Stacy "Lewis’s ongoing success on the greens is a blend of art and science"

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I'm down at the KIA Classic talking to LPGA players for a story and had the pleasure of sitting in on new World No. 1 Stacy Lewis's press conference.

In a recent SI Golf Plus story, Alan Shipnuck wrote about her improvement on the greens:

Lewis’s ongoing success on the greens is a blend of art and science. To sharpen her feel she does a drill in which she hits a long lag putt into open space on the practice green, away from any target. Without peeking to see where the putt ends up, Lewis then drops another ball, closes her eyes and tries to hit the second ball to the same spot. “No exaggeration, 90 percent of the time the two balls are within three or four inches,” says Hallett.

In the press conference, I asked her to explain the more technical side of her approach without divulging too many secrets. Her answer:

STACY LEWIS:  Yep.  Well, it's Aimpoint and everybody can go take a class and learn it, so I guess it's not too much of a secret.  But I learned it, gosh it's been almost three years, two and a half, three years.  It's really based on gravity and how water flows off of a green.  So every time I walk up to a whole, I'm trying to find a straight putt, and once you find a straight putt, it's how much slope there ‑‑ what affects the read is how much slope is there and then how far away you are from the straight putt.  So the further you get from the straight putt, the more it's going to break.  So it's a combination of that and you have a little chart that gives you the exact read for every single putt.  So it's really, it's almost like cheating.  I can walk around and have down to the inch how far every putt's going to break.  So I can ‑‑ and that's the thing, too, is you're walking around, you're feeling it with your feet versus looking at it, and that's kind of the big difference because a lot of times golf courses try to throw you off visually with mounds or hills or whatever it may be on how putts break.

Delicate-Pitch One-Shotters, Or What's Left Of Them

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In Golf World's recent Architecture Issue, Ron Whitten highlighted a handful of the game's great 120 yards and less pitch par-3s.

The collection is posted at GolfDigest.com, and of course any nominations you might have for others he left out are welcomed. The only one missing for my money was the 16th at Engineers, the infamous "2 or 20" hole. You can see it and read about it on GolfClubAtlas.com's write up.

Included in Whitten's group was The Los Angeles Country Club's recently restored bye hole on the North Course, Little 17. (Pictured right.)

Video: Meet The 23-Month-Old Anchorer!

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I know, he's totally adorable, but yes, Owen Kopinski is an anchorer!

He was on the Today Show showing off his anchored swing, and can be seen in the video below draining some bombs with the putter anchored. I still say ban it.

Sorry, Little Owen. This is for the best. Some day when you are winning the Masters with a conventional grip, you'll understand!

Thanks to reader Chuck for sending this Daily Mail write up of Owen's appearance.

The YouTube video:

Flashback: When Lindsey Mocked Tiger

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Thanks to reader John from sending in this Time item from three years ago where Sean Gregory of Time quoted new Tiger Facebook friend Lindsey Vonn uttering less than nice things about her future beau.

And like millions of Americans, Vonn can't help poking fun at Woods' staged event. When a member of her Vonn-tourage tells her that Woods gave a few friends hugs after ending his statement, she cracks, "They're like, 'Yeah, you're awesome, you go have that sex.' " The room breaks into a laugh. Then she describes a skit she would want to perform if asked to host Saturday Night Live: picture Vonn at Woods' podium, blue backdrop and all. "There's something you don't know about me," Vonn says in a faux solemn, apologetic voice. "Tiger, you're like my idol, and I too have a sex problem." More laughter. "That would be freaking funny."

Meanwhile the Deadspin Photoshop contest has turned in some real gems interspersed with plenty of Perkins references and other so-so efforts. It's kind of an odd slideshow window, but just be aware of the arrows on the left and right of the images at the bottom of the post to navigate the hundred or so entries.

My favorite:

If The Golf Thing Doesn't Pan Out, Graeme Can Always Tend Bar

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Nona Blue opened recently according to the Orlando Sentinel and golf.com posted a nice (quick) video of Graeme McDowell showing how to properly tap and serve a Guiness from his newly opened restaurant. There is also a slideshow posted by USA Today.

