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Grading Fox Sports’ golf debut

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Inherently, tournament golf is a sport better viewed from a television screen. When you’re a spectator at a live golf event, you’re there to see the course, the players, the shots and take in the experience of world class golf — you’re not there to see winners and losers. It’s the only sport where you could attend the event, watch live action all day and really have no idea who’s winning the tournament or what’s going on.

That’s because when you watch golf on TV, you can view multiple golfers playing different holes at opposite ends of the course with a leaderboard that’s never more than a commercial break away. In person, seeing all that action is physically impossible.

That’s why it’s especially important that golf television broadcasts are on point — without a proper production, it’s easy for the viewer to lose sight of what’s happening. A team of producers needs to be aware of various storylines, who’s in contention and the precise moment at which to reveal to the audience pivotal moments on the golf course.

Fast forward to this past Saturday, December 13, when Fox made its professional golf debut in broadcasting the Franklin Templeton Shootout from Naples, Fla. Let’s analyze the broadcast on (1) Initial Impressions (2) Commentary and (3) Appearance.

Initial Impressions

Buck (1)

I must say, initial impressions are a bit weak. The coverage starts with an overly cheesy montage of various Fox Sports personalities and golfers feigning surprise (“We have golf on Fox?!?”) about Fox now covering golf. This is immediately followed by their Fox Sports/Football theme — Ba da da da da DA! Oh no you didn’t, Fox! I need something else here. I mean, if you are you responsible for replacing arguably the greatest sports theme of all time — Yanni’s “In Celebration of Man” — you better be replacing it with iconic brilliance of your own. I was personally hoping they’d introduce a golf song.

Buck, to his credit, starts off the broadcast on a humble and cautious note; acknowledging the difficulty in furnishing a coherent golf broadcast while also setting the bar low out of the gate:

“Right now, we’re not worthy.  Someday maybe we will be.”

Hey, Joe, a few slipups are fine for the Shootout, but get your act together for the U.S. Open please? No one’s going to care that this is Fox’s maiden voyage into golf if Tiger and Rory are in contention at Chambers Bay in June.

Initial Impressions grade: B-

Commentary

Here, Fox has big shoes to fill. Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller have been mainstays for many golf tournaments throughout the years, especially the U.S. Open. Losing them for our national championship will be a sentimental blow to fans everywhere (myself included).

And Joe Buck, for whatever reason, certainly seems to have his legions of haters out there. I admit there is something not too likeable about his delivery, but I’ve always found him to be a very good play-by-play guy. He has a great voice and doesn’t over-complicate big moments with useless chatter. He’s done his homework with golf, and in his first few minutes is already light years ahead of other non-golf broadcasters, like, say, Chris Berman, who badgers his companions and the audience, with clueless, rambling comments. That being said, referring to Brad Faxon as “Fax” seems a bit forward.

Flop

The Shark steadily improved throughout the broadcast, showing his (stubborn) personality, which I mistook for blandness early in the broadcast. Norman is not scared to gleefully engage in on-air spats with the other golf personalities on the team — there was a playfully testy exchange between Norman and Faxon on the proper way to play a flop shot from a tight lie — and he subtly establishes himself as the alpha-male of the group throughout the day. Much will rest on Norman’s shoulders going forward, particularly in filling the sharp-tongued vacancy left by Johnny Miller.

The on-course guys — Steve Flesch, Scotty McCarron and Brad Faxon — are very knowledgeable. Having Faxon, one of the greatest putters to ever live, talk about green breaks and speeds is a downright pleasure to listen to. The trio already seems to have established a familiar rapport will each other, with some good-natured needling taking place throughout the broadcast.

There will be a learning curve, however, for the audience identifying the voices and personalities of these otherwise accomplished golf minds. They’re not only new, but it’s sometimes difficult to tell them apart. They don’t have the distinct sounds or viewpoints like you’d hear from David Feherty, Gary McCord, Roger Maltbie, Paul Azinger and, of course, Johnny Miller. David Fay lurks quietly in the background in the event of any rules questions. At times, the collective delivery from the entire group is a bit dry (I do realize this is a weekend scramble in December and not a Major).

