Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
When I was new to golf the head professionals where I played, including Rives McBee, introduced me to the game, helped me get better and taught me their passion for playing. Before anyone had shot 63 in a major, McBee had a share of the record for lowest round in a major, a 64 that he shot in the 1966 U.S. Open at Olympic. He traveled with Lee Trevino early in their careers and he knew the game inside and out. Still does.
As I see it, head pros are always holed up in their office!
As a head pro, McBee, along with Jerry Andrews and Lanny Turentine, wasn’t in their office all day. They were on the putting green, the driving range or the golf course, showing people how to play, explaining this part of the grip or that part of the stance. If he wasn’t in one of those places, he could be found at the 19th hole, talking about the history of this game, its traditions and past greats. For McBee and Andrews and Turentine, these weren’t just characters out of books, they were people they knew personally.
These men weren’t trying to generate rounds, they were trying to generate interest. They weren’t trying to grow the game, they were trying to preserve the game.
We interrupt this program with some news from the PGA Tour!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
It certainly makes a lot of sense to me that the PGA Tour would consider having its own network. In fact, it surprises me that this has not happened sooner. With the great success of the Golf Channel, it is obvious that people are willing to tune in to their favorite pastime 24/7. Thanks to Dave Shedloski of Golf World Digital for this breaking and interesting story!
A shakeup in televised golf’s established order might be in the offing.
According to the Sports Business Journal, a May 16 story reports that the PGA Tour, which is in the midst of long-term rights deals with CBS and NBC/Golf Channel, could exercise an opt-out clause three years early—in 2018—to either seek new agreements or perhaps launch its own network. Network sources told SBJ that the tour has had preliminary discussions with several media companies to gauge interest in bidding on rights, although those same sources later expressed skepticism that the tour would end its current deals early. An industry source told Golf World that the tour’s exploratory initiative was driven by the lucrative USGA and R&A deals recently signed with Fox and NBC
A Great Putting Drill to help your arms stay connected!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
This is a great putting drill to help the golfer understand the importance of getting the hands, arms and shoulders all connected and working as one! I will incorporate this drill into my putting instruction because of its simplicity in setting it up correctly. Thanks to Martin Hall of the Golf Channel for sharing!
There is a reason you have an easier time making a good stroke on a 25-foot putt than you do on a three-, five- or even 10-footer: you don’t expect to make every one of those long ones. When you get over a shorter putt, the expectation is higher, therefore, the letdown is greater and your nerves kick up.
Martin Hall explains that the face of the putter at impact dictates about 90% of a putt’s direction and with shorter putts, that means there is less room for error. He demonstrates how simply duct taping two alignment rods (or the cheaper alternative — reflective rods) can train your body to keep the putter head square through impact, thus allowing you to make more putts.
Understand the X Factor and What it can do for your game!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Understanding the relationship between the upper and lower body is critical to creating consistency in your ball striking and adding additional power to your golf swing. This is called the X-Factor. Here, even though Andy Proudman calls this a winter drill, it can be used year-round! Many of these types of drills are extremely beneficial to your golf game, but I rarely see golfers take the time to do them. This is a drill you should be doing every day if you will see long-term benefits to your golf game. Doing them once or twice won’t cut it! Make this a daily habit, and you will be pleased with the results. Thanks, Andy, for this great tip!
Ian Woosnam discusses hitting crisp long irons with ease.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Martin Hall of the Golf Channel discusses with former Masters Champ Ian Woosnam the techniques of hitting good, crisp long iron shots. According to Woosie, the release of the body through the ball is the real secret. Check this interesting discussion out!
Martin Hall teaches you how to hit with the long irons (2, 3). Learn to slide it along the ground for a perfect swing
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Brandel Chamblee on the Golf Channel talking Presidents Cup!
When Brandel Chamblee first came to the Golf Channel I enjoyed his fresh approach to the commentary and his insights as a former player.
But as he went along, his ego became bigger and bigger and now he thinks he is the expert in everything, including who will and will not be a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup captain.
This by a man who has only won once on the PGA Tour! Best finish in the Masters T18 (the only time he was invited) US Open T44, British Open T62, and PGA Championship played 4 times, missed the cut 4 times! And yet according to an article by Luke Kerr-Dineen writing for USA Today Brandel is saying Tiger (and Phil) do not deserve to EVER be Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup Captains! Wow, what a HUGE put-down of two of golf’s best from someone who has no resume to speak of compared to the two players he is putting down.
Reports emerged during the Presidents Cup last week that Tiger Woods, who looks unlikely to make next year’s Ryder Cup team, expressed interest in becoming an assistant captain at Hazeltine National Golf Club.
