www.youtube.com/watch?v=wax03wYyLyA

This is what my test look like using a Webcam.  It turns out my left eye is dominant. I always thought I was right eye dominant since I’m right handed.  Interesting.

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Determining Dominant Eye

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I know pro-athletes are prone to marriage infidelities, such as Kobe Bryant, Charles Barkley, etc.  I also agree with the argument that pro-athletes should never marry.

But for a golfer, who is usually traditional and possesses high standard of ethics and morals, it’s almost unheard of!  It’s even more shocking with Tiger Woods.  I realize that he has the pressure to succeed, hectic schedule that constantly put him away from home, and a legion of devoted fans.  But he’s the #1 golfer!  We hold him to a higher standard.  He’s a role model to so many kids, who aspire to be like him.  Now his image is tarnished.

People will end up forgiving him for this mistake, and let bygone be bygone.  Sadly, he’ll never fully earn the respect that he once had – including from yours truly.  He’s no longer a role model I can endorse.

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Tiger Woods: Hero No More

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Frank Nobilo was right when he asked if Tiger is human.  One thing for sure, I doubt anyone else can be this good all the time.

Below are his videos from both 2008 and 2009.  His performances on the 18th hole  on the final days were just spectacular.

2008:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcxZy-abRbU

2009:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xh0QQYcpCs

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Tiger Returns

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Some  of the things I observed there:

1. Quite a big turn out.  Lots of crowd in the 1st tee.  Also on 9th, 18th, and 15th greens.
2. Not many giveaways.
3. A lot of people like to scream (heckle?) at Fuzzy Zoeller.
4. We arrived late at 2:30pm, so we missed the Toshiba “employee appreciation” lunch.
5. They ran out of red hats to give away.  But my wife managed to get one from one of the staff.

Eduardo Romero was on top of the leaderboard when I was watching.  He went to win it on Sunday.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Toshiba Classic 2009

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• The golf game at Dad Miller Golf Course.  It was my annual outing for my friend’s birthday.  We seldom play, so our progress is stagnant.
• Possibly going golf in an early tee time (6am) for half-a-round back-9.   That way, those of us with wives can go home before 9am, bringing donuts for breakfast.
• Lexus car maintenance.  Upto $100 for an oil change?  I’m glad I don’t have a Lexus.
• Guppy House.  What is it?  It’s just fancy hang-out, serving greasy fried “comfort” food.  The one in Diamond Jamboree is busy all the time.
• Buying and collecting movies.  May not be relevant, now that companies are starting to offer streaming or downloadable movies.
• Housing market in the surrounding OC/LA area being down.  Especially in Temecula and Rancho Cucamonga.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Lunch Bits – Edition 29

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My Dad gave me a golf putter with an adjustable shaft when I was 8 years old.  As I was growing taller, the adjustable height was a good and economical idea.  So now, I read about the existence of telescopic and loft adjustable golf club for irons and woods, and I said to myself, “They can’t be serious marketing this stuff to adults?!”

Problem with having one adjustable club, the weight of the club will always be the same at different lengths.  The weight of the club head, combined with the length of the shaft, has an influence on the MOI and swing plane.   With the adjustable club, the different MOI on various lengths would require swing adjustments.  This is contrary to good golf mechanics.  It’ll make a difference in the way I groove my swing for consistency.

As a regular weekend golfer, I may not be able to tell the difference.  I can’t help but wonder though, should I be doing what the professionals are not doing?

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

One Golf Club Will Rule Them All?

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So what’s next for the American team?  They’ve already won most (if not all) of the President’s Cup.  I think they have a chance to win in 2010 if they stick with Azinger’s methods.  But having it overseas, minus the “13th Man” – the massive and loud pro-American crowd – will be a huge disadvantage.  Nonetheless, it’ll be a big challenge for the next US Ryder Cup captain.

My players pick for this Ryder Cup are:

1. Boo Weekly – the new common man!  Move over John Daly!  Boo is definitely a Kentucky blue blood.  Very Southern.  Very American.  All fun!
2. Ian Poulter – the European rookie with one heck of determination.  We could all see it in his eyes.  He was pumped and focused.  His game showed good results: 4-1-0.
3. Hunter Mahan – 45′ putt on the 17th.  Hunter went wild.  The crowd went wild.  Pure adrenalin.
4. Anthony Kim – I think he filled Tiger Wood’s shoes quite well.   He led the charge and delivered.   His youthful enthusiasm is fresh and fun to watch.

