Being born of a French mother and still fluent in French, I was having some fun with the fans before our tee-off.  At three under par, I was a full 13 strokes behind the torrid pace set by Mr. Lu from Taiwan.  John Cook was a stroke back.  With the low scoring, I began to joke with the crowd in French that I needed a round of 19 birdies to catch the leaders.  One gentleman asked me in French who I thought would win.  Since I was speaking French and I knew none of my fellow competitors could hear me, I told them that John Cook was the man to beat and I predicted he would shot a 65 and win at 22 under.

Surprisingly, many in the gallery decided to follow me; probably since I was the only American player speaking French.  After a good pitch at the par 5 10^th, I made the 4 foot putt for my first birdie of the day.  “That’s one, only 18 more birdies to go, I joked with the gallery.”  After a good 8 iron approach at the par 4 11^th, I struck the 15’ birdie putt on my intended line.  The speed was perfect, birdie #2.  The crowd was starting to get into it.  “You know you can eagle a hole too Bobby”, one enthusiastic golf fan shouted out in French.  “You never know until you give it your all”, I answered back.

Well, I didn’t shoot 53 that day as you might have guessed.  Had I, you would have known about it, as it would have been all over the news.  But I did go on to make 5 more birdies and record a bogie free 65, my best round of the year.   Ironically, I shot an 8 under par 64 in the final round the previous year, the low round of the day.  By the way, John Cook went on to shoot 66 and win by 3 strokes for his 3^rd victory of the year.

Shooting to 10 under for the week moved me into a tie for 28^th, but more importantly was the breakthrough that resulted.  My attitude was free, thankful and enjoying the journey.  I was no longer a prisoner to my low expectations and suffering confidence.  I was beginning to take hold of some of the key points I had discussed with “Golf in the Kingdom” author and founder of the Esalen Institute, Michael Murphy during a recent encounter.  Michael and I had a long discussion about “the zone”.

Marianna and I flew back to Raleigh in the Malibu that evening.  It was an uneventful 3.5 hour journey except for the numerous lines of thunderstorms we needed to navigate.  After unloading the luggage at home, we bolted to our favorite Irish pub in our neighborhood for dinner.  We knew it would be a short night, for the next day we were booked on a 6 am flight to Pebble Beach for the Nature Valley First Tee, held in my back yard!

Monday was my first day of rest in over three weeks.  I didn’t hit a single shot.  But Tuesday was a busy day.  Needing to save my body from full swings and give it more rest, I set out to Pebble Beach with my caddie, my wedge and my putter.  Cliff hadn’t been to Pebble Beach in over 20 years, and he couldn’t get enough.  He felt like he was on vacation, as I had all the yardage and green reading already done.  But the greens at Pebble were firm and fast, and the putts were breaking more than usual.  I needed several hours of work on the greens before I started feeling comfortable.  Cliff is an excellent green reader, and he learned the greens we putted quickly.  In the afternoon, Cliff and I headed to Del Monte for a mini-practice-round.  Del Monte is the oldest course west of the Mississippi and the first course I ever broke par.  I was 14.  I was excited to play Spyglass in the Wednesday pro-am, until I discovered my tee-time was 7:20a.  Being short on rest didn’t dampen my day, I hadn’t played my old high school home course in over two years.  It was in the best shape I had ever seen.  On Thursday, I worked on my long game and did some more chipping and putting late in the afternoon at Pebble Beach.  I needed to get to bed early, as I had at least two parties to attend every day before.  Fortunately, I had a late Friday tee time off the 10^th tee at Pebble Beach.

The first round was similar in many ways to the final round at Montreal.  My lone bogie at Pebble Beach came off a three-putt on #4.  But birdying 11, 17, 18, 6 gave me a round of 69, the same score I had shot at Pebble in the final round the previous year.

I was off to a good start early the next morning at Del Monte, birdying for first two holes and starting to make a move at Russ Cochran, the first round leader who shot 65 at Pebble Beach.  But after getting into trouble at #3, a bogie stopped the momentum.  It came back again at #7 and #8, then again at #10 and #11.  Suddenly, I’m 5 under for the round.  After a second bogie at #12, I birdied #16 and #17 to finish with a 6 under par 66 and for the moment, the clubhouse lead.  Jay Haas would later go on a birdie run at Pebble Beach at take a two shot lead into the final round.

I was thrilled to be in the final group on Sunday.  My First Tee partner, John Dunlap and I had made the cut, so he too would be playing with me again.  Jay’s junior partner and he also made the cut.  I was happy to play with Jay.  He and I had played many times before and we always got along well.  Jay is focused on his shots, but relaxed in between.  He and I talked quite a bit during the round which took about 6 hours.

The first tee posed a bigger challenge than usual for me.  The wind was slight and variable, about 8 O’Clock.  A three wood was a very aggressive club that could reach the fairway bunker.  A 5 wood might be too conservative.  Jay hit first, and ripped a three wood into the garden spot, with nothing more than a pitching wedge remaining for his second shot.  Cliff and I debated for a moment, then I took the 5 wood and hit the stinger up the right side that trickled into the fringe rough.  After a good 8 iron second shot that never left the flag, I was left with a 18 foot straight up-the-hill putt.  I nailed it, as did Jay.  We had both birdied the 1^st.

The second hole is the shortest par 5.  I hit a good drive and had a 3 iron second shot, which I faded into the right hand greenside bunker.  Jay was wild right with his fairway wood 2^nd, but made a great up-and-down that was capped off by a holed downhill 15 footer.  I missed my 10 footer for birdie and now trailed by 3.

