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Posted Jan 08 2013, 12:11 PM by Cathy Erickson
It's a Tuesday and we still don't know the winner of the first PGA Tour event of the year. The wind and rain in Hawaii has delayed golf since Friday, but this shortened 54-hole event should conclude today. As of right now Dustin Johnson holds a 3-shot lead over Steve Stricker going into the last 18-holes. Hmmm, Sam Johnson's favorite player and my favorite player going head to head...this could get interesting! I just read that Stricker is in a lot of pain in his left leg, so this hilly course isn't exactly what the Dr. ordered, but hopefully he can hang in there (GO STEVE!!). Many of the big names opt to skip Hawaii, and even some of the Hyundai field will pass on the Sony Open starting Thursday, but fans should be delighted to see DJ, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Kyle Stanley, and Keegan Bradley on the list of tee times starting in 2 days. Browsing the field, I was also happy to see Erik Compton, Brendon deJonge, and 2013 rookie and Minnesotan Donald Constable.
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Posted Jan 01 2013, 09:27 PM by Cathy Erickson
Happy New Year friends…and happy 2013 golf season! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a new year full of great golf! I faintly remember writing a “resolution” post about this time last year so I looked it up and read it. A year ago I appeared to be motivated, but as I look back at 2012, I hit more than my share of stumbling blocks…I am one of the 85% who generally failed. But not completely! And that’s what gives me hope once again as we start the 2013 journey. What I wrote a year ago makes sense, and the experts that know about goal making and being successful at it give us wise guidance. Small attainable goals, write your goals down, don’t give up, and find support – all good stuff! Posted Dec 08 2012, 10:17 PM by Cathy Erickson
Happy Holidays! While I'm waiting for the first winter storm of the season to hit Minnesota tonight, I started thinking about how much I miss golf. Even though I hit golf balls on Thanksgiving day when it was 57 degrees, golf isn't the same after the pins are pulled and the greens covered for the winter. I'm also mourning the loss of Q-school as the last dreamers competed for a chance to play on the PGA Tour this past week. From this year on, dreamers will only be playing for a chance to get a card on the Web.com Tour. I'm excited for Minnesotan Donald Constable who did get is card and will be in the big show next season. But before we get to 2013 (which I am excited for!), I need to check back in on my predictions for 2012 that I wrote back in January. As you know, this can be a very humbling review...sometimes my heart can't stop me from dreaming about some magical finishes! Let's see how I did... Posted Dec 04 2012, 12:39 PM by Cathy Erickson
Well, it's the day after the FINAL Q-school process as we know it, and while I failed to keep up to date here (sorry about that!), I did try to follow along when I had a chance (darn work has kept me busy!). Is it okay if I just get to the giddy parts right now? As you know, I'm a fan follower of all Minnesota Q-school participants - there have been some moderate successes, but since I've been following Q-school, no Minnesota golfer has made it into the Top 25 to earn their card...that's not to say no Minnesota golfer has ever made it (think Tom Lehman!), but we've had dry spell for awhile. Last year, Clayton Rask was looking poised to make a move after successfully passing through the first 2 stages, but the best he could do was get some status on the Nationwide (not Web.com) tour. But in what feels like a little golf gift to me, a Minnesotan has broken through and will have a PGA Tour card in 2013. Posted Oct 24 2012, 10:12 AM by Cathy Erickson
It's Q-School Time!! I know, I know, this isn't usually a hot topic in the golf world, but I can't help it, I'm a fan! But this year brings with it some sadness. Q-School, as we currently know it, will end after the final stage in California in December. The PGA Tour voted to change the route to the PGA Tour, eliminating the Q-school process starting in 2013. There'll still be a Q-school, but instead of joining the big Tour, guys will find themselves members of the Web.com tour (formally the Nationwide Tour). It should also be noted, the whole PGA Tour schedule will change starting in 2013 - the Fall Series that follows the Tour Championship will now be the beginning of the 2013-14 PGA Tour year and those events will be a part of the FedEx Cup points totals. There will be a three tournament event on the Web.com Tour that will determine which 50 players will get PGA Tour cards for the next year. Posted Aug 31 2012, 08:17 PM by Cathy Erickson
