Opinion & Analysis

Meditations, Mindfulness and a Dog Named Mulligan: The Club Championship at Goat Hill Park

Published

6 years ago

Nov 28, 2017

Setting aside some time in your day to meditate is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. There’s no doubt in my mind that I’m a better person when I’m consistently practicing meditation. I use a guided meditation app called Headspace which offers different “packs” of meditation sessions. I knew meditation was making me a better person, expanding my heart and sharpening my focus; but could it make me a better golfer? I went to Goat Hill Park in Oceanside to find out.

The Goat, as it is affectionately known, gets a fair amount of press. You may have read about it on Golf.com or heard Matt Ginella talk about his love of the place on The Golf Channel’s Morning Drive. To summarize for you, Goat Hill Park is roots golf: an unpretentious, honest golf club that has been revitalized by John Ashworth of Linksoul fame. The club’s revival is a model for what the modern golf course can be: community focused, environmentally friendly and most importantly, a fun scene. Anyone can become a member for $50 and even if you don’t plan on ever setting foot on the property, it’s a nice way to support a noble cause. Despite living 90 miles away, I joined with an eye on maybe playing once or twice a year. When I got an email inviting me to the club championship I figured, why not make a weekend of it? It would be the perfect opportunity to put my focused-based meditation sessions to work.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

I arrive in Oceanside a few hours before my tee time and eat breakfast at an 80s-themed café. As my Denver skillet arrives the unfortunate song “Pulling Mussels” by Squeeze starts playing. I ask the waitress if there is any possible way she can skip to the next track and she tells me, “No way.” The song is one of her favorites. “How?” I ask. She can’t justify the song and then she mistakenly tells another customer that “Steppin’ Out” is by Elvis Costello. How this woman can work at an 80s-themed anything is beyond me. Disgusted, I pay my bill and leave. “IT’S JOE JACKSON” is all I have to say (loudly) as I walk out the door. I drive to the course and find a quiet spot in the parking lot to begin listening to my focus-based meditations.

“Thinking is just thinking. Whether it’s just thinking about the performance, thinking about something that’s happened in the past, something that might happen in the future, it is all just thinking. The moment we realize that, we let go of it, we are present. And in being present, we are focused. That’s it. That’s all we need to do.” – Andy Puddicombe, Headspace

As I emerge from my meditation session, the first thing I hear is more music. There’s always music playing at The Goat and on this perfect Saturday it’s an odd mix of The Cars and Bruce Springsteen. The range is filled with rhythmic swings and the mood in the air is chill. I’m not much of a driving range guy but I take a dozen swings, roll a few putts, mumble along to “Badlands” and go to the tee.

Local knowledge is massively important at The Goat and I’m coming in to the event with a total of 27 holes under my belt. Despite being a little green, my meditations have me feeling calm and confident. As an added bonus, the night before the tournament my prophetic 6-year old daughter Stella tells me, “Daddy, God wants you to win.” The field is going to have to get past me and the Creator. I like my odds.

We’re playing threesomes and I get a solid draw. I’m paired with Jack Collier, a local who has played The Goat a thousand times, and Joe Millett, an aspiring tour pro who has moved to Oceanside from rural Alexandria Bay, New York to make a run at his dream. As we watch the group in front of us tee off, Jack mentions something about “the tour guys.” I’m not really listening to Jack because my attention is fixed on an English terrier named Mulligan who is hanging out with the threesome in front of us. You don’t see English terriers often in tournament play, but it’s clear this is not Mulligan’s first rodeo. The attentive pup knows when to stay put and when to frolic. He obediently follows his owner Scott Nagel into the cart and they take off down the fairway. Finally, I turn to Jack and ask, “Did you say tour guys?”

Jack points to the range and tells me two guys, Dennis Paulson and Dean Wilson, have won on tour. Another guy named Mark Warman has played on several tours and won a state championship. I take a peek at the range and to me it looks more like a Ben Harper concert than the St. Jude Classic. T-shirts, flat brim hats and board shorts are everywhere, but you could tell these guys were sticks. That said, having recently won the Calvary Christian School Golf Scramble just last month, I also took some comfort in being among fellow champions. I suddenly realize that my mind and thoughts are everywhere and I need to sharpen my focus:

“Thinking is just thinking. Whether it’s just thinking about the performance…it’s all just thinking.”

