USGA Jr Girls Match

Serious golf at the USGA Junior Girls Championship really starts with match play. To reach this point, 156 of the best junior golfers in the world must qualify through 2 days of stroke play -- medal play is the correct term. Clearly the girls need to play well enough the first two days to make the top group of 64 players, and it takes a playoff to set the cut line. But match play brings a completely different sense of competition.

Match play is one player vs another player. It is a satisfying blend of strategy and skill. You can have a blow up hole and it doesn't destroy your chance of winning the match; it just costs one hole. A steady player can calm the nerves and come back to win the next hole or the one after and be back in the game. Players who focus and stay within their pre- and post-shot routines have the best chance of winning in match play all other considerations being equal.

At the 2012 USGA Junior Girls Championship we were privileged to watch some of the best golf to be seen anywhere. Lake Merced Golf Club hosted the tournament and provided a full-blooded championship quality course that challenges the best pros. The junior players faced a tough test of golf.

The international field had world top-ranked players including Lydia Ko from New Zealand and Ariya Jutanugarn from Thailand. These two players overpowered their opponents in match play. Lydia had setup and swing qualities that demonstrated near-perfect form and mechanics. She generated effortless power and accuracy combined with steady play on the greens. Lydia showed why she was ranked world's number one.

Ariya's game was a combination of explosive power off the tee and a silky smooth wedge stroke that put her in position to make birdies when it counted. When she brought her complete game to the course, she was unbeatable. She won the stroke play competition. At 16, both girls already have pro level skills. And based on what we saw at LMGC this week, they were not alone.

The brilliance of Lydia and Ariya's game almost overshadowed the superb golf exhibited by the rest of the field. But in the quarterfinals, the excitement of match play showed itself. In this format a skilled player with a hot club can take on the top ranked players and win. It's golf -- anyone who plays the game knows the story.

On heartbreak hole seventeen at LMGC, both Lydia and Ariya met their match. Alison Lee from Valencia CA defeated Lydia Ko, and Minjee Lee from Australia defeated Ariya Jutanugarn. We watched most of both matches and were captivated by the quality of the play. All four girls played at the highest level and fought through competition nerves. They played brilliantly but the players who made the fewest mistakes won. 

We encourage all young golfers to watch the junior girls championship to see exactly what high level play from their peers looks like. Golf like this needs to be seen and felt up close. For any young player thinking of greater things in golf, this tournament is a must. 

USGA Jr Girls Winning

Winning at the USGA Junior Girls' Championship, held in 2012 at Lake Merced Golf Club in San Francisco/Daly City, is why junior girls enter this event. We have watched this tournament unfold from a close vantage point: we walk the course with the players and study what we see from our golf perspectives that we document throughout our website.

We think winning and competing are different. To win, players will do what is needed to play their best and get into position to master the course. These players will work with a good instructor/coach, understand the mechanics of their swing, update their equipment regularly to keep pace with their development, study the course characteristics, find a caddy who can help with strategy and read the greens, and practice at the event to refine the little things that can make a big difference in the outcome. Although there can only be one name at the top of the leaderboard on the final day of the tournament, we have seen lots of winners on the course.

We like the youngest players who at age 12 and 13 have qualified to enter the tournament and play against many of the best juniors in the world who are 3 or 4 years older. That's a big difference in biological development in the 12-17 age group for this event. The youngest players have seen firsthand what it will take to win next year, or the year after that. They'll be back. And, they have great parents who support them.

We like the players who have continued to develop their game and qualified in successive years in search of that elusive championship. Golf is a difficult game and it takes desire and commitment to get the trophy. We like the determination that radiates from their game.

Most of all, we love competitive junior golf at this level. Everyone who plays golf owes it to themselves to watch the USGA girls junior championship. You will see where the heart of the game lives. The next time you go out on the course, you will play differently. You will play better because of what you learned from watching the stars of tomorrow.

USGA Jr Girls at LMGC

The 2012 USGA Junior Girls' Championship will be held at Lake Merced Golf Club July 16 - 21. Practice rounds will be played on the Saturday and Sunday before the tournament which will feature the best junior girl golfers in the country and beyond. The course will provide a pro-level challenge, being a frequent host for US Open sectional qualifiers. LMGC is the hidden jewel of premier golf courses in the SF Bay Area, and it's a comfortable walk to any of the fairways and greens.

If you're in the bay area and love golf, come and spend some time at LMGC and you will see the absolute best in junior golf today. Tournament history tells us that you will be seeing several future stars on the LPGA tour. The tournament starts with two days of stroke play to select the qualifiers for four days of match play. It's a format not seen often enough in the US, and the girls' junior championship is a perfect venue for it.

You'll see golf swings that are like poetry in motion. The swing tempo is at just the right pace for seeing the details of swing mechanics. It's one of those intangibles that can inspire young athletes to play the game. We think this tournament is golf at its best.

We will be there to observe and chronicle the tournament. We hope to see you there.  

Custom or Retail?

