Press Release: GolfHandicapCalculator.org takes on USGA.org

GolfHandicapCalculator.org (GHC) is trying to revolutionize the way a golf handicap is calculated, delivered and priced. GHC thinks it's ridiculous for golfers to have to pay $40-$110+ per year and join a golf club just to get a golf handicap. GHC provides a free version of it's REAL Handicap. You also do not need to join a real physical golf club.

GHC also feels that the current USGA Handicap Index is not as accurate as it can be and has set out to revolutionize (greatly improve the accuracy of) the golf handicap. First let's take a look at how the USGA Handicap Index is lacking accuracy.

The USGA Handicap Index bases it's course ratings (the difficulty of the golf course) on the educated guesses and feelings of a handful of people. This may have been sufficient 100+ years ago when the USGA was founded but simply provides way too much room for error.

John Smoltz to tee it up on Nationwide Tour

Former all star Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz will be teeing it up on the Nationwide Tour on April 28th. He accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in the South Georgia Classic at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.

"I'm not afraid to fail but failure is right there," said Smoltz. "I know it's not easy. I just want to see what it's like. I want to know what my body feels like. I want to know if that tension creeps up."

Smoltz is a scratch player and his game has been vouched for by Tiger Woods, who says he brings a great deal of tenacity to his golf game. 

It will be very interesting to see how Smoltz handles his nerves and the pressures of tournament golf.

Tim Tebow Charity Golf Tournament set to go

The Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic will be held May 7th at Dye's Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. The tournament will feature Tebow, NFL Pro Bowlers Adrian Peterson, Fred Taylor, Elvis Dumervil, David Garrard, and Jason Taylor, as well as several well known Florida Gators. The tournament will raise money for youth around the world with net proceeds going to the Tim Tebow Foundation and The First Tee.

Tiger Woods out with injury

The golf world just got a bit more boring for the next few weeks with the announcement from Tiger Woods that he will be out with an injury. According to his website, he will miss at least the Wells Fargo Championship due to a mild MCL strain of his left knee and a mild achilles strain. The injuries were suffered when he made a crazy swing from under a tree off the pine straw on the 17th at Augusta during round three of the Masters.

If the next tournament was a major championship, there is no doubt Woods would play but he's being more cautious about recovering from his injuries this time, unlike his decision to play the 2008 U.S. Open, which of course he won with broken leg.

In this Hank Haney article, Haney discussed what the doctors told Woods prior to that U.S. Open and as we now know, the rest is golf history.

What I remember most was the doctor [Thomas Rosenberg] coming to Tiger's house before that U.S. Open and showing him the MRI images on a laptop computer, showing him the two stress fractures, and Tiger not paying very much attention. I asked Dr. Rosenberg [who later performed the surgery to repair Tiger's torn ACL] what the treatment regimen was. He said it meant three weeks on crutches, then inactive for three weeks, then Tiger could start rehab. I remember looking at the calendar and saying, "So he's basically done for the year, right?" At that point Tiger came alive. He said, "I'm playing in the U.S. Open, and I'm going to win." He bent over and started putting on his shoes. "Come on, Hank, we're going to practice." I looked at Dr. Rosenberg and said, "I guess we're going to go practice."

Love that story.

Golf Betting Odds for the Zurich Classic

Luke Donald of England hits from the sand on the 17th hole during a playoff in the final round of The Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
  
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans kicks off  Thursday at the TPC Louisiana with Jason Bohn as the defending champion. Luke Donald, current world #3, and Nick Watney, winner of the tournament in 2007, come in as the betting favorites to win.

Notable player betting odds from Bodog.

Luke Donald 9-1
Nick Watney 12-1
Steve Stricker 18-1
Justin Rose 22-1
Bubba Watson 25-1
K.J. Choi 25-1
Brandt Snedeker 28-1
Graeme McDowell 33-1
Rickie Fowler 33-1
Sean O'Hair 66-1
Jason Bohn 125-1
David Duval 175-1

Brandt Snedeker: By the numbers at the Heritage

Brandt Snedeker celebrates after defeating Luke Donald in a playoff on the 18th hole during the final round of The Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Brandt Snedeker came out blazing Sunday with a front nine 30, finished with a 7-under 64, and then beat Luke Donald on the third playoff hole to win the Heritage. Snedeker earned his second career PGA Tour victory and moved into the top ten of the Fed Ex Point Standings.

