Heading to the 2013 CPC (With Video)

 
The PGA of America decided to change the name of our national championship to the PGA PNC (PGA Professional National Championship), but when I won the thing it was called the CPC (Club Professional Championship). I don’t know about you, but I think that CPC is much more memorable than PGA PNC, so I’m going to keep calling it that. Anyway, we play again this year at the Crosswater Club in Bend, Oregon, which happens to be where I won, so there will be some great memories as I make my way around the course again. I have not played nearly as well over the last 4 years as I did for a nice long stretch before that (1994-2008), so suffice it to say that given my physical issues it is not surprising that I would go back to the swings I was making when I played in 2001 and perhaps try to duplicate the look and feel.
 
One of the main differences you will see here is the open stance, which I started using in 1999 after struggling mightily with the failure to clear my hips (resulting in a rash of pushes, blocks, and toe hooks). The pre-set openness kept me from over twisting on the backswing and gave me a head start toward opening up at impact. I went away from the open stance a few years later when my back felt better and I wanted to work on things that were hard to see with the odd body alignment. A few other things are noticeable, including the lower hands at address and the additional bend in the knees. There is lifting in the backswing, but I have not been able to cure myself of that no matter what I do, so I figured I would forget about for the moment and concentrate on other matters, such as getting the clubhead to stay outside my hands in the takeaway. I really like the fast tempo and the hard catch at the top, and I feel that I am strong enough again to make this move consistently. Of course, time will tell (as will my scores), but my short game is pretty solid and I like the way I’m stroking my putts. I will be taking some video when I’m out there so stay tuned for more.
 
Follow Wayne online beginning Sunday the 23rd.
http://www.pga.com/nationalchampionship/
 
Golf Channel Coverage:
Sun,June 23 7:30PM – 9:30PM EDT
Mon,June 24 3:30PM – 6:00PM EDT
Tue,June 25 4:00PM – 7:00PM EDT
Wed,June 26 4:00PM – 7:00PM EDT