An ELITE 8 showdown.. It’s Nicklaus vs Norman in the Cabo Showdown.
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Tathata Golf Launch Party
When Kyle over at Tathata Golf (www.TathataGolf.com) informed me that they were having a launch party to celebrate the new 60-Day Training Program and membership platform, I was excited. When Kyle mentioned that he was inviting Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and Annika Sorenstam to help launch the program, I was even more excited... and when Kyle invited me to help celebrate the occasion, I punched a hole in my wall with excitement. For years, I had watched these legends dominate the sport and now I was getting the chance to meet and photograph them.
Since Tathata Golf's teaching foundation is based on the movements of the greatest golfers of all time it only made sense to have Jack, Greg, and Annika join in the presentation and launch of the new training platform. Greg Norman, the best driver of all time, was going to walk us through his approach to driving the golf ball. Annika Sorenstam, the best female golfer of her generation, was going to demonstrate her wedge game. Jack Nicklaus, the best pressure putter of all time, was going to share his thoughts on putting. The evening would conclude with a $1 million closest to the pin competition with the proceeds going to the winner's charity of choice. The event was aptly titled "A Celebration with the Greats" and it would be streamed on the Golf Channel.
Annika's approach to the wedge game is simple, Every time she gets a wedge in her hands, she is looking to place the ball inside of 10 feet. She has created a very repeatable fluid motion that allows her to do this consistently.
Although it's no surprise, Annika stresses practice and really being able to get a feel for those shots inside of 100 yards. It is a pleasure to watch as she drops wedge after wedge right next to each other. Annika was going to be tough to beat in the million dollar closest to the pin competition.
Up next was Greg Norman and his approach to driving the golf ball. After twenty or so minutes of istening to The Shark talk about hitting a driver, I came away with a couple of things
- Pick the smallest target you can, every single time. Small... I mean the leaf on a tree 400 yards away small.
- Try to hit the front of the golf ball and not the back of it. This is a great way to visualize and feel the acceleration through the impact zone.
- Greg Norman is the man. Even at 62, with large gaps of time away from the game. Greg steps up and bombs the driver like a 30 year old.
It's not often that Annika or Greg aren't the main attraction at an event, but when Jack Nicklaus is in the building, all eyes are on the Golden Bear. With 18 major championships to his name, Jack is arguably the best golfer to ever walk the earth.
Jack starts off by highlighting the importance of keeping your eyes directly over the ball and strokes a couple of putts. It is a surreal feeling to be on the same putting green as Jack Nicklaus and at one point Bryan Hepler, the Founder of Tathata Golf, comments "Isn't this the coolest? Just hanging out with Jack and watching him roll some putts?"
The biggest takeaway from listening to Jack talk is that he values the mental side of putting just as much as the fundamentals. Because Nicklaus has built up such a strong mental game, he is much more dangerous when he fully engages his mind on the putting green. Because of this approach, Jack is a notably better putter when he "needs" to make a putt. If anybody can will a ball into a hole, it's Jack. Well, maybe Tiger did it once or twice... (In corner, Michael Jordan raises hand)
Jack's philosophy on putting centers mostly around the importance of speed. Three putt avoidance is important to Jack and he likes those second putts to be stress free. He recalls several seasons when he made it to June or July on the tour without a three putt. Most of us are lucky to make it to the third hole.
Jack doesn't just stick to the putting stroke and offers up his thoughts on the full swing. Nicklaus clearly embraces a natural swing that develops from a golfer's own personal style. He also gives a few lines on today's competitive landscape. "Jordan Spieth will be a much better golfer than he is today." So Jack is clearly on the Spieth Wagon with the rest of us.
There is even a discussion about the whereabouts of a putter Jack used to win the Masters. Apparently those things are valuable. Side note: If anybody knows where the Lynx putter that I used to win the 1994 Junior Varsity Bruin Invitational is, please let me know.
After the roundtable discussion winds up, it is time for the $1 Million shootout. It's a 60 yard wedge shot and they only get one shot, closest to the pin wins $1 million. Not to be left out, each runner up receives $200k for the charity of their choice. The Greats warm up and give the honor to Annika. Like a champion, she sticks it to 3 feet. With the pressure on, Jack finds the sand and Greg catches it heavy. Jack later laughs "Greg and I couldn't get it over a bunker 40 yards away." At 77, his game isn't what it used to be, but his mental outlook remains solid and fun.
With any luck, you picked up one or two takeaways from this post, I know I picked up 2-3 strokes just by meeting these legends. It was truly a special treat.
