Good Gosh, I coughed up the big one

Mickelson's Mastercard Moment:

Weeks of strategy with his entourage (Rick Smith, Jim McKay, Dave Pelz, Winged Foot Pro Tom Nieporte, etc) at Winged Foot prior to the US Open: $150,000

A one stroke lead with one hole to play: Pretty priceless.

Slicing your drive on the 72nd hole off the hospitality tent and the chopping and hacking around till you puke all over yourself: priceless.

There are some things millions and millions of dollars can buy you, the US Open is not one of them.

• Tiger finally smiled this week
• Phil reminds us how hard golf is even for the very best that play the
  game.
• Ogilvy won with gutsy pars coming in, including that chip in on 17.
• Furyk, Monty, Lefty, Padrig and the boys had their chances, but Ogilvy did
  what had to be done to hoist the hardware.

The Marketing of Mickelson

Oh the hubbub by Phil Mickelson’s golf club sponsor after a major victory. Mickelson barely had his arms in a second green jacket and Callaway was waxing the ways they helped Phil win his second Masters tournament (and second straight major) with their equipment. The tag line predictable: “One driver revolutionized the game. Two will change it forever.” Phil used two Callaway FT-3 Fusion drivers in route to back-to-back wins on tour.

We have been hearing for the last year that Phil “chooses this” and Phil “chooses that.” Phil chooses to cash big checks from Callaway and Callaway hopes for those rare chances to stand on top of the rooftops and shout to anyone who will listen how great their sticks are.

I wonder what it would be like in a non-endorsed world. The pros would use whatever they wanted with no extra compensation attached to the clubs they choose to use. I wonder if Phil would be Callaway from top to bottom. It is rich for him to say “he chooses” to use Callaway. I think the last time I checked he chose to cut bait with Titleist (the company that made the clubs used in his breakthrough 2004 Masters victory) in late 2004 because in his eyes he was underpaid. He had wanted Titleist to redo his endorsement deal and they showed him the same door Tiger, David Duval, and Sergio were shown before. I have always respected Titleist for their ability to walk when a star wants more from them than they are willing to pay. It just seems so counter-cultural to walk from the stars. To let them out of their deals early and watch as the superstars swap out Titleist equipment when a competing manufacturer comes knocking.

They say Jack Nicklaus moved the marketing needle for MacGregor in 1986 with his silky use of their Response putter in winning his sixth Masters. They couldn’t give them away before his victory and then they couldn’t keep up with production.

Now the question to ask is how long until you see amateurs pony up the extra $400.00 to carry two drivers. I can see it now, a 20 handicapper trying to decide between his fade driver or his draw driver during his next recreational round. Surely, a company will start selling drivers in pairs. Get your “Fade/Draw combo two driver set.” It is on the drawing/fading board somewhere.

Mr. Smiley Pants and little Mike

One the eve of the 2006 Masters it is good to reflect on the back to back lefties who got fitted for green jackets in 2004 &2005. Phil comes into town fresh off a 13 stroke victory defending his title at the Bellsouth Classic. Wier and Steve Flesch along with Mickelson give us Southpaws hope as we begin the most exciting week in golf.

That Woods guy is going to be in town as well. My pick for the week is Retief Goosen, not a lefty, but coming off a #2 place at the Players, a #3 place at the Bellsouth.

Retief's last four finished at the Masters:

2005 3rd Place
2004 13th Place
2003 13th Place
2002 2 Place

He might just be due. If not Woods or Mickelson should do.

Here's to another year and hopefully another finish like the last few.

A Little Golf Wit from Uncle Bob

Uncle Bob Newland (L) and Jack McCullough of Franklin, Tenn (R) in 2001 at Caledonia Golf and Fish Club in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

My Uncle Bob sent me some statements on golf. He must have noticed I have beem slacking a little and wanted to give me some material. That brings up a good point. If you see something worth reading, send it to me. That would make this a lot easier and probably more fun to read! Have a good day and thanks uncle Bob!


Many a truth is told in jest....Perspectives on Golf

Golf can be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer

Golf! You hit down to make the ball go up. You swing left and the ball goes right. The lowest score wins.

On top of that, the winner buys the drinks.

"I wish I could play my normal game...just once."

"Golf is harder than baseball. In golf, you have to play your foul balls."

If you find you do not mind playing golf in the rain, the snow, even during a hurricane, here's a valuable tip: your life is in trouble.

Golfers who try to make everything perfect before taking the shot rarely make a perfect shot.

The term "mulligan" is really a contraction of the phrase "maul it again."

A "gimme" can best be defined as an agreement between two golfers ... neither of whom can putt very well.

An interesting thing about golf is that no matter how badly you play; it is always possible to get worse.

I play in the low 80s. If it's any hotter than that, I won't play. –Bob Hope

Achieving a certain level of success in golf is only important if you can finally enjoy the level you've reached after you've reached it.

Golf is the only sport where the most feared opponent is you.

Golf is like marriage: If you take yourself too seriously it won't work, and both are expensive.

The best wood in most amateurs' bags is the pencil.

To some golfers, the greatest handicap is the inability to add correctly.