A pivotal point occurred at the 4^th.  The tee shot has undergone some recent changes.  The fairway bunker on the left has been pushed a little to the right and been made larger, the fairway has been pushed right to the ocean’s edge.  Additionally, fairway now circumvents the bunker, bringing the larger bunker more into play when hitting a driver off the tee.  I usually hit a fading driver, but the tee shot is now more difficult, so I decided to lay-up with a 3 iron, leaving a 9 iron 2^nd shot.  The hole was cut in the back of the small green, 5 steps from the back edge.  I drew my -5 9 iron 13 feet left of the hole.  The ball landed 5 yards short of hole high on the green, then took a huge first bounce over the green and into the tall fescue.  4 shots later, I made double-bogie.

My son Michael who was following me with his brother Daniel came up to me and said, “Don’t worry Dad, we still love you.”  Those were just the words I needed to hear.  I was in close at 5,6 and 7 for birdie, but they wouldn’t drop.  I made a par at the difficult 8^th when I two putted from the front fringe.  After a good drive at the 9^th, I hit a hard +5 sand wedge 12’ for birdie, made the putt and suddenly I had closed the gap to two shots.  When Jay 3 putted the slick 10^th green, I only trailed by one shot.

I hit was I thought was a perfect shot at the challenging into-the-wind par 3 12^th.  Somehow, the ball carried the front bunker but stopped on the downslope in the rough, short of the green.  I had never seen that happen in all the years I’ve played Pebble Beach.  But I had a good lie and saw the opportunity to hit a shot I had been practicing lately, the hybrid chip.  I pictured the right-to-left break, visualized the ball going in the hole.  The cheered erupted when the ball disappeared.  When Jay’s birdie putt curled around the edge, I was tied for the lead.  I could feel the adrenaline, but was in my focus and zone.  Time was beginning to stand still.  Calm was over my body.  I striped another drive at #13, leaving only 128 yards for my second shot.  Needing a -10 8 iron, I hit the ball a little thin, leaving a difficult 45 foot putt that I thought would break 18 feet.  It broke 24 feet, but the straight in 6 footer never left the center of the cup.  I was still tied for the lead, but now with Jeff Sluman who had just birdied the diabolical 14^th.  After striping another tee shot in the middle, my sometimes TV colleague, Billy Ray Brown ran up to me and asked for an on-course interview.  This is allowed on the Champion’s Tour, but not on the regular tour.  It caught me a little off guard, but being in the TV business, I knew it was best to do the interview.  “Need to hunker down.  One shot at a time, Pebble is playing tough” is what I told Billy Ray.  I received many comments the following day from many who tried to blame Billy Ray for my double-bogie at 14.  The reality is that it didn’t bother me.  The third shot at 14 is maybe the most difficult approach shot in all of golf.  I was faced with a 123 yard uphill third shot from the center of the fairway.  I hit another slightly thin shot 9 iron shot and paid the price.  The ball landed on the green into the top of the steep slope and began to trickle off the front of the green, leaving one of the most impossible flop shots to a table top in golf.

Jay also double-bogied #14 and we both now found ourselves trailing by two.  When I arrived at #17, I was trailing by three, needing the next to impossible birdie, eagle finish to tie.  Jay had the honor at the famous par 3, playing 184 yards to a back left hole location.  The greens had been getting firmer with each passing moment.  The breeze appeared to be directly right-to-left, perfect for a holding  -5 5 iron.  Jay struck what looked to be the perfect shot.  The ball landed just past the flag and rolled over the green into the deep rough with a next-to-impossible chip remaining.  I turned to Cliff, “we can’t hit it over the green here!  We’re better off in the front bunker than over the green.  How about a +3 6 iron.”  “Yes, I like it”, Cliff agreed.  “The wind appears to be helping a bit.”  I struck it well, but the trajectory was slightly higher than I had envisioned.  “Go”, I screamed.  The ball landed into the lip of the front bunker.  My concern was that I could get a slightly buried lie, as the ball landed softly.  When I arrived to the ball, I was pleased to see the ball had barely popped out of it’s pitch, but left a crater directly behind the ball.  I jumped into the bunker to survey the lie.  It was one of those lies that would leave no room for error.  It was perched high, almost teed up in the sand.  It would require the perfect strike.  I settled in, waggled the club, picturing how the club would enter the sand, seeing the flight of the ball and the result.  The contact was perfect, the ball came out strong, with a ton of spin, landing 4 feet short of the hole and amazingly, stopping a foot short of the hole.  I actually thought it was in when I struck it.  I did my best high-hurdler imitation and jumped out of the bunker.  I later would receive comments about that move, thank God for the P90X Plyometrics workout!

As I stood on the 18^th tee, I felt that awful sensation one gets when all the adrenaline has left one’s body. I had then realized I had lost the tournament.  I didn’t want to even play.  My thoughts went back to “attitude”.  It was time to have a real self-talk.  “Ok, a birdie here at 18 will get you into a tie for 2^nd.  Let’s see you it 4 quality shots even though you don’t feel like it.  Can you do it?  Prove it to yourself!”  After a perfect stinger 3 wood tee shot, a perfect shaping power draw with a 5 wood and a flag hunting 68 yard -16 yard cut 60 degree wedge shot, I was face with a downhill, left-to-right 7 footer for birdie.  The hole was cut in it’s traditional front right final round placement, but this time it was two steps closer to the middle of the green.  I had never seen that exact hole location before.  Cliff and I read the putt, 2 and ½ inches outside left edge, we agreed.  “Trust it”, I told myself.  I saw the line, made a good stroke, but then watched in amazement as the ball wouldn’t break.  I had just missed a short putt that would drop me into a tie for 5^th.  The tournament was over.  Jeff Sluman had just won his third First Tee in the last four years.

Then came my longtime friend Mark Brooks, the 1996 PGA Champion.  Mark and I entered some good golf talk.  He’s a real student of the game and approaches the game from more of an old school perspective like me.  Our discussion started about the course.  Mark likes Whistling Straights but he didn’t understand some of the set-up.  Since 2004, Whistling Straights has converted the fairways and approaches to the greens into fescue grass from bent, at least most of the approaches.   Some are still left bent grass.  I agreed with Mark that seemed odd.  Also, Mark didn’t like how the long rough was all around the bunkers.  He felt it would be better if the ball rolled into the bunkers rather than getting caught in the deep grass around them.  I can see merit to both, but I am more of a fan of how the Scots do it.

