First, this is my understanding of what took place.  There is no doubt that Tiger should have incurred a 2 shot penalty for his drop after hitting the pin and the ball spinning back into the creek. I think he may have gotten a little confused with the ruling. The rule for a water hazard allows you to drop the ball, in line with where it LAST crossed the margin of the hazard, and in this case the ball spun LEFT of where he hit it from. He had the option to go as close or as far back as he wanted to, keeping the line between where the ball last crossed the hazard and the flagstick. Instead he went back two yards from where he hit the ball and dropped a ball into play – thereby playing from a wrong spot.

I have always maintained that the ruling, if he was to chose to drop the ball from the last spot he hit it, states that the player has the option to drop a ball at the nearest point from which he hit it. My problem is what defines the “nearest point” – in the divot from the shot he just hit? I think the rule needs to be more defined to state, say within one club length, but even so, through an interpretation of the rule, there would be no rules official that would deem that point where he dropped the ball was “the nearest point from which the player last hit the shot”. My opinion is Tiger, probably in his disgust as he had hit a great shot and ended up in the creek, got confused and took a bad drop – a two shot penalty.

But apparently the rules officials notified Tiger that they had reviewed the situation after a call in from a viewer (another thing I disagree with) and told him there was no penalty, so he signed his card with a 6 on the hole – the impression of which he was lead to believe he made on the hole.

Apparently, the rules committee decided to assess him the two shot penalty that night or the following morning and waived the disqualification for signing an incorrect scorecard. They stated that the new rule – which more or less states that if a television viewer calls in the rule infraction and the player did not knowingly breach the rule, further stated as “facts that he did not know and could not reasonably have discovered prior to returning his score card” – gave them the right to waive the disqualification penalty. The television viewer may have picked up on something, but this is not something like brushing a grain of sand in the bunker – Tiger admitted what he did after the round, so he was clearly aware of what he did – and ignorance of the rules is not acceptable, and what he did was a breach – it’s the player’s responsibility to know the rule and if uncertain, he should call in an official to help. But his admittance at the end of the round is what led the committee to review the situation, and they decided to assess him the two shot penalty, but waive the disqualification.

Honestly, I don’t believe he should not have been disqualified, which would have been for signing a wrong scorecard, which would have made it an 8 on the hole as opposed to the 6. But I do think the Masters stretched the ruling to be in his favor as to not disqualify him.

Also, there are those that feel Tiger should have disqualified himself – and I think other players would have, as he did clearly breach a rule, but due to errors (or a lack of guts on the committee or whatever their motivation – to call Tiger out on the penalty), that was his choice to play on as the officials had made the decision which entitled him to play on for the rest of the tournament. So he wasn’t wrong to continue to play, but should he have? I think it was in the back of his head during his play, because he didn’t play well, and if he did win, I think there would have been an asterisk next to that victory.

By the rules, he did nothing wrong – it’s the Master’s Committee that should be blamed for the way they handled it – and the reasons why I don’t think will ever truly be known. Maybe it was by mistake or maybe by intention to protect Tiger and their ratings. I would like to think the Masters is above the latter – but I just don’t know how anyone could have told him that there was no penalty as that was quite clear there was an infraction. It leaves some questions about the situation.

Whether Tiger should have disqualified himself – well that’s just a matter of your feelings on whether his decision was one of integrity or not.

UPDATE – April, 23rd

A member sent me this article, written by Kendra Graham , who sued to be in charge of the Rules for the USGA. You can read it here:

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golftalkcentral/former-usga-rules-official-explains-woods-ruling/?cid=email_ThursdayNL_20130419

