Right now there is no cheating in golf because we don't ban anything. Gary Player

We got several very nasty letters about Gary Player’s statements that steroids have made their way to the PGA Tour. Here is the nice part of Wisconsin reader Dave Riffey’s letter:

The comments of Gary Player are evidence of an aging old man who has lost his way. Typical, is his lack of intestinal fortitude to give the names.

Paul Andre Van Reenen of St. Catharine’s Ontario took the occasion to criticize Player for not doing enough to fight apartheid. That's a discussion for another day. (The fact is, Player's recent efforts have been acknowledged by Nelson Mandela).

Graned, Player seems to love attention and his comments in Carnoustie shed little light on the question. As Golf World’s Ron Sirak pointed out, he left the story on the floor. He should have named names if he was going to come forward with these accusations.

Player defends himself in this coming week’s Golf World:

“Tiger Woods and other top players have been calling for testing, so why the big fuss when I say something. All I’m saying is that we have to have a policy. Lots of golfers have taken things like beta blockers and many have said so…Right now there’s no cheating in golf because we don’t ban anything. Once we start testing the ones who are taking things are going to stop. That’s the beautiful thing about having a policy."

Just one person’s opinion, but much of the upset over Player’s comments seem to me to be rooted in denial. The world of golf would like to think itself holier and cleaner than thou, or at least than other sports. Okay, then let's prove it. Player was simply saying if you do test, you’ll find something or put a stop to what he believes is already there.

Deane Beman used to say that the Tour had drug testing. It was called the four-footer. Player says that’s not good enough any more. A lot of drug experts agree with him.

--Bob Carney

The pelvic thrust takes some of the steepness out of the swing...The pelvic thrust allows the hips to keep turning, which keeps the clubface closing at a constant rate and the hands swinging in a circular arc. Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett

We continue to get lots of mail on Stack & Tilt. Roger Ward of Ontario, Canada says...

"I've been using the swing on and off for over 30 years because I have never been able to shift my weight onto my left side with my 'normal' swing."

Ward pulled an old Golf Magazine piece by teacher George Buck and sent it along. Buck, in his article, wrote that better golf could be achieved by...

...keeping your weight on your left side, which is where it is when the ball is hit, and by not pronating your wrists and thus opening and closing the clubface.....and keeping the clubface square througout the swing

Senior Editor, Instruction Peter Morrice, who wrote the New Tour Swing piece in June based on the teaching Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, says Buck had the Stack but not necessarily the Tilt. Morrice says Plummer and Bennett point out that the swing is not based entirely on the element of keeping the weight left. They point to the move at impact as described in the Golf Digest story:

Lower Body Swings Up The upward thrust of the lower body that releases the hips...also helps deliver the club to the ball. Because the body is leaning on the front side, the club comes down steeply and will crash into the ground unless the swing shallows out. The pelvic thrust takes some of the steepness out of the swing.

The upper arms stay on the rib cagecage, and teh ahnd path comes from the inside. The pelvic thrust allows the hips to keep turning, which keeps the clubface closing at a constant rate and the hands swinging in a circular arc. The club releases without any conscious hand or arm action. At impact, the swing centers are in front of the ball, so the club catches the ball first and then cuts a divot.

In contrast to Buck's teaching, there is no effort to "keep the clubface square" throughout the swing.

On the other hand, it's clear that the debate over the benefits of a pronounced weight shift has been going on for some time. For interesting comment on Stack & Tilt, and lots of it, check out the GolfWrx and Geoff Shackelford blogs. A version of the swing is also captured onhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ23m2X-L3Q

--Bob Carney
(photo: J.D. Cuban)

For the many, many of you who've been taken with young Kyle Lograsso, the five-year-old who's used his love of golf to help him fight and overcome eye cancer, the recent HBO Real Sports program on Kyle is a must. It's episode #124, and still available on HBO on Demand. Frank Deford was the reporter.

A transcript doesn't do it justice, but here are few snippets...

On his first meeting with instructor Bob Huber:

BOB HUBER: Well, he called he said, "I got a three-year-old boy, I'd like to have you look at him."  I said, "Sure.

Voiceover
And that's when local instructor Bob Huber first saw it: a pint-sized replica of Tiger Woods.

BOB HUBER:
I just had 'em, put-- gave some ball-- golf balls there on the practice range, and he started hitting them, and-- and it was like, "Wow."
FRANK DEFORD:
Did you know that he had-- was missing an eye?
BOB HUBER:
His dad told me that.  But, when I watch him swing I don't even notice there's any handicap at all. It doesn't appear in his golf stroke or in the way he plays golf.

Surprisingly, the toughest part of the game for Kyle hasn’t been trying to overcome his limited depth perception.  He’s already shot a remarkable 41 for nine holes.  But rather, it’s learning to accept the fact that even prodigies occasionally miss shots.

KYLE SOT “How did that not go in?”

Of course, while having a prosthetic eye doesn’t make golf any easier…it makes being a little brother to his older sister Kristen a lot more fun….

KYLE LOGRASSO:
I put my eye in a cereal box.
FRANK DEFORD:
You put your eye in a cereal box.
KYLE LOGRASSO:
Yes.  And Kristen put cereal in her bowl, and-- and she-- she taked a big bite and she says like; There's something in here.  And she screamed so loud that she even ate my eye

Worth revisiting....

--Bob Carney

Compared to the rest of golf, putting looks easy ... Putting is not that simple. It demands constant attention to practice. Paul Runyan

Reader Steve Long asks a question that I've never heard before. He wants to know if there has been any instruction by teachers or tour pros recommending...

bending over to the point where the spine between the shoulder is near to horizontal. If the spine...is tilted far enough then the spine will be on the same axis that the swing plane is on

Steve thinks that if you bend over far enough, creating that similarity to the swing plane, you will make the motion of putting more natural and subject to fewer "delicate adjustments."

I heard that Bobby Locke putted this way and Nicklaus bent over quite far.

Steve, you point to two great putters and we'd never recommend that you don't experiment with their methods. Locke, certainly created a mini-swing with his putts, the object of your suggestion. Nicklaus bent over, I think he's said, to be able to see down the line of the putt better. He was, apparently, strongly right-eye dominant.

