Nancy Quarcelino School of Golf - Blog

Is Tiger tanking?  Have we already seen the best of Tiger?

A year ago Tiger was on top of the world – his and ours.  We all thought he was invincible.  Even my mother thought he was a robot, trained to make all the right shots at all the right times.  I liked his game, I like him.  He was what we taught all junior golfers to emulate, be like and play like.  Wow, were we really wrong?

I wrote earlier this year about how wrong it is to put sports personalities as our every day heroes.  When we do that we are setting ourselves up to get hurt and we were.  We all thought Tiger was unbeatable.  He only told us what he wanted us to hear.  He was guarded with his life and his golf game.  Every one who was in his “camp” was told what to do and what he wanted to learn.  He directed everyone and really thought he was untouchable.

The media still writes all about Tiger to this day.  We all know what happened last year at Thanksgiving.  We heard about the wreck and then slowly his exploits came to the surface.  We did not see Tiger for months and when we did, he announced it on national television and apologized to everyone about his wrong doings.

He then began his comeback to the sport he truly loves.  We thought he was back when he finished fourth at the Masters.  We all made predictions about when he would win again.  Life just does not perform for us like we want it to.

This past week, Tiger concluded his worst event as a professional golfer at the Bridgestone Invitational. In his post round interviews he stated; “Shooting 18 over par is not fun.  I don’t see how it can be fun shooting 18 over, especially since my handicap is supposed to be zero.  It’s tough.  Yeah, it’s tough.  It’s been a long year”.

Asked what he needs to do to turn it around, Woods said, “I need to hit the ball better, I need to chip better, I need to putt better and I need to score better.”

Have we seen the best of Tiger?  I can’t answer that.  But I do know that golfers are not intimidated by Tiger anymore.  He set the bar high; farther than we thought anyone could reach when he played his best.  But he also exposed the bar to everyone else when he faltered.

I want to see Tiger play great again.  He was exciting to watch.  He is a brilliant shot maker and player.  And when he plays his best, well, he is tough to beat.  But I sure do like seeing the other golfers not lay down.  They keep getting better and better and soon the number 1 ranking will be held by another player.  It is inevitable, it will happen.  But, I personally hope that we see the old Tiger once again.

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By the time you are reading this article, you will have watched the completion of another great Masters tournament. You will most certainly have witnessed great golf shots being executed by some of the world’s greatest players. The course conditions will put these players to a test both physically and mentally. 

Yes, they are playing at a different level of golf from the average amateur player but at the same time they must think and prepare for each shot no different from what you should be doing every time you play as well.    

Have you ever had the thought cross your mind that you were going to hit a bad shot even before you started your backswing?  Maybe it was the bunker or water hazard that you saw out of the corner of your eye or maybe the wind picked up and you questioned whether or not you made the correct club selection.

When you prepare to hit a shot, you must go through a process that allows you to totally commit to the shot at hand.  By doing this, you will give yourself the best chance of hitting exactly the shot you desire.

As an example of this process; take the following items into consideration the next time you hit a shot on the golf course.

1. Know your distance.  Walk off your shot or use your GPS.

2. If you have to go over water or a bunker, it is imperative that you know the carry distance for each club. I know I can hit my 8 iron 120 yards, but I also know that it carries 110 yards and rolls an additional 10 yards.

3. Is the green elevated or below the fairway?  If the green is elevated, you must consider taking more (a longer) club in order to fly the ball to the green.  Also, if the green is below the fairway you should take less club to reach the green.

4. Which way is the wind blowing?  This can have a tremendous amount of affect on both your distance and direction.

5. Is the ball sitting level in the fairway?  If the ball is sitting on an uneven lie, you should take into consideration what will happen when you strike the ball.  Depending upon the lie, the ball will go a different distance and direction from what it would normally do under perfect conditions.

Once you have done your homework and step up to the ball, you should have totally committed to the shot.  If you question anything regarding your club selection, you should step completely away from the ball, make adjustments, and recommit yourself to the shot.

Try using this routine the next time you get ready to hit your shot.  You may be surprised at your result! You may not be playing at the Masters, but it’s all about you playing your best golf on a Sunday afternoon in April as well!  

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The players have spoken.  The LPGA has asked for Carolyn Bivens to resign and she has.  So the buzz at the Women’s US OPEN was all about the commissioner and not about the players.

So who won the 2009 Women’s US Open?  Do you know?  Now I know there was very little news in our local newspaper about the tournament but we did have many articles written about Carolyn Bivens.

Is this what the LPGA wanted?  I am sure they wanted their play to speak for themselves.  But the timing of this announcement could not have been worse.

But putting that aside, the players have spoken and the LPGA is now in search of a new commissioner.  Names like Nancy Lopez, Judy Rankin and Jan Stephenson have emerged.  Although these names are great ambassadors for women’s golf they are not business women who can lead the tour to new sponsors.

I hope we pick a good business woman to lead the LPGA to the heights that the players want.  They want more tournaments and higher purses, but in reality what they may get is what they had; a schedule that started in March and ended in September with the last 4 tournaments only for a select few players.

I wish we had a Tiger Woods on the LPGA tour.  I want Michelle Wie to start playing well. .  We need her.  She can be our star power for sponsors and tournaments.  Play well Michelle.  We need you.

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