19th Hole

Golf writer credits improvement in play to talking to a horse

Published

7 years ago

Sep 22, 2017

Bob Carney, long-serving golf writer, penned a piece for Golf Digest in which he confesses to have approached improving his golf game from every angle.

From training aids to sessions with Dr. Bob Rotella, Carney had tried it all. Or so he thought. He stumbled on approach that basically went something like this.

“Putt. Meet a horse. Putt again. Reflect.”

What? Carney visited Debbie Crews, who works with Arizona State University’s women’s golf team, for an equine session. Standing in a tent next to a horse corral, Carney says

“She hands me three balls and an off-brand putter that’s about 20 years old. I’m to putt along the artificial-turf carpet and make three in a row from each foot marker, progressing as far as I can in five minutes. I clear six feet without a miss, flub a couple, finish with middling results. Debbie gives me a short questionnaire and one of the questions is: “Name three descriptors of your putting.” I write, “Relaxed, thinking, old tips.”’

Then, he had to go pick a horse out the barn and spends time caring for the horse, grooming it, getting to the point where he can direct it using only his voice. Establishing a connection.

Carney returns to putt again, this time doing markedly better. He has three new descriptors for how he feels over the ball: Relaxed, focused, determined.

There’s much, much more to Carney’s story. It’s well worth a read.

Winding down the piece, he writes.

“My takeaway is that there is no talking oneself into good golf. There is only noticing when you’re fully with it, fully there, and re-creating that sense when it’s absent. A golf round is like a walk with a horse. If that sounds too Yoda-ish for you, and way too hard to accomplish, remember Crews’ words: You’ll know.”

Craziness? Not really. Here’s the thing about golf instruction: The ends justify the means. We get hung up on schools of swing theory, data, processes thrust upon us, the right way to practice, etc. But none of that really matters, does it?

The point of the game is to shoot the lowest score! And anything that genuinely helps an individual do that is worth 10,000 swing tips or a library full of Bob Rotella books.

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19th Hole

Man charged with stealing millions of dollars worth of memorabilia from Augusta National

Published

22 hours ago

Apr 18, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man has been charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Per the court records there is no mention that Globensky worked for the golf club.

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19th Hole

Talor Gooch: 54 holes is more exciting for the fans

Published

22 hours ago

Apr 18, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

Over the past few weeks, two of LIV Golf’s biggest stars, Jon Rahm and Phil Mickelson, have both expressed that they believe LIV could go to 72 holes.

While speaking to BBC Sport, Rahm said he “wouldn’t mind” going to 72 holes.

“If there ever was a way where LIV could go to 72 holes I think it would help all of this argument a lot.”

“The closer I think we can get LIV Golf to some other things the better. I think it would be for some kind of unification to feed into a world tour or something like that.

“I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but I definitely wouldn’t mind going back to 72 holes.”

Phil Mickelson, while speaking after his final round at The Masters, also said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if LIV went to 72 holes.

“I don’t think it makes a difference either way. We’ve got mini-tours playing 54, Champions Tour playing 54. I wouldn’t be surprised if some or all of LIV events went to 72. I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I enjoy the competition.”

Another one of LIV’s top players, Talor Gooch, expressed on Wednesday that he feels quite differently.

“It’s just funny to me, this arbitrary number of 72.”

“Why is it not 90? “Why is it not 108? We just decided to make that number the number, for what reason?”

“Everyone’s talked about world ranking points and all this stuff, but no one’s talked about what do the fans enjoy more?”

“People want something that’s going to be more exciting. And I personally think that the 54 holes is more exciting for the fans.”

After Gooch’s comments, I decided to get some fan feedback for myself, making a poll on X. With about 4,500 votes in at the time of writing this, roughly 84% of voters in the poll indicated they’d prefer 72 holes to just 16% saying they’d prefer 54.

Rahm prefers 72 holes
Gooch prefers 54 holes

Where do the fans stand?

— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) April 17, 2024

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee has ‘no doubt’ who started the McIlroy/LIV rumor and why

Published

2 days ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Earlier this week, rumors began to fly that Rory McIlroy could be making a shock switch to LIV Golf which caused quite the stir on social media.

However, on Tuesday, McIlroy emphatically shut down those rumors, telling Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town:

“I honestly don’t know how these things get started. I’ve never been offered a number from LIV and I’ve never contemplated going to LIV. Again I think I’ve made it clear over the past two years that I don’t think it’s something for me.

It’s unfortunate that we have to deal with it and this is the state that our game’s in. I’m obviously here today and I’m playing this PGA Tour event next week and I will play the PGA Tour for the rest of my career.”

Golf Channel analyst and longtime LIV critic, Brandel Chamblee, took to social media before McIlroy’s statement to point the finger at “Saudis/LIV,” who he believes started the rumor:

I have no doubt that this rumor was started by Saudis/LIV… to benefit Saudis/LIV after such a poor showing, as a group, at The Masters.

I’d be very surprised if this turns out to be true. https://t.co/SWNgjHtWSM

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) April 16, 2024

When one user pushed back on Chamblee’s claim that LIV golfers had a poor showing at the Masters, Brandel went further into why he believes the opening major of the year was a failure for the breakaway tour.

You think they paid 3 billion for a few top tens and to be +82 as a group at major? A senior citizen beat some of their “stars” and almost all the game’s of LIV players have deteriorated since they sold their souls to the Saudis who only bought a moment in time… nothing else. https://t.co/xERkYsztIJ

— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) April 16, 2024