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The Match Recap / World Cup of Golf Recap

November 27, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

The Match

Well the most hyped round of golf in the history of the sport happened last Friday and I am going to say it: it was a bit of a letdown. The golf portion of the match wasn’t bad even though both Tiger and Phil shot around even par. But this event was made out to be a look behind the curtain into the world of the PGA with everyone being mic’d up. The trash talking was supposed to be next level stuff and the side bets were going to blow everyone’s minds. In reality, I don’t think there was a more awkward conversation in the history of the world than Tiger and Phil’s exchange walking up the fairway on hole 1.

If you missed it, they talked about their kids awkwardly, then moved on, then circled back to the awkward kid stuff because it was the lesser of the awkwardness. The side bets seemed more forced than anything and the trash talking was non-existent. The most surprising thing the mics picked up was the wounded buffalo taking its last breaths just off camera for most of the round. Oh, that was just Phil Mickelson breathing as he gingerly walked a golf course? Yikes….

Slow Start

But anyways, let’s recap what happened. The first hole had an intriguing side bet where Phil said he would birdie the 1^st and tiger bet him 200K he wouldn’t. Well, Phil had a chance for birdie but like we would see the rest of the round – both players could not figure out these greens. Phil made par, losing 200K in the process.

Phil drew first blood on the 2^nd hole when Tiger lipped out a short part putt. Fast forward through some pretty boring golf for 14 holes (yes, I just skipped 14 holes in my recap – I said it was a letdown). The takeaways from those holes were Phil has never drove the ball better than he did last Friday and Tiger looked more like the 1199^th ranked player in the world than the 13^th ranked player. Then we came to hole 17 and like I mention almost every week……..

Everything. Is. Scripted.

Tiger Woods chipped in for birdie to halve the match heading into 18. Tiger generously gave Phil a knee knocker for par on the 18^th hole to force extra cups. After halving the 1^st extra hole they went under the lights on a short par 3 that they would play over and over until they had a winner. It looked like Phil was going to win with par, but he gave Tiger a long par putt because he “didn’t want to win that way” which for 9 million dollars I wouldn’t be complaining how I won. My opponent could have dropped dead on the 2^nd tee and I would have been making a bee line for the cheque presentation spot.

Anyways, the match went on for a couple more holes until Phil finally drained a birdie putt to win the match. Seemed like the perfect time for Phil to bust out the classic 3-inch vert, double fist pump celebration but it was just another way “The Match” disappointed. Although, I have a feeling this might spawn a few more matches in the future. Dj vs Brooks? Moliwood? Jordan vs Justin? Either way, they have options. The only question left unanswered is what did Tiger hand that woman in the front row. A room number, his phone number maybe? And should Tiger’s 6 out of 10 girlfriend be worried he is reverting back to his waffle house days?

World Cup of Golf

The Match wasn’t the only golf going on this past weekend. The ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf was played down unda this weekend. You guys know what that means…..the return of watching golf at night! Now I know most of you are asking: “What is the World Cup of Golf?”, and that is a fair question. Apparently it is an event that takes place every two years or sometimes every three years or sometimes every year. That is besides the point, it is a team event tournament that pits countries against each other in 2 rounds of best ball and 2 rounds of alternate shot golf for world golf supremacy; even though a lot of golf’s top stars skip the event.

Fun Fact: it was created by a Canadian way back in 1953 and was called the Canada Cup until 1967. This year’s tournament was won by the team of Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry from Belgium. Not only do they share a name, they were teammates on the university of Illinois golf team and best friends. Not sure there would be much things better than winning a PGA tour team event with your best buddy. The Tom’s finished 23 under par and 3 shots ahead of second place Australia who were the favorites entering the tournament with the Big Cat Marc Leishman and the Boy Mannequin Cam Smith representing the host country. For winning the World Cup of Golf Tom and Tom took home $1.12 million each and the largest trophy I have ever seen.

Notables

With such a small field and being teams of two there is not many noteworthy finishes this week, but I will touch on a few. The Danes seem to like this tournament style. They won the dang thing in 2016 and if it wasn’t for a terrible Friday in absolutely nasty playing conditions, they likely win the thing again this year. Team Europe might want to consider Soren Kjeldsen for a captains pick to pair with Thorbjorn Olesen in two years if they want to retain the Ryder Cup.

One of the hottest golfers in golf and probably a Top 3 player on the DTG Bronel world golf ranking Abraham Ancer put his partner Roberto Diaz and his 742^nd world ranking on his back and carried them to a T2 finish. The Canadian team did better than most probably expected. The Canadian cut making machine Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor finished in a tie for 4^th. Si Woo Kim and Ben An not only look the same, they play very similar as well. That symmetry helped them finish tied for 6^th.

There were a couple teams leaving Australia feeling like they could have done better. England and the USA both were favorites to be in contention this week but known turkeys Tyrell Hatton and Ian Poulter finished 8 strokes back of the winners. And the lovable Doofus Matt Kuchar and Kyle Stanley finished 14 shots back. Got to think both those countries wished they had better players representing them given the options they have.

TFCO Award

Now it is time for the thanks for coming out award. I almost want to give it to whoever was handling the payments for the match because that was a complete schmozzle and if I don’t give it to them. Most people will think I will go with the obvious choice (Team Greece) in the World Cup of Golf. I mean they finished +19 and a whopping 42 strokes off the lead, but they weren’t even supposed to play in the tournament. They were a 3^rd or 4^th alternate and Peter Kamis – the highest ranked Greek player ranked 242^nd in the world and he got to pick his partner. I am pretty sure he either picked a close friend or just picked up a stranger on the way to the airport because Alexander Tranacher is ranked 2012^th in the world. They shot 87 and 86 in the alternate shot. But you got to think that was too be expected.

So, I am going off the board and giving the thanks for coming out award this week to team Germany. This is a team that features the most successful golfer in the entire tournament – two-time major winner Martin Kaymer. Sure, he has fallen from grace a little bit, but he could pick any German player he wanted. He chose Maximilian Kieffer and they ended up finishing 26^th out of 28^th and 25 strokes off the lead. But the main reason they get this award is like I said he could have picked any German golfer and he left Bernhard Langer on the table. I don’t care how old Bernhard is, if he is available you beg him to be on that team. That is the move that seals their fate for this illustrious award this week. Come on Martin!

Into the break we go…..

That wraps up the last week of serious golf and what a way to go out. The Tiger and Phil match had some flaws, but it was good for those two to be the guinea pigs because if it was any other two golfers and it went down like it did, that idea would be dead in the water. The World Cup of Golf is what it is, and the big names will likely never all play at the same time. BUT it brought back night golf for a weekend and that is fine by me. Tiger is back in action next week hosting his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

The RSM Classic Recap

November 20, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Chuckie Three Sticks

Chuckie GD Three Sticks!!!! Show me a better nickname on the PGA Tour, I’ll wait. Once one of the most talked about collegiate golfers in history, Charles Howell III, the 2001 PGA Tour rookie of the year, 18 years ago it seemed like was going to be the next guy to go toe to toe with Tiger. Fast forward to yesterday and Charles Howell III got only his 3^rd win on tour. While he might not be a household name like many thought he would be, with this win CH3 ranks 20^th on the all-time career earnings list. Which is incredible given he only has three wins and everyone ahead him on the list is a sure-fire golf Hall of Famer.

Almost History

Getting back to The RSM Classic, the tournament went to a 2-man playoff after Patrick Rodgers shot 61, 62 on the weekend to tie Howell. Chuckie three sticks had three chances to win the tournament with makeable putts. He left the first two short on the amateur side, but they say the third times a charm and CH3 canned one on the 2^nd playoff hole to win the tournament. For his troubles Howell took home $1.15 million dollars and the most generic looking golf trophy I have ever seen. Seriously though, I comment a lot on how stupid some of the trophies are, but I would much rather display one of those over something that looks like it was picked up at: insert random trophy store (Bazaar Novelty).

Patrick Rodgers would have set a record for the largest 36-hole deficit overcome if he won this weekend. He was 12 shots back after round 2 on Friday. Rodgers is still looking for his first win on the PGA Tour and what a story would this of been if he completed this come back. But don’t feel too bad for Patrick he still took home just shy of $700K and will be consoled by his actress fiancé.

Close But Not Quite

The Webb Simpson redemption tour of 2018 kept rolling at the RSM classic. Webb finished in solo 3^rd, which was his 10^th Top 10 finish during the 2018 calendar year. He was also Top 20 in all 4 majors and had a pretty good showing at the Ryder Cup. This is impressive considering how Webb has been all but forgotten since his US Open win.

I am starting to feel bad for the other rookies on the PGA Tour this year, considering the rookie of the year award is already locked up. Cam Champ had another Top 10 this week. I wonder if there will be a week he plays where he does not make the recap. A mediocre Sunday (starting to be a theme) cost Champ a shot at winning or a spot in the playoff.

Course horse Kevin Kisner showed why he is the all-time scoring leader at Sea Island. Another Top 10 finish for the guy who wishes every tournament was played at the Georgia Resort courses.

Rounding out the Top 10 and once again proving the DTG bump is a real thing is Zach Johnson. ZJ became the latest victim of the DTG boys asking what has he done lately? Being out of the winner’s circle since his British open win in 2015. ZJ was a couple uncharacteristic poor wedge shots on the back nine on Sunday away from being in the playoff as well.

Canadians Fare Well

While there was no standout Canadian this week like Hadwin last week, 4 of the 6 Canadians in the field did make the cut. The veteran of the Canadian contingency on tour, David Hearn, had a very respectable week finishing tied for 15^th. Corey Conners keeps proving me right, Mr. Inconsistency had one of his good weeks where the mechanics of the swing aligned, and he finished in a tie for 23^rd. Not sure a 6-8 week break before he can play again is what Conners wants right now.

Ben Silverman finished T46. A 2 over first round put him a little behind the 8-ball, but he can still go out and buy a fully loaded Kia Sportage with the cheque he cashed this week. Friend of the Pod Roger Sloan made the cut but never really got it going and I have to ask is if he was drinking coke would his game improve? The two not so fortunate Canadians this week were Adam Svensson and Mackenzie Hughes. Svensson missed the cut by 5 shots and Hughes missed by 13 shots. Nothing else to say here other than watch for Hughes popping up again later in the recap (sigh).

