The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a best ball partnership that is a  popular event for players and fans. It’s played in Savannah, GA at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa.  The course is a good layout with birdie opportunities on many of the holes. The Legends of Golf event was the beginning of the  Champions Tour at Onion Creek Club in 1978 in Austin, Texas, my home town.

Team golf is a nice break from the regular individual competition. The beginning of golf in Scotland was predominantly team play and the game became more individualized as the popularity grew, and as golf spread to other countries.

Toshiba Classic

The Champions Tour traveled to Newport Beach, California for the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club in March. The event is well supported by all the surrounding areas and the tournament gives generously to charity each year.  The golf course has undulating greens that take some experience to read as the ocean has an affect on the ball. Uphill putts towards the ocean are just as quick as downhill putts away from the ocean. This takes some time to get a feel for and presents a challenge. The course is a good layout with a mix of par 4′s that give players options off the tee with good risk reward. The par 5′s are reachable for long hitters but tricky around the greens, and the par 3′s have character and length. This is a good test of golf that is fun to play and provides excitement for the fans.  Toshiba is a great sponsor and the tournament is well run and fun to be a part of.

Solar Powered Score Board

This  year at the Toshiba Classic, Firm Green supplied solar powered score boards and golf carts as well as two renewable natural gas powered vehicles for the event. Firm Green also assisted in transporting e-waste generated by the event and supplied bio-diesel to the on site power generator for the event. Way to go Firm Green and the Champions Tour for making strides in the direction of eco-friendly golf tournaments! Read more about Firm Green’s efforts at the Toshiba Classic.

Crane used to dig out "The Quarry" on Hole #6 Tee Box

The Quarry in Naples Florida was the site for the Ace Group Classic Champions Tour event this week. The golf course has par five holes that are reachable in two shots and the driving areas are wide, so low scores are fairly easy to attain. A score over par is not going to be competitive and the wind is the biggest obstacle. The course has to defend itself from low scoring.

I played very mediocre and felt like I could have shot 8 to 10 shots better with sharper execution. I have some work to do on my game and the past two weeks in competition have revealed several areas that need improvement to shoot better scores.

Wildlife at the Quarry

The wildlife in the Naples area is amazing.  While walking the pristine white sandy beach we saw a dolphin casually swimming along the coastline within 50 yards from the shore. On the golf course, there were Red Tail Hawk, Osprey, and even a Bald Eagle fishing and catching prey. There was other wildlife as well; alligators, raccoon, and an abundance of water fowl including wood stork, pelicans, ibis, egrets, and great blue heron.

Naples, Florida

Naples is the nicest place I have been in Florida. There are beautiful white sandy beaches and perfect weather.  Downtown Naples is a great area for dining, shopping, and nightlife. It is apparent that there is a lot of wealth in this area, and a feel of Carmel-by-the-Sea and the Hamptons. This is a great place to live with plenty to do.

The Quarry

Follow the link to read an Austin American Statesman article about how arriving on time for your tee time sets the right tone for your golf round and about the upcoming AT&T Championship in San Antonio.

Austin American Statesman Article

New Start on the Champions Tour

J.L. turned 50 in July and has played in the Champions Tour the last half of the 2010 season, three of which were Major Championships. J.L. and his wife, Dawn, have been very busy traveling world-wide on the Champions Tour  including a trip to Scotland for the Senior Open in July and to South Korea in September for the Posco E&C Songdo Championship. With two top ten finishes and a tie for 12^th at the US Senior Open, J.L. is encouraged with his results and looking forward to a long rewarding Champions Tour Career.

Along with the onset of a new career on the Champions Tour, J.L. and Dawn acquired their first granddaughter, Lily Marie on June 28^th. Lily is the daughter of Sherry Marie Lewis-Ramirez, J.L. and Dawn’s daughter and Communications Director. J.L. and Dawn are thoroughly enjoying being grandparents and while they are enjoying being on the Champions Tour, they look forward to coming back to Austin to visit their granddaughter.

In the next several blog posts, they would like to share a bit about their new experiences on the Champions Tour.

J.L. Lewis' Granddaughter Lily Marie

An article from the Austin American Statesman:

Lewis mounts a run at Champions Tour major

By Kevin Robbins | Saturday, August 21, 2010, 08:09 PM

Austin resident and rookie Champions Tour player J.L. Lewis, a former golf professional at The Hills of Lakeway and Forest Creek, finished 54 holes of the Jeld-Wen Tradition at 9 under par Saturday, leaving him two shots behind leader Tom Lehman. Lewis shot a third-round 6-under-par 66 at the Crosswater Club in Sunriver, Ore., to share second place with Champions Tour major winners Bernhard Langer and Fred Funk.

That’s awfully good company for a two-time PGA Tour winner and Texas State graduate whose elbow and knee injuries all but ruined his career from 2006 on. He’s had four starts this year on the PGA Tour, four on the Nationwide Tour and three on the Champions Tour, where he had his best finish of 2010, a tie for 12th at the U.S. Senior Open.

He’ll be playing in the final group Sunday with Langer and Lehman.

J.L. Lewis celebrated his 50th birthday this past Sunday, July 18, 2010 while in Scotland. He will be making his Champions Tour debut at the Senior British Open at Carnoustie this week. The tournament begins tomorrow.