The one instructor who I've heard recommend something akin to what you're saying is Paul Runyan, who always recommended that you "get close to your business," in putting and chipping. He would not, I don't think, recommend "standing tall" as some instructors do. What you say seems consistent with his advice.

Thanks for the letter. Perhaps our readers will have other comments about your tip.

--Bob Carney

To keep the spine over the ball, which is the goal, the player has to tilt to the left during the backswing. Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett

It was a good weekend for Stackers and Tilters. Besides Mike Weir's T-8 at Carnoustie, Charlie Wi tied for second in Milwaukee and Tom Scherrer won the Nationwide Tour's Price Cutter Charity Championship, his first win in seven years. Not everyone, however, is ready to embrace the method. Dallas instructors Sue Shapcott and Carrie Sperling are definitely leaning "no" on the New Tour Swing as promulgated by Andy Plummer and Michael Bennett.

Warning: This is a bit heavy-instructional:

First,the article’s presentation of the “conventional swing” bears little resemblance to the swing top instructors advocate. For example, Hank Haney preaches that the ball, hands and left eye should be stacked on top of each other at address. Haney’s philosophy seems to be directly contradicted by the illustration of the “conventional” set up where shaft points to the left hip, the hands are in front of the ball and the eyes. And no reputable instructor we know advocates the finish that you presented in the article as “conventional.” Plummer and Bennett are selling their method as simplercompared to the “conventional swing,” but in reality they also create an extremely steep down swing that will make it harder for most golfers to hit a driver off a tee. In addition, the stack and tilt involves maneuvering the upper and lower body in an extremely precise manner to avoid hitting a fat shot as a result of not “springing up” with the legs or not driving the hips forward enough. A golfer using the stack and tilt would also be prone to hit thin shots by “springing up” too soon. The conventional swing also requires precision in its execution. Although Plummer and Bennett claim that the conventional swing will result in the club grounding out behind the ball, if a golfer moves the hips laterally to begin the downswing, the club will not bottom out behind the ball even though the spine may stay slightly behind the ball at impact. Finally, the photo used to illustrate the finish of the conventional swing sums up our criticism – that is in no way a “conventional” finish. Weight on the right side? Arms on the chest? If there are golf instructors teaching this “conventional” method, we haven’t run across them.

We're not saying every instructor is teaching the conventional positions we showed. Those positions come as much from what golfers do with the instruction they get as from the teachers themselves. If you tell a student to "stay in the shot," for instance, he never releases his lower body toward the target. I don't think that's what the teacher wants, but that's what the student does. When a teacher says "finish with the club over your shoulder," he might not mean to collapse the arms on the follow-through, but that's what we see. It's the students' interpretation of the teaching as much as the teaching itself.

As for Stack & Tilt creating a swing that's too steep, look at what we say about the downswing. As long as the player stands up on the downswing, thrusting his hips forward and upward, the swing shallows out. You're right, without this move, the swing would be too steep. You also mention that "springing up" too soon causing thin shots. Thin contact comes from the weight being behind the ball or the arms bending or wrists breaking through the shot. If the weight and the swing centers are forward, the player can stand up without fear of hitting the ball thin.

Interesting debate. I know two things for sure. 1. The phones of Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett are ringing off their hooks. 2. A lot of amateurs are self-administering Stack & Tilt and getting great results, at least based on their letters to us. It's not for everyone, I'm sure. But it seems to be helping a lot of us who are also looking for good weekends.

--Bob Carney

(photo: J. D. Cuban)

The litmus test for the 2007 Open Championship will be your judgement of Sergio Garcia. Was that a collapse we witnessed or a valiant near-miss that would have, could have, been won with an up-and-down par on the brutal 18th had that putt that hit the hole gone ahead and spun in. I suspect that our readers and viewers in general will be markedly more sympathetic to Sergio than the media will, or maybe, in his heart of hearts, Sergio will be to himself.  Here's a post to this blog early today by mbriganti protesting harsh remarks by Brandel Chamblee on the Golf Channel:

I just want to say that I've been listening to the Golf Channel for the past hour and I'm sick of the comments from Brandel Chamblee regarding Sergio's press conference and performance.  Brandel has had multiple comments regarding Sergio's development, maturity, being disapointed at having lost, etc.  I think Brandel Chamblee should take a good long look at his own accomplishments before he decides to cast stones at someone who played with passion, enthusiasm, and fire this week.  Sergio gave us the first Open Championship to be excited about, not involving Tiger, in many years.   Chamblee hasn't done anything I can remember other than providing a number of mindless comments on the Golf Channel for which I can't believe he gets paid.  I offer.... Brandel... At least Sergio's been there and is someone we all root for. Johnny Miller's comments aren't always well received, but at least he's been there.  Competed.  Won.  What have you done?  Sergio was great, handled his loss with a lot more dignity and class than many would have, including you.  Just a thought... 

For two other views of Sergio's Open, read Golf World's Ron Sirak  and John Hawkins. Here's Hawk:

Convenience-store logic suggested that when Woods wasn't around to terrorize him, Garcia would finally wrap his arms around that elusive maiden major. Last Sunday was a Tiger-free zone. Sergio led Steve Stricker by three, and among the seven guys tied for third, a whopping six strokes back, just one, Ernie Els, had done a grand-slam jig before. This would be easier than wadding up a little piece of paper and tossing it into that woman's belly button. His beer commercials may feature plenty of eye candy, but his major losses are getting hard to stomach. Only one player in Sunday's final four pairings, came in higher than Garcia's 73 -- Stricker, who missed three three-footers on the front nine and closed with a 74. "It seems like every time I get into this position, I have no room for error," Sergio moaned. "This is not the first time, unfortunately. I'm playing against a lot of guys out there, more than are in the field."

--Bob Carney

Bob Locke--nice name--writes about the coverage of the Paul McGinley rules question involving a sprinkler head.

I'll probably not be the first to point out a rules error by the TNT announcers and regarding Paul McGinley choosing to putt over a sprinkler head on hole #3 at the Open. Since Paul is putting from off the green, he is not entitled to relief from the sprinkler, and he played correctly. Only if he was on the green would he get "line of play" relief. See rule 24-2a.

