The Golf Insiders

06/19/13 The Golf Insiders

NOTE: Users can add The Golf Insiders podcast to their iPhone as an app now. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. 

Host Holly G and Rich Bianco are in the studio wrapping up the U.S. Open won by Justin Rose. Phil Mickelson finished in 2nd for a record 6th time at the Open. Scott is the first Brit to win since Tony Jacklin won more than 30 years ago.  Todd Lewis, The Golf Channel, calls in to talk to Holly and Rich about the U.S. Open. Todd was sating that if you followed Justin Rose's Tour path, you should've seen this coming. It should be no surprise. Since 2010, his breakout year, he has been on the upward path. Todd wonders how Rose will deal with the the pressure after winning a Major championship.  Holly and Todd talk about Steve Stricker's errant shot on the 2nd hole and the fact that he was able to fight back but unfortunately come up short. After Saturday's round, Todd interviewed Phil and Phil said that he was hitting the ball the best he'd ever at the U.S. Open and that he was in the best position to win the trophy that he covets and cherishes the most. Todd felt that may force Phil to press on Sunday and that is what it seemed he did. Todd said that of the past 19 major championships, there have been 18 different winners and neither have been Tiger or Phil. Todd and Holly wrap up the segment talking briefly about Tiger Woods' injury and it preventing him from playing in his tournament. Dr. Gio Valiante, Sports Psychologist and Mental Golf Coach of Justin Rose and author of Fearless Golf calls in to talk to Holly and Rich. Dr Gio talks about Justin's focus that he learned from Fearless Golf. Repeating the same routine before each and every shot. Preparation is the key and that his golfers possess  Dr Gio feels that Confidence and Motivation are two key hallmarks of the game that need to be protected. Golfers take a roller coaster ride while playing golf and he said that golfers can get easily burnout. Players need to get time away from the game. He said it is good to know why you play the game and he did a survey asking players why they play. For the love of the game, or they enjoyed some sort of reward, attention or accolade The doctor, recently named the guru of the year by The Golf Channel, has released his second book "Golf Flow," which is a 10 year study of golfers when they get into a zone while playing. Bob Harig, ESPN.com, calls in to wrap up the U.S. Open recap show. Bob feels that if a golfer was just a fraction off Merion would expose that and it did to several golfers. Bob and Holly talk about Jason Day and how he "shows up" in the major championships and plays extremely well, but only has one win on Tour. Holly talks to Bob about Hunter Mahan having a tie of the lead before the final holes of the Open and wasn't able to close it out. Bob talks about how close the out of bounds being only a yard off the green and forcing players to put right. Bob talked about how the USGA set up Merion and how tough it was.

06/12/13 The Golf Insiders

NOTE: Users can add The Golf Insiders podcast to their iPhone as an app now. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. 

Holly G and Rich B are in the studio on the eve of the second major of the season, the U.S. Open. Holly gives a shout out to Inbee Park who won the Wegman's LPGA Championship defeating Catriona Matthew on the third hole of a sudden death playoff. It was Park's seventh career victory and third major championship title. Harry English posted his first win of his PGA Tour victory at the FedEx St. Jude Classic holding off a strong finish by Phil Mickleson and Scott Stallings as the Tour sets up for the U.S. Open. Todd Lewis, the Golf Channel, calls in from Merion to talk about his interview with Lee Westwood as well as the weather and the shape of the golf course after all the rain. Close to 6 inches of rain has fallen on the course in less than a week. Todd also talks about the expectations of low numbers on the score at Merion. Holly and Todd talk about Phil Mickelson's whirlwind trip back and forth to the West Coast. Wednesday Phil flew out to attend his daughter's 8th grade graduation and then is supposed to arrive in the Philadelphia area around 4:15 in the morning and tee off a few hours later for his first round of the 113th U.S. Open. Todd is not sure if Phil is giving himself the best opportunity to win the major he so desperately wants. Todd and Holly also discuss the focused mindset of Webb Simpson and the chances of Pennsylvania native Jim Furyk. Todd feels that Rory McIlroy is not in the right spot with his game to win this major. Todd feels that Rory's switch of 14 clubs in his bag when he signed with Nike. Todd feels that it takes any player a while to adjust to any equipment changes they make and feels that it could take Rory until the final major of the season before he is completely dialed in with his new clubs. Philadelphia Daily News' Mike Kern, calls in from the press area in Merion to talk about the weather on the eve of the U.S. Open. Mike has written a series of article about Merion hosting the U.S. Open. "The thing about Merion is that the rough is always tough and needs to be that way since the course is short."  Mike said that the rough is akin to rough on the Tour about 10-15 years ago. Tony Leodora, Golfstyles Magazine and host of Golf Talk Live, calls in to wrap up the show. Tony and Holly talk about Ben Hogan's famed 1-ron shot at Merion. Tony said that he favors the older players to do well at Merion because of their patience and experience. Those two elements are really the key to winning the 113th U.S. Open.