Notables

There were quite a few notable finishes and storylines from the RSM Classic. Let’s start with the biggest (literally and figuratively) of the week. Jason Gore showed up Thursday and said he is an insurance salesman, but he is here to play golf today. Gore was 1 shot back of the lead after Saturday and threatened to make it back to back weekends of turning back the clock until his final round 2 over round dropped him to 15^th. Not surprising but still disappointing because a Top 10 finish would have got him in a few more tournaments in 2019. But I bet every playing partner he had this week feels better about their life insurance premiums moving forward because you know the big man always be sellin.

Graeme McDowell really screwed the DTG content for later in the week. I was planning on having him in the latest where are they now installment but then he goes and finishes T11. Thanks Graeme. Tie for 15^th was a hot spot this week. Not only did Gore and Hearn finish there but King of the Silly Season Patton Kizzire, Mr. DQ Matt Every, Richy with a Y Werenski and most surprising of all the field filler who I am still certain is a fake name and person Anders A. Albertson all finished T15. The PGA tour was almost in a bind Sunday. If Triple A would have climbed any higher on the leaderboard they would have had to cut to Anders and it would just be a blank screen.

Fun Fact: there is no Wikipedia page for Anders Albertson. Just sayin.

Ernie Els was in this tournament?……Why? Dru Love finished tied for 54^th which is nothing to write home about but the fact he beat his old man Davis Love III by 2 shots is likely going to make for Thanksgiving banter later in the week. To be fair Davis could drop the hammer on him pretty quick if he wanted to. But I am not sure what type of dad DL3 is.

How bad is Wesley Bryan these days? He withdrew this week after 4 straight miss cuts leading into the RSM Classic. His game is starting to make Smylie Kaufman feel good.

Finally, we get to the thanks for coming out award. I was really hoping a Canadian would avoid ever receiving this award but the second round 80 by Mack Hughes takes the cake. Not one birdie and two 7s on the card that day on route to tying for dead last after 2 rounds. There were two other 80s in round 2 but both those players at least mixed in a birdie.

See You Soon

That wraps up the first half of the silly season as the PGA tour heads into a 6 week break before the Hawaii stretch to start off 2019. For a so-called silly season, it was quite entertaining. Multiple tournaments were decided in playoffs. There were a few first-time winners emerge, a few of the studs won and a couple old dogs turned back the clock to win again on the PGA Tour. If the 2019 season is half as exciting as the first 7 weeks were, buckle up because we are in for a wild season.

Episode 39 – Tiger Phil Match Preview

November 20, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:53:34 0 Comments

In the latest episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

RSM Classic Recap

Chuckie Three Sticks Victory
Lucas Glover Gets a Kiss?
Anders Albertson is not a real person

Tiger Phil Match Preview!

Bronel breaks down his Top 5 Tiger and Phil Moments
We make our picks

Picks

Harv wins again. This is getting old fast.
World Cup of Golf Picks

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Episode 38 – Turning Back The Clock

November 13, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:50:59 0 Comments

In this weeks Drive The Green Golf Podcast:

Turn Back The Clock!

Matt Kuchar wins a golf tournament
Lee Westwood wins a golf tournament
Vijay Singh wins a golf tournament

Ultimate Foursome! – We select 3 individuals each who have turned back the clock.

Picks

Harv wins. Water Wet.
RSM Classic Picks

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Mayakoba Golf Classic Recap

November 13, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Kuchar Hears The Critics

Really excited to write this week’s recap because it is official…PGA Tour players listen to and read DTG content! There is no one in the world who can convince me it is a coincidence that the DTG boys mention how Matt Kuchar might be in for a long 10-year sled on the PGA Tour before he gets to the Champions Tour and then he goes out and wins the very next tournament. He definitely read or listened and won to prove us wrong. Case Closed.

If any other PGA Tour players want a pre-tournament critique by the DTG boys to help fill the trophy case, our social media handles are on the website. Feel free to reach out.

Back to the recap of the Mayakoba Classic from El Camaleon Golf Course in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. As I mentioned above Matt Kuchar went wire to wire to capture his 8^th career win and his first win in almost 5 years. But Matt wasn’t the only Kuchar to have a good week, as his wife Sybi crossed “being a caddie on the PGA Tour” off her bucket list. Not for Matt, but rather for Zach Johnson. After his regular caddy couldn’t handle the Mexico heat, Sybi stepped in and looped for ZJ for the final four holes. Side note: ZJ was 2 under on those last four holes. Tough to decide who had the better week in the Kuchar household. However, Matt did cash a $1.26 million-dollar cheque and take home some creepy looking chameleon trophy.

Lack of Drama

Another tournament where the leader had a very impressive week with rounds of 64, 64, 65, 69 and did not run away with the tournament. The New Zealander Danny Lee (let that sink in) was one shot back and can look back to the failed up and down on the Par 3 14^th in the final round as the reason he didn’t force a playoff.

I was already impressed with JJ Spaun after he took control of the PGA Tour Instagram account on Thursday or Friday and was filming himself biking around the resort and course but then he finished T3 with Richy (with a Y) Werenski. Jim Furyk showed this week he isn’t just a marginal Ryder cup captain, he can still play with his T6 finish.

Cameron Champ continues to turn heads with another solid finish this week at T10. In four tournaments this season, Champ has a win, a T10, and finished no worse than 28^th but is probably wondering why/how he is only 2^nd in tour driving distance. Rounding out the Top 10 was Canadian Adam Hadwin, who looks to be back in his cut making machine form. I got a feeling it will be another good year for Hadwin this year.

Canadians Struggle

Speaking of Canadians, it was a week of what could have been for Canada on the tour this week. The other 5 Canadians in the tournament missed the cut. BUT, Roger Sloan, Nick Taylor, and Adam Svensson all missed by 1 measly shot. While Taylor and Svensson never really got it going this week. Friend of the Pod Roger Sloan put himself behind the 8 ball on Thursday. Stormed back with a 7 under 64 on Friday and if the cut line didn’t move late on Friday it would have been interesting to see what Roger could have done on the weekend after heating up like that.

Mack Hughes missed the cut by 3 shots and I feel bad, but Corey Conners keeps proving me right as he missed the cut by 5 shots. I fully expect Conners to contend in a tournament again this year but will likely follow that up with a missed cut. Guy is the definition of inconsistent with that swing. Having said that good luck to all the Canadians in their next tournament they play.

Notables

There were some good and bad notable finishes to discuss this week. Let’s start with the bad…..Jordan Spieth missed the cut this week. October golf has not been kind to Jordan Spieth with a T55 finish last week and a missed cut this week. He did also just kick all of his entourage out of his mansion in Texas because he fiancé is moving in. I will let the readers decide whether it is that or October golf that is causing his poor finishes. This next one could be good or bad, but I don’t want to meet the person who actually thinks this is good.

Anyways, perennial contender for the mount Rushmore of PGA tour turds Pat Perez finished T6 this week. Harold Varner III also finished in a tie for 6^th. Speaking of HV3. If I told you to describe what a guy looks like who was 5’8”, 170, born in Akron, Ohio, has a business degree from East Carolina University and was named Harold Varner the third and you correctly described what he looked like I would give you all the money in my bank account.

Speaking of bank accounts, while Rickie Fowler had a decent finish at T16 he cost DTG member Bronel all the money in his bank account since he guaranteed a top 10 out of Rickie this week. Yikes. Tony Finau was also tied for 16^th. Two tournaments in a row now without a top ten for Tony. Are you feeling ok Tony?

Last year’s champ and king of the silly season Patton Kizzire finished T55. Other notable T55 finishes this week were fake PGA Tour player and field filler Anders A. Albertson, FOTP Rory Sabbatini, and front runner for best name on tour, Mexico’s own, Jose de Jesus Rodriquez. The top Mexican this week was Abraham Ancer which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. I challenge the readers to name another Mexican pro golfer after Ancer and JDJR since I mentioned him above.

Finally, we get to the thanks for coming out award of the week. In what was one of the easiest decisions since the inception of the award. Shintaro Ban takes the award home this week after making the cut and finishing dead last this week. While he was only 28 strokes off the lead, which is low for the usual recipient of this award. It was the fact he made an 11 on a par 5 this week in a real tin cup moment after hitting 3 shots out of bounds off the tee that locked him in for the TFCO award.

We’re Off To Georgia

That about wraps up the recap of the Mayakoba Classic. In summary, Matt Kuchar listens to DTG, the chameleon trophy is a little creepy, Cam Champ looks to be the real deal and Pat Perez is a turd.

I wanted to touch on one more puzzling thing this week. Last week I mentioned with Justin Rose’s win he put himself in position to win the Fedex Cup and Race to Dubai in the same year. But word came out yesterday that because of where Haotong Li and Rory Mcilroy finished in the Nedbank Golf Challenge it was now only a two-horse race between between Fran Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood for the race to Dubai. Justin Rose chose not to play this week and basically forfeited any chance at being able to claim both tours top honours. Seems like a very puzzling thing to me considering both tours slow right down in December. So, Rose could have played this week and probably still needed to win next week to have a chance but then could take some time off before the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January.

Anyways, don’t forget to listen to this week’s podcast and I’ll be back next week to recap The RSM Classic.

Episode 37 – ROGER SLOAN

November 7, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 1:06:40 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

Shriners Hospital for Children Open Recap

Bryson – is he cool now?
Lucas Glover off the couch?
Sam Ryder style on point

In The News

Paulina and DJ are back!
Rosie being Rosie

ROGER SLOAN – PGA TOUR

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Shriners Hospital for Children Open Recap

November 5, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Bryson Dechambeau Is A Force

What happens in Vegas hopefully doesn’t stay in Vegas. That is what known cool guy off the course, and complete friggin putz on the course Bryson Dechambeau probably thought to himself after winning the Shriners Hospital for Children Open (SHCO) on Sunday. Dechambeau is rising the ranks on the likability scale for his off-course antics. First, he dressed up as Rickie Fowler on Halloween and asking Rickie himself for an autograph. Then, he spent extra time with kids from the Shriners hospital in attendance even before he won. Lastly, he made eagle on 16 and did a fist pump that rivals Tiger’s.