Scores: 69,67,72,64 -12

Fairways in regulation: 80.4% (T3)
Greens in regulation: 61.1 (T30)
Sand saves: 57.1 (T24)
Putts per round: 25.8 (T4)
Total birdies: 21 (1)

Prize Money: $1,026,000.00
Fed Ex Points: 500

Golf List Mania

The new book Golf List Mania! by authors Leonard Shapiro and Ed Sherman is now available. Shapiro, with 40 years of sports writing experience with the Washington Post, and Sherman, with 27 years as a sports writer with the Chicago Tribune, have combined to compile a variety of both humorous and creative golf lists and rankings. The book also includes a foreword by everyone's favorite golf quote analyst, Jim Nantz.

Examples of lists you will see:

• My Five Most Important Victories (by Arnold Palmer)
• Why We Hate Golf
• David Feherty's Best Lines
• Great Caddyshack Lines
• Ten Most Overrated Players
• John Daly By The Numbers
• Best Short Games
• The Perfect Golfer
• 10 Best Courses You Can Play
• Biggest Chokes

All in all, the book provides an entertaining and vast array of over 100 lists describing the good, bad, and ugly of golf.

#*%&# that! Pros to be fined at Open Championship

Warning to Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, or any other pros who curse or spit at this year's Open Championship. Players may be publicly fined for these actions if they don't mind their golf etiquette.

I was under the impression that players were already fined for these actions and according to rumors, Woods has been fined the most of any player in PGA Tour history. This warnings just adds that the fines will be made public.

"These guys are role models and we are looking for them to behave as well as possible on the course," said R & A chief Peter Dawson.

Seriously...Daly, Na, and Parnevik paired together

Someone in the PGA pairings department obviously has a sense of humor. Leading off the Heritage Thursday morning in the first group of the day will be John Daly, Kevin Na, and Jesper Parnevik.

Kevin Na, as most people now know, scored a 16 last week at the Valero Texas Open and happens to be one of the slowest players on tour. Daly, also known for several career high scores, including an 18, is known as one of the fastest players on tour. 

Add in Jesper Parnevik to go along with Daly in the most (insert adjective here) dressed category, and you have an interesting pairing, if nothing else.

The tournament was probably trying to add a little flare because it's lacking big name players. Other decent pairings to watch include Ernie Els, Ian Poulter, and Graeme McDowell, as well as Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, and defending champ Jim Furyk.

The 2011 Open Championship will feature several course changes

Royal St. Georges, the venue for the 2011 British Open, will see the course play slightly different than it did in 2003, the year Ben Curtis won.

During that tournament, Tiger Woods missed the first fairway, lost his ball, and ended up with a triple bogey. Jerry Kelly had a bigger problem with the hole, and finished with an 11. Overall, less than 30% of drives hit the first fairway that year. With that in mind, the first fairway will be given twelve additional yards in width for 2011.

The 17th and 18th fairways will be given extra width as well, making the finishing stretch a bit easier for the players. Overall, the course will be lengthened by 100 yards with the biggest change coming at the fourth hole, which will go from a 497 yard par-5 to a 495 yard par-4, making the course a par 70, not 71.

No word has been given on whether or not anything will be changed with the infamous fairway bunker at the fourth.

The Design of Augusta National

Excerpt from the book The Caddie who won the Masters by John Coyne:

Augusta National Golf Club was originally a 365-acre indigo plantation. By 1857 it had become a plant nursery. At the height of the Depression the property was purchased by Bobby Jones, the brilliant amateur, and a friend of his named Clifford Roberts. Together they hired a Scottish golf architect, Alister MacKenzie, to design a course. There were American architects they could have hired, but Bobby Jones didn't want an American course - he felt they were too prescriptive. He wanted MacKenzie to design a golf course where every hole presented a problem or a puzzle for players.

Bobby Jones also wanted a course like St. Andrews in Scotland, with wide fairways, undulating greens, and bunkers that came into play only if a shot was mishit. He wanted each hole to look wide-open from the tee, and playable for any high handicapper, a hole that was a hard par and a difficult birdie.

