Apparently Jim Furyk, the #3 ranked player going into the first playoff event this weekend, has been DQ'd for missing the pro-am this morning.  Here's the scoop.

Aug. 25, 2010

By PGA TOUR staff
PARAMUS, N.J. -- Jim Furyk, ranked No. 3 in points going into the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, has been disqualified from The Barclays after missing his pro-am tee time Wednesday morning.
Furyk was scheduled to tee off at 7:30 a.m. ET in Wednesday's pro-am but failed to show. The Associated Press reported that Furyk uses his cell phone as an alarm clock, but when he woke up Wednesday, he realized he had no power on his phone.

TOUR policy is that any player missing a pro-am time except for injury or family emergency is ineligible to play in that week's tournament.
The DQ does not eliminate Furyk from the Playoffs, but it does eliminate an opportunity to solidify his spot going into the next event, the Deutsche Bank Championship held next week at TPC Boston.
According to the TOUR's Playoff scenarios, Furyk could drop as far as 19th on the points list after The Barclays, depending on how others perform this week. Maintaining a top-five position in the Playoffs is important because the top five heading into the final Playoffs event, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, can win the FedExCup simply by winning that event.
Furyk was scheduled to play with No. 1-ranked Ernie Els and No. 2 Steve Stricker in the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

That's one of those "what the hell was I thinking moments", that we all have.  Unfortunately, this one will probably cost Jim hundreds of thousand of dollars.  Time to wake up and smell the coffee Mr. Furyk...literally.  Next time just set the damn alarm clock or get a wake up call. 

News came in today that the divorce proceedings between Tiger and Elin have now been finalized.  It's not like we all didn't expect it, but now that it's official maybe Tiger can get on with is life and start doing what he does best.  Winning golf tournaments.  I'm sure 90% of his on course problems in the past months were mainly due to his inability to focus with the pending demise of his marriage, and half of his fortune.  Speaking of that, I wonder how much she got?  I'm guessing in the 300-400 million range, but I could be way off.
What are your thoughts on Tiger now that this is out?  Is it enough to put his mind at ease so he can get back to business (no not that kind of business)?   The regular season is just about done, but we do have the playoffs and Ryder cup for him to show the world that he can still get it done.  Can't wait to see how the next chapter of his life begins.

Yesterday I was at the local sporting goods store, which will remain nameless, ah hell who cares...it was the Sports Authority just so everyone knows.  Anyway, they have a decent little golf section, with all the latest overpriced drivers and accessories.  I was perusing the putters when I overheard a gentleman asking the golf department guy about sand wedges.  The man had his eye on a 56 and 60 degree wedge, but wasn't sure which one he should buy.  I could tell by the short conversation that he may have been relatively new to the game, but he was hoping to get some information so he could make the appropriate purchase.  I was shocked to hear the misinformation that ensued from the continuing conversation...

Customer:  So I'm not sure which wedge I need.  Should I get a regular sand wedge or should I get the 60 degree?

Golf Dept Guy:  They're both going to do about the same thing.  You can play the 60* back in your stance when you're in the sand trap if you want it to act like the 56 degree.  You probably won't want to hit the 60 degree from the grass though.

Customer:  Ok.  I see that there are two numbers on the wedges.  There's the 56 and a 14, what's the 14 mean?

Golf Dept Guy:  Oh that's just the loft

Customer:  Oh I thought the 56 was the loft

Golf Dept Guy:  Yeah the 56 is the loft, the 14 is how open the face is.

Customer:  Oh ok, so the face is going to be like 14 degrees open.  I see the 60 degree will be 8 degrees open, does that sound right?

Golf Dept Guy:  Yeah that's right.

I'm standing with my jaw on the floor listening to this employee give  the customer this nonsensical,  incorrect  information.  For those of you who are unaware of sand wedge terminology, that second number, the 14 or 8, in this case, is the bounce of the wedge.  Basically, that's how much bump the bottom of the wedge has where club meets the sand.  The bounce affects how the club goes through the sand or grass.  The higher the bounce  the less the club will not dig into the sand or turf.

I felt bad for the customer, because he obviously just wanted to get a good sand wedge to add to his bag and from what I could determine, he went with the 60 degree, which was most likely the wrong choice for this guy.   I really wanted to jump in and straighten away the employee so he didn't mislead any customers in the future, but I bit my tongue and didn't get into their business.  When I got home, I really wish I had.

So the moral of the story here is, do your homework before you buy from the big box stores or anywhere for that matter.  Golf equipment isn't their main business and the kids working in the golf department probably don't know a sand wedge from a shovel.   When you see him working in the camping department tomorrow, you'll be glad you researched sand wedges before you went in.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm my own worst enemy on the golf course.  I can be having the round of my life and then my brain starts getting in the way.  When this happens, I can psych myself into some of the worst swings & decisions ever made.   I think it's something that happens to all gofers of all ability levels.  Trying to keep yourself focused, and at the same time, not putting so much pressure on yourself that you can't perform is a delicate balance.   We'll that's where Mental Toughness Training for Golf: Start Strong Finish Strong can help.

Dr. Bell must have been reading my mind, because he sent me an email a couple of weeks ago asking if I'd like to check out his book.  Perfect timing, my club championship was in a few days, and I could use some mental prep, plus it just plain sounded like something us mere mortals, who can't afford a sports psychologist, could benefit from .  He sent me a copy and I flipped through it prior to my first round.  Let me tell you, if you're a tournament player who tends to struggle in pressure situations, this book has a ton of great drills and thoughts that you can put to use immediately.