Thanks, Robert. You added that you liked the coverage. We've been debating that around the water cooler today and so have our readers. Here's Mike Warner of York, Pennsylvania, who's not awarding it, and especially Paul Azinger, four stars:

Paul's comments about Tiger's 2nd round OB T-shot on No. 1 was ridiculous. He spouted off that Tiger had no chance of winning after that blunder. Given Tiger's track record and capabilities he should know better. Tiger ended the 2nd round 7 strokes behind choke-king Sergio and nothing was ever mentioned that Tiger did keep it together, even with his B game. Then late in the round on Sunday when Sergio was stagnant and struggling Zinger said " he has to make one sooner or later; it always comes down to putting ". I guess except in Tiger's case. Zinger falls way short when compared to Johnny or Nick and I can't see how he hangs around. He's shallow, nervous and uninteresting, and lacks charm, charisma and wit of his counterparts.

I like the Nick/Zinger combination, Mike. My gripe was his hemming and hawing on Gary Player's drug comments. But you're right that Zinger needs a foil. Otherwise, he comes off as a bit unleavened.

For more on the coverage and the last day, check out Geoff Shackelford's minute-by-minute Sunday blog.

--Bob Carney

Following up on yesterday's reader comments about the hefty fees charged by some of instructors on Golf Digest 50 Greatest Teachers list, here's the other side of debate.  Tim Schoch of Scotch Plains, New Jersey says his work with Hank Haney two decades ago made all the difference:

My high-handicap buddies recently grumbled that a PGA teaching pro is overkill for their game.  Is it true?  Won't it take forever before the new swing changes "stick"?

I'm just the hacker to answer that, and I’ll travel back 20 years to do it.

In 1987, Hank Haney spent a week teaching me, a nobody with an over-the-top swing and a handicap with an exponent.
Back then, editor Al Barkow ran a contest in his golf magazine [the old Golf Illustrated] called "Ask Hank Haney's Help." Readers were encouraged to write in and explain creatively why their game needed Hank's help. The best letter would receive one week of Hank's instruction at PGA West.

My letter won out of more than 950.

What I expected from Hank were swing-plane lectures and one-footed drills. What I received was an hour a day with a gracious Hank Haney who patiently and brilliantly began to anesthetize my flailing mess of a swing with logic, examples, praise, and joy. By improving my understanding of the golf swing, I soon began to see something brand new: hope! Following each inspiring lesson, I'd gleefully work for hours practicing what he preached. Then, I took it to the course. Before I left PGA West, I shot 84, 10 strokes lower than my best score of the previous two years. Also, I appeared on the magazine cover with Hank, and my diary of the experience was published. My best prize of all is one that all high-handicappers can easily receive from their PGA pro: a lesson in how fulfilling it is to understand better golf, then play it. 
Because of "my" PGA teaching pro, I've had 20 years of hope, instead of 20 years of hacking.

Well said, Tim. And despite a bit of struggle at Carnoustie, I think a fellow named Tiger would happily co-sign your letter.

--Bob Carney

(Illustration: Apple, Chris Riley)

"I feel like it's more efficient. It's a heavier strike of the ball. It's a little bit longer."  Mike Weir on his swing changes.

For the second consecutive major, you can bet teachers Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett will be watching a lot of Open coverage over the weekend, as a Stack & Tilt advocate, Mike Weir, contends. Their other star pupil, Aaron Baddeley, who contended at the Open, is off this weekend, but Weir's a serious challenger. Lorne Rubenstein does a thorough job tracking the former Masters Champ's climb back to contention.

Meanwhile, the raves from readers about Plummer and Bennett's  New Tour Swing continue. I hear teachers privately dismiss Stack & Tilt, but it has a lot of converts among amateur golfers.

The latest, from Phil Burnett, at Thermal, California:

I read and reread the Stack and Tilt method of hitting discussed in the July issue. After six trips to the range and about 700 fades and draws with irons and woods, I can easily say that this method works and it works well. There is absolutely no loss in distance, in fact, there was a definite gain of 5-10 yds on my irons. Rather than change my club selection for a distance, I just swing at 3/4's pace to achieve the distance with greater accuracy. 

    Learning the swing was easy though the weirdness of the uneven weight distribution at the start of the swing takes longer to accept. My swing thoughts are "60-40" and "buckle" to remind me of the face forward finish with the lifting of the hips. I may lose a little momentum without shifting to my right side, but the more consistent contact with higher compression onto the turf gives my shots better length and control.  My number one problem of hitting fat is completely gone. Physically, there is greater stretching on both shoulders which caused soreness for a couple of weeks. I have also found that I play the ball closer to me with my arms more relaxed teeing most irons off my left heel a la Jack Nicklaus. On the driver, since my legs need to move quicker to get to the open-lifting position at contact, I 've had to break my wrists a shade quicker to square up the face which has given me some extra head speed.  If you look back at the August issue of Golf Digest showing Brett Wetterich slugging the ball you'll see that he is doing a classic Stack and Tilt swing. The shadow between his leg stays completely centered throughout the backswing showing that he never shifted to inside right.

    I was surprised to read the comments about the Stack and Tilt by your top teaching professionals. They were luke warm at best with one being downright negative. I would venture a guess that none of them have spent enough time to get past the uncomfortable set up.  Any technique that simplifies a complex maneuver should be given fair consideration as another way for people to swing.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: J. D. Cuban)

If you expect a miracle, you should expect to pay for one. Teacher Derek Hardy

Our August list of 50 Greatest Teachers, with Butch Harmon at No. 1, and the accompanying lists of best in each state,  has prompted plenty of comment. Some readers are taken aback by the top teachers' fees. Others have names they'd like to add:

Carl Lombardo of Mt. Tabor, New Jersey, was, well, surpised at No. 2 David Leadbetter's fee:

Reading this article on America's greatest teachers...not really surprised at most of the fees charged...one comment please, Hey Mr. Leadbetter, God is not worth $10,000.00 a day.  You have the gall to charge that for half a day?  This type of stuff is what is going to kill golf as it was.