KennyPerry

Fox has E.A. Tischler — a full time golf teacher — exclusively doing golf analysis. This is a bit different than how the other networks do it, with the commentators also moonlighting as swing gurus like with Kostis (an accomplished teacher in his own right) or Chamblee. Tischler’s first review of Stricker, Kuchar and Kenny Perry’s swing was great information but suffered a bit from strange context; it sort of appears out of nowhere and perhaps Fox was a bit too eager to show off its swing mechanics chops. E.A. nonetheless does a fine (albeit pre-recorded and somewhat bland) job narrating the nuances in each golfers takeaway, although the arrow graphic featured on both the face-on or down-the-line view is not necessarily explained.

Commentary grade: B

Appearance

Fox’s appearance package, a bit needlessly tech-y at time, is actually pretty good. One thing that stood out was the sound quality. It’s entertainingly sensitive, picking up lots of golfer-caddy strategy chatter. A few times, the cameraman seemed a bit wobbly behind the tee however.

NeonHole

You could have predicted that Fox, whose mascot is Cleatus the Robot, would get hi-tech in some way shape or form during the broadcast. Behold the neon hole surrounder brought to you by “FoxLabs,” which I don’t have anything against necessarily, but seems pretty pointless. I can’t really recall a time where I mystified as to where a guy is rolling his ball to. Still, it left me curious as to what other techy tricks Fox will have up its sleeve going forward.

One thing I do need, however, is a shot tracer. I think that is one of the coolest advancements in golf TV in recent memory. Do yourself a favor and google “Tiger Woods Protracer,” then sit back and watch the glory.

Appearance grade: B-

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think Fox did a decent job during their TV debut. Will Buck and Norman be the next Nantz/Venturi or Hicks/Miller combination? Early indications would seem to make meeting those standards unlikely, but give them time. They had a promising, capable start.

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Lawyer, Bachelor and Golf Nut. John also writes for his and his sister's Italian culinary and lifestyle blog at www.johnandelana.com, maintains an honest GHIN handicap, and is from New Jersey; all of which he is proud of.

65 Comments

65 Comments

  1. Rob

    Dec 19, 2014 at 8:58 am

    Never liked Miller, talks about himself too much and is sometimes too opinionated however, every once in a while he says something incredibly insightful. Can’t imagine listening to Norman and wondering if he will ever realize he is not the only person on earth. The stupid exchange between Norman & Faxon was inexcusable but pure Norman. Good thing the remote has a mute button.

  2. cmasty

    Dec 18, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    Awesome

  3. Trubo

    Dec 18, 2014 at 12:41 am

    Never heard Buck commentate before this event, so didn’t find him too hard to listen to. If Greg said ‘absolutely’ once, he said it twenty times. And, as usual, tried to hard to sound incisive. Just speak to us as you would one of your mates.
    Didn’t like the ‘tron’ sound effects of EA’s analysis.
    The rest of the team were okay, but not outstanding. Here’s hoping they improve with time.
    I too like pro tracer and would like to hear more about the equipment the pros are playing.
    Can do better B-.

  4. Beacher50

    Dec 17, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    I don’t mind Joe Buck and find him better than most at Baseball and Football. Clearly his golf announcing is a bit rough, but over time it will improve.

  5. Regis

    Dec 17, 2014 at 6:25 pm

    I started watching golf on TV with Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. Nothing will ever compare to CBS doing the Masters. I like Johnny Miller. Getting more tired by the day of Feherty’s schtick, but I like him as a person. I like Buck on Baseball-he’s perfect but worst fit for broadcasting golf ever-worse than those corporate spokesman who come on tournaments to talk about their company, their dedicated employees and the charities they support. I really liked the Fox graphics. Their three color swing plane graphics are the best since Hogan’s Five Lessons.

  6. ken

    Dec 17, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    What little I viewed was OK….I found myself immediately comparing Fox’s crew to that of CBS. IMO CBS golf coverage is in first place. Everyone else is last.
    Now, after I let FOX stand alone and critiqued it from there, I found myself cringing at the commentary of Joe Buck. Buck is either a work in progress or he is simply not suited to golf.
    Because I’m not a fan of Joe Buck who to me is enamored by the sound of his own voice and presents his play by play in a manner in which he thinks his opinion of the action is important and interesting to the viewers. newsflash, it isn’t. I do not watch sports on TV so that the play by play guy can lecture me on what I should think about the action. Moreover, I am not in the least bit interested in “personal interest” points of view. Buck seems incapable of steering clear of these and other ‘issues’….
    Note to FOX….We can SEE what it taking place on screen. There are times when the announcers should just keep quiet and let the action stand on it’s own

  7. Jeff

    Dec 17, 2014 at 3:40 pm

    Watching the replay right now. Look, it’s the only golf on. Right now, it’s the best golf on.