In golf, some people tend to get confused with all the numbers... they shoot a six, yell fore and write five.

Dr. Dramamine

Tiger bogeys 17 & 18 at Doral to claim his third victory of 2006. You'd be yucking it up too if everyone kept giving you victories with poor play down the stretch.

Nothing fancy over here in at goffshots HQ. I just have a fleeting feeling that someone needs to make a stand against world #1 Woods. J.B. Holmes put it best when he made being ranked #64 in the world his goal prior to the WGC match play last week. He wanted that spot to stalk Tiger. As Holmes put it, “I’m not afraid of anybody and I am not afraid of Tiger Woods.” It seems too many on Tour do fear the Tiger. Somebody needs to stand up and force Tiger to make birdie to win golf tournaments. Seems the world's best golfers are all leaning over the edge of Tiger's yacht, "the Privacy" and blowing chunks in Tiger's wake.

Let's look at some recent history:

2005 Masters: Dimarco shoots 41 on the back nine of his third round at Augusta (he averaged 33.5 over the other seven nines that week) and lets Tiger back into the Masters, not to mention Tiger's improbable chip on 17 from jail as Dimarco stood waiting to putt on the green. They went to a playoff and at least Woods made birdie to win, but since then...

2006 Buick Open: Two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal missed a 4-foot par putt to lose on the second playoff hole at Torrey Pines.

2006 Dubai: Three-time major winner Ernie Els hit a 4-iron that came up a yard short and into the water, made bogey and blew the playoff against Woods in Dubai.

2006 Ford at Doral: David Toms commits his first three jack of the tournament on the 72nd hole as Tiger watches him from the right hand rough. Toms makes bogey, and Tiger slaps it around to make bogey and win by one.

2005 WGC: Who can forget Daly last year at the WGC in San Francisco botching that little three footer as Woods covered his face.

Granted Tiger didn't want to win that way, but as he said after his bogey, bogey, finish Sunday at Doral, "A win is a win." I just wish someone would make him earn these events instead of vomiting all over themselves every time they are in contention with Eldrick. Get some Pepto Bismol and Dramamine and lets get some better finishes on the PGA Tour. If not Tiger will keep yucking it up as the chumps keep stumbling just enough to make victory easy for Mr. Woods.

Rich Beem chugged lots of Pepto at the 2003 PGA and danced the funky chicken as he held off Woods late charge. At least Pepto worked for the Beemer…

LPGA Picture of the week 2

Paula Creamer at the Evian Masters in 2005.

What a difference a year makes!

Geoff Ogilvy tries on his 2005 conquistadore helmet trophy,

after winning the Chrysler Classic of Tucson in a sudden death playoff.

2005 was a breakout year for Geoff Ogilvy. While the big boys were dabbling in the mega money WGC Accenture Match Play, Geoff was slumming over at Tucson National in the Tucson Open. He grinded out his first PGA Tour victory in a playoff and the volunteers all wished him well. They all told him, “We hope we don’t see you here next year.” Not the normal thing you tell the champion of your event, but the Tucson was the “other event” the last week of February. There were “no worries” on seeing the Aussie back in Tucson this year. Geoff had top tens in both the British Open and the PGA last year in route to his #53 ranking going into this year’s WGC Match Play Championship.

Ogilvy was four down with four to play against Mike Weir, before winning four straight to force extra holes. He went 19 holes against Michael Campbell, 21 holes against Nick O'Hern, 21 holes against Mike Weir and 19 holes against David Howell, all of them looking like losses but Ogilvy found ways to survive and advance in each match. There was no overtime on the weekend as he disposed of Tom Lehman 4&3 and beat Davis Love (the III) 3&2 in the final with an eagle birdie flurry to claim the $1,300,000 top prize.

There was also a grand slam of players disposed by Ogilvy on his way to victory. Campbell (U.S. Open), Wier (Masters), Lehman (British Open), and Love (PGA). Ogilvy’s who was a 2000 Q-School graduate has slowly been coming into his own over the last five plus years. It is safe to say he has arrived on the big stage. He is anxious to get his first look at Augusta.

Ogilvy said the decision to play in the match play instead of defending his Tucson title wasn’t a tough choice, but he was afraid he might be knocked out in the first round and feel frustrated by not playing anywhere while the Tucson was being played. Tucson will host the WGC Match Play Championship in 2007 as part of the revamped schedule. Ogilvy will be defending champion of a new event in the city he never got the opportunity to defend his first title. Tucson is also home to Jackson Julson, who has signed on as a contributing “Goffshots” editor. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Look for additional contributing editors to sign on as we get some more folks (and opinions) in the fray.

While we eagerly await additional amateur journalism, we congratulate Ogilvy and old man Kirk Triplett on their victories this week. Triplett shot a final round 63 (-22 total) for the win in Tuscon and first since the prestigious 2003 Reno-Tahoe Open. Triplett shines in the big ones, but we are proud of the “bucket hat bandit” nonetheless and have always wanted to see him in the crazy conquistadore helmet trophy. I guess that is the one down side to losing the Tuscon, but maybe they can give the helmet to next year's match play champion.

What a difference a year makes. Going from funny metal hats to check's that are $1,200,000.00 phat.