Not sure I agree, Carl. Leadbetter and the teachers of tour players are in a niche by themselves and frankly most are as busy as they want to be. The fee is merely a gilded hoop through which newcomers must jump to get their time. I admit it's a long way from the days when the golf professional couldn't set foot in the clubhouse, but I'm not sure it's ruining the game. If an amateur is committed to improving, there are lots of great PGA and LPGA teachers out there to help him or her. Bob Bath, an Ontario, Canada master teaching professional--his email is Golf Yoda-- makes the point well in his letter:

The list of the top 50 teachers must be quite an honor. How many of these teachers can turn a 20 handicapper into a 2 within a season? That would be the best teacher in my mind. That teacher does  not exist as their are not enough students willing to take advice and make it work. If the average person went to see some of these top teachers at the rate they charge, and all the student left with at the end of the day was they have poor alignment and a weak grip, well I would have to say that person would be disappointed as they would expect a miracle. If you think I am wrong ask the person why they spent $2000 over $70 to get that advice. They must have thought for that price there must be something special to hear. The average teacher at a much more affordable rate would be able to detect such simple flaws. The list you have come up with has many great teachers that teach great players that are very committed to any change. I hope the average player can see this so they trust us little guys to help them with their game.

I'll end on this great letter from Robert Link of Sycamore, Illinois.

I noticed a contradiction and omission in your Best Teachers in Your State insert.   Tim Hacker, (whom you cited on pg 162 for procuring replacement golf equipment for the Greensburg, KS high school golf team after their tornado ordeal), was not listed for the state of Georgia.   I can't think of any definition of "Best Teacher" that would preclude his efforts!

Link refers, of course, to the moving Brad Wetzler story in August in which Hacker's work is cited. Robert, I agree. Hacker's on my Greatest Teachers list for sure.

--Bob Carney

(Photo: Getty Images/David Cannon)

Zut alor!Some readers are ripped about Mr. Style Marty Hackel's makeover of Billy Mayfair in the August issue. Well, not about made-over Mayfair, but how much it cost to get him there:

Here's Charles McDermott of Columbus, Indiana:

Even though I make a decent living I'll admit that the vast majority of my golf balls are bought in the under $20 category and I've never paid over $100 for a round of golf. So that me, no apologies. I don't mind that others pay $150,000 to join a country club; hay, it's your money, enjoy! But...Mr. Style doing a makeover for Billy Mayfair and suggesting the House of Fleming $530 belt! Maybe I missed something; that was a $30 money belt with a $500 bill tucked inside? Someone needs a "Woody Austin" putter-head smacking if they paid $530 for a belt. Oops, I just broke a shoe lace; does Mr. Style have any $290 "House of Fleming" shoe laces that he could suggest?

Lane Orr of Franklin, N.C. also thinks Marty is due a dressing down:

Dear Marty, Surely you jest or was that a typo on page 62? I know the price of golf is going up, $40 for a polo shirt maybe OK as a birthday gift, but $325 for a pair of golf slacks is wild enough; then you show $530 for a belt? That's crazy!! What exotic creature was the source of that piece of leather?

Please tell me that it was a joke and that I've been had......

We asked Marty about the cost of the makeover and especially that belt. Here is his reply:

Guys, you have to understand that for tour pros, who because of endorsements are typically limited in what they can wear, belts are a chance to show some personality. Belts are where they make their mark and where they tend to splurge. And that's a heck of nice belt. As for the pants, we wanted Billy to look really good.  There are always options and you can get a perfectly nice belt for less. There are many great belts in the market at $75-$100. Martin Dingman and Coach have an excellent collection and I would bet you could find some good choices at Dillard's at Fashion Square in Phoenix. Nike also has a solid collection of golf belts. Thanks for writing!

For the record, I tend to show my personality with ball markers. I've spent as much as $8 on one. There. It's good to get that off my chest.

Meanwhile, can't wait to see what Mr. Style discovers in Carnoustie....

--Bob Carney

West Virginian Gene Snyder has had with it the darn tipping.

I would like to know when it became a rule of thumb that we must tip everyone on the golf course, the bag guy,the cart girl, the guy at the bar, etc. I just want to play golf for the day without paying more in tips than it does for the round of golf. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be cheap or a whiner, but there's got to be a limit.

I work for a TV cable company and I try to do my best at what I do, alot of people even request for me when needing repairs,but in my 11 years of service very few have offered tips. So my question is this, when I choose to go to "higher class" course where one should be able to enjoy themselves, we are chased around by workers expecting to be tipped, do we have to pay everyone? Don't they receive a paycheck just like me? If so please infrom them that not everyone has money to burn!!!!
Signed, The working man!

a series of people with their hands out, punctuated by the occasional gap wedge. The parking valet. The kid who puts your bag on a cart. The starter. The caddiemaster. The caddie, forecaddie or cart-caddie. The cart girl or geezer. The club cleaner. The locker-room attendant. The kid who takes your clubs to the bag drop. The kid who puts your clubs in your trunk. The guy who directs you to the nearest ATM. And so on.

But I remember interviewing etiquette expert Lydia Ramsey, the author of Manners that Sell, for that story and she said:

"People begin to think, 'This is getting into some real money now. What's this costing me?' But the fact is, everyone who provides a service has the expectation that they'll be compensated, and they should be. People should be rewarded."

Gene, you can accept that tip or not. Like you, I wish it were all built into the price of admission. Pay a green fee and be done with it. But it's not, and you have to ask yourself if those other working folks deserve something (beyond the paycheck) for the effort, as Ramsey says they do. Or as Jackie Burke said when encouraging his members to tip caddies generously: "When's the last time you saw a caddy drive out of here in a Cadillac?"

--Bob Carney

I don't consider myself an offensive guy. I am just a harmless lovable little fuzzball. Rush Limbaugh

We continue to get letters and comments on the Limbaugh interview. "Californian" points out my error in saying the pro-Limbaugh lobby is completely silent. There was one one defender. But the tide is heartily anti-Rush, or anti-us for interviewing him:

You shanked a shot into the hazard with Rush Limbaugh's interview. I thought golf was about fair play and sticking to the rules, neither of which Limbaugh does when it suits his purposes. Are professional and country club republican elites the only real golfers? Are democrats hackers not worthy of even public courses? Support golf's beauty and integrity by keeping divisive, trouble-making, hypocritical windbags where they belong, out of bounds.

