Tiger Woods like Humpty Dumpty while Elin Nordegren a dancing star

Johnny Miller

Tiger Woods is becoming the "humpty dumpty" of the golf world according to Johnny Miller, while Elin Nordegren is reinventing herself as a possible candidate on Dancing with the Stars!

Johnny Miller's comments came soon after Woods lost his match against Thomas Bjorn in first round action at the WGC Match Play event this past week. In a comparison to Mike Tyson, TV Announcer Miller said that, like Tyson, Woods was "way above all the other players, and had a great fall, and there’s pieces all over the place trying to put them together.”

Like pieces of Holyfield's ear Johnny? More than a bit of exaggeration in Miller's comments which are usually stated with bit of flourish, don't you think?

The comparison made between Woods and Tyson is ridiculous at best. Woods, although terribly unfaithful, was always a gentleman golfer on the course as opposed to Tyson's disgraceful antics which eventually led him to jail time.

On a more positive note, Elin Nordegren began dusting herself off soon after her split from Tiger Woods with a cover shoot for People Magazine and a number 60 spot on AskMen.com's 2011 list of "Most Desirable Women". Although a boyfriend did appear on the scene, sources say Tiger Woods' jealous nature keeps suitors at bay.


Credit: Hubpages

In an effort to keep picking up the pieces of her life, rumors are coming in that Elin will appear on Dancing with the Stars. 12th season cast announcements will be made tonight on The Bachelor.
It appears that Nordegren is having less trouble rebounding than Tiger Woods!
Now if only Tiger Woods would start dancing on the golf course. Fans are still waiting for history to be made!

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Hone your distances

Johnny Miller

“If you’ve ever wondered what magic threshold you must cross to become a first-rate player, it’s simple. You must control distance with your irons. You control distance by hitting the ball solidly and varying the length and speed of your swing. If you do that well, you become more precise, which rubs off on your direction, too.”

Johnny Miller

To become a better golfer, it's very important to know how far you hit clubs in different situations. These situations include:

• hitting from the fairway
• hitting from the rough
• hitting from the bunker
  
  
• hitting when the ball is above or below your feet
• playing with the wind into you, behind you, or from the side
• playing in extremely hot or cold conditions
• playing in wet and rainy conditions
  
  
• hitting to an elevated green
• hitting downhill to the green

These are just a few examples of situations that arise while playing that can effect how far your shots go. As you improve, you will be able to hit full shots, 1/2 shots, 3/4 shots, knockdown shots, as well as many more.



It can be helpful to take mental note or jot down how far you hit certain clubs in specific situations. This will make it easier the next time a similar shot comes up.



The more you practice various swings in different situations, the better you will become over time and know what shot to hit when you need it.

Johnny Miller comments on Tiger story

Johnny Miller

In my opinion, Johnny Miller is by far the most interesting golf announcer because he's not afraid to give his honest assessment. He has been known to be the most outspoken announcer and has grilled many of the player's decision making over the years. They even have a "Top Ten show" with Johnny Miller comments on the golf channel. With the Northern Trust Open being covered by NBC this weekend, he had his chance to talk about the Tiger story.

LA Times story

"Couple of things for sure," Miller said. "He's damaged the game of golf. It's been hurtful. He's lost a lot of respect and his integrity is pretty shattered right now. And more importantly he's injured his marriage and his family."

"He'll come back strongly because he's got so much talent, so much game but he'll have to go through a lot of media blitz. He's become almost bigger than golf, Entertainment Tonight, People Magazine type of thing. He's going to have to face the music and show he has done anything he can to repair his marriage and have some genuine sorrow in his voice and feeling from the heart to show he can change and make his life better."

Miller didn't really say anthing that wasn't already known, however, this isn't stopping golf fans from going nuts on this topic. Check out more details and quotes from the golf channel site as well as the comments.

Euro Tour ships Mickelson back to the US. Are Mickelson, Woods Olympic hopefuls? Rhythm and Rules

Johnny Miller

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Phil Mickelson has dropped out of the 2009 Race to Dubai because he said he doesn’t have enough time to dedicate to both the European and PGA Tours. With second-rate performances at the two opening Euro Tour events in China, Mickelson may have felt his chances of making an upward move were slipping deciding instead to get out early and “save face”.

Add Sergio Garcia’s leapfrog into second place in the World Rankings and that Tiger Woods may return for the 2009 PGA Tour season and Mickelson is probably more concerned with defending interests here at home than the struggle to climb atop yet another ranking system.

One slip at a time Phil, although Mickelson insisted, "I really don't think about the world rankings right now very much."

Go ahead Phil. Keep asserting that you’re not losing any sleep over your drop in the World Rankings and I’ll bet that, eventually, you’ll start believing it too!

As Barry and I watched the final round of the Barclays Singapore Open, it appeared evident with every failed putt that Mickelson would be relieved to be heading back to the States on his new fourteen passenger Gulfstream conveyance. Life can be really tough on the Tour!

Add to the above an article in the latest Callaway Golf Magazine written by the extremely outspoken Johnny Miller which mentioned, "Who wouldn’t relish the prospect of Tiger and Phil battling it out for individual gold at the Olympics" and the fuel was flamed for this week’s Golf for Beginners broadcast!



