Almost every hole in requires some kind of an iron shot. If you can consistently hit the greens with your approach irons and position your ball near the pins, you are going to get your share of birdies and pars.
It stands to reason that a good iron player who can direct his ball to within the 15-foot circle around the flag is going to shoot lower scores than the player who is 50 feet away, chipping from off the green or blasting from a trap. It is rather difficult to three-putt from 15 feet, but the odds against parring a hole go higher when a player is trying to get down in two from 50 feet, whether he is on or off the green.
Iron play vs. The drive and the putt
There may be some disagreement with what I have said here, because some golfers believe the drive to be the most important shot in golf, others believe it is the putt, while still others consider the iron shot to be most crucial. One golfer contends that you can't get the ball on the green with an iron shot if you are always playing out of the rough or behind trees.
However, I wish to point out that, no matter where a player happens to be, a second shot, usually an iron shot, is still required to reach the green, whether you are in trouble or not. If you are, and your second, or maybe your third, shot is off line or misjudged, you are in further
Colsaerts shades McDowell to gain Match Play triumph
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<p>Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts became Volvo World Match Play champion yesterday, beating Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell in the final at a windswept Finca Cortesin in Spain.</p>
Clarke fails again at Match Play
<p>Justin Rose handed Darren Clarke a 6&4 drubbing at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain yesterday.</p>
Brandt Snedeker on borrowed time
<p>The American Brandt Snedeker beat Thomas Bjorn of Denmark 5&4 on the first day of the Volvo World Match Play in Spain, despite having to borrow a set of clubs after his own failed to arrive at the course.</p>
Darren Clarke draws Rock and Rose
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<p>The Open champion Darren Clarke has been drawn alongside Englishmen Justin Rose and Robert Rock in the group stages of this week's World Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesin near Marbella.</p>
Lee Westwood picks Mike Waite as his temporary caddi
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<p>Lee Westwood has taken on Australian Mike Waite ? known as "Sponge" ? as his stand-in caddie while Billy Foster recovers from the knee injury suffered in a football kickabout two weeks ago.</p>
Tormented Kevin Na waggles his way to lead
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<p>Kevin Na managed to secure the third-round lead at the Players Championship despite labouring with an infuriating inability to pull the trigger on his shots, annoying spectators, television commentators and even himself.</p>
Fowler has the style to win hearts
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<p>America is desperate to find the new Tiger Woods. Sport needs its heroes ? someone to move the needle, as they say here. It needs rivals, too. Europe has Rory McIlroy. The United States now has Rickie Fowler. Thousands of fans gathered on the mound around the par three 17th with its island green. </p>
McIlroy misses the cut again as his Sawgrass woe continues
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<p>Rory McIlroy said his decision to skip the Players Championship last year ?was not one of my brightest?. It turns out it may have been one of his smartest. His record at Sawgrass is now played three, lost three after completing his hat-trick of missed cuts.</p>
Ian Poulter in the zone, Tiger Woods in wilderness
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<p>The ever so shy and retiring Ian Poulter once boasted that when he reached his potential, ?it will just be me and Tiger.? How Woods would now love to just be on a par with Poulter instead of trailing him by nine shots. Woods struggled to a two-over par 74 in the first round here. Milton Keynes' Poulter leads the Players Championship after cruising to a seven-under par 65. He is tied with Glasgow's Martin Laird who is now based in Scottsdale, Arizona.</p>
Luke Donald and Lee Westwood aim to be first Englishman to win Players
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<p>Americans will get the taste of a full English today as Luke Donald and Lee Westwood tee off together, both attempting to become the first Englishman to win the Players Championship in its 38-year history. Scotland's Sandy Lyle in 1987 remains the only Brit to win the US Tour's marquee championship.</p>
World waits for Rory McIlroy v Rickie Fowler
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<p>With apologies to Mr Shakespeare, all the world's a stage and we are merely at The Players ? not the fifth major, as the PGA Tour would have the world believe, but nevertheless an elite championship in Florida with a $9.5m (£6m) purse and a first prize of $1.71m.</p>
Francesco Molinari back in Ryder Cup hunt
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<p>Francesco Molinari returned to winning ways yesterday as the Italian Ryder Cup star produced a best-of-the-week 65 ? seven under par ? to turn a four-stroke deficit into a three-shot win at the Spanish Open in Seville.</p>
McDowell pulls out of event
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<p>Graeme McDowell has pulled out of this week's PGA Tour Wells Fargo event at Quail Hollow. The 2010 US Open champion said he had felt "under the weather" at last week's Zurich Classic.</p>