So here I stand; mentally repeating my meditations, watching Mulligan the dog bound down the fairway and in a few minutes I’m going head-to-head with a handful of guys who’ve won on the big tour. Given my delicate place in the Universe at this particular moment I ask myself, why am I holding a 5-iron on a 305 yard hole? I go back to the bag and grab the Big Dog and attack. My game plan of chasing Old Man Par has been thrown out the window and is rolling in the ditch. The new, albeit hasty game plan is to be the aggressor and gun at every single pin and never let up. What could go wrong? I mean, God wants me to win after all.

Here I am pin-hunting on No. 9

As our threesome rolls through the rugged, sunbaked terrain, Joe starts to run out of gas early. He claimed he was still on east coast time, but I wondered if his fatigue had something more to do with the vibrant bar scene in Oceanside. By the turn, his body language is that of an exhausted triathlete. He grabs some cold Sierra Nevada to guide him through his closing nine, a veteran move from the big southpaw.

As for Jack Collier, sometimes golf is a much needed escape and on this day it’s just that for Jack — and he’s shinning in it. Draining clutch putt after clutch putt, Jack is squarely in the mix. A native or nearby Escondido, Jack shared stories of his high school golf days and the criminal nature of the San Diego Chargers move to Los Angeles. Through it all, he manages to settle back into the game, back into the focus of the moment, on shot after shot.

“The moment we realize that, we let go of it, we are present. And in being present, we are focused.”

Jack was a model of athletic focus we could all emulate. I, on the other hand, was something completely different. Early on, my aggressive game plan was working. I was coasting until I got to the fifth tee where I found myself stuck between clubs and having a hard time committing. As I addressed my tee shot, that song, that horrible song about pulling mussels from a shell that ruined my breakfast popped into my head. I backed off the shot and made up some lie about a wind gust when it was really just bad eighties rock blowing through my mind that gave me pause. I knew sooner or later I was going to get distracted or frustrated and I had a plan for it. I recalled the introduction of my meditations:

“I hope you’ve started to get a sense of what it means to find this quiet place of focus in the mind. It’s not something that we need to create, or think ourselves to, but rather an innate quality which exists the moment we recognize the mind is distracted. We discover this place of being present. Focused…Of course the more intense the environment, the more likely we are to fall back into our old habits, perhaps assuming that we need to think ourselves into this place of focus.” – Andy Puddicombe, Headspace

You know the cliché, “you can’t win on day one but you sure can lose?” That was me. The odd thing was that I was thinking so hard about focusing, but all I was doing was thinking and not playing at a very high level. As the tournament unfolded I was absent, lost somewhere in my running mind. I hit a few good shots here and there but I never really got rolling and my aggressive decision making proved costly time and again.

After 27 holes and 115 shots I cooled off with a few icy drinks and some pizza. Jeff Gipner, a fellow Minnesotan and Goat Hill member winced at my score and told me what I already knew. You can’t overpower The Goat because The Goat will overpower you. Dean Wilson’s 93 was a mere 22 shots in front of me and I had a couple dozen players between Dean and me. I wasn’t sure if God was in Puerto Rico, South Sudan or Syria, but I needed him to be in on the first tee tomorrow at 9:10 a.m. because I wasn’t going to win this thing without some heavenly intervention.

Dean Wilson and Jeff Gipner enjoying the hang

Dennis Paulson, John Wardup and Blair with canines Teddy and Mulligan

Sunday, November 5, 2017

In a hotel room somewhere near the Carlsbad airport, I put in my earbuds and go to my Headspace app.

“Focus is not something we need to create. It is an innate quality of mind. It’s always here for us, wherever we are, we always have the ability to come back to it. So if we can remember that, then we start to find this sweet spot of effortless effort. This place of flow. It’s a flow that, we feel it in our mind, we feel it in our body, we see it in our performance. It starts to change our behavior. So it’s not just an idea, it’s not just a nice concept, it becomes our experience, it becomes part of who we are and how we perform.”- Andy Puddicombe, Headspace

I avoid the 80s café like the plague and drive straight to the course. Considering the USC Trojans played a high-scoring late game the night before and half the field probably toasted each touchdown with tequila shots, the extra hour we gained from daylight savings is a saving grace. I arrive well-rested, hydrated and ready to enjoy the day.

As I open the hatch of my car I notice a few persimmon woods in the back of my car and I figure, why not? I go to the range and show them to Jay Montoya, a fellow persimmon aficionado who works at Goat Hill. Jay is among the leaders in the event and he tells me there are several other players in the field who prefer the Lo-Fi approach, including John Ashworth who is also just arriving. John and I talk about meditation for a bit and I learn he’s a practitioner of the more traditional suttas found in Buddhist teachings. He gives me a link to dharmatalks.org and I go off to the first tee.