  8. JEFF

    Dec 17, 2014 at 3:06 pm

    The need to put a muzzle on the announcers…… news flash,,,, taylor made had a new line of clubs!

  9. jgolf

    Dec 17, 2014 at 12:10 pm

    Honestly I didn’t see all of the broadcast, but from what I did see, I thought it was terrible. I really like Fox for the NFL. In spite of Joe Buck. But I’m a golf geek and would usually watch golf and flip to the NFL just to get the scores. I like ABC at “The Open” but glad they don’t cover a lot of golf. NBC is decent,but ever since Miller got the reputation of being “truthful”, I now think he’s gone too far with some of his critiques just to be controversial. CBS is the best of the major networks, but McCord who was funny at one time, has now become a caracature of himself. But Fox…Joe Buck?? Come on. And the NFL theme music they use for the NFL going to commercial break? Did anyone at Fox know they had a golf event to televise before last week? I have to give them a D overall. IMO of course.

    • jgolf

      Dec 17, 2014 at 12:13 pm

      Oh….and without a doubt, the pro tracer is the best thing to happen to golf on TV since HD.

  10. SkierGolferNewHampshire

    Dec 17, 2014 at 11:39 am

    Joe Buck is an excellent football guy, but an awful golf guy. His staccato delivery drives me bonkers. The greatness of the CBS and NBC teams is that they are very conversational. Buck and Norman are anything but. Buck needs to go and be replaced by someone with a more golf-like presences on air.

    I was waiting for something really new. How about using the pro-tracer on EVERY tee shot? That’s one of the great inventions in golf coverage and it’s used so sparingly. It’s a shame.

    • billm311

      Dec 17, 2014 at 4:37 pm

      Joe Buck ruined playoff baseball for me. Now I guess he will be ruining golf for me as well.

  11. Fran

    Dec 17, 2014 at 11:29 am

    Just one question. WHERE IS HOLLY SONDERS????

  12. tom

    Dec 17, 2014 at 9:47 am

    That was a very good write up John. I didn’t see any of the coverage, nor did I care to. Not because of Fox, but because the “shootout” is boring… Frankly, I had no idea it was on until watching some football coverage on Sunday and seeing the box scores. What did that mean? That Fox has not done a good job of marketing that it will be carrying golf, and its native voyage was this past weekend.

    That being said, here I’ll go… I’m particularly qualified to comment on this because a) I was a professional golfer b) I’ve watched a lot of just about every golf tournament over the past seven years.

    Miller/Maltbie/McCord – stale – just stale. They cater to the much older generation(s) and that’s the only chord they strike. I think golf is losing its appeal because of the tired old banter between these “TV Analysts.” I don’t think Norman is going to change any of this. Who cares about his travails on the tour in the 80s. He’s not going to grow the game or get my kids interested in watching golf on TV.

    McCarron/Flesch/Faxon – yawn… There’s not anything different here. Faxon is a bore. Someone wrote he’s one of the best putters to live… Was that you John? Come on… Tiger is one of the best putters to live. Palmer, Nicklaus, Player – guys who’ve won tournaments – lots of tournaments – and oh yeah, majors. Faxon? What has he won? I’m not going to listen to his yukety yuk anymore than I’d listen to McCord’s as he describes the upcoming putt.

    Flesch? No one has heard of him. McCarron? Same…

    Fox is new to golf? yes Check!
    Golf is new to fox? yes Check!

    Get some new announcers. Joe Buck – not new – known for world series – that’s the only place I’ve seen him… Norman – not new.

    How about getting some young hip dudes that have a low handicap. How about Kelly Slater? I bet my kids would watch golf (for at least a few minutes) if an ultra cool surfer dude was calling some holes. What about a call down from the booth like they do for NFL broadcasts? Slater calls down to someone like Laurie Dhue – remember her? She’s the ultra beautiful ex-Fox news woman? That would be ultra fun to watch and would attract a new audience.

    Face it – no one who’s CURRENTLY interested (all of us) in the US Open would turn away from watching it on Fox if a band of super models was walking the course with headphones and microphones calling shots. And if they were led by a hipster like a “Slater” that would be cool too.

    Fox has big pockets – they could afford anyone they’d like to help kickstart this wonderful game.

    How about Charles Barkley in the booth? I could go for that…

    With much love…
    Tom

    • John

      Dec 17, 2014 at 10:37 am

      Check out Faxon’s putting stats – putts per round – from ’93-2000. Pretty insane.