We all find ourselves out on the golf course for different reasons and with different people depending on the day. Today, I had the great fortune to play golf with four awesome women at an event to honor our friend Steve Anderson who passed away a few months ago. It all came about at the last minute for me. A few days ago one of my favorite golf pals, Deb, sent me a note saying they were short one person for the event and wondered if I could play. My work life has been a little nutty lately and I just wasn't sure if I could commit to taking part of the day off, but I told her I'd see how my day went, and if I got a lot accomplished I would make it work. By the end of Wednesday I thought I could swing it so I said yes...I knew it was just what I needed after several weeks of feeling overwhelmed. Posted Aug 16 2012, 07:03 AM by Cathy Erickson
Despite my best efforts (cheering, praying, rally caps, eating cheese) Steve Stricker did not get his first Major championship last Sunday. After Thursday's round, I almost felt like things had already slipped away when he carded a 2-over par 74, and the leader was at -6. But on Friday the weather came into play and a +1 (73) was almost 5 shots better than the scoring average of just over 78. 45 players shot 80 or worse that day (including Matt Kuchar- ouch!). At +3 he was still 7 shots back, but he made the cut and would be playing the weekend. Posted Aug 02 2012, 01:47 PM by Cathy Erickson
Last Sunday, Fred Couples won the Senior British Open by 2 strokes, going birdie-birdie on 17 and 18. I'll be honest, I didn't even know it was the Senior British Open weekend, and I didn't know that Couples had won until I read it on my Facebook feed. I immediately shared that news with all of my friends because I was happy for Freddie! I have been on the Fred Couples fan bus since I was in high school. Okay, granted, maybe there's a little part of me that likes him because he's cute, but come on, that swing is like butter!! Posted Jul 12 2012, 12:39 PM by Cathy Erickson
We knew it was coming. The PGA Tour has made no bones about the fact that Q-School, as we knew it, would cease to exist in the near future. Back in March, the PGA Tour announced the basic framework of how the new "path to the PGA Tour" would be designed, but they were still working out the details on how exactly the 50 Tour Cards would be distributed. Here's what I got out of the articles I read on http://www.pgatour.com/: Posted Jul 03 2012, 01:14 PM by Cathy Erickson
Wow…it’s been a busy few weeks in my world and one thing I’ve really missed is doing my weekly golf writing therapy. There’s a lot on my mind so I’d better get to it! First of all...congratulations to Webb Simpson on his US Open win!! Honestly, I didn't see that one coming. He had been under the radar for most of the year but he played steady, solid golf with the fewest mistakes. Great guy, great champion. Rumor has it that Sam Johnson went on vacation and didn’t take his golf clubs. This girl, on the other hand, has clocked quite a few miles on the Callaway travel bag, most recently on a trip to Nashville, TN, just 2 weeks ago. Back in 2010, I wrote about my first time to Nashville and the courses I played there. I was excited to be back, but not super excited to arrive to average temperatures of 95+ degrees – this Minnesota girl is not used to that kind of heat! Posted Jun 14 2012, 08:14 PM by Cathy Erickson
It's just so strange to be watching our favorite PGA Tour players struggling at the Olympic Club on the first round of the US Open. I'm actually watching right now and with all the players either on the course or already done there are currently only 5 players under par out of over 150 guys. FIVE players. We know the US Open course is going to be tough, long roughs, fast greens, and tight fairways. But this is a whole new level of hard when best players in the world can't break par. Even the announcing team has to change their usual chatter...they are celebrating bogey saves and continually reporting in on some unforunate bounce or extremely difficult lie in the rough. Chip shots or approach shots over 20 feet away are applauded. It's rough out there...literally. Posted May 28 2012, 11:27 PM by Cathy Erickson
In just a few weeks, The Olympic Club in San Francisco will play host to the 112th US Open Championship. The second Major of the PGA Tour Season, the US Open is a test of patience, confidence, and decision making for the 156-player field. But this field is a little different than most of the PGA events we watch. When the final pairings are posted you'll see sprinkled in the list of the best players in the world the names of a few dreamers. The US "Open" allows any golfer with a handicap no greater than 1.4 the chance to qualify their way into a Major Championship field. There were 109 local qualifiers with over 8,500 players competing to advance to the Sectional Qualifying to be held in 11 locations across the US on Monday, June 4. Just over 9,000 applications were accepted this year (including exempted players and those advancing right to sectionals), and only 550 players will compete in sectionals. Posted May 15 2012, 09:05 PM by Cathy Erickson
