Golf Newsletter Issue 14
April 2000
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Online Golf Solutions monthly golf Newsletter (from Dan Perry)
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com
danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com
Issue 14, Volume 1, April 2000
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In this issue:
* From Dan's Desk
* Golf Quote of the month
* Link of the month
* Guest Article "Ben Hogan was boring"
* Recent Site Additions
* Subscribe/Unsubscribe info
To view this newsletter online, with all the links active, please go to
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com/archives/issue14.html
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* From Dan's Desk
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First of all, I have a question for you. I was perusing my log files,
and I noticed that I was getting a lot of traffic from a site that I had
never heard of before. I visited the site, and it is written in French,
with a link to OGS at the bottom. Anyone out there read french? If so,
would you like to let me know what the article is about? The URL is: http://www.latribune.fr/Tribune/Articles.nsf/ArticlesWeb/
I've also signed on to provide the magazine, "Golf Management Europe" with 6 months worth of articles pertaining to golf and the internet. The site can be located at http://www.portman.uk.com/ppframes.htm. If you are a subscriber to this magazine, let them know how much you like my articles!
I've also been accepted as an editor for Briefme.com, which creates newsletters for all sorts of subjects. I am an editor in the golf area. I send them reviews on interesting golf sites or articles, and they include them in a weekly newsletter. Feel free to sign up for their golf newsletter too, and hopefully, you'll see some of my submissions (Three accepted so far)!
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* Golf Quote Of The Month
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"In golf, you have to play your foul balls."
Sam Snead talking to Ted Williams
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* Link of the Month
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Golf Week
http://www.golfweek.com/
A great site for golf news, but it goes farther than most golf news sites
by providing information on college golf, amateur golf, and even fantasy
golf. If you can't find it here, it's probably not news.
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* Guest Article "Ben Hogan was boring"
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Ben Hogan was boring.
©2000 Pat Dolan Golf Pro, All Rights Reserved
You heard me right Ben Hogan was boring --- especially when it came to
watching him play a golf course again.
I'm sure all of you have heard about his great swing and his ability to
hit driver after driver to his caddy some 250 yards away. His caddy would
rarely move more than two steps to catch the ball on it's first hop and
then clean it with a towell and drop it in the shag bag. The best golfers
in the world today would not select, nor spot the areas of the course
he used as a practice area. Often the selected area required the balls
to pass through an opening in the pecan trees no more than 20 feet wide
--- 100 yards away.
How do I know this ? Well, you see I was one of the teaching pro's at
Colonial at the time. This was in 1962, 63 and 64 and each of those years
just prior to his playing in "The Masters" he practiced exclusively at
Colonial. His home was at Shady Oaks Country Club and that's where he
normally played and practiced. The Colonial's staff of golf pro's including
Roland Harper the head pro and teaching pro's Ray Jefferson, Al Kozell,
Bobby Maxwell (twin brother of golfing great Billy Maxwell) and myself
often watched in awe as he did the above. We even fought over the shops
binoculars and who's turn it was to marshall on those days. You see both
were capable of giving us a better view of his practicing. Yes, even we
pro's were that impressed.
Ben was also well known as a great course strategist. In fact, he was
so meticulous about it, he was sometimes called "General Ben." You see
he attacked a golf course similar to a General planning a battle. In other
words he considered everything, about every hole, the good and the bad.
He'd play a single hole over and over using different clubs off of the
tee to determine exactly how the hole should be played. On par four's
and five's his first and/or second shots were always towards specific
landing areas which set the odds in his favor for his next shot.
Once his mind was set on "these specific landing areas" his only concern
became which club to use. The point is "he never changed these landing
areas." He'd hit different clubs due to weather conditions, etc. but his
goal was to put the ball into these specific areas, period. These areas
were usually about the size of a small green.
Now here's where he became boring. After watching Ben play a golf course
one time, you didn't need to watch him play that course again. You see
no matter how many times he played that specific course, he always played
each hole in precisely the same manner. Now perhaps you can understand
why it was once said (in jest?) that he couldn't play the same 18 holes
twice in one day because he'd have to hit out of earlier divots. Talk
about boring. God how I miss the boredom. Thanks for the memories Ben
and may you rest in peace.
It is always my intent to offer advice that can be used to improve the
reader, in this case it may need clarification. The point is, every shot
must have a secondary goal. A golfers primary target is always to hit
the ball. If you can't hit and move the ball and there is no game to be
played, period. Most golfers will tell you the secondary target is the
hole, or the flagstick but they fail to give a specific target on driver
required holes.
They may say "the fairway" and that's too vague. That's why some tee shots
end up three fairways away. All shots need a specific secondary goal.
Think about this, on any par three where you "had to" hit your driver,
How far away from the green was your worst shot ? Now, How far away from
your fairway did your worst tee shot finish ? Big difference right ? All
because on the long par three you were more focused on attaining a specific
goal.
Those wanting to improve would be well advised to always have a specific
landing area in mind, exactly like Ben Hogan did.
Remember the selected specific spot may be best hit with a club other
than your driver. If that spot is best hit with a 7 iron then use a 7
iron. Just because a hole is a par four, doesn't mean you HAVE to hit
a driver off the tee. Let the macho losers continue to do it, especially
when you're playing them.
Golfers wanting to improve faster, easier and affordably should visit
my site at
http://hometown.aol.com/snrgolfpro/resume1/index.htm
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* Recent Site Additions
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As you may have noticed, I've redesigned the graphics on the site, including
the main navigation bar (so it loads quicker), the page titles, and the
footer text link section at the bottom of every page. Just trying to make
it easier on the user.
I've also added a new section, called Golf News. This is a news feed that
only contains information on golf. It constantly refreshes itself, so
if you check it today, and then again tomorrow, the news would be different.
Quite a good idea, I must say. To check it out, please go to
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com/golfnews.html
Another addition is the "Ask Me a Question" button on each page. This
is another easy way for someone to ask me a question. The advantages of
this is that, if chosen, other users get to see the questions and answers.
It also logs the time it takes me to respond. A great little tool.
I've also added a "Recommend-It" button to the bottom of each page. If
you enjoy the site, be sure to recommend it, using this easy option.
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* Interesting News
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As stated in the above section, to get the latest in golf news, just visit
the new page on the site at http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com/golfnews.html.
Here's a current (relative, of course) sampling:
Duval
swims like a Shark in Rae’s Creek
http://www.pga.com/Newsline/Tour_News/tournews_detail.cfm?ID=2523
Duval's
dance with destiny ends in frustration
http://www.golfweb.com/u/ce/multi/pgatour/0,1977,2239530,00.html
Roberts was short but sweet at Augusta National
http://www.pga.com/Newsline/Tour_News/tournews_detail.cfm?ID=2522
ELS
SNAPS AT PHOTOGRAPHER
http://www.sporting-life.com/golf/news/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=golf/00/04/10/GOLF_Masters_Els.html
ON-SONG
SINGH MOVES UP THE CHARTS
http://www.sporting-life.com/golf/news/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=golf/00/04/10/GOLF_Rankings.html
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*Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info
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