That's Dwight Nickerson of Saratoga, California. Dwight, clever turns of phrase will get you nowhere on this blog. Our choice of Rush for Final Exam was simply proof that we like to see all of the golf course, even the right side, where wind (and windbags) will occasionally blow our left-leaning tee balls into the, eh, elephant grass.

--Bob Carney

Sometimes it all works out. It did for L. Philip, a Victoria, B.C. policeman and Golf Digest reader who aspired to the buddies trips he read about in Golf Digest, but never experienced one--until now. Seems that Mr. Philip had a friend who had a friend who had a special Monterey cousin who recently really came through for the SWAT team:

The cousin (we'll call him Hooter) picked us up at the airport and took us to our accommodations, which just happened to be an 11,000 square foot home in the Santa Lucia Preserve that he looks after.

We proceeded to play golf six out of the next seven days. Here was our line-up. Day 1, The Links at Spanish Bay; Day 2, Cypress Point; Day 3, Pebble Beach Golf Links; Day 4, The Olympic Club - Lake Course (San Francisco); Day 5, Spyglass Hill, Day 6 we rested; and Day 7, Poppy Hills.

Now we all realized that we had lived like Tour Pros (maybe just like those in the top 10) for the week, but it really sunk home when on the last night we were dining in the Tap Room at Pebble Beach. Our friend brought over Peter Jacobsen to have a drink with us. After hearing the courses that we played, he looked at the three of us visitors and queried "who the hell are you guys?". "You can't get on Cypress!"

I now enjoy reading GD more than ever, especially articles that include the courses I've played. I could easily fill up your next edition with stories from my whole experience there, as I can recall every shot that I took. We all call this our trip of a lifetime...

I love letters like that and hooray for Hooter for doing it. I'm shocked to learn that they need SWAT teams in Victoria, but glad you guys got a break from the swatting to play those great courses.

It's impossible to match a weekend like that, but I'll give you my best shot. Last weekend my 12-year-old son Matt and I drove up to Kennebunkport, Maine for a weekend of kayaking, fishing and mostly golf. We played the Hillside pitch & putt, on which Matt made two twos, and then took on Cape Arundel Golf Club, the Walter Travis design where George Bush and his son, George W., play sometimes. It was a 70s summer afternoon on a thoroughly playable, utterly natural old layout of about 5900 yards. Matt doesn't play a lot of golf, so we played alternate shot, with the goal of making as many pars as we could. We made four, setting a new record for the Carney pairing, and a personal record for the most enjoyable golf round ever.

Here's to more buddies trips and to wishing you your perfect golf weekend. For suggestions on where to take it, see the favorite Summer Getaways eight writers shared with us.

--Bob Carney

(photo: J.D. Cuban)

Kind words from Media City in today's New York Post on both Golf Digest's August Issue (Four Stars) and Golf World's British Open preview (Three Stars). "If you're thinking about getting some lessons, this issue of Golf Digest is what you need," says the Post, which goes on to detail the America's 50 Greatest Teachers story. While you're Posting, check out Mark Cannizzaro's trip, via ferry, to Bayonne Golf Club, across the New York Harbor from Manhattan. Mark calls it British Links in Bayonne. His review, and others' I've heard, indicate that the description fits. At $200,000 membership is slightly more costly than its linksy ancestors.

--Bob Carney

(photo: NY Post, Charles Wenzelberg)

"If Tiger has one part of his game that's not strong it's putting on slow and bumpy surfaces." Steve Williams

Interesting story on the Scotsman site by Phil Johnson on Tiger's adding lead tape to his putter to cope with Carnoustie greens he anticipates will be slower and bumpier than typical tour greens. Tiger did the same at Congressional, according to caddie Steve Williams.

Golf World's Mike Johnson says that though players have traditionally made equipment adjustments at the Open Championship, this is a bit different:

Although Tiger Woods' use of lead tape on the back of his putter is not unique, doing so to combat the bumpy and sometimes slower surfaces found at the British is a somewhat new concept. More common is a handful of players changing from blade-style or light mallets to heavier mallet-style putters. Last year's Open saw Rory Sabbatini, Shingo Katayama, Peter Hedblom, Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell all fall into that category. Expect to see more of the same this year at Carnoustie.

--Bob Carney

A politician is a person who approaches every problem with an open mouth. Adlai Stevenson, as quoted in The 2548 Best Things Anybody Ever Said

Wow. We knew that Rush Limbaugh was a lightning rod and that making him the subject of our Final Exam in August would be, um, electric. But we didn't know how electric. The rush to bash Rush (or politics in our pages in any form) continues. Because these were sent as letters and not as comments, I'll post here:

Don't get me wrong. I don't have any delusions about the politics of the typical Golf Digest reader but I do take exception in offering his worn-out act any additional air play. Golf is in fact one of the few places I can co-mingle with my friends from the dark side and still enjoy the afternoon without tripping over some hot-button issue. Would prefer that Golf Digest do its part in continuing its fine coverage of golf and leave politics out of your pages. What's the problem was Ann Coulter busy? Or are you saving her for an annual Women in Golf issue? Then again that might not work for a whole different set of reasons, but I digress.

Gary Parks
Seattle, Washington

So, what should we call Rush Limbaugh's home course? Prescription Fraud National? You'd be well served to keep golfers and others political views out of your magazine. If I want to hear that crap, I'll watch Fox News Channel.
David Loftus
Overland Park, KS

My friends and I play golf together, never mentioning politics, and have a great time. For that reason I feel that it’s best that the two are never mixed. On the other hand you decided to introduce Rush Limbaugh in your August "Final Exam" and it occurs to me that it was because of who he is off the golf course, not on. Since it was your decision to do so I suppose I could go on about what an odious buffoon Mr. Limbaugh is, often misstating an issue or using a “red herring” to dishonestly manipulate his listener. Instead I would caution you about using controversial personalities in your pages. Someone might get annoyed and find another magazine.
Steve Leyndyke
Carmel, Indiana

Dear Editor,
Do not assume your readers are Republicans.  That theme has come through your magazine lately.  Seeing Limbaugh on the back page was the last straw.  I am always interested in golf tips and storys; but I don't want that kind of conservative junk coming into my house. Thank you,
Mark Kahnke
Scottsdale

Mark, Gary, we do not assume you are all Republicans, nor should you assume we are. David, that was very unkind. Steve, we generally do not mix politics into our pages. But an interview on a celebrity's golfing habits once in a while, is that so terrible? I'm of the liberal persuasion myself and call me a softee, but I almost get a warm feeling knowing that at least Rush was right about our great game. But then he's right about most everything. Nonetheless, your points, as they say in Washington, are candid, constructive and certainly well-taken.