One of the keys that I took with me to my tournament was Dr. Bell's thoughts on having "no expectations".  I wrote this on my wrist each day before I tee'd off so I could look down at it before shots.  Not having any expectations for that shot, or for my score that day helped me relax, have fun, and play better without thinking much about it.  There's a ton of other jem's like this that any one of us can take to the course each time you play.

Another is  "Needing, Wanting & Justing".   Dr. Bell describes how the idea of needing is a handicapping thought and places unrealistic pressure on ourselves.  Such as "I need to make this putt", or "I need a birdie on this hole".  I can't tell you how many times each round I say to myself, I need to get this one close, or I need to hit this fairway.  Then when it doesn't happen, disappointment and frustration starts to build.   Transforming the "need" thought into "I want" or "just" can eliminate some of the pressure and help you think effectively with a clear goal.  "I want to play well today" or "Just play aggressively today" are alternative thoughts to help provide a positive, but non-expectant voice for your game.

The book is full of these types of ideas, and Dr. Bell has even gone so far as to break it down into various parts of the game, such as pre-shot routine, post-shot routine, putting, drills for golf teams, and a ton more.  I haven't even finished going through the entire book yet, but I was so pleased with just the little bit that I took with me to my club championship, I can't wait to try out some of the other mental drills and see how I'm able to perform.

You can pick up Dr. Bell's book at his website, http://drrobbell.com or at Amazon. If you take only one thing away from this book and it helps your game, then it's money well spent.  I'm confident you'll learn a lot about how you currently think about golf , how you can improve your mental game and play better, while enjoying it even more.

You can read more about Dr. Rob Bell here.

Ok, that's probably not exactly true, but the golf industry magazines most of us subscribe to, might not be doing your game as much good as you think.  Consider it for a moment, they have to put out a new magazine each month.  50%+ of the magazine is filled with "fix your slice", "hit drives longer", "make every putt" type articles.  Is having a new set of quick fix methods every 30 days really the best thing for your game?  Are all of these tips just thrown together so they can fill pages?  Makes you wonder how sound the information really is. And just because some top 1000 teacher is the guy on the page giving the lesson, does that mean we're automatically supposed to trust his teaching abilities?

How about learning some solid swing fundamentals and building from that.  If you've learned the proper grip, stance, balance, etc., then you can fix most of your own problems quicker and more efficiently than the half page magazine article can ever hope to.  I'm not saying that they don't give the occasional good tip that many of us can on occasion, such as techniques for difficult bunker shots or uneven fairway lies, but I guarantee if you take every "add 15 yards to your drives" article to the course, you will be so discombobulated you won't know which way is up. 

All I'm saying is to take these "quick fix" articles with a grain of salt.  If you can pick up something that you can work into your game, great, but be cautions with trying every exciting new tip that comes out.  It won't help your swing in the long run.  Personally, I'll stick with the interviews and Feherty's column on the back page.  And I'm pretty sure my scores are better off for it. 

Three armed men robbed famed Puerto Rican golfer Juan Antonio "Chi Chi" Rodriguez of about $500,000 worth of jewelry, watches and other personal items in his home early Wednesday, police said.

Glad no one was harmed, and hopefully justice will be served and Chi Chi can jam a 9 iron up the asses of the guys who did this.

Now that Hank has left Tiger to his own devices, like just about everyone else in his little world, the question begs...Who will be the new Tiger Woods swing coach?

Ordinarily, I'd say that there'd be a mile long line for this gig, but with Tiger's current health issues, personal problems, and overall lack of a golf game, he might need to offer some sweet incentives to hire someone quickly.

Butch Harmon?  NO!.  With Butch being Phil's coach, and the way that Tiger and Harmon parted ways back in the early 2000's, I don't see any reconciliation happening there, and I don't believe Butch would want the Tiger/Phil conflict of interest hanging over his head for eternity.

David Leadbetter?  The guys a nut job I think.  He should probably just stick to his 15 second tips on the Golf Channel and hocking his instructional videos.  So I'd say Leadbetter ain't happening.

Sean Foley...WHO?  He's currently Sean O'hair & Hunter Mahan's swing coach and it's been rumored that he and Woods have been speaking about a possible partnership. 

It's anyone's job at this point. One thing's for sure, TW needs someone to help get his game back on track.  Yeah, yeah, he just needs to get a few more competitive rounds under his belt,  which is in part true, but he needs someone to put an eye on his swing just to get him confident that he's on the right track.  He should probably do this sooner than later. 

Who do you think Tiger's new coach will be?

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Now THAT was a Masters.  The Tiger comeback drama.  Freddy & Tom working to become the oldest major winner in history.  The British contingent at the top of the leaderboard.  And then there was Phil.

Anyone who didn't, for at least one moment, think that he was about to make 3 eagles in a row on Saturday is just plain lying.  In my mind, that was the chain of events that lit a fire under Phil and set his Sunday win in motion.

Nothing against Westwood, he played brilliantly, but in the end,  he got spanked.  Phil was in the zone and was unstoppable. Save for that pesky lose impediment that fell out from the sky and all but stopped his put early in the round.  Had Mickelson lost by one stroke, that would have been the most talked about piece of foliage in the history of golf.   But Phil pushed on and played some of the most inspired golf we've seen from him in quite some time. 

With all that the Mickelson family has gone through in the past year, they truly deserve a joyful occasion such as this, and Phil was able to bring that home to them yesterday.  Being that the Masters is my absolute favorite event in golf..hands down, I'm now left saddened as we have 355+ days until Masters week begins again.

A huge congratulations to Lefty, the 2010 Masters Champion...You're my boy Phil...you're my boy.