Last week was a little like riding a golf roller coaster for me. On Friday, one of my favorite golf friends and role models, Steve Anderson, passed away after having a massive stroke on Tuesday morning. I met Steve and his family when they came to manage our local golf course several years ago. Steve made you feel like you've been friends for years even if you had just met. His love for the game and his passion for the business of golf allowed him to make a positive impact wherever he went. I was so grateful that I was able to stay in touch with Steve after he moved on to another golf course, and in this past year he really helped us as our curling group took over golf operations at our course last season. Posted May 11 2012, 12:20 PM by Cathy Erickson
Or maybe the bigger question is...do we really need to care? I've pondered and studied the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) a few times of the past few years. It is a Numbers Nerd's dream of points, averages, and weightings that determines who should be considered the best golfer in the world...for the week. But the thing is, it's really not about the best player "that week" because the rankings take into consideration months worth of a player's statistical finishes, weighted by the strength of field and their final position in the tournament. Posted Apr 26 2012, 08:33 AM by Cathy Erickson
Some wise folks once told me that whenever you add a "but" to a sentence, you're negating what you've just said. "I don't mean to be nosy, but...." (then you ask a personal question), "I don't mean to be mean, but..." (and you go on to insult someone's taste or appearance), or "I'm not trying to micro-manage, but..." (and you take over what clearly is someone else's responsibility). Ah, that favorite word, "but". As I read an article this morning about Bubba Watson by Jeff Rude (his column is called "Hate to Be Rude") I could feel the word "but" coming. He didn't actually use it (he used "yet", which to me meant the same thing), but the point seemed the same. Posted Apr 19 2012, 10:26 PM by Cathy Erickson
This last weekend I did some spring cleaning and came across a pile of old golf magazines...Golf, Golf Digest, Golf for Women (RIP), and a few others. I looked at the cover and ditched most of them but I came across one that had Fred Couples on the cover from 2000...the headline was (something like) Fred Couples Simple Rules for Golf (and Life). How do I not keep this one?? See, golf IS like life, Freddie says so!! Posted Apr 04 2012, 10:01 AM by Cathy Erickson
It's almost here. Four days of glorious golf in a setting that is both beautiful and treacherous. Having never been to Augusta National in person (I did try for the ticket lottery, but no luck), I can only go by what I've watched, read or listened to. But I can tell you that even with being on the outside looking in, I can still feel the excitement, the anxiety, and the pure joy of experiencing all that is the Masters. I'm not sure why, but this year I sense there is almost a battle-like atmosphere...while some may try to make cases for a dominating player, it seems to me that there are all kinds of possibilities when it comes to who will be wearing a new green jacket come late Sunday afternoon. Posted Mar 29 2012, 11:37 AM by Cathy Erickson
Spring came early to Minnesota this year. There are dozens of golf courses open in the Minneapolis area and even some up in my neck of the woods. Granted, the grass is still brown, and some mornings are still in the 30's, but we've seen record highs multiple times in the last few months and all of the snow has been melted for a few weeks now. You can sense the spring fever everywhere! Usually, my first real spring golf fix is parking myself in front of the TV for the Masters. I can't wait for the azaleas and chirping birds, along with Jim Nantz's welcome. But the weather changed things...courses were open and it sure seemed like it made sense to be out there. So a friend and I planned to head south until we found decent weather and a tee time last Saturday. Posted Mar 14 2012, 11:37 AM by Cathy Erickson
In Minnesota, we've been gifted with some beautiful weather the past few days...temperatures have crept into the 60's and I even noticed a forecast that said parts away from Lake Superior may see 70's today. Sounds like perfect golf weather, right? Well, to get the full perspective, 2 weeks ago we were pummeled with about 3 feet of snow over a 7 day period, after going almost all winter with no snow on the ground! So while the temps sound dreamy, the reality is that there is still a good foot of snow on most of the course. No golf shoes just yet. (side bar: thanks to all my friends in warmer places that told me about their great golf weather on Facebook...and when I say "thanks" I mean that sarcastically!!) Posted Mar 08 2012, 12:23 PM by Cathy Erickson