But then you remember his swing, his clubs, his outfits and all the other science gimmicks he tries to incorporate, and you realized you are pissed he won this weekend.

But Bryson won none the less, took home 1.26 million dollars and a crystal jug style trophy that ranks somewhere in the middle of the quality of trophy rankings. With rounds of 66, 66, 65, 66 for a -21 finish you would have thought he ran away with this tournament. But, Patrick Cantlay went toe to toe with Bryson all day Sunday and this tournament was shaping up
to be another playoff finish. Until Cantlay bogeyed two of his last 8 holes to finish one stroke behind Bryson in the end.

Close Finish

Now before you all say Cantlay would have been an out of nowhere winner, he is the defending champion at this tournament. So, it is safe to say he enjoys Las Vegas.

Sam Ryder finished two shots back after shooting a final round 62. What is even more
impressive is he played this round wearing no socks and pants that make Tony Finau’s pants
look long. Come PGA, time to intervene! Guys are getting pretty fast and loose with the dress
code here. I mean I am sure Sam Ryder has been dressing like this for a few years. I guess that is the perks of never contending. Your outfits never get ripped apart by some random Canadian
Golf podcast. Having said that Ryder has two Top 5 finishes this year, so we might get to see
how short these pants will get in the future.

Rickie Fowler finished in a tie for 4th which isn’t bad considering the announcers had written him off early Saturday saying he just didn’t have it this week. Rickie tied for 4th with Abraham Ancer who seems to be heating up again heading into next week’s tournament in his home and native Mexico. And Robert Streb, who I am only mentioning because I picked him in our DTG picks, and helped clinch the week win for me. Way to go Robert!

Who told Ryan Palmer that Las Vegas was in Texas? The Texas course horse had a
great week finishing T7 and Lucas Glover took home 218k for his T7 finish. Is that going to be
enough to keep his wife at bay? Or is she going to point out he shot even par Sunday and left a
lot of money on the table with that score, anyways Pray for Lucas.

Rough Week For Team Canada

There were five Canadians in the field this week. Only one of them made the cut. Nick Taylor
finished T36 and took home 32k and a couple FedEx cup points for his troubles. Mack Hughes
missed the cut by 1 shot. Adam Svensson and Roger Sloan missed by 2 shots. You got to feel for Roger Sloan though. It is tough to compete in a professional golf tournament when his week peaked on Wednesday when he was interviewed by none other than Martin B. Ballgame from DTG (check out this week’s podcast for the interview). Corey Connors missed the cut by 4 shots which is kind of bitter sweet. It’s too bad he missed the cut BUT last week I said his swing was too inconsistent for him to be a constant performer. So, thanks for proving me right Corey and go get’em next tournament.

Notables

There were a few other notable finishes this week. Jordan Spieth made his first October start
ever and what did he get for his efforts? A T55 finish and now he is looking up at Tiger Woods in the world golf rankings. The good news is he is getting right back on the donkey in Mexico this week.

Last week’s winner Cameron Champ looked like he was ready to show the world he was
here to be taken seriously being in contention all week. But a Sunday stumble left him in a tie
for 28th . Watch out though because he is going to be tough to beat no matter who is in the field if he puts all aspects of his game together in the same week.

Apparently, Tony Finau was in this tournament. Not too often does he play in a tournament and be completely irrelevant like he was this week. I don’t even think they showed one shot of his on route to a T36.

The Lovable Doofus Matt Kuchar was also in this tournament. Is it just me or is that guy riding off into the sunset already? Fun Fact: Kuchar has not won on the PGA Tour for almost 5 years now and still has a decade before he can play on the Champions Tour. Could be a long 10 years for ol’ Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccchhhhhh.

Top 3 turd on tour Kevin Na missed the cut. LOL.

And of course, the thanks for coming out award. At first, I was going to give it Preston Otte who shot a smooth 85 on Day 1 which was 22 shots worse than the best score of the day. He followed that up with a 79 on Friday. But I cannot give him the award because he is the head pro at TPC Summerlin and not a PGA tour professional. So, that means the thanks for coming out award goes to Ryan Blaum who made the cut and finished dead last, 24 strokes behind Bryson Dechambeau.

Will You Accept This Rose?

Another exciting week on the PGA tour this week. Especially with it still being the so-called silly
season. Hate him or love him you got to respect what Bryson has done in the past calendar
year. 4 wins in 2018 is pretty insane. What is even more insane is that Justin Rose won on the
Euro tour this week at the Turkish Airlines Open and with only two tournaments left in the
season Justin Rose has positioned himself to have a real good chance to win the Fedex Cup and the Race to Dubai in the same season. Something that has only been accomplished by one
other person and that was Henrik Stenson in 2013. So if you are having a tough time getting
amped to watch the silly season on the PGA tour wake up early the next two weeks and watch
Justin Rose try and leap frog Moliwood and make history.

Where Are They Now? – Volume Two

November 2, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Volume Two

In the latest installment of “Where are they now?”, we look at two players who somehow managed to win golf’s oldest major in a time where that tournament was dominated by Tiger and other future hall of fame golfers. From the year 2000-2009, the British Open was won by Tiger three times, Padraig Harrington twice, David Duval and Ernie Els once each. I would wager a substantial amount of money most readers could not remember who the other two winners during that time frame was. Without hopping on the ol google machine, of course. But don’t worry, we have you covered.

Ben Curtis

First up is the 2003 Open Championship winner…………….Ben Curtis. I know most of you are saying to yourself “WHO?”. But, Ben Curtis is a pretty fascinating story. He was a highly touted amateur golfer who seemed to be heading towards a career of irrelevancy. It took him 3 years to earn his PGA tour card but he accomplished it at the end of the 2002 season. But even to start the 2003 season he struggled. Being more of a field filler than a legitimate threat to win. Until a T13 finish at the Western Open which qualified him for the British open two weeks later.

And. That’s. when. It. All. Changed. Curtis was a 300-1 longshot to win the British Open that week, but everyone loves an underdog story, right? Curtis shot a final round 69 to hold off Thomas Bjorn, Vijay Singh, DL3 and some guy named Tiger woods. With the win Curtis became one of 3 people ever to win a major in their first attempt.

This win also vaulted Curtis from 396^th in the world to 35^th. The biggest jump ever since they started recording the rankings. He was named 2003 PGA tour rookie of the year for his troubles.

So, then what happened? If I had not done any research, I would have said this is where Curtis faded into oblivion and lost his card but apparently not. He had three more wins on tour (2006 Booz Allen Classic, 2006 84 Lumber Classic, 2012 Valero Texas Open) and was a part of the 2008 Ryder cup team, which was a band of misfits that somehow defeated the heavily favored European team 16.5-11.5. Curtis went 1-1-1 during that event.

After the win in 2012 the wheels started to fall off for Ben Curtis. I guess I was only off by a decade when I figured he started to decline. From everything I have read it seems like the grind of traveling took its toll on Curtis. Leaving his family every week started making him hate the game to the point where he was not cashing cheques and if he wasn’t cashing cheques why leave the family.

So Ben Curtis quit playing golf competitively and decided to set up an academy to teach golf. Not just the fundamentals of the golf swing but to teach young players about how to be a professional golfer and what to expect if they make golf a career. From PGA rookie of the year to leaving the game on his terms to do something he loves. I wouldn’t feel too bad for Ben Curtis if I was you.

Todd Hamilton

Next up is the 2004 Open Championship winner……………..Todd Hamilton. Once again, a resounding “WHO?” is heard. Todd Hamilton turned pro in 1987 but could not qualify for the PGA tour. So, instead of grinding on the mini tours and make little to no money, he went overseas and played on a variety of international tours. He spent most of his time on the Japanese tour and fun fact: he ranks 2^nd in all-time money earned for a non-Japanese player on that tour. Although this is impressive it is not why Hamilton makes the list.

For whatever reason in 2003 Todd Hamilton tried for an 8^th time to qualify for the PGA Tour and guess what? The 8^th time is a charm. After qualifying Hamilton won his first tournament on the PGA tour the 2004 Honda Classic. A fairly notable tournament win for sure, but let’s get to the reason he made this article. Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a 4-hole playoff to win the 2004 British Open. Let that sink in. Els had just won the British 2 years earlier and was playing some of his best golf. The first page of that leaderboard also had FIGJAM (Phil), Westwood, DL3, Goosen, Mike Fuggin Weir, and Tiger woods on it. So, Hamilton didn’t knock off a bunch of scrubs to capture the Claret Jug.

Fun Fact #2: Hamilton has gone on record saying he is aware of 5 people who bet on him to win that week. I wonder what that pay day was? The two wins on tour in 2004 resulted in Todd Hamilton being named PGA Tour rookie of the year, just like Ben Curtis was the year before.

That is where the similarities between Hamilton and Curtis end. Curtis went on to carve a modest career. Hamilton played in 187 more PGA Tour events and missed the cut in 111 of them. Resulting in Hamilton losing his exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2010. Some might think Hamilton’s career was over before it really even got started. Let’s not forget he was 38 when he won that British open and had been playing professionally for 16 years. Others would say it was the perfect ending to a career of plugging away and doing everything he could to make a living playing golf. Hamilton became eligible to play on the Champions tour in 2015 and is still competing at the ripe old age of 53. The real question is will this guy ever stop playing golf.

Stay Tuned

This crosses off a couple more guys that HAD to be a part of this series. Sooner or later we are going to find some guys who went from moderately successful PGA tour player to gas station attendant. As always if any reader has a guy that comes to mind that should be showcased in this series do not hesitate to reach out to the DTG boys via social media.

