The new captains for the 2009 Presidents Cup were announced today and the picks were good ones.
Captain Jack has decided to step down after a three year term and hand the reigns over to a man who has played in a few President Cup’s himself, Fred Couples. Always a fan favourite and one of the smoothest swings and personalities around I look for Freddie to take the US to a championship in 2009. He has been there and done that 4 times and anyone who watches Freddie on the golf course can easily spot his smooth gliding confident walk and he’s got the swing to match. The fact that the players have so much respect for him and everybody likes the guy is going to help this team a lot. If you have ever watched a skins game where Fred is in it, you can see that the other three guys playing all feed off Fred. I remember watching one particular skins game, and typically the skins game is a chance for the players to be a little more loose and interactive with the crowd. Someone let a joke go, and I guess Freddie felt that the laughing and carrying on was going on a little too long so he asked them to settle down and get on with the game. It may not sound like much but the way he went about it was so classy and yet he was still able to send a message like” C’mon guys quit screwing around we have microphones on here” was nothing but pure Freddie Couples. It’s funny how we like to call him “Freddie” as if we know him or he is our friend, but I think that just comes with the territory when you talk about Fred Couples. People have this affinity for him and wherever he goes or whatever tournament he plays in, there will always be big crowds around him. Also the cup will be played on US soil at San Francisco’s Harding Park Golf Course and I don’t think that will hurt the American’s confidence one bit.
Greg Norman leads the International field and he too has played in a few cups himself. Greg and Fred locked horns 3 times during the 1996-1998 Presidents cup and next year they will do it again only with a captains hat on. Greg Norman is more of a businessman now than a golfer and even though he too commands respect I will be interested to see how the players react to him if the Internationals fall behind at some point during this tournament.
If you are getting the feeling that I don’t like Greg Norman, you are wrong. I just don’t like his chances.

Keep Swinging Baby

Tucson Arizona is the host for the Accenture Match Play Championship and the drama on day number one was to say the least, off the hook!
What looked like an upset in the making, J.B. Holmes had his foot on Tiger Woods throat as he was 3 up through 15 holes and the last thing he needed was for Tiger to wake up…Tiger woke up all right. Tiger clawed his way back draining a couple of birdies and an eagle to not only tie, but overtake J.B Holmes who said after the match “What are you going do, he is the world’s number one and you can never count him out”. Nuff said. Tiger takes on Aaron Oberholser on day number 2.
Phil Mickelson also moves on to day number 2 as the world’s number 2 player takes on a tough Stuart Appleby in match play. By the way you may notice something different about Phil, he looks a little thinner and his man boobs aren’t as prominent as they used to be. Lefty has rededicated himself to the game and is getting in shape to try and keep up with Tiger and maintain his number two status, so watch for a sliming Phil as the season moves on.
I don’t know what the hell to think anymore about Ernie Els. I know he had knee surgery last year and his swing was looking good, but it wasn’t yesterday! He got crushed by Jonathon Byrd falling 6&5. That means he won 6 holes up with 5 to play, so this match was all but over by the 13th. The problem may not be Ernie’s swing as much as it is his putter, it turned ice cold on him and you could see the proof in that if you look back at what happened at Dubai this year.
How about Colin Montgomerie downing Jim Furyk? Who saw that coming? If Monty can slow down on the sweets and custard, he’s a guy who can make a late charge and some noise this season before that ever creeping Champions Tour closes in on the now 45 year old.
Keep your eyes peeled on the Golf Channel Wed-Fri and then NBC picks up the action for the weekend coverage. Enjoy my friend and be listening Monday morning to Mike Richards in the Morning as former PGA Tour player Greg Powers joins us to wrap up the event.

Keep loose and keep swinging the clubs this winter.

By now I am sure most of you are aware of GPS technology, many higher end cars include GPS as standard equipment now a days or you can even buy a portable unit to take with you wherever you go. How about a cell phone with GPS for that busy urbanite that must have the latest gadget and know which way is north? They have those too!
As we inch ever closer to the 2008 golf season, you may notice something new in the cart this year. GPS Strategies Ltd will introduce GPS technology to 5 different golf courses in the greater Calgary area, Lakeside Greens, Elbow Springs, Springbank Links, Valley Ridge, and Boulder Creek will all carry this slick idea for the 2008 season and I am sure there will be more to come.
If you have never seen or used GPS while golfing then you are in for a real treat, the high resolution screen that is prominently displayed in your cart will never leave you guessing for a yardage ever again. Here’s how it works. When your cart pulls up to the tee box you are shown an overhead view of the hole in beautiful rich colour and immediately you know how many yards the hole is, which way the hole turns, how many yards to a trouble area, and where the pin is located. You can even see how far out the cart in front of you is so you don’t have to guess whether it is “safe to hit yet or not”. After you tee off and start driving towards your ball, the yardages on the screen changes until you have reached your ball. Once stopped and a quick check on the screen, you immediately know how many yards to the green and where the pin is. If you find yourself getting hungry while out on the course you can even order food and beverages right from your cart, no more where is that drink girl? If you are playing too slow and need to pick up the pace you will get a message on your screen asking you to pick up your pace. What if there is an emergency on the course? No problem, you can ask for assistance with the push of a button and get in touch with the pro shop at anytime. You weekend warriors that like to bomb around in the cart and pretend that you are in a 4 X 4 and don’t know what the “90 degree on, 90 degree off” rule is are being watched too. While you are busy denying that you drove across the 10th green in your cart, the pro shop is busy looking at the GPS trail that they have on your cart. The golf course is now in total control of their carts and they know where you are at all times.
To say that GPS adds something to the golf experience is an understatement, already word is catching on that it is here for 2008 and soon public demand will take over and just like that high end automobile, GPS will become standard equipment in the golf world.
Lakeside Greens, Elbow Springs, Springbank Links, Valley Ridge, and Boulder Creek will all carry GPS this year and I encourage you to give them a call and give it a try for yourself.