my wife and I would join them. I had never seen St. Andrews, so we went and I qualified for the Open easily. Eddie didn't qualify. In the tournament, I played as well as I could tee to green, but I averaged 37 putts a round and finished 12th. It had rained early in the week, then it got real hot and the greens got real slow. I could not make the adjustment.

Unbeknownst to me, Eddie then entered us in the French Open. When we told our wives, they just about divorced us.

When I registered at the French Federation of Golf, it was at 1 Byron Street. I said, "Oh!" And I played just like I'd played in Scotland, but I made adjustments and won. It was the last tournament I ever played. The irons I used are still there on the clubhouse wall.

Q&A: Natalie Gulbis at Pinehurst

WGTalex — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:22:00 GMT

By The Armchair Golfer

Natalie Gulbis at a recent skills challenge. Zach Johnson looks on.
(Photos courtesy of RSM McGladrey)

[WGT Note: Our Pinehurst vacation trip winners were there the same week, and some got to meet Ms. Gulbis as well!]

Natalie Gulbis is one of the most recognizable female golfers on the planet. Only 26, Natalie is completing her eighth season on the LPGA Tour. Yes, eight seasons. It’s kind of hard to believe.

Natalie has won one LPGA title and played on three victorious U.S. Solheim Cup teams. She has five top 10 finishes in majors. And, of course, she is a golfer-model, with looks and sex appeal that attract legions of admirers and land her in magazine spreads and on TV programs such as “The Celebrity Apprentice” and her own reality show on the Golf Channel.

What is Natalie like up close? What is it like to talk to her?

I can tell you—at least a little bit—because I stood with her under a canopy on the 10th tee of Pinehurst No. 8 last week.

I was a sponsor’s guest at the finals of the McGladrey Team Championship, a national best-ball amateur tournament. In addition to attending the festivities and VIP activities such as a skills challenge, I had the opportunity to talk to Natalie, Zach Johnson and Chris DiMarco, the three RSM McGladrey tour pros.

I didn’t know exactly when or where I’d have my chat with the three tour players. Although I had prepared some questions and carried a tiny digital voice recorder in my pocket, I knew I better be ready for anything. This would not be sit-downs or in-depth interviews. I was there to take in the experience, including my encounters with Natalie, Zach and Chris.

Natalie was first. I introduced myself and shook her hand. We talked, sometimes whispering, as amateur teams teed off in the three-day competition. She stepped away a couple of times for photographs with the teams, as did Zach, who stood nearby.

Natalie is personable and direct. She is totally at ease and an eager advocate for the women’s game, charities and her sponsors. Although she has fielded thousands of questions, this may be the first time she was asked this opener.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: I have to ask you a couple of questions for my daughters. My 9-year-old wants to know your favorite color.

NATALIE GULBIS: My favorite color is purple.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: My 14-year-old daughter wants to know if you have any pets.

NATALIE GULBIS: I don’t have any pets. I had pets growing up, but now since I turned professional it’s too hard to be on the road and have pets. Stuffed animals is about the extent. My family does, though. My family in Sacramento has a dog and a cat.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: What’s it been like for you to be associated with this event and the Special Olympics?

NATALIE GULBIS: It’s been great. It’s been an honor to be associated with RSM McGladrey, to be part of a team. We always consider ourselves to be a team. I’ve learned so much from them. And then with their partnership with the Special Olympics, to be able to be involved in Special Olympics in golf and help them raise money and raise awareness has been a pure joy.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: It looked like you were really having a good time at the auction last night.

NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, last night was fun.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Raised a lot of money.

NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, 34 grand.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: And your group went for $10,000? (Note: A two-day outing with Natalie for four people was a feature of the Special Olympics golf live auction the night before.)

NATALIE GULBIS: $10,000.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: So, I was looking at your schedule and you’re on your way to Korea after this?

NATALIE GULBIS: Actually, I pulled out of Korea. I would have normally went to Korea tonight and played Japan next week.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: I was thinking, “Wow, what a schedule.”

NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, that was a little bit too much. You get over there and you lose a day.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: How’s your back? (Note: Natalie has had back problems for at least two years.)

NATALIE GULBIS: Good. Very good, thank you.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Are you doing some new strength work?