Golf Betting Odds for the Heritage

Jason Day of Australia will look to follow up his runner up finish at the Masters with a win this week at the Heritage. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) 

The Heritage begins Thursday at Harbor Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Jim Furyk, the 2010 Fed Ex Cup champion, comes in as the defending champion.

Here is a look at some notable player betting odds from Bodog.
Luke Donald 10-1
Jim Furyk 16-1
Matt Kuchar 16-1
Aaron Baddely 25-1
Rickie Fowler 25-1
Graeme McDowell 28-1
Jason Day 28-1
Kevin "16" Na 50-1
Camillo Villegas 80-1
Brendan Steele 125-1
John Daly 250-1

Notes: 
Baddely won at Harbor Town in 2006 and has a win with three top 10 finishes this season. Jason Day is coming off a runner up finish at the Masters which should give him a great deal of confidence. Brendan Steele won last week at the Valero Texas Open but apparently the oddsmakers don't give him much of a chance of going back to back. Maybe John Daly got inspired last week with Kevin Na trying to break his "tin cup" records so he could play real well or maybe he'll try to create some new records. I believe Harbor Town does have a lot of water holes.

The Golf week in Review.....

 

Matteo Manassero of Italy during the 4th round of the Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)


Brendan Steele wins the Valero Texas Open....Kevin Na plays in the forest and cards a 16....Matteo Manassero wins the Maybank Malaysian Open......No attempt was made to kill the prime minister of Malaysia.....Jim Thorpe returns from prison to golf....Lobster golf balls....Dangerous golf hazard....Tiger Woods gives lessons in South Korea....Cook wins again on Senior circuit....Quotes of the week...

Matteo Manassero: By the Numbers at the Maybank Malaysian Open

Matteo Manassero with the trophy after winning the Maybank Malaysian Open at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on April 17, 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Italian Matteo Manassero, age 17, won the Maybank Malaysian Open for his second professional win and vaulted into the top 35 in the world rankings. He becomes the third youngest player to have multiple wins behind Ryo Ishikawa and Chinnarat Phadungsil.

A look at his numbers for the week:

Scores:  66, 71, 67, 68  -16
Fairways in Regulation: 76.8% (2)
Driving distance: 275.4 yards (40)
Greens in Regulation: 84.7% (1)
Putts per round: 29.5 (40)
Sand saves: 44.4%

Prize Money: Euro 288,465

Manassero also moved up to 11th position in the Race to Dubai Standings.

Classic Caddyshack Lines

A new book titled Golf List Mania by Leonard Shapiro and Ed Sherman is set to be released in May and they have put together a great collection of golf lists. I will be providing a review and more excerpts in the near future. Here is their list of some classic Caddyshack lines.

Classic Caddyshack Lines:

9) "You're a lot of woman, you know that? You want to make $14 the hard way?" -Al Czervik
8) "I tell you, I never saw dead people smoke before." - Al Czervik
7) "How about a Fresca?" - Judge Smails
6) "The last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it." - Al Czervik
5) "I bet you've got a lot of nice ties....You want to tie me up with some of your ties, Ty?" - Lacy Underall
4) "I'm having a little party at the Yacht Club next Sunday. Christening my new sloop. Do you have any plans? How would you like to mow my lawn?" - Judge Smails
3) "This is the worst looking hat I ever saw. You buy a hat like this, I bet you get a free bowl of soup with it." -Al Czervik
2) "I was born to love you. I was born to lick your face. I was born to rub you. But you were born to rub me first." - Ty Webb
1) "Hey baby, you're all right. You must have been something before electricity." - Al Czervik

Maybe Chamblee should interview Tiger

Now that Brandel Chamblee has criticized Tiger Woods for his swing changes, his putting, his chipping, his off-course behavior, his on-course behavior, and everything else under the sun, he has now added his post-round interviews to the list.

Chamblee posted this article on why Woods needed to give a better post-round interview to Bill Macatee after the final round of the Masters. He asks why Woods is "so consistently smug when he is interviewed."

Kevin Na scores a 16 on par-4 at Valero Texas Open

Kevin Na joined an unfortunate list of the highest pro scores in history today when he scored a 16 at the par-4 9th hole at the Valero Texas Open.