According to Golf Digest: “[Woods] was talking about all the things he thought we needed to do, and he had a lot of ideas …”
Love said the next task for him is naming assistant captains. Woods is a candidate, among many, if he doesn’t qualify for the U.S. team. “But we’re not waiting around for that. We’ve already been doing a lot of planning,”
Love said. “And Tiger is just as interested as the rest of us to get going.”
So, Tiger wants to be an assistant captain next year if he doesn’t make the team? Probably a good idea. But not according to Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee.
Chamblee said that both Tiger and Phil Mickelson don’t “deserve” the roles because: “I don’t really think it’s appropriate to give players leadership roles in an event they didn’t show interest or passion for when they were competitors.”
It’s hardly surprising given that Chamblee generally rips Tiger whenever he can. On Tiger specifically, Chamblee said that the former World No. 1 doesn’t deserve to be a captain because he didn’t show “interest or passion” in the competition earlier in his career. If he had, Chamblee claims, Tiger would have finished with a record better than his current 13-17-3 career Ryder Cup record.
I hope Anthony Kim will make a return to the PGA Tour!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
A return by Anthony Kim to the PGA Tour would really be great! I always loved his panache!
And his exciting game would add some spice to an already spiced up Tour! He is not back yet, not by a long stretch, but he says his body is a 6 out of 10 right now. In a recent interview with Doug Ferguson of the Golf Channel, he said, “I miss the competition!” Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long to see him in action. Thanks to Business Insider and Cork Gaines for this breaking report!
Hunter Martin/Getty Images
In 2007, Anthony Kim was 22 and was considered the next big thing on the PGA Tour — a young golfer with a better swing than Tiger Woods had at the same age.
In 2012, Kim shot a 74 in the opening round of the Wells Fargo Championship, withdrew from the tournament, and walked away from the sport.
Kim hasn’t played on the Tour since — a career derailed by injuries. But while Kim hasn’t played a full round of golf in nearly 18 months, the now 30-year-old hasn’t given up on his golf dream and is hoping to get healthy enough to give the sport one more shot.
In his first interview in three years, Kim spoke to Doug Ferguson of the Golf Channel about why he walked away, what he is up to now, and his hopes to get back on the course.
Three years after walking away from the PGA Tour, Kim’s life is one of a broken body. According to Ferguson, physical therapy takes up most of Kim’s time. His Achilles tendon ruptured when he was preparing for the 2013 season, and that was followed by a herniated disc.
“I’ve got so much ground to make up from injuries — rotator cuff, labrum, spinal fusion, hand injury,” Kim told Ferguson. “I’ve had six or seven surgeries in the last three-and-a-half years.”
Kim, who made $12.2 million in parts of seven seasons on the Tour that included three wins, now receives a monthly payment from an insurance policy he took out in case of injury.
Kim denied the policy was influencing whether or not to return to competitive golf. In fact, it sounds like Kim is gearing up for a return to the PGA Tour.
8 Top Golf Commentators that make us watch golf on TV!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Stories of sub-plots abound with the loss of David Feherty from CBS.
Top-ranked golf commentators are hot property and are worth their weight in gold to the networks they work for—some more than others. CBS obviously thought they could do without Feherty, who wanted more work “in the booth” and a higher salary. (which I’m sure he will get elsewhere). There are the legends like Henry Longhurst, (my favorite) Peter Alliss, and Pat Summerall; there are the commentators some people love and some hate, like Johnny Miller and Greg Norman.
Feherty is not on either list. Almost everybody loves him, but he has not yet reached the status of the three aforementioned broadcasters. This is his chance to take it to the next level. I, for one, cannot wait to see the outcome! Thanks to Golf Digest and Joel Beall for this interesting story!
A glance at Golf Digest’s Facebook page shows fans are none too pleased with CBS Sports’ apparent decision to part ways with on-course reporter David Feherty. While some looked at the Northern Irishman’s commentary as sacrilegious, there’s no denying that Feherty’s outlook was unique, and frankly, an imaginative take on a sport that’s notoriously conservative.
In honor of Feherty, here are eight of the more unique personalities that have graced golf broadcasts:
Henry Longhurst.
Henry Longhurst, British golf writer and commentator, during the US Masters Golf Tournament at the Augusta National Club in Georgia, circa April 1971. (Photo by Leonard Kamsler/Popperfoto via Getty Images)
A golf correspondent for The Sunday Times, Longhurst penned a dozen books throughout his life, and once served as a member of parliament during World War II. However, Longhurst is best known as one of the first voices involved in golf broadcasting, and as such, played an indelible role in the shaping of the sport’s coverage. Longhurst worked on golf broadcasts for 20 years, from the late 1950s until his death in 1978. He famously called Jack Nicklaus’ 40-foot putt on the 16th hole at the 1975 Masters:”My, my…in all my life I have never seen a putt quite like that.”