What's the essential difference between custom golf clubs built by a professional clubfitter and factory-made off-the-rack retail clubs? The answer for almost every golfer we've seen is: custom clubs complement your swing traits to allow you to play better golf, whereas retail clubs will require that you make an adjustment in your swing or setup for your best chance of playing well. It's difficult to repeat those adjustments.

Does custom matter? Well, all you need to do is watch golfers at the local driving range to see there are a lot of different swing styles, body shapes, and physical abilities. At some point we can agree that the closer a golf club matches the unique physical qualities of an individual player, the more likely that player will get better performance results when swinging the club at a golf ball.

Well, if that's the main issue why can't you get properly fit clubs off-the-rack? The answer is the cost of inventory. The large number of variations needed to get a standard set of clubs to match each golfer reasonably well would create an inventory problem. Too many different options would need to be available and the cost of inventory would be prohibitive.

What's the retail answer? Simply convince the golfing population that each golfer can select the right set from a limited number of retail models. That's the job of marketing and sales promotions. It's a business, and a profit needs to be made. And with millions of golfers ready to buy new clubs each year, there is plenty of incentive to get them to buy something.

Finding the right golf club options in the retail world is a big challenge. To get an idea of the magnitude of the problem, think about buying a pair of shoes. You don't want to change your style of walking or modify your foot to fit the shoe. The shoe should fit your foot.

Wearing shoes that don't fit can be an unpleasant experience that can lead to real problems like blisters, calluses, excessive pronation of your foot and ankle -- and remember the ankle is connected to the lower leg, the knee, the thigh, the hip, the back. You may develop pain anywhere along the chain because the shoe didn't fit properly. You need shoes that fit.

What do you do? First you find a store with a good selection of styles, then you get a design you like, then find a length and width to match your feet (remember you have two of them). Then you may need an orthotic insert to support your arches properly, and enough room is need for toes to move without discomfort while supporting the heel. The process works best when the sales person understands the features of the shoes being sold and can match a style to your foot correctly. Knowledgeable professionals can be difficult to find.

The parallels between buying new shoes and buying new clubs seem reasonable. Clubfitting is done best when professionals with the right expertise are involved. Getting shaft properties correctly matched to your swing is a major part of clubfitting: it requires in-depth knowledge of how shafts are designed and what features matter most to an individual swing. Identifying a clubhead design that complements your swing style is just as important: understanding how individual clubhead properties affect the performance you get from your swing matters. 

How do you know if your clubfitter is a qualified professional? Ask questions before and during the process. Check their website. Find out something about what they've learned. Look at their training certifications and continuing education. Documented expertise is important. It's not the number of golfers that were fit by that shop or the ranking on a sales chart, or the books they read. It's the knowledge and understanding that's applied to the fitting.

And don't forget to find out who builds those clubs. Will assembly be done by your clubfitter or given to someone else in the store? Are your clubs coming from a distant site, a mass-production factory, or are they already assembled? Skill and craftsmanship can make all the difference in getting clubs that meet your specifications. We think custom building should be included with custom fitting.

Missing Short Putts

Missing short putts is a problem for golfers at all skill levels. Why does it happen? Let's explore the possibilities.

The art and science of fitting a putter should give you a club that guides you into the optimum address position and helps you execute an effective stroke. The putter should complement your natural tendencies for both setting up to the ball and hitting the ball into the hole. If the putter doesn't fit you correctly, compensations in address and stroke are needed that are difficult to repeat under pressure. What are the key specifications needed to fit a putter to the golfer?

Putter length. It's a good place to start. First, it's important to understand there is no standard length for a putter, and that the off-the-rack retail putter needs to be matched to your address position. It's a function of differences in our posture, arm length, and assuming a comfortable stance that allows your eyes to settle over the ball. Because that stance is not the same for everyone, simply measuring the wrist-to-floor dimension will usually not be effective. 

Putter loft. Research has been done to demonstrate that the putter face should strike the ball at an angle that gets the ball rolling with a minimum of elevation off the putting surface. You need to get the ball rolling smoothly right after impact. That requires matching the putter face loft to the impact angle a golfer makes with a comfortable repeatable stroke. Impact with the ball should be made just past the low point in the arc of the stroke to provide the topspin needed for optimum roll. Knowing how individual stroke mechanics affect putter loft at impact is essential for fitting.

Lie angle. The sole of the putter should rest in a neutral position at address that would allow the center of the sole to be in contact with the ground. If the toe points up significantly, the ball will tend to go to the inside of the target line. A heel up position tends to send the ball to the outside of the target line. Getting the lie angle correct is another essential specification that affects your ability to sink any putt, including the short ones.

These three specifications are among the most basic properties needed for a putter that will give you the best chance to roll the ball into the hole from any distance. There are several more parameters that need to be fit correctly including total weight, balance, head design, grip style, and shaft properties. And of course, there are essential technique considerations to be learned and practiced. 

The goal of our custom fitting is to give you a putter that enables you to make a high percentage of the short putts as well as an understanding of your natural putting tendencies. We think it's one of the best steps you can take to score low.