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