CAN RORY WIN THE MASTERS?

 

LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION!

 

I had intended to write something in the lead-up to this year's Masters and then I received a nice heads-up from fellow LinkedIn member Roger Yates at www.rogeryatesgolfacademy.com and you can also Follow Roger @golfswami for all you Tweeters out there. Roger writes...

 

Greetings!  

  

April is the month of the first major of 2013, and the Masters from Augusta really is a perfect way to start things off.

 

The first few months of the year has seen some interesting golf played, with probably too much discussion about the difficulties of Rory McIlroy, and the 'return of Tiger'.

 

The top players build their schedules around the intention to peak their performance for certain events, namely the Majors, with the result that early season form is often unreliable as an indication of form for the year.

 

If a player wins early it might confirm that their winter preparation has been good,and it may well inspire confidence that carries them through the year, or it might just be a win against other players who are still trying to find their form.

 

If a player struggles early in the season it might just be a slow start, rather than any loss of ability or long term form.The best players understand this and continue to work towards their season's goals despite any early disappointments.

 

There is perhaps a lesson here for the club player, if you have worked hard through the winter months you can only judge it's effectiveness at the end of that season, not after the first event.

 

It is worth considering that mid way through last year, Rory McIlroy missed a few cuts, and golf's commentators questioned his dedication, and his lifestyle, yet by the season's end Rory won his second major, and became the World's No.1.

 

So stick with your plan for 2013, and if you don't have one.......best of luck.

 

Thanks Roger...

Regarding Rory and his well-publicised trials and tribulations, I have to say that I am somewhat surprised at his pre-Masters schedule. I know he has stated that he will try to cut back on his schedule this year, but the extent of his lack of play is a tad bewildering.

However, an encouraging finish at the WGC-Cadillac with a closing 65 and a gritty comeback in his first round at the Shell Houston Open, where he fought back from being +3 early on in his round, give me some indication of better days ahead. I am sure he feels some sense of relief with Tiger regaining the #1 spot in the world again.

Can he win the Masters? Yes, of course he can but this is maybe asking a bit much just yet. He is still lacking a degree of conviction with his ball-striking but his swing is looking good. Perhaps a little less paralysis by analysis is all it will take before he returns to his rightful slot - and next time I think he will be able to handle it better.

GMacSpain

 

NOTE ; You can now follow me on Twitter @gmacespanya

Bifurcation

No this is not where Sergio had to play his shot at the Arnold Palmer Invitational recently although you are right...it is a tree!

It looks like we may have to introduce a new word to our golfing vocabulary in the form of 'bifurcation', and yes, you may well say, 'what?'.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary definition of bifurcation states that it is, 'a division into two branches' and unless you have yet to come across this, it refers to a proposed change in the Rules of Golf which threatens to drive a stake through the fundamental principles of the game whereby we could end up with one set of rules for some and another set of rules for the rest. The rule makers of the game worldwide are the R&A and the USGA and they have proposed to impose a ban, not on long putters, but the anchoring of such devices to the body.

One of the fundamentals of the game is that the club should be 'swung' at the ball and that by anchoring the club to the body, this is no longer the case. Many golfers who have suffered from the 'yips' have found solace in the ability to anchor the putter to varying parts of their bodies, be it the belly, the chest and all the way up to the chin. Among the most famous golfers to have successfully extended their playing careers in the professional ranks, Bernhard Langer is possibly the most recognisable to those of us of a certain age.

However, within the past year or so we have now seen 3 out of the last 5 Major golf championships go to golfers using an anchored stroke namely, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Ernie Els. Of greater significance is the increase in younger players at the highest levels of amateur and professional golf who have never used anything other than a belly-type putter.

This proposal has created a huge furore in the golfing world with the US PGA and its associated tours, threatening to boycott this proposal, thereby creating a divide throughout the golfing world.

My question is, why did they ever allow these clubs to be permitted in the first place? Also, now that the ruling bodies have seen their precious Major trophies falling into the hands of those who use them, is this simply a knee-jerk reaction to their growth in the game.

There are many other areas of the game that should perhaps be given greater attention and focus such as the bane of slow play and the effects of technology with clubs and balls but I think we shall leave that for another day.

What do you think?

GMacSpain