Johnny Miller.
Miller was a fine player in his own right, racking up 25 wins, two majors and one of the best final rounds in championship history, but is best known to contemporary golf audiences as NBC’s color commentator. Miller has become known — some would even say infamous — for his candor, which has drawn ire from tour players throughout the years. Nevertheless, his ability to convey both a golf course’s subtleties and the mechanics and fundamentals of the sport to the common man are unparalleled.
Peter Alliss.
One of the fewer announcers who doesn’t hyperbolize the present. Can spout out historical facts as if he’s reading from a book. He’s facetious without the snark. And if he does offend — which he occasionally does — he doesn’t give a damn.
Or, we could just say his nickname is “the Voice of Golf.” Enough said.
Pat Summerall.
Ken Venturi, Pat Summerall
PGA TOUR
Photo by Jeff McBride/PGA TOUR Archive
To a certain generation, Summerall was known for many years as the monotone narrator of the “Madden” NFL video game franchise (as well as Golden Tee!). Yet, despite his career as a NFL player, he seamlessly transitioned to golf, and was an integral part of the sport for 30 years. Summerall worked his first Masters in 1968, and was at Augusta every year until 1994. The brevity and booming inflection was apropos for golf.
Golf’s hottest property is not Spieth or Day – It’s David Feherty!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The apparent departure of David Feherty after 19 years walking the fairways for CBS and filling the airways with clever comments has created yet another fight in a seemingly endless battle for content and talent among networks vying for the most valuable property in entertainment — live sports.
Even as word spread that talks between CBS and Andrew Elkin, Feherty’s agent for Creative Artists Agency (CAA), had broken down, CBS supplied only a polite “no comment” when asked about the matter by GolfDigest.com.
NBC/Golf Channel, owned by Comcast, and Fox Sports, considered the main suitors for Feherty’s talents, also responded with a “no comment.” Contacted through NBC/Golf Channel, Feherty also chose not to respond.
But industry insiders with knowledge of the situation said the fight for Feherty would intensify the already bitter battle between Fox Sports and NBC/GC, which is still licking its wounds after losing the USGA contract to Fox, a network that this year became a newcomer to golf.
Multiple sources say the CBS situation was soured by the two factors: Feherty wanted a booth job rather than roaming the fairways, but Nick Faldo already shares that duty with Jim Nantz. CAA was demanding a salary figure CBS was unwilling to meet.
Give thanks that you can play for the round is much too short and sweet.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
The full verse goes – Give thanks that you can play for the round is much too short and sweet to let it slip away!
This Englishman won 4 consecutive European Tour Order of Merit titles from 1971 to 1974, was a member of 6 Ryder Cup teams and won the Canadian Open in 1981 on the PGA Tour.
I remember playing a practice round with him at Huddle Park Golf Club before the 1971 South African PGA Championship. He had class and dignity then, and he still has that now.
I did not know why I hadn’t seen “Oostie,” as we used to call him, when I played the South African Tour in the ’70s, in the broadcasting booth for CBS for some time. Oosterhuis has just announced publicly that he has early-onset Alzheimer’s.
It takes courage to deal with this devastating disease. Peter Oosterhuis and his wife, Ruthie, are doing all they can to support fundraisers to help fight this condition, affecting too many people. Peter has accepted this challenge with the same class and character he brought to his golf and broadcasting careers.
Give thanks, celebrate the good shots, and forget the bad ones.
Peter Oosterhuis, a former PGA Tour player and broadcaster, has disclosed that he has Alzheimer’s disease.
Oosterhuis, 67, an Englishman, made the public announcement in May with his wife, Roothie, at an event for the Nantz National Alzheimer Center, which broadcaster Jim Nantz founded at Houston Methodist Neurological Institute as a tribute to his late father, who suffered from the disease. Video of the announcement was released Monday by Golf World.
“It’s a horrible disease. Not only does it affect Peter. It affects me, our children, and our grandchildren and our friends.” Roothie Oosterhuis said at the event. “It took nine months for us to accept the fact that Peter has this. He is, as always, elegant and amazing in standing up to the situation.”
The six-time European Ryder Cup player worked as a golf analyst for BBC, CBS Sports and Golf Channel, beginning in 1995. His playing career included more than 20 titles worldwide and 11 years on the PGA Tour.
Hunter Martin/Getty Images
