Danny Lee became the ninth first-time winner on the PGA Tour this year with victory at The Greenbrier Classic. It was a hard earned victory for the New Zealander, who had to overcome David Hearn, Kevin Kisner and Robert Streb in a play-off before the celebrations could begin.
If you ask any pro what they carry in their bag, the answer usually includes multiple wedges. The modern game is about shot making and precision. Many of the era's top players are tremendously skilled in the wedge department, including Phil Mickelson and rising star Jordan Speith.
We review what is needed to bring versatility to your pitch game.
Open the clubface
The most precious tip on varying wedge play is the use of the face. When the blade lies open it automatically adds loft and generates spin. The opposite applies when the face is closed or square.
Practice
When firing balls at the range, practice playing the shot forward in your stance. This will allow the ball to fly from the club at a higher trajectory. By moving the position of the swing and the trigger it will adjust distance and shot type naturally.
It is about striking with confidence. Perfecting the snap motion through impact generates more spin and more variety of striking.
Steepness of the Swing
It can also prove useful to vary the downswing angle. This can increase ball speed and spin to enable additional shots unavailable with a traditional swing path. There is no right or wrong answer, many players find methods of shot making with wedges that cannot be found in a text book. Sometimes lies and circumstance dictate a need for something new.
Great Tip
Practice playing longer irons with open blades to perfect the technique. It will seriously aid your consistency on the pitch side of your game. Learning this skill will add shots to your armoury without the penalty of buying new wedges.
If you need any further assistance then please visit your local Foremost Golf professional.
There are few achievements in sport that have never been accomplished. Every tournament in every sport crowns a winner – somebody always wins The World Cup, The Grand National or even The World Conker Championships.
Nobody has ever won golf’s four Major Championships* in the same calendar year.
Never.
Nobody has even really come that close: Tiger, Jack and Arnold won the first two – The Masters and The US Open – in 2002, 1972 and 1960 respectively but couldn’t get over the line at The Open. Tiger, of course, won all four Major’s in a row from the 2000 US Open to the 2001 Masters but his run stopped after that.
Here we are again then, with the weight of history looming large on the shoulders of young Jordan Spieth. For the first time in well over a decade golf finds itself in the most unique of positions: someone with a genuine shot to achieve the unachievable.
Before the year began the Texan was well known in golfing circles as an upcoming talent, someone to watch for in the future as a potential Major Champion. You’d have been hard pressed to find anyone however, aside from maybe Jordan himself, who thought this first half of the year was possible. He blew everyone out the water at The Masters to win by 4 strokes, then followed that up with a topsy-turvy, nail-biting victory at The US Open; holding his nerve brilliantly under extreme pressure.
His maturity for someone his age is exceptional. He’s 21 but listen to him speak and you hear a man twice his age – sagacious and knowledgeable. As much of an asset as his temperament is, Spieth’s real gift is his putting. He avoids overthinking many of his putts by taking a rather unique approach; instead of looking at the ball during the strike he simply looks at the hole and, more often than not, it ends up in the bottom of the cup.
Despite all of his many qualities there’s no sugarcoating how tough the task still is. Neil Payne at fivethirtyeight.com calculated his chances stand around 1% to complete the Grand Slam**. This is the challenge that golf poses unlike any other sport, no matter how much better you are than your opposition the fact you have so much opposition makes it infinitely more difficult. You have to hope that your best effort over the four days is better than 100 other people's.
He moves on to The Open Championship at St.Andrews with as good a chance as anyone - his edge around the green’s should be even more pronounced and the withdrawal of Rory McIlroy is obviously beneficial.
He’s given himself a chance to chase immortality, you can’t ask for more than that. Now what will Jordan Spieth do?
*(FOOTNOTE – this is from 1958 onwards when the PGA Championship adopted a stroke-play format to match the other three majors. Bobby Jones won a ‘Grand Slam’ in 1930 when the US and UK amateur championships were in place of The Masters and The PGA)
**(Calculated before Rory McIlroy’s likely withdrawal)
Other Notes
Harrison Ryle
Jordan Spieth's blistering run of form continued with victory at The John Deere Classic. The 21-year-old made it difficult for himself after he bogeyed two of his first three holes, eventually fighting back to force a play-off aganist Tom Gillis.
Gillis was looking for his first victory on the PGA Tour at the age of 46 - had he won he'd have been the oldest first time winner ever - and the pressure of the moment seemed to show on the second extra hole. Playing from the right rough, his approach in to the green got away from him and finished up in the water hazard; leaving Spieth to only need to par for victory.
