Endurance Golf
Courtesy: AP
Whenever I watch a golf tournament on TV, I try to take something away that I can use to make my own humble game a little better.
I'm usually better off watching an LPGA event; at least the golf is on a level I can begin to understand.
But the PGA guys, well, they're on another planet. However, every time any of them hits off the tee or blasts out of a bunker, there is always a swing fundamental reinforced or a principle of the game that can be gleaned.
I spent a good portion of my day yesterday with coverage of the Masters on my TV and the online streaming at Amen Corner on my computer.
I saw an awful lot of approach shots hit and putts stroked, as I'm sure you did, as well.
I was reminded repeatedly that a honed short game and solid putting stroke are the only sure ways to lower one's scores and handicap.
I also have to hand it to Augusta. The course is proving as tough as ever.
Day one, there were nine players under par.
12 players did get into red numbers in round two but after 36 holes, only three golfers remained under par.
I'm impressed. I'm impressed with how the course, despite its lengthenings and alterations that have drawn so much heat, continues to dictate the tournament.
Augusta does not yield birdies. They have to be dragged from the clutches of the course like money from a miser's wallet.
And those birdies are coming – if they come at all – not because an approach shot sucked back to within inches of the cup; that happened rarely on Friday.
It is the finesse putting strokes that must be utilized to coax the ball over greens that are as smooth and hard as glass.
Putts of three feet, putts most pros can make on most courses with their eyes closed, are barely stroked, the putter head just brushing the ball slightly to set it in motion.
My jaw would go rigid and my hands would lock on the handle of my putter if I had to do that hole after hole.
But that's what the field was forced to endure on Friday. Cool temperatures, stiffening breezes in the afternoon and terrifying pin positions ensured that the greens lived up to their fearsome reputation.
This Masters tournament, like so many before it, is building to an exciting climax on Sunday.
Today, what they euphemistically call "moving day", will be another dog-fight for red figures.
That means if you want a lesson or two in putting, you'll have plenty of teachers to learn from.
It is said that you drive for show and putt for dough. Could that be any truer than at Augusta?