Then Steve Flesch came by to hit a few and he joined our conversation.  Steve wasn’t playing this year, but was also on the Direct TV broadcast.  Steve worked with Ian Eagle on the Par 3’s while Grant Boone was my partner on the “In Depth” show.  I decided to pose them both a question.  “When you miss a shot, is it more due to preshot, backswing or downswing?”  This was a question I had been asking myself lately.  In the final round of last week’s 3M championship, I was beginning to feel that my backswing was quite inconsistent.  When it was in the groove, I hit a good shot.  When it got out of the slot, I would not only mishit (off-center) the shot,  but also seemed to hit it with a cut or a draw when I didn’t want to.

Mark started first, definitely downswing Mark said, then he thought some more.  “Well, actually, I think it’s 40% preshot, 30% backswing and 30% downswing.”  Steve didn’t give actual percentages at first but definitely responded that the backswing was more often the cuprit.  Then we all started to explore the “why”.

Mark felt that something before the backswing begins usually determines the outcome of the shot.  He felt that either selecting the wrong shot, getting out of the pre-shot routine, or something similar was most often the culprit on a bad shot.  He saw equally how being out of position on the backswing can cause one to have to alter the downswing to square up, just as improper downswing initiation or transition flaws can cause bad shots.

Steve Flesch then suggested that for him, most shots are missed because his backswing gets off plane and out of position.  This he says causes his downswing to not be able to fire in sequence.  Steve suggested that for him 70% of his shots are missed because of his backswing being out of position, while only 30% are for downswing flaws.

Of course, bad shots for these golfers are better than most people’s best shots.  The very fact that their swing bottoms are usually 4 inches in front of the ball (Dynamic #2) and that they are usually swinging close to the swing plane through impact (Dynamic #5) suggests that even off center hits are going to create reasonable shots.  But I think it’s valuable to know what the pro’s think.  One can always determine cause and effect relationships in the swing.

By Kim Cater

• Caddying for Bobby Clampett—an absolute gentleman on and off the golf course.  He is friendly, polite and funny all the while treating everyone with respect from Tom Watson to the taxi cab driver.  And he treated his caddy like family.  Bobby played in the Pro-AM on Tuesday as the Rolex people requested him.  Now I know why they chose Bobby; he is really fun to play with and ended giving the amateur players a 45 minute golf lesson out in the practice area after we finished playing.  I can tell you that is a rare occurrence on any tour.  I think I learned more than the amateurs in that session.  The fans really appreciate Bobby as many know Bobby from the 1982 British Open at Troon and most know him from his commentating on CBS and TNT.  He signed many autographs and we gave away many signed balls and gloves.  I even signed an autograph; that is a first for me.

• Bobby has a very positive attitude and has an excellent way to live in the present.  Like all people he gets upset with bad breaks and poor golf performance (which is not common).  But, he gets over it quickly and does not let one bad experience affect the next.  He is very smart and processes things at a level I am unfamiliar with.  I was with Bobby for essentially 10-16 hours per day for one week and what you see is what you get; he is does not have different personalities depending on who his is with.  Now, other pros I observed definitely had a public persona differing from the behind the scenes persona.

• One great experience I was able to enjoy was complete access to the locker room and the players lounge.  I dressed like a golfer and must have looked like a golfer and the Scottish people were probably just too nice to confront Bobby and me.  Thus, I dined with a number of interesting people.  Just to throw out a few names—Tom Watson, Larry Mize, Ted Schultz, David Frost, Dennis Watson, Wayne Grady, Sandy Lyle, Dan Forsman, Tommy Armour III, Loren Roberts, Corey Pavin, Mike Reid, Carl Mason, Mark Wiebe and John Cook.  I learned a little about them and their families and they learned a wee bit about me and on occasions, about chiropractic.  I did meet Bernard Langer during a practice round.  Bernard is a close friend of Bobby and credits Bobby for a big part of his spiritual life.  Bernard also was crowned on Sunday afternoon as the 2010 British Senior Open Champion.

• I had short chats with John Cook, Corey Pavin and Mark Wiebe who were golfers I had played golf with back in my college days.  They actually seemed like they remembered me or they pretended well.  I also ran into Mike Peck who played on the Stanford golf team with me.  He was an All American and should have been playing in the tournament.  He is currently working for Callaway in charge of three tours.

• Following the final round we all went out to dinner with David Frost and Dennis Watson (veteran tour players) and a small part of their families.  Bobby’s clan included Marianna (his delightful wife), six of his friends (that came over to watch and support Bobby) and his caddy.  The food was great but what was awesome was listening to Bobby, Dennis and David tell funny golf stories of golf experiences and unusual rules and rulings from over the years.

• We stayed at the Craigsanquar Hotel near Cuper which just outside St. Andrews.  It is an old Mansion built in approximately 1860 and converted into a Hotel in 1999.  It has a history back to the 12^th century.  Bobby has some dear friends who own the property and they treated us like royalty.  We actually stayed in some brand new cottages next to the old mansion.  The accommodations were 5 star and the views of the country side were pristine and beautiful.

• The days were long as it gets light very early and the sun sets late and one day specifically at 9:37 pm with darkness setting in about 10:20 pm.  We went to bed late and the days started early and thus we did not oversleep.

• For exercise I did manage to get in four jogs around the golf schedule.  I am glad I am in pretty good shape as those pro golf bags are heavy.  Along with the usual golf equipment, I pack more than plenty of different clothes for cold and rainy weather as the conditions change frequently.  My legs, back and shoulders received there share of exercise this week and I feel like I had quite the workout.

