Web Street Golf Daily Pulse
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 36                                                         
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

ANY IDEA WHO SAID THIS?“I think it's a really good designed course for match play. The greens are a little bit quirky, there's a couple of kind of risk‑reward holes out there and shots that you have to take on. And I think for match play that keeps things interesting and especially on the greens. The greens are quite tricky and if you miss it in the wrong spots you can have really tough shots. I know some of the players don't like the greens too much, but I think all in all it's a world-class venue. But my record and I have never really had a lot of success here.”

BRAIN TEASER: There are 24 players under the age of 30 competing in the Accenture Match Play Championship, the most in tournament history, bettering the record of 23 previously set in 2010 and 2011. Who is the youngest player this year?

GOLF FITNESS PIONEERS WANT TO HELP YOU IMPROVE: In recent years conditioning has become popular amongst professional golfers. Once upon a time Gary Player led that charge, but it’s only been since Tiger Woods used it to transform his body that its gained traction. Several TOUR players are taking better care of themselves with fitness regiments. Once upon a time it would have been very difficult to find more information on the subject, but since the Internet came into our lives, it can virtually now be accessed by anyone.

Pete Draovitch is a physical therapy and rehabilitation specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Performance Complex and has been the personal physical therapist for Greg Norman since 1993. Ralph Simpson is a strength and conditioning specialist and a physical therapist board certified in manual therapy, athletic training, and orthopedics. Among his many accomplishments, he spent 12 years traveling on the PGA Tour fitness van providing care and training to nearly all PGA Tour and Champions Tour players. The two have collaborated and created Conditioning for Golf, an iPad-compatible book, available now in Apple's App Store, with video designed to help them improve all aspects of someone’s game.

Golfers at all levels can benefit from golf-specific training. This expert program begins with evaluation and moves through targeted strength, power, core, and flexibility exercises. It contains a comprehensive program to help golfers in the following areas:
         •        Generate explosive power for increased driving distances.
         •        Improve flexibility for a more fluid and precise swing.
         •        Build muscular endurance for greater shot control through the final hole.
         •        Maintain strength and flexibility from round to round and throughout the year.
         •        Prevent common injuries.
         •        Return to the course quickly with modified rehab exercises.

This special iPad edition takes players onto the course and into the gym to demonstrate the drills and exercises used by the pros, making it an exceptional guide to preparing the body for success. For anyone interested and serious about improving their game, this is an absolute must have. The App does require a fee of $19.99, but when compared to the cost of equipment, green fees or almost anything else related to the game, its minimal. After all you get what you pay for more times than not! For more information on Conditioning for Golf, visit www.HumanKinetics.com. 

ALL FORE ONE AND ONE FORE ALL: "I haven't met a bifurcator yet who could tell me where it ended going forward, they are guessing what will happen," he said. "Golf is golf and that's a major strength of the game. If you want to go and invent another game, that's fine. But golf is golf. You could imagine down the road if there's one rule for the amateurs and one for the pros, then TV companies may say 'well this 18 holes business is taking up too much time let's just have 15 hole rounds'. You could get all sorts of things. It's good for golf to have one set of rules. Let's all be playing golf." READ MORE>>>

START FAST! Grabbing an early lead was critical for Luke Donald on his way to winning the 2011 Accenture Match Play Championship. He won the first hole in four of his six matches and was at least two up through three holes in three of his six matches. He played the first three holes at 8-under for the week and was a combined 9-up through the three hole stretch for the week. The current world #1  holds a 16-6 record at the Accenture Match Play Championship in seven starts. His previous best seed to start the event was No. 8 in 2007.
Luke Donald’s path to victory in 2011
o Round 1 – 6 and 5 over No. 56 Charley Hoffman (USA).
o Round 2 – 2 and1 over No. 24 Edoardo Molinari (ITA).
o Round 3 – 3 and 2 over No. 57 Matteo Manassero (ITA).
o Quarterfinal – 5 and 4 over No. 48 Ryan Moore (USA).
o Semifinal – 6 and 5 over No. 13 Matt Kuchar (USA).
o Finals – 3 and 2 over No. 2 Martin Kaymer (DEU)

WINNER’S CLUBS, PART TWO: Skip Kendall won the Nationwide Tour’s 2012 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship, held at the Country Club of Bogota.  Kendall, who had left thumb surgery and was forced to take an eight-month hiatus to heal in 2011, becomes the fourth-oldest winner in Nationwide history.  He finished the tournament at 10-under 274, earning $108,000 in his fourth career Nationwide title. 