WGC – HSBC Champions Recap

November 1, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Schauffele Tracks Down Finau

Another weekend of late-night PGA tour watching, and it was another tournament that ended in a playoff. It seems like a tournament can only finish one of two ways this year so far, Either a run away or in a playoff. The WGC – HSBC Champions was no different. Xander Schauffele knocked off Tony Finau in a 1-hole playoff to capture his 3^rd win on tour in his career and wrap up the Asian swing of the 2018 Schedule. There was nothing special or dominant with how Schauffele maneuvered himself around the Sheshan International Golf Course but he kept himself in the mix all week and when Mr. Top 10 Tony Finau faltered late on Sunday (or Saturday for those watching at home) Schauffele was able to take advantage, cash a cheque for 1.8 million and have some extra carry-on luggage for the flight to Hawaii.

He Did It Again?!!!

Speaking of Mr. Top 10 Tony Finau, when will this guy get a win? At this point it seems like he is trying not to win, just to see how much money he can make and top 10s he can accumulate before actually hoisting a trophy again. Because how can someone play this good for this long and not have a win during this span? This is a serious question that someone needs to explain to me because it boggles my mind that Tony Finau does not have a win in the last 12 months.

Surprise, Surprise Justin Rose finished in the top 5 of another tournament. Is there a more consistent golfer in the world right now? DJ and Brooks might have the sex appeal, but Justin Rose is legit. Fun fact: Going back to July 2017 Justin Rose has finished outside the top 20 four times in tournaments he has played. So, it should be no surprise he finished in solo 3^rd place at this tournament and was in contention on Sunday.

Rounding out the top 5 was the “Muffin Man”/ “The Barn Rat”/ the furthest thing from a Thai lady boy; Kiradech Aphibarnrat and a guy most would think was the service manager at their local Chevy dealership if they heard his name; Andrew Putnam. Both those guys were solid all week to finish in a tie for 4^th.

Notables

This leads us to the other notable finishes at the WGC-HSBC Champions. Keegan Bradley continued his redemption tour to become relevant again with a 6^th place finish. I cannot comment on whether he has shed any more weight though. Tommy Fleetwood who is quickly becoming one of, if not the coolest guy on tour (the video of Justin Rose saying Tommy Fleetwood’s name to the beat of 2 Unlimited – no limit is a must find if you haven’t seen it) stumbled on Sunday with a 3 over but still finished in a tie for 7^th.

Another guy who finished tied for 7^th was Media villain number 1 Patrick Reed. In an effort to keep up his least likable guy on tour persona Fatso brushed off the media who asked him about the Ryder cup this week saying he is only focused on the race to Dubai now. Oh, and he also shot 77 on Sunday to completely fall out of the running for this tournament LOL. In a shocking result, Thomas Pieters didn’t break any clubs this week even though he finished 74 74 on the weekend.

I am sure if someone would have told lone Canadian in the field Adam Hadwin, he would be tied with Dustin Johnson at the end of the tournament he would be pumped. That tie happened, unfortunately it was for 30^th place with a four-round total of three over par. Race to Dubai leader Fran Molinari had a disappointing week finishing +7 and in a tie for 43^rd.

Rory McIlroy STUNK and cost me the weekly DTG pickem win….but I can’t stay mad at him. Finally, I didn’t think anyone would touch the 34-stroke gap from last week but these tourneys with no cuts can really take a toll on a guy. This week’s thanks for coming out winner is Bowen Xiao who got progressively worse as the tournament went on (76, 79, 80, 82) to finish dead last at +29 and 43 strokes behind the leaders. WOOF

Asia Tour 2018 Complete

That wraps up the Asian swing of the PGA tour and it is the end of night time golf watching for another year. I kind of feel like they ended with the worst tournament the course looked bad in comparison to the last 2 weeks and maybe I just got used to the low scores but this week seemed a little boring even though the big names were playing and two of them went to a playoff. Congratulations go out to Xander Schauffele and I wish I could give Tony Finau something for his efforts, but I can’t. I know Matty B and Bronel will want to give him a made up “Best Dressed” award for the pink hat and shirt combo in round 3 but until he fixes the pants situation that is just another category he is coming up short in.

Sanderson Farms Championship Recap

November 1, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Champ Hoists the Trophy

Cock-a-doodle-doo. While most of the big names were playing in China there was another tournament being played state side and it had its fair share of story lines. PGA rookie and driving distance sensation Cameron Champ took home the coveted Cock Trophy. Not like the one Danielle Kang kissed last week. This thing is a trophy shaped like a GD rooster or maybe it’s a chicken. It has to be a chicken there is no way Sanderson Farms has built their brand of quality chicken by selling rooster meat. Let’s get back on topic here.

Champ went wire to wire to get his first win on tour. He did it in style as well absolutely crushing the ball off the tee. Averaging 330+ on the measured holes and 308 on all holes. That stat is unheard of. In fact, only one other player has averaged over 330 on measured holes and won a tournament and that guy is Dustin Johnson. So, Cam is in pretty good company. But just when you think Cameron is this one trick pony he goes and one putts the last 6 holes of the tournament to wrap up his first win.

He also hit an early candidate for shot of the year on the 72^nd hole. After driving his ball waaaayyyy left he had to hit 165 yard punch shot under and around a tree with what looked like a 6 iron. He kept it about 10 feet off the ground the whole way and it settled about 8 feet from the hole. He then calmly tapped that putt in to win by 4 shots.

The Field

In what was an extremely watered-down field there is a few bright spots to touch on. Canadian Corey Connors and his goofy swing finished 4 shots back and in solo 2^nd place. I really wish I could say this is a jumping off point for his career but unless he does a swing overhaul I don’t think his swing is consistent enough to be a regular performer on the PGA tour (Feel free to screenshot and rub this in my face when he wins a major or something). Having said that Connors did have a chance on Sunday and was a putt made and a champ putt miss away from being tied going into the 72^nd. But a good showing none the less for the Canadian.

Three other Canadians made the cut this week. Nick Taylor finished T26 and Adam Svensson and Ben Silverman finished T39. David Hearn and soon to be FOTP Roger Sloan both missed the cut. But all in all not a bad showing by the Canadians this week on the PGA tour.

Notables

Some other notable finishes include DJ Trahan wearing quite possibly the worst outfit in the history of the PGA tour. I will try to do this justice with my description. Picture a pair of baggy khakis right out Hal Sutton’s 90s closet, a greeny grey camo golf shirt, a blue hat, a belt that looked like he wore during his grade 9 goth days and a pair of 50 year old man Nike’s (you know the ones). Look good, feel good, play good. No wonder you shot the 18^th worst score of the day Donald Jr. After all that DJ still finished T7. Lucas Glover finished T14 and took home 75K in earnings so that means he likely won’t show up to the next tournament with a black eye from “running into a door”.

Friend of the Pod Rory Sabbatini had me excited early starting off the week hot and looking like he could help me cross off one of my seasons bold predictions, but he cooled off the rest of the way and finished in a tie for 20^th. Did anyone else think Carl Pettersson was dead? Or at least a contender for the “where are they now” articles? But turns out he is still on tour and missed the cut this week. Carl struggled this week no doubt, but worst place honors goes to the taco belt wearing trick shot artist Wesley Bryan. A smooth 78, 82 had him take home the Steven Bowditch award this week.

Pleasant Surprise

Another playing of the Sanderson Farms Championship is in the books and Cam Champ has a cock trophy on his mantle. I have to say for being the “other” tournament this week. The Sanderson Farms was the more entertaining of the two tournaments. You had a rookie sensation have his coming out party and a Canadian in the mix the entire tournament. Or maybe it was because the Sanderson had guys who have announced for a golf tournament before because the WGC team was a joke I don’t know which UK pub they dragged these guys out of and gave a microphone to but it made it tough to watch. Or maybe it was because I didn’t win the DTG picks again this week for the 2^nd week in a row and my go to guys have been stinking up the course lately…I Don’t know. But whatever it was and whichever tournament you watched it was a pretty darn good weekend for golf.

Episode 36 – Halloween Spooktacular

October 30, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 1:00:41 0 Comments

Its the Halloween Spooktacular Ep! In this edition of the Drive The Green Podcast:

HSBC Champions Tournament Recap

Sanderson Farms Tournament Recap

Ultimate Foursome – Halloween Movie Characters

Top 5 – Halloween Candy

Picks

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Episode 35 – Top 5 Best Dressed on the PGA TOUR

October 23, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:47:26 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

CJ CUP at Nine Bridges Recap

Brooks flexes, while wearing a maternity sweater
Slick little trophy

Top 5 Best Dressed on the PGA Tour

The boys break down Bronel’s Top 5 – with a few notable omissions

Picks

MattyB on the board!
Two Tournaments this week – Double the picks!

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Weekly Recap – CJ Cup at Nine Bridges

October 22, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Brooks Flexes

The second leg of the PGA tour’s Asian swing wrapped up late Saturday night for viewers in Canada and the USA. Brooks Koepka did what the big cat Marc Leishman did last week and that is runaway with a tournament which allowed me to get to bed early Saturday night. For his efforts, Koepka won his 12^th professional tournament and crossed a 7^th country off his list of tournament hosts.

He also took home the CJ Cup trophy which surprisingly is not a cup at all. I was going to rag on the trophy about how can it not be a cup when the tournament is called The CJ Cup. Especially when I got the first glimpse of it and it looked like I couple 9 x 9 pieces of wood glued together and painted but it is actually a pretty cool prize.

The trophy has every player in the fields name engraved in a word search type form (written in Korean) and the winners name is highlighted in gold. Which is pretty cool in my mind compared to some of the trophies out there (cough cough a wooden barrel). Oh, and he also took home 1.7 million for winning.

The cool trophy and the 1.7 mill in the jeans is great, but arguably the most impressive accomplishment Brooks pulled off this week was the wardrobe turnaround. I don’t know who dressed him Thursday, but they need to be fired and that sweater he wore needs to be burned or at least returned to whatever maternity store they got it from. This was an all timer for worst dressed on the PGA tour but good on Brooks, he turned it around and by Sunday was back in his usual slim fit attire to appeal the ladies watching and Bronel.

Close But Not Quite

It is a shame Brooks toyed with the field in the fourth round because it overshadowed a couple major charges and impressive final rounds from Gaaaaaaaarrrrrryyyy Woodland and Ryan Palmer. Woodland was 5 shots back entering Sunday and went out and did his part shooting a 9 under 63, which he probably thought was going to give him a chance when he ended his round. Only to wait an hour or so to find out he was in 2^nd and 4 shots behind. Another Top 5 bridesmaid finish for ol Gary.

