Full Swing Groove

2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

Golf has not been in the Olympics since the early 1900s. But the rapid expansion of the game around the world and its growing popularity prompted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reintroduce golf for the 2016 and 2020 summer Olympics. Competitors will be pro golfers from the PGA and LPGA. Qualification will be determined by the International Golf Federation (IGF) and based on current world rankings as of July 11, 2016.  Is Golf in the Olympics?  Yes it is and will include great golfers at the top of the world rankings.
...continue reading "Is Golf in the Olympics?"

LPGA Popularity

By all accounts the LPGA is growing in popularity. The tournament schedule is growing after several years of decline. Their game is international, much more so than the PGA where almost 90% of the tournaments are played in the United States. By comparison over half of the LPGA tournaments in 2015 were played beyond the boarders of the United States.

Some will say that the growing international component may be causing a popularity decline in the United States. I do not agree with this assertion and feel the recent decline was caused more by LPGA management, or mismanagement as it were. LPGA popularity is growing and it is it's international reach that has been a great contributor. ...continue reading "LPGA Money List 2015"

LPGA 2015 Top Money Winner

One of these two gifted golfers will be the number one LPGA professional golfer for 2015. There are several ranking systems maintained that track professional women's golf.  The Rolex Rankings and the Professional World Golf Ranking (Women) are point systems, but the easiest one to track and follow is the LPGA Official Money List. It tracks tournament winnings only. They all end up with the same result, expressing the cumulative quality of play for all LPGA golfers as each tournament is completed.
...continue reading "Lydia Ko and Inbee Park – 2015"

They Can Play Golf

If you follow the LPGA tour, or even if you just accidentally click on an LPGA tournament, one thing becomes very clear. There is a noticeable presence of women pro golfers from South Korea. They are often leading or are at least in the top 5 of the tournament. There are nearly as many women pro golfers from South Korea in the LPGA Top 100 money list as there are from the United States, and together they make up more than half of the Top 100. So yes, Korean LPGA Golfers can play golf. ...continue reading "Korean LPGA Golfers"

The LPGA

When talking about women pro golfers we are primarily talking about the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). Organized in 1950 by a founding group of 13 female golfers from the United States, the LPGA succeeded the Women’s Professional Golf Association (WPGA) which had formed after WW II.   These were bold ladies who just happened to be damn good golfers.

 

These women pro golfers were barrier breakers in this up till now male centric game. Most notable among the group were Patty Berg, Helen Hicks, Marilynn Smith, Louise Suggs, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Babe Didrikson was the best athlete of the group and Maryland Smith lived up to her nickname, “Miss Personality”. These women all had one thing in common … they were tremendously gifted golfers and golf teachers. ...continue reading "Woman Pro Golfers"

Are Spikeless Golf Shoes Here To Stay?

Golf course greens keepers were instrumental in making metal spiked golf shoes obsolete. Too much damage to golf course greens was the complaint, and led to an increasing number of private and public golf courses disallowing play with metal spiked golf shoes.

 

Golf shoe manufacturers responded in the early 90s with removable spikes made of much softer materials called soft spikes. Circular, removable disks with various surrounding configurations of blunt nubs seemed to work best providing good traction and stability while dramatically reducing damage to greens. Additionally the putting surfaces of greens were less disturbed during play. ...continue reading "Spikeless Golf Shoes – An Emerging Trend"

Golf Shoe Evolution

What is a retro golf shoe? Well actually there might be more than one meaning in the golf shoe industry for the shoe I am discussing here.  The term hybrid golf shoe is also used.  Here I am referring to a golf shoe that might look like a casual street shoe. Some models even have a sporty running shoe look. ...continue reading "Retro Golf Shoes"

The Hole in One

In my opinion one of the best golf shots of all time is the Hole in One. It occurs when the Tee shot ends up in the hole and occurs most often on a Par 3 golf hole, two strokes under par. Par 3 holes are the shortest golf holes on the golf course, and are designed to be very reachable off the Tee. They reward the golfer's accuracy more than how far he or she can hit the golf ball and are typically approached using a mid to long iron or hybrid golf club depending on distance and hazards. ...continue reading "Best Golf Shots All Time"

Striving To Get Better

Many, if not all, weekend golfers think a lot about improving their game. Here I'm talking primarily about golfers striving to consistently shoot in the low 90s and occasionally in the high 80s. Theories on learning how to play better golf abound around the club house and 19th hole, and of course I plan to offer one here. ...continue reading "Learning How To Play Better Golf"

You will hear golfers say they “bogeyed” the hole. This means they shot one over par on a particular golf hole. For a completed round one over par golf has an entirely different meaning. It does not mean a bogey round of golf. On the contrary, a one over par for18 holes is an outstanding round of golf and golfers who do this on a regular basis are referred to as “scratch” golfers. This is a golfer who plays to a “zero” handicap on any and all USGA rated golf courses  

 

This is not going to be a discussion about scratch golfers. Very few weekend golfers become scratch golfers, but bogey golf is very achievable for weekend golfers who have developed a reasonable degree of consistency with their golf swing. One over par for 18 holes is bogey golf and achievable by consciously working on achieving a more consistent golf swing. This is a source of great satisfaction for the typical weekend golfer.
...continue reading "The Term One Over Par"