2nd Annual Golf Talk Radio Golf Tournament

The 2nd Annual Golf Talk Radio golf tournament held on Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at the Avila Beach Golf Resort was a great success! We would like to thank the following people for contributing to the tournament with tee prizes, donations or volunteering their time to the tournament.

Scott with - Swing Reminders - your chips were a hit!

Jim Paradise with - The Glove Grabber - thanks for all you did!

Nick & Crew with - Golfland Warehouse - you guys rock!

Dave Schimandle with - Slickstix - thanks for the GTR putter grips!

Troi & Mike - Inn at Avila Beach & Avila La Fonda Hotel - great party!

Jay & Crew with - Avila Beach Golf Resort - what a course!

Our crew - Tbrew, Margaret and Big E - the best!


The tournament raised over $1500 for Operation Comfort and participants traveled from all over California - Discovery Bay, Santa Barbara, San Jose and Fresno to be part of the event. The money raised will positively change the lives of military Veteran's who lives have been forever changed. Those of you who could not make the event this year we hope that you will be able to join us for next year. You can make a difference by donating to Operation Comfort or a similiar Veteran program. All we ask is that you think of the men and women who serve or have served in our military the next time that you tee it up.

Keep it on course,

Mike & Billy
Golftalkradio.com

Life In The Rough Review

Swing Reminders just got another great review. This one comes from Mike at Life In The Rough (www.lifeintherough.com). You can read this review at http://www.lifeintherough.com/2008/11/22/accessory-review-swing-reminders/. Thanks Mike and good luck in your pursuit of a career as a Golf Professional.

Pick Your Target

Here you are on a short, downhill par 3 over water, with sand and trees and a huge drop off left of the green. If that's not enough, the wind is blowing about 15 mph right to left. Where do you aim?

If you can just put all the elements out of your mind (no biggie right), then you can just pick out a target in the distance and put a good swing on it. Is golf that simple? Maybe.....

Something that might work is to not pick a target in the distance, but pick one on the ground, about 12 inches in front of your ball. You can use an old divot, an old tee, a blade of grass, whatever catches your eye. This will help you keep your head down and focus you on the ball and not what's up near the green.

Now just commit to the shot and put a good swing on it. I know it can be done on this hole, I have a buddy named Joe that has 5 (yes 5) hole in ones on this hole. We have a bet (for a drink) that I can hit 100 shots to this hole and not get hole in one. I haven't tried it yet, but maybe someday.

Pick your target and commit to the shot.....golf can be that easy!

Golf Tip Today

Do you come up short on a putts?
Do you notice if your wrists break during the putt?
Do you putt with your shoulders?

If you answered yes to the first two questions, then the third question is your answer.
If you answered no to the first two questions, then then I bet you answered yes to the third question. I'd also bet you're a pretty good putter.

"Putt with your shoulders"

Don’t putt with your wrists or hands, you have to use your shoulders like the
pendulum on a grandfather clock (tick- tock). Only use the big muscles, if your wrists break, you will not hit solid putts. Putts will most likely come up short, but sometimes you'll blast one by six feet. Consistent?

Tighten up those wrists and putt with your shoulders and I'll guarantee you will hit more good putts. Now go out there and spend 30 minutes putting once a week. Then you will take all the quarters from your partners the next time you play. But, they will probably make you buy the drinks. Oh well, that's golf.....

Anthony Kim DQ in China

We can all learn from this one!

This is a great article about Anthony Kim, who disqualified himself during the 4th round at the HSBC Championship in Shanghai, China. I think it shows all golfers that even the best players in the world know the rules and want to follow them as much as possible. I salute Kim for calling a rules violation on himself.

SHANGHAI, China -- Anthony Kim was disqualified Sunday from the HSBC Champions for playing with an altered driver.

Kim, a star in the United States' Ryder Cup victory over Europe two months ago, accidentally hit a sprinkler head as he tapped his driver on the ground while walking down the seventh fairway.

"I wasn't angry or anything, just walking down the fairway," Kim said. "The toe hit the sprinkler, hit the top of the sprinkler, and I looked at it and it looked a little bit different. But I wasn't sure and I put it in my bag."

At the eighth, he hit his first drive only 150 yards, and out of bounds. He then hit a second provisional shot -- also poorly. He took a triple-bogey 8 on the hole and played two more before he found a rules official, who told him he must disqualify himself for playing with an altered club.

Kim was disqualified under rule 4-3b, said Andy McFee, European tour referee.

Kim had an 8-over 44 on the front nine, and parred the 10th hole. He entered the third round at 5 under -- five strokes behind the leaders -- with rounds of 66-73.

The HSBC Champions will be completed Monday after a delay caused by a rain washout on Friday and more rain on Saturday.

"I was pretty shocked," Kim said. "But you know, the rules are the rules and I have no problem with that."

In the last few weeks, Kim said he badly sprained his right ankle -- falling down stairs at a friend's home -- and also bruised his jaw while horseback riding.

Kim said he's played little golf in the last three weeks and has lived on a diet of noodles, unable to chew with the sore jaw.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

Winter In Arizona

It's that time of year when all our snow bird friends start showing up at Turquoise Valley. We had dinner tonight with three of our favorite couples. Just a great time of year.....unless you live north of say, Arizona.

We took a trip this summer all the way to upstate New York and into Ontario, Canada. It was a really nice trip. But, it was SUMMER.
I just can't understand why people would want to live in the cold and snow. It's nice to visit, but there is no way I could deal with it. I'm not that old, (no comments from you guys) and it just hurts to be cold, my fingers and knees ache and my skin gets dry and cracked....No way. I'm gonna stay where it looks like this in the winter. Arizona winters are the bestest. I mean come on, which green would you rather be putting on?

Today's Golf Tip

There are millions of golf tips out there. So many that if you linked them all together you could play about 4,598,324 miles of par 5's. But what if you could actually get some tips that would help your game? Not rocket science, but just basic thoughts to help you play just a few shots better.

I think we all get caught up in our score, no matter if we shoot par golf or double bogey golf. If we have a bad hole, it gets in our heads and it's very hard to get that bad thought out of there. What can we do to forget the bad shot or shots? Well, if we had thought it through better, or executed better, or hit a different club, or blah blah blah. It's golf, it's a hard game. It never works out exactly like you want it to, well almost never.

What if you played to your strengths? If you hate 30 yard pitch shots, don’t leave yourself that shot. It goes hand in hand with “play within yourself”. For instance you have 250 yards to a par 5, do you hit a 3 wood (that has no chance of reaching the green) or lay up with a 7 iron and leave yourself a 100 yard full shot. Know your limitations.

There are 9 billion thoughts going through your head as you start to take the club back, don't make it more complicated than it is. Just play your game. If your game is to lay up, then lay up, you're going to feel alot better about a par than double bogey.

Here's a concept, what if we used that same "play to your strengths" thought in our daily lives?

Think about that one, have a great golf day and enjoy a nice evening.

Golf Today Magazine

I had a very pleasant surprise this week. My buddy Joel Metcalf from Cleveland Golf in Central California, e-mailed me this article he saw in Golf Today Magazine (http://www.golftodaymagazine.com/catalog/catalog.php?catalog_id=17).

Bob Kocz0r the owner & publisher of the magazine wrote a great review about Swing Reminders for the October issue. This comes just in time for the Christmas rush....Thanks Bob for the kind words.

Check out this great publication at www.golftodaymagazine.com