Archive for February, 2009

Is Legendary Golfer Ben Hogan the Best Golfer of His Era

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

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Golf legend Ben Hogan was born in Stephenville, Texas. He was the youngest child of Chester and Clara Hogan. His father was a blacksmith and the family lived ten miles southwest in Dublin until 1921 when they moved 70 miles to Fort Worth. Visit My Squidoo Lens!

The family incurred financial difficulty after Ben Hogan’s father died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest at the family home In 1922.The children took jobs to help their seamstress mother make ends meet. Older brother Royal quit school at age fourteen to deliver office supplies by bicycle, and nine year-old Ben sold newspapers after school at the nearby train station.

A tip from a friend led him to caddying at the age of eleven at Glen Garden Country Club. One of his fellow caddies at Glen Garden was Byron Nelson. Nelson would later become a tour rival. The two would tie for the lead at the annual Christmas caddy tournament in December 1927, when both were fifteen. Nelson sunk a thirty foot putt to tie on the ninth and final hole. Instead of sudden death, they played another nine holes; Nelson sunk another substantial putt on the final green to win by a stroke.

The following spring, Nelson was granted the only junior membership offered by the members of Glen Garden. Club rules did not allow caddies age 16 and older. After August 1928, Hogan took his game to three daily-fee courses: Katy Lake, Worth Hills, and Z-Boaz.

During his senior year, Hogan dropped out of High School. He became a professional golfer at the Texas Open in San Antonio in late January 1930, just shy of his eighteenth birthday. Visit My Squidoo Lens!

Hogan met his future wife,Valerie Fox, in Sunday school in Fort Worth in the mid-1920s. They met again in 1932 when he landed a low-paying club pro job in Cleburne where her family had moved. They married in April 1935 at her parent’s home.

His early years as a pro were very difficult and he went broke more than once. Hogan’s wife Valerie believed in him. This helped see him through the tough years. He did not win his first pro tournament until March 1940 when he won three consecutive tournaments in North Carolina. Although it took a decade to secure his first victory.

Ben Hogan was the best golfer of his era, by most accounts, and still stands as one of the greatest of all time. “The Hawk” possessed fierce determination and an iron will, combined with his unquestionable golf skills. This formed an aura which could intimidate opponents into competitive submission. In Scotland, Hogan was known as “The Wee Ice Man”, or, in some versions, “Wee Ice Mon,” a moniker earned during his famous British Open victory at Carnoustie in 1953. It is a reference to his steely and seemingly nerveless demeanor. Itself a product of a golf swing he had built that was designed to perform better the more pressure he put it under.

Hogan was highly respected by fellow competitors for his superb management skills. During his peak years, he rarely if ever attempted a shot in competition which he had not thoroughly honed in practice.

Despite his career’s being interrupted in its prime by World War II and a near-fatal car accident, between the years of 1938 through 1959, Hogan won 63 professional golf tournaments. Hogan and his wife, Valerie, survived a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus on a fog-shrouded bridge east of Van Horn, Texas on February 2, 1949. Hogan threw himself across Valerie in order to protect her, and would have been killed had he not done so, as the steering column punctured the driver’s seat. His doctors said he might never walk again, let alone play golf competitively. He left the hospital 59 days after the accident.

The “Hogan Slam” was the 1953 season. He won five of the six tournaments he entered and the first three major championships of the year. It still stands among the greatest single seasons in the history of professional golf. It was the only time a golfer won three major championships in a year until Tiger Woods matched the feat in 2000.

His nine career professional major championships tie him with Gary Player for fourth all-time. Trailing only Jack Nicklaus (18), Tiger Woods (14) and Walter Hagen (11).

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Arnold Palmer

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

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Born in Latrobe, PA, Arnold D. Palmer is widely thought to be one of the best golfers ever to play the game. Palmer has been the winner of a number of PGA Tours as well as the Champions Tour since his first big tournament win in 1955. Palmer is simply known as “The King” among many fans and players alike and has achieved worldwide fame. He is acknowledged, along with Gary Player and Jack Nickaus as one of the Big Three in the game. With the advent of televised golf matches in the 1950′s, Palmer’s playing which led to a growing interest in the sport.

Arnold got his passion for playing golf from his father Deacon Palmer who was a professional greens keeper at Latrobe Country Club. Remarkably, at only age seven, Arnold golfed an impressive 70 at Bent Creek Country Club. Even though his father worked at the Latrobe Country Club, which was only nine holes back in the day, Arnold was only allowed to play in the early mornings or late afternoons, when club members weren’t using the course.

