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Greg Norman, Nick Price, Curtis Strange and Bruce How to achieve Lietzke all captured multiple titles at Glen Abbey, with single wins THE CORRECT going to such major champs as Hal Sutton, Steve Jones and Mark O’Meara, who IMPACT POSITION designed Grandview Golf Club in Huntsville. k TO ACHIEVE CONSISTENT BALL FLIGHT and distance control, precise u h

And, of course, Tiger c and proper impact by the club with the golf ball is crucial. r a

created his own mythology t S The club shaft should be tilted forward, towards the target, and de-lofted. B

at Glen Abbey. He first k c For a right-handed golfer, you will notice the grip is further to the left in i

touched down in Toronto in N relation to the clubhead, but the clubhead remains square to the target line. | RCGA/Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Archive 1996 courtesy of a sponsor’s In effect, this turns your 8-iron, for example, into a 7-iron (picture A). exemption, just as Greg Norman celebrates his 1992 victory, Hurricane Fran was his second Open championship at the Abbey. working her way up the Bruce Lietzke’s patented He also won in 1984. fade made him a force at the Eastern Seaboard. Abbey. He won the Open A It was only his second event twice (1978 and 1982) as a pro and he made the gallery weak in the knees with his 350-yard drives and finished runner-up in 1981 and 1992. and his mercurial game—his opening round included four birdies, an eagle, two bogeys and a double bogey. He finished in a tie for 11th. By 2000, Tiger was playing in the golfing version of a state of grace. But Kiwi journeyman Grant Waite had his own epiphany at Glen Abbey, doggedly tailing Tiger throughout the tournament.

On the Open’s final hole, it looked like Wood’s coronation would be derailed RCGA/Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Archive when he dumped his drive into a fairway bunker. With 50,000 fans looking on, Woods blasted a 6-iron 216 yards over the water to within 18 feet of the hole. The birdie putt gave him a 65, the tournament by a single stroke, and golf’s Triple Crown (the Open titles of Canada, the U.S., and Britain in the same season). In 2004, the eyes of the golf world were again focused on the Abbey when Mike Weir started the fourth round of the Open with a three-stroke lead on the field. It looked like he was ready to break the curse and become the first native-born Canadian to capture the title in 90 years. However, he fell into a tie with close friend Vijay Singh, who went on to defeat Weir on the third playoff hole. Glen Abbey ranked as one of the PGA Tour’s toughest layouts in 2004; just ask Singh, who triple bogeyed the 11th hole twice, a record by a player who went on to win the tournament. Grant Holcomb, the club’s Director of Operations, expects the course will be even more challenging this summer.

“We’ve made some recent changes, like adding new trees in the landing area Photos: Chris Gallow at the ninth hole, putting in a new bunker in front of the 16th green and substantially narrowing the fairways at the fourth, 10th and 11th holes,” says Holcomb, with a devilish grin. When the club hits the ball under these circumstances, the ball will have A great drill to engrain the feeling of a correct impact position is to a strong, boring flight, and you will most likely have taken a divot. practice hitting balls with your right foot up on your toe and the majority “What’s really neat is that for the next two years, all of our Members and the of your weight on your left foot (picture B). public will get the chance to play a course that is set up for a PGA event, for To get the feeling of this position, try the following exercise: From your our national Open. What a great experience.” address position, set the club into its impact position. Observe what has You can do this indoors without a ball. When happened to your original address. you get to the range, you’ll find that after some No doubt. practice, the ball flight will be more consistent. You should notice that there is more pressure on your front foot, your For information on tickets, visit www.rcga.org You will also see improvements in distance, hips are slightly open to the target line, and your wrists have moved to accuracy, balance, and ease of motion. | Ian Cruickshank is a freelance golf and travel writer based in Toronto. where your top wrist (glove hand) has flattened and your bottom wrist RCGA/Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Archive has bent a little. | Nick Starchuk is a Teaching Professional at Jack Nicklaus, designer of Glen Abbey, waits his turn From here, make slow, gradually longer swings, ensuring you return the the ClubLink Academy at Glen Abbey. He with Johnny Miller during the 1983 Open. Miller club and your body to the correct position. can be reached at [email protected]. finished second to John Cook. EARLY SPRING 2008 NEWSLINK 11