The Texas Course Horse Ryan Palmer was in a similar situation as Woodland he was sitting 8 shots off the lead and went out and almost tied his personal best round on the PGA tour with a 10 under 62. Only to fall 6 shots short of Koepka. We probably won’t hear much about Palmer until early April now when the PGA tour stops in San Antonio for the Valero Texas open.

Notables

There were a couple other notable finishes to briefly touch on this week:

Rafa Cabrera Bello and his ever-fluctuating style finished T3.
Canadian Adam Hadwin looks to have righted the ship after missing the cut in his first tournament of the season he bounced back with a T10 finish at The CJ Cup.
Defending champ Justin Thomas never really got it going this week and finished in a disappointing tie for 36^th. 1 stoke better than Web.com tour 2017 money leader Sung-Jae Im and other notable Korean Dong Seop Maeng.
Jason Dufner’s six fist pumps could only net him a tie for 55^th.
Stewart Cink and his best or worst golfer’s tan depending on how you look at it finished T70 which many would think is a disappointment, but I would imagine Stewart is just fine with it, he has his major win and is now counting down the days until he can rake on the Champions tour (FYI exactly 1600 days until that happens).
In the thanks for coming out category Hyun-Woo Ryu (no relation to the LA Dodgers Hyun-Jin Ryu) finished dead last and 34 strokes off the lead. THIRTY. FOUR

More Please

That about wraps up the CJ Cup recap. Congratulations goes out to Brooks Koepka but I want to finish this recap with something that might be an unpopular opinion but I am going to say it, I wish every tournament was played in the eastern part of Asia because these 2 weeks of watching at night have been a real nice treat. Kids are in bed and the wife isn’t on me to “accomplish” things around the house or “be a good dad” instead of laying on the couch from the hours of 1-4pm Saturday and Sunday. It was nice to just relax and watch some golf before hitting the hay. Would it have been nice to have a competitive round to watch Saturday night….sure, but I don’t want to get greedy.

Top 5 Best Dressed on PGA Tour – 2018

October 19, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Here at Drive the Green Golf, we talk about a golfer’s style on the course quite a bit so I thought writing this article would be easy peasy. Boy was I wrong – narrowing it down to 5 was extremely difficult. There are many eligible candidates for this list and personal opinions obviously come into play here as John Daly may make your list but unfortunately isn’t on mine. This is the list of style ON the golf course so without further ado, let’s get into it.

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Episode 34 – Ultimate Foursome – Aussies

October 16, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:48:07 0 Comments

This week on the Drive The Green Golf Podcast:

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Weekly Recap – CIMB Classic

October 15, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

BIG CAT Claws His Way To Victory

Marc Leishman picked up another win on the PGA Tour this past weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For the big Aussie, it was his 4^th PGA Tour win and 9^th win overall. The 1^st of 3 tournaments during this Asian stretch on tour featured an interesting field led by Justin Thomas. Thomas went on to finish T5 after a couple mediocre rounds on Friday and Saturday.

For Leishman, it was smooth sailing as he only made 4 bogeys all week on his way to finishing 26 under par. He takes home 1.26 million US for the win but said in an interview “I don’t care about fame or fortune”.

The course was soft and played rather easy all week as only 5 players finished over par in a field with no cuts. In addition to that, 9 players were -20 or better for the week. Nationalities from all over the world were represented this week with 8 different countries having players in the top 15. Those countries include Australia, USA, Argentina, India, England, South Africa, Mexico and South Korea.

Leishman takes his talents north now as the Tour heads to South Korea for the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges. Defending champion Justin Thomas leads the field which also features Brooks Koepka, Billy Horschel, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey, Alex Noren, Tyrell Hatton and Ian Poulter.

Where Are They Now? – Part One

October 12, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Part One

In prepping for Drive the Green Podcasts the boys always get on random tangents and have found ourselves asking what the hell happened to (insert random PGA player)? So, after MattyB declared we needed to up the content count on the website I figured why not write a series of articles tracking down what these once household names, who have fallen off the map, are up to now. I will be getting into some real obscure golfers, but I figured I would start the series with a couple guys who have popped back up in the news recently. Starting with none other than the guy who was pegged to be the next big thing in golf in 2008 in Anthony Kim.

Anthony Kim

Anthony Kim roared onto the golf scene in 2007 with 4 Top 10 finishes and a T20 at the US Open as a rookie on tour. He followed up his rookie season winning twice in 2008 and had two Top 3 finishes in the final two fedex cup tournaments that year. These efforts leap frogged him to #6 in the Official World Golf Rankings. That September, he was a vital part of the USA recapturing the Ryder Cup going 2-1-1 and beating Ryder Cup legend Sergio Garcia in the singles matches. He went 3-1 in the 2009 Presidents cup cementing himself as a up and coming stalwart for these types of events. In 2010 he won for the third time on tour capping off a pretty impressive 23 month stretch.

That is the Anthony Kim everyone remembers but then, in late 2010, he was hit hard by the injury bug. He tore his Achilles tendon while training and it required surgery that would keep him on the shelf for a year. While rehabbing that injury he herniated a disk in his back that required a spinal fusion. Torn labrum, rotator cuff and hand injuries have resulted in Anthony Kim being forgotten just as quickly as he rose to 6^th in the world.

During my research for this article I came across the popular rumor that Anthony Kim took out an insurance policy on his body in case of injury and is getting paid monthly to not play golf because it would void the policy. Anthony Kim, in an interview, doesn’t deny that he has an insurance policy, he definitely does but he denies 100% that is the reason that is keeping him away from the PGA tour. Kim’s answer was that he is still too injured to even think about making a comeback. But I mean he isn’t going to admit on the record he is healthy enough to golf but isn’t because he will lose that guaranteed income. No one would be that stupid. It sounds like he is quite happy living his modest life and collecting his insurance money because like Anthony, said he is “too injured” to play.

Shaun Micheel

For those readers muttering to themselves “who?”, Shaun Micheel won the 2003 PGA championship. (Side note: go check out the 2003 major winners. Talk about a dog’s breakfast of champions. I mean 3 of them could qualify for this series of articles). But, we are focusing on Shaun Micheel in this edition. Micheel was a 10 year veteran of professional golf on various tours before he stepped on the tee at Oak Hill Country Club in August 2003. The guy was a grinder, and little did he know in four short days his life would change for the better and worse. Micheel won the 2003 PGA championship in one of the biggest underdog stories in the history of golf.

After that win, many thought we were witnessing a late bloomer who put in his time grinding it out to finally find success. What we actually got was a guy whose next biggest claim to fame is finishing 2^nd to Tiger in a major in 2006 and having to fight a lawsuit with the PGA because he had low testosterone and had to take hormones to remedy it. After that Micheel never captured lightning in a bottle again like that weekend in August of 2003.

While researching I found lots of quotes saying that Shaun Micheel changed after winning that major and not in the way many would think. He put so much pressure on himself to continue winning he went from being a likeable social butterfly on tour to being a guy who played practice rounds by himself late in the day so he wouldn’t have to socialize with anyone. To add insult to injury he suffered multiple shoulder injuries which all but ended his ability to compete on the PGA tour.

Never a long ball hitter with the injuries he couldn’t keep up to young guys coming up. He still plays professional golf but not very often and not on the PGA tour. He bounced around the Euro tour and Web.com tour for the last 15 years never being more than a field filler. Wow that got kind of sad and dark. But, to answer the question of where are they now? Shaun Micheel played in the 2018 PGA Championship and missed the cut. But, he turns the magic number 50 in January 2019 and will be joining the PGA Champions Tour for his rookie season.

Stay Tuned for Part Two

I was really hoping both of these guys would be bagging groceries somewhere when I started doing the research for this article but it turns out one isn’t milking an insurance claim (wink wink) and the other has had a pretty rough stretch of years. But things could potentially look up the in the future with how many wins guys in their early 50s have on the Champions tour.

Like I said above this is only the first installment of a recurring series. So, if any readers have a guy that they have thought what happened to that guy? Reach out to the DTG boys on Social media @mattyballgame5, @DTGharv @DTGBronel or on IG @DriveTheGreenGolf

Episode 33 – Turkey Day Special

October 9, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:46:01 0 Comments

In this weeks Drive The Green Golf Podcast:

Safeway Open Recap

Kevin Tway picks up his first career win and a mighty fine trophy?
Sneds with an epic collapse
Another classic silly season leaderboard

In The News

Jim Furyk pokes all kinds of holes in the Patrick Reed story
Phil continues to supply the boys with material

Return of the Top 5!

Bronel returns with his Top 5 list…..of Turkeys on the PGA Tour!

Picks

Here we go again
CIMB Picks

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Episode 32 – Ryder Cup Recap / Season Preview

October 3, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 1:05:40 0 Comments

In the latest jam packed episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

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Welcome to Moliwood – Ryder Cup Recap

October 2, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Dominance Once Again

Another edition of golf’s most famous team event is in the books and Europe has re-captured the Ryder Cup. Le Golf National in France hosted the event and provided an excellent venue for the competition. The course was demanding and required players to be accurate with thick rough and many water hazards lining the fairways. As is the case with most tournaments involving the world’s best players, it came down to putting. Team Europe simply made more of putts, hit more fairways, and played more consistent golf. As a result, they captured their 6th straight title on European soil.

Early Push

Team USA came out of the gate hot winning 3 of the first 4 fourball matches and jumping out to a quick 3-1 lead on Day 1. The only American duo to lose was that of Tiger and Pat Reed who lost to Tommy Fleetwood and Franky Molinari (later dubbed Moliwood after their 4-0 record together). Unfortunately for Team USA, Europe stormed back and won all 4 afternoon foursome matches in convincing fashion. The most notable being Moliwood beating Spieth and Thomas 5&4.