  13. Shelbs

    Dec 16, 2014 at 9:35 pm

    I thought it was ok.

    CBS is miles better then any other broadcast.
    ABC is very good for the British Open too.

    I thought Fox was better then NBC/Golf Channel. Unfortunately Miller and Hicks ruin every broadcast.

    I’ll be looking forward to watching the US Open by Fox…..

  14. Jon

    Dec 16, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    Get rid of Joe Buck his commentary on golf is terrible. He’s rude, boring to listen to and has a lame personality. Put Holly Sonders in the booth at least she’s nice to look at and has a personality!

    • ken

      Dec 17, 2014 at 5:12 pm

      Please….No eye candy.
      I watch golf for the golf.
      Saunders can work in studio…..Away from the course…

  15. Jadon

    Dec 16, 2014 at 11:01 am

    I was looking for the final round of this tournament and couldn’t find it. No wonder. What the heck Fox? Let someone know you’re broadcasting final rounds. Geez.

    • John

      Dec 16, 2014 at 12:30 pm

      last round was on Saturday

      • Jack Nash

        Dec 17, 2014 at 1:41 pm

        Because he was doing NFL Broadcast. Fox will try with all the fancy gadgets like they tried in the NHL but people don’t need flashing lights and do dads. They just like to watch great golf.

  16. Adam

    Dec 16, 2014 at 9:04 am

    The statement at the beginning about attending a live event and not knowing what’s going on is going away. I was at the President’s Cup at Muirfield Village and for $10 they gave us a portable device to watch the NBC broadcast. Best of both worlds. It will be common place to do this on your smartphone very soon.

  17. Travis

    Dec 16, 2014 at 7:05 am

    I have not watched a World Series for 10 years or so now because of McCarver/Buck. Fox sports must be into torture as well as ‘sports’ broadcasting.

    • ken

      Dec 17, 2014 at 5:14 pm

      Mc Carver is long gone.
      Funny thing is, when Mc Carver started his broadcast career with the Mets, he was a credible and knowledgeable no nonsense analyst.
      Once he went national, he grew an enormous go and became unwatchable

      • Kirby

        Dec 18, 2014 at 12:11 am

        I honestly hate mccarver. Im a cards baseball fan and found out he was going to be doing a decent amount of our local games.I listen to the radio with the volume turned off I hate that guy so much.He is so fake, hates the cardinals because they traded his ass, and regurgitates the same crap every game.His best moment ever for me is when Deon Sanders shot that alcohol all over his smug face.

  18. Mizzy

    Dec 16, 2014 at 12:17 am

    First Non-“A” review i have seen on here.

    • John

      Dec 16, 2014 at 10:04 am

      I try to be as objective as possible, Mizzy

  19. Waqar

    Dec 16, 2014 at 12:03 am

    The right wing takeover of golf is finally complete. I used to like norman but now I hate him for being in bed with fox and its ideology. Johnny miller is and will be the most objective and intelligent commentator in golf. I will never buy anything again which is associated with norman, and never play on a course he designed.

    He is seriously overrated as a golfer. He is a known choker, alpha males DO NOT choke.

    • Spinball

      Dec 16, 2014 at 9:19 am

      Brilliant injecting your personal politics into a discussion of a golf telecast. This would be like someone saying “I saw Obama eating an apple. I will never eat apples again.” That sounds pretty stupid; doesn’t it? Being closed minded, as you obviously are, doesn’t add to intelligent debate.

    • ken

      Dec 17, 2014 at 5:15 pm

      right wing takeover…..Oy vay….Leave it to a flaming lib to politicize anything and everything.
      Tut tut….No one asked you to respond.

  20. Taylor

    Dec 15, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    I cannot stand Joe Buck. Please golf, no more Buck. Protracer every shot

    • marcel

      Dec 16, 2014 at 12:02 am

      David Feherty is the best – all the way half dressed half whatever – DAVID is the man and then Shark

    • Double Mocha Man

      Dec 16, 2014 at 11:03 am

      At least there is some golf history in the Buck family. As a kid I remember caddying for his Dad, Jack Buck, at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.

  21. Pat

    Dec 15, 2014 at 8:52 pm

    No more Joe Buck. Dude doesn’t know anything about golf and has the personality of a door knob. Monotone voice which puts me to sleep. I’m glad Miller isn’t commentating anymore. Way too cocky and self-righteous. McCord isn’t funny and needs to retire. Norman’s alpha male “testosterone overdrive” attitude is way too abrasive for TV. Don’t get me started on Costas, he says some of the stupidest things and my brain cells die whenever he talks about politics. I think Faxon, Feherty and Maltby are great for the sport.