Now the real question is, can we get an American to win this Open Championship?

--Bob Carney

Politics is applesauce. Will Rogers

Mention Rush Limbaugh and start an argument. Publish an interview with him, even if he’s just talking about golf, and wow. In come the letters. Our Final Exam with Rush in the just-landed August issue is already drawing fire. Normally, any mention of politics brings out the conservative, media-watch folks. This time the liberals are rising up.

If Brian Murphy's purpose in his Rush Limbaugh interview was to raise the blood pressure of another Irishman, he accomplished his goal. I certainly hope the cigar Rush is so pompously smoking was grown and processed in the United States by 100% legal immigrants. God forbid he wouldn't smoke a Cuban cigar, would he!. Hopefully there were no illegals working on the courses his rich friends invite him to play. I might also suggest another reason most professional golfers might be Republican is the tax breaks on their millions that the middle class doesn't get.
Jim McCarthy
Moorestown, NJ

Just cannot believe you interviewed Rush Limbaugh !!! You will get so much hate mail.....You know, you will now be forced to interview a liberal !!!
Good thing about liberals though, they don't like golf because they can't blame any one else for their bad game...!!!! Bill Clinton will be your next interview I'm sure....but he cheats on the golf course.... will you ask him about that??
Dave Riffey
Shell Lake, WI

I just finished reading Brian Murphy's article "Final Exam," featuring Rush Limbaugh in the August issue of Golf Digest. How Neanderthal of Mr. Limbaugh to opine his approval of Hootie Johnson of Augusta National for not "cowing in fear" and allowing women to play at his course. How sad, considering this day and age when American women are fighting and dying on the front lines to protect the freedoms and rights of all Americans. Perhaps Mr. Limbaugh would have been more politically correct if instead he had quoted the late, great Groucho Marx when Mr. Marx said "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members."
Bonnie Rubin
Highland Lakes, New Jersey

--Bob Carney

(photo Ben Van Hook)

Our European Correspondent John Huggan interviews the last Scot to win the Open Championship and gets Lawrie's entertaining recounting of the final holes of his win at Carnoustie. for the Scotsman.

"I remember thinking, too, of being on the practice green as a kid. It was always two balls: Seve against me. He was always my idol. So it was always 'this to beat Seve by one to win the Open.' You are the 'champion golfer of the year'.

"When Michael Bonallack actually said that about me at the presentation, I had a wee chuckle to myself. I'd imagined that moment thousands of times in my life. It is so cool, a brilliant line."

Am I the only one who would love to see Lawrie challenge the lead again at Carnoustie ?

--Bob Carney

Jimmy Cayne, Bear Stearns CEO, took a few hits in a New York Post business report by Paul Tharp today that linked Cayne's and a few other execs' handicaps to their companies' earnings....inversely.

Some shareholders of beleaguered Bear Stearns complain that CEO Jimmy Cayne is spending too much time on the golf course at the expense of business - and it hasn't even helped his game.

Despite the near-collapse of a Bear Stearns hedge fund and the meltdown of junk mortgage bonds it peddled widely, Cayne has been ducking out of the office regularly to tee off - including on three of the firm's worst days in years.

"I guess he didn't want to think about all the troubles, so he went out on the course," said one portfolio chief.

But Cayne had his defenders, too, sort of.

...when you go out of the office you're always in contact with what's happening," said one investment firm's CEO. "His scores are so bad, I think he's spending too much time at work," quipped a portfolio chief.

Now that's not nice. Actually, Cayne's Index is respectable 15.9 at Hollywood Golf Club in New Jersey. The Post points out that Lehman Brothers' Dick Fuld is "the best golfer among his peers" with a 10.3 handicap, though you will find lower numbers on our 2006 CEO Rankings list. But no photos like this Post special.

--Bob Carney

I learned how to win by losing and not liking it. Tom Watson

We don't know about you, but as much as we admired Brad Bryant for his 68 yesterday, we were rooting for Golf Digest Playing Editor Tom Watson to finally get his U.S. Senior Open. The final-nine 43 was painful to watch and, if you happened to hear or read a transcript of the press conference with Tom afterward, it was all the more painful for his straightforward answers to the questions. Craig Smith of the USGA introduces him as "a gracious Tom Watson" and he couldn't have been more so.

It's just that listening to his answers reminded us once more that there are no explanations, really, when the game goes haywire, and Watson's answers proved it.

At fifteen, I'm still in it. I thought that I could make some good swings coming in. I made a pretty good swing, I thought, at the 15th tee, but the wind got it, and maybe it was the wrong club; 3-wood is probably the wrong club. It was probably a 2 Idea [hybrid] off the tee today there. I didn't judge that shot very well. So as I said, my judgment this week was off quite a bit, and that's what links golf does to you....

Or what golf does to you. Here's hoping that in our struggles to explain an inexplicable finish we handle the "what happened?" questions as well as Watson did yesterday. And that we salute our victorious opponent as well as he did winner Bryant in the final words of that press conference:

He's got some game. He's got more game than I do.

--Bob Carney

The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf. Bertrand Russell.

Be forewarned, our friends at ABC's Good Morning America are looking for golf widows.

Does your husband play an exorbitant amount of golf? Ever feel like he chooses to hit the links instead of being with the family? We want to hear your story. Good Morning America is looking for "Golf Widows," please send us your tale and how to make contact with you.

"Good Morning America Weekend Edition" wants to hear your story. Fill out the form below and a producer may contact you.

