OT: Nats, Wiz, O's, Ravens, Terps, Navy, Gtown, Mystics, Golf, Summer 2024 (Paris Olympics 2024 as well)

[CapitalsCupReality]

Sportswashing…the latest woke term…..
We’ll see how it works out.

 

[g00n]

Sportswashing…the latest woke term…..
We’ll see how it works out.

Hardly just a "woke" thing.

Word of the week: Sportswashing

I first heard sportswashing in a story that aired in mid-March on NPR’s 1A program, “How Countries Use Sports to Improve Their Image.” The story provided a definition: Sportswashing is the practice of laundering one’s reputation through sports; whether that be through team ownership, hosting a...

nancyfriedman.typepad.com

Sportswashing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What does it matter how long the term has been around, the concept is not new.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I mean...all countries commit atrocities...I love that the PGA Tour is suddenly the thing that makes more people take notice.

 

[g00n]

All countries and atrocities are not equal and we don't have to be perfect here to reject obvious abuses and whitewashing abroad. The net effect so far from this seems to be more tolerance for their abuses rather than less. So I don't think additional publicity is helping. Instead people are justifying more and more things based on compensation.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

You’re right…our atrocities might be worse lol….


glass houses issue…


anyway, I only advocate for letting these guys play where they want to.

 

[kicksavedave]

You’re right…our atrocities might be worse lol….


glass houses issue…


anyway, I only advocate for letting these guys play where they want to.

Why should they be allowed to play anywhere they want, given that they are not following the rules the organization that runs the events set forth? In regular jobs, all us schmucks have to follow our employer's basic rules if we want to continue working there, why is the PGA any different? If I went to work for my company's direct competitor then demanded to have my old job back, my employer would laugh in my face and there wouldn't even be a hearing.


* Or did I misunderstand your point?

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Why should they be allowed to play anywhere they want, given that they are not following the rules the organization that runs the events set forth? In regular jobs, all us schmucks have to follow our employer's basic rules if we want to continue working there, why is the PGA any different? If I went to work for my company's direct competitor then demanded to have my old job back, my employer would laugh in my face and there wouldn't even be a hearing.


* Or did I misunderstand your point?

They are not employees….they are independent contractors. If these guys all had employment contracts with the PGA Tour….different story.

 

[kicksavedave]

They are not employees….they are independent contractors. If these guys all had employment contracts with the PGA Tour….different story.

Independent contractors still have to play by their employers rules. They usually/always have to sign some agreement/contract, its all the same concept. The one paying the money makes the rules, the one collecting the money follows the rules.

I think the bigger point is, no one has a "right to work anywhere they want". They have to be accepted by the organization doing the hiring. That always has a bunch of qualifications and rules attached.

 

[g00n]

Independent contractors still have to play by their employers rules. They usually/always have to sign some agreement/contract, its all the same concept. The one paying the money makes the rules, the one collecting the money follows the rules.

This. Contractors still can be required to sign NDAs and Non-compete agreements. Membership in the PGA Tour is like that, apparently.

I also don't think they're simple, common independent contractors --which implies a set job for a set fee that has no impact on competition among employers and is available to all--so much as sports entertainers who agree to a partnership with another business. They provide marketable entertainment as the saleable product, and it could be argued that giving that product to a rival company damages the PGA Tour's ability to sell its own product.

If I hire a contractor to fix my fence it doesn't impact me negatively if he also fixes other fences in the neighborhood. The PGA Tour is going to argue the opposite.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I should know better than to engage with you two tag teaming a subject lol but……


Personally I hope they get snagged on the anti-trust issue. No reason players can’t play anywhere and still make certain commitments.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Independent contractors still have to play by their employers rules. They usually/always have to sign some agreement/contract, its all the same concept. The one paying the money makes the rules, the one collecting the money follows the rules.

I think the bigger point is, no one has a "right to work anywhere they want". They have to be accepted by the organization doing the hiring. That always has a bunch of qualifications and rules attached.

Independent contractors don’t all play by these rules. As a consultant I regularly negotiate those parameters with clients in the pre-sales process. It’s not just, bend over and do what I say. We operate on our terms but negotiate any special parameters. That willingness to negotiate matters. The PGA and DP refuse to even try a dialogue.

now, if you want to go in house and be one of the masses in Google or any other large tech companies who churn contractors regularly, then yes, you play by the employers rules.


I’d argue PGA golfers are more specialized, more rare, etc….

 

[marcel snapshot]

Well after getting over a nasty bout of Covid which forced a layoff and reset whatever habits I'd grooved, I did get to test this more on the range and it turned out to be too complicated (shocking). So now I'm back to a simpler method that's more about swinging the clubhead and is more in line with the book I recommended.

