Cat-label-test

Irons: Ping G10 2-iron. Cabrera took a Ping Rapture V2 hybrid club out of his bag in favour of a Ping G10 2-iron at the start of Masters week.
The 3-iron through pitching wedge are Ping S57 with Rifle 7.0 shafts. Lie angle is .75 degrees flat and all irons are a quarter of an inch longer than standard.
Wedges: 54 and 60 degree Ping Tour-W with 10 degrees of bounce and a True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 shaft.

Putter:
Cabrera elected to stick with a unique putter he put in the bag at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. It is a Ping i Series 1/2 Craz-E B, but his is 39-inches long and features a grip designed for a belly putter that extends almost halfway down the shaft. Cabrera says the large grip helps him properly balance the putter and enhances his feel on the greens
Misc:
Since giving up the cigarettes, Cabrera now chews gum on the course. He stopped smoking for a month after an illness and noticed an increase in strength on the course thereafter. It was then he decided to kick the habit.

Ball: Pro V1x with a green dot on the number and a green line over the Pro V1x stamp on the side.

Bloggy Underfoot- The Masters Green Jacket Awards

Best Nickname Award
Lifelong wild west fan Shingo Katayama was christened “Shingo the Gringo” in my pub on Saturday night. He’s looking more like Speedy Gonzalez every year. What a performance in Augusta though!

The Hail Mary Award
Goes to Gary Player who fell onto one knee and bowed his head in prayer on the 18th green in Augusta. Our sources revealed why. Player apparently saw Rory Sabbatini waiting at the back of the green to hug him and asked God in all his goodness to intervene.

The Gastric Bypass Award
Yet again this was a fiercely contested category with bellies belonging to the likes of five time winner Fuzzy Zoeller duelling with newcomers like Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry for top spot. The winner however was never in doubt. Carrying the equivalent of a bowling ball under his shirt, the champion is Angel Cabrera’s large intestine! In the playoff the combined weight of the front row was 48 stone!

Got Dressed In The Dark Award
Luke Donald used his appearance at the Masters to prove to the world that green trousers are not just for Leprechauns and mad Priests who jump out in front of Olympic marathon runners. Luke’s brother and caddy, Christian, actually refused to walk beside him during the second round, choosing to fire his clubs to him from across the fairway.

The Colgate Award
You can get all the crowns, caps and whitening products you like but no-one will ever get a set of choppers like Stephen Ames. Authorities are still seeking his extradition to Ireland to face charges in connection with kidnapping of Shergar. Apparently Ames’ incisors are an exact match with the missing Derby winner.

4 Lads In A "Powerplay" Car

Up to now golf in Ireland was like a rich supply of oil, every County had a rich supply coursing through it. Lately since the big “R” kicked in, there are signs that the supply might be drying up. We need to protect the future of golf by investigating alternative forms of golfing energy now. One such source of renewable fun is Powerplay golf.

Powerplay golf was devised by the famous GB&I Walker Cup winning Captain of the 90's Peter McEvoy in the UK. The format resembles ordinary golf but is played over nine holes, thus conserving valuable energy! Each green has two flags. The normal flag is positioned in a regular easy position whilst the black Powerplay flag with the skull and crossbones is located in a more challenging position. If you imagine the normal flag as a regular lorry delivering your home heating oil, the black Powerplay flag is the equivalent of an oil tanker evading pirates off the Somali coast. Hence the skeletal image. Pretty tough.

As well as being a risk reward exercise there is a bit of strategy involved in the Powerplay format. You don’t have to go for the black flags every time, but you must use a set number of “Powerplays” in a round. To eliminate any sly dogs who might unwittingly (or mis-hittingly) end up close to a black flag and then claim vantage, you must nominate your flag on the tee-box; it’s kind of like Texas Hold’em for golfers. You get extra points for your net score on a Powerplay hole. The player with the most points at the end of nine holes is the winner.

The man charged with rolling out the Irish national Powerplay grid is Rob Hill. The fact that he shares his initials with Robin Hood is no coincidence, but unlike his forest dwelling, arrow slinging counterpart, Rob is more into “Gently tugging from the rich to share occasionally with the not so rich.” Rob has increased the base of courses offering Powerplay golf to venues such as Carton House, The Heritage and Mount Wolseley. Indeed many of the top courses in the country recently set up the Powerplay format to take part in the Barretstown Serious Fun Weekend in March which was highly successful.

The golfing tree hugger in me says we all owe it to ourselves to protect our golfing environment so my advice is to make the big switch and try out Powerplay golf. You can find more details on Irish events on www.roberthillconsulting.com or through the Ireland link www.Powerplay-golf.com. Don’t forget to drive with your “hybrid” and avoid the pirates!



Dr. and The Medic: Duffing Chips

Problem
You need to improve on your chipping and eliminate duffing.

