blog | Wayne DeFrancesco

The Brandel Watch

I feel as though I am doing a great disservice to everyone by not paying more attention to our man Brandel Chamblee and his incessantly negative commentary regarding Tiger Woods, Sean Foley, teaching in general, and whatever other subjects he might stumble upon. The fact is that I don’t have time to watch The Golf Channel when Brandel is on, so I am appealing to the WDGLC members to send me clips of Brandel when you catch him saying something that you think I might find interesting and worthy of my own comment and/or rebuttal. Chamblee has no counterpoint to…

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Hallberg, Mast Playing Nicely at British Senior

By Wayne | blog

In case you hadn’t noticed, the two Senior Tour players I have been working with are playing extremely well at Turnberry in the British Senior Open. Dick Mast continues to amaze at age 61, firing 66-73 to finish T-4 after the 2nd round. Gary Hallberg played one of the most amazing rounds in tournament and Tour history by firing a 63 on a blustery day in which only one other player, Fred Couples, broke 70, and Gary’s round was 5 better than Freddie’s 68. That is unheard of stuff, especially at a major. Anyway, just wanted to make sure…

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Golf is a Crazy Game, and People Never Seem to Learn

By Wayne | blog

Wow. That’s really all you could say watching Adam Scott’s implosion on the last 4 holes to lose the Open Championship and his best chance for his first major. What a big deal that is, winning your first major. It’s like a huge monkey off your back, a defining moment that promises more great things for the future (although there are many one-time major winners for whom that promise never came to be). Sure, no guarantees, but you have to get that first one in order to get more and be associated with the game’s greatest players. Ernie Els played…

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U.S. Senior Open Qualifier: Good Start, Bad Finish

By Wayne | blog

It’s always nice to start a tournament round with a couple of birdies, like I did at the Arcola Country Club course in New Jersey for the U.S. Senior Open qualifier. It’s never nice to end with a couple of bogies, like I did at the end of the round on holes 16 and 17, which took me out of a playoff at 72 and left me driving home with nothing to show for my efforts. The course was quite challenging, over 100 years old with fast poa annua greens, juicy rough and tight green surrounds. I was not able…

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Heading to Senior U.S. Open Qualifier, Then the PGA Professional National Championship

By Wayne | blog

If you’re wondering why I haven’t been commenting on the U.S. Open this week it’s because I am swamped with lessons, family, and trying to prepare for a big week and a half of golf, with the US Senior Open Monday in New Jersey and the PNC (formerly known as the CPC) to be played out in Seaside, California at the Bayonet and Blackhorse courses. I have always opted, when given a choice, to play and practice my own game instead of sitting inside and watching, even when it’s something as compelling as this week’s US Open. I have just…

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Tiger Wins One for “Academic” Instruction at the Memorial

By Wayne | blog

I thought it was quite interesting that Tiger Woods, former victim of “over-teaching” and the “cancer” that is “academic instruction” won the Memorial Tournament while “natural” swingers Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy missed the cut and another “grip it and rip it” star Ricky Fowler shot 84 next to Tiger’s 67. The point is not that one is better than the other (teaching methods or non-methods); the point is that on any given week anyone can win and anyone can play horribly, and it says nothing in the long term about how someone goes about trying to be good. It…

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2012 Senior PGA: Thanks for Your Support

By Wayne | blog

I want to thank everyone who followed my exploits and sent in your well-wishes as I battled away at the Senior PGA up in Michigan last week. I can only tell you that there are a lot of good players out there, and the scores after 36 holes indicate just what a test the course was as well as how good the top guys are playing. I had a first -hand look at some of those top players, teeing it with Bobby Clampett, Brad Faxon, Dick Mast, Tom Kite, Fred Funk, and Jay Don Blake as well as two of…

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Second Round of the Senior PGA: Better, But Missed the Cut Anyway

By Wayne | blog

Well, I played pretty good today, but I couldn’t quite sustain it on the back nine as a few weak drives and some missed putts cost me an under par round and a chance at making the cut. I shot 1 under on the front after making a 20- footer for par on 1 and bogeying 3, but bogeys on 10, 12 and 14 with no birdies to offset did me in. I hit 9 fairways and 11 greens but had 31 putts, which were 4 less than yesterday. As usual, it was a battle, as the wind blew up…

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First Round of the Senior PGA: Enjoying the Battle

By Wayne | blog

8 fairways, 11 greens, 35 putts: it adds up to 79. Lots of good players struggled today as the wind whipped up progressively as the day went on. My playing partners (Jay Don Blake and Kirk Hanefeld) were both at par or better on our first nine (the back), and Jay came in at even par 71 while Kirk, two time Senior PNC champion, shot 44 on the back, finishing double, bogey, triple, double. I mean, every hole was a challenge. The wind was especially fierce on the last three, strong enough to have the ball oscillating as it laid…

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Wednesday at the Senior PGA

By Wayne | blog

I have played in 9 major championships now and I have always enjoyed the practice rounds more than anything. It is so educational to play with great players who are preparing for an event that would be huge for anyone to win. It is also a great measuring tool, as I get to see how I stack up shot for shot with the world’s best. There have been times when it was obvious that I was not in the same league as the guys I teed it up with. That list includes David Duval, John Cook, Mark O’Meara, Craig Stadler,…

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