Putting Secret Revealed?

Excellent video on putting.
On Par With Bill Pennington

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2010/08/22/sports/golf/1248068894783/the-perfect-putt.html

Shrek, King Louis, or Citizen Cincinnatus

No, Louis Oosthuizen has not been asked to ascend to be the supreme ruler of South Africa to help defend the country from invasion as Cincinnatus did during the early stages of the Roman Empire. Nor is he painting himself green and flashing that gap-toothed grin for a Shrek promotion. He did, however, answer the call of duty to play in last year’s Open Championship—he went, he saw, he conquered, and then went home and bought a tractor to work his farm.

On two occasions, Cincinnatus was asked to leave his farm to be the absolute ruler of the Roman Empire. Rather than being drunk with power; in both instances, Cincinnatus immediately resigned his authority to go back to his farm. Clearly, he felt more comfortable in his humble surroundings than amidst the politics of Rome.  The same can be said for Oosthuizen.  Growing up on a farm in Mossel Bay, South Africa has left an indelible impression on Oosthuizen. Despite falling in love with golf and tennis early on, he has not abandoned his love for farm life. Ernie Els’ foundation gave Louis the financial backing that allowed his golf game to develop and flourish—a debt of that Louis can never fully repay, but nevertheless, will always be appreciated.

At the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, Oosthuizen has spent his time supporting the European tour, specifically, stops in South Africa. So instead of chasing big dollars at the PGA’s opening event in Hawaii, Louis opted for Buffalo City, South Africa.  Again, he went, he saw and conquered. Unlike the cruise control win at the Open Championship, this one required a playoff, and marked his first European tour win on his home soil. Much has been said about Oosthuizen’s decision to split his schedule between both the PGA and European tour. John Feinstein has already called it a “terrible” decision, noting all the road pizza of those who have chased money around the world after winning a major. Regardless of how 2011 turns out, you can be sure that Louis will end up on his John Deere. Somewhere, Cincinnatus will be smiling.

Week One

Sleepy start or not, PGA is on again and that is grand with me. I don’t care if it’s the African Open or forty guys playing in Hawaii, I’m all in. Prognosticators shine their crystal balls, storylines wait to come to fruition, and I’ve put new batteries in the remote.

 Right where we left off~

We didn’t even get past week one before we encountered the “Viewer-Call-in-player-disqualified” scenario. Thus, stoking the rules debate that started last year. Too many rules, antiquated rules, convoluted rules, etc, but no 24 hour rule. I’m all for upholding traditions of the game but if tour officials haven’t got it right before Elvis has left the building, then the player should be able to play the next day. Rather than hire a rules official for each group, why not just lock one in a room with a TV while three others roam the course.

European Tour TV vs. PGA Tour TV~

            I’ll take European Coverage over PGA Tour coverage any day of the week and twice on Sunday. For one, I’ll take a Renton, Dougie (Doo-gee), and a Julian over a Gary, Peter, and Johnny when the subject is golf. Their economy of speech, choice of phrases, and accents make their broadcasts as easy as afternoon tea. The American broadcast is simply poorer by default of being American. American broadcasts are contrived, sometimes combative, and trite as a result. European tour coverage is smooth, supportive, and much more pleasant to the viewer. One exception on the American side is David Feherty, who is both smart and funny as any broadcaster in the business. No wonder the Golf Channel is after him.

Morning Drive 

            Golf channel’s Morning Drive has taken some heat despite only being on the air for a week. For one, people have said there is little magic between co-hosts Erik Kuselias and Gary Williams. Such criticism seems a little harsh for one week on the job. It’s not as if these two have worked together before. It’s an arranged marriage that will take time to develop or not. I like the concept though and it’s a welcomed addition to the endless morning reruns of Golf Central.

New wands for magical Mcdowell~

            It's the Indian, not the arrows. I don’t think that it will make a difference which irons Graeme Mcdowell uses. So long as he keeps his putter, all will be well. A 62 at the Tournament of Champions on Sunday proved my point.

“Exercise is cognitive candy.” ~ John Medina

Notes from John Medina’s New York Times Bestseller Brain Rules

            

           All of us at Crossfit understand the benefits of the paleo-diet on our overall health. It’s quite simple—we eat like hunter-gatherers because that’s how bodies are designed. But the Paleo-existence goes deeper than just the diet. It speaks to how our brain has developed—through exercise. Through the advancements in neuroscience we can say with certainty that exercise does in fact keep us mentally sharp. The body was built to move. Over 2 million years ago, Homo erectus was moving about 12 miles a day trying to look for food and avoiding being food for paleo-predators. When Homo erectus (our ancestor) was born, groups of people settled new areas of the world at an impressive clip of “25 miles per year.” What that means to us is that the evolution of mankind and our brain have developed over millions of years “under conditions where motion was a constant presence.” On an evolutionary scale, it took seconds to invent mass communication and fast food. People say that money is the root of all evil but it just might be the television, internet, and burger king as they are killing the hunter-gatherer body that we still inhabit. The point being is that exercise is just as “paleo” as the diet itself.

