Golf Talk With Greg Holman – #37

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The final major of the season is this week, The British Open, now known as the open championship in Sandwich, Kent, England. COVID protocol is so strict some of the American Golfers have decided to skip the event, namely Bubba Watson & Zach Johnson. Ben Hogan only made one trip to the British Open in 1953 and won the Tournament at Carnoustie. He said he wasn’t to keen on the courses over there. Sam Snead claimed you can’t make any money. He was forced to play in the British Open because of contractual ties to a sponsor. He won in 1946 and received the $600 cash prize. His expenses that week was $2,000. The R&A which stands for Royal and Ancient, is the governing body of golf in the UK and it has bumped the purse by $1 million to $11.5 million for 2021. Jon Rahm is the favorite to take home the Claret Jug, even though he has never finished in the top ten in that tournament. I’m going to keep picking Rory McIlroy until he wins. He hasn’t won a major in seven years. Maybe this week. By the way if you are a history buff like me, Harry Vardon holds the record for the most British Open victories with six. Tom Watson won five times, Walter Hagan captured four British Opens and Nicklaus, Woods, Nick Faldo and Bobby Jones all won it three times.

That brings us to the golf tip of the week. Playing in the rain. I was prepared I thought for the weather this past Saturday in Columbia. I figured it would rain. And it rained on the way over, but there was very little rain in the 6 hours we were on the course. In fact the sun was out most of the time.

The #1 rule in playing golf in the rain is keeping your grips dry. That rule trumps everything else. When your grips get slick, you’re finished. Some people like the golf bag cover. I noticed last weekend’s winner of the John Deere Classic, Lucas Glover took that approach. If you’re in a golf cart, I like to put the open umbrella over the clubs. If I’m walking I keep a towel in the wiring of the umbrella. Everything is about staying dry, but the clubs come first. So extra towels, to dry off the grips and the cart seats, extra gloves to keep your hands dry and a covering of some sort for the bag.

Golfers that take a deep divot are at a little disadvantage when the course is wet. You are better off taking an extra club, swinging smooth and picking the ball.

I found myself in the rough a lot Saturday and was forced to take a lofted iron to gouge the ball out and play for bogie. If you do hit the ball in the fairway, the good news is the greens will hold. Try flying the green rather than bumping it in because the fairways and fringes will hold too and won’t allow for a run-up. And we’ve talked about this before: There will be less break on your putt when the greens are slow.