It appears that no one had spoken to Tiger before he signed his scoredcard. The committee was aware of a possible infraction, as per the call by a televison viewer. At that point they determined it a “non-event” and said nothing, until later when Tiger was speaking and explained that he moved the ball 2 yards back – of course to get a better yardage – that’s how good these guys are. Of course in no way do I think that Tiger tried to cheat or bend the rules – but he did break them. And the committee should have made Tiger aware of the situation, as they were aware of it, before he signed the scorecard. Instead they Committee, in my opinion, used their power to circumvent the rules and waive the disqualification. Any player should have been DQ’ed for that drop – it gave him an advantage by doing so. Ignorance of the rule is no excuse. While the committee has the power to do what they did, they should not have. I think they would have DQ’ed any other player and may have (opinion) Tiger the benefit of the doubt. The biggest error is that the committee was aware of the infraction or “possible infraction” – which in my mind was CLEARLY an infraction and said nothing – deeming it a non-event – WHICH IT CLEARLY WAS NOT! Because they knew about it before he signed his card, and said nothing to him, was the reason they were able to avoid the Disqualification – if it had been after the fact then they would have been forced to do so. Still, that they said nothing when they were originally aware of the situation, which means they saw no infraction – is just makes no sense to me. As someone who’s had to act like a rules official for the past 20 years at a country club (and I don’t claim to be an expert), I will would have called that an infraction 20 out of 20 times! He should have been assessed the two shot penalty right off the bat before he signed his card and everyone could have moved on. But the Masters found away around it so they didn’t have to DQ him as they erred from the start. I think Tiger, if he disqualifed himself, would have made the Masters look bad, as it would be more or less saying that they improperly handled the situation. There’s no winner on this one. 

First let me say that I believe that anchoring the long putter, once you get used to it, is an easier way to putt. The primary reason for this is it is much easier to control the clubface and keep it on line – and getting the ball along the right line (along with the proper speed) makes for better putting. This would be especially true of golfers who struggle with the “twitches” or “yips”.

So how do I feel about it? Well as a golfer I don’t like it because the whole advantage of the long putter was to be able to anchor it and control the clubface which made me deadly inside the 6 foot range – I had tremendous confidence. Without the anchoring I believe the belly and long putter will die a fast death – I for one will probably not use it, although I have yet to try it without anchoring it.

As a golf professional I do understand the argument that it’s not a traditional “stroke” and that may have some merit to it. However, I’m disappointed that it has taken a few decades to come to this conclusion with many players, both pros and amateurs changing over to the long from the short putter. I also believe that while many of the pros, who putt with the belly or long putter, have shrugged it off as no big deal and they’ll just make the adjustment back to the standard putter won’t find it quite that easy (Vijay is a perfect example) It’s the right attitude to have as a professional, but I don’t think it will be as simple as many make it sound. The fact of the matter is that most players make the conversion to the long or belly putter because they are struggling with the standard putter – having the “twitches” or “yips”.  Some may successfully make the conversion back, several of them will not play as well as they did.

What’s probably most disappointing is the impact that it has on golf itself. The fact of the matter is while the USGA and PGA are doing everything in their power to grow the game – the game is shrinking, especially during these economic times.  So now those golfers that have found more enjoyment in the game with their long and belly putters – golfers who more than likely were struggling with their standard putters – get to look forward to going back to them, and most likely the yips that they couldn’t conquer.

I realize a large majority of golfers are still using the standard putter, but maybe it’s finally time to taking a closer look at having two sets of rules – one for the tour players and one for the amateurs. For instance, distance measuring devices are fine for amateur use, but prevented from being used on the PGA Tour. I’m sure decisions to do this would be difficult, but if the USGA continues to base decisions on equipment because it’s easier for tour players, we may be taking more enjoyment out of the game for the amateur, recreational golfer who is playing for fun – not a living.

Unfortunately for Na he was uncomfortable with something – not sure what – maybe his swing or the position in the tournament. Whatever it was he had rabbit ears and appeared to be able to hear an ant pass gas from 100 yards away. He pulled on his shirt, tugged on his pants, etc.  The crowds were bothering him, he couldn’t get himself through the physical part of his routine, causing him to have to “reset” himself and start his routine all over again – which means he wasn’t really ready to hit it – before he started is physical routine. Of course all this took a lot of time and was painful to watch, so he was given a warning for slow play, and put “on the clock”, meaning if they had to warn him again he would be assessed a penalty shot.

You have to give credit to Na for really being much better with all of this on Sunday – he kept up with the group in front of him and seemed to settle in much quicker – but I’m not sure if he was really settled in or he was just trying to play faster? Or was it the pressure of leading the tournament? I just find it hard to believe in one day he was able to get all
those demons out of his head – the ones that were causing him to have the painful pre-shot routine we all – including his playing partner – had to witness.

