The Unflappable South African

Watching Louis Oosthuizen play the last round of the British Open Golf tournament yesterday reminded me of the original unflappable South African - Retief Goosen.

I never saw the great South African Gary Player play golf. He is probably the greatest South African golfer ever - certainly the most famous. However the first South African golfer I became a fan of was Ernie Els. To this day, I cannot fathom how he advances the ball with that silky smooth "easy" swing.

But it was Retief who really captured my imagination in 2004. It was the US Open at Shinnecock Hills. Retief had already won the open a few years ago, and he was leading at the start of the fourth round. I have never seen such clutch golf - until yesterday.

Retief was absolutely sensational during that last round at Shinnecock Hills. He nailed approach shots when he had to. He drained putts when he had to. And not once did he show any emotion, until he won it all. To this day, I try to copy him as far as my demeanour on the golf course is concerned. Even keel. You miss a 2 footer or drain a 50 footer - same expression, same body language, same attitude. Take it in your stride. I wish I could do it half as well as the great man.

Oosthuizen was absolutely clutch yesterday. The toothy grin was on right through the day, and so were the clutch shots. As Paul Casey said, he didn't flinch at all. Louis was mentored by Ernie Els, but I am glad he has a little bit of Retief in him. The unflappable South African.

Playing Golf in the Rain

With the onset of the monsoons in Western India, I frequently play golf in the rain during July and August. One of the problems I run into during this time is playing off wet fairways. As it is I am hitting about 50-60% fairways. And if I do not hit a good second shot when I do hit the fairway, it is absolutely frustrating. Now that I am playing a lot less than I did a few months ago, I only get one opportunity every week to play well and feel good about myself!

I found this helpful video tip on playing in the rain. The key is to pick the ball clean everytime.

Rickard Strongert

A couple of years ago I discovered some of the best golf instruction videos on the Internet. Videojug - a repository of "how-to" videos - hosts these videos from Rickard Strongert, a teaching pro at Los Naranjos golf course in Spain.

Strongert's videos are good because he keeps things simple, and demonstrates the key aspects of every shot very clearly. Strongert's instruction works. After watching his video on the greenside bunker shot, I have never feared the bunker shot again. Open stance, open clubface, ball in the middle of the stance, and swing along your stance - Strongert makes it very easy to understand.

You can find his videos at this link:

http://www.videojug.com/search?keywords=rickard+strongert

Thanks Rickard, I am a big fan!

Oh Golf!

It has been a while since I wrote my last golf post. When I wrote my last post about the focus on fundamentals, I was all excited about spending a significant amount of time and effort improving my game.

And then reality struck!

I got busy with work and couldn't find the time for the practice rigor I had planned for. And out went the goals I had set! Meanwhile my life took a major turn as well. About three months ago I decided to get out of the golf company I had cofounded. It was difficult, but it is behind me now.

I have gone from playing 3 times a week to playing at most once a week now. Where I was dealing with a problem of plenty a few months ago, now I am dealing with golf-withdrawal! I can't wait to get to the course and hit some balls, or go play a round. I am so looking forward to the game on Sunday!