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The US Has finally Won The Ryder Cup

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1. No sweat. No effort.
2. Overweight/fat people can still play golf.
3. Too much reliance on equipment technology, such as graphite shafts, titanium head drivers, or multi-core golf balls.
4. It looks easy, and not physically demanding.
5. At 3 hours per round, it’s a very slow game.
6. Comedians such as George Carlin and Robin Williams make fun of golf.

I noted most of the people who criticize the game either never played the game before, or have played the game once and hated it.  If they’ve never been on the driving range or on the golf course before, how do they know it’s easy?  How do they know it’s not physically demanding to walk at least 6000 yards, under the beating sun (sometimes rain) to play 18 holes?  And for those who tried and ended up hating the game, did they learn correct fundamentals of the game?  Did they expect a 460cc Titanium drivers lets them hit 300 yards without a proper swing technique?   It’s not an easy game.   The professionals on TV make it look very easy.

These days, I can’t miss the name Tiger Woods. His day starts at 4am, working out and practicing on the driving range. On TV during tournaments, he shows off his sculpted upper body. I can see the strength of his golf shots: getting out of thick rough, hitting long drives, and making 600 yards Par 5 holes seem easy. In the US Open last June, even with excruciating pain in his left knee, he could still beat the best of them. Tiger’s an athlete. He’s a golfer.

You may say that’s just one guy from a bunch of other overweight and big bellied players on the Tour.  Others are setting the trend to be lean and mean.  Vijay Singh is a 45 years old golfer and he stays fit by working out and getting strong.  He’s just trying to keep up with his younger competitors like Adam Scott and Camilo Villegas.  Even Phil Mickelson was reportedly trying to lose weight and build stamina since 2007.

From the American Century Investment Celebrity Golf tournament last weekend, there is a quote from The Great One, Wayne Gretzsky, about the game:

It’s such a difficult sport. For those people who said golfers are not athletes, they must be crazy. This is one of the toughest sports in the world.

As an athlete himself, Wayne has much appreciation of the game of Golf as a sport.  Watch the interview video below and take his word for it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnY90M_b0LU

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Is Golf a Sport?

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• A co-worker likes sprint car racing.  Pretty expensive hobby, but it looks like a lot of fun.
• The laugh out loud movies: Dumb and Dumber, Borat, Harold and Kumar, and Eddie Murphy movies up to Beverly Hills Cop.
• The heat wave above 95F.  California feels like Las Vegas.
• Las Vegas’ hotels are suppose to be cheap now due to the sagging economy and the heat wave.
• Britain’s Got Talent 2008 front runner with a beautiful moving voice for a 6 year old: Connie Talbot
• When’s a good age for kids to have a cell phone or iPod?  Popular consensus is during middle-school (Junior High) age of 11 or 12 years old.  Otherwise, it’s just too soon.
• New menu choice: Curry Set
• Busy weekend last week with both Basketball and Golf US Open championships.

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Lunch Bits – Edition 17

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It also helps Tiger has a mind of steel that kept him together through the weekend, plus Monday playoff. First he has the pain to deal with from his knee surgery. Then he has the pressure to beat Rocco, and the rest of the field. However, Tiger was steady as a rock. He calmly 2-putt his way to another historic major championship win.

Honestly though, I was rooting for Rocco. He was the underdog. He never won a major, and he was up against the best player in the sport (with 14 majors). I wanted him to win and create a glorious upset in the world. It won’t be as much fun to see the top players win day in and day out. There has to be a “Cinderella Story” to keep the game more interesting. I watched the game on television and online, and from what I observed, Rocco definitely fit the description: an underrated nice guy, in position to win his first major. The agony of defeat could’ve been shortened with just a sudden death game on the 18th hole. I believe it was anti-climatic to have all of that excitement and adrenalin on the 4th round delayed for another day. I was even sure the playoff game was over by the 7th hole when Rocco was down 3 points. However, to Rocco’s credit, he gnawed his way out to transform the playoff to a more interesting sudden death game.  It’s just too bad he didn’t have Tiger’s steady nerves. It looked like Rocco sloppily drove, chipped, and putted his way out of the championship.

Rocco deserved the 2nd place finish.  Benefits include moving up from 127th to 48th in the Fedex-Cup ranking. I’m betting Paul Azinger will pick him for Ryder Cup Team USA, because the Americans need more heart and eagerness to win, as well as the need to lighten up and foster team camaraderie. Who knows, maybe he (and Woody Austin) will be the key to Ryder Cup victory this year.

Photo Credit: Golf.com

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

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