Tag Archive for: golf

Updates from the MOC!

We hope everyone had a safe, happy, and healthy new year so far. After the weather from this past summer, fall, and into December we had made the decision to over-seed the greens, collars, approaches, and greens surrounds. The greens which had suffered a disease, as well as a battle of insects and moles, have really rebounded well as we have created a very smooth putting surface after treating the affected areas with proper chemicals as well as some different maintenance practices.

Some may have noticed who have been here in the past three weeks that we have many new faces on our grounds crew. Craig Farrish is our new superintendent and has been in the business for 25 years with stops in Virginia, New York, Georgia, Kentucky, and Florida. Joining Craig on staff are  Doug, Clark, Shane, Andrew, Ox, Charlie, Jeff, Keith, and Chuck. The staff has been here for three weeks now and has really become a great unit. They have worked at a few of the best private clubs from Tampa all the way down to Naples and bring a lot of knowledge and experience with them to The MOC.  As many can see the attention to the golf course has improved and the attention to detail is being addressed. All of the tee beds have been sprayed for weeds and wood chips and mulch are continually being placed throughout the golf course. We have repainted tee markers as well as improved yardage marker visibility.

In the next few weeks, we are hoping to take delivery of new equipment which will continue to improve the course conditions and the overall MOC Experience. Getting a great consistent height of cut as well as a drier faster playing surface is our goal moving forward.

We are continuing to improve our restaurant experience with Michele and Tori s well as the kitchen with Jovani and Billy who started last week. Billy is an avid golfer and we look forward to the specials that Jovani and Billy bring to the table. We will be starting a special event dining nights very soon so be on the lookout for a Valentines Day dinner.

Recently everyone can see they have moved forward with the Publix shopping center and our entrance has been relocated on Buffalo Rd immediately after the turn off of Moccasin Wallow rd. We relocated one of our since to show where our new temporary entrance has moved to. This is the beginning of the complete relocation of Buffalo rd which probably will start their construction and closing of buffalo rd in the next few weeks.

For those coming to us from St Petersburg and Pinellas County please note that traffic the course must take exit 2 Highway 41 north and go 1 mile to Moccasin Wallow rd. Take a right and proceed 1.5 miles under I75 to the club entrance on Buffalo rd on the right side.

We are sorry for everyone’s inconvenience and we appreciate your continued support. We are committed to continue making Moccasin Wallow Golf Club a great course and experience for years to come.

Thank you very much and it’s always “a great day to Golf The MOC.”

 

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Rules Guy: What happens if I lose the ball I just marked?

Source: Golf.com
By Rules Guy
The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

After marking ball on green and picking up ball, golfer or caddie drops ball, which rolls into water hazard, not retrievable. Replacement ball of exact brand and kind not available. What is penalty and how to continue?
—EARL HUSBAND, ODESSA, TEXAS

Ball lifted from putting green must be replaced. Must be exact ball. If not same ball, make/model no matter—substituting ball without authority under Rules. Two strokes or loss of hole is penalty. Also, One Ball Condition of Competition only encouraged for pros. Top-tier amateurs, too. Not for club play. Suggest: Grip ball tight!

Link to article: Click here

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A simple way to power up your golf swing

Source: GolfDigest
ByRon Kaspriske

Three important physical attributes that lead to more power in the golf swing are strong gluteal muscles, core stability and ankle mobility. Strong glutes should be obvious. They are prime movers in the golf swing and control the action of the pelvis. You also need strong muscles around the mid-section of your body to stabilize it as you swing a club, especially at faster speeds. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to keep your balance and hitting the ball with the center of the clubface would be a real challenge. The third attribute might have surprised you, but it’s just as important. Ankle mobility matters particularly in transferring weight from your back foot near the top of the backswing into the front foot as you swing down. If you think of the footwork of players such as Tony Finau, Bubba Watson and Justin Thomas—very big hitters—you might have an easier time understanding why functional movement in the ankles is a crucial part of power generation. They have active feet and extremely mobile ankles. Most long-ball hitters leverage the ground to store up power and then spring upward through impact. A good example of this was Tiger Woods’ swing while working with Sean Foley.