Spieth's decision to play in the tournament was widely criticised, some felt it would have been more pertinent to play in The Scottish Open the week before The Open Championship but those opinions look ill judged now. The Texan has been preparing to play St.Andrews on a simulator and has spoke openly about how he doesn't feel his preparation has been affected in any way. It's hard to argue with him based on results.
So, what was in Jordan's bag?
Rickie Fowler looks in an excellent position to challenge for his first Major Championship at The Open after victory at The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. The American shot a final-round 68 to edge Raphael Jacquelin and Matt Kuchar by one stroke.
It took a late push from Fowler to put himself in a winning position - birdieing the 15th, 16th and 18th holes to show once again he has the mettle when the pressure is really on.
So, what was in Rickie's bag?
As we approach Open week, it is a great time to review the key tips for successful play in the windy hard conditions of British links golf.
It is often described as the biggest challenge in golf. We review how to perfect your game plan and shoot better scores…
Ball Flight
Many parkland players struggle with the concept of adjusting to a lower ball flight when it comes to playing successfully on the links. Adjust your footwork and close and move your hands forward in the swing for a reduced trajectory. This creates a snap on impact and drives through the wind giving more control.
Perfecting the punch by reducing the follow through is also a potent weapon on a links course.
Many of the games greats have succeeded on links by sticking to a ridged and forgiving game plan. Tom Watson and Nick Faldo are great examples; finding the heart of the green with approaches and not taking on too much from far back. Greens are less likely to take spin than traditional courses so stay patient and play to larger margins.
The final point to consider when playing links golf is that it is better to be short then long. Find fairways with a three wood as oppose to the thick heather with the driver. Patience is the key to finding the best score and take your medicine when required.
For the best part of five days, Zach Johnson played his golf in virtual anonymity.
There were so many other juicy storylines - Jordan Spieth chasing the Grand Slam, Marc Leishman gunning for a first Major, Paul Dunne attempting to win The Open as an amateur - that there wasn't room for the 39 year-old from Iowa playing some of the best golf on the course.
He was simply Zach Johnson, golf's most consistent performer. There’s nothing flashy about his game or his personality - he doesn't smash the cover off the ball like Dustin Johnson, nor wear outlandish clothing a la John Daly. He’s reserved, his expression often hidden behind his cap and sunglasses.
The day started chock full of drama. Seemingly every player within a sniff of winning set the first nine on fire; birdie after birdie rained down as the lead chopped and changed. It wasn’t until they faced the much tougher back nine that the cream rose to the top.
Adam Scott, who was draining a putt every time the BBC cut to him for the first 13 holes, brought back memories of his collapse at Royal Lytham in 2012 by falling from the dizzy heights of 16 under par to eventually finish on 10 under, a share for tenth.
Sergio Garcia got to 14 under after ten holes by playing a wonderful blend of golf; mixing in piercing straight drivers with an inch perfect short game. If anyone ever doubted how and why such a mercurial talent can still be searching for a first major those questions were answered on the back nine as his putting deserted him once again, finally settling on 11 under par.
Then there was Jordan Spieth. Had it not been for a disastrous four-putt on the par-three eighth the tournament would have surely been his, dreams of a Grand Slam continuing on to Whistling Straits for the PGA Championship. He had worked himself back in to a tie for the lead after a miraculous putt on the 16th but the 17th, playing as difficult as it ever has, would be his undoing. He had to settle for bogey there and could only muster a par on the final hole, finishing an agonising one shot adrift.
As all of those fireworks were going off around him, Johnson kept his cool. Knowing he was likely to need a birdie on the last to muscle his way in to a play-off, he left himself 20 or so feet to get to 15 under. It was a gorgeous putt - starting on the left side before arcing right, finally dropping like a feather in to the hole.
In the play-off he again held his nerve as Oosthuizen and Leishman faltered. The Australian was the first to show signs that the occasion may have gotten to him, bogeying the fairly innocuous first hole with an anxious three-putt.
Surely the occasion couldn’t affect Oosthuizen? He’d won at this exact venue five years earlier after all. However, after Johnson gave him an opening on the third play-off hole – the 17th – by bogeying, he would return the favour by missing a very makeable putt for par.
Oosthuizen worked himself in to an excellent position again on the 18th. Johnson could only par so make this putt and he’s extended the play-off.
The South African hit a great putt; starting left before breaking to the right, kissing the left edge of the hole as it rolled idly by. Was it a tad too hard? Possibly, but given the circumstances it was a mighty fine effort.
At first Johnson barely reacted. Whether it was disbelief or as a courtesy to his fellow professional his celebration was fairly muted. His caddie Damon Green held his hand up for an age, his fingers spread wide expecting a high five. All Johnson could do was stand there, head bowed, until he finally shook it side to side like a pendulum.
