Swing by Swing Golf

Tiger Woods & Stevie Wonder are in a bar. Tiger says to Stevie, "How's the singing career going?" Stevie replies, "Not too bad. How's the golf?" Woods replies, "I've had some problems with my swing, but I think I've got that right, now." Stevie: "I always find that when my swing goes wrong, I need to stop playing for a while and not think about it. Then, the next time I play, it seems to be all right." Incredulous, Tiger says, "You play GOLF?" Stevie: "Yes, I've been playing for years." Tiger: "But you're blind. How can you play golf if you can't see?" Stevie: "Well, I get my caddy to stand in the middle of the fairway and call to me. I listen for the sound of his voice and play the ball towards him. Then, when I get to where the ball lands, the caddy moves to the green or farther down the fairway and again I play the ball towards his voice." "But, how do you putt" asks Tiger. "Well", says Stevie, "I get my caddy to lean down in front of the hole and call to me with his head on the ground and I just play the ball towards his voice." Tiger: "What's your handicap?" Stevie: "Well, actually, I'm a scratch golfer." Woods says to Stevie, "We've got to play a round sometime." Stevie: "Well, people don't take me seriously, so I only play for money, and never play for less than $10,000 a hole. Is that a problem?" Woods thinks about it and says, "I can afford that; OK, I'm game for that... $10,000 a hole is fine with me. When would you like to play?" Stevie: "Pick a night."

Never Hit a Chip Fat Again

Hitting chip shots fat is a byproduct of your full swing. 

Short game guru Dave Pelz explains that your club typically bottoms out near the front of your swing when you’re making a full move. However, the static nature of a short chip shot results in the club bottoming out further back in your stance.

As a result, Pelz recommends moving the ball closer to your back foot in order to counteract the club bottoming out earlier. 

Teeing a ball up in your mouth can only go one of two ways. If you’re letting a professional golfer such as John Daly or Paige Spiranac hit the shot, you might walk away with all your chiclets still in tact.

However, if you’re this guy and you’re letting one of your friends try to pick that ball off of a tee sticking out of your mouth, this could happen.

NURSE! 

(Thanks to @golfgrinders for sharing.)

Not too long ago, Jim Herman was a mini tour wash out, folding shirts as the club pro at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey. On Sunday at the Shell Houston Open, however, Herman was a long way from that pro shop. He was a PGA Tour winner.

Holding a piece of the 54-hole lead, Herman stood toe-to-toe with the likes of Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson down the stretch and beat them. A final-round 4-under par 68 was as clutch as it gets, playing the last eight holes in 3-under par. 

The win was the culmination of a long journey for Herman whose next stop will be at Augusta National for his first Masters this week.

Full highlights can be seen here and the complete leaderboard is available here. 

Lydia Ko Sets More Records

Six months after becoming the youngest major winner in the LPGA history, Lydia Ko became the youngest to win two. The 18-year old Kiwi came from behind to edge In Gee Chun and Charley Hull by a stroke to win the ANA Inspiration.

The win was Ko’s third worldwide this year, her 12th LPGA Tour win and her 17th as a professional. Once again, she’s 18. 

The ANA was her second major championship victory in a row after winning the Evian Championship last season. After a slow start to her career in the majors — by her standards — Ko has figured out how to win on the game’s biggest stages.

And she’s only 18. 

Rory McIlroy’s New Commercial Shows What It Takes To Be Great

Rory McIlroy is insanely talented and extremely fortunate to have lived the golfing life that he has, but none of that would be possible without the behind-the-scenes work he has put in.

In his new Nike commercial, you get a peek behind the curtain to see what makes Rory tick — the 5:30 wake-up calls, the nasty green drinks, the workouts and practice.

So, the next time you see these guys on TV and say, “they have the easiest job in the world,” think again.

Pour In Putts With the Right Speed

We’ve all heard the “18 inches past the hole” rule, but is that the best speed to hole the most putts? PGA Professional Brady Riggs doesn’t think so. 

A ball carrying that much speed has more of a tendency to catch the edge of the hole and lip out. 

“Pour it in, don’t slam it in.”

The new golfer asked the pro, "How much for a golf lesson?" "They're 13 lessons for $150 or a single lesson for $1,000." "Why do you charge $1,000 for a single lesson yet offer a series for only $150?!" "If you expect to learn golf in one lesson, you're expecting a miracle. And if you're expecting a miracle, you should expect to pay for one."

