Josh Leyes of Waterloo, Ontario read our list of America's Fifty Greatest Teachers in the March issue, noticed a couple of absences and seized on it to make a point:

I was reading the most recent issue of GD when I noticed your rankings of America's top 50 instructors. I saw the usual top 10-15 teachers up there, with one glaring omission - Mike Bennett and Andy Plummer, the Stack and Tilt gurus, didn't even crack the top FIFTY! Maybe there is a logical explanation as to why they were left out, but could it be that the "hottest swing on tour" isn't really that hot?

I know you have had several letters praising the Stack and Tilt method for its merits. In my humble opinion, Bennett and Plummer are teaching a "feeling" of staying on top of the ball but that feeling isn't actually true. if you take any of their tour pros (Baddeley, Weir, etc.) and put them on a weight plate device through their full swing you would probably see most of the weight on their right heel at the top of the swing, evidence that they are indeed loaded into their right hip. I think you guys actually did an article on that "weight shift" move a in David Leadbetter's "Swing Chi" piece, which I really enjoyed.

Josh, without getting into the merits of your argument--I know that Plummer and Bennett strongly believe that stacking and tilting is more than a feeling--let me explain why they may have not made the list. The list was compiled early last year, prior to Stack & Tilt's popularity. Plummer and Bennett asked not to be on the "seeded" list of instructors nationally on which the other instructors vote. My sense is they will do very well on the next ballot if the opt to be included. They were included on state lists and Plummer finished high on the Pennsylvania list, Bennett high on the New Jersey list. On a recent poll we did of tour players, they also ranked high.

--Bob Carney

John Van Keulen loved the recent "release" tip from Annika. And I love the fact that he's still playing golf at this time of year...

Annika's 3 keys / "Release for distance" tip was the most helpful tip I've been able to incorporate into my weekly practice sessions. As a 50-year-old-golfer of 40 + years the release has always been a major weakness in my 12 handicap, especially under a little NASA pressure. I could HANG ON TO THE BALL so long it would be OB left before it ever left the tee box on tight par 3s. The index finger on top immediately made sense and gave me a true feel of complete release at last. My playing partners are no longer a subject to my pre-swing vocals of the song "PLEASE RELEASE, ME LET ME GO". I’m sure they’ll be pleased to miss this treat.

 

Annika says, nice work! And here are some more tips you might like....

--Bob Carney

Dr. Pauling Chang of Palo Alto takes great exception to our use of a cigar as a prop in the March Breaking 100, 90, 80 section. It's hard to argue with him:

A few issues ago, you had a profile of the actor Jack Wagner, and the picture in the article was of him standing on his roof, swinging a golf club, with a cigar in his mouth.

In the current March 2008 issue, one of the drills in the article for "Breaking 100" shows a golfer with a cigar in his mouth, and the cigar plays an important role in improving your swing.

Shame on you people for repetitive promotion of an activity that is dangerous to our health. Smoking has been shown to directly increase the risk of many cancers, including those of the mouth, throat, lung, esophagus, stomach, and bladder, just to name a few. In addition, smoking directly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, which are the number 1 and number 2 killers of people in this country.

The cost of health care in this country is rising at a dramatic rate, and it is possible this country will not be able to afford to provide the state of the art health care which we all deserve. If everyone in this country took better care of themselves, which includes not smoking and fitness to avoid obesity, we would all be better off.

Shame on your magazine for promoting unhealthy activity. Golf is a wonderful sport which I highly enjoy and can be very healthy too. Healthy if we avoid smoking and golf carts. Promote this instead.

My subscription to your magazine was a gift, if it were not I would ask you to cancel my subscription. With our knowledge of fitness and the dangers of smoking in the 21st century, I can not believe that you people still promote smoking. I wonder if the tobacco industry has any influence on you people.

Thanks, doctor. You're right; we could have made the same point with anothe prop.

--Bob Carney

Kentuckian Ed Radjunas declares an unnecessary roughness penalty on Roger Maltbie for his post-round interview with Stewart Cink at the Match Play.

"Rude / discourteous" are the words that best describe Roger Maltbie's interview with Stewart Cink following the final round of the Accenture Tournament this Sunday p.m.

RM: "How does it feel to be on the #1 tee with the #1 player in the world and know he is better than you and playing better golf than you?"