Reminder to all the mooching media in Orlando this week: Graeme is offering free beer to PGA Tour media badge holders. Try to represent the profession well by not ordering the left side of the menu, okay? And DiMeglio, don't go every day please?

Yours truly asked this tough question at the World Challenge that McDowell won last December:

Q.  You mentioned the free drinks that we're all entitled to at your bar when it opens.  Can you take this opportunity to tell us the name of it?  How much are you going to be working on that here during your off time, and have you thought of a tradition that the bar might have when you actually win a tournament?

GRAEME McDOWELL:  Yeah.  The bar's called Nona Blue.  It's a tavern restaurant.  It's just outside the gates of Lake Nona.  Free bars are with PGA TOUR media credentials only.

Traditionally when I win an event I call home to my home golf club.  Lake Nona has kind of become my second home golf club, and I typically have a free bar for the members for a defined period of time, obviously.

Tiger And Lindsey Announce On Facebook They're Dating, Have Slightly Awkward Photos To Prove It

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Thanks to reader Irwin for passing along Tiger's Woods Facebook announcement that he and Lindsey Vonn are dating.

And now leave them alone:

This season has been great so far and I'm happy with my wins at Torrey and Doral. Something nice that's happened off the course was meeting Lindsey Vonn. Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating. We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy. We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes.

Interesting PR tactic by the power couple and quite different for Tiger, but clearly the other ways they've tackled news of his personal life haven't worked. So why not?

Though I'm not sure if these were the photos I would have chosen. But hey, that's why they pay Steiny and Glenn Greenspan the big bucks!

Just a little too Step Brothers movie postery for me:


Hank On Tiger And Others: "A lot of them are benefiting from not having to hit many drivers"

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Last year I wrote in Golf World about the death of the driver caused in part by course setups and shorter major venues at Olympic, Lytham and Merion rendering the big stick useless, but one element of the equation that I heard all about this year in talking to Champions Tour players this week was the 3-wood and the amazing strides made of late by manufacturers.
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AnnBriar: More Than Just The Sinkhole Course

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Dave Shedloski explains that the golfer-engulfed-by-sinkhole story from last week may have been divine intervention for another reason: to tell the emotional story of AnnBriar Golf Course and the reason for its name and creation.

It's also a reminder that there is no good reason not to stay away from the Hurdzan-Fry design, which is understandably but unfairly tainted by freak incident.

 The 18-foot sinkhole eventually turned into a yawning void in the landing area of the 14th hole, a par-5 that measures up to 509 yards. It took several thousand cubic yards of rock to fill it in, and the area is roped off as ground under repair until the warm weather returns and allows for the replanting of the zoysia grass.

After seeing that Milar told a newspaper that he might have trouble returning to AnnBriar, Russ Nobbe worries that business might suffer. "Will people stay away? That's the fear we have," Russ said. "I mean, reporters are asking us if it's safe to play here."

"That would be a shame if golfers think they can't go back," Hurdzan said. "People are afraid of what they can't see, but when it comes to golf, people don't stop playing even though they could get struck by lightning, and that's a much bigger risk. There are sinkholes all over the country. But people don't stop building houses or driving down the road."

Note To U.S. Open Visitors: The Art of Golf Comes To PMOA

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Joe Logan alerts us to the great news that the Art of Golf traveling exhibit will be up through July 7 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Best of all, it's a great chance to see a masterpiece:

The centerpiece of the collection is perhaps the most famous painting in the history of golf.   Titled "The Golfers," the 7-foot wide canvas, rendered in 1847 by Scotsman Charles Lees,  is set on the Old Course in St. Andrews and depicts a crucial moment in match between Sir David Baird and Sir Ralph Anstruther and  Sir Hugh Playfair and John Campbell.

Here's a nice YouTube video with some insights into the exhibit, a nice curator breakdown of "The Golfers" and some info on planned for U.S. Open tie-ins, including evening events all week which might make visiting during those evenings difficult.