06/05/13 The Golf Insiders

NOTE: Users can add The Golf Insiders podcast to their iPhone as an app now. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. Hosts Holly G and Rich Bianco are in the studio this week and start off the show talking about Matt Kuchar's win at the Memorial Tournament.  Rich and Holly also talk about the U.S. Open qualifiers and "The Longest Day in Golf"  The best players in the U.S. played to gain a spot in the U.S. Open. Lee Janzen was DQd for wearing metal spikes. Bob Harig, ESPN.com, calls in to talk to Holly and Rich about the Memorial Tournament. Some of the struggles that the players had even surprised Jack Nicklaus. Kevin Chappell was the only player to get through a round without a bogey and he did that on the final day. Tiger had been playing so well before the Memorial and then turned in the worst score of his career. This year he has won four tournaments and placed T4 at the Masters. Bob feels that if Tiger improves his putting that he will play well at the U.S. Open. He had one bad week. Everyone talks about the shortness of the course at Marion but Bob feels that there are holes that have difficulty and he doesn't feel that Marion will be a pushover. Rich and Bob talk about the limited number of spectators that can come watch the U.S. Open live due to the small size of the property at Marion. The players will warm up at the West Course at Marion and then be shuttled about a mile to the East Course to play. Holly plays her interview with Annika Sörenstam at the Reunion Golf Course. The interview was conducted shortly after Annika was elected as a member of the PGA a couple of weeks ago and the announcement was made that the HQ for the North Florida PGA was being moved to Reunion. Annika talks about getting kids involved and her approach with getting her own children involved in golf without forcing it on them. She also talks about her trip to China as an ambassador of the game with Greg Norman. Holly asks Annika about the The ANNIKA Intercollegiate, a new college golf tournament co-founded by the ANNIKA Foundation and Golfweek, will be held Sept. 27-30, 2014 at Reunion, a Salamander Golf & Spa Resort. The top female golfer will now earn the ANNIKA Award which is a new award. The men have had an award for the top male for many years. Jeff Shain, PGA Tour.com, calls in to wrap up the hour talking about the Wegman's LPGA Championship in Pittsford, N.Y. Jeff talks about illnesses and injuries affecting the Wegman's. Also the trio discuss Michelle Wie's putting stance. Yani Tseng and Kristie Kerr pulled out of the Pro-Am event at the Wegman's. Holly closes out the hour asking Jeff his thoughts on the upcoming U.S. Open.

05/29/2013 The Golf Insiders

NOTE: Users can add The Golf Insiders podcast to their iPhone as an app now. Click here and go to the bottom of the device's screen to create the "Quick Launch" icon for the Golf Insiders. Once you've done this it will add The Golf Insiders podcast as an App to your home screen. Holly G and Rich B are in the studio. Holly and Rich briefly discuss Boo Weekley’s win at the Colonial. That makes 3 tartan jackets for Boo, who is from Florida's panhandle near Milton.

Holly sat down with Frank Thomas at Reunion Golf Course recently to talk about the anchoring ruling by the USGA. Frank spent 26 years working for the USGA. One of his jobs was helping to write equipment rules for the USGA. He now runs The Putting Pad at Reunion GC. He was also the individual who introduced the graphite golf shaft to the industry.

"The Anchoring Rule ... is a very complex rule and it tries to tell people how they should hold the club, which is the first time we've done that in the history of the game. I think it is going to be cumbersome and difficult to interpret and difficult to monitor. However the USGA believes that they can rely on the integrity of the individual and his intentions to get this rule working effectively," Thomas said. Thomas feels that anchoring doesn't improve the putting of some of the best players in the world. It does help improve the performance of some of the bad putters and the long putter is very much more efficient than the belly putter. However, we need to recognize that the best putters in the world are not anchoring. He said that about 40 percent of your score is from putting and about 45 percent of the game is spent on the putting green. Frank teaches proper putting and has designed his own putter. "We don't really understand putting very well and it hasn't been and not been teaching teachers how to teach the systematic and structured approach to putting," he said. "When you start using the long putter you start losing feel." Following is an excerpt from the PGA's statement on the USGA's decision. Although we do not agree with the decision, we applaud the USGA for its willingness to listen to our concerns and engage in meaningful discussions. In our opinion and based on our experience, the USGA treated the comment period for what it was intended to be -- a time to exchange opinions, concerns and potential solutions. See more 740 The Game presents The Heathrow Open set for Jun 17 at Heathrow Country Club for $55 per player. The 2-person scramble will be the Monday after the U.S. Open. Call  407-842-1452 to sign up. Mike Kern, writer for the Philadelphia Daily News, was at the ING Conference and talks with Holly and Rich about some of the new products at the conference including Happy Feet insoles for your shoes, based in Orlando as well as tips to prevent skin cancer and TaylorMade's Rocket Ballz. Mike talks about the field of the Memorial Tournament and the upcoming U.S. Open at Merion. Todd Lewis, the Golf Channel, calls in to talk to Holly and Rich B from the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance. Todd talks about the field and who to watch. Tiger loves Jack Nicklaus golf courses. He feels good on them and has had success on them. Matt Kuchar, Keegan Bradley. Holly and Todd talks about the drama between Tiger and Sergio. Tiger said that Sergio had not apologized but he wants to move on. Todd feels that Sergio might feel the back lash when he gets to the sports fans in Philadelphia.