Very un-professional, condescending and rude for an amateur announcer; not to mention embarrassing for Cink!!

Ed, I didn't see it, having abandoned the match when Tiger got nine up. (Be interested in the views of those who did). But I think the defeat itself hurt Cink more than any interview, rude or otherwise. There's only one way to avoid this kind of pain while earning--what was it, $800,000? Play better.

--Bob Carney

Veteran Don Dice of Cibolo, Texas, also writes in response to the Johnny Miller comment in March comparing the tour pro's travel, and time away from family, with that of the military.

In the March 2008 issue, I take some offense to Johnny Miller's comments about ”the hard part was leaving his family to go play golf.” He mentions the troops going to Iraq. The big difference he failed to mention is, if he misses a few putts he doesn't get paid. If the troops aren't paying attention, they come home in a bag. The gallery may be a distraction, but at least they aren't shooting at you. And by the way, the pay isn't quite the same.

When I left my family going to Korea in '53 and Viet Nam in '65, those were sad moments in our lives, but Thank God he got us though it.

Poster andybrown and reader John Gregory Vincent have also commented.

--Bob Carney

Californian John Kaufman writes seeking advice. He wants to know how to cope with slow play delays:

I am an avid golfer but have a unique question to ask you. I have what I consider a very difficult problem with waiting on the tee box to hit my next tee shot due to a delay in play in front. I seem to lose my focus and the momentum when waiting on the tee to hit for a extended period of time. The longer I wait the worse I seem to get in my focus and momentum and as a result usually hit a bad shot when the time comes for me to hit.

I would REALLY appreciate any help or advise in overcoming this problem which I am sure I am not alone in with this dilemma. This would make a great article in a future article for Golf Digest, since this is an on going problem we all face from time to time.

Great question, John. Besides avoiding the situation in the first place by playing at times when play moves quickly, here's what our mental-side experts have said over the years.

Don't try to concentrate throughout the wait. Use it as a lesson in how to move your focus from broad to narrow and back again. That is, see if you can turn it on during the time you're hitting shots and off during the long waits. In your "down" time, move your attention elsewhere:

--Converse with your playing partners about something other than what a pain it is to wait on the golf course.

--Get into nature; observe the flora and fauna. (My friend Gene Westmoreland at the Metropolitan Golf Association, I recall, told me about the Great Blue Heron and a number of other birds we observed during one particularly slow round).

--Make it a practice session by chipping and putting to targets around the tee.

--Memorize golf jokes and practice telling them during the delays.

Love to hear other suggestions from readers on how they cope with these annoying delays....

--Bob Carney

I'm glad Bill Hyeck of Evanston, Illinois, wrote this letter. I get similar comments from readers all the time and, in fact, could make the same one about one of our assistant professionals at Brooklawn CC in Connecticut, Sean Busca, a terrific teacher. We love to get your feedback on lists such as America's 50 Greatest Teachers:

I'm writing in reference to the list of America's 50 Greatest Teachers in the March 2008 issue. I'm sure all of these folks are fine teachers; certainly they are famous. But you are making a big mistake by omitting Jeff Mory, head pro at Conway Farms Golf Club, in Lake Forest, Illinois. Jeff is a brilliant diagnostician of what ails a golf swing, and as one who learned much from Dr. Jim Suttie, he tailors his teaching to the physical capacities of the individual. He has done wonders for golfers of all ages and skill levels in the northern Illinois area. I hope you will give him careful consideration for your list in the future.

Bill, as you know, the list is based on the voting of other teachers. But we'll put Jeff's name in the mix. To other readers who might have a nominee, please send it along or add it with a post to this blog.

--Bob Carney

South Carolina reader John Gregory Vincent has a problem with Johnny Miller's March Column in which he compares the leaves of absence that tour players take from their families with those of military personnel.  Miller wrote:

As a tour player, by far the toughest moment was when I was packing my suitcase to head off to a tournament and my youngest son, Todd, was pulling at my pants leg, pleading, "Daddy, please don't go. Can you stay so we can go fishing?" He followed me to the car, and to this day I can still see him in my rearview mirror trotting after the car, reaching out with his hands, crying. The thought of that still makes me cry.

Many people in different walks of life go through the same thing; the thousands of soldiers in Iraq with families at home come to mind....