Tears would roll down his face purer than any putt he hit on Monday; the magnitude of the moment finally washing over him as he was bear hugged, first by his caddie then by his wife Kim.
It was a fitting end for one of golfs most understated individuals. Nobody gave him a shot to win.
That won’t matter to him though. It never has.
It’s the winning that counts, after all.
What was in Zac's bag?
While it’s unlikely we’ll see any golfer resonate culturally as much as Tiger Woods did/does it’s still safe to say golf is in excellent hands going forward. Four amateur players (Jordan Niebrugge, Oliver Scniederjans, Ashley Chesters and Paul Dunne) finished within the top 30 and the race for the Silver Medal, so often a non-factor on the final day, became a real feature.
Arguably the most notable of all the amateur performances was the man that finished last of those aforementioned players, Paul Dunne. Although he struggled mightily on the final day his performance during the first four, which worked him in to the final group on Monday, set headlines across the globe.
However, it’s easy to forget that Jordan Spieth is younger than all of the amateur players aside from Niebrugge; whose birthday falls a matter of days after Spieth’s. It is Jordan himself that is the true future of golf, the one man amongst all of golf’s youth who has shown he has the ability to win as many Majors as he pleases.
Whilst The Open wasn’t exactly short on drama it was hard not to consider how much better it could have been with the presence of the world’s number 1 ranked golfer. His ankle injury was obviously unfortunate for him personally but it also denied us the chance to watch him defend his title.
You have to feel that his time away from the game - having to sit through the frustrations of watching a Major Championship on TV - will give him extra motivation when he returns, and that budding rivalry with Spieth will turn in to an absolute classic for years to come.
Again three of the games nearly men came close, again they faltered close to the finish line. Dustin Johnson, who looked invincible for the first two rounds, completely collapsed over the weekend; seeing his score tumble from 10 under to eventually settle on 4 under, a tie for 49th. Clearly he has all the physical tools to win a Major but as of yet he hasn’t been able to keep the mental aspect of his game in check for four consecutive rounds.
The failures of Jason Day and Sergio Garcia on Monday weren’t quite as egregious. Both played pretty solid rounds of golf but when it really mattered they were both missing that little something.
It was agonising watching Day miss his putt to force himself in to the play-off on the 18th. You’d have thought, given the situation he was in, that he’d give the putt every chance. Sadly it was a rather timid effort that rested well short of the hole, a metaphor for his previous experience in majors if ever there was one.
For Sergio it was the same old story. He came out of the gate like a house on fire; sinking every putt he saw on the front nine before his putter went icey cold during the home stretch.
Anytime I watch these guys play I find it hard to convince myself all three won’t win a Major one day. Here’s hoping that’s the case!
The Old Course really is the perfect venue for a Major. We’ve seen some courses in the past, notably those used for past US Open’s, that are too punitive, turning tournaments into dreary affairs where everybody struggles and the winning score is somewhere around par.
Whilst St.Andrews can behave like this when the wind really picks up - as it did before the suspension of play early on Saturday morning - for the most part it’s the ideal blend of challenging holes and holes that allow for scoring. As we saw on Monday, seemingly every player near the top of the leaderboard got off to a fast start only to really struggle on the back nine.
It made for a fascinating tournament and I for one can’t wait for The Open to return here in the future.
After his performance at The Greenbrier there were some suggestions, most notably from the man himself, that Tiger Woods’ game was getting closer to where he wanted it. Whilst it would be unfair to denounce that statement based on one tournament's performance, it’s not like the performance at The Greenbrier was THAT impressive.
He finished in a tie for 32nd place. That’s obviously better than missing the cut, his default setting prior to that, but it’s still not exactly Tiger Woods. St.Andrews was supposed to be a comfortable setting for him; somewhere where he’d enjoyed success before and the wide fairways would better suit his erratic play off the tee. Unfortunately it was a poor performance from the first hole onwards, where he dumped his second shot straight in the Swilcan Burn.
On to the PGA for Tiger and everybody else for the last Major of the year.
Harrison Ryle
harrison.ryle@foremostgolf.com
Jason Day showed no ill effects from his near-miss at The Open Championship as he battled to victory at The Canadian Open. Playing in the penultimate group, Day would finish birdie-birdie-birdie to edge Bubba Watson and Canadian fan-favourite, David Hearn.
Both Day and Watson played some sublime golf down the stretch; Watson birdieing five of the final six holes to push Day to the brink. The significance of the victory was clear after the Australian holed his final putt on 18, a beauty from just over 20 feet, as he punched the air and roared for several seconds.
No better way to overcome his disappointment at St.Andrews six days earlier.
So, what was in Jason's bag?
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