2006 Ryder Cup Schedule and Team Info

The 2006 Ryder Cup is being held at the K Club in Kildare, Ireland later this week and everyone is getting pumped up. Here’s the US television schedule…

  • Friday, September 22 on USA – 8AM – 6PM ET
  • Saturday, September 23 on NBC – 8AM – 6PM ET
  • Sunday, September 24 on NBC -8AM – 12:30PM ET

2006 United States Ryder Cup Team

Captain

  • Tom Lehman

Assistant Captains

  • Corey Pavin
  • Loren Roberts

Team Members

  • Tiger Woods
  • Phil Mickelson
  • Jim Furyk
  • Chad Campbell
  • David Toms
  • Chris DiMarco
  • Vaughn Taylor
  • J.J. Henry
  • Fred Funk
  • Zach Johnson
  • Brett Wetterich
  • Stewart Cink
  • Scott Verplank

2006 European Ryder Cup Team

Captain

  • Ian Woosnam

Vice Captains

  • Peter Baker
  • Des Smyth

Assistant Captains

  • Sandy Lyle
  • David J Russell

Team Members

  • Darren Clarke
  • Paul Casey
  • Luke Donald
  • Sergio Garcia
  • Padraig Harrington
  • David Howell
  • Robert Karlsson
  • Paul McGinley
  • Colin Montgomerie
  • José Maria Olazábal
  • Henrik Stenson
  • Lee Westwood

I Write When I Want To

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.

W. Somerset Maugham

Maugham obviously had never heard of blogs when he made the above quote.

I haven’t made a post here at MDV since August 2nd. I’ve had plenty to write about, but just haven’t felt like it. And guess what, I’m fine with that. It’s my blog. I write when I want to. I really do what to write more often, but we’ll just see how it goes. As the weather gets colder here in Michigan I should have more time to post.

A Summer of Golf

Wow, has it really been over a month since my last post here? I’ve got in a ton of golf over that time and had some great rounds I should have written about. On August 15th I shot under par for 9 holes for the first time in my life with a 1-under 34. The next day I want out and shot 80 for 18 at Bay Valley. I had my first sub-80 round in the bag and blew it on the last two holes. I had shot 38 on the front nine and ended up with a 42 on the back. On the 17th hole I bombed my best drive of the day on a par 5. It was 300+ and left me with an easy 7 iron into the green. I duffed it about 70 yards. Then I duffed a SW and hit a 2nd SW to the back of the green. Took 3 putts from there. I needed a par on the last hole to shoot 41 for a 79 and actually had a 5 foot putt, but missed it. But It was still my best 18 holes ever, so I can’t complain too much.

I took my yearly trip to Boyne near the end of August for 3 days of 36 holes a day and played decent golf there. My 34 ended up being the best round of the year in our golf league so I got a nice little trophy. I also ended up with the lowest handicap in the league with a 2. I can shoot some good golf, but there is no way I’m a 2 handicap. Our league only uses your last 3 scores and the handicap can only go up by 1 each week, but there isn’t a limit on how far it can drop.

I’ve golfed a lot more this summer than I have before. Before the summer is over I’ll have played somewhere around 1000 holes of golf. I still can’t believe it when I think about that number. My back needs the winter off!

Review: G.R.I.P Sweetness Putter

I received the G.R.I.P Sweetness Putter a few weeks ago from Rob at Golf Research in Play and The Savvy Golfer. I was impressed with the look and feel of the putter as soon as I took it out of the box. I used it around the living room for a bit, but knew I couldn’t take it out on the course with me. I’ve been using an Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball putter for a couple of years now and it’s done wonders for my game. As impressed as I was with the Sweetness from G.R.I.P. I just couldn’t mess with my putting game. I showed the putter to my friend Dave and he said he’d test it out. Following is his review.

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G.R.I.P Sweetness PutterThe G.R.I.P. Sweetness Putter features an oversized, two-bar design, with a center aiming line between the two “Dual Tension Rods” to help make alignment easier. The double insert in the club face is comprised of a soft, CNC-milled aluminum center surrounded by a soft polymer. This putter is aimed at the casual golfer looking for the latest technology but at a lower price point ($69.95).

I currently use a Ping Anser and am generally happy with it. I use a pendulum stroke and push through the ball toward the hole. I feel that this gives me more control over ball release and trajectory. I had to change my stroke somewhat to get good results with the Sweetness. I found my push was causing me to go past the hole and offline. I altered my stroke to eliminate the push and let the club do the work. After that I was able to zero in the distance much better.

The club shaft has a double bend that gives the club a slight offset. Initially, I was holding the club improperly and getting too much loft. Once I adjusted the position, I got much better roll and accuracy.

Things I like: Very nice grip, excellent visual cues, good weight, and nice fit and finish.

Things I didn’t like: Nothing

I would recommend this putter for someone who wants to try this style without dropping a fortune.

Anyone want to buy a used Ping Anser?

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Dave seems to like the putter and like he said, you can’t beat the price for a quality putter. The grip on the putter is actually something I loved about it.

The shaft is wrapped in an ultra-soft, all-weather polyurethane two-piece grip.

Ultra-soft doesn’t even begin to describe how the grip felt. I love my 2-Ball and the feel of it, but the grip is one area where I think I could get a little bit better feel by using a softer grip.

Tiger Woods Uses a Weighted Golf Club

He has a specific plan for what he wants to accomplish in every practice session, a plan he comes up with the night before when he’s home swinging a weighted club.

12 Things Tiger Taught Me

I’ve bought a weighted club earlier this summer and just love it. I use it to warm up before I play a round of golf and also on the practice range. When you switch from it to a normal club, it feels like you aren’t even swinging.