The arsenal of club champion Dean Wilson

One on my partners for the final day is John Kay, a rangy 6-foot 4-inch digital sales professional from Tucson who’s Arizona Wildcats took a tough loss the night before to the aforementioned Trojans, and John is worse for the wear. He’s the kind of guy who keeps a few putters in his trunk and he’s just ditched his vintage bullseye for a 36-inch belly putter. But the putter is not his concern; it’s the full shots. He has a case of the “boths” going, meaning he’s missing both left and right and can’t tell which one is coming. I know exactly how he feels because I am suffering from the same affliction. For about 12 holes we are brothers with no arms.

My other playing partner is Lupe Figueroa. At about 5-foot 7-inches and 200 pounds he’s built like every other guy I’ve ever met who’s name is Lupe or Figueroa. Just like John and I, Lupe is light years behind the leaders and happy to be on the course playing for skins and following his fantasy football team’s progress. At some point, I tell him I had been trying to use meditation to help me play better golf, and I think Lupe could sense my feeling of failure and dejection with the process. Lupe says, “I’ve been doing it for a while, man. Just keep it up. It works, man. Meditation works.” Turns out Lupe also uses Headspace, not so much for golf but overall wellness. He’s a believer; “It’s good stuff, bro. Good stuff.”

“We may find ourselves in a situation where we just think; “there’s no time for this!” And all of a sudden we find ourselves putting in way too much energy, too much effort, trying too hard, thinking too much. And it’s OK. This is natural. If we expect it to immediately be OK and at 100 percent, we’re going to be really disappointed. That’s just not going to happen. But over time, it starts to permeate and we start to see the results. We’ve got to think of this as a long-term strategy. This isn’t a magic pill that’s going to change something overnight…It’s a foundation that we put down over many weeks, months, and years. Then we start to see the results.” – Andy Puddicombe, Headspace

Was I really so naïve to think that I could just listen to some meditations for 10 days and suddenly I’d be a dialed in master of the golfing mind? Not at all. I just knew that meditating had improved so many other parts of my life, so why not golf. But just like anything else worthwhile, it takes time. And right now I sit squarely in the process, building the skill. If it’s true that, as Ben Hogan said, “ The secret is in the dirt” then I am absolutely willing to get filthy in this effort. I have a long way to go and can feel that it’s worthwhile and important work for my game and my soul. I may be struggling to find the bottom of the cup, but I’m committed to improving my focus through meditation.

My tournament is done so I get a cooler and I jump on a cart with a few other guys and a dog named Terry. We go out on the course to see how the leaders are holding up. The first group we catch features Dennis Paulson who tells me; “People ask me; Is it a great course? No. But it’s a great experience.” I’ve always respected his work and on this Sunday afternoon in November, there’s no other place else Dennis Paulson would rather be.

Not many municipal courses have caddy programs, but Goat Hill does and two of them are looping in the final group. One of them, Edgar, is on ex-PGA tour winner Dean Wilson’s bag. As I am looking at Dean’s persimmons it catches my attention that Edgar’s sporting pink flip flops. Goat Hill Park is a tough, tough walk, and this kid’s just done it in flip flops. Blake is the other caddy in the group and he’s on Grant Holly’s bag. Grant’s also got a ton of game, but he’s kind of the anti-Wilson: big titanium clubs, loud bright colors and a highly effective devil-may-care swing. One gets the impression that Blake’s loop is a little tougher than Edgar’s, but at least Blake’s wearing proper shoes.

Leaders Grant Holly and Dean Wilson with caddies Edgar and Blake.

As the sun starts to set and the scores are being counted, I suddenly hear John Ashworth: “Five bucks. One club. Two-man teams. Five bucks. Who’s in? Five bucks a man.” Golf balls go up in the air and we pair up. The Derby is on: 18 golfers, two dogs, and about half a dozen spectators are going down the first fairway. Grant Holly nearly drives the first green… barefoot. John Ashworth conveniently gets paired up with Dennis Paulson. My partner Mike Domler splits the first fairway and I stuff a punch 9-iron to 12 feet. Of course, Mulligan the dog is part of the scene and I’m not sure I’ve had more legal fun on a golf course and I certainly don’t want to leave.