• I need to go on a diet; I ate like a King.  My caddy fee was room and board for the week.  Let’s just say I was paid very handsomely.  However, if I ate like that every week I would probably need the gastric bypass procedure.  It was awesome food and I would do it again in a heart beat.  However, now it is time to clean up my act or I would end up having fewer heart beats.

It’s been a while since I last wrote.  I am currently writing from my room at the Fairmont Mayakoba near Cancun, Mexico.  I am here competing in the Mayakoba Classic, the only PGA Tour Event in Mexico.

Today was pro-am day.  Since I wasn’t in the pro-am, I decided to get up early and play nine holes at 6 am.  I like to have two looks at a course before competing, but I was able to see the course 1 and ½ times over the past two days.  This is my first time here.   I got the word late Sunday night that I was in the field, quickly booked a flight from LAX to Cancun, left Monday afternoon and arrived Tuesday at 5am.  It’s been a long time since I’ve flown through the night.  Thank God they’ve got a good masseuse here!!!

I played nine holes this morning with Dean Wilson (Stack and Tilt) and Frank Lickliter (not working with anyone at the present).  We had a lot of fun.  Dean and I had played a practice round together in Industry Hills for the LA Open qualifier two weeks ago.   Dean knows my stand on Stack and Tilt.  I believe that any swing style that produces dynamic impact is good.  Dean’s a prime example of one who produces dynamic impact.  He hits the ball quite straight.  Frank kept saying I can’t believe how long I am, but the fairways were rolling and I hit everyone this morning.   He discussed how he had tried to change his swing and go away from being the fader he’s been his whole life, to drawing the ball.  He had once been able to eliminate the left side of the course, but the moment he changed his swing, he could miss the ball both directions.  He went from a consistent top 50 player on the PGA Tour to loosing his card.  Now he’s trying to work his way back.

I’ve been hanging around a bunch of the guys on Tour the past couple of days.  There’s a lot of talk about Tiger, seems the guys are all piecing together clues as to where he is and where he’s been.  They are genuinely interested.  Everyone recognizes what a positive impact he’s had on the tour and it seems everyone wants him back.  Most everyone has been floored by all the stories, but all agree it has no business being in the public media.  This is his personal life, though I’m not condoning his actions, but it doesn’t belong in the media!!!  The golf media has pretty much left him alone, but the other media is on a frenzy.  Knowing Tiger like I do and knowing so much about him through others on Tour, I always thought he’ll be back playing soon.   I was surprised when I ran into his press advisor, Mark Soltau at Pebble and Mark didn’t know if Tiger would be playing the Masters.  Tiger is all about the majors, he won’t miss that.

I just heard he’ll host a press conference in two days from the PGA Tour headquarters.  It’s no surprise to me that he won’t be taking questions, only making statements.  My best guess too is that he and Elin are working things out, probably in heavy counseling, Tiger will most likely take full accountability for his misdoings and really work on building the trust back with Elin.  It will take a long time though!   I think she’ll stick with him enough to give him a second chance.

Enough on Tiger.  I had lunch with Jim McClean yesterday. Jim has a teaching academy at the host course, the El Camaleon Golf Club, and is in town for the tournament.  He and I became friends when I was 13 years old when Jim was spending a lot of time at Quail Lodge in Carmel, CA.  He would work with Ben Doyle some, play a bunch of mini-tour events and hang with some of the peninsula’s local touring pro’s.  I’ve always liked Jim and admire the way he has built his teaching.  He now has 9 academies.

He told me that he’s been in touch with my co-author, Andy Brumer, lately and that he really enjoyed reading the Impact Zone.  He then introduced me to his lead instructor at the academy.  Then today, I witnessed his lead instructor working with Pablo Martin, the young Spaniard who had such a good college career at Oklahoma State, then returned to play the European Tour.  Pablo won earlier this year on the European Tour, but was in a lengthy slump after turning pro.

Pablo was working on an interesting drill.  In fact, some other pros who were practicing next to me said, “hey Bobby, check this out!”  Pablo had placed several tees in front of the ball, one three, six and nine feet in front.  He had wrist weights strapped to his wrist.  He would hold a golf ball, make a hard swing, try to delay the release as long as possible while aiming his hands at the tee six feet in front of the ball.  He would then release the ball to the ground in front of the imaginary ball placement.  He was obviously working on lagging the load and the aiming point, but had come up with a unique drill to make it work.

I can’t tell you how many pro’s I’ve talked to who have mentioned the Impact Zone to me, that they have really enjoyed the book.  Many comment on how they have learned the same lesson as me; that is, impact is far more important than swing style.   They have also mentioned that many of their coaches have also loved the book.  More and more players are getting rid of swing style changes and spending more time on creating better and more consistent impact.  It’s gratifying to me to see the book making such a difference.

I had a good day of practice today.  I’ve been working harder on my short game.  I have two new wedges in my bag from Taylor Made, I had them grinded at the factory on my last visit a few weeks ago.  They are the new replaceable groove wedges.  My 60 degree has much of the bounce shaved off.  I got that tip from Ken Venturi.  That, I find, is especially helpful playing off of Paspallum grass here in Mexico.   In Pebble Beach, where the tour was playing last week, more bounce was needed on the wedges to keep them from digging in the wet slop.  (Pebble has had a lot of rain lately).  I’m working on some other wedges for those type of conditions.

I’ve also been working hard on my putting.  I’m back to a 34 inch putter (The Yes Dawn).  I tried a short 29 inch putter in practice last week, as I could get my eyes over the ball with a shorter putter, but found I could square the face up better with a 34 inch putter.  I’ve been working profusely on getting the face lined up square to my intended line at address and building a stroke to square the face up at impact.  My whole career I’ve aimed left.  It’s getting much better.  Howard Twitty took a look at my stroke last November during Q School, and has helped me get lined up correctly.  I’ve bought putting carpets for my home.  I’ve placed both a straight line on the carpet between the center of each hole on each end and placed string immediately above the line on the carpet.  Doing both has really helped with alignment and rebuilding my stroke.

