Happy Halloween!

Happy halloween everyone,

As promised, here are my favourite golf-related halloween costumes and famous golfers you could dress up as tonight:

Payne Stewart:

Pay tribute to the late Payne Stewart and his old-timey fashion sense by dressing up like him this halloween.

Or how about the gopher from the great golf film Caddyshack:

Here's a gopher costume you can buy if you don't feel like making it yourself. Here's the link:
http://www.buycostumes.com/Caddyshack-Gopher-Adult-Costume/800782/ProductDetail.aspx


Throw on your beater and grab your 7-iron and you can dress up as Tin Cup:

And lastly, my personal favourite costume and golf movie of all time, Happy Gilmore:

Grab your Bruins jersey and any old golf club (or a putter shaped like a hockey stick) and channel your inner Happy Gilmore. Even better, get your buddy to dress up as Bob Barker!

Thanks for reading and happy halloween everyone,

Hendo

Welcome to the PGA Tour...

With the Nationwide Tour season concluding today at the Nationwide Tour Championship, we now know the identities of the twenty-five newest PGA Tour members. See the full list here:

http://www.pgatour.com/2011/tournaments/h045/10/29/final25/index.html

Ken Duke, age 42, was able to move up the leaderboard to win the championship. He also moved up to 7th on the money list, granting him PGA Tour membership in 2012. The Canadian Jason Kokrak also gained PGA Tour membership.

At the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia, Bo Van Pelt fired an incredible 64 on the final day that included five birdies in the last eight holes to claim a six-stroke victory. Van Pelt finished at an incredible 23-under par.

Stay tuned for my post on the best golf-related halloween costumes!

Hendo

What a weekend!

This weekend's Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic (what a mouthful) at the Disney Resort in Florida may go down as the most thrilling and entertaining Fall Series event in PGA tour history. Webb Simpson, fresh off a playoff loss to Ben Crane last week, entered the tournament tops on the money list. Luke Donald, in second on the list, essentially needed a win in order to claim top spot on the list. And what did Donald do? He won. Four shots back at one point on Sunday, Donald made a ridiculous string of six(!!!) birdies to start the back nine. He won by two and claimed his third victory of the season and takes top spot on the money list. I think it's safe to say he is the PGA Tour Player of the Year (not to mention he did all this while also leading the European Tour money list).

In other golf news, not only has Tiger tumbled down the world golf rankings to 55th, but Phil Mickelson has been ousted from the top 10 by Webb Simpson, who started the year at 213th.

Now, let's move away from the world of golf and turn to a very serious issue. I face this issue far too often, usually in pressure-packed situations or on days you lack confidence for whatever reason. I'm talking about the putting 'yips'. Basically, one falls into the mindset of "don't miss it" and they begin to make poor strokes and can become shaky and lose all confidence in their putting. If this ever happens to you on the putting surface, which I know it does, here are a couple simple things to remember to try:

1. Your Grip:
The most noticeable effect of the yips is a strong, tense grip. Try relaxing a little and have a looser grip. As well, your bottom hand (right hand for righties) often becomes strong and takes over the stroke. The bottom hand should have a minimal effect on the putting stroke. Move your lower hand under the putter grip more and relax it.

2. Stroke Speed:
Players struggling with the yips will often try to speed their stroke up so there's less chance of them mis-hitting it. However, this ruins your rhythm and tempo and will make the yips persist. Once you have fixed your grip, try slowing down your stroke.

Thanks for reading,

Hendo

As Golf Season Winds Down...

Hello fellow golfers and enthusiasts of the game,

It's that time of year again. Time to lock your clubs away somewhere down in your cold, dark basement and not see them again till the snow has melted and the trees begin to grow again. For many, including myself, this can be a depressing time. Winters in Canada can be extremely cold and long, and usually golf is the furthest thing from one's mind. However, my blog will put an end to this injustice! I will regularly post interesting news from the world of golf and I will also post helpful drills and tips to improve your game. Just because you can't play doesn't mean you can't practice.

With the PGA Tour's McGladrey Classic coming to an end to day in Sea Island, Georgia, and Webb Simpson only two shots off the lead, perhaps now is as good a time as any to consider player of the year candidates. Obviously, Simpson has had a coming-out of sorts this year, winning the Wyndham Championship in August and following that up with a win three weeks later at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He also had an incredible run at the FedEx Cup and the $10-million prize. Of course, the eventual winner of the FedEx Cup Bill Haas also had an amazing year.

One should not overlook the play of Luke Donald however, who, coming into this week, was #1 on the money list, has the most top-10s with 13 and has the lowest scoring average of anyone on tour. Just as incredible, he also leads the money list on the European Tour. No player has ever led the money list on both tours at the end of the season. Despite the fact Donald didn't win a major this year, I consider him to be the player of the year.

Tiger Woods had a decent return to competition last week at the Frys.com open, placing 30th and ten shots off the lead. Tiger has a new caddie, Joe LaCava, and has been working hard with his swing coach Sean Foley. Watch Tiger next year. I have a feeling we may see performances reminiscent of the old Tiger.

With the President's Cup just a couple weeks away, there is still some quality golf to be seen this year. Hopefully Tiger can regain some of his old magic and build some confidence going into the short off-season.

I'll be back soon with some helpful tips and drills for players of all levels to try out. Feel free to comment if you agree/disagree with any of what I've said.

Peace and good golfing,
Hendo