It should come as no surprise that Palmer went to Wake Forest University on a golf scholarship; afterwards, he served in the Coast Guard for three years, keeping his golf skills sharp all the while. During his stint in the Coast Guard, he married Winifred Walker, whom he met at a golf tournament in Pennsylvania. In his first season, Palmer came out on top in the Canadian open – he followed up this impressive win with something of a charm offensive, quickly becoming a fan favorite and helping to increase the popularity of the game.

Palmer won the 1958 Masters, his first major tournament win and quickly became one of the most popular golfers in the world. He signed with the agent Mark McCormack, who says that he was interested in representing Palmer because of “his good looks, his modest background, the way he played golf, his risk taking and wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his involvement in so many exciting early televised finishes.” Palmer quickly achieved international fame, winning the English Open (one of the first American golfers to do so). He scored a string of victories including the US Open in 1960, another English Open in 1961 and the PGA Masters in 1960, 1963 and 1964. Between 1960 and 1962, Palmer took 29 PGA Tour event trophies.

In 1960, Arnold was named Sports Illustrated top pro athlete of the year and he won the Sportsman of the Year award. His fans, known as “Arnie’s Army,” cheered when their Arnie became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings in 1967. Even with pros like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player playing alongside him, Arnold managed to win a PGA Tour every year all the way up to 1970 and in 1971 he enjoyed a rejuvenation of his career winning four events.

He won four Vardon trophies for lowest average score and played on six different Ryder Cup teams. By 1980, Palmer became eligible for the PGA Senior Tour (now known as the Champions Tour). Palmer won ten events on the Senior Tour and thanks to the efforts of his agent became the highest earning golfer in the game, winning many endorsements and sponsorships. Outside of the game, Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush; the highest honor given to civilians.

In 2004, Arnold played in The Masters for the last time-his 50th consecutive appearance and when he missed the cut at the 2005 US Senior Open, he then announced he would not play any further senior majors, retiring from golf in 2006. To the delight of Arnie’s Army, one of his most memorable events was during the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational where standing over 200 yards from the 18th green, he lashed his second shot onto the green with a driver. Even Arnold smiled and celebrated the moment along with his grandson/caddie, Sam Saunders.

Arnold Palmer no longer plays competitively, but stays active in the world of golf. He is involved in the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which hosts the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He was one of the developers of the Golf Channel and helped to build one of the first golf courses in China and founded the Arnold Palmer Design Company. Ranked the sixth best player of all time by Golf Digest, Palmer has also won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Arnold Palmer now resides in Orlando, FL where he stays on top of developments in the golf world and still enjoys a good game of golf.

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Want to Golf Well? Pass on the Ribs, Then!

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

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There’s a belief that one doesn’t have to be in shape to be a good golfer. This is perpetuated by such portly individuals as Craig Stadler and John Daly (Both weighing in at a modest 300 pounds. Maybe they were sumo-aspirants at one point?) who go on to win tournaments despite the invasion of Paunch deLeon they have going on around their midsections. These two and others like them are clearly the exception, not the rule, and I guarantee you they would be better players if they were in better shape. Not to mention they would be able to play longer.

The Three Pillars of Golf Fitness: Strength, stamina, flexibility. These are the three things you should focus your training on. You only need to look at Tiger Woods and his performance to see how being fit can help improve your game. His obsession with being fit has led the concept of golf fitness to become extremely popular, especially on the PGA tour.

The Products to Help: I’ve been golfing for over 20 years, and thankfully have never had an injury keep me down. I’m not getting any younger, however, and I’ve become more focused on golf fitness as a result. Two products have helped me get closer to my goals and are available with others in the fitness section: Roger Frederick’s Stretching and Flexibility on DVD, and the Golf Gym. Both are fantastic at improving your overall conditioning, and the Golf Gym even helped Pat Perez win the Bob Hope Tour! That sort of endorsement you can’t beat with a stick (Or should I say club?).

Be the Incredible Mr. Flexible: When one begins to lose flexibility everything is hampered: your turn, your power, your entire swing. You lose the ability to swing effectively. By improving your flexibility you can improve your range of motion (Crucial on the back swing and more so on the follow-through) and strength, which will give you the added power to send the ball further. And further it will go, if PGA tour pros who trained are any indicator. Some improved their distance by up to twenty yards by working on their flexibility and strength!

