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By
Don O'Keefe
MTT Staff Writer
I hope
that this doesn't put a jinx on
the weather, but I believe that
spring is really here. The grass
is coming up and the greens are
getting soft. There will be no
more 300-yard drives down
fairways with a hardness index
slightly less than the runways at
DIA, and no more 30-yard bounces
off the green into the rough in
back that you couldn't reach
before. It is also the time to
consider that new year resolution
that you skipped last year,
called lesson##s and practice. If
you don't, you will be at a
definite disadvantage for the
early club tourneys and Saturday
morning nassaus. Worse yet, you
will probably end up the year
playing no better than the last,
and maybe worse.
Lessons
and practice are still the the
best buy in golf for game
improvement.
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The
Masters is scheduled for the
first week of April. Ever Since
Tiger Woods tore up the course
records, the guys in green
#˙jackets have been busy making
changes to assure that it never
happens again, and they have
succeeded. Jose Olazabal won last
year with superb iron play, a
great short game, and putting.
Olazabal is not noted for his
skill off the tee box. In fact,
he is average in distance and
accuracy. Greg Norman gave it a
gallant try, but the changes have
definitely impacted the long
hitters.
Tiger
Woods has improved his iron play
and short game, but his strength
is still his length off the tee.
Of course, Tiger always has a
chance, but there are bunkers,
trees and rough in most of the
landing areas he exploited in
1997. The changes don't just
handicap Tiger Woods. They also
impact all the young long hitters
like Duvall, Els, Mickelsen,
Herron, and Love. Some may finish
in the top ten, but the winner
will be the player with a hot
hand in his iron play, short game
and putting......too bad. The
long game has been the most
exciting part of golf over the
last few years.
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While we
are on the Masters, there have
been a lot of changes to the
selection process that a lot of
people are not aware of. In the
past, any player winning a PGA
Tour event after the previous
year's Masters, and before the
current year event, was
automatically invited to play.
That and a number of other
changes have been made to the
selection process. It is obvious
that there is an emphasis on
including more foreign players by
the increased use of World
Rankings. The 102 players that
have been invited to this year's
Masters have been selected using
the following rules:
1)
Masters Tournament Champions
(lifetime invitation).
2) U.S.
Open Champions (5
years).
3)
British Open Champions (5
years).
4) PGA
Champions (5 years).
5)
Players Tournament Champions (3
years).
6a)
Current U.S. Amateur
Champion.
6b)
Runner-up to U.S. Amateur
Champion.
7)
Current British Amateur
Champion.
8)
Current U.S. Amateur Publinks
Champions.
9)
Current U.S. Mid-America
Champion.
10) Top
16 Players, including ties, of
1999 Masters.
11)Top 8
Players, including ties, of 1999
U.S. Open.
12) Top
4 Players, including ties, of
1999 PGA Championship.
13) Top
4 Players, including ties, of
1999 British Open.
14) Top
40 from final 1999 PGA Money
List.
15) Top
3 from current PGA Money List (4
weeks prior to
Masters).
16) Top
50 from final 1999 World Golf
Ranking.
17) Top
50 from current year World Golf
Ranking (4 weeks
prior).
18)
Special Invite - Aaron
Baddel#ey.
19)
Gabriel Hjerstedt, 41st of #14
above (for Payne
Stewart).
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Callaway
apparently has a new driver out
that they almost guarantee will
give anyone additional distance
off the tee box. I've learned
that it is only being distributed
in Japan and in Europe, for about
$700.......that's each.
Unfortunately, it has not been
approved by the USGA yet, so even
if you could find one you
couldn't use it in any USGA/CGA
tournament. It brings up the
point though, especially for all
the new golfers who may not be
aware of the rules on golf
equipment. If any piece of your
equipment, including balls, has
not been approved by the
USGA/CGA, you can be disqualified
from any CGA golf event, which
probably includes your club
tournaments. So check to assure
that your clubs (no more than 14)
and balls have been approved. It
will save you the embarrassment
of a sharp-eyed competitor
turning you in.
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