Golf is a funny game

There is something profoundly strange going on with my golf game lately, and it probably is a good illustration of life in general.

I am playing the best golf of my life right now. For almost 4 years I worked on my game, tried hard, but the game just continued to frustrate me. There were days when I couldn't drive to save my life, while on other days I would chip or putt like an idiot. All in all, I remained pretty much where I was, barring minor improvements.

Over the last 8 months I have been unable to play more than once a week since I have had a full time job. This has meant that I play less often, but look forward to the weekend game all week. It has also meant that I don't practice at all. I just show up for my weekend game and play. Bottomline - I think less about my game, have minimal expectations about the score, and enjoy it more.

And all of a sudden, I have started playing a lot better. I have played 3 of the best rounds of my life in the last 2 months and I have not put in any work on my technique at all.

I have heard lots of people say that golf is a mental sport like no other. My recent experience tells me that perhaps they are right.

Moe Norman who?

Someone has described Moe Norman as the best golfer in the world that no one has heard of. I play golf, watch golf, follow golf, and I had never heard of this guy until yesterday. And for good reason. Moe did not have a very successful career as a professional golfer.

Moe was a Canadian golfer considered by some to be the best ball striker ever! He had a very unconventional swing, but could apparently make the ball talk.

Here is a nice ESPN video about Moe.

Birdie Barrage!

My acquaintance R. Murthy was one of the competitors at the PGTI Golf championship at Poona Club Golf Course last week. On the last day of the tournament Murthy fired a 9-birdie round to tie for first, but eventually finished second after losing the first playoff hole to Shankar Das.

Murthy scored a TOTAL of nine birdies in the round but it got me thinking about what the record is for the highest number of CONSECUTIVE birdies in a professional golf round.

Well, I hope you are sitting down when you read this. The record is held by Mark Calcavecchia, who scored 9 consecutive birdies during the second round of the 2009 Canadian Open. NINE IN A ROW!

Here's a blow by blow account of the historic feat:

http://www.pgatour.com/2009/tournaments/r032/07/25/calc_birdie_chart/index.html

Golf Tips for the Young!

Now that my little 8-year old boy Siddharth is playing golf regularly, it is good fun to go out and play with him occassionally. Siddharth recently won a junior club tournament, and also was runner up in a couple more - not a huge deal since these were local club tournaments with fairly limited participation. However these wins have charged him up, and he is excited about playing on a regular basis.

More than his increasing golf skills, what I like about Siddharth is that he has his feet firmly on the ground. He doesn't make a big deal about his golf, stays away from showing off his prizes (in fact he hides one of them in his wardrobe!). As a matter of fact he is downright shy talking about his good rounds. Recently his grandmother asked him about one of his good rounds and his response was "So what?".

Whether Sid becomes a good golfer or not, only time will tell. But I do hope he stays humble. That will certainly stand him in good stead whatever he does.

Here is a hilarious golf video I came across recently about a father and son on the golf course. Enjoy!

Mr. Relentless

Ian Poulter was Mr. Relentless at the Volvo World Match Play Championship that concluded at Finca Cortesin, Spain, last weekend.

I watched quite a bit of the action on television and was mesmerized by the skills of this charismatic Englishman. He was in trouble in many of the early rounds, but got through with some incredible match play golf, and a lot of magic with his wedges and putter.

I have often heard that what separates the really good golfers from the pros is the ability of the pros from inside 100 yards. Ian Poulter put on a show from inside 100 yards in this tournament. I did not track the stats, but he probably made 80% up and down from 50-100 yards in the two matches before the finals. For those who have played golf seriously, that is absolutely incredible.

Mr. Relentless was playing the long hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts in the semi-finals. Poulter clawed his way back into the match down home-stretch with some clutch play, particularly with his wedges. The match was tied after 18 holes and the players had to go to a playoff. What happened on the first playoff hole was a microcosm of Poulter's play in the tournament.

Hole#18 at Finca Cortesin is a 568 yard par-5. Both players hit good drives. Colsaerts had about 250 yards to the flag for his second shot, Poulter was much further back. Poulter knew that Colsaerts would go for the green in 2, and would make it there comfortably. He could have gone for the green as well, but chose to lay up and leave himself his favourite wedge distance to the pin - about 100 yards. Colsaerts promptly struck a 4-iron, threading the needle through the narrow space between the two green side bunkers and put his second shot about 20-25 feet from the pin, needing a 2-putt for birdie. Poulter hit his third shot (a wedge) to about 6 feet. Both players made birdie and eventually Poulter won on the next playoff hole.

What was interesting about this sequence of events was Poulter's decision to layup and then calmly make up and down from there. I saw him do this innumerable times through the event. His wedge play was absolutely unbelievable.

Well done Mr. Relentless!