John Ashworth gently guides a 15-foot putt with persimmon driver

All good things must come to an end. So what should your takeaway be from all of this? It’s twofold: First and foremost, try meditation if you haven’t already. You might, in fact, find that you already incorporate meditative practices in your life but just call it something different. Secondly, consider joining Goat Hill. Where else can you pay $50 to join, buy beers for $2, play persimmon woods, compete with ex-PGA winners, wear a t-shirt, watch dogs run around, go shoeless, listen to music and get a caddy who wears pink flip flops?

As Lupe says, “It’s good stuff, bro. Good stuff.”

Your Reaction?

LIKE76
LEGIT7
WOW7
LOL3
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB0
SHANK2

19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 PGA Championship betting preview: Rising star ready to join the immortals at Valhalla

Published

5 days ago

May 13, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The second major of the 2024 season is upon us as the world’s best players will tee it up this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy.

The last time we saw Valhalla host a major championship, Rory McIlroy fended off Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler and the creeping darkness that was descending upon the golf course. The Northern Irishman had the golf world in the palm of his hand, joining only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as players who’d won four major championships by the time they were 25 years old.

Valhalla is named after the great hall described in Norse mythology where the souls of Vikings feasted and celebrated with the Gods. The course is a Jack Nicklaus-design that has ranked among Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Courses” for three decades.

Valhalla Golf Club is a par-71 measuring 7,542 yards with Zoysia fairways and Bentgrass greens. The course has rolling hills and dangerous streams scattered throughout and the signature 13th hole is picturesque with limestone and unique bunkering protecting the green. The 2024 PGA Championship will mark the fourth time Valhalla has hosted the event.

The field this week will consist of 156 players, including 16 PGA Champions and 33 Major Champions.

Past Winners of the PGA Championship

2023: Brooks Koepka (-9) Oak Hill
2022: Justin Thomas (-5) Southern Hills
2021: Phil Mickelson (-6) Kiawah Island
2020: Collin Morikawa (-13) TPC Harding Park
2019: Brooks Koepka (-8) Bethpage Black
2018: Brooks Koepka (-16) Bellerive
2017: Justin Thomas (-8) Quail Hollow
2016: Jimmy Walker (-14) Baltusrol
2015: Jason Day (-20) Whistling Straits
2014: Rory McIlroy (-16) Valhalla

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 Valhalla

Let’s take a look at five key metrics for Oak Hill to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.

1. Strokes Gained: Approach

Valhalla will play as a true all-around test of golf for the world’s best. Of course, it will take strong approach play to win a major championship.

Strokes Gained: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Shane Lowry (+1.25)
Scottie Scheffler (+1.09)
Jordan Smith (+1.05)
Tom Hoge (+.96)
Corey Conners (+.94)

2. Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Valhalla will play long and the rough will be penal. Players who are incredibly short off the tee and/or have a hard time hitting fairways will be all but eliminated from contention this week at the PGA Championship.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Over Past 24 Rounds:

Bryson DeChambeau (+1.47)
Scottie Scheffler (+1.11)
Keith Mitchell (+.90)
Alejandro Tosti (+.89)
Ludvig Aberg (+.82)

Strokes Gained: Total on Nickalus Designs

Valhalla is a classic Nicklaus Design. Players who play well at Nicklaus designs should have an advantage coming into this major championship.

Strokes Gained: Total on Nicklaus Designs over past 36 rounds:

Jon Rahm (+2.56)
Scottie Scheffler (+2.48)
Patrick Cantlay (+2.35)
Collin Morikawa (+1.79)
Shane Lowry (+1.57)

Strokes Gained: Tee to Green on Very Long Courses

Valhalla is going to play extremely long this week. Players who have had success playing very long golf courses should be better equipped to handle the conditions of this major championship.

Strokes Gained: Total on Very Long Courses Over Past 24 Rounds:

Scottie Scheffler (+2.44)
Rory McIlroy (+2.24)
Will Zalatoris (+1.78)
Viktor Hovland (+1.69)
Xander Schauffele (+1.60)

Strokes Gained: Total in Major Championships

One factor that tends to play a large role in deciding major championships is which players have played well in previous majors leading up to the event.

Strokes Gained: Total in Major Championships over past 20 rounds:

Scottie Scheffler (+3.14)
Will Zalatoris (+2.64)
Rory McIlroy (+2.49)
Xander Schauffele (+2.48)
Tommy Fleetwood (2.09)

Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass Greens

Valhalla features pure Bentgrass putting surfaces. Players who are comfortable putting on this surface will have an advantage on the greens.

Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass Greens over Past 24 Rounds:

Ludvig Aberg (+1.12)
Denny McCarthy (+1.08)
Matt Fitzpatrick (+0.99)
Justin Rose (+0.93)
J.T. Poston (0.87)

Strokes Gained: Total on Zoysia Fairways

Valhalla features Zoysia fairways. Players who are comfortable playing on this surface will have an advantage on the field.

Strokes Gained: Total on Zoysia Fairways over past 36 rounds:

Justin Thomas (+1.53)
Will Zalatoris (+1.47)
Xander Schauffele (+1.40)
Brooks Koepka (+1.35)
Rory McIlroy (+1.23)

2024 PGA Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (25%), SG: Off the Tee (22%), SG: T2G on Very Long Courses (12%), SG: Putting on Bentgrass (+12%), SG: Total on Nicklaus Designs (12%). SG: Total on Zoysia Fairways (8%), and SG: Total in Major Championships (8%).

Brooks Koepka
Xander Schauffele
Rory McIlroy
Scottie Scheffler
Bryson DeChambeau
Shane Lowry
Alex Noren
Will Zalatoris
Cameron Young
Keith Mitchell
Hideki Matsuyama
Billy Horschel
Patrick Cantlay
Viktor Hovland
Adam Schenk
Chris Kirk
Sahith Theegala
Min Woo Lee
Joaquin Niemann
Justin Thomas

2024 PGA Championship Picks

Ludvig Aberg +1800 (BetMGM)

At The Masters, Ludvig Aberg announced to the golf world that he’s no longer an “up and coming” player. He’s one of the best players in the game of golf, regardless of experience.

Augusta National gave Aberg some necessary scar tissue and showed him what being in contention at a major championship felt like down the stretch. Unsurprisingly, he made a costly mistake, hitting it in the water left of the 11th hole, but showed his resilience by immediately bouncing back. He went on to birdie two of his next three holes and finished in solo second by three shots. With the type of demeanor that remains cool in pressure situations, I believe Ludvig has the right mental game to win a major at this point in his career.

Aberg has not finished outside of the top-25 in his past eight starts, which includes two runner-up finishes at both a “Signature Event” and a major championship. The 24-year-old is absolutely dominant with his driver, which will give him a major advantage this week. In the field he ranks, in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, and has gained strokes in the category in each of his past ten starts. Aberg is already one of the best drivers of the golf ball on the planet.

In Norse mythology, Valhalla is the great hall where the souls of Vikings feasted and celebrated with the Gods. The Swedes, who are of Old Norse origin, were the last of the three Scandinavian Kingdoms to abandon the Old Norse Gods. A Swede played a major role in the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, and I believe another, Ludvig Aberg, will be the one to conquer Valhalla in 2024.

Bryson DeChambeau +2800 (BetMGM)

Bryson DeChambeau is one of the few players in the world that I believe has the game to go blow-for-blow with Scottie Scheffler. Although he isn’t as consistent as Scheffler, when he’s at his best, Bryson has the talent to beat him.

At The Masters, DeChambeau put forth a valiant effort at a golf course that simply does not suit his game. Valhalla, on the other hand, is a course that should be perfect for the 30-year-old. His ability to overpower a golf course with his driver will be a serious weapon this week.

Bryson has had some success at Jack Nicklaus designs throughout his career as he won the Memorial at Muirfield Village back in 2018. He’s also had incredible results on Bentgrass greens for the entirety of his professional career. Of his 10 wins, nine of them have come on Bentgrass greens, with the only exception being the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. He also has second place finishes at Medinah and TPC Summerlin, which feature Bentgrass greens.

Love him or hate him, it’s impossible to argue that Bryson isn’t one of the most exciting and important players in the game of golf. He’s also one of the best players in the world. A second major is coming soon for DeChambeau, and I believe he should be amongst the favorites to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy this week.

Patrick Cantlay +4000 (FanDuel)

There’s no way of getting around it: Patrick Cantlay has been dissapointing in major championships throughout his professional career. He’s been one of the top players on Tour for a handful of years and has yet to truly contend at a major championship, with the arguable exception of the 2019 Masters.

Despite not winning majors, Cantlay has won some big events. The 32-year-old has won two BMW Championships, two Memorial Tournaments as well as a Tour Championship. His victories at Memorial indicate how much Cantlay loves Nicklaus designs, where he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Total over his past 36 rounds behind only Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm.