Kendall played a Cleveland Golf Launcher Ultralite TL310 driver (8.5°- Miyazaki C Kua 59X shaft), Cleveland Launcher Ultralite FL fairway woods (14°/19°- Miyazaki Kusala Black 83X shaft), Cleveland 588 Forged MB irons (4-PW), Cleveland CG15 wedges (52°/ 60°), a Never Compromise Dinero Tycoon putter, and a Srixon Z-STAR XV Tour Yellow golf ball, while wearing a Srixon glove and carrying a Cleveland Golf bag.  

WEB GEMS:

SOCIAL MEDIA STORM: "It's a long-time habit I've got to try to conquer," admits rising star Keegan Bradley, as he confesses to breaking one of golf's biggest taboos. READ MORE>>>

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK: "So I think it is fair to say that comment got me highly motivated to prove to some people they have got the wrong idea about me." READ MORE>>>

MAN ON A MISSION: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rory as focused as he is right now. He’s working hard. He’s just very single-minded. I think he’s got his eye on that No 1 in the world spot and he’s a focused man and he’s playing great. He’s just full of confidence.” READ MORE>>>

OPPORTUNITY? "I'm the underdog, I have nothing to lose. And at the same time I don't think he's at his best so it's a good opportunity. If I play well I can beat him." READ MORE>>>

ANSWERS: Ernie Els, the last man in the field due to Phil Mickelson not playing, said, “I think it's a really good designed course for match play. The greens are a little bit quirky, there's a couple of kind of risk‑reward holes out there and shots that you have to take on. And I think for match play that keeps things interesting and especially on the greens. The greens are quite tricky and if you miss it in the wrong spots you can have really tough shots. I know some of the players don't like the greens too much, but I think all in all it's a world-class venue. But my record and I never really had a lot of success here.”

For the second consecutive year, Italy’s Matteo Manassero is the youngest at 18 years, 9 months and 30 days (as of 2/17/12). He advanced to the third round in 2011 before losing to Luke Donald, 3 and 2.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IS BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, BUT IT IS NOT GUARANTEED. THE OPINION EXPRESSED IS THAT OF TERRY MCANDREW AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A SOLICITATION TO BUY OR SELL SECURITIES IN ANY OF THE COMPANIES DISCUSSED WITHIN THIS NEWSLETTER. CONTENTS OF THIS NEWSLETTER MAY NOT BE REPRINTED OR REBROADCAST WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT OF TMAC GOLF

Web Street Golf Daily Pulse
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 35                                                         
Monday, February 20, 2012

ANY IDEA WHO SAID THIS? “You've definitely got to fight your inner demons and not get down. It's very difficult to win on the PGA TOUR. My mentality all day today was just play your best, shoot a good golf score. If they beat you, they beat you. ”

BRAIN TEASER: South African, Jbe Kruger won the Avantha Masters in New Delhi on the European Tour over the weekend. Do you know what Jbe stands for?

ITS STILL A NUMBERS GAME: It wasn’t that long ago, that launch monitors were viewed skeptically in the golf industry. Today that is clearly isn’t the case. In fact it has become a valuable tool in custom fitting. After all it provides immediate data to support what a player or club fitter sees with their eyes. Feel is still an important element of the game even though it’s subjective. However, enlisting data to confirm what a player thinks or feels is very powerful. As launch monitors have become widely adopted in custom fitting, there is one area that it doesn’t touch.

In the last year and perhaps more so, in recent weeks, belly putters have once again become a hot topic. The common belief is that players that use the product are instantly better by putting one into their hands and stomachs. Consistency with the apparatus is implied, specifically with regards to one are that being swing path. It isn’t something that launch monitors can weigh in as it collects a variety of data points from irons to drivers, but nothing in the putter category. However, last June PING introduced its iPING App., that allows anyone with an iPhone4 or iPod Touch (fourth generation) to measure their putting stroke. “The iPING App continues in our long tradition of innovation by allowing golfers to analyze their putting strokes more closely than ever. It works like a launch monitor for putters by measuring key aspects of your stroke,” explained John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO, last year when the App was first introduced. “It will help every level of golfer see better results by adding more consistency on the putting green. Besides that, it’s a lot of fun to use and has several other features.”