  22. 1putt23

    Dec 15, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    Holly Sonders please!!!;-)

    • Pat

      Dec 15, 2014 at 8:54 pm

      No way. Holly is the definition of fake and plastic. More Win McMurry please.

      • 1putt23

        Dec 15, 2014 at 9:20 pm

        I don’t watch Morning Drive anymore….I’ll take Win too….but she’s not on anywhere ;-(

      • Kirby

        Dec 18, 2014 at 12:16 am

        No kidding,that chick wears so much freakin makeup, her voice sounds like she has smoked for 50 years, her fake breasts are ridiculously too large for her frame,and she looks 20 years older than she actually is. These guys wanting her on t.v. need to get some better standards.Good lord.

  23. Ritch

    Dec 15, 2014 at 7:38 pm

    I think Fox needs to bring back “Loves Theme” that ABC used for many years during their broadcast of majors.

  24. slider

    Dec 15, 2014 at 5:55 pm

    any Canadians on here this is just like sportsnet taking over CBC not good for the game of golf firing miller and maltby for norman buck and others

  25. james

    Dec 15, 2014 at 5:48 pm

    did not like fox joe buck knows less about the game than roger maltby and I am a huge miller fan so I don’t like to see him go and maybe fox could get their cameras out of fairway bunkers right in the line of poulters shot. Also for greg this is not a time to promote your wine and other businesses just stick to calling the action. Overall grade is an F and Fox is going to ruin the game unless they get some smarter broadcasters

    • Pat

      Dec 15, 2014 at 8:43 pm

      I agree that Joe Buck is horrible and doesn’t know squat about golf. We see enough of him when he does football games. He has the personality of a door knob. Snore fest.

  26. tiptin

    Dec 15, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    The coverage offered nothing new to bring in new golf viewers
    I agree with RobG’s comments above. So much new technology is available to make golf look interesting on TV. Just showing 80% coverage on putting doesn’t cut it like all other channels do. Show different shots via pro-tracer, show proper player shot alignments instead of same straight camera angles, over head camera shots, good slow motions of swings, even aimpoint break lines for putting..need something new and interesting to spruce up the 3-4 hrs of golf. Otherwise it gets less interesting to even watch it on DVR

  27. Steve

    Dec 15, 2014 at 4:33 pm

    I’d be very happy if they could get the protracer on every shot. I love that

    • JOSH

      Dec 15, 2014 at 4:53 pm

      Yes!!!! Completely agree. Love the protracer.

      • John

        Dec 15, 2014 at 5:01 pm

        Protracer is just pure glory. Youtube has a bunch of amazing compilations if you ever want to wonderfully kill time.

    • jonno

      Dec 16, 2014 at 2:05 am

      they have protracer on every shot for japanese golf which when i watched a tournament recently amazed me – i thought they needed to setup a static camera behind the tee to make it work, they had it going off their normal cameras if stationed behind the player.
      makes me think it’s just software so there’s no excuse for it not to be on every shot possible.

  28. RobG

    Dec 15, 2014 at 3:48 pm

    I personally don’t care about the commentary on a golf broadcast, I just want to see more golf. NBC and CBS have become almost un-watchable. They only show shots of the leaders and a few guys close to lead and fill the rest of the gaps with 8 replays of shots that we have already seen from different angles, commercials, useless banter or “features.” I tune in to watch golf, the more shots they can show in real time, the better.

    • rgb

      Dec 15, 2014 at 7:17 pm

      Oh God, the ‘features’ waste of time at the Masters is intolerable. And the low funeral-home tone voices. Its a golf course, for heaven’s sake, not the manger of Christ.

  29. Scooter McGavin

    Dec 15, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    No offense to Yanni, as he has made a lot of money selling albums to middle aged folks, but how can you call “In Celebration of Man” the “greatest sports theme of all time”, when I don’t even know that there’s ever even been a performance by real musicians (and not just the MIDI computer rendering that’s played on the broadcasts). Have you never heard Williams’s “Olympic Fanfare and Theme”? I’m pretty sure that qualifies as a sports theme.

    • John

      Dec 15, 2014 at 5:13 pm

      Scooter – great point and great song. I probably got a bit dramatic in handing Yanni that crown. But, come on, “In Celebration of Man” is just fantastic.

