Opinion & Analysis

Top 5 “falls” into golf’s sinkhole

Published

11 years ago

Mar 14, 2013

By now, you have probably heard of Mark Mihal, the golfer who recently fell 18 feet into a sinkhole while playing his favorite muni course in Waterloo, Ill. Mihal was walking the course with friends and playing No. 14 when the ground literally gave way under his feet.

“I felt the ground start to collapse and it happened so fast that I couldn’t do anything,” Mihal wrote on his website. “I reached for the ground as I was going down and it gave way, too. It seemed like I was falling for a long time. The real scary part was I didn’t know when I would hit bottom and what I would land on.”

Mihal was incredibly lucky; he was one of the few people to fall into the Sinkhole of Golf and come out of it intact. But over the years there have been other “SOG” victims who haven’t been so lucky.

Enjoy my list of the top 5 golfers who have fallen into the Sinkhole of Golf.

No. 5 — Chip Beck

A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, the straight-hitting Beck was hailed for his stellar play and the “War by the Shore I” Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, S.C., in 1991. But he was best known for being one of just a handful of players to shoot a 59 in competition, with Beck’s coming in the third round of the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational. Perhaps a sign of the horror to come was the fact that that Beck finished third in that tournament. It was in 1997 that Beck fell into the Sinkhole of Golf, missing 46 straight cuts. Rumor has it that Beck escaped and is now leading a happy life on the Champions Tour, where you don’t have nearly so far to fall.

No. 4 — Ian Baker-Finch

The likeable Aussie was a solid player on four continents, with his first PGA Tour win coming at the Southwest Bell Colonial in 1989. By 1991, he appeared ready to establish himself as one of the best in the game, garnering the British Open that year along with three other runner-up finishes. But by 1993, Baker-Finch’s tinkering with his swing led him to the edge of the Sinkhole. In 1995, he fell in headfirst.

In first round of the 1995 Open Championship at St Andrews, he hooked his first tee-shot of the championship out-of-bounds on the left side of the fairway shared with No. 18. To make it even worse, Baker-Finch was paired with none other than Arnold Palmer, who was competing in his final Open. Baker-Finch didn’t know it at the time but it was petty close to being his swan song as well. In 1995 and 1996 he missed the cut, withdrew after one round, or was disqualified in all 29 Tour events that he entered. The more cruel in the press began to refer to him as, “Ian Baker-Flinch.”

Baker-Finch hit the bottom of the Sinkhole in the first round of the 1997 British Open at Royal Troon. He shot a 92 in the first round, after which he curled up in the corner with his wife and caddy and had a good cry. He withdrew and retired from tournament golf. The happy ending came when the good folks at ABC tossed Finchy a long cable with a microphone attached to it, which he used to pull himself out and pursue a career of describing golfers people who have avoided the Sinkhole.

No. 3 — Sergio Garcia

In his teens and early twenties, Garcia was slated as a potential rival to Tiger Woods’ dominance. He burst on the scene in the 1999, turning pro after shooting the low amateur score in that year’s Masters. He won the Irish Open and then set the world on fire in the 1999 PGA Championship, taking eventual champion Woods to the limit as he scissor-kicked his way into the hearts and minds of golf fans all over the world.

Garcia seemed a lock to win multiple championships even in the Woods era, but it was not to be. One of the most memorable moments of Garcia’s career is the footage of him re-gripping as many as 60 times over a shot at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. The brutally honest New York crowd ribbed Garcia mercilessly for his time-consuming psycho-crutch.

But it was Garcia’s reputation as the worst young putter under pressure in a generation that consigned him to his place in the Sinkhole. While he has shown signs of life and has won in Europe and in the States, it is his lack of major championship success that keeps him underground. To his credit, while in the Sinkhole, Garcia managed to dig a tunnel that exits into Europe, where he has appeared every two years for the Ryder Cup as leading player and spirited assistant captain.

No. 2 — John Daly

Just hearing the name evokes visions of long drives and bad pants. Long John is perhaps the most regrettable victim of the Sinkhole. A strapping Arkansas country boy, Daly has been called a player with more natural ability than Woods himself. Daly was a complete unknown at the beginning of the 1991 PGA Championship at Crooked Stick when he entered the event as he ninth alternate; by the end of it he had won his first tournament, his first major and he was he most popular golfer in the world. Daly combined impossibly long drives with the soft hands of a surgeon; he also had a world-class mullet.

His second Tour victory was also his second major, a playoff win in the 1995 British Open. But unfortunately, the tales of woe for Daly far outnumber the tales of victory. Daly didn’t fall into the Sinkhole; he jumped into a Ford F-150 and drove into at 100 mph. Despite a valiant rescue attempt by Ely Callaway, Daly has remained mired in the Sinkhole. He literally has more ex-wives than wins since then. He has gambled away more than most pros will ever earn. But he is remembered as one the few people who seemed to have installed a set of stairs in the Sinkhole for his private use. He emerged like a groundhog in February to grab a win or two, then retreated back to the Sinkhole, where is apparently happy as long as there is plenty of cold beer, cigarettes and Diet Coke.

No. 1 – David Duval

Duval is the most accomplished player ever to disappear into the Sinkhole. The son of a professional golfer, Duval had success at every level he played from juniors to college to the Nike Tour on his way to his arrival on the Big Show in 1995. After racking up a slew of runner-up finishes, Duval began to win in bunches. He won 13 times between 1997 and 2001, including the Tour Championship and British Open. In April 1999, he climbed to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, and in his victory at that year’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic he became the only golfer ever to shoot 59 in a final round.

Duval seemed to be bouncing the golf world on the face of his wedge when it happened. He sustained injuries to his shoulder, back and wrist, as well as vertigo. When he came back, he often had no idea where the ball was going from shot to shot.

Duval’s win at the 2001 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament was to be his last. By 2003 he had fallen to 211^th on the Money List. Over the course of the next 10 years, he has been trying to climb out of the Sinkhole using sponsor’s exemptions as handholds, but to no avail. He seemed to have achieved an improbable escape from SOG when he finished tied for second in the 2009 U.S. Open and the 2010 AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Since then, however, all that has been seen of Duval is a pair of gargoyle sunglasses perched at the edge of the Sinkhole.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

4 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

Published

4 days ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

Richard Bland
Jon Rahm
Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

Abraham Ancer
Graeme McDowell
Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

Bryson DeChambeau
Joaquin Niemann
Dean Burmester

Putting

Cameron Smith
Louis Oosthuizen
Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

1 week ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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