Among the functions of the App, which has been updated since it was originally introduced, is the ability to classify a player’s stroke type by measuring the degrees of face rotation during the forward stroke. It also takes into account the putter's face angle at impact, relative to address, measured in degrees. PING’s data shows that even the best players in the world do not necessarily have an average 0 impact angle, meaning the face is either open or closed to some degree at impact. But there is something else they have in common that is equally important and that is consistency. The App also addresses tempo, a measure of the duration of the backswing relative to the forward swing and is expressed in a ratio: 2 to 1, for example. Tempo can play a role in whether the face angle closes or remains open at impact. Too fast on the forward stroke and it likely is closed, which means putts can deviate off the intended line. Open faced can also explain why a player may miss to the right consistently for right-handed players.

What can easily get lost in the analysis of the data is perhaps the most important component. The App is able tracks a player’s consistency over a series of putts as well as over time. It even allows recreational players to compare their stroke to PING’s TOUR staff. As its often been said, “Different strokes for different folks,” but without any level of consistency, its extremely difficult to find success. It’s equally impossible to understand your faults or tendencies without understanding what the putter face is regularly doing at impact.

While belly putters may be the answer for some, is it the absolute saving grace to finding the cup more often? “There isn’t a simple, clear case where everyone gets, say 10% better by using a belly putter,” said Dr. Paul Wood, Research Engineering Manager, Ping. “For some players you can see their consistency scores improve a lot and some players don’t. In some ways it kind of evens out. There are a lot of players that have never tried a belly putter and after trying it see their score improves,” he continued. “One thing we did find is when you get the same player to hit putts with a standard putter and then move to a belly putter, their stroke doesn’t change that much. If they had a slow tempo to start with in a standard putter, for example, they still do with the belly. If there was a lot of arc with the standard putter there still is with the belly putter,” explained Wood. “Long putters are whole different ball game, totally different stroke. There’s really no relationship to whether you had a straight stroke before and a straight stroke after,” he added.

Wood, who earned his PhD in Solar Physics from St. Andrews University, has studied data on the topic for internal purposes that likely represent the largest player test in the history of golf. “I recently did a study and passed it along to our design teams with respect to what we are learning from iPING. We’ve had over 720,000 measure sessions, and 100,000 plus fitting sessions and we can generate a really good bell curve of data and patterns including the extreme stroke types that we see and tempos,” he said. “Building a prototype putter is easy but hard to test,” he continued. “To test a driver now a days is pretty easy do you hit that driver further than the last one and did we find more fairways, for example. With putters there is so much more kind of ‘black magic’ to it. You can stand on a green and hit what you think are five perfect putts and lip out three of them and only holed two. The putter that you felt wasn’t quite as good, you holed four putts. You have to work a lot harder to see the differences. As I said it’s a lot easier testing a driver than it is a putter,” Wood stated. His team was responsible for the fundamental research (the information they needed to capture, analyze and translate to make it work in conjunction with the Apple device's sensors) as well as a lot of the back-end development. Wood worked closely with Roger Cottam, who heads up PING’s software/app development group, to create the App. Both Wood and Cottam were also a large part of developing PING’s proprietary nFlight, custom fitting software engineered for indoor and outdoor use.

The issue most amateur players face is they are unable to repeat their putting stroke consistently. Whereas they may have swing flaws that require changes in order to seek improvement, it isn’t something Wood and his team have found in putting. “In swings there are definitely things you can do that are bad. In a fitting scenario we don’t try to fix those things but we can see them and they are obviously not optimal. With putting we really haven’t identified that there is such a thing as a bad stroke. There is not being able to repeat your stroke. The full swing is a more complicated thing, more aspects to it and more variation. With putters there are fewer things to measure,” Wood explained.

Feel is an important part of the equation in putting. It isn’t something that yet can be quantified through data. “One of the things with putting is it is such a versatile tool. You’ve got which is the best putter from six or eight feet, the kind of short putts. You can line them up the same and stroke them the same. That’s an area where belly putters can really help,” Wood said. “But then are you also as good from 60 feet when you’re trying to lag the putt. There is so much to consider. Do you read the breaks as well? There is a lot to it.”