When you write a book, you are putting your thoughts into words – something you then own – based on your believe system at that time. Sometimes someone or something comes along to prove you wrong. Such is what happened since I wrote my book with the theory of impact and separation. This theory is in essence the idea that to hit the ball straight the club most contact the ball on the inside quadrant, the ball is compressed, then when it separates from the clubface it is pointing at the intended target. The image below explains the theory a little better. With impact and separation, and using a clock on the ball to illustrate – the clubface would contact near 4:00 and separate at 3:00.

This has now been proven, through technology such as Trackman and FlightScope, to be false. Impact and separation most definitely exists, but its impact is negligible. Basically the point of contact and separation is the back of the ball – which in the above illustration is 3:00. This means I get to eat my words – as I put them in print in my book. I feel bad about that, but I understand that over time theories are proven wrong and change.

But the theory, as it is in the illustration, has helped so many golfers on my lesson tee. How is that possible? Well the reason is the visual still works. The vast majority of golfers slice the ball, which means that they come from outside-in with their clubhead path and leave the clubface open – the combination causes a pull or straight-slice. If the golfer tries to correct the slice by swing more inside-out and leaves the face open, he or she would then hit a push slice. This image works because the golfer envisions hitting toward 4:00 and closing the clubface through impact – both things they need to do to start hitting the ball straight or with a slight draw.

So the theory of impact and separation, at least as far as its influence on ball flight is concerned, no longer holds true. But the visual of it happening lives on as a great aid to help the slicer hit the ball straight and possibly hit that illusive draw shot.

It’s a good idea before you hit balls to make sure you warm up slowly starting with small swings with the wedges, work your way to full swing wedges, then work your way up the bag. You only need to hit a few short irons, mid-irons, hybrids, and drivers.

Once you have warmed up it’s time to go to work. The fist thing you should do is pick a target and put s tick down parallel to the target line. Then put another one perpendicular to that one so that you can monitor your ball position. After every ten balls change your target, that will help get your alignment more consistent. During this time you should spend the bulk of your time working on you ball flight. For example, if you slice the ball work on trying to hit hooks and if you hook the ball, work on hitting slices.

Then take a few balls to try and vary your trajectories. Hit a few punch shots for out-of- the-woods shots or a shot in heavy winds. Work on hitting some high shots and so on. The idea here is you never pace the same shot twice during a round of golf. Another exercise is to hit one driver, then an iron, then a wedge shot so your constantly changing clubs. You can also play an imaginary version of a golf course you know well.

Lastly, and this is especially good to mix up the clubs with this, is to practice your pre-shot routine so that you can perfect it and make it as consistent and repeatable as possible. If you don’t have one, this is a great time to build one. Every great player has one and you are really doing your game an injustice.

Practice efficiently and effectively and make good use of your full-swing sessions and you will see some great results on the golf course.

But this blog is about how to be more effective with practicing these shots. There’s no mystery that you can hit the ball great, but without a good short game, you’ll never be able to take advantage of the great ball-striking days.

The biggest error I see golfers make is to stand in one spot and hit the same shot over and over again. The only time you get to hit the same exact shot twice on the golf course is after you hit the ball O.B. However, it is good to stay in one place when learning a shot or learning basic technique to strike the ball consistently. Consistent contact is paramount to possessing good distance control and a great short game.

Once your contact and technique is good, it’s time to vary the types of shots you hit. Try not to hit the same shot twice in a row, unless it’s a shot you are really struggling with. Even then just hit a half dozen or so and vary things up. Let’s say the practice green has three targets. Hit one to each target all from a similar lie – say a tight fairway lie – changing targets with each swing. Do this about 6 times to each flag. Switch up clubs and trajectories – even vary trajectories with the same club. The go in the first cut and do the same. Then into the rough and do it again.

The idea is to keep mixing it up so you are not hitting the same shot over and over again and at the same time building a repertoire of all the shots you will face on the golf course.