Donald on course to regain No 1 ranking
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<p>Jason Dufner beat Ernie Els in a sudden-death play-off last night to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, an event which saw Britain's Luke Donald regain top spot in the world rankings.</p>
James Corrigan: Seeing through Tiger Woods' corporate keystrokes
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<p>Tiger Woods always has been ahead of his time, bashing down conventional barriers with all the haste of an SUV ploughing through a fire hydrant. And now he aims his ball-crusher at the media centre.</p>
Seve's son on familiar turf
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<p>Seve Ballesteros' eldest son, Javier, makes his professional golf debut today at the Alpes de Barcelona tournament being held at Sant Cugat, the same course where his father started out in 1974.</p>
Sergio Garcia chases home hat-trick
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<p>Sergio Garcia, who has won the last two events he has played in Spain, will play in the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Marbella between 17 and 20 May.</p>
R&A chief says BBC at risk of losing right to show The Open
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<p>The BBC has been warned by the Royal & Ancient that it risks losing the rights to live coverage of The Open if it does not keep pace with television's technological revolution. A contract is in place until 2016 but the corporation has reduced its golf coverage recently and it faces fierce competition from the satellite broadcaster Sky.</p>
Westwood forced to play 32 holes in a day to defend crown
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<p>England's Lee Westwood successfully defended his Indonesian Masters title after completing 32 holes yesterday at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.</p>
Westwood on course for title
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<p>Lee Westwood led by five shots, on 11 under par, halfway through the Indonesian Masters at the Royal Jakarta club yesterday. The world No 3 followed eight straight pars with a birdie on the final hole.</p>
Guan, 13, sets Tour record
<p>China's Guan Tian-lang made history when he teed off at the China Open yesterday morning, becoming the youngest ever player on the European Tour at the tender age of just 13 years and 173 days.</p>
Rory McIlroy replaces Luke Donald as world number one
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<p>Luke Donald took the disappointment in his stride after surrendering the number one ranking to Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy.</p>
Oosthuizen bounces back
<p>Louis Oosthuizen produced the perfect response to his play-off defeat at the Masters by winning the Malaysian Open yesterday.</p>
James Corrigan: Bubba is a one-off, a true ace in the pack
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<p>In sport, the miraculous hole-in-one story is the weeping statue of the Virgin Mary. We want to believe it, we really do. But deep down, we query it's validity. It can't be possible. Can it? Of course, the North Korean Ministry of Information went a tad too far with its "revelation" that their supreme leader, Kim Jong-il, "made 11 holes-in-one ? in his first round". With his little legs, dodgy eyesight and suspect temperamant we might have accepted "made one par". Yet what to think when the claim is utterly outrageous, but just about feasible?</p>
Donald's No 1 status in peril
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<p>Luke Donald faces a battle to hold on to his world No 1 ranking after a poor first round in South Carolina. The Englishman needs a top-eight finish at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head to stay above Rory McIlroy at the top of the standings.</p>
South Africans master jet lag
<p>Louis Oosthuizen shrugged off his Masters heartache to make a strong start at the Malaysian Open yesterday.</p>
Louis Oosthuiz shines on opening day of Malaysian Open
<p>South African Louis Oosthuizen shrugged off the disappointment of his Masters play-off defeat to Bubba Watson to make a strong start at the Malaysian Open today. </p>
Azinger brands Woods an 'embarrassment'
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<p>Even Tiger Woods's most ardent supporters have turned against him over his club-kicking antics at last week's Masters. The former Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger called him an "embarrassment to the game".</p>
James Lawton: Watson's shot from the pines shows Tiger a way out of the woods
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<p>Of all the tributes landing on the tousled head of Bubba Watson yesterday, there was no doubt about the most poignant. It came from Tiger Woods, who tweeted, "Fantastic creativity."</p>
Masters victory vindicates bold Bubba's battles
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<p>Never had a drink. Never read a book. Never had a golf lesson. Never had a green jacket, either, until last Sunday. The cult of Bubba Golf, as Masters champion Bubba Watson calls his gung-ho style, has just gone global. Look out Lytham when the Open Championship arrives on the outskirts of Blackpool in July.</p>
Putting remains major obstacle for Westwood
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<p>The word was, Lee Westwood couldn't leave Georgia fast enough. The word was wrong, both physically and mentally.</p>
Trending: What do you really want, Bubba... a hole in one or a number one?