That's kind of the pendulum...from more control to less. Usually it's compensations on top of compensations or daily fluctuations causing the issues. When you start missing shots you hunt for ways to improve accuracy via more conscious manipulation, and since "golf is not a game of perfect" you inevitably end up making things worse.

Ultimately it's about passing "how to" information to the back of the brain so it can be done on autopilot, then finding a way to occupy the front so that can happen.

Be interested to hear how the lessons work out.

So a couple of concepts from the Shoemaker book - thanks for the rec Goon - have helped. The first being the notion that you're natural swing is akin to swinging as if you're going to throw the club but hold onto it. It's similar to the idea that the motion through the ball is like heaving a sandbag, but easier to get because you're feeling the throw of a golf club rather than a sandbag.

The other concept that is really helpful is the notion of how little time we actually spend making a shot, and how our brains - due to anxiety, focus on mechanics, fear of all the ways the shot can go wrong - effectively go white noise at that moment, rather than heightened focus. So that idea of focusing on the clubhead as it goes back and again as it comes through - making sure you see that - is surprisingly helpful. Also helps in dealing with my problem of swinging at the ball, instead of through it. And it creates a more natural weight shift, rather than one driven by mechanical thoughts, which usually don't work for me, because the body is either behind or ahead of - but always unsynced with - the mechanical motion you're supposed to be implementing.

The last few rounds have been better; less traumatic. There are still bad shots - but the amount of error compoundment/cascading failure seems to have waned.

 

[g00n]

So a couple of concepts from the Shoemaker book - thanks for the rec Goon - have helped. The first being the notion that you're natural swing is akin to swinging as if you're going to throw the club but hold onto it. It's similar to the idea that the motion through the ball is like heaving a sandbag, but easier to get because you're feeling the throw of a golf club rather than a sandbag.

The other concept that is really helpful is the notion of how little time we actually spend making a shot, and how our brains - due to anxiety, focus on mechanics, fear of all the ways the shot can go wrong - effectively go white noise at that moment, rather than heightened focus. So that idea of focusing on the clubhead as it goes back and again as it comes through - making sure you see that - is surprisingly helpful. Also helps in dealing with my problem of swinging at the ball, instead of through it. And it creates a more natural weight shift, rather than one driven by mechanical thoughts, which usually don't work for me, because the body is either behind or ahead of - but always unsynced with - the mechanical motion you're supposed to be implementing.

The last few rounds have been better; less traumatic. There are still bad shots - but the amount of error compoundment/cascading failure seems to have waned.

Good deal. Hope it continues. Love that it translates on the course because that's where the proof is.

I think I read that book straight through in 2 days. It was like looking in a mirror. I even sent a copy to my Dad in NC.

As you found out, the club-throwing image is pretty liberating if you've tightened up over the ball. Without overanalyzing it (always death) I'd also say it plays a key role in improving clubhead path and puts the timing of the strike/release back where it usually belongs--deep in your unconscious and on autopilot.

Perhaps just as important was the way the author came back to loving the game after burning out from the pressure of competition and expectations.

No need to rehash the story but the idea of committing to just playing a round with NO FEAR on any given shot, and making that your ONLY commitment on the first tee, even in competition, and not giving a wet shit about the score or what anyone thinks about any of that, struck a chord with me.

We hardly even realize how much self-talk goes on that's a byproduct of fear in some way. And we all know fear causes tension and overthinking which wrecks a smooth, coordinated swing.

I'm off all next week and plan to play every day. Also have 9h planned tomorrow with one of my GM friends and some other golf nuts, so will test out some of my own recent range work, which has been really promising.

If it holds up on the course I may come back and share.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

So a couple of concepts from the Shoemaker book - thanks for the rec Goon - have helped. The first being the notion that you're natural swing is akin to swinging as if you're going to throw the club but hold onto it. It's similar to the idea that the motion through the ball is like heaving a sandbag, but easier to get because you're feeling the throw of a golf club rather than a sandbag.

The other concept that is really helpful is the notion of how little time we actually spend making a shot, and how our brains - due to anxiety, focus on mechanics, fear of all the ways the shot can go wrong - effectively go white noise at that moment, rather than heightened focus. So that idea of focusing on the clubhead as it goes back and again as it comes through - making sure you see that - is surprisingly helpful. Also helps in dealing with my problem of swinging at the ball, instead of through it. And it creates a more natural weight shift, rather than one driven by mechanical thoughts, which usually don't work for me, because the body is either behind or ahead of - but always unsynced with - the mechanical motion you're supposed to be implementing.

