NGAWire®

Blueprints, Cigar And Skinny Chappy

NGAWire® 22Feb10

Staff Reporter, Steve Lawler

Sometime early this morning I was going in and out of a golf dream again.

Meeting somewhere in a southern Michigan parking lot, Dan and I were waiting for our ride. Kurncz as usual was the man we were waiting for. After a few minutes of talking with McKay, in drives Kurncz in a white and chrome Rolls Royce. Kurncz gets out along with Chappy. I say to the Cha-man that he looks like he lost some weight. He responds with a monster smile "it's just 20 pounds Steve, just 20 pounds" Kurncz then opens the trunk and said "Load up". What's funny is that the trunk was full of golf course blueprints. I went to get my clubs and noticed McKay only brought cigars to pile in the trunk. When I woke I said to myself McKay has a problem and then laughed.

2010 Guldahl Cup Courses And Accommodations Set

LBGAWire® 20Feb10

The golf courses and accommodations for the 2010 Guldahl Cup have been finalized.

Holiday Inn Lexington North - Georgetown

140 Osborne Way

Georgetown, KY 40324

www.holidayinn.com/georgetownky

Each golfer will pay $120.00 per night plus applicable tax. This total includes hotel room, hot cooked to order breakfast each morning compliments of the general manager, green fees and cart rental at each golf course. They are also checking into a complimentary meeting/hospitality room for our group.

Friday March 26, 2010

Andover Golf & Country Club

First Tee Time is set for 1:30pm

http://www.golfandover.com

Saturday March 27, 2010

Cherry Blossom Golf Course (36 holes)

First Tee Time is set for 9:00am

Replay is included in your stay and play rate

http://www.cherryblossomgolf.com

Sunday March 28, 2010

University Club of Kentucky Wildcat Course

First Tee Time is set for 9:00am

http://www.uckygolf.com

Nagy Buys New Kicks

NGAWire® 18Feb10

Today Karl Nagy purchased a new pair of white Ecco Casual Cool II Hydromax golf shoes.

Damn skippy I’d say!

2010 Guldahl Cup Set For Lexington

LBGAWire® 17Feb10

Get those clubs out of the basement and start swinging! We only have 5 weeks before the start of the golf season.

I should have all the hotel info and tee times booked by the end of this week. I will be making reservation based on 8 people. I can possibly add more if needed but we need even numbers. Once we have the field of players we can set handicaps, select captains and pick teams. Then let the trash talking begin.

Just a little info for those on the fence…total trip cost around $240, two people per room with two beds, two nights stay, cook to order breakfast each morning, on site restaurant and lounge, 4 rounds of golf at some highly rated courses, possible complimentary meeting/hospitality poker room for group and no deposit needed.

That weekend average high is 59 and average low is 39 and the sunset is at 8pm.

Here is an update on players that are in so far

1. Steve Lawler

2. Dan McKay

3. Kurt Goetzke

4. Andy Kurncz

5. Mark Chapman

6. John Ondrus*

7. Shawn Lallyz*

8. TBD

On the fence

Karl Nagy

Jeff Longeway

Bruce Kruckeberg

Jim Hartigan

*denotes non-NGA member

Medalist Golf Grip Horror

NGAWire® 18Feb10

Staff Reporter, Steve Lawler

Funny story...sometime last night I started dreaming about golf as I often do. We were at Carrington for a Publinx match with half of our old team and part of my new team. As I was warming up on the range and talking up my new cheap grips, my driver grip started to unravel like an old leather wrap. I started to panic and told Karl to make up the lineups and put us in the last group so I could go to Golfsmith for a new grip. I also said to put Goetzke with Kurncz...Then I woke up.

Kurncz To Rejoin NGA

NGAWire® 14Feb10

After much consideration, 2009 TPC champion Andy Kurncz has decided not to leave the NGA.

“I may have been somewhat hasty in my decision” explained Kurncz. “I love the NGA and promise to never, ever leave.”

Welcome back Andy!

NGA Reveals TPC Champion Hand-Foot Policy

NGAWire® 13Feb10

The NGA has decided to forego plans on holding a champion’s dinner next TPC.

Instead they have instituted a policy that is call the “TPC Champion Hand-Foot Policy”.

The lucky defending champion will have all his needs catered to by the former champions in attendance.

“We aim to make his time as defending champion a pleasurable one. If he needs anything at all, it will be provided to him” stated an unnamed NGA spokesman. “Nothing will be too much or too little.”

This policy does not include anything sexually related, nor does it include anything associated to “bathroom” activities.

Non-participation by former TPC champions is strictly frowned upon.

Since the current TPC champion has departed the NGA, 2008 winner Karl Nagy will reap the benefits of this new policy.

O Guru De Golfe Salvador Swing Review – Steve Lawler

NGAWire® 14Feb10

Matt “o guru de golfe Salvador” Maser reviews Steve Lawler’s golf swing.

Address

Good ready position to start. Note: the camera wasn’t completely still during the recording.

Halfway Back

Left arm parallel to the ground. Yellow line is the path the club head has traveled. Ideally, it stays between the shaft and shoulder planes. Good job of maintaining the spine angle. Shaft is pointing at the ball which is also good.