I’ve also spent some time watching the new Sybervision video this week which I now have with me.   I find that the Muscle Memory Programming portion has helped me to get a clearer picture of my swing in my mind. Plus it’s relaxing to view, almost spiritual in a way.

So, I’m both excited and slightly nervous about tomorrow.  It’s good to get back in the ring after over a 3 month lay-off.  66 days to 50, but who’s counting!

Bobby

I traveled to Scranton, PA for the NE Pennsylvania Classic (Nationwide Tour).  I new that I would be rusty; I hadn’t practiced much nor played in several weeks.   Sometimes that can be good, as it was for me in Athens, GA after the Masters this year.  I recognized then that filming the Sybervision/Impact Zone Golf Training System had a very positive impact on my game.  Not only did I shoot my lowest score ever on my home course at Quail Lodge the very day we finished the shooting (29 on the front nine), but watching the film actually improved my swing and it’s consistency.  I became very clear what I wanted to achieve with my swing.

As Steve Devore (CEO of Sybervision) has been very busy with the edits and I’ve been watching his cuts and making comments, I saw another opportunity to put the Sybervision magic to work for me.  I was optimistic as I entered the tournament.   I had a clear picture of my swing.  However, my short game really let me down in the first 16 holes, I was 4 over par.  I birdied the final two holes to post a respectable 72 in the opening round.  The next day I fought the rain and soggy and cool conditions.  I was 2 over early in the round again, and then fought back to an even par 70, missing the cut by two shots.

Performance is always the result of what you put into it.  So now it was time to break it down.  Two very apparent things came out of the long game evaluation:

1. My ball flight was too low, making it difficult to control the roll of the ball on firm fast greens and also making it difficult to flight the ball off wet fairway conditions.
2. I hit some pulled left irons shots, especially when trying to hit my plus 5 shot (hard swing).

After the weekend, my wife and I flew to California.  My first day I had a short visit with Katherine Marren (Northern California Teacher of the Year and an Impact Zone Master Instructor).  She was watching me hit a few balls.  I shared with her my observation from the previous tournament.  Katherine made an observation about my slightly shut clubface at the top, slightly more shut than it had been in the past.  “What if you rotated the club more on the backswing”, she said?  “Wouldn’t that elevate your ball flight?”  Rotating the clubface on the backswing is something I had worked on in previous times in my career.  Applying the Impact Zone, I know that making any such changes must be done without any decrease in impact dynamics.  At first, making the change resulted in a decrease of lag, a more rearward swing bottom and some pretty erratic shots, though a higher trajectory.  Applying the principals in the Impact Zone, especially increasing downswing lag and proper use of the workhorse, I was hitting some very solid shots with a higher trajectory.  My wedge distance shortened by almost 10 yards, but the distance gap picked up by the time I hit the 6 iron.  All shots were considerably higher and the left shots disappeared with the hard swings.  I particularly have notice a better flight with my three wood off the ground and when hitting the draw with the driver.  With today’s low spinning golf balls, higher launch angle is important for maximum distance and to hold firm greens.  With the approaching year and the new groove regulation, a higher trajectory becomes even more important.

After several days of practice, I traveled to Latrobe, PA for Arnold Palmer’s 80^th birthday celebration.  I’m blessed to be considered one of Arnold’s friends.  He had invited me earlier in the year to play golf with him at his home club at Bay Hill.  That remains one of the highlights of my life.  Nobody in golf has treated golf fans better than Arnold Palmer.  He’s total class and a real inspiration.

The celebration culminated with a PNC outing, 18 holes at his home club in Latrobe, Laurel Valley.  Before the round, Peter Jacobsen hosted a clinic with Arnold in attendance.  Because of the number of touring pros in attendance, Peter selected two Wake Forest alumni and past recipients of the Arnold Palmer Golf Scholarship to give a swing tip.  Jay Haas was first.  “The #1 problem I see in golf is that most people don’t take the divot in the right place.  Their swing bottom’s are too far behind the 3 to 5 inches in front that it needs to be.”  Funny that it was the exact swing tip I had given the previous year at the PNC outing with Jay Haas present.    I can’t think of a better compliment of the Impact Zone.

I had the pleasure of playing with Arnold’s two sisters.  One can certainly see the family resemblance in both of them.  Playing Laurel Valley (I love the course) gave me a golden opportunity to put into practice the new changes.  Several shots during the day caught my attention, almost as if to say, “Did I really just do that?”  On the second hole, I hit a 111-yard fairway bunker shot to a back hole placement.  The shot came off perfectly with a little ¾-pitching wedge.  The shot was higher than usual (trajectory comes down with reduced swing speed) and had lots of spin (v groove too!).  The shot came close to going in, and then spun back 12 feet from the cup.

On the 11^th hole, the par 5, I was in good shape off the tee and going for the green in two from 243 yards.  Unfortunately I had a very tall oak tree 100 yards or so in front of me that I needed to hit over with a 15 yard draw or hook.  A high draw has been my most difficult shot lately, but not this time.  I hit the most beautiful high 5 wood with a big draw.  I surprised myself with the trajectory cleared the tall oak tree by a good 10 feet.  And I didn’t have to change my set up to hit that shot.  Usually, I would have to stand farther from the ball and/or get the ball more forward in my stance.  Not anymore.

I’ll be practicing hard to make the changes solid for competition.  I will next compete in Boise next week, can’t wait!

So how is the field established?  Let’s suffice it to say that it is the most complicated system known to man.  Not a single player even understands it fully.  Only Suzie Barber at the PGA Tour headquarters has a handle on it.  Many of the tournaments, such as Tampa, are invitationals and have their own set of qualifications, which complicates the matter even more.