The last few rounds have been better; less traumatic. There are still bad shots - but the amount of error compoundment/cascading failure seems to have waned.

Curious….what types of shots are causing you big numbers?

Do you get off the tee well pretty regularly?

 

[marcel snapshot]

If I get off the tee well regularly, it’s invariably a good round. If not, it puts a lot of stress on the rest of my game, or the round just implodes. I’m ok with using the 3 wood or 5 iron off the tee in tough spots, but there’s something very confidence and game boosting in hitting a solid tee shot on a hole where there’s a tight window, so I’d like to be able to play that type of shot with less fear.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

If I get off the tee well regularly, it’s invariably a good round. If not, it puts a lot of stress on the rest of my game, or the round just implodes. I’m ok with using the 3 wood or 5 iron off the tee in tough spots, but there’s something very confidence and game boosting in hitting a solid tee shot on a hole where there’s a tight window, so I’d like to be able to play that type of shot with less fear.

That’s where I went from a low 90s player to low 80s. When I could at worst be in the rough off the tee, but in play, quickly bogey golf became my ceiling.

Course management can also play a big part in avoiding a round killing big number or two….

I have played hybrids instead of a 3 or 5 wood for a long time. I love the more versatile clubs.

 

[g00n]

If I get off the tee well regularly, it’s invariably a good round. If not, it puts a lot of stress on the rest of my game, or the round just implodes. I’m ok with using the 3 wood or 5 iron off the tee in tough spots, but there’s something very confidence and game boosting in hitting a solid tee shot on a hole where there’s a tight window, so I’d like to be able to play that type of shot with less fear.

Another thing that helps in this regard is having a KILLER short game. If you know you can get up and down from anywhere then it takes a lot of pressure off your tee shot and the approach.

That means chipping, pitching, and putting. Especially putting. Confidence with the putter makes the little mistakes with the full swing generally moot.

"Just get me on the green".

If you know you've got a very good chance of making anything inside of 10 feet, and you strive to get all chips and pitches inside of 3 feet (so 10 feet is probably the worst case) then you can go at flags and not worry if you miss.

I like to drop 10 balls around the chipping area and see how many of them I can get inside 3 feet. If it's not 8 out of 10 or better I feel like it needs work and I'll keep working on that lie/situation before changing spots.

I also like to take one ball on the putting green and try various lag putts, so you know you're not just grooving a certain distance each time. Being able to lag to 3 feet consistently is also a confidence booster for the same reasons above.

A final piece of the scoring puzzle is wedges, particularly "partial" distances. A lot of players avoid anything that isn't a full shot because when they get in that 60-100yd range they don't have a clear method for hitting a shot the exact distance. They'll get a 65 yard shot and have no idea what to do and end up thinning or chunking it, and then the cascade of strokes begins. Been there done that!

So I practice these shots a lot. It's what allowed DJ to take the next step in his game.

I like to take the club back so my hands go to clock positions on the backswing then make a normal strike from there, and note the distances for each wedge when doing this for 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00. This is similar to what Dave Pelz advocated in his Short Game Bible over 20 years ago but not exact, and he got it from observing tour pros in the 80s.

 

[Jacoby4HOF66]

Wrong thread

 

[kicksavedave]

Another thing that helps in this regard is having a KILLER short game. If you know you can get up and down from anywhere then it takes a lot of pressure off your tee shot and the approach.

That means chipping, pitching, and putting. Especially putting. Confidence with the putter makes the little mistakes with the full swing generally moot.

"Just get me on the green".

....

I like to drop 10 balls around the chipping area and see how many of them I can get inside 3 feet. If it's not 8 out of 10 or better I feel like it needs work and I'll keep working on that lie/situation before changing spots.

I also like to take one ball on the putting green and try various lag putts, so you know you're not just grooving a certain distance each time. Being able to lag to 3 feet consistently is also a confidence booster for the same reasons above.

A final piece of the scoring puzzle is wedges, particularly "partial" distances. A lot of players avoid anything that isn't a full shot because when they get in that 60-100yd range they don't have a clear method for hitting a shot the exact distance. They'll get a 65 yard shot and have no idea what to do and end up thinning or chunking it, and then the cascade of strokes begins. Been there done that!

So I practice these shots a lot. It's what allowed DJ to take the next step in his game.

I like to take the club back so my hands go to clock positions on the backswing then make a normal strike from there, and note the distances for each wedge when doing this for 7:00, 8:00, and 9:00. This is similar to what Dave Pelz advocated in his Short Game Bible over 20 years ago but not exact, and he got it from observing tour pros in the 80s.

