Opinion & Analysis

You threw your club. Now what?

Published

11 years ago

Nov 26, 2012

Throwing clubs is a lot like paying taxes. Not everyone does it, but most of us do it at least once a year, and when we do it is generally not a pleasant experience.

Nobody starts a round saying, “I’m going to destroy the precious 5 wood that I thought highly enough to put in my bag.”

But sometimes things just work out that way. There’s only so much we can take from this unforgiving game. How come that punch shot through the trees always hits that one branch that if you were trying to hit it, it would take six days and 6000 golf balls? And only the shots you hit well hit that branch. The chunked or thinned shots through the trees never seem to hit anything — they just land in worse trouble. I mean c’mon man, you were only 1-over before that. But now, sigh….

The golf gods can be cruel. And like the ancient civilizations believed, sometimes they need a sacrifice. But like I said, it can be awkward and no one wants to end up playing alone because of a few indiscretions. So here is a guide on how your throwing will affect your playing partners, how to act when you do throw a club and how to apologize for your behavior afterward. To make this easier to understand, I have assigned terror levels for the different stages of tantrum-like behavior.

Click here for more discussion in the “Golf Talk” forum.

Level 1: Terror alert green

Includes: Gentle club slam, light digging of your wedge into the ground after a poor chip, hitting down a divot with your iron, medium decibel curse word.

Bottom Line: Apology not required.

How to act: Just act normal, nothing to see here.

Stuff like this happens every round and it’s really no big deal. The most important thing to do is to show your playing partners that things like this are not affecting you long term. There’s nothing worse than when you are playing with a guy and he gets so angry you’re scared to talk to him for 5 hours. But it’s very difficult to go through a round without getting a break or missing a putt that doesn’t require at least a moderate curse word. So let out the curse and stomp that iron down into the divot — just try to avoid doing it more then a few times. As long as you are a somewhat interesting guy and can make a few jokes too. No one is going to stop playing with you because of this.

Level 2: Terror alert blue

Includes: Hard club slam, club throw threat (you know when someone is going to whip a club but then quickly rethinks it), loud curse word, throwing ball into water, hacking at the ground with a wedge or iron, dropping putter after a short miss.

Bottom Line: Apology not required (conditional).

How to act: Quickly show there are no lingering effects.

OK, this is starting to get a bit more serious. But until now, with the exception of the putter-drop which is not all that threatening, the club hasn’t left your hand. This is good, because once the club leaves your hand you’ve entered a different level of tantrum. Your playing partners will probably feel a bit uneasy. The best thing to do is quickly show them you aren’t going to be affected by this: it was just a quick outburst, but you are past it. I’d sidle up to one of them as you walk toward the green and make conversation about something entirely different — ask them where they work, etc. It shows that you’ve already moved on and quells their concerns that you might be a crazy person on the verge of a breakdown. Don’t mention the shot you just hit, even in a joking manner, and certainly don’t say “I NEVER do that.” They’ll know you are still thinking about it and that’s not good. Move on quickly. If you do that, there no apology is required.

Level 3: Terror alert yellow

Includes: The short club throw (think Anthony Kim or Tiger slamming the driver down), tossing your wedge or putter back at your golf bag instead of bringing it back, curse word loud enough to be heard on multiple holes, hole-long general surliness.

Bottom line: Moderate apology required.

How to act: Sheepishly saying,

“Sorry about that guys, it won’t happen again.”

Now you’ve done it, you’ve crossed the line between, “Hmmm, this guy has a bit of a temper” to “Uh oh, this round could be really unpleasant.” But it’s not the end of the world. Almost every golfer you’ll ever play with has crossed into terror alert yellow at some point. You have to generally acknowledge your behavior is not appropriate, and you do that with the sheepish apology. Sheepishness is actually a great trick in this situation, because it shows you are embarrassed at your behavior. But also lends your playing partners to believe that this kind of behavior probably doesn’t happen much. A quick or angry sorry might say, “I do this all the time” and make you look like a politician caught cheating on his wife. The sheepish sorry says that you feel bad, you don’t do this often and it won’t happen again. As with Level 2, try to talk to them afterward about general stuff and move on.

Level 4: Terror alert orange

Includes: Full blown club throw, breaking clubs over knee, throwing putter into water, snarky responses to playing partners, walking ahead of the group in total angry silence, repeated false laughter at yourself, asking leading/trap questions to playing partners such as:

“Have you EVER seen anyone get luck like this!”

Bottom line: Apology required.

How to act: Wait a bit, then apologize. Try and make it heartfelt.

Once you’ve committed an orange level infraction, you really need to let time heal your wounds. Your playing partners ARE going to tell people about this in the clubhouse, and no matter what you say they are going to think you’ve done this before and will do it again. Have you ever watched Criminal Minds? People don’t escalate to Level 4 without committing prior bad acts.

The level 4 clubthrower probably has a sealed juvenile record and started fires as a kid, or maybe not, but you know what I mean.

You don’t start with a level 4. So take some time, then apologize to your playing partners — tell them you are working on it. If you are invited to have a beer after the round, a well-timed joke about needing to buy a new wedge can be appropriate. But mostly, if you ever the chance to play with these guys again, be sure to be on your best behavior. Only time going by without repeat infractions can make people think this was an isolated incident.

Level 5: Terror alert red

Includes: Threatening to fight people, breaking a club in two that ricochets and almost stabs someone, throwing a club through a nearby house’s window, causing serious course damage, unprovoked outbursts at course personnel, throwing the flag like a spear, etc. Generally, acting like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.

Bottom Line: Apology? Have your lawyer send a notarized one.

How to act: Find a new course, change your name.

If you’ve committed a Level 5 infraction. Consult a psychologist. That’s your first step. Then if you wish to keep playing golf and have successfully completed therapy, you might want to find a new course and change your name to something nice sounding and non-threatening. Go with Ned Flanders or something like that.

Nobody is going to suspect Ned Flanders of being the same guy that almost stabbed a guy with a broken shaft while repeatedly asking, “How am I funny? You mean like a clown, like I amuse you?”

So there you have it. Go out and play golf, and don’t be afraid to make a little sacrifice to the golf gods here and there. Just know how to apologize, know when to draw the line and know how to get over it quickly. You’ll be OK. Follow the above guidelines and you’ll have no problem continually getting a game.

Click here for more discussion in the “Golf Talk” forum.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

3 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

3 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

2 weeks 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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