He hit his tee shot into the woods, deemed it unplayable, went back to the tee, hit another tee shot into the woods, chipped a shot off a tree which bounced backwards and hit him resulting in a penalty stroke, hit countless more chips, finally got it out of the trees, hit an iron to the green, and eventually made a five footer for 16.

Tough day for Na, but he took it all in stride and didn't give up.

Photo / Getty

Valero Texas Open Betting Odds

After the Masters, it's a bit hard to get fired up for the Valero Texas Open, but it will be interesting to see if the players who contended at Augusta can follow it up this week. Adam Scott is the defending champion and did finish runner up last week so he should be one to watch.

Here are the Bodog betting odds for several notables:

Adam Scott 10-1
Geoff Ogilvy 11-1
Martin Laird 16-1
Bo Van Pelt 22-1
Anthony Kim 25-1
J.B. Holmes 25-1
Angel Cabrera 33-1
Ricky Barnes 33-1
Spencer Levin 33-1
Jhonatton Vegas 80-1
David Duval 150-1

*Last week Jason Day was 80-1 and he finished runner up with Scott which shows the long-shots are definitely possible winners*

Adam Scott photo / Getty

Ian Poulter vs. Tiger Woods

"I don't think he'll [Tiger Woods] finish in the top five. The shots he was hitting at Doral were very inconsistent. You can't afford to hit shots like that on this golf course [Augusta National] and get away with it. I don't think you want to rely on your short game that much around this place."

Another stellar prediction by Poulter. Almost as good as this one when he said the golf world would come down to just him and Tiger.

Currently the scoreboard reads:

Woods: 14 majors, 71 PGA wins
Poulter: 0 majors, 1 PGA win

Brandel Chamblee = Mute Button

Golf channel analyst Brandel Chamblee gets paid to provide his opinions, all of which seem to be either wrong, or include him constantly flip-floping.

He has now joined sports personalities Chris Berman and Dick Vitale for people I have to turn the mute button on for. In the brief segments I did actually listen to him during Masters week, I was not surprised to hear the same old story.

First, he has been one of the biggest critics of Tiger Wood's swing changes and Sean Foley's teaching methods for the past nine months. He has repeated over and over that Woods is working on the wrong things and he won't find success with this new method.

After Wood's 66 Friday at the Masters, Chamblee all of a sudden states that Tiger looked to be in "complete control of his game," especially with his putting, and that he was looking like the Woods of old. As we know, Woods full swing looked great while his putting was slightly off.

The point is Chamblee has grilled Tiger for nearly a year saying that his swing changes will never work, but now all of a sudden he praises Woods for his improvement.

As for his opinions on Phil Mickelson, Chamblee said that although Lefty had a tough week at the Masters, he will certainly have many more years of success at Augusta and will most likely win it again. Then, literally less than one minute later, when speaking of Mickelson's arthritis, he said Phil will not be able to have much success over the next decade because of the condition. Huh? What? Chamblee, you just said the exact opposite thing one minute ago.

He then turned into Dr. Chamblee, giving his diagnosis for Phil's arthritis and describing how it will be treated, and the difficulty the doctors will have in changing treatment programs for him as the disease changes. Never knew Chamblee went to medical school. By the way, Mickelson did shoot 63-65 on the weekend two weeks ago to win in Houston so the doctors must be doing well so far.

The bottom line is Chamblee is trying to become like Johnny Miller, saying outrageous things that will draw attention, although in his case, they make no sense.

Tiger on verge, but not quite back

Back in the day this Masters would have been in the books. The "old" Tiger would have won this Masters in a runaway. All said and done, his 74 on Saturday included eight missed opportunities and Sunday he botched a three footer on 12 for par, didn't birdie 13, missed the eagle at 15, and didn't birdie 16, 17, or 18.

It didn't happen this time but there are tell tale signs that his game is returning to form. The front nine 31 with four birdies, an eagle, multiple fist pumps, and huge roars show that the game is still there. Overall though, the "process" is still in the works, most notably the putting.

The full swing looked much more grooved and ingrained and even Tom Watson said it looks like Tiger finally has the club in the proper position at the top of the backswing.

Once the swing changes fully click in creating more consistency, and the putting improves just a bit, Tiger should soon be hoisting a lot more trophies.

