Filed under: blog, dad, father, man, memphis, news | Tags: blog, father, home, husband, news, relationships, wife
I appreciate everyone that stops by and I hope you get something from this blog. However, I don’t update Tyler Talk anymore because I have found another passion in my life…becoming a better husband, a great father and the best man I can be.
Building Camelot, my new blog, has some pretty good articles (if I do say so myself). I’d love it if you stopped by and left me a comment. I feel that I am better suited to blog about becoming a better man. I practice it daily, unlike golf. And I think there is a need for Building Camelot moreso than another golf blog.
Hope to hear from you all soon.
–Tyler
I just talked about the 17th hole at Quail Hollow for this weeks Wachovia Championship…and now on PGATOUR.COM you can watch live action from the tee box!
Just check out the home page for the tournament and then click on the link at the top that says “LIVE@ is on now!”…and then get nothing done today at work!
Thanks PGATOUR.COM!
–TW
Filed under: blog, fedex cup, golf, PGA, players championship, sports, tour, Wachovia
As the PGA Tour rolls into Charlotte, NC for the Wachovia Championship this week, I can’t help but wonder which #17 is the scarier hole: Quail Hollow’s 217 yard par 3 or TPC Sawgrass’s 140 yard par 3 Island Green?
Not only are both of these holes part of the two toughest finishing stretches on tour, they both offer very distinct strategies and come at a pivital time in the round.
Picture courtesy of http://www.wachoviachampionship.com
Quail Hollow’s 17 is a long carry over water with a bunker guarding the front right part of the green. The green slopes toward the water – don’t they always – and your probably safer playing away from the water any day. Players at least have the ability to bail out long and to the right.
Picture Courtesy of http://www.tpc.com
Pete Dye needed tons of dirt to build the Stadium course and he started digging around the current day 17th hole. When he got to number 17 he didn’t have any dirt left over so his wife suggested that he just fill it in with water. Now – 30 years later – the 17th has become one of the most treacherous holes on tour.
No bail out here – you either hit the green or you dig in your bag for another ball. There is a small bunker in front of the green. The green is 26 yards deep and 120,000 (YES – 120,00!) balls are lost in the 4′ deep lake every year.
It’s a toss up for me. I think both holes have certain challenges and I wouldn’t feel confident standing on either tee box.
Regards,
TW
Filed under: blog, fedex cup, golf, masters, PGA, players championship, sports, tour, Verizon heritage, zurich classic
Here is an updated FedEx Cup points graph through the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. I missed getting the points after the Verizon Heritage, so the graph goes from 4/8/2007 (The Masters) to 4/22/2007 (Zurich Classic). I’ll try not to slack anymore!
You can click on the graph for a larger and clearer picture. I’m excited about the upcoming tournaments – especially The Players Championship (Golfs 5th major) and the way these guys are group at the top of the points list. Should make for some good golf!
Regards,
TW
We took the little one to her first baseball game yesterday at AutoZone park (pictured above) – home of the Memphis Redbirds. It was a little hot but not too bad as we sat out on the bluff and enjoyed the sights and sounds of America’s favorite pastime.
All I thought about was “What club would I use to hit a home run?” I know that would never happen, but how much fun would that be…taking some balls and knocking them over the fence. Here is a list of the ball parks I’ve been to and what club I’d use to knock on over the fence.
AutoZone Park – 400 ft – 133.3 yards – 8 or 9 iron
Busch Stadium – 400 ft – 133.3 yards – 8 or 9 iron
Minute Maid Park – 435 ft – 145 yards – 7 iron
Camden Yards – 400 ft – 133.3 yards – 8 or 9 iron
Chase Field – 413 ft – 137.6 yards – 8 iron
Rangers Ballpark – 407 ft – 135.6 yards – 8 iron
Let me know if you’ve been to any other ball parks and what club you would use to hit a home run.
Regards,
Tyler
This is part 2 of my experience at GolfTec Memphis. Part 1 can be found here. In this post I will go over my downswing a follow through. Feel free to leave me any comments you might have.