Cantlay also loves Bentgrass greens. Six of Cantlay’s seven individual wins on the PGA Tour have come on Bentgrass greens and he also was one of the best putters at the 2023 Ryder cup at Marco Simone (also Bentgrass). At Caves Valley (2021 BMW Championship), he gained over 12 strokes putting to outduel another Bentgrass specialist, Bryson DeChambeau.

Cantlay finished 22nd in The Masters, which was a solid result considering how many elite players struggled that week. He also has two top-ten finishes in his past five PGA Championships. He’s undeniably one of the best players in the field, therefore, it comes down to believing Cantlay has the mental fortitude to win a major, which I do.

Joaquin Niemann +4000 (BetMGM)

I believe Joaquin Niemann is one of the best players in the world. He has three worldwide wins since December and has continued to improve over the course of his impressive career thus far. Still only 25, the Chilean has all the tools to be a serious contender in major championships for years to come.

Niemann has been the best player on LIV this season. Plenty will argue with the format or source of the money on LIV, but no one can argue that beating players such as Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith is an unremarkable achievement. Niemann is an elite driver of the golf ball who hits it farther than just about anyone in the field not named Bryson DeChambeau or (arguably) Rory McIlroy.

Niemann is another player who has been fantastic throughout his career on Bentgrass greens. Prior to leaving the PGA Tour, Bentgrass was the only green surface in which Joaco was a positive putter. It’s clearly a surface that he is very comfortable putting on and should fare around and on the greens this week.

Niemann is a perfect fit for Valhalla. His low and penetrating ball flight will get him plenty of runout this week on the fairways and he should have shorter shots into the green complexes than his competitors. To this point in his career, the former top ranked amateur in the world (2018) has been underwhelming in major championships, but I don’t believe that will last much longer. Joaquin Niemann is a major championship caliber player and has a real chance to contend this week at Valhalla.

Your Reaction?

LIKE37
LEGIT15
WOW4
LOL1
IDHT1
FLOP4
OB3
SHANK17

Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 2

Published

1 week ago

May 9, 2024

Terry Koehler

In my last post, I explained the basic performance dynamics of “smash factor” and “gear effect” as they apply to your wedges and your wedge play success. If you missed that post, you can read it here.

At the end of that post, I promised “part 2” of this discussion of what makes a wedge work the way it does. So, let’s dive into the other two components of any wedge – the shaft and the grip.

It’s long been said that the shaft is “the engine of the golf club.” The shaft (and grip) are your only connection to all the technologies that are packed into the head of any golf club, whether it be a driver, fairway, hybrid, iron, wedge or even putter.

And you cannot ignore those two components of your wedges if your goal is optimizing your performance.

I’ve long been an advocate of what I call a “seamless transition” from your irons into your wedges, so that the feel and performance do not disconnect when you choose a gap wedge, for example, instead of your iron-set-matching “P-club.” In today’s golf equipment marketplace, more and more golfers are making the investment of time and money to experience an iron fitting, going through trial and error and launch monitor measuring to get just the right shaft in their irons.

But then so many of those same golfers just go into a store and choose wedges off the retail display, with no similar science involved at all. And that’s why I see so many golfers with a huge disconnect between their custom-fitted irons, often with lighter and/or softer graphite or light steel shafts . . . and their off-the-rack wedges with the stock stiff steel ‘wedge flex’ shaft common to those stock offerings.

If your wedge shafts are significantly heavier and stiffer than the shafts in your irons, it is physically impossible for you to make the same swing. Period.

To quickly improve your wedge play, one of the first things you can do is have your wedges re-shafted with the same or similar shaft that is in your irons.

There’s another side of that shaft weight equation; if you don’t have the forearm and hand strength of a PGA Tour professional, you simply cannot “handle” the same weight shaft that those guys play to master the myriad of ‘touch shots’ around the greens.

Now, let’s move on to the third and other key component of your wedges – the grips. If those are not similar in shape and feel to the grips on your irons, you have another disconnect. Have your grips checked by a qualified golf club professionals to make sure you are in sync there.

The one caveat to that advice is that I am a proponent of a reduced taper in your wedge grips – putting two to four more layers of tape under the lower hand, or selecting one of the many reduced taper grips on the market. That accomplishes two goals for your scoring.

First, it helps reduce overactive hands in your full and near-full wedge swings. Quiet hands are key to good wedge shots.

