Courtesy: Golf Digest

Ever since I posted several stories on Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett's Stack and Tilt swing technique, I have been receiving comments.

And those posts occurred more than a year ago.

Stack and Tilt hasn't had this kind of impact on recreational golf perhaps since Hogan's book, The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.

Virtually every comment I have received from golfers who tried and switched has been filled with superlatives and sheer joy.

There hasn't been a single negative.

So, in the interests of objective reporting - or to merely stir the pot - I direct your attention to the link below.

It's a firm called Golf BioDynamics which studies the golf swing from the point of view of physiology.

The principals are now involved with Jim McLean's teaching centers.

This article is from their website and goes into a detailed analysis of whether Bennett and Plummer are onto something or whether their swing system is not quite what it purports to be.

By the way, the "comments' feature is still open and working...

Courtesy: daylife.com

We're living in a bubble in the western world. Climate change is something that we see on the news but something that few of us have had to experience in a negative way.

That is going to change. The question is whether it changes sooner or later. But change, it will. And water appears to be about to lead the way.

When companies experience tough financial times, they cut the marketing and advertising budgets.

When nations experience tough climatic times, they will issue decrees - maybe even laws - curtailing the use of water.

There's a disturbing and portentous report out from the Stockholm International Water Institute describing how precarious global water conditions are now and how much worse those conditions will become.

Read it over and if you don't think golf courses, the golf industry and the many millions of people whose livelihoods depend on golf won't be hit hard, then I invite you to stick your head back in the sand.

Courtesy: Diamond In The Ruff

After playing golf this past weekend, I am convinced that what the world needs more of are nine-hole courses.

Not the typical, poorly maintained, scrubby nine-hole layouts that give all courses a bad name but really good, well crafted courses that test your game and do it in less than 2 and a half hours.

There is one in central Ontario, in the heart of Muskoka cottage country called Diamond In The Ruff.

It's short - less than 2700 yards - but it demands precision play. However, it is the quality of each hole that is the true attraction.

Let's start with looks. Now, we've had plenty of rainfall this summer in Ontario, so every golf course is as green as the Emerald Isle.

But Diamond In The Ruff (or "The Diamond" as those who know it well call it) goes beyond green.

It starts with the flowers. They're everywhere. On some holes, you won't find better flower beds in a conservatory.

Now I'm no green thumb - I leave that to my wife - but flowers in bloom are nice to look at and the groundskeeper at The Diamond does a superb job.

As he does with the greens which are fast and true even if they lack much break. Likewise, the fairways, which are mown close.

The rough is fair and the surrounding forests are pushed back leaving ample room for recovery should you spray your tee shots.

If you should have to wait at a tee, there are always several Muskoka chairs to rest in while waiting. That's a very nice touch.

My wife and I had lunch with the Director of Golf, Doug Wilson and I asked Doug if there were plans to expand to a full 18 holes.

He told me there was enough land to expand but, while the original 9 holes were built on a sandy base (which allows for rapid drainage), the virgin property was "pure Muskoka land" - in other words, sheer rock.

To build 9 more holes would mean plenty of dynamite and big bucks.

And that would, of course, defeat the purpose of being a diamond of a nine hole layout.

The Diamond also boasts a full practice facility including bunkers, so it doesn't lack for the necessary accessories.

The season is always short in Muskoka; fall can come early and the first week of October usually sees the courses close up for the winter. Frankly, since much of the traffic is cottagers, the majority of them are gone after Labor Day.

There is a strong membership at The Diamond but it's pretty much all cottagers who spend their summers in Muskoka. Throw in a long stretch of rainy weather like we've had this year and staying afloat financially can be a burden.

So, The Diamond has now built "fractional ownership" cottages adjacent to the course. They're not cheap but they do include golf. And because the cottages are year-round, fall visits mean The Diamond can push back its closing date by a few more weeks.

It may be a short 9 holes but you won't find a more beautiful looking course in a nicer setting. And the owners are doing their level best to keep it that way in an uncompromising climate and slowing economic conditions.

More power to them.

Valhalla Golf Club, site of the 2008 Ryder Cup. Courtesy: celticgolf.com

We're closing in on the end of summer in the northern hemisphere - just 4 weeks of it left - and I find it a sad time.

Not because summer is winding down, although that's reason alone to mope a little since it means another golf season is heading into the final stretch.

No, it's a sad time because there are no more majors to get excited about.

Thank God this is a Ryder Cup year, I suppose. At least that tournament always gets the juices flowing.

Apart from the Ryder Cup, what have we got? Season two of the FedEx Cup race for the cash.

Last year was a cake walk for Tiger and many felt it was fitting for the world number one to win in Year One. Phil actually showed up a few times to wave the flag of the world number two and acquitted himself reasonably well.