The iPING App has been a useful tool to understand a player’s putting stroke but perhaps more so when something starts to go wrong with it. “Rhys Davis is one of our European Tour players. He’s one of our very best putters. He definitely has an interesting stroke. One of the things we learned from him was that there is no such thing as a Tour putting stroke. Pros are vastly different,” said Wood. “Rhys is phenomenally consistent with his. However he came to our European staff and said something changed, it doesn’t feel right can we try to figure out what that is? He wanted to get back on the iPING to see what had changed. He went on it and they could tell he had started dropping his hands more. They were able to fix that and get back to where his numbers were the same from before on iPING and get him comfortable again and he started putting well.”

When it comes to putting, its more complicated than it may appear. “They (Tour pros) don’t all line up straight at the hole. There is sort of the issue of are you left eye or right dominant and what looks like your lining up straight to the hole, even for the pros there sometimes two degrees to the left or three degrees to the right,” Wood remarked from his research. “The only things that sets them (pros) a part from everyone else is the consistency. That’s what its all about. Get your stroke, get comfortable with it and repeat it. With the pros they have a pretty good idea how to fix it with amateurs you kind of have to offer a little more guidance.”

With iPING anyone can learn more about their stroke, their tendencies and how to modify it when it starts to change. History has shown that most players, pros included, have been one dimensional in tying to solve their putting woes. Trying something else in the form of a new putter that offers a new, yet familiar feel. Belly putters may be the latest in this line of constant change in the search for a more repeatable putting stroke. But the proof is in the numbers and PING is the only company that is able to offer this to the everyday players.

SIDENOTE: According to Wired Magazine, since 2007 when Apple introduced its iOS operating system, 500,000 applications have generated $3 billion for developers, while Android’s 400,000 apps have earned around $100 million. Getting into the app business can be lucrative, yet it can be easy to get lost or overlooked. Safe to say once someone is in the app biz, you must remain committed to being it other the pace of change can leave you in the dust. All this has happened even though the world wide web turned 20 years old last August! It’s amazing to think how far it has traveled in a relatively short space of time.

WINNER’S CLUBS: Bill Haas captured his fourth career PGA Tour title at the Northern Trust Open and advanced to No.12 in the world following the win. He required extra holes to secure the victory and a full bag of Titleist golf clubs. The reigning FedExCup champion played the Titleist 910D2 driver (8.5) with a Fujikura Speeder 757 shaft. He also used a 910F (13.5) 3-wood with a Fujikura Motore VC8.1 shaft. He played the CB712 2-iron, CB710 3-P with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 and Vokey Design Spin Milled sand (54) and lob (60) wedges, also with True Temper Dynamic Gold X-100 shafts. His ultimate money club was the Scotty Cameron Kombi long putter. He tied for first in Putts Per Round (25.8) and third in Strokes Gained - Putting (2.251) for the event. He wore FJ ICON golf shoes and the Titleist Pro V1x for every shot throughout the week. Haas has now won at least one PGA TOUR event in each of the last three years.

Jbe Kruger captured his first career European Tour title, firing a 3-under par 69 that gave him a two-stroke victory at the Avantha Masters in New Delhi.  The 25-year old South African also held the 54-hole lead heading into the final round, finished with a 14-under 274 total, two shots better than the nearest competitors. Kruger relied on a full bag of Titleist equipment including the 910 D3 driver (7.5), 910 F (13.5) fairway metal and 910 H Tour (18) hybrid. Kruger played the 712 AP2 irons (4-PW, he doesn’t carry a 3-iron) and Vokey Design SM4 approach (50), sand (56) and lob (64) wedges.  He used the Yes! Golf, C-Groove Jennifer putter and Pro V1x golf ball. He wore the FJ ICON golf shoes and SciFlex glove.

Kenny Perry won his second career Champions Tour title with a five-shot cushion at the ACE Group Classic. He relied on Adams Golf’s F11 driver, Super XTD Hybrids (15 and 17 degree) and Redline irons. Perry also used the Yes Tracy putter in his victory. He played the Titleist’s Pro V1x ball and wore the FJ SciFlex glove.