Whereas Miller states that golf has gone global, he also mentions that the two men fighting for gold honors would be two Americans…so where then has golf gone global? Also, if golf is approved as a summer sport, it would not be introduced until the 2016 games. Woods would be about forty years old and Mickelson would be about ready to join the Champions Tour. Now, where’s the fun in that, I ask?

Also, with guys like Phil and Tiger going after "gold" every week in the form of million dollar payouts and glimmery FedEx type trophies, an Olympic event would seem more like just another stop on the PGA Tour. Instead, listen to what Golf for Beginners has in mind if golf becomes an Olympic sport!

In addition, we talk about Lorena Ochoa’s belief that a lack of rhythm affected her quest to win her own Invitational. Rules taken from the glossy and easy-to-use Golf Rules Quick Reference Guide about embedded and damaged golf balls, are also featured.

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"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by San Diego Golf Central, 866-825-4094.



Photo Credit: © BBC Sport

How to Choke like Anthony Kim. Tiger Woods, Natalie Gulbis in the news and you can lose but you're not a loser

Johnny Miller

Click here to listen.

Since Anthony Kim is now being heralded as one of the rising young stars of the PGA Tour (and this weekend with a third place finish at the Korea Open), it seems befitting that we spend some time examining the reasons behind his choked down golf grip. The obvious intent is to improve upon basic contact but it's also a way to establish better control over all of your shots.

Kim's grip even caught the eye of announcer Johnny Miller who made this assessment. "If you grip down, you don't get the club stuck behind you. Your body can move much faster." Miller went on to say, "It's probably something that could help Tiger, who tends to have that problem. But if you don't have that kind of arm and body speed, you're not going to hit it so far gripping down like that."

Whereas some golfers prefer to use this grip at all times and sacrifice a bit of distance, Butch Harmon, for example, mentions that it would behoove most amateurs to follow suit with all golf shots from 130 yards and in!

Even though you might feel your shots are going to be shorter, crisp contact between the golf club and the ball will often nullify the effects of a shorter shot. Just remember to never change the tempo of your swing but, instead, follow this "choke-chart" to determine how to best utilize this golf tip, taking it to the range before using it on the golf course!

This week, Golf for Beginners podcast discusses the benefit of the choke shot and how you can get the most out of it. We also talk about my participation in the Paper Cup, an EWGA annual best-ball team match play event. While Paula Creamer was busy making waves at the Samsung Tournament, I was struggling with my partner to strategize, losing our match with four holes to play! Not very good golf for either of us!

Although the event coordinator purchased "winner" and "loser" shirts, I questioned the idea between being a "loser" and losing a match. Naturally, I refused to wear the shirt.

Finally, we dig deep into the internet and find some interesting news on both Tiger Woods and Natalie Gulbis.


Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed:http://feeds.feedburner.com/golfforbeginners or through iTunes.

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"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by MyrtleBeachGolf.com, 866-409-2177.


Photo Credit: © Streeter Lecka/Getty Images .

Miller sends Tiger Woods a "Dear John" letter. Aging Mickelson falls prey to Villegas, Kim. Nicklaus hits it big with Performance 18

Johnny Miller

Click here to listen.

Golf Analyst Johnny Miller maintains that Tiger Woods was not missed at either the Tour Championship or the Ryder Cup. He has even gone so far as to blame Woods for Team USA's problematic history. I can understand Miller's Ryder Cup theory as Tiger Woods has rarely been known to be a team player but, taking his idea a step further, would the PGA Tour be better off with, or without Woods?

It's true that some of Miller's off-the-cuff commentary can be a bit absurd (Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger’s swimming pool, for example") but after watching up-and-coming flamboyant and charismatic young guns Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas excite the crowd time and time again, some of Miller's musings are believable.

I disagree, however, that age played a factor with Mickelson, ever the punching bag, who was beaten over the head for being thirty-eight years old. Age is not the reason why Phil could not make putts, and I'm sure that V.J. Singh would concur with that fact.

Johnny Miller, whose ramblings are worthy of note (that's why he's a commentator), should aspire to change the FedEx Cup points distribution system. Under the close circumstances in which both Singh and Villegas came to their eventual respective positions, perhaps a play-off would have been in order to create that end-of-season fervor that the PGA Tour, and the fans, are desperately looking for?

In addition to our commentary about the Tour Championship and both Mickelson and Garcia's inability to win in the face of challenge, we also offer our experiences while wearing Jack Nicklaus Performance 18 apparel at Turning Stone Resort. Performance 18 offers Coolplus® technology, UV protection, is fashionable and lightweight and had me feeling so stylish and comfortable that I felt as if I was on the LPGA Tour!

A golf tip on how to hit a 460cc driver is also featured. With clubheads as large as garbage cans, it shouldn't be that difficult, should it?


Send your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com.

Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed:http://feeds.feedburner.com/golfforbeginners or through iTunes.

Click Here to receive our archived podcasts and 100's of easy golf tips free! and check us out on MySpace!

"Shiny Tech" courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)"

This podcast is supported by Premier Golf, 888-439-1831.

Photo Credit: © Outside the Beltway.