Whether you are a Tiger fan or Tiger hater, there is no doubt his game is capable of bringing unmatched electricity to the final round of major championships.


Photos / Getty

McILroy not alone in final round meltdown

How can you explain a player going from making only three bogeys in 54 holes and leading the Masters to hitting the ball all over the map, missing almost every short putt, and shooting 80 in the final round?

Pressure. The intense pressure of the final round of a major championship and especially the pressure on the back nine at Augusta National on Sunday.

Rory McILroy started his Sunday by smashing his drive straight down the middle of the fairway at the first. Then, with a short iron approach shot, he pulled it left, short-sided himself, and then failed to get up and down when he missed a three foot putt. From there, the day turned into a disaster.

He fought hard to shoot only one over 37 on the front nine, but after hitting a tee shot into another zip code at the tenth leading to a triple bogey, he couldn't steady himself and it was over.

He's not alone however, with the final round blow-up. Most recently, Dustin Johnson had a six shot lead at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble before posting a final round 82. Nick Watney held the lead at the 2010 PGA Championship before a final round 81. At the 2007 U.S. Open. Aaron Baddely held the lead before opening with a triple bogey and going on to shoot 80.

Of course, the most notable Masters blow-up happened when Greg Norman held a six shot lead over Nick Faldo in 1996. He shot a final round 78 to to lose by five strokes to Faldo, who shot 67.

It all just goes to show how much the stress and pressure effects the players with the lead heading into the final round of a major, especially younger players.

Charl Schwartzel: By the Numbers at the 2011 Masters

Charl Schwartzel of South Africa lines up a putt on the sixth green during the final round of the 2011 Masters. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
  
Schwartzel became the 75th Masters champion Sunday with a final round 66 which included a bump and run chip-in from 60 feet at the first hole, a hole-out eagle on number three, and four consecutive birdies to end his round. He played the best down the stretch to defeat Adam Scott and Jason Day by two strokes to earn his first green jacket. Charl

"Just an exciting day," Schwartzel said. "So many roars, and that atmosphere out there was just incredible. A phenomenal day."

Scores by round: 69,71,68,66 -14

Totals:
Eagles: 2
Birdies: 17
Pars: 46
Bogeys: 7

Greens in Regulation: 49 / 72
Putts per hole: 1.56 (2nd)

Prize Money: $1.35 million
Fed Ex Points: 600

With the win, he earns a lifetime exemption into the Masters, a five year exemption on the PGA Tour, as well as five year exemptions into the U.S. Open, British Open, PGA Championship, and the Player's Championship. 

The Masters 2011 in Photographs

Charl Schwartzel of South Africa hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2011 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Final Round Photos
Third Round Photos
Second Round Photos
Tiger Woods 66 on Friday

Masters Final Round Photos

Getty Images

Masters Final Round Pairings and Tee Times

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2011 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Sunday Pairings and Tee Times:

2:40 Rory McILroy, Angel Cabrera
2:30 KJ Choi, Charl Schwartzel
2:20 Jason Day, Adam Scott
2:10 Luke Donald, Bo Van Pelt
2:00 Bubba Watson, Ross Fisher
1:50 Fred Couples, Geoff Ogilvy
1:40 Tiger Woods, Martin Laird
1:30 Matt Kuchar, Ryan Palmer


Complete tee times

Moving backwards day for Tiger

 

Tiger Woods reacts to a missed putt on the fifth green during the third round of the 2011 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2011 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Any golfer can look back after playing a round to see where their score could have been lower. For Tiger Woods on Saturday at Augusta, the list is pretty long.

#1: Missed a five foot par putt (lipped)
#2: Missed a five foot birdie putt (lipped)
#5: Left birdie putt one centimeter short
#8: Failed to get up and down from behind the green on par-5
#9: Missed 8 foot birdie putt
#11: Missed 2 foot par putt
#15: Three jacked for par (missed 5 foot birdie putt)
#18: Failed to get up and down from over green (missed 7 foot par putt)

Had he taken advantage of all these opportunities, he would be at -13 with a one shot lead. Had he taken advantage of just half of these opportunities, he would be at -9, playing in the final group with McILroy. As it stands, he took advantage of none of them and is seven shots back. Woods most likely needs a 65 in the final round to have any chance.

Masters Round Three Photos

Getty Images