Cure
Hinge your wrists on the backswing but remember to keep your wrists stiff at and after impact.

Therapy
Set up with seventy percent of your weight on your front foot. Focus on what Phil Mickelson calls “hinge and hold”. Hinge your wrists on the backswing but keep your leading arm and wrist straight so that they form a straight line with the shaft of the club from impact to finish.

I Want One Of Those !
Daphne Headcover
Ditch your boring old headcover and go for something that best reflects you. http://www.daphnesheadcovers.com/ is a good old fashioned family run business in Arizona that manufacture hundreds of weird and wonderful driver covers. Alas founder and cuddly toy maker Daphne has passed on the company to daughter Jane Spicer who continues to put loving care into each creation. The Daphne promise is if your headcover gets ripped or damaged at any stage throughout its lifetime, they will repair it for free. Perfect for kids or big bald guys like me who are still kids inside. My Daphne Dragon is ugly but colourful and spouts mostly hot air. Just like me.

Tailored Shorts

John Daly at Augusta
It might have seemed like a bit of a practical joke but John Daly’s appearance at, or rather “near” the Masters had sad undertones. As the Masters got underway Daly was across the street from the entrance selling T-shirts and other memorabilia.
Daly now ranked 783rd has lost his sponsorship deals and is still serving a PGA Tour suspension. "I'm on the verge of bankruptcy with the bad economy and the loss of sponsors. I don't want to go that route," Daly said. His plan is to rejoin the European Tour in the Summer and to that end he is working with Phil Mickelson's former coach, Rick Smith and has undergone weight reduction surgery.


Sandy’s “Eureka Moment”
Sandy Lyle discovered what it is like to play great golf again at the Masters. So what was his secret? We can now reveal that it wasn’t his set-up, his swing or his putting. No, Sandy’s Eureka moment came during Wednesday’s par-3 competition, when, in the sweltering conditions, Lyle’s caddy suggested to him that he might actually play better if he took off his raincoat. Sandy, who hadn’t removed his waterproofs for the last twenty years, was reluctant at first, but finally gave in. “This new found freedom is wonderful”, Sandy is rumoured to have told friends. “It’s looking a bit grey though, I just hope it doesn’t rain”, he may or may not have added!

Bet Your Balls- Odds from paddypower.com
Volvo China Open
Beijing CBD International GC
Beijing, China


17 Apr 2008 - 20 Apr 2008

Damien McGrane 18/1
It was a long time in the making but this time last year, Meath’s finest, Damien McGrane lifted the Volvo China Open and a quarter of a million euro purse. He won by a whopping nine shots in atrocious Sunday conditions, so we reckon if he plays half as good this year, he’s in there with a chance. They regard tsunami like conditions as a “grand soft day” in Kells!

Markus Brier 28/1
Yes it’s that time of year again when we call on our Austrian marketing genius Markus Brier to win us a few quid. He’s got more patches than a room full of pirates, but Markus has form in China. Won the equivalent event in 2007, albeit on a different course.

Wen-chong Liang 40/1
Who do you pick from a field that’s arguably as devoid of big names as the government front bench? Try the Chinese baseball slugger Wen-chong Liang who will be the home favourite this week; he has won on tour in Singapore in 2007 on his way to capturing the Asian order of merit that year. This week is his annual trip to the ATM. Let’s hope it’s not a case of “insufficient funds”.

Verizon Heritage
Monday Apr 13 – Sunday Apr 19, 2009
Harbour Town Golf Links · Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Boo Weekley 28/1
The gun toting, tobacco chewing, deer guttin’ country boy owns this event. Big Boo has won at Harbour Town for the past two seasons. Christined Thomas Brent Weekley his parents called him after Yogi Bear's sidekick, Boo Boo Bear. Weekley’s story is by now the stuff of legend. Having failed turfgrass science at college he returned home and worked as a hydroblaster at the Monsanto chemical plant where he would be lowered into large ammonia tanks to clean them. The only bad smell he has to worry about now is the exhaust from the Met Life Blimp!

Aaron Baddeley 16/1
If you always associated “stack and tilt” with lap dancing then you’re on the wrong path completely. Aaron Baddeley or “Badds” as he’s known Down Under is probably the best known proponent of the alternative swing method. But before you all run off to check it out on youtube let me tell you that Baddeley won the Heritage in 2006 and looked for all the world like he was going to repeat the feat last year before Boo shot him in the ass. Will it be a case of turning the other cheek this year for Bible bashing Baddeley?

Davis Love 40/1
You have to go back as far as 1987 to find Davis Love’s first tour win, the “MCI Heritage Classic” as it was back then. That was DL3’s first of four wins at Harbour Town, spanning three decades. Hasn’t come close recently but signs of a return to something like his best were to be found last November when he won again at Disney. Long shot but there might be one last trick in this pony.