But this year, it's different. And, frankly, flat out boring. Mickelson is playing golf like the absent-minded professor, Tiger is on the DL and Kenny Perry is the FedEx Cup points leader.

Kenny Perry. Now there's a guy who conjures up what golf's all about. Why, he even blew off the British Open after receiving an invitation so he could play in a bland PGA weekly. Just to add to his FedEx points total.

Of course, he won the event. Okay, so the guy was hot and figured he'd pad out his points. Gathering the most points is the sole criterion for walking off with the ridiculous cash prize in this season long "competition". He skipped one of golf's majors to pursue the money.

Last season, I wasn't interested in watching. This season, even less so. It really is obvious that Tim Finchem's theory of making the back half of the PGA season "exciting" is not working. At least, for me. Kenny Perry is one of the wealthy grinders on tour; he chose to ignore a storied major that has been won by every top player the game has ever produced so he could collect more points and score a big payday in the fall.

Who will fans remember more? Kenny Perry winning the FedEx Cup in 2008 or Padraig Harrington capturing his second straight Open over Sergio Garcia?

That's the power of the major tournament in golf. It transcends money.

Courtesy: AFP

I caught the tail-end of Sergio Garcia's press conference in the aftermath of the PGA Championship on Sunday.

And I managed to see a good amount of the action even though I was on a brief summer holiday.

It was plain to see how torn up Garcia was to lose another major and to lose it to Padraig Harrington again.

But he was openly upset when a reporter asked him to summarize Harrington's play in the last month.

Garcia simply walked off the podium at that point.

Who can blame him? He did everything he could - as he said - to win on Sunday on a very tough course and in difficult conditions.

But he should not and likely will not consider this loss in the same way as Carnoustie last year.

That major, Sergio did throw away and he knows it. This one, he fought hard for. He putted very well but Padraig Harrington simply putted better.

What can you do against that? Garcia did not lose the PGA; Harrington won it. Sergio had to manage his feelings playing with Harrington which made matters worse at the end.

However, as Kraig Kahn of The Golf Channel put it, Garcia is now wearing the dubious mantle of "best player not to win a major".

And his name will probably be mentioned along with Greg Norman's as the players most often snake-bitten in a major.

It's heartbreaking to see Garcia go through this again and again. He's been knocking on the door of majors for years, now.

You have to wonder how much more battle scarring the young Spaniard needs to endure before Fate finally smiles on him.

Courtesy: Hanover Developments

Golfers are a lot like boaters - power or sail. They get itchy for new toys. With boaters, it's called "foot-itis", the desire for a boat that's a foot or two longer than the current one.

With golfers, it's all about having the latest equipment.

Whether you boat or golf - or do both - there are plenty of manufacturers turning out the best products they can to meet your needs and desires.

So why can't practice facilities do the same?

We all know of at least one driving range where the balls are garbage, the terrain is bare and uneven and sometimes there is only one flag way out in the field.

I used to practice at places like that 25 years ago before golf was the global recreational sport that it is now.

Where I currently live, I have access to four different levels of facility. There is one about a 20 minute drive that is superb. It has a long and deep tee area, covered in closely mown grass that can last a full season. There are flags galore set at different yardages with plaques in the ground to indicate their distances.

A fairway bunker is available. In the short game area, there is a deep greenside bunker for practice and an enormous putting green.

Range balls are inexpensive and they are in excellent condition - in years gone by the balls have been Titleist. This season they're Pinnacles.

To top it all off is a clubhouse where you can have a cold beer or pop afterwards.

Closer to home is a scaled down version of this facility. But its grass tee area is small and by early June, it's nothing but a few green tufts. Practice here and you have to use the mats.

At least the mats are pretty good with some spring to them and the balls are just as good as at my preferred practice facility.

There is an indoor domed facility for winter use just to stay loose and feel like a golfer during the winter months.

The fourth facility falls into the "why bother?" category. It's been open for about four years, now. The owner is a teaching pro who operates out of a trailer on the site.

The balls are garbage - cut, worn and dead off the club face. Yet the price is more than the top facility in my area.

The mats appear to have spent 20 years outdoors and the grass tee area (new in the last 2 years) is rarely cut.

Why on earth would someone bother to operate such a poor facility? I'll offer a reason: it's the only one in that area of town and there are two popular courses nearby.

So the owner doesn't really need to spruce up since he's got no competition in the vicinity.

But with the game growing steadily and with so much emphasis on instruction and practice, only an idiot would figure golfers will be satisfied with what he offers.

For a small investment in new mats and balls and a little local advertising, he could double his revenue.

So I applaud the facilities that have got it right. Their crowded parking lots are testament to that.

And I throw out a raspberry to the dopes who are too lazy to make their ranges better.

May they have good accountants to help them file for bankruptcy.