I'm not sure all of us would agree on a definition of "exhorbitant," so it might be a good week to suggest your wife catch up on the Today Show.

Meanwhile, if you're looking for a chance to play more golf, here's an interesting promotion by Hilton Garden Inns as reported by the Dallas Morning News: Stay a night and get a free round of golf.

Sure beats frequent flyer miles.

--Bob Carney

Reader Anthony Zawadski has a somewhat belated comment about an "Innovators" article in the April issue. Zawadski takes issue with Mark Sweeney's conclusion that Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk have stronger bogey putting percentages than birdie putting percentages because they bear down more when faced with the possibilty of making double.

I think the improved bogey putting percentage is due to the fact that these putts are, on average, easier.

Consider the bogey putt [as] the second putt. The player has an opportunity to get a good read off the first putt.

I tend to agree with you, Anthony. But I think there are two other factors at work here, one that Sweeney is referring to--pride and the desire to avoid the embarrassment of a double-bogey--and a second he does not mention: pure athleticism. There's a quote in our My Shot with putting craftsman and guru Scotty Cameron that applies here:

There's athleticism in putting. There's touch and feel, of course, but where it comes into play is in the ability to adapt. Tiger came to the studio one day. He wasn't happy with his putting. He found his shoulders were aligned a little left of the target, which caused him to take his putter back outside the line or with the face open and then steer it through impact. He couldn't release the putter, or he'd pull the putt to the left. He squared up his shoulders, which is a big adjustment to make. Tiger's first putt after the change missed. The rest were perfect. One putt was all it took for Tiger to adapt to a huge change in his technique. He might be the best athlete I've ever worked with, and I've worked with a lot.

That ability to adjust, after even a single missed putt, is potent. For more on the tour pros' putting abilities see the article on putting masters Dr. Jim Suttie and Christian Marquardt in our July issue. Besides demonstrating that the pros putting strokes are both more effiient and repetitive, Suttie and Marquardt point out that the best tour putters tend to be the most "trusting."

"A putting stroke is like a signature," says Marquardt, who has also done extensive research on writer's cramp. "Much like putting, handwriting is 90 percent rhythm. If you try deliberately to write your signature accurately, you can't do it. The mind interferes. We do best when we trust our instincts."

To your question, Anthony, could it be that they are just a bit more trusting on the putts for bogey and par than they are on those for birdie? A question of comfort zone, perhaps?

--Bob Carney

We’ve received a number of letters from users of the Golf Digest Handicap tool about the fact that our re-designed web site has no such tool. Besides disappointment over the decision to discontinue the tool, regular users of the Golf Digest handicap are afraid their scores will be lost. Fear not. We’re retrieving those files now and will send them to each of you who requests it.

Our apology for not doing a better job filling you in advance of our plans. We will connect you with a golf association in your area that offers an official USGA handicap, through a regular club or an online one.

--Bob Carney

"When I'm addressing the ball, particularly on a tee, I don't focus on a specific dimple or marking. Taht would just make me want to hit that spot instead of making a nice smooth swing through the ball." Zach Johnson

Masters champion Zach Johnson's Breaking 100, 90, 80 in the July issue, written with his teacher Mike Bender and editor Ron Kaspriske, is drawing lots of comment, most of it positive, like this letter from South Dakotan Wade Douglas:

I wanted to write in to thank Zach Johnson for his tip on page 184 of the July Issue of Golf Digest "Hit it under the bench to compress the ball." The visualization of hitting the ball underneath a park bench right in front of you has improved my ball striking incredibly. I'm hitting my iron shots more solidly than ever and am now flying my irons 10-15 yards further and considerably straighter. At first it was tough adjusting, especially in golf league where I hit my 6 iron 180 yards over the green on a par three that I usually hit 165 yards. It was a beautifully struck shot staight at the green though! After relearning my distances I recently shot a 9 hole round of 37. Much better than my 12 handicap. Once again, thanks Zach from a fellow flatlander!

You're hitting your 6-iron 180 yards? I may review that story myself. John Landsberg of Santa Barbara took issue with one aspect of the piece, Mike Bender's advice to "present" a ball to simulate impact. It didn't ring true with John.

In your July issue, Mike Bender ("Breaking 100/90/80") advises placing a ball in your left hand, and "presenting" it in front of your body at belt height, so that the ball rests in your upturned palm. He says this is the position your left hand should be in as it moves through the impact zone. Clearly, however, if your left hand were in this position as it moved through the impact zone, your club would be pointing horizontally, straight down the target line -- not a position likely to lead to good contact, or indeed, ANY contact at all. If you don't believe me, try it. Or just look at the photo on the previous page of Bender's famous student, Zach Johnson, which clearly shows his left palm facing down and back toward his left thigh.

Senior Editor Instruction Peter Morrice replies:

John, thank you for your email about the Breaking 100/90/80 section in theJuly issue. I think there's just a little confusion about what Mike Bendermeans by "through the impact area." He does not mean at impact, but ratherthrough the bottom of the swing. The left hand should rotate from a position that faces the ground, as you say, to a palm-up position on the front side of that area, as the photo indicates.

Another one of Zach's tips, "Blur Your Vision" raised reader Jim Marshall's eyebrows.

Who am I to argue with a Masters Champion but I have to question Zak Johnson's advice to "blur your vision" when addressing the ball in the Breaking 100 section of the July 2007 issue. The human body is capable of quite accurate hand-eye coordination and the smaller and more clear the target the better the accuracy. It would seem that not focussing on the target, the ball, would lead to inconsistent contact as the target is not clear to the eyes guiding the swing. I find my ball contact improves significantly when I maintain focus on a particular dimple or mark on the ball all the way from the beginning of the back swing through impact.

As an old instruction editor myself, let me offer this reply. What works one day, may not the next. Zach's advice is to players who, in trying to keep their heads down or to stay focused on the ball, become "ball bound", lose their swings and begin hitting at the ball. Jim, that's clearly not a problem for you, but it could be. And at that point Zach's advice may come in handy. Hit 'em straight, fellas.