Yani Tseng picked up where she left off in 2011, with a victory on the LPGA Tour. She successfully defended her Honda LPGA Thailand title for her first win in 2012 and the 13th of her young and remarkable LPGA career. Tseng, like Perry, relied on Adams Golf in her win. She played the Adams 9032 driver, Speedline Classic 3-wood and two a7 hybrids. The 23-year old used the A4 tour irons and wore the FJ Women's DryJoys shoes and StaSof glove. Tseng birdied the final two holes using her Titleist Pro V1x golf ball to close with a 6-under 66 and an aggregate score of 19-under 269. The one-shot win marked the 33rd of her career worldwide.

THE TOP 10: Bill Haas won the Northern Trust Open at Riviera and moved up 10 places to World Number 12. Jbe Kruger claimed the Avantha Masters in New Delhi, co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour and jumped 50 spots to World Number 109.

Luke Donald has completed 39 consecutive weeks (9 months) as World #1 and is followed by Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Steve Stricker, Webb Simpson, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson at #10. Mickelson has climbed back into the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time in almost five months. He went from 11th to ninth in the rankings on Monday after following his victory at the Pebble Beach National Pro-am two weeks ago and finishing in a tie for second place at the Northern Trust Open in California. South African and Masters Champ, Char Schwartzel fell outside the top 10 in the world rankings from last week trading places with Mickelson by going to #11.

WEB GEMS:

YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER THE FIRST: Jbe Kruger made the most of Peter Whiteford disqualification to claim first Tour win. READ MORE>>>

FIRST OF MANY? Taiwan's Yani Tseng clinched victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand tournament on Sunday in a thrilling performance that showed why she is the world's number one women's golfer. READ MORE>>>

HOW THEY MATCH UP: The defending champion Luke Donald faces Ernie Els in the first round of the Match Play Championship. Tiger Woods is to play Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño. READ MORE>>>
 
ANSWERS: Bill Haas, after his win on Sunday, said, “You’ve definitely got to fight your inner demons and not get down. It's very difficult to win on the PGA TOUR. My mentality all day today was just play your best, shoot a good golf score. If they beat you, they beat you. ”

Jbe, stands for James Barry, Kruger

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IS BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, BUT IT IS NOT GUARANTEED. THE OPINION EXPRESSED IS THAT OF TERRY MCANDREW AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A SOLICITATION TO BUY OR SELL SECURITIES IN ANY OF THE COMPANIES DISCUSSED WITHIN THIS NEWSLETTER. CONTENTS OF THIS NEWSLETTER MAY NOT BE REPRINTED OR REBROADCAST WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT OF TMAC GOLF

Web Street Golf Daily Pulse
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 34                                                         
Friday, February 17, 2012

ANY IDEA WHO SAID THIS? “Driver heads weren't 460 cc's when the game started, just like people didn't putt with a belly putter when the game started.  So things change, and I guess it's up to the R&A and the USGA to keep the game in the best shape possible with what they think. Whatever they think goes at the end of the day, so we'll see.  It's not going to ruin me if they ban a long putter because I putted good some weeks with the short putter.”

BRAIN TEASER: Which course generated the most 4-putts or worse in 2011 on the PGA TOUR?

IT ISN’T ALWAYS THE WAY IT APPEARS: In the last three weeks, victors have come back from deficits of seven (Brandt Snedeker/Farmers Insurance Open), eight (Kyle Stanley/Waste Management Phoenix Open) and six shots (Phil Mickelson/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) in the final round. Protecting a lead or simply being the man out front isn’t as easy as it appears from the cheap seats. “Different people react differently to those situations,” said Padraig Harrington, who proceeded to share a personal story on the topic. “When I was 18 years of age, I played the Irish Youth Championship, big tournament for an 18 year old,” he began. “I'm two shots ahead with three holes to play, and the news filters back, because you wouldn't have had leader boards, you're two ahead. The last couple of holes aren't the hardest, so I completely relax, bogey the last three holes to lose,” he said. “I thought I'd won.” It turns out he lost. “It wasn't the pressure, it was the opposite, I relaxed. Kids can be very cruel, so they don't say things behind your back; they say it to your face. I cried. That's how bad it was. I cried afterwards.”