There's nothing like good old fashioned competition to make things more exciting. And in 2012 I think that's what we're getting on the PGA Tour. Usually, the first few months of the season (or just about every tourney before the Masters) are often not much to write home about. I remember discussions about shortening the PGA Tour season by taking tourneys off the front and back end because football, basketball, and hockey are what people are really interested in during fall & winter. Many players opted out of these tourneys, and if there wasn't a great field, it didn't get a whole lot of coverage. Posted Mar 01 2012, 12:11 PM by Cathy Erickson We have begun to hear the battle cry for helping improve the sport of golf on a few different fronts lately. When I Googled "Golf Industry in Trouble" one thing I noticed was that the first couple of pages of hits were from articles posted back in 2008, and one interesting one was from 2005. So I guess this idea isn't a new one, but from what I browsed through, the good news is that even back in the mid-00's, those involved in the "golf world" were already identifying potential issues and finding ways to deal with the challenges in front of them. Every golfer, not just golf equipment manufacturers or golf course owners, are stakeholders in the sport. It's imperative that we all consider what we can bring to the table, especially on a local level, to continue to assure that golf is available not only to us but to all fellow golfers, in particular, the generations to come. This has really hit home for me because our golf course is struggling. I wrote about it last year, and the end result was that revenues were down significantly. Since the course I play at is municipal, there is always the threat that it won't be a priority anymore. And with our current economic culture it's something that worries me.
The good news is that most of our City leaders see the value in having a golf course in our community. Since I'm in one of the "snowy states" our season is at best about 6 months long, so we need to cram a lot of activity to get the needed revenues to operate and improve our course. What I have learned is that some things are in our control and others are not. The weather played a large factor in less playable days in 2011 compared to 2010 and it also impacted the spring growth and summer maintenance. But what I also realized is that each one of us that shares a passion, or just appreciates the opportunity to play golf in our town, can be a part of improving our financial condition. It's not easy. A change in mindset might be needed. From my experience, there can sometimes be the attitude that golfers aren't vested in their course...they come and play, maybe have some food or drink, but that's often where the relationship ends . Many golfers have no idea (or maybe no interest) in knowing about the challenges and struggles the course is going through. A sense of ownership or a sense of pride as a community member can really make a difference in people caring about the success and future of the course. Sometimes a trust may need to be rebuilt, especially if golfers have expressed concerns or suggestions for improvement and their voices landed on deaf ears. Late last fall, after the season was over and it was apparent that we didn't have a prosperous season, I had some great conversations with a few people who share a common passion for golf. From there, a small group was formed with the purpose of seeing a better golf course and finding ways to increase revenue. I can't tell you how inspiring it is to sit at a table with people that want to see better things and are willing to do something to help. One of the things I'm focusing on is our own community golfing base. While one of our main industries is tourism, I know our golf course can become better by both engaging our membership to share in thet mission of a better course and to introduce (or welcome back) community members not currently playing golf. When you're a small town golf course with a scrappy operating budget, sometimes you must rely on the time and talents of other folks who care. Without that, there may be no more golf. I believe that golf on every level, whether it's a local municipal course or a private country club, needs each member to see golf with a new set of eyes...to see the opportunity share the game and appreciate all of the positive things it can bring. I read last fall that a beautiful