Top

With today’s modern teaching, you don’t want the club head to cross the shoulder plane because it requires an equal and opposite compensation move to recover at impact. Steve has a more traditional longer backswing motion and does a great job getting the shaft and club face in a nice square position.

Halfway Down

Left arm parallel to the ground. Steve does a very good job of executing the transition move between top of backswing and start of downswing resulting in the powerful position shown here. The club head has moved back to match the backswing path so the shaft (green line) is intersecting his right bicep. You can see his lower body is active as well. A club head path of this shape and approaching angle (below the shaft plane) into impact is indicative of a “draw”.

Impact

Great position to compress the ball against the club face and turf. Left hip is clearing, right elbow in close to the hip, spine angle is maintained. A real efficient use of converting potential energy into kinetic energy.

Post Impact

Although I am not sure how significant this is, I thought this was interesting position of the high arms (blue circle). I am thinking it is a result if the club head path working below the shaft plane during the downswing (slide 5).

Finish

Well done, Steve.

Kurncz Leaves NGA For NGL

NGAWire® 12Feb10

In an unprecedented move, reigning TPC champion and mainstay Andy Kurncz is leaving the NGA and will rejoin in the NGL (Neighbors Golf League) in 2010.

Kurncz, a one-time NGL member, is rejoining the tour he was a member of from 1996 to 2001.

“I have conquered all there is to conquer on the NGA. There are other mountains for me to climb” stated Kurncz.

He then added “I have made many friends and enjoyed my time as an NGA member. I will never forget it.”

It is rare that a man is able to leave his sport at its pinnacle, on the very top, as Kurncz is doing.

We wish Kurncz well on all his future endeavors.

O Guru De Golfe Salvador Swing Review – Dan McKay

NGAWire® 8Feb10

Matt “o guru de golfe Salvador” Maser reviews Dan McKay’s golf swing.

Address

Good ready position to start from.

Halfway Back

Left arm parallel to the ground. Yellow line is the path the club head has traveled. Ideally, it stays between the shaft and shoulder planes.

Top

Ideally you don’t want the club head to cross the shoulder plane as Dan has done here because it requires an equal and opposite move to recover.

Halfway Down

Left arm parallel to the ground. Note the massive difference Dan’s club has traveled from the top of the back swing to the half way down position. When the club head/path is this far outside the shaft plane, Dan has lost club head speed and depends solely on his athletic ability to square the club face with his hands making it very challenging to have consistent ball striking. Also note how Dan’s hips have moved away from the red line and towards the ball (a).

Impact

From the over the shoulder plane position, you can see Dan’s hips and legs are not active in the swing, again the hands are doing all the work. You can also see Dan is losing his spine angle which buys him more time to square the club face. This is a result of the improper sequenced transition from back swing to down swing.

Post Impact

You did a good job of recovering the club shaft below the shaft plane. Now you see the legs becoming active and catching up in the swing.

Finish

Well balanced, shaft aligning nicely with the ears. The club head path and face position tell you what you need to work on. 1) Keep the club head behind the shaft , with a not so shut face. 2) Work on the transition by moving the hips first which provides space for the club head and arms to drop down behind the shaft plane. I’m sure it will feel very strange so have Steve confirm the club head positions match so you can remember the body feelings until they feel normal.

iMOM Spotted Clubbing

NGAWire® 7Feb10

Last evening Kurt Goetzke was spotted out and about town, getting his groove on with the ladies of suburban Detroit.

Goetzke, voted NGA playboy of the decade from 2000-2009, is gifted with rugged good looks and a dazzling personality.

“When I noticed Kurt across the bar, my knees turned into butter, hot melted butter” exclaimed one adoring female admirer.

Another unexpecting female stated “I thought it was going to be another regular night out with my girlfriends. Little did I expect to find my true love.”

“Life is not fair. One Kurt, but billions of women” sobbed another female fan.

Nagy Vows To Lay Up

NGAWire® 20Jan10

Once upon a time, par 5 holes offered a chance to make up shots. Eagles were always possible, birdies likely.

However that was long ago.

Nagy has averaged 5.5 stokes on these holes since last June.

His tee shots are not the issue. Driving has been the strongest part of Nagy’s game the past 3+ years.

In order to cure this problem, he has vowed to lay-up any shot from over 220 yards.

“Hell, I can’t do any worse, can I?” stated Nagy.

Time will tell.

Opening Day

NGAWire® 16Jan10

The opening day of golf for me occurred today at the 2009 Mitterling Cup Matches.

This event is a match play event between the Upstate (SC) and Charlotte/Pinehurst Amateur Golf Tour organizations and was played at Deer Brook GC in Shelby, NC.

My opponent was Mike Hindmarsh of Ramseur, NC (former resident of Dearborn Heights, MI and former associate at Dick Scott Dodge in Plymouth, MI).

When we teed off, the ground was a bit hard and playing shots involved additional bounce and skip calculations. My calculator must have been off since I found myself 2 down after 2 holes.

My first par did not occur until the 6th hole, but I was hitting the ball well and I wasn’t too worried.

As the temperature began to heat up, so did my game. I made the turn 1 down and leveled the match on the 11th hole. After halving 12, Mike’s game began to fade.

A consistent tee ball was too much for Mike and I took four in a row (13-16) to win the match 4&2.

All things considered, it was a wonderful opening day on the links.