Shhhh... If you listen closely, you can hear the whispers on the range. There is no smiling, fist bumping, or joking between teams. It's game time.  The Gourmet Golfwrx build-up to the Ryder Cup starts with some pre-game analysis from Marcus Vindictus, G.Gwrx' new contributing writer. Don't forget to add your comments and opinions.
 

Enjoy!                                                                                 

 

The Americans will bounce back.  After the massacre at Oakland Hills in 2004 they will be focused, determined, and will even sacrifice personal agendas for the good of the team.  They will play to their talent level for a change.  They will sink the big putts.  Tiger has too much pride to be considered a “loser”.  He is the anointed “leader” of this team. He is playing the best golf of his storied career and he simply cannot be beaten. He will take the youngsters under his wing and teach them how to win tough matches.  Phil is now clearly the second best player in the world and DiMarco proved his value in team competition with last year’s amazing performance in the Presidents’ Cup.  If nothing else, the law of averages must even-out the lucky bounces and 25-foot bombs the Euros have dropped on the Yanks in the past two Ryder Cups.  The Americans will bounce back, won’t they?  They must!  It was great that the Euros won a couple of times to make it a true rivalry but this is getting out of hand.  The Americans have lost three out of the last four and their only victory was secured by a 50-foot prayer by Justin Leonard.  It is time for them to puff out their chests and reclaim the cup that they possessed from 1959 to 1983, an astonishing 24 year dominance.  It is time.  They will bounce back.  Won’t they?

No.  No they won’t.  

Top five reasons why the cup will stay on Euro soil in 2006:

   1. Top Guns – Forget about major championships, world events, and world rankings.  This is a team event.  You can only objectively draw on similar events to determine the cumulative value of each team.  Tiger and Phil can only control two total points in the Sunday single matches.  They are dependent on the play of their partners for the other four matches in which they are expected to compete (hopefully they are not paired together again, which was a well-documented disaster).  The European team, consisting of accomplished Ryder-Cuppers Monty, Olazabal, Westwood, and Sergio, have a combined Ryder Cup record of 55-27-13 record.  The most experienced U.S. Ryder-Cuppers; Tiger, Phil, Furyk, and David Toms, have a combined record of 24-31-8.  We may laugh at the anguish of another failed attempt by Monty and Sergio to win an elusive major championship on any soil of the planet but they are much more accomplished in this event.  There are only four competitive players in this event with double-digit career point totals in this event and they are all on the Euro side.

   2. Experience – The cumulative Ryder Cup record of all Euros competing in this event is 75-62-21 compared to 31-39-10 on the American side.  Unlike past years, in which the American team looked superior on paper, this team will include the likes of J.J. Henry, Brett Wetterich, and Vaughn Taylor.  I do not recall a single significant event in which any of these players excelled.  I realize that the PGA Tour is the deepest, most competitive tour on Earth and these players earned the right to be on the team based on their accomplishments over the past 12 months but can we expect them to win pressure-packed Ryder Cup matches on foreign soil?  No.  No they won’t.

Continue reading "H. I. J. = Pre-Game To The K Club" »

Posted by jyip at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Chill, Its just an Online Golf Board."

That's the paraphrased language most rational people post when all heck breaks loose on a thread.  On Golf boards, it generally involves a topic about Tiger Woods, Michelle Wie, or the age old Forged vs Cast debate.  With a geographically diverse board, it is easy to see how cultural and etiquette differences can effect the way a post can be interpreted or construed.  Also, there is the age and socio-economic background of the audience as well.  Is there such a thing as netiquette and has spell check lost its relevance?  Here are some observations from the Dark Side.

Continue reading "Please Don't Feed The Trolls" »

Posted by Gxgolfer at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few months ago I had the pleasure of playing the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Everything about the experience was pure and my overall impression was sublime, like the view from Strantz' signature 15th tee (my opinion) where the fairway seems to extend and blend into the sky. It's a blind tee shot leading to an approach to a perpetual pool of a green that reaches out to the hazy ocean. If I remember correctly, there is a commemorative plaque between that green and the next tee where Mike Strantz speaks of dancing cypress trees and the value of this shared experience.

It was a special day and the first time I had the realization of "gourmet" and "organic" golf. It was  a natural feeling, not exclusive or expensive. I felt extracted from my immediate life-situation, relatively alone by the ocean, surrounded by dancing cypress trees, and pure. At that moment, I had no immediate needs or desires. This experience was an answer to my previous blog post on the concept of organic growth and  Gourmet Golf.  It was more than just a way to occupy five hours of my life. Experiences like this are the solution to the manufactured and artificial golf experiences that try to consume us.

According to Jay Flemma at the "A Walk in The Park" blog, we are the audience to a movement towards pure golf experiences....it's a "movement away from over-marketing and price gouging, worthless, meaningless superlatives and self-aggrandizing billionaire developers. Playing these courses at the turn of the millennium, when they were young and raw and undiscovered was a singular experience. It was an experience which unified, galvanized and energized everyone who was there as a witness. It meant something. No explanation, no flowery prose, no physical memento can match the feeling of knowing that you were there at that time in that place and joined by others just as unified, galvanized and energized by the course as you were. It was as though our energy and love of the game had struck sparks and roared in flame time and again."

I agree with Jay. We are in a new golden age, a revival, of course design, where pioneers are claiming land and making statements that will last lifetimes. We are the audience by default and it is up to each golfer to be an active participant. Don't let the opportunity pass you. I admit all of this is slightly idealized, but I think that it can be realized through the momentum of a community of golfers with varying opinions. It may not be immediately accesible, but, in some ways, thats the point. The struggle makes the experience more potent.