Tom Lehman designed golf course in Minnesota closed. It had lots of things going for it, but apparently it just couldn't cover its costs. If things are great where you are, take a look around and see if you can share your golf passion at other courses or in other programs that might need help. Golf needs you! As I look ahead with anticipation to our upcoming golf season, it's my goal to bring a positive energy into our golf course community and encourage not only golfers, but our community and City leaders to be partners in making our golf course a success. That means dispelling the notion that "only golfers benefit from a golf course". It also means that long-range planning and a closer look at operations could help find more money for improvements. I'm focusing on looking at ways to increase play, so if anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear them! PS...after going this most of this winter thinking we were going to get a jumpstart on the golf season, we had a blizzard yesterday! That Mother Nature...funny gal. Filed under: Minnesota, passion, Golf, Cathy Erickson, municipal course, increasing play Posted Feb 21 2012, 10:32 PM by Cathy Erickson
Sixty-four of the top players in the world are in Arizona for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and play starts Wednesday. Missing from the field are Phil Mickelson (who is on a family vacation) and Paul Casey (who is still recovering from an off-season injury). It is player's Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) that qualifies him for the tourney, so there may be some international players that are less familiar to those that just follow the major Tours. But have no fear, there are all kinds of A-listers ready to take on their first opponent . The top seeds are: Luke Donald (1), Rory McIlroy(2), Lee Westwood(3), and Martin Kaymer(4)...they are the top seeds in their respective brackets. Steve Stricker is the top American seed (5), with Webb Simpson right on his heels (6). Tiger Woods is 20th on the OWGR, and 5th in his bracket. Interestingly, not that long ago he was outside the top 50 on the OWGR list. Posted Feb 09 2012, 06:29 PM by Cathy Erickson
I had been meaning to check in on the latest changes to the Rules of Golf after seeing an article last fall that there would be a revision and new printing. Browsing through a few articles on the internet, I found out that with this revision, all of the different golf associations including the R&A and the USGA will be using 1 main document with the same formatting throughout, with the main difference being appropriate translations into different languages. It was off to the USGA web site to find out what's important to know about this new revision. I found a "Complete Rules of Golf" document dated January 2012 and I clicked on it. It was 215 pages in PDF form!! WHOA! (don't believe me, check this out! http://www.usga.org/uploadedFiles/USGAHome/rules/CompleteROGbook.pdf ) Posted Feb 01 2012, 08:20 AM by Cathy Erickson
This week is the Phoenix Open (er, I mean the Waste Management Open) and I'm having (mostly) happy memories of my trip to Phoenix last year...I only made it to the tourney 1 day (technically, 2 days, but everything was canceled on Wednesday!), but I spent about 6 hours on #16 that Friday and had a blast (the wagering going on was amazing!) I'm not sure if you remember, but last year Phoenix experienced record low temperatures and frost delays that prompted the cancelation of the Wednesday pro-am and eventually led to a Monday finish. I still golfed 4 times while I was out there, but my shorts stayed in my suitcase and I had to go buy some warmer clothes (dang you Phoenix!!). Posted Jan 18 2012, 09:10 PM by Cathy Erickson
As I was getting ready to write about some of my favorite golfers this week (you know Stricker, Kuchar & Compton), I came across a blog entry titled "What Women (Don't) Want", written by Jack Dillon and posted on the Golf, Inc. web site. It definitely piqued my interest and I thought "how nice, a blog about women". Then I read it. When I'm irritated about something I tend to rant. And believe me, after reading Dillon's post, I composed one long rant. But as I've learned, sometimes it's best to walk away from some writings in order to get perspective. The rest of this post was rewritten about 3 times. I did my best to compress my thoughts and temper my irritation, but frankly, I still feel miffed. |
AuthorWhen I found Tees2Greens website and forum I found a happy place. There were great people there and in 2009 they asked me if I wanted my own blog space. It was a dream come true!! The site is down now, but I was able to get all of my posts to be able to post here. I will always be grateful for all of the Tees2Greens folks!! ArchivesCategories
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