So what exercise can you do in the gym to improve function in your power-generating muscles? Squats. But not just any squats. In fact, the majority of people should avoid doing most types of squats—especially traditional barbell squatting—as it is one of the easiest ways to injure your lower back. Instead, try goblet squats. This exercise is great because it’s amazingly self-regulating, both in terms of form and safety. If there are issues with core stability or ankle mobility, you’ll know it the minute you try a goblet squat. If your trunk lurches forward or you can’t drop your butt down until your elbows are about knee height—or lower—then you’ll know you need to spend some time on core stability exercises and ankle mobility exercises. Continuing to practice the goblet squat will help, but you need some extra work on the exercises provided in the links, too. As far as how much weight to use, I recommend starting with a lighter dumbbell or kettlebell and then progressing to heavier weight as your form and range of motion improve. If you can’t easily pick up the weight with one arm, start with something lighter.

To watch me demonstrate a goblet squat, click on the video below. Add these to your workout and you’ll be priming your body for better power generation when you play.

Click here to watch the video.

Link to article: Click here 
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Tiger Woods encore, Jordan Spieth’s rebound and more 2019 golf storylines to watch

Source: CBSSports.com
By 

What will take place over the 12 months as the schedule changes and new superstars are assimilated

The 2018-19 PGA Tour season already started, but it really starts next week at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. That’s when a lot of the big-name winners from 2018 will play at Kapalua to start off the 2019 golf calendar year. Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson will be there, and Tiger Woods might even make an appearance.

Regardless, with a condensed 2019 calendar for the PGA Tour, things are going to be fast and furious for the next nine months leading up to and including a revamped Tour Championship. There are approximately 1 million storylines for the coming year, but I tried to cull that down to nine (or so) that I’m most intrigued by as the calendar flips. Here they are.

1. Tiger Woods’ encore: Obviously, this will top everybody’s list this time of year. While it’s my No. 1 personal preference, what Woods does in 2019 is so overwhelmingly interesting that it engulfs both any other stories I might be partial to and pretty much everything else in golf. The interesting part about Woods in 2019 is that everything is kind of still on the table. When the variance is that wide-ranging and the subject that famous, it makes for the greatest drama.

2. Jordan Spieth’s rebound: Of all the players who were down in 2018, Spieth is both the best player and also the one most likely to rebound in 2019. Again, all of this is relative because his 2018 wasn’t that bad, but his first few months as the Masters comes into focus is something I’ll be diving into pretty vociferously.

3. Will Brooks be beloved (and will he get his third straight U.S. Open)? I both get it and don’t get it. Maybe it’s dumb to have a storyline like this this high on my list, but if Brooks Koepka keeps up the pace he’s on and the general public continues to not care, we’re going to have a pretty unprecedented situation on our hands. He’ll go for his third consecutive U.S. Open victory at Pebble Beach in June. Nobody has ever won three in a row, and only six golfers ever have won three total.

4. This year’s Koepka: There are so many candidates for who could win a pair of majors or, say, win five PGA Tour events. Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm … the list goes on and on. Maybe the answer at the end of 2019 will simply be “nobody,” but nearly every season is owned by one guy. Last year it was Koepka. Before that, it was Thomas with five wins and a major. Dustin Johnson with three and a major before that. Spieth with five and two majors. You get the point. I’m curious to see who that person is in 2019.

5. That major rota! (and the new slate): The new PGA Tour schedule has the Players Championship in March and the PGA Championship in May. That will be interesting and, I think, provide a better rhythm for the year. It also allows the European Tour to backload its schedule, which will be better for the health of golf globally. Oh, and look at these four major courses:

  • Masters: Augusta National
  • PGA Championship: Bethpage Black
  • U.S. Open: Pebble Beach
  • Open Championship: Royal Portrush

That’s three of the top 40 courses in the U.S. according to Golf Digest, and the No. 7 non-American course.

