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Archive : September 2007

September 6, 2007

FedExCup Playoffs

This week we go to Cog Hill in Illinois for the BMW Championship and for the Fedex points. This is an important tournament because there will only be 30 players who will go to the Tour Championship the next week which is the final playoff event.

With Lefty's win last week he is now sitting in the #1 position with 108,613 points. Steve Stricker is second with 106,200 and lurking in 3rd is Tiger with 103,733 ... the BMW will be a great tournament! There are a lot of GOOD players that are sitting below the 30th spot and they will really have to make some movement this week to keep in the hunt.

The winner of the FedExCup will be the player who has accumulated the most points throughout the Playoffs, not necessarily the winner of THE TOUR Championship. Each week, every player needs to finish as high as possible - not simply to stay in the field for the next event, but to have a chance to win the FedExCup.

What does this mean ... a trophy crafted by Tiffany's and $10 million to the winner and another $25 million going to the rest of the placings.

Yea, it is a big thing!

Hybrid Clubs .., what can I do with them?

Hybrid clubs or rescue clubs as they are sometimes called are supposedly easier to hit replacement clubs for your 3 or 4 irons. They are shorter and easier to hit than a long iron. They work great from the fairway and make it easy to hit a clean shot that lands softly on the green.

But a hybrid is a versatile club that can be used in many different situations besides just replacing your long iron shots. You can use them from the tee, the fairway, the rough, the fringe and even from bunkers. Learning to hit a hybrid well can save a lot of strokes off your round of golf.

From the bunker, it is the same shot your would normally take except you change your ball position to be about an inch back of your normal position. This adjustment will prevent you from topping or hittting the ball fat. Keep your feet planted and your weight centered in order to steepen your swing and ensure first ball contact. BUT, don't try this if you have a high lip on the bunker.

There are a lot of times out on the golf course that we don't want to fly the ball, but we do want to get the ball on the ground quickly and then let it run. You have more control over the ball when it is on the ground than when you fly high in the air and guess what it will do when it lands. With a hybrid, the ball starts rolling quickly, making it easy to gauge distance. With this said, you need to choke down on the club and hold it like you would your putter. The entire plan is to make a putting stroke which makes a square hit with limited wrist movement. This technique will make judging the speed and distance a lot easier.

Things I've learned this summer ... why is golf always a learning process? Maybe that's why we keep coming back to the course time after time after time.