-- Bob Carney

"I try to be semi-humble. If I started going around saying how good I was, everything would go wrong." Johnny Miller

Reader Alan Abbey sends in a (final) word on the Open coverage and it isn't pretty:

This year's US Open was a terrific tournament staged on a great golf course and produced a very worthy champion. However, one sour note was NBC's television coverage of the tournament, it appeared that coverage of the actual tournament was a mere sideshow to Johnny Miller reminiscing incessantly about his win at Oakmont in 1973. While Miller's win was obviously a brilliant performance, one couldn't help but be turned off by the excessive fawning, self-congratulation and downright arrogance indulged in by Miller and to a lesser extent, the other talking heads in the commentary box who did nothing but distract from the magnificent viewing of the on-course action. Humility is clearly not a word Johnny Miller is familiar with. Let's hope the excellent CBS team can take over coverage in the near future.

Alan, your note arrived the same day I said this to a fellow editor: "One of the unexpected benefits of this year's Open were the features on Johnny Miller." And I named two that were terrific, Rich Lerner's on Golf Channel and Bryant Gumbel's on HBO. As for the coverage itself, it didn't strike me as overly Millerized, but, okay, I can see how it might hit you that way, especially if you aren't a Miller fan. Still, 63 in the final round of the U.S. Open is still 63 in the final round of the U.S. Open and they'll be talking about that one when you and I are long gone. I can't believe CBS wouldn't have made a big deal about it as well. But I hear you. And as Miller has said several times, Hall of Famers have Hall of Fame sized egos.

--Bob Carney

I don't think any of us ever thought we'd be getting the attention we do now...You look at my dad, he was maybe the greatest teacher ever, and he never got his notoriety. It just shows you how much golf has taken off and the game has changed. Butch Harmon

Calendar note. The Harmon Brothers-- Butch, Billy and Craig--will do a second  Harmon Brothers Teaching Summit in Las Vegas, November 4-7. Although aimed at teachers, it's open to instruction nuts like myself, which means skill level is no barrier. Anybody who attended last year's inaugural will tell you it was dazzling: Dick Coop, Jim Hardy, Scotty Cameron, Luther Blacklock (from England), Jimmy Ballard....plus the Harmons themselves. (Besides individual presentations, the Harmons do a funny, brother-deprecating clinic that's worth the price of admission). Last year Adam Scott and Natalie Gulbis, Butch's students, also made appearances.  And of course there's golf.

This year Peter Cowen (who teaches Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Henrik Stenson, among others), Bob Rotella, Mike Bender and chiropractic Dr. Greg Rose are early starters...

Golf Digest is a "sponsor". And Butch, besides being the reigning No. 1 teacher in country (the new list is out with the August issue, about July 10) is a Golf Digest teaching professional. I would still be wildly enthusiastic about this event if we weren't and he weren't. 

Word is, Stack & Tilt may come up this year.

--Bob Carney
(photo: Jim Moriarty)

We get letters on a regular basis complaining that the networks spend too much time on Tiger...or that our magazines do. Less frequently, we hear the same about Phil Mickelson. Those of you who've voiced that complaint might find these numbers interesting: Before it became clear that Tiger, after the birth of his daughter, would indeed play in the ATT National in Washington, D.C., and before Lefty had also committed to play, there were 200 press credential requests. After those two announced their intentions,  the number jumped to 543! You may argue that this is just more of the same. More media obsessed with the big guys. But I like to think those writers and their editors know what their readers want.

--Bob Carney

There are letters and there are letters. Here's a great one, not to us but to the LA Times over the weekend:

I was blown away to open my L.A. Times sports section this  morning [Wednesday] knowing that the most prestigious women's golf event in  the world ‹ the U.S. Women's Open ‹ is getting ready to tee off in  North Carolina and there was no mention or article about the championship  even being played or any of its contestants. As a longtime SoCal  resident, subscriber, and former winner of the U.S. Open, I was shocked.  For the men's Open at Oakmont, there were features galore and four or five  special articles. It's time The Times and media recognize, pay respect to,  and showcase the greatest women golfers in the world so that their fans can  follow them, and a new generation of young women playing sports today will  have top-notch role models. AMY ALCOTT Pacific  Palisades

--Bob Carney

"When she first came here and won, that's when the craze started," said LPGA Tour player Jeong Jang, 27 on Se Ri Pak.

After all the talk of teenagers, a 29-year-old won. And despite a leader board covered with international flags, an American, only one of seven in the top 25, prevailed. But a glance at the final leader board from the 62nd U.S. Women’s Open ten years ago tells you how much the world of women’s competitive golf has changed. Not only is it much, much younger, but it is, to an extent impossible to fathom at Pumpkin Ridge, Asian, mainly Korean.

It wasn’t that the Open Top 25 leader board ten years ago wasn’t international,  but most of the internationals were from Canada, Europe and Australia. There was only one teenager, a 19-year-old named Se Ri Pak, from Korea, one of only two Asians and the lone Korean in the Top 25. (She would win the Open the following year and set off the Korean charge, well-told by ESPN's Bob Harig this week).

This year there were six Koreans in the Top Ten (not counting two other Parks, Brazil's Angela and the U.S.'s In-Bee) and virtually half of the Top 25 were Korean.

1997 U. S. Women's Open Top 25, (internationals in bold) Alison Nicholas, England, 35 Nancy Lopez, 40 Kelly Robbins, 31 Karrie Webb, Australia, 22 Stefania Croce, Italy, 27 Lisa Hackney, England, 29 Michele Redman, 32 Tammie Green, 37 Donna Andrews, 30 Chris Johnson, 39 Akiko Fukushima, Japan,  24 Patty Sheehan, 40 Dawn Coe-Jones, Canada, 36 Juli Inkster, 37 Dottie Pepper, 31 Brandie Burton, 25 Deb Richard, 34  Liselotte Neumann, Sweden, 31 Trish Johnson, England, 31 Kim Williams, 34 Pat Hurst, 28 Caroline Pierce, England, 33 Kelli Kuehne, 20 Se Ri Pak, Korea, 19 Luciana Bemvenuti, Brazil, 28 Karen Weiss, 31

At this rate, consider what the 2017 final leader board will look like.

--Bob Carney