Day 2 started out with Europe taking control of the event, winning 3 more fourball matches. Reed and Woods were paired together once again and lost to Moliwood again. Reed later came out and said he expected to play with Spieth who he had previous success with. But other sources say Reed insisted on playing with Tiger so who knows what to believe. The afternoon matches were split 2-2 as Tiger was the victim of Moliwood again, this time paired with Bryson DeChambeau who couldn’t find his game whatsoever in France.

It’s Over Folks

With the score at 10-6 for Europe entering Sunday, speculations of another “miracle” comeback were being made. This was not the case this year however. Team USA was front-loaded by Captain Jim Furyk needing early points to have a chance. JT came out with a massive point in his match with Rory, after Rory made a disaster out of the 18^th hole. Koepka halved Casey in a great back-and-forth match. Then Webb Simpson beat Justin Rose 3&2 and things were really looking up for the Americans. Finau beat the red-hot Fleetwood 6&4. Then the USA lost 3 matches in which they probably should have won. Tiger (who went 0-4) lost to Big Rig Jon Rahm. DJ lost to Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter and Spieth got crushed by Thorbjorn Olesen.

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2018 Ryder Cup Preview & Predictions

September 27, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Its Go Time in Paris

Now that team Captains Jim Furyk and Thomas Bjorn have made their final selections for their respective squads, the table is set for perhaps the most intriguing Ryder Cup in history. But will it live up to expectations? Will it be close? Vegas seems to think Team USA has the edge despite not being victorious on European soil since 1993. Not only are the rosters littered with young studs ready to make their mark on history, but there’s a few notable veterans trying to not be forgotten.

Tiger in the Spotlight

One player that will obviously never be forgotten is Tiger Woods. He makes his return to the Ryder Cup after missing the previous two. As usual, all eyes will be on his performance this year as he looks to improve on his career 13-17-3 record. He’s 4-1-2 all-time in singles matches so really it’s all about finding a guy to pair with him in the 2 vs 2 matches. Speculation is that it could be the odd swing of Bryson DeChambeau. He’s one of the hottest players on tour and Tiger seems to like him for some reason. Another player he could be paired with is a guy with 11 Top 10’s this season, Tony Finau.

Good Problem to Have?

The problem for team USA isn’t talent, they are loaded in that department. It’s who plays with who that seems to give their squad problems. The obvious pairings based on history/friendships would be Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson. That leaves the aforementioned Tiger, DeChambeau, Finau and the 4th captains pick; Phil Mickelson. Like Tiger, Phil has fared better in singles play at the Ryder Cup going 8-5-1 while only being 18-20-7 in total. At Hazeltine in 2016 during the USA’s victory, Phil was paired with Fowler twice and went 1-1 and then halved his singles match with the currently struggling Sergio Garcia.

What About Us?

Team Europe doesn’t quite have the talent that the US has but let’s not count them out at all. They have some decisions to be made with pairings as well because of the amount of turnover they’ve had since 2016. They have 8 changes; Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan, Matt Fitzpatrick, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Thomas Pieters are all out. The 4 players returning are Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and captain’s picks Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia. The 8 new players are Jon Rahm, Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Noren, Tyrell Hatton, Thorbjorn Olesen and captains’ picks Paul Casey and Ian Poulter.

Questions, Questions, Questions

This leaves Europe some interesting choices to make. Who do they pair with Rory? How will the rookies fare? Only time will tell but I like this team. The new names are all big game players. The guys to worry about are the injured Stenson and Garcia; who hasn’t been himself since the new irons but has a 19-11-7 career record on his resume. One guy they shouldn’t have to worry about is Ian Poulter and his sparkling 12-3 record. Team Europe won’t get the media attention or the respect that the US gets but they will come to play. Vegas has the USA as a 4/6 favourite to retain the cup but I don’t see it that way on Europe’s turf.

PREDICTIONS: Europe wins 15-13 and takes the Cup back. Sergio comes back from the dead and beats Tiger in singles play. Patrick Reed loses all his matches. Noren and Molinari are paired together and go undefeated in 2 matches.

Drive The Green Golf – Top 5 Golf Courses in Saskatchewan

September 26, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

As the 2018 Saskatchewan golf season comes to a close, it is time for the 1st Annual Drive The Green Golf Top 5 Golf Courses in Saskatchewan segment! With a wonderful drought settling in this summer and the beautiful Saskatchewan winds blowing freely, there were ample opportunities to hit the links. As you plan your 2019 golf trips with the boys, lets take a closer look at some courses to keep your eye on……….

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Episode 31 – 1,876 Days

September 26, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:56:35 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

TOUR Championship Recap

Tiger Woods is Back Baby!
Greatest Sports Comeback of All Time?
Justin Rose – Mr. Consistency wins the FedEx Cup

Canadians Get Their TOUR Card

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TIGER. IS. BACK. – TOUR Championship Recap

September 24, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Long Time Coming

Five years, Sixty months, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy Six days, Forty Five Thousand and Twenty Four hours, Two Million…….well you get the point. The amount of time since Tiger Woods has last hoisted a trophy on the PGA Tour. However you want to break down the time in between, no one can deny that Sunday was one of the greatest moments in sports history. It was the greatest comeback story of all time.Tiger led wire to wire and looked like the Unbeatable Tiger from the early 2000s while doing it. Tiger. Is. Back.

He was working his tee shots left to right with his smooth cut, controlling his iron distances on approach shots like no one else can, draining long distance putts and walking them in, and leaving the announcers mystified with the shots he can pull off from “impossible” lies (hardly impossible but that is a whole different article). I could go on for pages about Tiger and his comeback, but this article is about recapping the Tour Championship and answering the question I am sure millions of people had yesterday…..“would Tiger have won the Fedex cup if they put the new rules in this year?”

What a Finish

So, let’s breakdown the Tour Championship and Fedex Cup Final Standings:

Where to start, I touched on Tiger above so let’s look at some of the other interesting storylines from the Tour Championship:

The Duds

Starting from the bottom, Phil Mickelson, I don’t know whether it was the terrible fitting clothes he decided to wear this week or if his game has fallen off a cliff, but this did not look like the Phil Mickelson the fans have been watching for 20+ years. His short game was average, his putting was worse, and he looked terrible while doing it. 9 times out of 10 that is going to lead to a poor finish for ol FIGJAM, but +13, dead last and 24 shots back of Tiger?? WOOF. I hope fans put their money on Tiger for the Thanksgiving Showdown before this week because Tiger is emerging as a real favorite for that event.

Some of the other notable turds this week were Patrick Reed (28^th), Kevin Na (25^th) and Bubba Watson (29^th) but I don’t think there are too many fans upset about those finishes. There were two surprise poor finishes this week. Mr. Top 10 Tony Finau ho hummed his way around the course for a T15 finish. Not bad, but I think most were expecting him to challenge for the FedEx Cup this week. And, in one of the biggest surprises of the week, Brooks Koepka finished T26 after calling his own number before the tournament started after feeling slighted by the media….Whoopsies.

The Studs

Getting to some of the more positive storylines of the week. If you are listener of the Drive The Green Podcast you know I have a couple players I am quite fond of. So, it was good to see DJ, who was quiet all week, end up in third place even though his putter and putting style changed every round. His solo 3^rd finish was enough to get him back to number 1 in the world status.

It was also really fun watching Rory for 3 of the 4 rounds when he looked like he was back to the player who could dominate a tournament. Then the dreaded final pairing on Sunday jinx thing happened and the driver went squiffy. But still a T7 finish for a guy a lot of people are writing off these days.

There was a couple other under the radar good finishes at East Lake this week Webb Simpson and Hideki Matsuyama both finished T4 even though fans got to see a total of 5 of their shots combined on the weekend. Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler left the fans wanting more. Both showed flashes of getting into the mix but then would go backwards for a few holes or a few rounds in Rickie’s case. Sooner or later Rickie has to put 4 rounds together in a major or big pressure tournament right guys? Right??

The Sleepers

In a somewhat unrelated topic but if I had a gun to my head and had to pick someone to play East Lake and shoot under par or else I would be killed, I think I would pick Xander Schauffele. He has played in the Tour Championship twice and has a win and a T7 finish. I bet Jim Furyk is wishing he could swap out Phil for Xander heading across the pond this week.

I said all week and in last week’s POD “don’t sleep on Billy Horschel” he has won the Fedex Cup before and is sneakily playing really good golf this year. My only critique of his game besides the clubs he plays. It might be time to go by Bill, Will or William because he should be taken seriously moving forward.

Anyone Else?

I feel like I am forgetting someone. Oh ya, Justin Rose the number 1 player in the world going into this tournament, the guy every golf fan in the world was cheering for to roll his ankle walking up 18 and having to WD. But it was all for not after giving the fans some hope by bogeying 16 to drop into a tie for 6^th. Rose Stepped up to 18 needing to birdie and hit the longest drive of the day, then hit a bit of a knuckle ball 7 iron that looked like it was going into the bunker (a bunker DJ could not get up and down from earlier). But the ball took a bounce that defied the laws of physics and ended up on the green where Rose only needed 2 putts to secure a Fedex cup victory. Rose calmly stepped up and did his best Brian Harman impression lagging the putt to a couple inches, tapped home the birdie, apologized to the cameras because he spoiled the storyline everyone was hoping for and cashed a MF’ing 10-million-dollar cheque.

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OH Canada! – Breaking Down the Canadians on the PGA Tour

September 21, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

A Season to Remember

As the PGA Tour season comes to an end this weekend with the TOUR Championship at East Lake GC in Atlanta, many eyes will be on the best golfers in the world. Tiger has returned to the spotlight, young guns are all over the tour, and the Ryder Cup is around the corner. But as the 2018-2019 season caps off, lets not forget about the FANTASTIC season that the Canadians on the PGA Tour put together. While no Canadian was able to walk away with victory, there is plenty to recap.

Breaking Down The Field

This season six Canadians played more than 25 tournaments, one had his season shortened by injury, and the godfather himself got into 6 tournaments himself. Let us take a look at a player by player recap of Team Canada:

Adam Hadwin

Cuts made – 22/25

Top 10’s – 3

Total Money – $1,932,488

FedEx Cup Rank / World Rank – 36 / 57

Breakdown – The head of the Canadian class, Hadwin participated in all four major championships (making the cut in 2 of them), and had 10 Top 25 finishes. The model of consistency, Hadwin was able to make 22 of 25 cuts and collect a shade under $2 million. Big things for to come in 2019.