The story, however, doesn’t end there. “Six months later I went back to the same golf course, and I'd been changing my golf swing all winter, I was trying to hit that draw that I couldn't hit,” he continued. “I came to the last hole with a one‑shot lead in a smaller event, I blanked out and had the greatest choke of all time on the tee. I had no idea what shot I was trying to hit, where I was trying to hit it. It's a horrible hole in terms of I didn't know if I was laying up, trying to carry it, trying to hit it right. I just completely choked, had no shot. I hit it straight right into the trees. Luckily it hit the first couple of trees going in, so it only went 10 yards in when it should have gone 40 yards in,“ Harrington explained. “So I go in and have a swipe at it. I hit it and it hits a tree and goes straight up in the air. The next thing, it comes down in the rough between the fairway bunkers that I didn't know whether I was laying up or trying to carry or hit right of.  Still to this day I didn't know what I was trying to do. 

“So I have 110 yards, in the rough, hit a sand wedge, flier, up in the air, to that (indicating distance to cup with his hands). No idea, like no control whatsoever. It was close enough that I couldn't have missed because I was bleeding so badly, there was no way I would have got it in from here. And the amount of people who came up to me afterwards and said what a good shot I hit under the pressure, it was unbelievable. And the year before, I hadn't choked and the amount of people that told me that I choked. So we're never sure what's going on when we're looking,” he summarized.

“You might lose a six‑shot lead because you think you're way ahead and you get defensive, you might lose a six‑shot lead because you get nervous. There's no doubt about it,” Harrington observed.  “It's a lot easier to shoot 72 on a tough course when you've got a lead than it is to go out there and maintain it with a 66 or something. Golf courses have a lot to do with it.  You don't want a one‑shot lead going down the last hole at Carnoustie; you want a two‑shot lead.  But then I think a lot of people would take a one‑shot lead going down the 18th hole at St. Andrews. There is no doubt, the hardest thing is when you have a lead and it starts to slip.

“The stats will say that you're better off chasing on an easy golf course and you're better off defending on a tough golf course, because if you're on a tough golf course, hitting to the middle of the green 20 feet away from the hole, the guys chasing the pins are going to make bogeys, so they actually go further away, and you'll hole the odd 20‑footer,” he observed.

In the world of instant judgment, where people are often told what to think, one aspect gets overlooked and that is the experienced gained from being in the situation. “Kyle Stanley can perfectly understand, the only way you're going to learn is by putting yourself in that position,” said Harrington. “The U.S. Tour is so strong, that there's not as many opportunities for a young player to learn to win. Some years Tiger has won ten events. That doesn't leave very many for anybody else. You have other international players taking up some spots. Obviously the Nationwide Tour is the grooming ground, but once you play well there you're straight onto the main Tour. It's not like you get three or four years of continually competing and learning to see the signs. If you're not experienced‑‑ you can win because you're really good, but sometimes you just have to read the signs well.  Yeah, the guy has a two‑shot lead, but he's not the guy you're worried about sort of thing, so you don't go chasing too early or you stick to your game plan or you do go chase him.  You can only gain those experiences by competing.” 

DEJA VU? American players have won the first six events of the 2012 PGA TOUR season. The last time there was such a streak was 2001 when U.S. players won the first eight events of the year before Australian Robert Allenby won the Northern Trust Open.

THE FIVE: For anyone that isn’t happy with the way their striking the ball, it boils down to five things, according to PGA Instructors Chuck Evans and Dave Wedzik, who have developed the Pure Strike Keys to Consistency. The odds suggest that working just on one of the five things will lead to an improved performance of the swing. “Golf’s most prolific champions had different grips, stances and swing planes, all had mastered five essential things that are obvious on film and in photos. It’s the common traits that enabled the greats to strike balls with consistent purity,” said Medicus Founder and President Bob Koch, who has helped to develop the Pure Strike Keys to Consistency.

“Although the Medicus training aid and our instruction program have helped millions of golfers, I wasn’t satisfied,” said Koch. “We still see more swing flaws that need to be addressed. The Five Keys are the next big step in golf instruction, because they will allow a golfer to apply a simple and repeatable swing that consistently produces pure ball striking, regardless of experience level or body type.”  For more information visit www.purestrike.com.