But for simplicity sake, let me start with the basics.  The normal field size is 78 players.  The field is comprised of the top 30 players who commit to the tournament who are in the top 70 on the All time PGA Tour Money List.  The next set of 30 players comes from those who commit who are in the top 50 on the previous year’s money list.   (That where I qualify based on being 45^th on last year’s money list.  There is no compensation that I didn’t start the year until May when I turned 50).   The alternate list includes the players next in line out of the two above categories.

That leaves 18 players who qualify as follows:

a.  All Hall of Famers who want to play

b  All winners of a PGA Champion’s Tour Event in the previous 12 months

c.  5 from the Qualifying Tournament held last fall.  This category later reshuffles in July to include all non-exempt players based on their current year’s money earned.

d.  All Special Medical exemptions (those who were exempt but were injured)  David Eager, Mark McNulty, etc

e.  Top 4 players in the 50-51 year old category with multiple victories on the PGA Tour.  (I don’t fit in here because I only have one victory)

f.  1 spot give to the highest performing player in the previous tournament who is not exempt yet finished in the top 10.

f.  Hopefully 5 sponsor’s exemptions but this can be reduced if the above number gets to be more than 18.

g.  Hopefully 4 Monday qualifying spots but this too can be reduced if the above number get to be more than 18.

So what does all this mean?  With three more tournaments cancelling in 2011 (Cap Cana, Jeld Wyn, China), the Champion’s Tour is down to the lowest number of events in history (economy related).  Thus, most eligible players are playing all or nearly all events.  The tour, which used to boast 39 Champion’s Tour events, now is down to 21 regular season events and 4 special events.  Though the tour is strong and new tournaments will come back, the reality is that there has never been a more difficult time than now to be eligible to play the Champion’s Tour.

We are soon approaching the meat of the season, and I should be getting into more events.  Thanks for your interest and support!

Bobby

Additionally, you may have seen the interview I did with Dave Marr at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in the previous tournament when he caught me during a practice round charting the levels on the green.  Many have witnessed me charting the greens on the Champion’s Tour.    “What the heck are you doing?” is a common question.  I’ve decided to save the answer for my  “gallery” and noone else!  Keep it a secret!

Several weeks ago I became interested in a new technology of green reading called “Aiming Point”.  (Ironic that the phrase is part of my Impact Zone teaching)  I had seen “Aiming Point” being used for a short stint at CBS.  The technology created a visual curve on the screen precisely where the break would be.  It got me thinking, “how do they do that?”

So I called Mark Sweeney, the president of Aiming Point, and we had an introductory discussion.  He told me that one of his prize students, Tim Tucker, was caddying for Peter Jacobsen in the Legends of Golf in Savannah, GA, where I would be working my last telecast for CBS.  I called Tim and we agreed to meet after Saturday’s round.

Tim spent about an hour with me, showing me the 9 inch digital leveler he used to determine the fall line (straight putt) on the slope, then using the leveler to determine the % slope.  He showed me his yardage book in which the greens were covered with lines and %.  From that information, he showed me the chart above that figures the inches outside the cup needed to figure the correct break.

It has taken some getting used to, but I really like the system.  I’ve never had a system of reading greens before.  I began to think how useful this could be if my caddy could generate this information for me.  I might not even have to play a practice round.  So I put this theory to the test this past week in Wallace, North Carolina at the River Landing Golf Club.  I had two training sessions with a new caddy, Cliff Robinson, who lives near me in Chapel Hill, NC.  Cliff had caddied 20 years on the PGA Tour but retired about 15 years ago to raise a family.  He came highly recommended from Mike Hicks, my friend and Payne Stewart’s old caddy and I was considering hiring him.  The Qualifier was held last Wednesday, May 19^th.  I couldn’t find a hotel room in the area, so I decided to stay home and practice at Brier Creek, and to send Cliff down on Tuesday to chart the greens and check the yardages.

The result was a 5 under par 67, good for a spot in a three-man play-off for two spots.  The local qualifier had 87 contestants for 5 spots.  All three of us parred the first hole of the playoff, then we headed to #9.  My fellow competitors missed the green, but I hit a good drive and a great 8 iron 7 ½ feet past the flag.  The hole was cut on a 1.3 slope and I was in the 130 degree angle.  After doing some calculations, I figured the break at ¾ in outside the hole.  The read was perfect, and I won the play-off securing a spot in the Regional US Open Qualifier in Columbus, OH on June 7^th.

All for now, “putt em straight!”

Ok, I confess.  When I refill the coffee maker at home, I spill half the beans.  When I pour laundry detergent in the washing machine, I have to vacuum the spill off the floor.  But now I’ve taken my clutziness to the golf course.  So was the case at this year’s Senior British Open at Carnoustie.  Playing the final round with long-time friend, Loren Roberts, we arrived at the par 3 13^th.  Lauren had hit his approach into the front bunker, mine was 40 feet or more past the hole and on the green.

As Loren pulled his sandwedge from his golf bag and headed for the bunker, I made a quick decision to hurry and mark my ball.  With my putter in hand, I bent over to mark my ball.  In case you’re wondering, flexibility isn’t my issue these days with all the Yoga I’ve been doing.  Somehow, my putter shaft hit my leg and fell to the ground, nudging my ball a couple of inches.  Since I was in the process of marking my ball, I placed the coin in the position where I was going to mark the ball, then moved the ball back to it’s original position.

I called Loren over after he hit his bunker shot and asked him if he knew what to do.  He didn’t see what I had done and properly suggested I call for an official.  When the official arrived, I reenacted what happened.  The official properly explained that I had caused my ball that was in play to move with the club (or at least with something other than the marking coin).  The result was to replace the ball in it’s original position and add a penalty stroke.  I two-putted for a bogie and went on to shoot an even-par 71 and finished t24th.  (Incidently, had I already marked the ball and left the ball on the green, it still would be a penalty since the ball is in play even when a coin is behind it.)