Jim Herman and Jamie Lovemark hold their Masters Invitations in their hands as they lead a bunched leaderboard heading into Sunday at the Shell Houston Open. 

18 players are within five shots of the lead (-11) at the Golf Club of Houston, including Henrik Stenson (-10), Dustin Johnson (-10), Rickie Fowler (-7) and Jordan Spieth (-6). Phil Mickelson is 5-under par. 36-hole leader Charley Hoffman is three shots back.

The complete leaderboard can be found here. 

Hit Flop Shots Stone Dead

The flop shot is one of the most difficult, yet revered short game shots in golf. U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell warns against forcing the shot too often, but allows that there are times when the flop is the required shot type.

McDowell runs you through the basics of the flop that will bail you out from a short-sided approach.

A golfer is walking down to his golf course, carrying his clubs, when he sees an Arab being held up at gunpoint. He pulls out a wedge, creeps up behind the gunman and smashes it over the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. "You probably saved my life," says the grateful Arab. "I am a member of the Saudi Royal Family and I have the power and money to give you anything you desire as a reward." The golfer glances at his golf bag. "Well, some golf clubs would be nice," he says. Two weeks later, the Sheikh's secretary calls up. We've got your golf clubs," she says, "but the Sheikh would like to apologise to you in advance: two of them don't have swimming pools."

Hilarious Golf Prank

Golf can be too serious sometimes. Luckily, the guys from BigDawsTV won’t let that happen on their watch. The guys went out to their local course and created a little havoc. 

Relive Jordan Spieth’s Best Shots on a Golf Simulator

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hit a putt to win the Masters, the U.S. Open or the Tour Championship? Now you can.

Under Armour partnered with Full Swing Golf, a leading golf simulator company, to install a simulator in UA’s Brand House in Chicago. It won’t be your run-of-the-mill hit the ball and watch it virtually fly away, however. It will be Spieth-centric.

The simulator will replicate “famous putts throughout the past few years and provide Brand House visitors a chance to mimic what Jordan would experience on the course,” UA said in a release.

UA and Full Swing Golf plan to roll out other simulators around the country. 

Rickie Fowler Has a Pimento Cheese Sandwich Addiction

For one week a year, pimento cheese sandwiches are hyped up to be a culinary masterpiece. However, if you’re to believe Mercedes-Benz’s new ad, every week is Masters week at Rickie Fowler’s house.

The world No. 5 opens his fridge to find it fully stocked with water and the Masters’ staple sandwich.

Golf nutrition continues to amaze.

(Thanks to GolfDigest for bringing this to our attention.)

A guy was getting ready to tee off on the first hole when a second golfer approached and asked if he could join him. The first said that he usually played alone, but agreed to the twosome. They were even after the first few holes. The second guy said, "We're about evenly matched, how about playing for five bucks a hole?" The first guy said that he wasn't much for betting, but agreed to the terms. The second guy won the remaining sixteen holes with ease. As they were walking off number eighteen, the second guy was busy counting his $80.00. He confessed that he was the pro at a neighboring course and liked to pick on suckers. The first fellow revealed that he was the Parish Priest. The pro was flustered and apologetic, offering to return the money. The Priest said, "You won fair and square and I was foolish to bet with you. You keep your winnings." The pro said, "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" The Priest said, "Well, you could come to Mass on Sunday and make a donation. And, if you want to bring your mother and father along, I'll marry them."

Hit Consistent Long Irons

Long irons are difficult to hit, plain and simple. At least as amateurs, we have the option to move up a tee box or two. For Ian Woosnam — a 29-time winner on the European Tour — that wasn’t an option.

The “Wee Welshman” had to become prodigious with his long irons to keep up with the longer hitters on Tour. He has a few tips that will have you hitting those long irons more consistently. 

Bubba Watson To Be Profiled On 60 Minutes

Bubba Watson is one of the most polarizing players on the PGA Tour. From his prodigious drives to his scatterbrained neurosis, Watson can endear himself to fans with his southern charm while at the same time turn others off with his paranoid antics.

How was that for a 60 Minutes introduction?

We’ll see how close it is to Sharyn Alfonsi’s actual lead-in on Sunday night. Sometime between 7 and 8 p.m. on CBS, the news magazine will profile the two-time Masters champion. 

A longer version of the profile will air on Monday night on 60 Minutes Sports on Showtime.