PGATOUR.com will be posting a daily blog during the week of the Senior British Open about J.L.’s insights on his Champions Tour debut and his visit to Scotland. To read the daily blog, visit http://www.pgatour.com/2010/s/07/20/lewisblog_srbritish/.

Importance of Golf Fundamentals and Balance

An important physical characteristic of the golf swing other than the fundamentals is balance.  Golf fundamentals and balance go hand in hand, and balance can tell you if your fundamentals are correct.

Golf Grip Tips

If the grip is too strong, then there can be a tendency to have too much weight on the right side of the body.  The golf club could be closed on the back swing possibly causing a number of misses including:

• low left shots,
• hitting behind the ball,
• topping the ball, or
• weak right shots.

If the grip is too weak the tendency can be to have too much weight on the left side of the body at address which can cause the following misses:

• weak right shots,
• pulling the ball to the left of the target,
• a high ball flight,
• a reverse weight shift,
• coming over the top on the downswing,
• hitting severe hooks,
• hitting slices, or
• shanking the ball.

These misses demonstrate why the fundamentals and balance are an important part of the golf swing.

Importance of Golf Ball Position

Ball position is another important golf fundamental.  Incorrect ball position can cause many adverse consequences if the ball position is too far forward or back in the stance.  A ball too far forward can cause the shoulder alignment to be too far left at address which can lead to many swing errors including:

• a reverse weight shift,
• a back swing that is too steep,
• a downswing that comes over the top,
• high left misses,
• high right slices,
• fat shots, or
• thin shots.

Ball position too far back in the stance can cause:

• pushes to the right,
• low ball flight,
• a flat back swing, or
• low hooks.

Alignment

Alignment is also connected to balance.  Being lined up to the right of the target can cause the following misses:

• weight being too much on the toes at impact,
• pull hooks,
• pushes to the right,
• an over the top swing path,
• standing up during the downswing, or
• losing the spine angle that was established at address.

Having the weight too much on the heels at address can cause these misses:

• pushing the ball to the right,
• topping the ball,
• pulls to the left, or
• loss of spine angle during the swing.

Posture

Posture is also connected to balance and having poor posture can cause the following misses:

• a reverse weight shift on the back swing,
• losing the triangle in the arms during the swing,
• too swift of a back swing,
• loss of distance because of slumping over and not having the same leverage during the swing,
• fat shots,
• thin shots, or
• losing the spine angle during the swing.

Stance is Connected to Golf Fundamentals and Balance

Additionally, stance and balance are connected because a stance too wide can cause these errors:

• lack of full shoulder turn,
• restricted weight shift during the swing,
• a swing plane that is too flat,
• a low hooking ball flight, or
• shanking the ball.

A stance that is too narrow can cause these misses:

• a reverse weight shift,
• a steep back swing,
• fat shots,
• thin shots,
• low duck hooks,
• high right shots,
• loss of triangle in the arms during the swing, or
• losing the spine angle that was established at address.

Conclusion

Proper execution of the fundamentals of grip, ball position, alignment, posture, and stance gives the player their best chance for good balance before and during the swing. A player with good balance almost always has a fundamentally sound set up and swing. To achieve good balance during the swing, practice and review all of the fundamentals on a regular basis. To have good fundamentals, work on being in perfect balance before and during the swing. Balance and fundamentals are co-dependent.

See if you can score like a pro! Test your golf knowledge with the new Golf Swing Challenge Game!

Golf Fundamentals and Balance

An important physical characteristic of the golf swing other than the fundamentals is balance.  Golf fundamentals and balance go hand in hand, and balance can tell you if your fundamentals are correct.

Both grip, golf ball position, alignment, and posture can be important factors affecting the fundamentals and balance.  To learn more about how grip, golf ball position, alignment and posture may affect balance read the previous blog posts in this series, Golf Grip Tips, Importance of Ball Position, and Alignment and Posture.

Stance is Connected to Golf Fundamentals and Balance

Additionally, stance and balance are connected because a stance too wide can cause these errors:

• lack of full shoulder turn,
• restricted weight shift during the swing,
• a swing plane that is too flat,
• a low hooking ball flight, or
• shanking the ball.

A stance that is too narrow can cause these misses:

• a reverse weight shift,
• a steep back swing,
• fat shots,
• thin shots,
• low duck hooks,
• high right shots,
• loss of triangle in the arms during the swing, or
• losing the spine angle that was established at address.

Conclusion

Proper execution of the fundamentals of grip, ball position, alignment, posture, and stance gives the player their best chance for good balance before and during the swing. A player with good balance almost always has a fundamentally sound set up and swing. To achieve good balance during the swing, practice and review all of the fundamentals on a regular basis. To have good fundamentals, work on being in perfect balance before and during the swing. Balance and fundamentals are co-dependent.

Our friend Greg Rita passed away after a long battle with brain cancer. Greg was an outstanding individual who exemplified class in all areas of his life. One of the highest regarded caddies to ever pick up a golf bag, Greg was on the PGA TOUR for nearly 30 years and had great success with many of the game’s elite players. His career is well documented and he will be remembered as one of the all time great caddies. Greg was a friend to many and a solid family person who relished any opportunity to spend time with his wife Kelly and their son Nick.  Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.

In memory of Greg we are republishing his interview from June of 2009.