Exercise and the Brain

            What’s going in the brain when you exercise? Well, a number of things with long-term benefits, but first, let’s talk about energy. The human brain accounts for “2 percent body weight, yet it accounts for about 20 percent of the body’s total energy.” Put more simply, “When the brain is fully working, it uses more energy per unit of tissue weight than a fully exercising quadriceps.” The brain can live within reason without food or water, but not oxygen. The key to the whole system is blood flow. When you are exercising, you are increasing oxygen enriched blood flowing through your body.  The blood flow will cause the body to make more blood vessels, “which penetrate deeper and deeper into the tissues of the body…allowing more access to the bloodstream’s goods and services” including “food distribution and waste disposal.” In terms of cognitive function, the increased blood flow increases blood being delivered to the dentate gyrus region of the brain. The dentate gyrus region is “a friend” of the hippocampus—a part of the brain that is critical in memory formation. This works in conjunction with the Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor, which acts as “miracle grow” for brain neurons because it fertilizes the brain with a protein that, “keeps existing neurons young and healthy, making them much more willing to connect with one another.” In addition, “It also encourages neurogenesis, the formation of new cells in the brain.” What part of the brain benefits the most from this?  The hippocampus.

The Results

            “Exercisers outperform couch potatoes in tests that measure long-term memory, reasoning, attention, problem-solving, even so called fluid-intelligence tasks. These tasks test the ability to reason quickly and think abstractly, improvising on previously learned material in order to solve a new problem. Essentially, exercise improves a whole host of abilities prized in the classroom and at work.” Furthermore, in addition to reducing the chance of heart disease, exercising reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by 60 percent. Finally, exercising reduces strokes, the number one culprit of mental disability of the elderly, by 57 percent.

The brain runs the show and is the gateway to everything that we do. The good news is that by exercising, you’re keeping your cognitive functions sharp. The bad news is that exercising will not make us smarter, it will only make us normal.  This means I’m pretty much screwed.

~~ Finding Sergio

         

              Psychologists have noted that people remember the beginning and ending to a series, but not much in the middle. Let’s hope that Sergio Garcia can soon forget the middle of his career and start composing a memorable ending. If not, it will be a great loss to the golfing community.

           In a recent European Tour Broadcast, Sergio was once again the topic of discussion as he putted out on eighteen for his final round of the year. “Sergio must get back to finding a passion for the game” they mused, and I agreed. “Look at Lee Westwood” as he battled back from renting the basement floor of the world rankings. Why stop there. You might as well throw in a couple of boys from down under as well—Stuart Appleby and Adam Scott--who have won this year. And don’t forget two-time “comeback player of the year”, Steve Stricker. All are suitable examples for Sergio to follow except for one thing, and it pains me to write it even from the comfy confines of my couch. The truth is that Sergio will not be another “comeback” story until he shows the thing the aforementioned have already displayed---CHARACTER.

          The busting Sergio that scissor kicked his way around Medinah with youthful enthusiasm has been replaced not with maturity, but with youthful petulance. You remember the quotes. There were the golf gods at Carnoustie—“I'm playing against a lot of guys out there, more than the field. It's funny how some guys hit the pin and go to a foot. Mine hits the pin and goes 20 feet away." Don’t forget the unlucky guy raking the bunker who took “forever” and left poor Sergio to wait an eternity to play his final shot into eighteen.  There were USGA officials at the US Open at Bethpage—“If it was raining that hard on Tiger, they would have called it.” Self sabotage is self sabotage whether you’re Sergio Garcia or John Daly. At least Daly doesn’t blame anyone but himself. He even blamed his putting woes on his recent weight loss. He said that he putted better when he was fat because he could rest his arms right on his “love handles.”

          Instead, Sergio refuses to look in the mirror for the same reasons Tiger said he was afraid to look in the mirror—“for fear of what he might find.” Sergio’s real problem is that you don’t find character like you found your lost golf swing. Character is revealed through time like the “Madonna” or the “Thinker.”  Or like Jack Nicholas and Arnold Palmer. Sergio has bigger problems than not winning golf tournaments. First he needs to find a mirror.