Broken Rule? Divided Jury.

Here are the poll results:

37% voted “yes, she broke the rule but the rule should be evaluated”

36% voted “no, she was no in violation of the rule”

27% voted “yes, it was an obvious violation and she should have been disqualified”

Thanks for your votes. It’s clearly a tough call.

Juli Inkster LPGA Safeway Classic Disqualification

At the Safeway Classic in North Plains Oregon Juli Inkster shot a 67 and was 8 under for the first two rounds. As she was walking off the course, rules officials notified her that she had been disqualified for using a training device during her 30-minute wait on the 10th hole. Apparently, a television viewer had called tournament officials after noticing Inkster’s use of a donut weight on her 9-iron while she warmed up for No. 10. Inkster said she needed to loosen up during the long wait.

Here is the rule officials sited as the reason for disqualification:

Except as provided in the Rules, during a stipulated round the player must not use any artificial device or unusual equipment, or use any equipment in an unusual manner:

a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play; or
b. For the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or conditions that might affect his play;

What do you think about her use of the donut regarding the rule? Should fans call the officials to make calls that might have been missed otherwise? Vote in the poll then leave your thoughts below.

The First 9 Holes

“Sure, it’s fun now but wait until you want to win,” I was told last week when I played my first 9 holes of golf. When you play your first round, golf is not yet the four letter word it is to some veterans. In fact, it was a great experience and I was pretty pumped about shooting a 54. To date, I’ve taken a GolfTEC Swing Evaluation and two lessons and my only putting has involved clowns, windmills and nice, flat Astroturf greens.

One of the many benefits of working at GolfTEC is the 9-hole “Family” course at the Family Sports Center facility in Englewood, Colorado. It’s an Executive Course about two blocks from GolfTEC Headquarters and involves 2,241 yards of golf from the longest tees.  We teed off in toasty 94-degree weather after a short trip to the practice green for some putting tips and practice chip shots.

Previous visits to the driving range were evidence that my drives would shank or slice on a good day, so I opted to give my driver the night off. I’m going to keep working on a consistent swing before adding a driver to the mix. In the meantime, the 5-iron will to be the club for me and I used it on nearly all of my tee shots.  (Keep in mind, I was teeing off at the front tees.)

The main goal of the nine holes was to absorb as much golf lingo, etiquette and knowledge as possible.  Mission accomplished. From which club to use to where to leave your bag when you’re on the green, it was a golf education in a nutshell.

Best shot of my round: 5-iron from 91 yards that hit the pin. Worst shot: probably the shot out of the sand trap which rolled directly into the next sand trap. Casual observations: golf can be really great one minute and pretty awful the next. I believe one of the players in our foursome would vouch for that! I also found truth in the saying, “the putter is the most used club in the bag.” Clearly, it’s important to have the right putter for you and to know how to use it.  According to Tiger Woods after the first round of the PGA Championship, golf is a “fickle game and it is what it is”.

During the August Sale, many GolfTEC Improvement Centers are hosting open houses and merchandise blow out sales. After our round we drove over to GolfTEC DTC for their annual open house and BBQ. Keep an eye out for a special event at your nearest Improvement Center! Until next time, I’ll see you in the practice bays.

Golf Trivia and Strange Facts

Searching for fun and random golf facts uncovers some wild results. From websites devoted to Tiger’s favorite foods to a comprehensive history of the golf ball, we sifted through to find only the most interesting and most unbelievable bits of trivia. Get inspired by the longest putt ever recorded and work on your driving to stop contributing to the amount of lost golf balls each year.

1. There are three golf balls on the moon.

2. Americans spend $600 million on golf balls every year.

3. The chances of making two holes-in-one in one round are one in 67 million.

4. The longest put in history was measured at 140 feet and 2 3/4 inches on the 18th hole at St. Andrews golf course it was shot by Bob Cook on October 1, 1976.

5. Some older golfers try to match their age to their golf score. The oldest golfer to “shoot his age” was a 103-year-old Canadian man.

6. A titanium driver hitting a golf ball can create a sonic boom.

Need new clubs?

If your golf game has changed in the last few years but you haven’t updated your clubs, you could be missing out. Players also need new clubs when they have a “distance gap” in their bag. But all too often, golfers don’t realize their clubs might be letting them down and costing them additional strokes on the course.

Pam Swensen, CEO of the Executive Women’s Golf Association, said the worst golf advice she ever received was that you don’t need to get fitted for golf clubs. Now she realizes how much more enjoyment custom clubs can provide.

To help all golfers get the clubs they need to play their best, GolfTEC partnered with Sports Illustrated Golf Group and Golf.com to create the See-Try-Buy club program. The partnership allows players to test golf clubs and receive an in-depth club fitting analysis before they purchase new clubs. Then an unbiased computer database of over 1,000 clubs pieces together the ideal custom golf club for your swing.

Even the best golf swing on the planet isn’t going to remedy using the wrong golf clubs. You can sign up here for a GolfTEC custom club fitting and receive $100 off the regular price.