The PGA named Corey Pavin as Ryder Cup Captain for the 2010 event in Wales. Pavin has had a long career on tour, with a notable victory in the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, where he held off Greg Norman with his incredible 4-wood shot into the 18th hole in the final round. Overall, he has had 15 wins on tour.
I have no problem with this choice, as he was probably next in line for the job after Paul Azinger. What I am noticing, however, is a trend over the past decade of shorter and shorter resume for our Ryder Cup captains. The fact is, besides Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, professional golfers on both major tours just don't win much anymore. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is due to the huge amount of money these guys make on tour now. Maybe they just are not as hungry, or maybe the fields are just deeper, I don't know.
I will say this though, and I have said it many times before...there are fewer players on tour that really know how to win, and win consistently. I think the 1960's through the early 1980's was probably the Golden Era of golf. Look at how many truly outstanding players there were, and how often they won. Not only tour events, but majors. Let's specifically look at major winners. Obviously you start with Nicklaus and his 18 professional majors, then you have Gary Player (9), Tom Watson (8), Arnold Palmer (7), and Lee Trevino (6). Seve Ballesteros and Nick Faldo came on at the end of this period and had 5 and 6 majors respectively.
Back during that period, the list of winners is littered with players that won more than one major. From 1960 to 1983, the list of major championship winners is dominated by repeat major championship winners. Since 1990, besides Tiger Woods, there have only been a handful of winners who have gone on to win another major. Among today's players, Tiger has 13 major victories, and his nearest contemporary competitors all have just 3 (Mickelson, Singh, Els and now Harrington).
What I have noticed in recent years is that the only player who goes out and really wins a major without backing into it, is Tiger Woods. In all 3 of his majors, Ernie Els essentially survived while is competitors fell apart. Mickelson did well to win his three, and so have Harrington and Singh. Otherwise, we have not seen any major brilliant displays such as Nicklaus' 65 at Augusta in 1986, Player's 64 at Augusta in 1978, or the splendid battle between Nicklaus and Watson at Turnberry in 1977. And to top the list, Johnny Miller's 63 at Oakmont in 1973.
The point is, going forward, unless either Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson is the captain of the Ryder Cup team, the resume of the captain of the U.S. side will be pretty thin in the foreseeable future. Most of the great players from the 1990's just have one major victory (Love and Couples). Payne Stewart should be mentioned here, he had 3. And, in the last five years, only four Americans have won majors (Woods, Mickelson, Todd Hamilton and Zach Johnson).
Somehow, our players need to learn how to win!
Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net
When I've played with a lot of amateur golfers over the years, the one way they tried to hit the golf ball further off the tee is simply by swinging as hard as they can. Unfortunately, most of the time, they lose their balance in the process, which defeats the whole purpose of the effort.
Most amateurs with a handicap over 10 simply do not have a golf swing that is capable of generating a lot of power. Those that do, generally have no idea where the ball is going when they do hit it hard. Usually, the problem lies with a major flaw in the golf swing. No matter what you may read online in most golf fitness websites, improving your strength will not do the trick.
The single most important factor to hitting the golf ball a long way is maintaining your balance. You see, if you lose contact with the ground during your swing, or you do not have the appropriate weight shift, you will lose power. Have you ever seen any of the big hitters falling over after they hit a tee shot? No, their swing ends with a perfect finish with the weight on the left foot. Even when Tiger Woods goes at it hard, he finishes with perfect balance.
My first suggestion for adding power to the swing is to first have a good stance. If you are crouched over too much, or too upright, too close, or too far from the ball, you will not maintain a good enough balance to drive the ball a long way. The same can be said if your feet are too close together or too far apart (about shoulders width, or slightly wider is proper). Your weight should not be on the toes, nor on the heels. The stance should also not be too open or too closed.
Work on this at home... Take off your shoes and socks and look for the area on the bottom of the foot, in the area we refer to as the ball of the foot, where there is a depression between the two big pads, and where there is a shape of an upside down V. If you press hard on that spot (you may need to search for it a bit), you will get a bit of pain. If you do, you found the right spot. Now, stand yourself up and stand on one foot, and focus on that spot on the bottom of your foot. Try to really feel that spot as the tightest to the ground. Now switch feet and try to get that feeling with the other foot. Finally, get into a proper golf stance and try to get that feeling in both feet.
This is your beginning point for learning how to draw energy from the earth to help generate more power into your golf swing. This is a basic concept in the art of Kung Fu for learning how to generate power in our techniques, and it applies well to the golf swing as well.
Scott Cole
www.powergolftraining.net