John Gregory Vincent thought the comparison was inapt, to say the least.

Johnny Miller's "Lesson Tee" page in the March issue caused me to write my first EVER editorial comment in my 46 years. As a retired Navy Command Master Chief and avid golfer I took exception with Mr. Miller's direct comparison of the impact on the family of the tour player heading out for the week and those of our armed service members ESPECIALLY those today, heading to war. I will concede to a 3 or 4 year-old, gone is gone, but I can assure you that even the little one's quickly learn the difference between 10 days and 10 months. As for the impact on the older children, spouses, friends and family, please. It's golf Mr. Miller. There is ZERO comparison to golf and what our service men and woman and their families are experiencing.

--Bob Carney

You win some and you lose more.

Texas Golf World reader Curtis Carter liked the David Graham Backspin in the February 15 issue by Jim Moriarty.

    Thanks, Jim, for a great article on a great guy, David Graham. During the 1983 Houston Open, I posted players' hole-by-hole scores on the (indoor) Press Room scoreboard at The Woodlands Country Club. Before the tournament began, I remember surveying my domain of 18 little squares per player, per round, then looking at my broad felt-tip pens and wondering, "What if someone makes a 10 or higher on one hole? Can I squeeze double-digits into one of these little squares?"

    No one made a double-digit; however, the highest single-hole score I posted was a "9," by the winner, David Graham, on hole No. 1, a 515 yard par 5, beginning (I believe) his third round, when he was near the top of the leader board. I remember the collective groans from the assembled reporters as they probably sensed his doom.

    David played the remaining 17 holes that day 3 under par, then fired a 64 on Sunday and won the tournament by 5 strokes. Following the trophy presentation and TV appearances outside, he came back to the Press Room, followed by a waiter pushing a bus cart of champagne on ice for the thirsty scribes (and scorekeeper). He visited with us for 15 or 20 minutes, shaking hands, clinking glasses, and being a genuinely pleasant gentleman.

Bob Minno of Akron wasn't quite so high on Tom Pernice, and his "Five Faves" in the previous issue:

    I read, with yawning surprise, Mr. Pernice's cliché ridden comments regarding his "five faves" political talk-show hosts. One, who publicly mocked a Parkinson's sufferer, and another, widows of 9/11 victims; pretty tuned in fellow that Tom. When I want to read politically polarizing dogma I turn to Mother Jones or the Wall Street Journal's editorial page. Please, stick to golf.

    Bob, you'd be interested, I'm sure, in Tom's practice-range divot pattern, too, as documented by Geoff Shackelford.

--Bob Carney

Jerry Eberhardt of Qunicy, IL, writes in response to Dave Kindred's March story on the foursome that lost three of their members in a plane crash:

From Kindred's story:

On hundreds of Saturday and Sunday mornings before the sorrow of April 4, 2007, the four buddies came smiling into the grillroom at Mahopac Golf Club, a small club on the north shore of Lake Mahopac, about 60 miles north of New York City...

When I spoke to [Joe Massaro] in December 2007, he didn't want to talk about his friends. He said it hurt too much. But even as he said he didn't want to talk, he talked....

From Eberhardt's letter:

Just read the story, A weekly foursome that ended too soon, by Dave Kindred. Enjoyed the story, reminds me of my golf group. We enjoy each other and we play in all kinds of weather, if our course is open we are out playing , a lot of times we are the only ones on the course because it's too cold for other golfers. We take a lot of grief from our friends and the pro at our club but we all enjoy it. We have our own handicap system and we change partners every week. Again, thank you for a great article.

Thanks, Jerry. I've been struck while reading the thousands of essays we've got for the US Open Contest how much the game, often played with the same guys week in and week out, means to us, especially to us men, if I might say that. My wife Julie reminds me often that I don't "share" very well. But I share experiences with my golfing friends and that's another way to know someone, to be close. I can hear Garyhard, who posts on this blog, accusing me of playing in the Universal Open again, but it's true. It's the way we communicate with one another.

In a few weeks a group of us who've been traveling to play a winter trip for 25 years, will meet up again at Amelia Island, where we began back in 1984. There's a connection to those guys I don't have to anyone else. It would be devastating to experience what Joe Massaro has. Kindred's piece really reminded me of how much I appreciate that trip, those guys.

--Bob Carney