But I believe in the law, “what goes around, comes around”.  Golf is one of the rare sports where we players will call a penalty on ourselves if we have violated a rule.   It’s a sport that we take pride that eventhough noone might see our infraction, we know and do the right thing.  It’s one of the great aspects of our sport, so different from the antics that go on in other sports.  Take Soccer for example, where players will try to fool the referees and are considered “heroes” if they do.  I recently had dinner with Anson Dorrance, the most celebrated collegiate soccer coach in the United States with 23 National Championships with his University of North Carolina women.  Anson agreed that his sport needs a make-over in this department.  Though not on the level as the pro’s, this lack of sportsmanship and integrity has infiltrated the collegiate ranks.  As a coach, he fights this battle with his players on a daily basis.

As I walked to the 14^th tee, though I felt badly about the penalty and the ramifications that would have on my finish in the tournament, I felt good about the way I had handled the situation.  The 14^th was the easiest hole on the course and a good birdie opportunity.  Playing downwind, the play was a 3 wood off the tee, needing to avoid the small pot bunker in the left side of the fairway and keep short of the gourse at the 300 yard mark.  I pulled my three wood slightly and it was heading right for that small bunker, a sure cost of a stroke should it go in, when all of a sudden the ball hopped perfectly over the bunker and into the fairway.  From there I hit a six iron on the green and two-putted for my birdie.  In a sense, I got the stroke back with good fortune on the very next shot.  What goes around does come around.

I waited until 8am for the mechanics to arrive at the airport.  They jumped right on it and soon diagnosed a failed starter as I had suspected.  Fixing it would require at least 24 hours.  I headed back to the FBO and was notifying the tournament committee that I would have to miss the pro-am, when Don Pooley, Morris Hatalsky, Bob Gilder and Dennis Watson came through.  They were boarding a Net Jet flight to Gulfport.  When I asked if I could thumb a ride, they graciously agreed.  I made my pro-am tee time.  Only one hitch, how was I going to get back to Savannah to pick up my airplane.  In stepped Roy Anderson, a great supporter of the Champion’s Tour, who asked his pilots to fly me to Savannah Thursday evening so I could pick it up.  I didn’t eat dinner in Gulfport that night until 11pm, but got enough sleep to make my 8am tee time with Gary Hallberg and Tim Simpson.

Teeing off the first tee that windy morning was one very emotional experience for me.  I couldn’t believe I got paired with one of my closest friends, Gary Hallberg.  The realization that this was the moment I had waited for the past 5 years.  This was the moment I’ve been preparing.  Gratitude poured into my heart as I stepped to the first tee, flghting tears.  Thoughts of the incredible support I have had from my wife, Marianna, made this moment so special.  Thoughts of the help and support of all my friends, coaches, Impact Zone instructors and more made me even more grateful.

The announcer introduced me to the first tee in front of the Mississippi fans.  “Making his Champion’s Tour Debut, from Carmel, CA, give a warm welcome to ‘Bobby Clampett’!”  Tears flooded my eyes again, so much so I had to wipe them in my shirt sleeve.  I stood over the ball, feeling peace and ripped a drive down the middle on the into-the-wind 530 yard par 5 1^st Hole at Fallen Oak.  I had 238 to the front of the green, into a 20 mph wind for my 2^nd shot.  The hole was cut back right.  Already a decision time, do I lay up or go for it.  Water was just left of the green.  I was so excited to try to reach the green in two, I told Van (my caddy), it’s a go!

I ripped a 3 wood onto the green, the only player to hit the par 5 in two all day.  I badly misread the 60’ eagle putt, then lipped out the 10’ birdie.  I went on to hit a lot of good shots, one more three-putt and shot an even par 72.

I was paired with another really good friend in the second round, two-time Champion’s Tour player of the year, Bernhard Langer.  Bernie and I used to practice a lot together and play a lot of practice rounds.  Despite two more three putts in the first 14 holes, I had a pretty good round going at one-under for the day.  Again the winds were up.  Then I bogied three of my last 4 holes, hitting all good drives, but mishitting two approach shots and misjudging the wind at the last hole.   In the final round I was paired with another great friend, Ted Schulz.  I picked up where I left off the second round, bogeying 4 of the first five holes.  Then I got on a roll, making 4 birdies in the next 10 holes and getting back to even for the day.  I drove into a fairway bunker at 16, tried to hit a full sandwedge over the steep lip, but caught the ball just a fraction thin, leaving the ball in the bunker.  The resulting double-bogie was then followed by my 6^th three putt of the week at the par 3 17^th.  A final round 75 dropped me back to t47th.  I was pretty disappointed, because I felt I had played much better.

I had changed my putting set-up to higher hands, but never changed the lie of the putter, which was then too flat for me.  I had pushed a lot of putts all week. On Monday I called my putting coach from Yes Golf, Brett Davies.  That afternoon, he had a new, more upright, putter heading home.  When it arrived, it was perfect!  My putting was back on!

On Wednesday, I got a call from the Region’s Charity Classic.  “Bobby, it looks like we’re going to get a sponsor’s exemption back and we’d like to give it to you!”  I was so fired up!  I went out and played a quick nine with two balls, shooting 8 under par at my home course, Brier Creek CC.  On Friday the exemption was confirmed.  On Sunday, I was flying to Birmingham in the Malibu.

I arrived at the Ross Bridge RTJ course by 3pm.  It was stunningly beautiful, carved out of the rolling hills, with pines and lakes.  I played nine holes on Sunday.  On Monday, I didn’t get to play, as my caddie was struggling charting the greens under the new Aiming Point Concept I was implementing.  I had used the system in Mississippi for the first time and really liked it.  Tim Tucker had taught me how to do it while on the putting green in Savannah.  It made so much sense to me.  So I charted the greens on Monday and got a good practice session.  It was a cold and rainy day anyway.  On Tuesday I played Old Overton Golf Club, the course that my development partner on the Payne Stewart Golf Club, Mark Elgin, developed.  This was an outing for Region’s Bank that they had asked me to participate in return for the sponsor’s exemption.  On Wednesday I was able to play the pro-am at Ross Bridge.  I shot a 4 under par 68, but didn’t feel too good about it.  I had missed to many shots to the left.