NATALIE GULBIS: Different. I changed my work. I used to do much more overall strength and now I just do core strength.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Your back has been good all year?

NATALIE GULBIS: At times, yes.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Backs are tough in golf, aren’t they?

NATALIE GULBIS: They are.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: How’s your game and what are you working on?

NATALIE GULBIS: Right now I am working and spending a lot of time on my short game. I’ve been striking the ball well, I’ve been putting well, but missed a lot of opportunities for up and downs when I’ve missed greens so I’ve been working on my short game a lot.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Tough year in golf for all tours. What’s it been like to see events like the Corning Classic go away?

NATALIE GULBIS: Middle of the year it was really scary. We had 10 events up for renewal and we didn’t know how many of those we were going to re-sign. But we’ve had some pretty good momentum here in the last couple of months and we got the preview of our schedule for 2010 and it looks like we’re only going to lose two tournaments. That was big.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Have you gotten used to playing without Annika out there or does it still feel sort of strange?

NATALIE GULBIS: It definitely does when she’s the past champion of a tournament and she’s not there to defend. You just miss seeing her on leaderboards, seeing her on the putting green. She was one of my best friends on tour. We used to rent a house every year at the British Open. You see her name on past champions at most of our tournaments. To think that she’s not in the field any more is sad.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: Have you seen the baby (Annika’s first child born in September)?

NATALIE GULBIS: No, just pictures. I hope to meet her in January. I’ll probably go down to Florida to see her.

ARMCHAIR GOLF: What is your best advice for the amateur golfer?

NATALIE GULBIS: Spend as much time on the short game as they can. That’s usually the ultimate goal, to shoot lower scores. You can’t do that without working on your short game.

La Manga: Golfing Heaven in Southern Spain

WGTalex — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:27:00 GMT

By Doug Farrick

So my brother is heading on a honeymoon in Spain. I am a wee bit jealous as Spain is, strangely, one of the few countries I have not visited in Europe – why, I'm not exactly sure.

One of my favorites artists, Picasso, of course hails from Spain and my first stop would probably be the Museu Picasso in Barcelona. I have visited the Picasso Museum in Paris – and it was just fabulous.

So besides the Picasso museum and a tour of the incredible Antoni Gaudi architecture in Barcelona – I would HAVE to get in some golf.

One destination that I have heard great things about from my European friends is the La Manga golf resort – a 1,400 acre sporting paradise nestled between the low hills which separate the Mediterranean from the Mar Menor sea in south eastern Spain in the southeast corner of Southern Spain.

The La Manga Club & Resort has always been synonymous with golf and with its three championship courses and outstanding practice facilities, it is hardly surprising that it has been voted Europe's top golf resort twice in the past five years.

The 3 courses are the North, South and West (did they forget the East one?) The South is considered the premier layout which was reworked by Arnold Palmer in the early 1990's. The other two courses are quite challenging as well, but in different ways.

The South Course has been the venue for many major professional tournaments; Spanish Opens (both ladies' and men's), PGA Championships and Qualifying Schools for both the men's and ladies' European Tours.

The North course (6,291 yards) has more palm trees, lakes, larger greens, tighter fairways and 'barrancas'. These natural storm gullies feature on all three golf courses and add an extra dimension to the game.

The West course is set amid serene pine woodlands, the West Course's design closely follows the natural contours of the undulating land. Its distinct character makes it a good alternative to the other, more classical championship courses.

The West is many golfers' favorite, both because of its unique setting and outstanding views. It weighs in a bit longer than the North at 6,529 yards.

We've made it a goal to do more traveling the next few years and with the kids getting older. One stop will surely be La Manga in Southern Spain.

"If I had to choose one golf course to play before I die, it would be the South Course at La Manga."
- Lord Deedes – Editor of the Daily Telegraph

Replay Highlights

WGTalex — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:27:00 GMT

It's time for another replay roundup. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

WGTalex — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:34:00 GMT

Happy Halloween WGTers! We hope you enjoy this weekend's festivities and all the tasty treats.

