View From The Fairway - Ian Poulter Sets Perfect Example

Golfshake's Derek Clements shares his View From The Fairway...

Hats off to Ian Poulter, who has taken to social media to criticise golfers who don’t repair their pitch marks. The Englishman was playing at Lake Nona, his home club in Florida, where he filmed a huge number of pitch marks on a putting green. He then showed another green with more unrepaired pitch marks. The Ryder Cup legend then showed how to repair a pitch mark using a tee before calling out the “lazy” golfers who left their marks unrepaired.

How to Correctly Repair a Pitchmark

As we get ready for the return of club golf many of us will already be bracing ourselves for similar familiar issues at our own courses - all the more frustrating because our greens will be in fabulous condition when we return. There is nothing more infuriating for a golfer than to see a perfect putt knocked off line, especially through no fault of their own. But it remains a matter of concern that so many club golfers refuse to repair a pitch mark, don’t know how to repair a pitch mark in the correct way. It takes seconds to put it right. It takes weeks to repair naturally if left alone.

Rory Raises Eyebrows

Rory McIlroy raised more than a few eyebrows when he blamed his most recent struggles on his attempts to find more distance from the tee in an attempt to keep up with Bryson DeChambeau. It seems pretty obvious to everybody who watches him just now than McIlroy is not in a great place. “I'd be lying if I said it wasn't anything to do with what Bryson did at the U.S. Open,” said McIlroy, who missed the cut at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass by a country mile. “I think a lot of people saw that and were like, whoa, if this is the way they're going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps.” In two years McIlroy has found an extra six yards from the tee, while DeChambeau’s body transformation sees him hitting the ball 20 yards further than he was achieving in 2019. McIlroy trails the American by just over a yard in average distances. But he is missing far more fairways, and his misses are more severe than they were in 2019, a year in which he won The Players Championship and looked like the best golfer on the planet. So here’s a radical idea - you hit the ball plenty far enough Rory. Just go back to what you know. Who knows? You may start enjoying the game again. And you may even remember how to win golf tournaments.

Johnson Confirms Decsion Not to Play in Olympics

CALL me a cynic if you like, but I can’t help questioning the reasons behind Dustin Johnson’s decision not to play in this summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. Johnson said he will instead be focusing on The Open and the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. The top four Americans in the Official World Golf Ranking after June's US Open will qualify outright for selection should they be in the world's top 15. "I really didn't think much about it," said Johnson. "I actually didn't really ever decide whether I was going to play or not, I just didn't sign up. But it's right in the middle of a big stretch of golf for me, so that was the reason I was kind of waffling on it a little bit. It's a long way to travel, and I think WGC is the week right after it. The Open is a couple weeks before the Olympics. It's a lot of traveling at a time where it's important for me to feel like I'm focused playing on the PGA Tour.” This from a man who was quite happy to board a plane and take part in a golf tournament in Saudi Arabia, for which he was richly rewarded. I can understand that he would want to focus on The Open, but the FedEx St Jude? Really? This a chance to represent his country, a chance that only comes around once every four years. There are some who would give their right arms for the opportunity to do so. I cannot help but wondering if his decision has anything to do with the fact that there is no prize money on offer at the Olympics.

Wie Getting Set For Return

IT IS difficult to believe that Michelle Wie is still only 31 years old. She seems to have been around forever. And has endured more than her fair share of rotten bad luck during that time. As a teenager she played in several PGA Tour events and was never able to make the cut. It is safe to assume that she probably didn’t enjoy her teenage years very much. She lived most of it in the spotlight. She hasn’t played in an LPGA Tour event for nearly two years. In the interim she married Jonnie West and last year the couple had their first child. She has suffered more than her fair share of injuries and has struggled horrible with her game, especially on the greens. But she has entered the Kia Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, and is also being tipped to take part in the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage. Wie last played on the LPGA in June 2019 at the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship and is currently 534th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Struggling with a painful wrist injury, she shot 84-82 at Hazeltine National in the Women’s PGA. If ever a golfer deserved a break, it is Wie.

Masters Par 3 Contest Cancelled Once Again

AUGUSTA National has confirmed that the Masters Par 3 Contest will once again not be played this year because of social distancing protocols related to the coronavirus pandemic. The annual Wednesday contest was also cancelled last November when the rescheduled Masters was held. The club said it hoped the event will resume in 2022. As part of its health and safety guidelines for the tournament, Augusta National reiterated that everyone in attendance at this year’s Masters must wear a face covering at all times and maintain a physical distancing of at least six feet. In January, the tournament announced that a “limited” number of patrons would be allowed on-site this year. The Masters is scheduled for April 8-11.

Did Bryson Top It?

IT WAS a surreal 15 minutes that cost Bryson DeChambeau his second consecutive PGA Tour victory at The Players Championship. Two strokes behind playing partner Lee Westwood, DeChambeau took a mighty swing with his hybrid at the fourth hole but his ball flew only about 100 yards before dropping into a pond and went on to make a double-bogey six. “I was trying to hit more of a low bullet and just kind of caught the heel, a little high on the thing. It wasn't really a top, it was more like a thin ball that just had no spin on it and just knuckled,” DeChambeau said. “I've never done that before in competition.” I hate to disagree with one of the world’s best professional golfers but I am sorry Bryson, that was a stone-cold topped tee shot. We all saw it!

Woods is Still in Demand

He still be recovering from the injuries he suffered in a car crash in February, but Tiger Woods clearly still remains hot property - despite doubts as to whether he will ever again be able to play golf at the highest level. Publisher 2K has just agreed an exclusive, long-term partnership with Woods. He is 45, and his best days are clearly behind him, so why the continued interest? It may have have something to do with his 15 major victories. Or his record-equalling 82 PGA Tour victories. Maybe it’s because he is an 11-time PGA Tour Player of the Year with lowest career scoring average. Or perhaps it is because he is recognised  as being one of the greatest golfers of all time and is heralded among the most prolific athletes in the sporting world, a man whose victory at The Masters in 2019 was hailed as one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time. Woods’ partnership with 2K includes rights for his name and likeness to appear exclusively in the PGA Tour 2K franchise, as well as any other golf games published by 2K during the partnership term. Woods will play an active role in the video game landscape as an executive director and consultant, while 2K will also partner with Woods’ foundation, which does so much good work to offer underprivileged students the tools they need to thrive in school and beyond.