6. Justin Rose vs. D.J.: This is kind of a weird one because nobody to my knowledge ever talks about Dustin Johnson vs. Justin Rose. However, their career resumes are pretty similar. Rose has won 23 times worldwide, has 15 top 10s at majors, one major win (a U.S. Open) and is one of 23 players who has been ranked No. 1 in the world. Johnson has won 20 times worldwide, has 15 top 10s at majors, one major win (a U.S. Open) and is one of 23 players who has been ranked No. 1 in the world. The big question for me for two of the five best players alive is whether one of them can get to two or three major championships. That would set that player apart from what has become a pretty comparable peer.

7. More money matches: With the Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson match in the bag and others apparently on the horizon, I have a lot of questions. Will there be undercards? Will Lefty and Woods face off again? Does there always need to be $9 million on the line? It’s a sideshow, sure, but it might be the most interesting sideshow going in golf right now, and where it lands in 2019 could tell us a lot about where it lands for the next decade.

8. Cam Champ’s trajectory: He’s probably the most well known of the mega young potential superstars, although he might not be the most likely candidate to step into the role (can I introduce you to Norman Xiong and Matthew Wolff?). After a win in the fall, he’ll create a buzz in Hawaii when Tiger (if he plays) and others start talking about how spectacularly long he is off the tee. Anything is possible for somebody who seems to be just stepping into who he’ll become.

9. Equipment rollback? I’m sort of bored by this because it seems like we talk about it every year, but nothing ever really happens. The drum beat did seem a little louder in 2018 than it has before. Will 2019 bring about change? Probably not, but it means we’re a little closer to whatever the eventual solution will be.

Link to article: Click here

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Mis-hit your driver — on purpose! — to find the sweet spot

Source: Golf.com
By Mark Durland

A new practice method helps you learn faster by — get this — avoiding the sweet spot. Here’s how.

1. The theory

Instead of trying to pound the sweet spot practice swing after practice swing at the range, try catching a few on the heel and toe as well. By giving your brain multiple reference points to think about, you force it to work harder — so you can learn faster! It’s called variable training. Multiple studies prove that it can be wildly effective.

2. How to put it to good use

Tee the ball in its regular spot and try hitting it off the toe. After a few attempts, switch it up: Hit some clankers off the heel. Then go back to your quest to locate the center. For a real test, tee two balls off the clubface and see if you can knock them in tandem. Now you’re really putting your noggin to work! If you can teach yourself to create off-center hits on command, it’ll be easier to find the center when it counts.

Link to article: Click here

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What Causes Hooking the Golf Ball, and How to Stop it

Source: Golf Digest
By Hank Haney

Eliminate your hook with a simple grip change
If you’re a player who tends to hit a hook, first count yourself fortunate. A hook is the last stop on the road to a good golf swing, and you’re very close to hitting consistent, powerful shots. But it’s still a ball-flight problem you need to take care of to make that next step and become a scratch or near-scratch player.

A strong grip is by far the most common error I see with players who curve the ball too much from right to left. The right hand drifts to the right–away from the target–and moves underneath the club, as shown in the photograph below. With the right hand in this position, it will tend to turn over too much through impact. Because the position of the right palm roughly replicates the clubface, it’s easy to see why this turning over of the right hand causes the clubface to close and the ball to curve left.

To calm that hook down to a manageable draw, adjust your right hand to a more neutral position, as I’m demonstrating above. Turn it toward the target, so you can’t see your left thumb when you’ve made your completed grip. I also like to put my right index finger in a “trigger” position under the handle, which supports the club through the swing. If the finger wraps around the grip too much, the club tends to get loose at the top.

Link to article: Click here

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Kuchar gets 8th TOUR win at Mayakoba Golf Classic

November 11, 2018

By Cameron Morfit
Source: PGATour.com

Matt Kuchar survived some shaky play down the stretch and rattled in a par putt from just inside three feet on 18 to shoot a final-round 69 for a one-stroke victory over Danny Lee (65) at the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Sunday.