Photo: Southernpixel/Flickr

WGT Pinehurst Vacation Photos

WGTalex — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:24:00 GMT

As you may have heard, the People v The Pros event was cancelled this year, but WGT decided to send the winners of the PVP tournament series on a Pinehurst vacation anyway. Last week, the attendees enjoyed five days of golf and leisure at Pinehurst resort, played the historic No 2 course, and had a great time bonding with each other. The pictures are starting to trickle in, and here are some of them!

Photo by Gitthe: From left, Gitthe, Jarid, Brandi35, Jalaii, and Nivlac

From the attendees:

Check out Nivlac's post about the trip here.
Brandi35's photos of the trip

Michael Whan, Hockey, the LPGA, and His Connection to Jonathan Ward

WGTalex — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:15:00 GMT

By Ryan Ballengee

Multiple magazines and websites are reporting that Michael Whan will be introduced as the 8th commissioner of the LPGA Tour at a 9am press conference at Madison Square Garden. Currently, Whan serves as the CEO of Mission-ITECH Hockey.

Mission and ITECH merged together in 2004. Mission Hockey was considered a leader in roller hockey and ITECH was a specialist in protective hockey gear. The combined organization had roots in both California and Montreal, Canada. In the transaction, Whan was elevated from CEO of Mission to boss of the combined company.

Photo: The new LPGA Commissioner (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

The company continued for four years when, in late 2008, Mission-ITECH was purchased by Bauer Hockey. Facilities in New York and Quebec were closed in May 2009 as part of the acquisition. 140 jobs were to be lost in the process.

At the time of the announced acquisiton, Whan said, "Consolidation is essential for the long-term success of the overall hockey industry. [The companies'] combined commitment will only help increase the overall health of the industry and of the sport itself."

Reports from hockey insiders indicated that Bauer was interested in Mission-ITECH's protective gear products for goalies. The brand was to be removed and all Mission-ITECH products would be rebranded as Bauer.

Earlier in the same year, Bauer Hockey was purchased from its owner Nike for some $200 million by Kohlberg and Company.

Kohlberg and Company is the current employer of Jonathan Ward, a man thought to be a serious candidate for the LPGA commissioner position.

That's where the known facts end. It is not difficult to make inferences about the financial strength of Bauer after its acquisition of Mission-ITECH in a floundering economy. Perhaps Whan's job security was in question and, given that, Kohlberg and Company made the connection between Whan, his golf experience at TaylorMade-adidas & Wilson Golf, and the open position for the LPGA commissionership.

Now Open: The WGT Fan Store

WGTalex — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:32:00 GMT

Shop our new WGT Fan Store for the perfect gift for you or someone on your holiday list. Featured items include WGT calendars, hats, shirts, sweatshirts, mousepads and more! Visit our store today.

Special to Air on 10th Anniversary of Payne Stewart’s Death

WGTalex — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:07:00 GMT

By The Armchair Golfer

Photo: The Payne Stewart statue on the Walk of Fame at Pinehurst.
(scbluedevil/Flickr)

Sunday will mark the 10th anniversary of the untimely death of Payne Stewart, a multiple major winner and one of the PGA Tour’s charismatic personalities. In remembrance of Stewart’s impact both on and off the golf course, Golf Channel will air a one-hour special on Sunday at noon Eastern Time.

Hosted by Kraig Kann, Steve Sands and Charlie Rymer, the special will feature the most memorable moments in Payne’s career, including:

The donation of his winnings to charity from the 1987 Bay Hill Invitational.
His passion and patriotism for the Ryder Cup, and a look back at his five performances, including his concession to Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
His three major championship victories, including the dramatic 1999 U.S. Open victory at Pinehurst over Phil Mickelson.

Golf Channel’s Scott Walker will visit with Stewart’s family at the recently opened Payne Stewart Golf Club in his home state of Missouri. The special will also include interviews with fellow PGA Tour professionals and friends in the golf community who will share their memories of Payne.

Weekend Replay Roundup

WGTalex — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:32:00 GMT

Have a great weekend everyone! Here are some great replays for your enjoyment:

Golf Game Killer: The Sway

WGTalex — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:52:00 GMT

By John Diekmann

Admit it, you sway, I sway, we all sway. Many times when my game falters I can trace it to the dreaded sway. Unfortunately this usually doesn’t happen until I’ve looked a lot of other places first. Even your putts aren’t safe from the dreaded sway.