This ^^^ this this... all of this.


I can't stress enough, the improvements from the 90s to the 80s is all in the short game. And then from the 80s to the low 70s, still also all in the short game. Put it another way, for anyone who is routinely under 100, the tee shot is always going to be ~250-275 yards and manageable from a fairway vs rough standpoint. This means you will have a manageable approach shot to the green from most every single tee shot, even if you are not hitting every fairway (even PGA pros don't do that)... Again put another way, stay in bounds and you have a chance to approach the green on your 2nd shot, this is where all the money is earned, literally and figuratively.

Getting up and down in 2 or 3 from ~150 yards out is the entire game. Those snowmen don't happen because you make 4 tee shots, they happen because you make 2-3 shots to get on the green then 2 or 3 putts. Eliminating that point of failure, from the 7-W to the green, then the wedge to the pin, then the 1-2 putts for par or bogie, is where all the improvement comes from.

When I was scoring low 80s, my pre round warmup was similar to Goon. I'd make 4-5 drives off the range just to relax and warm up he muscles, then spend all my time on 6-7-8-9-W approach style shots, then head to the practice green and do the 10 balls from off the green and practice getting them up and down in 2-3. For me a mix of 2 (par) and 3 (bogie) would get me around 80-82 scores, throwing in a birdie occasionally and a double bogey almost never. Those 7s and 8s are usually when people go back and forth past the green or past the pin with a wedge, then need 3 putts. Its the easiest part to fix and the most bang for your buck, practice wise.

 

[g00n]

This ^^^ this this... all of this.


I can't stress enough, the improvements from the 90s to the 80s is all in the short game. And then from the 80s to the low 70s, still also all in the short game. Put it another way, for anyone who is routinely under 100, the tee shot is always going to be ~250-275 yards and manageable from a fairway vs rough standpoint. This means you will have a manageable approach shot to the green from most every single tee shot, even if you are not hitting every fairway (even PGA pros don't do that)... Again put another way, stay in bounds and you have a chance to approach the green on your 2nd shot, this is where all the money is earned, literally and figuratively.

Getting up and down in 2 or 3 from ~150 yards out is the entire game. Those snowmen don't happen because you make 4 tee shots, they happen because you make 2-3 shots to get on the green then 2 or 3 putts. Eliminating that point of failure, from the 7-W to the green, then the wedge to the pin, then the 1-2 putts for par or bogie, is where all the improvement comes from.

When I was scoring low 80s, my pre round warmup was similar to Goon. I'd make 4-5 drives off the range just to relax and warm up he muscles, then spend all my time on 6-7-8-9-W approach style shots, then head to the practice green and do the 10 balls from off the green and practice getting them up and down in 2-3. For me a mix of 2 (par) and 3 (bogie) would get me around 80-82 scores, throwing in a birdie occasionally and a double bogey almost never. Those 7s and 8s are usually when people go back and forth past the green or past the pin with a wedge, then need 3 putts. Its the easiest part to fix and the most bang for your buck, practice wise.

As Walter Hagen used to say, “Three of those and one of these equals par.”

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Heh….my warmup routine is the opposite. Always start hitting some 50-75 yard wedge shots to get my hands warmed up, then full wedges, then 7 iron, then driver when warmed up, then to the putting green.


played a 2 vs 2 scramble today.

shot -1 for the round….but it was one of those rounds where we all played well and we didn’t care who won. We were dormy on 17, won that, then donked the eagle putt and the birdie putt on the last lol…..love this game.

On the short game….yes it’s incredibly important, but there’s also a lot to be said for being able to get off the tee with regularity and not have ANY lost strokes off the tee In a round.

 

[g00n]

Good ballstriking today. A few over par with a few birds, got a little sloppy the last few holes when play slowed and we joined up with a guy behind us.

Pin high and just off the green in 2 on 550+yd par 5 on next to last hole. Lost focus and thinned it over the green then fluffed the next one before getting up and down. Possible eagle turns to bogey on a par 5. That'll give you a pucker. But wasn't playing for anything so didn't care.

Aerated greens were unpredictable but still good to get out.

The new swing thought is a charm. Simple and long. Will stress test it next week to be sure and file my report.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

a few over with only “a few birds”…..I’d say that was a good ballstriking day lol….

 

[VaCaps Fan]

Wild O’s game last night

 

[Ridley Simon]

Wild O’s game last night

They needed that W. Seems the teams around them (Mariners, Blue Jays, Rays) aren’t losing much. Each loss pushes them back more than it should.

That Cubs loss was a killer