  30. FTWPhil

    Dec 15, 2014 at 3:05 pm

    Didn’t watch.
    Hate Miller!
    Tech reminds me of their ill fated attempt at NHL.
    Need protracer!

  31. James

    Dec 15, 2014 at 2:48 pm

    At least Fox was trying some new things. I liked the highlighted hole. I would like to see a putt tracer and fill shot tracer too. I wonder if they thought about a GO-NO GO zone for attempting to hit a par 5 in two?

  32. Nathan Sargent

    Dec 15, 2014 at 12:55 pm

    Johnny Miller stinks on TV. However, he is the GOAT. Just ask him. He’ll tell you. Literally every broadcast he brings up shooting 63 at Oakmont. “You could hit a small bucket and not do any better than that”

    • sgniwder99

      Dec 15, 2014 at 8:10 pm

      Dude, forget about every broadcast. If I shot a Sunday 63 to win the US Open I’d mention it every SENTENCE.

  33. Brad

    Dec 15, 2014 at 12:42 pm

    Fox broadcasted more live swings in one hour than Golf Channel/NBC does in two. Bonus: no Johnny Miller.

    • bradford

      Dec 15, 2014 at 1:27 pm

      I’ll agree with the lack of Johnny Miller. Can’t go anywhere but up from there

      • John

        Dec 15, 2014 at 1:39 pm

        can understand the sentiments on Miller. Still, I somehow will miss his grouchy tone for the Open.

    • jill

      Dec 15, 2014 at 5:53 pm

      miller is a stud tells it like it is my favorite announcer

  34. mtn1414

    Dec 15, 2014 at 12:33 pm

    They must have mentioned ten times that Kuchar ran a 5k Saturday morning before the round, and acted like it was some amazing feat. It’s not like he ran a marathon before playing the final round at the Masters.

  35. west

    Dec 15, 2014 at 12:12 pm

    The more golf coverage/access/exposure…the better! Good for the game! Love it! Kudos Fox!

    • Regis

      Dec 18, 2014 at 5:12 pm

      Only Fox is replacing NBC. To me its a step down

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Instruction

The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic

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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.

As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.

The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.

Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply.  Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:

Mis-aligned hands

By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.

The position of the grip in the upper/left hand

I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean.  Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.

To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.

Too much lower (right) hand on the club

It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.

Gripping too tightly

Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.

So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open betting preview

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As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.

This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.

The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.

Past Winners at Memorial Park

  • 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
  • 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
  • 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value). 

Key Stats For Memorial Park

Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:

Strokes Gained: Approach

Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.

Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Tom Hoge (+1.30)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
  3. Keith Mitchell (+0.97) 
  4. Tony Finau (+0.92)
  5. Jake Knapp (+0.84)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.

Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
  2. Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
  3. Cameron Champ (+0.86)
  4. Rafael Campos (+0.84)
  5. Si Woo Kim (+0.70)

Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast

The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.

Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):

  1. Adam Svensson (+1.27)
  2. Harry Hall (+1.01)
  3. Martin Trainer (+0.94)
  4. Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
  5. S.H. Kim (+0.86)

Strokes Gained: Around the Green

With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.

Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:

  1. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
  2. S.H. Kim (+0.68)
  3. Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
  4. Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
  5. Jason Day (+0.60)

Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult

Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past. 

Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
  2. Ben Griffin (+1.75)
  3. Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
  4. Ben Taylor (+1.53)
  5. Tony Finau (+1.42)

Course History

Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park. 

Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:

  1. Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
  2. Ben Taylor (+3.40)
  3. Tony Finau (+2.37)
  4. Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
  5. Patton Kizzire (+2.16)

Statistical Model

Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.

These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. Wyndham Clark
  3. Tony Finau
  4. Joel Dahmen
  5. Stephan Jaeger 
  6. Aaron Rai
  7. Sahith Theegala
  8. Keith Mitchell 
  9. Jhonnatan Vegas
  10. Jason Day
  11. Kurt Kitayama
  12. Alex Noren
  13. Will Zalatoris
  14. Si Woo Kim
  15. Adam Long

2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks

Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)

Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.

Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.

Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions.  The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.

Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)

Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.

In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.

In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.

Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.

Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)

Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.

Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.

In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.

Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)

Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.

Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.

Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.

Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)

Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.

Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.

Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.

Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)

The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.

In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.

MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.

Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)

Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.

It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.

Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.

 

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Why the race to get better at golf might be doing more harm than good

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B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.

To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).

Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).

Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing

In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.

Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.

The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!

The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.

Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.

The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.

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