And secondly, it provides a more consistent feel of the wedge in your hands as you grip down for those shorter and more delicate shots around the greens. And you should always grip down as you get into those touch shots. I call it “getting closer to your work.”

So, if you will spend as much time selecting the shafts and grips for your wedges as you do choosing the brand, model, and loft of them, your scoring range performance will get better.

Vincenzi’s 2024 Wells Fargo Championship betting preview: Tommy Fleetwood ready to finally land maiden PGA Tour title

Published

2 weeks ago

May 6, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA Tour season ramps back up this week for another “signature event,” as golf fans look forward to the year’s second major championship next week.

After two weaker-field events in the Zurich Classic and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, most of the best players in the world will head to historic Quail Hollow for one of the best non-major tournaments of the year.

Last season, Wyndham Clark won the event by four shots.

Quail Hollow is a par-71 measuring 7,521 yards that features Bermudagrass greens. The tree-lined, parkland style course can play quite difficult and features one of the most difficult three-hole stretches in golf known as “The Green Mile,” which makes up holes 16-18: two mammoth par 4s and a 221-yard par 3. All three holes have an average score over par, and water is in play in each of the last five holes on the course.

The field is excellent this week with 68 golfers teeing it up without a cut. All of the golfers who’ve qualified are set to tee it up, with the exception of Scottie Scheffler, who is expecting the birth of his first child.

Past Winners at Quail Hollow

2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
2022: Max Homa (-8)
2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
2019: Max Homa (-15)
2018: Jason Day (-12)
2017: Justin Thomas (-8) (PGA Championship)
2016: James Hahn (-9)
2015: Rory McIlroy (-21)

Key Stats For Quail Hollow

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes gained: Approach will be extremely important this week as second shots at Quail Hollow can be very difficult.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Akshay Bhatia (+1.16)
Tom Hoge (+1.12)
Corey Conners (+1.01)
Shane Lowry (+0.93)
Austin Eckroat (+0.82)

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee

Quail Hollow is a long course on which it is important to play from the fairway. Both distance and accuracy are important, as shorter tee shots will result in approach shots from 200 or more yards. With most of the holes heavily tree lined, errant drives will create some real trouble for the players.

Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Past 24 Rounds:

Ludvig Aberg (+0.73)
Rory McIlroy (+0.69)
Xander Schauffele (+0.62)
Viktor Hovland (+0.58)
Chris Kirk (+0.52)

Proximity: 175-200

The 175-200 range is key at Quail Hollow. Players who can hit their long irons well will rise to the top of the leaderboard.

Proximity: 175-200+ over past 24 rounds:

Cameron Young (28’2″)
Akshay Bhatia (29’6″)
Ludvig Aberg (+30’6″)
Sam Burns (+30’6″)
Collin Morikawa (+30’9″)

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs

Players who thrive on Tom Fazio designs get a bump for me at Quail Hollow this week.

SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs over past 36 rounds:

Patrick Cantlay (+2.10)
Rory McIlroy (+1.95)
Tommy Fleetwood (+1.68)
Austin Eckroat (+1.60)
Will Zalatoris (+1.57)

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass)

Strokes Gained: Putting has historically graded out as the most important statistic at Quail Hollow. While it isn’t always predictable, I do want to have it in the model to bump up golfers who prefer to putt on Bermudagrass.

Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:

Taylor Moore (+0.82)
Nick Dunlap (+.76)
Wyndham Clark (+.69)
Emiliano Grillo (+.64)
Cam Davis (+.61)

Course History

This stat will incorporate players that have played well in the past at Quail Hollow.

Course History over past 36 rounds (per round):

Rory McIlroy (+2.50)
Justin Thomas (+1.96)
Jason Day (+1.92)
Rickie Fowler (+1.83)
Viktor Hovland (+1.78)

Wells Fargo Championship Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: Off the Tee (23%), SG: Total on Fazio designs (12%), Proximity: 175-200 (12%), SG: Putting Bermuda grass (12%), and Course History (14%).

Wyndham Clark
Rory McIlroy
Xander Schauffele
Shane Lowry
Hideki Matsuyama
Viktor Hovland
Cameron Young
Austin Eckroat
Byeong Hun An
Justin Thomas

2024 Wells Fargo Championship Picks

Tommy Fleetwood +2500 (DraftKings)

I know many out there have Tommy fatigue when it comes to betting, which is completely understandable given his lack of ability to win on the PGA Tour thus far in his career. However, history has shown us that players with Fleetwood’s talent eventually break though, and I believe for Tommy, it’s just a matter of time.