WEB GEMS:

INSPIRATION: Lee Westwood hopes receiving an OBE from the Queen will help spur him on to win his first major tournament this year. The 38-year-old from Worksop, who was world No 1 for a five-week spell last year, said he had his eyes set on The Masters in April. Westwood was at Buckingham Palace on Thursday to receive the honor, which was awarded to him in the New Year Honors List. READ MORE>>>

UNABLE TO GO: England's Paul Casey is out of next week's Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, but hopes to have recovered from his dislocated shoulder in time for the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami on March 8-11. READ MORE>>>

WILD THING: John Daly says he may have torn ligaments in his right elbow during the first round at the Avantha Masters. READ MORE>>>

GEORGIA ON HIS MIND: Rory McIlroy is confident the changes he's made to his swing will work in time for the Masters in April. "Posture was one of the key things, and just a little bit of swing plane," McIlroy said. "I was setting the club a little steep on the way back, so the club was getting a little bit across the line at the top.” READ MORE>>>

ANSWERS: Adam Scott said, “Driver heads weren't 460 cc's when the game started, just like people didn't putt with a belly putter when the game started.  So things change, and I guess it's up to the R&A and the USGA to keep the game in the best shape possible with what they think. Whatever they think goes at the end of the day, so we'll see.  It's not going to ruin me if they ban a long putter because I putted good some weeks with the short putter.”

This week’s venue, famed Riviera CC saw a total of 19 times a 4-putt or worse was recorded in 2011. Pebble Beach Golf Links was second on the list with 10. If you’re wondering about Augusta National, 8 times it happened in 2011. Riviera was also the course where PGA TOUR pros 3-putted the most in 2011. It happened 367 times, according to ShotLink.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IS BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, BUT IT IS NOT GUARANTEED. THE OPINION EXPRESSED IS THAT OF TERRY MCANDREW AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A SOLICITATION TO BUY OR SELL SECURITIES IN ANY OF THE COMPANIES DISCUSSED WITHIN THIS NEWSLETTER. CONTENTS OF THIS NEWSLETTER MAY NOT BE REPRINTED OR REBROADCAST WITHOUT THE EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT OF TMAC GOLF

Web Street Golf Daily Pulse
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 33                                                         
Thursday, February 16, 2012

ANY IDEA WHO SAID THIS? “I'm not going to sit here and say I think it would be a mistake if they got rid of the belly putter or a long putter. I use a belly putter. I don't know what year I started, maybe 2003. Whatever they do is okay with me.”

BRAIN TEASER: When was the last time Phil Mickelson’s played a final round bogey-free prior to his 64 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday?

STAY LIGHT ON YOUR FEET: Oakley has announced the release of Oakley Cipher, the lightest performance golf shoe, it believes, has ever been made. The Oakley Cipher features the first-ever application of NanoSpike technology, a cleat less design with thousands of tiny spikes that bite into blades of grass to maintain traction. Weighing only 260 grams, the shoe promises to minimize fatigue while offering improved flexibility, reduced heat retention, and “uncompromising” durability. Oakley said the upper is made with a lightweight breathable textile combined with welded components for protection. Comfort is optimized by moisture wicking and the shock absorption of a dual-density footbed.

"One of our core tenets is the belief that everything can and will be made better," said Oakley CEO, Colin Baden. "By engineering the world's lightest golf shoe, we have answered that conviction for those who demand performance beyond the boundaries of industry standards and the confines of conventional thinking."

What makes Oakley’s shoe different that others on the market is its traction system. It’s also a way that it was able to reduce the weight of the product too. Golf shoes rely on traditional cleat systems for traction but the spikes can limit surface contact. Oakley said its initial design inspiration came from pro racing tires and their ability to maintain traction without limiting surface contact. It invented NanoSpike technology and then took full advantage of proprietary Factory Lite construction techniques and materials. "Oakley Cipher is yet another iconic, game-changing design from a company that has spent decades exceeding the limits of performance, possibility and reason” Baden continued. “Inspired by the world's greatest athletes, Oakley earned its authenticity by defying conventional ideas of what is possible. That is the only way to achieve the unexpected, the unattainable and the unimaginable. Oakley Cipher is proof," he concluded. The new Oakley Cipher golf shoe will run (run intended) for around $130.

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH? Fred Couple remains as popular today as he ever has. The 32-year veteran of the PGA TOUR has become the first Brand Ambassador for Anatabloc, considered a breakthrough product for anti-inflammatory support. "I started taking Anatabloc, and within a few days, I simply started feeling better," said Couples. "There has been a difference in how I feel, both when I wake up in the morning and throughout my day. Anatabloc was an amazing find for me and I continue to feel better."