Watch out for Injuries: Golf injuries typically occur due to poor fitness and poor technique. Obviously, the chances of one occurring are reduced by being properly fit, as the improved ability to hit correctly and more consistently helps keep your muscles from becoming strained. The more you focus on good exercise and proper technique, the longer you’ll be able to play the game! You’ve really got nothing to lose here, except maybe the next Michelin Man look-alike contest.

Want to be a better player who can enjoy the game longer? As with all sports the answer is fitness. Improving your own body helps you as well as – if not more than – getting better equipment to use. If you want to play like Tiger Woods, get serious about fitness. Improve your strength, stamina, and flexibility, and you will go far! Or, the ball will, at least.

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Learn About Golfing Online

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009

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Many golf players want to learn more about their game of golf, but they are not sure of the best place to find the type of golf information they need. The internet is a superb place to find everything relating to golfing that you may want from golf balls and clubs to golf course info.

Whether you are a beginner just trying to learn about the game or a professional golfer, there is always something to be learned about every subject, and golf is no exception. You hear the phrase, “look it up on the internet”, but unless you have ever searched a specific topic such as golfing, you will never believe the wonderful tool for learning that the internet provides.

Whether it’s Google, Yahoo or some other search engine, anything you want to know about golf is at your fingertips. Many of the golfing sites have chats, message boards or even blogs where you can talk about your golfing experiences. The chat and message boards are wonderful opportunities for you to communicate with other golfers like yourself and learn about any new golfing equipment on the market as well as reviews on some of the current golf accessories such as balls or clubs.

Often it is not just experienced golfers, but also novices, that come to the golfing websites. They will often give you links to places where you can purchase golf equipment such as videos, books, DVDs or your basic golfing supplies for a day on the golf course. Other interesting things on the many golf websites are advertisements for many golf supply stores online as well as offline. You will also find stories from many golfers, professionals as well as the golfers out for fun.

There are many golfing games available on the market sold in retail stores or online. Many of these games have graphics that make them very realistic, which can teach you a lot about the game of golf as well as how to correctly shoot. Unbelievably, many of these games give you golfing tips on clubs to use as well as different a href=”http://www.alicante-spain.com/costa_blanca_golf_courses.html”coursesa, which can also apply to golfing in real life. If you are interested in traveling to different golf courses there are sites that will give you directions as well as a complete description of all the major golf courses in any city you may choose.

If you are an inexperienced golfer still trying to learn the game, you can find some very helpful tips on how many things affect your game from your mental attitude to your gender and the equipment you use. Do you want to get some new golf equipment, but aren’t sure what to get? Get some tips from more experienced golfers online who have had to go through the same concerns as you. You will find that playing a great game of golf means having good equipment, knowledge of the game and a positive attitude.

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Golf Gadget Update – Golf Push Carts are Cool

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

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Today more than any other time, we must reduce our carbon footprint. While many golfers may not realize it, the motorized carts they drive all over the golf course do have a carbon impact on the environment. Because when these carts are plugged in to re-charge, the electricity is provided by the burning of fuels that cause carbon emissions.

Modern push cars for golf now are much improved in design and are rapidly replacing the old pull cart design. Time was, when the golf cart was your basic tripod metal vehicle for getting your golf bag around the golf course. These pull carts were never all that popular because they were not ergonomically engineered and can produce shoulder and back strain.

Modern push carts are designed to eliminate any upper body injuries as you push the cart in front of you. The three wheel designs make for a much more stable cart and now carts can roll over even the the most uneven parts of the course without tipping over.

These new push carts are high-tech golfing gadgets which may have special features that include a portable office caddy that can not only carry your clubs, but your lunch, hand-held golf GPS devices, even your iPhone. It has everything you need to have a virtual office right there as you play the course.

To play golf without standing around waiting all the time and most golf courses require you to play at a certain pace in a specified amount of time. Using a push cart actually can improve your golf play speed as you are not driving from side to side of the fairway. Add to this the fact that, many courses mark off parts of the course that you can’t drive a motorized golf cart on (typically near the green and around the tee boxes) so you have to drive the cart away from where your ball is and walk back. This definitely slows down your pace of play

Deciding on buying a push pull golf cart can be a great way to reduce what you spend on your favorite recreation as you won’t need to rent a motorized cart. It is also a great way to increase the exercise you get from playing a round of golf. This will not only make you look and feel better, you’ll see women giving you a 2nd glance as well!

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