Fleetwood has been excellent on Tom Fazio designs. Over his past 36 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Fazio tracks. He’s also been incredibly reliable off the tee this season. He’s gained strokes in the category in eight of his past nine starts, including at The Masters, the PLAYERS and the three “signature events” of the season. Tommy is a golfer built for tougher courses and can grind it out in difficult conditions.

Last year, Fleetwood was the first-round leader at this event, firing a Thursday 65. He finished the event in a tie for 5th place.

For those worried about Fleetwood’s disappointing start his last time out at Harbour Town, he’s bounced back nicely after plenty of poor outings this season. His T7 at the Valero Texas Open was after a MC and T35 in his prior two starts and his win at the Dubai Invitational came after a T47 at the Sentry.

I expect Tommy to bounce back this week and contend at Quail Hollow.

Justin Thomas +3000 (DraftKings)

It’s been a rough couple of years for Justin Thomas, but I don’t believe things are quite as bad as they seem for JT. He got caught in the bad side of the draw at Augusta for last month’s Masters and has gained strokes on approach in seven of his nine starts in 2024.

Thomas may have found something in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage. He finished T5 at a course that he isn’t the best fit for on paper. He also finally got the putter working and ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.

The two-time PGA champion captured the first of his two major championships at Quail Hollow back in 2017, and some good vibes from the course may be enough to get JT out of his slump.

Thomas hasn’t won an event in just about two years. However, I still believe that will change soon as he’s been one of the most prolific winners throughout his PGA Tour career. Since 2015, he has 15 PGA Tour wins.

Course history is pretty sticky at Quail Hollow, with players who like the course playing well there on a regular basis. In addition to JT’s PGA Championship win in 2017, he went 4-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup and finished T14 at the event last year despite being in poor form. Thomas can return as one of the top players on the PGA Tour with a win at a “signature event” this week.

Cameron Young +3500 (DraftKings)

For many golf bettors, it’s been frustrating backing Cam Young this season. His talent is undeniable, and one of the best and most consistent performers on the PGA Tour. He just hasn’t broken through with a victory yet. Quail Hollow has been a great place for elite players to get their first victory. Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark all notched their first PGA Tour win at Quail.

Throughout Cam Young’s career, he has thrived at tougher courses with strong fields. This season, he finished T16 at Riviera and T9 at Augusta National, demonstrating his preference of a tough test. His ability to hit the ball long and straight off the tee make him an ideal fit for Quail Hollow, despite playing pretty poorly his first time out in 2023 (T59). Young should be comfortable playing in the region as he played his college golf at Wake Forest, which is about an hour’s drive from Quail Hollow.

The 26-year-old has played well at Tom Fazio designs in the past and ranks 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on those courses in his last 36 rounds. Perhaps most importantly, this season, Young is the best player on the PGA Tour in terms of proximity from 175-200 in the fairway, which is where a plurality and many crucial shots will come from this week.

Young is an elite talent and Quail Hollow has been kind to players of his ilk who’ve yet to win on Tour.

Byeong Hun An +5000 (FanDuel)

Byeong Hun An missed some opportunities last weekend at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He finished T4 and played some outstanding golf, but a couple of missed short putts prevented him from getting to the winning score of -23. Despite not getting the win, it’s hard to view An’s performance as anything other than an overwhelming success. It was An’s fourth top-ten finish of the season.

Last week, An gained 6.5 strokes ball striking, which was 7th in the field. He also ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The South Korean has been hitting the ball so well from tee to green all season long and he now heads to a golf course that should reward his precision.

An’s driver and long irons are absolute weapons. At Quail Hollow, players will see plenty of approach shots from the 175-200 range as well as some from 200+. In his past 24 rounds, Ben ranks 3rd in the field in proximity from 175-200 and 12th in proximity from 200+. Playing in an event that will not end up being a “birdie” fest should help An, who can separate from the field with his strong tee to green play. The putter may not always cooperate but getting to -15 is much easier than getting to -23 for elite ball strikers who tend to struggle on the greens.

Winning a “signature event” feels like a tall task for An this week with so many elite players in the field. However, he’s finished T16 at the Genesis Invitational, T16 at The Masters and T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 32-year-old’s game has improved drastically this season and I believe he’s ready to get the biggest win of his career.

Your Reaction?