Golf involves a lot of movement; twisting, turning, weight shifting, coiling, releasing and who knows what else. Given all that movement it’s easy to see in hindsight why swaying can creep into your swing again and again.

Swaying has to do with moving your core—the spine. Basically the golf swing is a coiling and uncoiling around the spine. The spine is the center of your swing. If it moves your control over hitting the point of impact you’re aiming for is severely compromised.

Poor spine management leads to swaying left and right and also up and down. When your spine is still, the chances of bringing the club at impact back to where it was at setup is greatly improved.

If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty in the best golf swings, then the spine tilt does change slightly during the downswing for full shots as the hip moves out and around. This helps you stay behind the ball at impact. However, this does not mitigate in the slightest that a major problem in poor shots is spine movement. If you don’t believe me, then exaggerate a sway in hitting practice shots and see how that works for you!

There are lots of gizmos and practice tips to keep the spine from swaying. However, there is a better and simpler way. Put your consciousness in your spine while you swing. Focus on feeling the rest of your body rotate around it. Do this for every club from putter to driver. If you do this, at first you’ll be surprised how much you are swaying. It’s not easy to keep still and takes a significant amount of core strength.

One of the shots where it’s easiest to feel sway and practice eliminating it is the greenside chip. If you’ve been having problems making solid contact, you’ll find that keeping your spine still will quickly build your confidence. You’ll stop worrying about hitting it fat or thin and start thinking about holing these shots. Stopping the sway is that powerful!

WGT Tour-SD Balls

WGTalex — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:34:00 GMT

The new WGT Tour-SD balls have been available for a week, and players are raving about the extra spin. If you're looking for a ball that will stick to the greens, try them out for yourself (there are 10 colors to choose from)!

For Morgan Pressel, Success Places Home Further Away

WGTalex — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:14:00 GMT

By Ryan Ballengee

For Morgan Pressel, the very chilly conditions at Trump National Bedminster just did not register with her.

"We don't really deal with this kind of thing where I'm from," said the West Palm Beach resident. Having flown up to the New York City area to participate in American Express' USGA Champions Experience, Pressel was playing in a golf outing on one of the worst possible days to do it.

She was stationed at Trump National Bedminster New Course's 14th hole - an island green par three totally exposed to the wind and sleet that was added on top of cold temperatures. Having to get by like the rest of the golfers by using hand warmers and ear flaps, Pressel toughed it out like all of the participants. She met and greeted groups as they passed through her hole, playing it out with them. Pressel made some small chat for the ten minutes with that group, returned to the tee on a golf cart, and repeated the process.

At the end of the outing, she helped hand out awards to the winning participants. After that, she made the small trek to Far Hills, NJ, to speak about her 2005 US Women's Amateur win at the USGA headquarters. She fielded questions from fans.

The cold, rainy outing at Trump National is symbolic of the kind of life Pressel must feel she is living sometimes: anonymous golfers passing through, shaking hands, and disappearing again.

It was all a part of a day's work for Pressel, who is one busy woman indeed.

Later in the day, Pressel would be in the city at Chelsea Piers to attend the LPGA Tour's corporate outing, which included an update on the tour that makes her very livelihood. The next day would include a trip to Polo Ralph Lauren's NYC headquarters to take a look at what the fashion icon had coming down the pipe for next year.

Pressel spends nine months of the year away from home. That West Palm Beach in Florida that she referenced to me is often so distant for her. The forecaddie in our group, Neville, was from Donald Trump's course in Florida. He caddies for Morgan when she is in town to play. For Pressel, it was a connection to home - albeit a brief one.

Between traveling to tournaments, participating in functions like this one, and actually playing the LPGA Tour, Pressel has little time to spend at home with her friends and family. It's not that Pressel prefers to spend time away from the people she cares about most. Rather, it's a condition of being a professional golfer that is a wanted quantity.

Travel can take its toll on a professional whose livelihood is not just supplemented by outings like the one with AmEx, but are actually a very large portion of a pro golfer's income. Speculation was abound earlier this month when it was reported by Forbes that Tiger Woods had passed the billion dollar threshold - despite his having earned less than $100 million in PGA Tour winnings. Almost all of that other purported $900 million came off of the course. Though not on the same scale, the truth for any golfer is that there is more money to be made off of the course than on it.