Nick Taylor

Cuts made – 17/30

Top 10’s – 2

Total Money – $899,373

FedEx Cup Rank / World Rank – 123 / 273

Breakdown – Taylor started the season on fire with 3 straight Top 25 finishes but cooled off considerably before finishing T8 at the second to last tournament of the regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Ben Silverman

Cuts Made – 17 / 28

Top 10’s – 2

Total Money – $793,140

FedEx Cup Rank / World Rank – 136 / 270

Breakdown – Similar to Taylor, Silverman excelled early on with both of his Top 10’s coming in the first 5 tournaments of the season. A mildly consistent season put Silverman just on the edge of the FedEx Cup playoffs and without a full time Tour Card for next season.

Corey Conners

Cuts Made – 20 / 28

Top 10’s – 1

Total Money – $728,296

FedEx Cup Rank / World Rank – 130 / 399

Breakdown – It feels like a copy paste recap of both Taylor and Silverman here with Conners who made 8 straight, and 11 of 12, cuts to start the season. Conners season hilight came at the Fort Worth invitational where a Saturday 63 shot him up the leaderboard to a season high T8 finish.

David Hearn

Cuts Made – 11 / 21

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Episode 30 – An Interview with Bob Weeks

September 19, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:52:39 0 Comments

In this edition of the Drive The Green Podcast:

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Episode 29 – Ultimate Foursome – NFL

September 12, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:56:13 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

Keegan Bradley edges Justin Rose in a playoff
Tony Finau the final Ryder Cup choice
Dustin Johnson moves into Splitsville
The funnest of facts about Mike Weir

Ultimate Foursome – NFL

Its NFL season so the boys breakdown their go-to players

Euro Tour Picks – Its a dry week ok?

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Episode 28 – Labour Day Recap

September 4, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:49:27 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

Drive The Green Labour Day Recap
Bryson wins back to back tournaments
Finau a lock for the Ryder Cup?
Phil killing it on Twitter
Harv. Yet. Again.

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Episode 27 – Phil Tweets

August 29, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:42:12 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

In The News:

Brooke Henderson is a Canadian Hero
Bryson defies logic yet again
Team Europe misses the cut
PHIL GETS TWITTER!!!!

Mike Midgette is back with a Pro Tip and his Ultimate Foursome

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Episode 26 – Harv is in Africa?!

August 22, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:37:59 0 Comments

In this weeks Drive The Green Golf Podcast:

Harv live on location in South Africa – Yes THAT South Africa
Wyndham Championship Recap
FedEx Cup Preview
Picks for the Northern Trust and FedEx Cup Title

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Cabot Cliffs – Experience of a Lifetime

August 15, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Cabot Cliffs – The Experience of a Lifetime

As you step out of the shuttle van at the Cabot Cliffs Golf Course in Inverness, Nova Scotia, you are immediately met with a feeling of wonderful simplicity. The course, which is ranked as Golf Digest #1 in Canada and #9 in the World, is flawless.

The pro shop and concession, two small tents in the middle of a field. The putting green, chipping green, and driving range all nestled together right beside the first fairway. And a lone starter desk. It was perfect.

Every hole was picture worthy

The day was classic links style. Overcast, windy, and a chance of rain. The first tee was exactly as I had hoped, a beautiful wide open par 5 with lots of room to get that first tee shot out of the way. After that the entire round was a blur of excitement, challenge, and beauty.

The view from the 1st Tee

The course itself was setup wonderfully. Lots of room to play in the fairways but very strategically placed bunks still offered consequences to wayward tee shots and approaches. The tee boxes, fairways, and greens were immaculate. Finally, the bunkers were filled with not only heavy Nova Scotian sand but also free growing grass and vegetation to offer added difficulty.

The bunkers were beautiful to look at and horrifying to get out of

Every Hole – Picture Perfect

When it comes to my favorite holes at Cabot Cliffs, every hole was incredible. However, it’s hard not to note:

The incredible Par 3 16th (used in commercials and all marketing material) with a tee shot from cliff to cliff and a tiny landing area.
The picture perfect 16th hole at Cabot Cliffs
The absolutely gorgeous short Par 4 2nd hole with a steep down hill landing fairway only to go back uphill to the blind green.
The 2nd hole was a true test of both distance and accuracy

Everything about this course was as advertised and as I sat on the lonely couches just off the 18th green overlooking the course and the ocean, the emotions took over. This was probably the greatest day of golf I may ever have.

Thank you Cabot Cliffs.

Episode 25 – PGA Championship Recap

August 14, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:49:50 0 Comments

In the latest episode of the Drive The Green podcast:

PGA Championship Recap

Top Story – Brooks or Tiger?
Tiger brings back the fringe fans
Leaderboard was STACKED
Notable missed cuts

Ryder Cup Picks

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Episode 24 – PGA Championship Preview

August 7, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:39:51 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Golf podcast:

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Golf Rules vs. Golf Etiquette

August 1, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Who needs rules!

The game of golf is one of the older sports in the world and dates back to the 15th century. Being that old, the rules of golf have obviously been tinkered with and evolved a lot over the years. For the professionals, it is imperative that they know and understand every rule. But for a regular Joe who plays 1-50 times a year at their local course, are the rules really that important? Maybe not. But one thing that is important is how you conduct yourself on the course, better known as your Golf Etiquette.

Whats the difference?

To begin, it has to be noted that there is a HUGE difference between rules and etiquette. Golf etiquette is something that you acquire by playing the game, watching parents or friends, watching the pros or even reading about the do’s and don’ts on the golf course. Everyone playing a round of golf should know the etiquette. These things include repairing divots, ball marks, letting groups through if you’re slow, not stepping in someone’s line on the green, being quiet when someone is hitting, etc.

The rules however, will predominantly be used to determine a player’s score. Penalty strokes and how they are used is a big one. Gimmes, mulligans and things of that nature are other examples. Some people will never take a gimme, other will. And THIS IS FINE. I suggest you discuss the general rules before you tee off and determine a common ground for the group. For the majority of us, picking rules that will speed up play is highly advised. Drop the ball when you go OB, don’t re-tee, take a couple gimmes. However, if you do not establish these “rules” before you tee off, all hell will surely ensue.

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Episode 23 – Ultimate Foursome – Canadian Celebrities

July 31, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:54:48 0 Comments

This week on the Drive The Green Podcast:

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Episode 22 – Open Recap

July 24, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:44:51 0 Comments

What an action packed episode this week!

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Ultimate Foursome – Theo Fleury & Brayden Point

July 18, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

MattyB was able to catch up with two NHL stars at the recent Moose Jaw Warrior Alumni Golf Tournament. Check out the videos!

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Episode 21 – The Open Preview

July 17, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:37:21 0 Comments

The Open has arrived and in this weeks episode:

John Deer Classic Recap:

Michael Kim roasts the competition
Canadians litter the leaderboard

Headlines:

Veej with the Senior victory
John Daly 2.0
Tony Romo finally wins a title

Pro Tip – Simple method for speeding up your pace of play

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Episode 20 – Yay or Nay

July 10, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:33:43 0 Comments

In this week’s episode of the Drive the Green Podcast:

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Episode #19 – Ultimate Foursome – Tennis

July 3, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:39:59 0 Comments

In the latest episode of the Drive The Green Podcast:

Quicken Loans Recap

Frank Molinari goes LOW on Sunday
Tiger and the Mallet… a perfect match?
Jamie Lovemark with his best MattyB impression

Pro Tip – Michael Midgette – Putting Alignment

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Building Variety in the Short Game

July 1, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Do you have enough variety in your short game? Variety meaning the ability to choose almost any shot you can imagine and pull it off with confidence. Here are a few tips on how to shave strokes around the greens. Follow these steps and you’ll notice a drop in your scores!

Rule #1

If you don’t have a good chance of getting it close, just make sure you get the ball on the putting surface!
- The last thing you want is to try a risky shot, end up short, or missing the green, forcing yourself to get up and down on the next attempt to save bogey.
- Play the high percentage shot. Would you rather have a six to ten footer for par save, or try a shot you haven’t practiced and risk having to hit another chip from the rough or another bunker shot.

Rule #2

If you have an opportunity to putt the ball, PUTT IT!
- Your worst putt will always be better than your worst chip. This goes back to rule #1, you are rarely ever going to miss the green if you have an opportunity to putt from off of the green.
- Does this mean use the putter in the rough? If you don’t have confidence in your chipping, and there isn’t a substantial amount of rough to negotiate, then YES, give your putter a try.
  - Technique: Feet close together, ball a little further back in your stance, and instead of making a normal putting stroke, hit down slightly on the ball to pop it up and get it rolling.

Rule #3

If there is something you have to get the ball over to get it on the green, make that your number 1 focus.
- Let’s say you have a lot of rough to carry, or a deep/long bunker. Focus on a landing spot on the green and ELIMINATE THE WORDS, “I don’t want to leave this short.” Rather, use the phrase, “I want my ball to land there, so I have a putt at it.”
- Pick a specific landing spot that will give you an opportunity at a par save on the green, even if it is a fifteen to twenty footer. That’s better than another tough chip or another bunker shot.

Use these three rules as best and as often as you can to take the big numbers out of play and eliminate the doubles and the triples after being next to the green in regulation.

Micheal Midgette, PGA

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Putting Alignment – A Simple Drill To Straighten You Out

July 1, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Alignment is one of the most overlooked aspects of the putting setup, especially on the greens. When thinking of alignment, most golfers think of their feet. But if the shoulders and putter face are not square to the target, the chances of holing the putt are drastically reduced.

To help aid in proper alignment, try this easy practice drill:

Purchase a flat, metal meter (yard) stick with no grooves.
Find a straight, flat putt or even a flat surface at home!
Place the stick on the line you wish to start the ball on.
Place the ball on the yard stick and squarely set up your line.
Hit the putt with the objective of keeping the ball on the stick until it rolls off the far end.

