Ernie Els just won his last 2 tournaments, but may take a different caddie to Augusta.  Why would he want to do this?


Read more....http://www.pgatour.com/2010/r/03/31/notebook.ap/index.html

Ernie Els now places himself as the favorite leading into the Masters.  He notched his 2nd win in three weeks with a 2 shot victory at Bay Hill.  Ernie has cut down on some of his world travel and he seems fresh.  He has come close at Augusta, but hasn't won the green jacket.  It could finally be his turn.

Ernie holds a 2 shot lead with 4 holes to play.  The final round was delayed because of bad weather.  The rest of the final round will be broadcast on the Golf Channel.  

He won 2 weeks ago at Doral and I look for him to hold on making him the solid favorite heading into the Masters.

Jim Furyk posted a one shot victory on Sunday at the Transitions Championship.  He did something unique with his putter grip on the recommendation of his father, his long-time teacher.  He drilled a hole in the top of the putter grip and installed it upside down.  This put the fattest part of the grip on the bottom.  This gave his bottom hand a thicker grip to hold on to. 


He putted lights out for the week and obviously gave him a great feel on the greens.  Maybe this could be a new trend?  As we know with putting, anything that gets the ball in the hole is the right thing to do.

The USGA made a decision to make square grooves illegal.  This decision was made in response to the golf ball going too far.  This will take effect in 2011 for all players and equipment companies.  According to their tests, this will effect shots from the light rough and shots made at less than full speed (shots around the green).

They will say this is about the spin on shots and controlling the golf ball.  This is true to some degree, but this decision was also made to combat the distance problems.  The grooves will also effect the distance on full shots.  There are reports that some LPGA tour players have lost as much as two clubs in their distance.

The other problem is there will no standard testing procedures.  There will be no way to enforce this.  Some will play with conforming grooves and others will not.  It will create an unfair advantage even for average golfers.

We want to grow the game of golf and get more people playing a very difficult game.  Do we really want to make the game harder for your average player by taking away spin and distance?

The USGA adopted this rule without really thinking about the consequences and testing procedures down the road.  This will hurt many average golfers and the growth of this great game!

What do you think?