Now before I get into practice putting, I would like to note that I don’t think the most effective way to build a sound putting stroke on a putting green. Why? Because it’s an imperfect system and if like most you can only find time to practice later in the day – it only gets worse. A controlled environment with good feedback can be very helpful. What I do recommend is practicing on a smooth carpet at home or in your office and using a couple of devices that give really good feedback. Since I believe golfers should work on hitting their putts very solid and get them rolling on the intended line, the two “training aids” I really like (I’m not an endorser nor do I sell these devices) are the DAVE PELZ PUTTING CLIPS and PUTTING TUDOR. You can get more details on them at www.DavePelz.com. Work in the distance range, with a straight putt, from 4 to 15 feet, and you will become amazing in this zone.

Now do most of your work at home or in your office (get a second putter), then when you want to practice the much-improved stroke you developed inside, go to the putting green and start by hitting some mid-range of putts of about 15 feet or so. Then start working on some longer putts – say 30 to 40 feet, but I like if you find a putt that is between two holes and on a slope so you can hit them downhill, and then turn around and hit them uphill. By doing extreme opposites this will help you with your speed control. Then you need to do some work in critical-make zone; inside 6 feet. Phil Michelson made this exercise fairly popular and I think it’s a great one. Find a fairly pitched slope and put 8 balls equal distances apart from about six feet so you are creating a circle of balls around the hole. Try to get two of the balls to be positioned straight uphill and straight downhill. Then go, one ball at a time, from ball to ball. This will give you every conceivable type of putt, from a straight uphill putt to a downhill left to right putt. The more severe the slope is, the more challenging this exercise is. Then finish it up with 12 straight putts from a choice of your distance and work on making your pre-shot routine as repeatable and as sound as possible.

There are many other exercises you can do to help you become a better putter – they’re all over the net. But if you do these things, trust me; you’ll become a very good, if not great, putter.

15 minutes on putting

15 minutes on chipping/pitching

5 minutes on wedge play (less than full swings, say 70 – 100 yards)

5 minutes on bunker play

20 minutes on the full swing

Notice how I put the short game first. Why? Because most golfers go over to the range with the intention of working on their full swing and they get caught up in that – whacking a lot of drivers – and the next thing they know they are out of time and never get to the short game. And if you don’t have a really good short game, you’ll never reach your scoring potential.

Ideally you would follow this practice session by playing nine holes. So maybe instead of going out for 18 holes, you can practice for an hour or so, then go out and play nine holes, this way you can do both on the same day as opposed to having to find time on multiple days to practice AND play. Or you could go play nine first, then practice, but I don’t think most golfers have the energy or desire to practice after they play.
In a world where we are constantly filling our cell-phone calendars and over-booking our days, try to slot in some time for yourself and improving your game.

In my upcoming blogs, I’ll breakdown each section and give more specific ways to practice each of them.

Wow, was I blown away with what I saw. Let me start by stating that this student is not an advanced player (does not break 100), has limited time to practice, is not a “student” of the golf swing, and takes lesson sporadically – all of which, in my opinion, needs to be taken into account. The instructor basically took the student from setup through the entire golf swing, stopping along every step of the way, to show every flaw, talking about plane path, lag, arms straightening through impact, etc, etc, etc. And I’m not exaggerating with the etc’s.

Let me say this – the instructor was spot on with his diagnosis. But let me also say that having a clear understanding of the golf swing and coaching golfers is not the same. If you study a bit, you don’t need a pro to be able to understand the golf swing. Now in defense of the pro, I did not see any of the drills that were prescribed to “fix” these flaws, although those probably were more important for the student to review.
Here’s my point, and it’s in defense of the instructor – however it doesn’t help the student. No student would ever need to see, albeit it’s an overview of the entire motion, that amount of information. That amount could never be absorbed and integrated by any student. More than likely, a student would be walking away thinking their swing is a mess – an idea and feeling that is never good to leave a lesson with. Again, part of the problem is that some instructors feel compelled to tell student everything that is flawed with their swings, maybe because the instructor feels a need to give “value” to the lesson or because they know that the student is only coming one time, so they can’t set out a plan for improvement that would be shared and integrated in smaller pieces.

Beware of the lesson with lots of information – the chance for success is dramatically reduced. In this case I think it was just the style of the instructor, compounded by the fact the there was only one lesson without the chance for a follow-up lesson. Which is a lesson in and of itself – if you decide to take lessons, at least take a few of them to give the instructor a chance to coach you more than once – thereby giving him or her, the chance to share ideas with you in smaller pieces, thereby giving you a great chance for success.