Posted by jyip at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by jyip at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

With its figurative winged feet, Gourmet Golfwrx is everywhere. Walter Dagwood, a G.Gwrx contributing editor, made his way around the course for Tuesday's practice round and brings us an exclusive look behind the scenes at this year's U.S. Open Championship. Dagwood is no stranger to New York and is widely known for his cosmopolitan and golfaholic tendencies. Interested in seeing more of Dagwood? Let us know in the comments.

Enjoy!

A Look Inside The Open

by: Walter Dagwood 6/13/2006

Commentary on 'The Grounds'

The site of the US Open 2006 is a venue requiring the test of skill, patience and risk/reward. To no surprise, the USGA has taken a historic course, and through the redevelopment of Tom Fazio, and the characteristics of the Association, they have tweaked and modified the course to represent the very challenge indicative of its reputation.

This is my first PGA event in 15 years and my impressions are much different this year than when I was a 12 year old boy who never picked up a stick before. At an age when everything in life is
impressionable, the enormity of professional golfers tackling 400 yrd. par 4's seemed nearly impossible. Certainly the size of the course has grown, yet so have I.

To my surprise, my initial look at the course did not seem difficult. I walked the holes in order, followed a few groups of favorites and watched the Pro's attack the greens from various lengths and angles. As I stood at tee boxes visualizing holes or walking across fairways imagining my approach, I didn't feel the discomfort of being unmatched to a Major Championship course. But it was best once said, "The Devil is in the Details." And I suppose that's just what makes the US Open
so difficult.

ITS NOT WHAT YOU GOT AS MUCH AS WHERE YOU PUT IT
Yes, tees are lengthened and even a few holes are damn near impossible to get to in regulation. (Note: The 260 par 3 3rd or the 514 par 4 9th). But theres also a 162 yrd Par 3 which seemed, at first glance, attackable. Most holes dog leg (either left or right) yet unlike "tight" courses (lots of trees or 'jail' off the fairways), the trees don't seem to come into play too much. Oddly enough though, from the tips, it doesn't feel tight. But again, that's the mistake most players will make. If you let it out even a little, it will be costly. With the new USGA strategy "graduate rough" missing the fairway is all you need to make critical contention making mistakes.

BUSHWHACKED IN THE ROUGH
On the first hole I watched Vijay, Muthiya, and T. Armour III all attempt shots from the rough. (The first cut is comparable to average rough on your home course). Two more cuts in and you cant even see the ball let alone players shoe tops. Not one of them was able to get to the green from 165 out. Vijay tried a rescue club, but opted to aim 30+ yrds in front of the green. David Howell also played a few shots from the rough on the back nine, none of which successfully made it. The end result was to take your 'penalty' and throw a 8/9/W on the ball and pull it out of the rough and 100 yrds. (approx) down the fairway. At least from what I saw, it would take a feat of super-human strength to get home in two from the rough...and even then you probably aren't going to be happy.

LIKE A GLOVE
If the first trick is getting in the fairway, and the second staying out of the rough, then the third is Proximity to the Hole. The one advantage these players have is that most greens roll from back to
front. Furthermore, most greens are elevated a few feet off the ground, so it almost looks like pro's throwing lawn darts into the green. However, most greens are guarded with bunkers (mostly frontside) and there is heavy rough on the mid green and in back. Its tricky because you have to carry the bunkers in the front, but you have to be straight so that the ball can spin back. If you can do that, you can ACTUALLY score. But again, you can only get that approach if you are in the fairway!

SNEAKY SNEAKY
I suppose what makes the course most interesting is the difficulty of the greens. Its hard to gauge a green when you don't stand on it or get to putt a few. Plus, from the gallery, you are a little further
away than the fairway, so you cant actually see the subtleties. But if there is an advantage to having greens that roll back to front where you can aim long and pull it back, the advantage is lost once you look at birdie putts. Unlike Bethpage (another US Open favorite) there doesn't appear to be any straight putts. Everything will break....and most likely it will be fast. I suspect players fear let a ball roll by the hole, because they are too fast and going downhill, so stopping putts will be tough. I guess that means that the players wont be too aggressive with birdie putts.

Continue reading "Winged Foot Exclusive: A Look Inside the Open" »

Posted by jyip at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Gourmet Golfwrx seed is planted in the fertile soil of the blogoshpere and organic growth begins. If you’re reading this, tell a friend. Word-of-mouth is the fastest and most reliable way to travel. Tell them about the traction and validation we're getting from the golf community for breaking away from traditional press and providing unique reporting. 

Since returning from some GNR (golf and relaxation) in Palm Springs last weekend, I've reflected on the idea of organic growth and how it may apply to golf. The relationship between the two may seem disjointed, but I think they will become more critically connected as we move further into the 21st century.

My trip from the Bay Area  to Palm Springs and back involved $3+/gallon gas tanks and a figurative rollercoaster ride from the peaks of urban existence, through sprawling suburbia, down into the desert and back up again. What interested me the most were all the new developments and their corresponding golf courses that were reaching out to fill the desert. I sense an "assembly line" culture where the mass production of houses, parks and roads is sucking the personality from our surroundings. I think a departure from a Wal-Mart-America and the adoption of a Support Economy, predicated on valued consumers and quality products, will be the future of America's new originality. Henry Ford's assembly line is failing and new alternatives need to be explored.

Continue reading "Organic Growth" »

Posted by jyip at 02:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)