J.J. Spaun (66) and Richy Werenski (67) tied for third, three back.

“It feels extra sweet having kind of had to suffer through a year of not playing great in 2018,” said Kuchar, whose last victory before today came at the 2014 RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina. “Being four years removed since my last victory I realize how difficult it is to win on the PGA TOUR.”

With the win, Kuchar earned a spot in a handful of prestigious tournaments, first on the calendar being the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January.

With his regular caddie, John Wood, at a reunion, Kuchar won with a club caddie, David “Toucan” Ortiz, who had been assigned to him by the tournament director. Ortiz, a father of two from Playa del Carmen who caddies every day at El Camaleon Golf Club, was in tears as he accepted congratulations and rolled up the flag on 18 as a souvenir.

Although he went into Sunday with a four-shot lead, and kept a nice cushion for much of the day, Kuchar bogeyed the 14th and 15th holes, missing putts inside 10 and 5 feet, respectively, to make it close. With Lee on his heels, he closed with three pars to win.

The last one might have been the hardest. With mud on the back of his ball, which sat on the front fringe, he wasn’t sure how hard to hit it. He guessed mostly right, and the ball rolled to a stop nearly three feet short. It was a straight putt, but felt like a very long three feet.

“I certainly made it exciting coming in,” said Kuchar, who moves to fifth in the FedExCup. “It wasn’t the finish I was hoping for; I would have liked to have been able to five- or six-putt that final green. Winning out here is so difficult. The strength of field every week is awfully good.”

This week marked a return to form for a player who was used to being in the upper echelon but had fallen off. Kuchar was 76th in the FedExCup last season after being in the top 20 for eight straight years. He missed cuts, which he said was “not in my vocabulary” and “extremely frustrating.” He missed the TOUR Championship. He turned 40.

All of which led to some big questions.

Could he win in his 40s, like Fred Funk, the 2007 winner here? Could he reel off multiple wins, like Vijay Singh? Could he reach 10 or even 15, or was all of that wishful thinking?

Kuchar imagined hoisting more trophies, but also couldn’t be sure he wasn’t done winning.

“I’ve thought the other side,” he said. “I’ve thought, man, kids are getting younger and stronger and it’s more and more challenging for a guy that plays my style of golf to win and win multiple times.”

He came to Mayakoba without knowing exactly where his game was. He’d worked hard with his instructor, Chris O’Connell, leading into his only other start of this season, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, but finished T57. He was hitting the ball well, but not scoring.

He did both in Mexico, where he stayed in a casita on the beach with his wife, Sybi, and their two sons, Cameron, 11, and Carson, 9. Kuchar shot 64-64-65 over the first three rounds, leaving no doubt as to the state of his game. Even with his relatively ho-hum 69 on Sunday he broke the tournament record at 22-under and broke a win drought of four and a half years.

It was also his best 72-hole score on TOUR.

After wiggling in that final three-footer, he hugged his caddie, Ortiz, tossed his putter to the turf and embraced his sons. He kissed Sybi, who caddied for four holes in the first round after Kuchar’s playing partner Zach Johnson lost his caddie, Damon Green, to illness (heat).

The family savored the moment together.

“My kids have now gotten into it,” Kuchar said. “And so we do a lot of kind of family afternoon time on the golf course. It’s really been kind of one of those great, you know, father-son and even the whole family, even Sybi will come along and we’ll cram four people in a cart and just go out and play nine holes or six holes or four holes, whatever we have time for.

“I’ve really enjoyed those sessions,” he added. “My life has evolved. I used to only go out and be by myself or with a competitive match, and now having some kids to bring along, it’s really been rewarding. Fun times for me on the golf course.”

He still wants to win a major, and to play on the U.S. Presidents Cup next year. He even spoke of potentially reeling off multiple victories in 2019. First, though, Kuchar was headed to this week’s Australian Open, followed by the World Cup. His season of frustration, the doubts about his future, the existential angst of a milestone birthday—all of it had been wiped away.

Link to article: Click here

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