This drill will get you to pay more attention to you starting line rather than thinking about the hole (which can cause anxiety and a guided stroke, leading to miss-hits / missed putts).

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Episode #18 – Would You Rather?

June 27, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:35:22 0 Comments

In this weeks episode of the Drive The Green Golf Podcast:

Travelers Championship Recap

Bubba wins again. Player of the Year?
Paul Casey…..Ya blew it!
Smylie. Dead. Last

Pro Tip – Mike Midgette – Putting – Flip a Coin

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Dominance or Parity: What is better for golf?

June 26, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Who is the best golfer in the world right now? Some will say Dustin Johnson, he’s the #1 ranked player in the world. But that is just a ranking. If I was asked this question, I would have a very difficult time answering. And it may simply depend on who I think is playing better on the day I was asked. That’s how close it is these days.

Flashback 10 years to June 2008, who is the best player in the world? Well Tiger Woods just beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff to win the US Open, his 14^th major championship. The answer was easy, it’s Tiger.

So what is better for the overall state of golf, the 2018 parity or the 2008 dominance?

When Tiger Woods won 14 majors in an 11-year span from 1997-2008, the golf world was in awe. He won the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 shots at Pebble Beach. He had 38 Top 10’s in Majors including 24 Top 3’s. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind who the best golfer in the world was and fans were more than ok with that. He WAS golf. His brand completely took over and revolutionized the game, attracting fans for all backgrounds sports or otherwise. Then personal matters, injuries, and long layoffs from the game happened. Golf ratings were down, the “Tiger Effect” was a real thing and revenues were taking a hit.

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Turn That Smylie Upside Down

June 20, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Flash back to April 2016 when we first met the Bro Squad. Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, and Smylie Kaufman. Four young, very talented golfers jet setting to the Bahamas for Spring Break. Every guy from 18-45 years old was drooling in envy of #sb2k16.

Then these four party boys had to go and do it again for #sb2k17. It seemed as though nothing could stop these maniacs. They had the friendship, the money, and the skills.

Flash forward to June 2018. Justin Thomas has two wins this season and a short stint as World Number 1. Jordan Spieth is the defending Open Champion and was 3rd at the 2018 Masters. Rickie Fowler was 2nd at the same 2018 Masters and is 13th in Official Money Earnings this season……..

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Episode #17 – US Open Recap

June 19, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:29:55 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

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Phil Mickelson – The GLOAT

June 18, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0 Comments

Phil’s US Open Antics Prove Why He Is The GLOAT

When someone says left-handed golfer, who is the first player you think of? If you didn’t answer Phil Mickelson, then you are probably lying. Ok, maybe a bit harsh. However, the numbers are there, the wins are there, the personality is there. We are witnessing history every time this man steps foot on the golf course. Yes folks, we are witnessing the GLOAT (Greatest Lefty Of All Time).

If you are reading this article, there is a pretty good chance you caught a glimpse of what ol’ Lefty got up to this past weekend. Coming in as one of the Vegas favourites to win the tournament, Phil came out with a disappointing 77 on Thursday. Uh oh, a missed cut perhaps. Not so fast, Phil shoots 69 Friday and gets to play the weekend. Paired with Beef Johnston on Saturday, Phil the thrill was all set for his 48^th birthday round. Unfortunately for him, the conditions at Shinnecock Hills resembled those of a Wal-Mart parking lot more than a golf course. The “greens” were some sort of weird brown concrete and the pin placements were tougher than that friggin “ant-hill” hole at the local mini-golf course.

Phil was 4 over and looking at a downhill 18 footer for bogey on the 13^th green. His putt was a bit hefty however and it was about to go flying down the hill and off the green into an impossible lie. But the GLOAT said “not today, not on my birthday” and hit the still-moving ball back towards the hole. For those new to golf, this is an automatic 2 stroke penalty. Phil would go on to make a 10 and laugh about it with Beef walking off the green. This wasn’t as cool as Roy McAvoy’s 12 at the US Open but it was still a pretty neat 10.

GOOD For Golf

The USGA decided not to DQ him despite his purposeful breaking of the rules. But really, who cares? So what if he hit a moving ball…we’ve all done it. This is one of the top 10 players in golf history (a discussion for another day perhaps), him doing stuff like this is GOOD for golf. John Daly is GOOD for golf. Happy Gilmore is GOOD for golf. Ok you get the point. After his 81 Saturday, Phil came out Sunday and shot 69 and had a blast doing it. There was a fan who was wearing a Donald Duck hat and following Phil around (why wouldn’t you). There are a lot of guys on Tour with no personality (I won’t name names) who would probably think the hat was stupid. Not Phil. Every time he saw this fan, he gave the hat a little rub for luck and had a bunch of fun with it. He’s always having a good time out there; perhaps making some wagers, signing stuff for the kids, laughing with other players etc.

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Episode #16 – US Open Preview

June 12, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:47:39 0 Comments

Its US Open week! In this weeks ep:

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Episode #15 – Ultimate Foursome – NBA Players

June 5, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:40:24 0 Comments

This week on the Drive The Green Podcast

Memorial Recap

Bryson and his swing strike gold
Tiger’s putter fails him once again

Pro Tip – Mike Midgette back yet again – Weekly Wedge Work

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Episode #14 – Build a Golfer

May 30, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:50:15 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

Fort Worth Invitational Recap:

Justin Rose (Sans Sunglasses) Lights It Up
Canadians In Contention
Kevin Na – Style Is Not A Family Trait

Pro Tip – Mike Midgette – Practice Like You Play

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Episode #13 – Ultimate Foursome – Action Movie Characters

May 22, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:40:23 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

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Episode #12 – The PLAYERS Championship Recap

May 15, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:29:30 0 Comments

This week on the Drive The Green Podcast:

PLAYERS Championship Recap

Webb Runs Away With It
Tiger. Is. Back.
The Battle For Second Place
TPC Sawgrass Does Not Disappoint

Pro Tip – Advice and Discounts From a PGA Professional

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Episode #11 – The PLAYERS Championship Preview

May 9, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:35:19 0 Comments

In this weeks episode, the DTG Boys:

Recap Wells Fargo Championship

Jason Day Owns the Green Mile
Brice Garnett Smooth 88
Who Wore It Better?
Harv Picks The Winner

Pro Tip – Shout out to Mikey Golf

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Episode #10 – Ultimate Foursome – Musicians

May 2, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:34:23 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

Zurich Classic Recap

Horschel / Piercy Prevail
Reed – Last Minute Song Switch
Hakuna Matata
Dufner and Perez – Birdies N’ F-Bombs

Drive The Green Boys – Select Walk Up Songs

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Episode #9 – PGA Walk Up Song Predictions

April 25, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:39:57 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

Valero Texas Open Recap

Andrew Landry gets a win…….and a messy shirt
Joaquin Niemann with an impressive debut
Canadians back in the hunt
Bowditch red hot

Pro Tip – Mike Midgette helps you tune up those Long Irons – Instagram @mikey.golf

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Episode #8 – Ultimate Foursome – TV Show Hosts

April 18, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:41:08 0 Comments

RBC Heritage Recap

Kodaira wins in a playoff.
Loveable Luke List at it again.
Poulter runs out of gas.
Harbour Town – Links Golf for PC throwback course.

Pro Tip – PGA Certified Coach Michael Midgette

http://www.michaelmidgette.com

Ultimate Foursome – TV Show Hosts

MattyB – Reality TV FanBoy.
Harv – The Who’s Who of Daytime TV.
Bronel – They get better with age.

Picks

RBC Heritage Picks Recap.
Valero Texas Open Picks.

Stay Tuned for the Special Episode in the next week with our Walk Up Song predictions for the Zurich Classic!

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Episode #7 – MASTERS Recap

April 10, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:33:32 0 Comments

What a depressing outcome. The DTG boys try to hold it together as they discuss the week at Augusta.

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Episode #6 – Its MASTERS Week!

April 5, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:34:55 0 Comments

In this weeks episode:

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Episode #5 – Ultimate Foursome – Sports Movie Characters

March 28, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:35:14 0 Comments

Corales Recap

Brice Garnett (who?) goes wire to wire.
Corey Conners continues to charge up the Canadian Golf Power Rankings.
Tony Romo – Should he just stick to broadcasting?

WGC Match Play Recap

Bubba’s game continuing to trend upward while his style continues to free fall.
Did JT crack under the pressure of potential World #1 Ranking?
DJ goes from first to worst.

Ultimate Foursome – Sports Movie Characters

MattyB goes nostalgic, Bronel picks a guy with one hand, and Harv is off the rails.

Shell Houston Open Picks

Does Russell Henley have a chance to repeat?

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Special Feature – Our Top 5 Courses To Play

March 24, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:19:57 0 Comments

In this special feature, the DTG boys compile their list of the Top 5 courses in the world they would like to play. With some notable omissions.

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Episode #4 – Ultimate Foursome – MLB Stars

March 24, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:38:37 0 Comments

In the latest episode the Boys at DTG discuss:

Bay Hill – Arnold Palmer Invitational Recap

Rory with the scorching finish! Rounding into form just in time for the Masters
DeChambeau’s……interesting……golf swing
Is Rose peaking too early?
Tiger cant quite finish

Pro Tip – Fine tuning those short irons

Ultimate Foursome – Major League Baseball Stars

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Episode #3 – Ultimate Foursome – Television Characters

March 24, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:33:28 0 Comments

In the latest episode of the Drive The Green Podcast we dissuss:

Valspar Championship Recap

Canadian Corey Conners cant close the deal
Paul Casey still lethal at age 40
Kelly Kraft needs new shoes

Pro Tip – We discuss the latest USGA golf rule updates and the laughable lost ball timing

Ultimate Foursome – Television Characters

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Episode #2 – Ultimate Foursome – NHL Players

March 10, 2018 drivethegreenpodcast 0:40:49 0 Comments

Episode 2:

WGC Mexico Recap

Phil the Thrill finally breaks through! (with a little help from his planted cameraman)
Justin Thomas are you kidding me?! Shot of the year?
Shoebanker cant finish the job.

Pro Tip of the Week – Getting that Putter consistent