Introduced in August 2011, Anatabloc is a dietary supplement that assists the body's natural process for regulating inflammation using an alkaloid found in plants and vegetables, combined with Vitamins A and D3 to assist in maintaining healthy levels of inflammation. Excessive inflammation is associated with a variety of autoimmune conditions, as well as athletic and workout injuries. Anatabloc is now available through GNC.com.

"We discovered from golf legend Fred Couples that he had been taking Anatabloc and we were delighted to hear he was feeling great and seeing real results," said David Dean, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Star Scientific. "Given his stature and popularity on and off the course, it made absolute sense to ask him to join our team as a Brand Ambassador. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Couples' win at the Masters and he will be playing in the Tournament. To be in the game at this level and playing this long is an amazing accomplishment." Dean added. Couples will wear the Anatabloc logo on his sleeve at all tournaments going forward.

"Anatabloc should enable millions of Americans, like Fred, to be more active by maintaining a healthy level of inflammation," said Jonnie Williams Sr., Chief Executive Officer, Star Scientific. "Other professional athletes such as NFL All-Star Jeremy Shockey and tennis stars Jimmy Arias, Aaron Krickstein, Rob Seguso and legendary coach Nick Bollettierri are already using Anatabloc and talking about how it is changing their careers as well. We want everyone to know there is a new way to deal with the aches and pains associated with excessive inflammation, and the answer is Anatabloc," he added.

"I hope my story will let millions of Americans know that Anatabloc may be an answer in helping them return to an active lifestyle," said Couples.

TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT! Over the last three years, Riviera Country Club has provided 112 eagles, more than any other venue on the PGA TOUR. The par 5, opening hole is responsible for 90 of the 112 eagles recorded at the event since 2009. Chevron’s EAGLES FOR EDUCATION initiative will donate $2,500 for every eagle made during tournament play, which will go to support 350 students through the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce and the First Tee. Chevron’s goal is to raise $100,000 over the course of the week. In addition to the funding provided, Chevron is also hosting more than 500 Los Angeles area students to the “STEM Zone” - a customized hospitality area dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

THE DIGITAL AGE! At the Northern Trust Open this week, golfers sponsored by the TaylorMade brand are sporting hats emblazoned with the Twitter hashtag #driverlove. It appears to be the first time a hashtag or explicit social media reference has appeared on PGA Tour golfers or playing surfaces. “For our sport as whole, the social media space has really been a slow-moving river,” TaylorMade’s chief marketing officer, Bob Maggiore told Mashable. “So it’s interesting for us, because we’ve kind of given up on doing certain things the old way. We like to get out in front and try different things.” READ MORE>>>

WEB GEMS:

NO GO: Annika Sorenstam will not captain the 2013 European Solheim Cup team. READ MORE>>>

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN: The results changed for Mickelson in one week. And he expects the same to happen with his old nemesis. "It's such a night-and-day difference where the ball ... he never hooked a shot," Mickelson said after winning at Pebble. "He used to hook. You were just waiting for it. And now, he's just striping it right at his target with a tiny little fade, just like he used to do. And his iron play looked extremely sharp. I know the score wasn't what he wanted, and I know he didn't putt the way he wanted to, but you could tell that he's really close. And all it takes is one week." READ MORE>>>

LIFE AT THE TOP: "The only thing that might have changed perceptions is the fact that I was able to get to No. 1 not being a modern day power player. Perhaps that might have changed people's perspective on how they practice and what they need to work on. I've obviously done a great job with being very proficient with the short game. That can get you a long way. I certainly am not the best ball striker and I'm not the best off the tee but, with a good short game, I was able to get to the top of the world rankings." READ MORE>>>

GOLF CAN BE A COMMON BOND: Disproving the old saying that sports and politics don't mix, former US president Bill Clinton joined forces with Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and dozens of award-winning golfers for a charity tournament in Bogota. READ MORE>>>

ANSWERS: Fred Couples said, “I'm not going to sit here and say I think it would be a mistake if they got rid of the belly putter or a long putter. I use a belly putter. I don't know what year I started, maybe 2003. Whatever they do is okay with me.”

Prior to Phil Mickelson’s bogey-free final-round 64 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the last time he played a final round without a bogey was at the 2010 Masters Tournament.

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