If you are looking to improve your game at all, I would suggest checking out Tathata Golf and their new membership platform. It contains a variety of beneficial features in a Netflix-like user experience; training courses, weekly TV shows, 200+ Video Library, and mobile companion app. If it's special enough to attract these champions, it is worth a moment of your consideration.
Ohio? Oh, hell yeah.
If you take some time to study the areas of the country in which you can find some of the very best golf in America, you will eventually land on Columbus, Ohio as a golf destination. Since Sean Ogle of Breaking Eighty and I routinely study these types of things, a trip was planned and an all-star itinerary was born.
When we first arrived in Columbus, instead of heading straight to the golf course, we took a local tip and headed straight to Super Chef's. With an array of breakfast options, we decided on "The Hulk," a green waffle sandwich with sausage, bacon, egg, and cheese. This waffle sandwich would play a surprisingly critical role in the trip's proceedings.
After "The Hulk" was consumed, it was off to Scioto Country Club for our first round of golf in Ohio. Things started off innocently enough until I noticed that Sean had his head down on the golf cart steering wheel. Sean would announce that he was not feeling well and then proceed to birdie the next two holes. Later on in the round, Sean would violently lose his waffle sandwich in the turn stand and then proceed to drain a handful of 20 footers.
In true "Breaking Eighty" form, Sean would break 80 along with a life long losing streak. I would shoot 80 to Sean's 79 and Sean would capture victory over me for the first time. It was a true Michael Jordan "Flu Game" moment. Apparently The Hulk punching around in Sean's stomach had given him some sort of magical golf powers.
After playing the course where Jack Nicklaus learned the game, Scioto, it was on to play Jack's crowning architectural achievement, Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Having grown up on a public executive course with a green fee of $5, I had no concept of how good golf courses could actually be. For a while, I thought executive meant that this is where high powered corporate executives play golf. As far as I was concerned, the 1905 yard course at Arlington Park was the bee's knees. That was until my Dad took me on a trip from Indiana to the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village. I remember standing behind the 14th green, just totally amazed. Only in my wildest dreams as a youngster, could I have imagined actually being able to play this golf course.
After an outstanding day at Muirfield Village, our power twosome would head out to The Golf Club. Out of all the golf clubs in the United States, this one is The Golf Club. We had heard good things coming in and the course would not have any trouble living up to it's name. The Golf Club was designed by Pete Dye in 1967 and Pete actually consulted with a 27 year old Jack Nicklaus on some of the potential shot options on the course.
Compared to some of Pete Dye's other designs, the features are less challenging, but significant in their subtlety. From what I can tell, it wasn't until the 1970's that Pete Dye started really hating golfers and the course falls into the category of courses you will want to play over and over. The course has a similar feel to Crooked Stick which was built around the same time.
While Sean recovered from his bought with The Hulk, I would turn a day of 18 into a day of 54 holes, with an afternoon visit to the Ohio State University Scarlet and Gray Golf Courses. With an executive course and a championship course both designed by Alister Mackenzie, these courses make a great addition to any Columbus trip. Pro tip: just don't show up in your Michigan gear.
Just as Sean's food poisoning was subsiding, we would run into a second obstacle when weather would force us to move things around due to wet and soggy conditions. Thinking quickly on our feet, we would be able to secure a tee time at the somewhat nearby Valhalla Golf Club. As far as replacement rounds go, this was about as good as it gets.
In addition to a world class golf course, Valhalla also has one of the coolest hang spots, or "man caves" I have ever seen at a golf course.
Complete with a putting green, full bar, and 2 Trackman simulators, the man cave provides the ultimate post game experience for those that can't get enough golf. In the photo, we are watching the PGA at Quail Hollow, while golfing at Bethpage Black in the basement of Valhalla. You could spend 2 days down there.
After honing or games on the simulators, it was time for one final round at the highly anticipated Camargo Club. Having already played one of Seth Raynor's designs at Shoreacres, I was pretty excited to get a second helping from the classic architect. As expected, we would not be let down.
Widely known for it's amazing collection of par 3's and huge greens, Camargo Club was an absolute blast to play. The club itself is very minimal compared to some of it's counterparts and has an brilliant classic feel to it.
As Sean was no longer suffering from stomach woes, his golf super powers had worn off and he suffered from a vicious streak of missed putts. I took it to him with a nice little 75 and all was right in the golf universe again.
Since we didn't end the trip with birdies, we decided to finish it off were we had began, with a local tip on a place to dine. Zip's Burgers is the place to go when in Cincinnati. The atmosphere is top notch with an electric train that runs around the ceiling of the eating area. Sean and I naturally would order up the Girth Burger and I would recommend it. This time the tip would pay off and we would sail out of town with satisfied and settled stomachs.