With success comes more opportunities to make that kind of money. Pressel being a multiple time winner on the LPGA Tour, as well as a major champion, has those kinds of chances. The downside is that the demand requires travel so significant that Pressel lives a near permanent life on the road.

She will be traveling to Korea in a few weeks for the LPGA Tour's second Asian swing of the year. Sponsored by Kapalua in Hawaii, she would have played in that event prior to the Korean trip. But, the tournament was lost when Kapalua could not find a title sponsor to replace their name on the event. Now, it is a one week global excursion for Pressel, who will return to the US after that tournament.

Adjusting to the time change going to Asia is not nearly as trying as it is making the adjustment back into the United States. She will need extra time to adjust in order to finish out the LPGA Tour schedule with a circadian rhythm that is even close to normal - even by her standards.

Pressel and the ladies of the LPGA Tour have way more hours in the air than their PGA Tour peers because of how many international events comprise the dwindling LPGA Tour schedule. In order to make money on the course, Pressel and her fellow players have to traverse the globe. If they're successful, then they keep traveling to private functions. In other words, with success comes more demands on their time - not less.

That makes finding time to practice their craft more challenging. Pressel told a fan that she practices until she "has it," depending on what she is working on with her game. She admits that her wedge has not since been as good as her '05 US Amateur triumph. The task of building upon success on the course is almost more difficult than getting there in the first place.

Despite that, Pressel finds time to engage in charity work, particularly with her Morgan and Friends event that she runs each fall. In just three years, the event and subsequent donations through is has raised nearly $1 million for breast cancer research. Having lost her mother to breast cancer, that event is a crucial one that helps her maintain a connection to her entire family.

When out on the road for three-fourths of the year, someone who is very close to her family like Pressel has to have that kind of connection. Anyone would.

Still, Pressel has clear and true friends amidst the ladies of the LPGA Tour. The weekly grind is better, she says, when she is paired with someone she knows and likes. In other words, it helps to make life inside the ropes a little more like what you and I experience when we play with our friends - a little piece of normal.

Keep it Square - Video Blog

WGTalex — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:34:00 GMT

By Josh Zander

Everything in moderation is a pretty good philosophy in life and it is in your golf game as well. Opening your stance for short game shots is ok if it is done in moderation but opening it too much leads to disaster. Setting up too open leads to glancing blows, pulls, chunks and excessive sidespin on your short game shots. More importantly, it seeps into other parts of your game which leads to inconsistency.

I recommend putting a shaft down on the ground to monitor your alignment. It will give you the sense of what is square so when you remove the club, anything other than square will feel awkward. If square is your baseline, you are setting yourself up for success. Setting up square leads to solid contact due to an on plane swing. Your ball will come off with pure backspin and an absence of sidespin. You hear people talk about trying to get the ball within a three foot circle in order to have a good chance at getting up and down. I try to hole all my short game shots. Knowing that my ball will have a predictable bounce because of pure backspin enables me to give the ball a good chance of going in. I even read the green on my chip shots much like you would on a lag putt. If your goal is to hole your shot, chances are that if it doesn’t go in, it will be inside that three foot circle.

The key to scoring in golf is predictability. Whether you are a hooker or a slicer, you can plan your aim and find the fairway if you know beforehand how your ball will curve. Setting up square will give you predictability of distance control because of your solid contact and predictability of direction due to square spin. Now go practice and hole some short game shots.

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The Glenlivet Whisky Season Open

WGTalex — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:24:00 GMT

WGT and The Glenlivet, the Single Malt that Started it All, invite you to enter The Glenlivet Whisky Season Open! One winner by random drawing receives a trip for two to Scotland to play golf at St Andrews Links and a go on a private tour of the historic The Glenlivet Distillery.

Five winners will receive a The Glenlivet branded golf bag, and 25 winners will receive two tasting glasses and a whisky tasting DVD. Entry is free and anyone over 21 years old can play. USA residents (excluding CA) are eligible to win the sweepstakes prizes. See rules for details.

Click here to enter today!