8. Start of Downswing:
Here I am in a pretty good position. My club has stayed on plane and I’ve dropped it back inside. My pro pointed out that my head has stayed level to this point. He said that many pros actually drop down as they come into the ball.
9. Near Impact:
My club is in a good attack position here. I have to be honest…when I saw this I was surprised. I just knew that I would be way off somewhere. The main problem here is that my head has started to lift up while Stu has dropped his but is now level.
10: IMPACT!
The moment of truth! Not too bad here but you can see that my head has gotten even higher and I’ve moved away from the ball. NOT good! 
My spine angle has changed and that leads to all sorts of problems.
11. Impact (face on):
Here my pro has me compared to Brad Faxon. What we are talking about here is my lack of forward press into the ball. Pros are really good at de-lofting the club through impact which creates more distance and higher ball flight. Me? Not so much.
12. Release:
Not too bad of a position. I’ve been a flipper for a long time and I’m really trying to rotate through the ball. At least here I know my release is fine.
13. Finish:
Brad has rotated to a great finish. You can see that I still hang back a little and don’t wrap the club around my back.
14: Head movement:
I’m pretty sure that it’s not fair to compare a weekend hack to Ernie Els but this picture illustrates my severe head movement through impact. Just something I need to work on.
Final Thoughts:
My pro has me working on three main things.
1.) Grip: Needs to be more in the fingers. That should help hold my angle through impact longer.
2.) Ball Position: Further up in my stance so I don’t feel confined in my swing.
3.) Set-Up: Stand a little taller which will allow my arms to hang better and keep my head more stable through impact.
Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Tyler
Filed under: blog, golf, golfsmith, golftec, memphis, sports, stuart appleby
I had my first “lesson” at GolfTec Memphis earlier this evening and I thought I’d share my experience with you. I’ve only seen my swing on video once, but if you don’t know what your looking at it’s pointless. Well at GolfTec they set you up with sensors on camera and can give you all of your “numbers” with the click of a mouse.
When I first got there, he set up on the computer and I took a couple of practice swings. Then I took about 3 real swings off the mat and then 3 off a tee. This swing was off a tee and I hit it 178 yards. In all of these pictures I’m using my 5 iron.
1. Current Set Up:
This picture shows my current set up. In the bottom right hand corner you can see my address angles. They might be hard to read, but these pics come straight from the GolfTec site and that’s all I’ve got.
2. Set Up and Address Breakdown:
My Pro thought it would be good to compare me to Stuart Appleby…not 100% sure why, but he’s got a fantastic swing so I wasn’t complaining. His first note was that my arms drop a little too far to the inside. Stuart has more room between his thighs and hands than me. He also pointed out that my shoulders are too rounded. Can you see the little yellow line at the top of my back?
3. Ball position:
It’s pretty evident here, but my ball position is too far back. Stu has his ball off his left ear and mine is right below my chin. I’m right eye dominate and I may “see” the ball better when it’s further back. I have been working on this, but it’s a hard habit to break. This is probably a good position for a wedge shot.
4. Takeaway:
I stay on plan much better than I used to, but you can see that my club face drops a little to the inside. One thing that he says I have to work on is my shoulder tilt (seen here with the red line). He said that it was because of my set up and seemed to think that it would help tremendously to flatten it out some.
5. Halfway Point:
Here my wrists are set and I’m still on plane. Not too bad I thought. My shoulder tilt has gone from 35* to 43*. Since I took the club a little to the inside, I’m compensating by lifting the club and it now points to the outside of the ball (see the yellow line).
6. Top of the back swing:
My shoulder tilt has increased to 49* and he said that it’s way outside of the PGA average. He asid that everything else looked good…square club face, right elbow pointing at my hip, etc.
7. Top of back swing (face-on):
Descent position here. I haven’t shifted off the ball and I’ve maintained a straight back. I’ve never really paid attention, but he said that I have a great shoulder turn. It may be hard to see, but the computer said it was 96*! Not too bad for a weekend hack.
I’ll give you all the rest of my lesson on my next post. Then you’ll get to see where I really screw things up!
Let me know what you think!
Regards,Tyler
