Thursday, February 01, 2007 Chiongbian: Streaking Tiger keeps his cool By Edgar R. Chiongbian Teetime
TIGER Woods is still at it, winning golf tournaments since July 2006. He’s on no. 7 straight PGA wins and second only to Byron Nelson who has eleven.
7-11? Yeah that’s it. If the streak ends there, it will surely be a great commercial for the 7-11 store chain and Tiger can get anything they carry in the store for free. If he continues winning, then there would be another good name for a new convenience store.
Tiger, however, says that it is only a PGA streak and not worldwide because he came in second on two non-PGA tournaments. It is very easy to be humble when you are on top and getting your way. I know that a lot of successful people have been quoted as very cool under pressure. Yeah but did you ever see how many times they lost their cool before they became successful?
I remember when Tiger got the grand slam or the four majors in a row but not on the same calendar year. He really argued forever that it was one and the same. No lesson to be learned here. Just be great and successful and you can have your way with the media.
Mango Tee at Alabang GCC is on schedule for next week. So my partner Omar Cruz and myself will try our luck again on winning something, anything in the raffles would be great. You see, those guys in Manila are very serious about winning this tournament. Unlike us at the Coral tee, we’re just there to enjoy and hope for a win. Though there are some few exceptions that are always on the hunt.
And in two weeks, the PAL Interclub goes to Cagayan de Oro. Our CCC teams are still the team to beat in Founders division of the men’s regular team and in the senior’s team. Our Mactan Island GC and Alta Vista players are always tough but they have yet to find their way to the winner’s circle.
I know that this is old but I can’t seem to understand why on Sunday night of the Sinulog, a band was playing AT the parking lot of Jollibee, corner Mango and Gorordo streets, in front of Inmaculada College. The parking lot is very tiny so the stage and band practically filled it out. The band was facing the intersection, where there are no places for people to stand because it’s just a street, street and street. My question is. Was the band supposed to play for the motorists? And where did they get their permit, from the ukay-ukay?
We received more comments about the caddie situation regarding the diminishing supply of caddies at the latter part of the day. “Yes I guess the scarcity brings to mind the Labor Economics and Unemployment as well as the attractiveness of the caddy profession,” according to WL (not Wellington).
WL says that “We're quite spoiled over here, needing caddies to do things we can readily do, or maybe some need them as an excuse for a bad shot or decision. Caddies are practically extinct in various developed countries, and perhaps is an indicator of a country's progress. In Malaysia, I've played with one caddy for a foursome. She has a follow-me cart that carries four bags, walks down the center from tee to green. Players walk towards her to get clubs. She is the custodian of equipment and keeps them clean. Doesn't give putting advice or yardage. I also notice that players play faster and better.
Isn't it time we reward the profession by allowing the willing to caddy for more than one person? We can agree to pay him/her say, 150% of the regular fee. Both players and caddies are rewarded. Just need to modify the existing carts to take two bags (four bags will need to be motorized, and maybe a thing in the near future). If caddies are paid well, they respect the game and the profession. The game benefits.”
My own view on this is that we are now getting more tourists playing and on weekends. So we run out of caddies because the tourists pay more and a fatter tip. So the poor members are stuck with a ball boy at best or none at all. The management must look into the scheduling of the caddies or hire more to correct this.
Golf Tip: To get the most out of your drives, you must accomplish these four areas of your swing. First, make sure that you have created torque with your legs, body and arms. If you don’t feel the connection with your left thigh and arms, your have not coiled your body correctly.
Second is to create a wide swing arc for more power. Swing the club as far away from your body as possible with emphasis on your right arm width instead of a stiff left arm. Third, your driver should be approaching the ball at a shallow angle of attack and ascending through impact. Fourth is to make sure that your clubface is square as it hits the ball through impact.