On Thursday, I was not playing in the pro-am, so I spent some time with Master Instructor Billy McDonald on his “About Golf” simulator at Birmingham Southern University.  I had also invited all my pro-am partners to join us.  One did show up.  He got a great lesson from both Billy and me on the “Impact Zone” and left so excited about his new found discoveries on his swing.

Billy noticed that on some of those left shots I was hitting, he thought the clubface got just a bit shut on the backswing.  When I got to the range, I was able to fix the left shots by being more patient in my transition from end of backswing to the start of the downswing.  I was feeling more load and lag as a result of being more relaxed and patient at the top.  I started striping it on the range.  I had another good practice on Friday morning before the first round.  I was paired with another old friend, Jay Don Blake and Jim Dent.  Jay Don and I were college contemporaries in Utah, while Jim and I had played several times in my first few years on the PGA Tour.  I played very solidly, making 7 birdies and no bogies for a 65 which tied me for the lead.  On Saturday I was in the final group, with Joey Sindelar and Russ Cochran.  I played even better, making 8 birdies and again, no bogies.  Dan Forsman had shot a course record 62 earlier in the day, but when I birdied 4 of the last 6 holes, I was in the lead.  I made a key birdie at the 17^th to take the lead.  With the bad weather report for Sunday and Monday, having the lead could be really important.  Berhnard Langer had discovered that in Tampa earlier in the year.  I had only missed three greens in regulation in two rounds and had hit most of the par 5’s in two.  I was in a good rhythm.

Though the storms had split and gone around Birmingham, I felt good on Sunday.  My practice however wasn’t quite as good as Friday and Saturday’s practice.  I felt a little out of sync on the range.  I was paired with Dan Forsman and Q-School winner Peter Senior.  Dan and I had grown up together in Northern California and were good friends.  In fact when Lee Martin (IZ Master Instructor) left Quail Lodge in 1973 (Lee was my first teacher), he later showed up at Los Altos CC and taught Dan Forsman.  Dan and I talked a lot about Lee during the round.

I was feeling a little nervous, but excited on the first tee, about what I had expected.  I was first up, and hit a good drive up the right center.  Dan got a good break on his hook off the first tee, the ball rolled through the bunker.  Senior, I don’t think he missed a fairway all day.

Dan drilled a 20 footer for birdie on #1.  I missed my 16 footer.  Senior drained his 15 footer.  Suddenly with a par on the first, I’m back tied for the lead with Dan and only one ahead of Peter.  The par 3 2^nd hole was playing 183 yards into a 8 mph 2:00 wind.  The hole was cut in the front right, perfect set up for me to hit a hard, holding 6 iron.

Dan hooked his 6 iron on the far left of the green.  Senior hit his at the flag but 30’ short.  I felt like now is my time to make a statement, I’m going for the flag.  I hit a good one, 6 feet away.  Dan made a good two-putt, Senior drained another long putt to tie the lead.  I then made my 6 footer to regain the lead.  I felt that was an important birdie.  Dan and I birdied the par 5 3^rd.  I still had a one shot lead going into the par 5 6^th.  I hit a good drive and stripped a 5 wood that rolled 25’ past the hole.  Dan also hit a good drive and hit a beautiful hybrid 12 feet from the hole.  I missed my eagle, but tapped in for birdie.  Dan then made the eagle to tie me for the lead at 18 under par.

I will long remember the 7^th hole, a downhill dogleg to the left par 4 with options off the tee.  Two fairway bunkers sit at the corner of the dogleg.  I didn’t feel I could even carry the first bunker, so I elected to lay up short of the bunkers with a 5 wood.  Dan hit the driver, hooked it left into the far fairway bunker.  I had hooked my 5 wood a bit and it hit the edge of the trees, dropping down 194 yards from the flag with a severe downhill, slicing lie.  Because my drive wasn’t to the dogleg, I needed to hit a pretty big hook, about 20 yards and the hole was cut in the most difficult back location.  The play for me was to go for the middle of the green, as I only had about 155 yards to the front edge of the green with a 4:30 breeze.  I selected a 7 iron, probably the worst club selection I’ve ever made.  I hit a good shot that wasn’t a flier, but flew the right side of the green and disappeared over the hill into the hazard.  The ball carried about 185 yards.  I thought I could get the first hazard shot on the green, but the long reed that plagued my backswing and downswing, was tougher to hit through than I thought.  The ball then rolled into the edge of a large clump of grass, enabling me to only hit a de-lofted shot towards the back of the green.  I was only trying to advance the ball as close to the green as I could.  I was able to pitch up 6 feet from the hole and sink the putt for a double-bogie.

I had given my sandwedge to my caddy, to clean after the first hazard shot.  I was walking over to inspect my lie in the hazard.  He took the wedge and swung it in the long grass to get rid of the dirt on the face.  Many viewers called the Golf Channel to say they believed that was a two-shot penalty.  On the 10^th fairway, Brian Claar (Champion’s Tour Rules Official) notified me about the apparent rules violation.  When I asked my caddy, he said that he swung the club above the hazard line.  Still Brian wanted me to see the film after the round.  When I saw the film, my caddy had taken the club, walked several steps up the hill with his eyes looking at the ground, before swing the club in the grass.  This verified his statement that he saw the line and swung the club into the grass above the hazard line.  Brian agreed and thus I wasn’t assessed a penalty.  My caddy did nothing wrong and knew the rule.

Dan then went on a birdie tare, 4 straight, three of them were long putts.  The tournament was over.  I shot a 73 for the round and finished t5th.  I was the highest finisher in the top 10 who was not exempt for Des Moines, thus I was now in the tournament.  Congrats to Dan on his great playing!