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<p>It's a fair bet to assume that Bubba Watson is the first Masters champion to have been filmed rapping while wearing nothing but a pair of mangy dungarees. But rap in dungarees Watson did, as a quarter of one-off golfing supergroup The Golf Boys, alongside Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Ben Crane.</p>
Lee Westwood left disappointed again
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<p>Lee Westwood suffered more major heartbreak last night - but at least it does not seem to be affecting him as much as it is Sergio Garcia.</p>
Masters win completes turnaround for Bubba Watson
<p>From idiot abroad to Masters champion - Bubba Watson has come a long way in the last 10 months.</p>
Augusta Diary: Change on the cards after Donald complains
<p>Luke Donald is anything but a recalcitrant by nature, yet he has urged the Augusta officials to take steps to ensure no player has to go through what he did on Thursday.</p>
James Lawton: Mickelson and Watson are home heroes in compelling concluding act
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<p>We had no Tiger and no Rory, no anguished Othello or young Hamlet still agonising over the question of whether to be or not to be on this particular occasion, but there was Louis Oosthuizen and his shot that will never be forgotten as long as golf is played.</p>
Donald continues learning curve in search of first major victory
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<p>World domination is complete but Luke Donald has once again
failed to land his first major victory. The Invisible World No 1
climbed the hill to the 18th green almost one hour before the
leaders even set off in pursuit of glory and a green jacket.</p>
Watson wins sudden-death play-off against Oosthuizen
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<p>It was perhaps fitting that a Masters which stretched the limits of sporting incredulity was won by an American eccentric who conjured an outrageous major-winning birdie. Bubba Watson denied Louis Oosthuizen on a day which featured the South African record the fourth albatross in the 83-year history of Augusta's magnificent event.</p>
Donald admits he is a major let-down
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<p>Luke Donald intended to be so much more than a disgruntled also-ran at this Masters. As the world No 1, it would only have been fitting if he was among the protagonists who would contest one of the most anticipated majors in recent memory. Alas, the Englishman will be looking on and wondering.</p>
James Lawton: As tentative as a kitten, Tiger is close to point of no return
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<p>More than anything, it was like a funeral. There were more sighs than conversation and when the convention of the first tee dictated applause, it was subdued enough to be over almost as soon as it began.</p>
Watson exits as nine former champions miss cut
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<p>Nine former winners of the tournament failed to survive the Masters cut on Friday night. Veterans Bernhard Langer, Larry Mize, Sandy Lyle, Ben Crenshaw, Ian Woosnam, Craig Stadler and Tom Watson all failed to make it to the weekend. </p>
Mickelson awaits as McIlroy falls apart
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<p>The demons arrived a day early for Rory McIlroy in Georgia. But for Phil Mickelson the Masters remains his personal heaven.</p>
Harrington must take a ride on 'four-shot swings'
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<p>The boy from Northern Ireland slipped on the down escalator yesterday and fell flat on his face. Passing him on the up escalator was the man from Dublin. Padraig Harrington fired off five birdies in six holes from the 13th while Rory McIlroy fizzled out with double bogeys at the first and fourth. Harrington is four-under after a third-round 68 and is poised to lead the Sunday charge from the chasing pack.</p>
Veteran Couples and young McIlroy move on up
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<p>Thirty years separate Fred Couples and Rory McIlroy, but at golf's timeless arena there is but one single shot between the pair as they head into this Masters weekend. We sensed this was going to be a magical major and the sight of these great rhythmic talents of the ages up there challenging only justified all the anticipation.</p>
Packed galleries make McIlroy the new ?Here he comes? poster boy
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<p>America's courtship of Rory McIlroy, which began with a hug after his Sunday 80 last year, is now a full-on love affair. The 22-year-old from Holywood signed for a second-round 69, three under par, that took him to four under for the tournament, and had the galleries cheering his name as he climbed the hill to the clubhouse.</p>
Mickelson identifies way back after finding form on closing stretch
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<p>Phil Mickelson has always been inspired by the Masters and the three-times champion relied on his expert knowledge of Augusta National to salvage an erratic first 10 holes in Thursday's opening round. The American left-hander had been four over for the day after a wayward drive at the par-four 10th led to a triple-bogey but he recorded three birdies and a lone bogey over the closing stretch to card a two-over-par 74.</p>
Augusta Diary: Ambition achieved when Nicklaus met his father?s hero, er, Nicklaus
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<p>No prizes for guessing who Nicklaus Lewis is named after. His father Randy Lewis, who condemned the 19-year-old to a lifetime of having his first name misspelled, admitted: "Jack was always my hero."</p>
James Lawton: Westwood faces his fear a major win will
always be just out of reach
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<p>There will come a time for Lee Westwood to coolly analyse the darkness that came to him on the sunlit 18th green here yesterday. For the bitter moment, though, he is faced with an extremely bleak conclusion.</p>
Augusta Diary: Donald's comic turn proves a blast
<p>The cat is well and truly out of the bag, the cool cat even. So much for Luke Donald cast in the role of the staid, quiet Englishman with all the humour of John Major during a sponsored silence. The dude, as the say over here, is a blast. </p>
James Lawton: Tiger goes into the wild and has to fight his errant swing
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<p>If it is true, as we are so frequently told, that sport is just another mirror of life it was maybe appropriate that the first reflection of Tiger Woods here yesterday was seriously cracked. What he gave us was something deeply flawed ? and it was never quite obscured by work which at times was hauntingly, well, almost jewel-like.</p>
Westwood cuts through all the hype to deliver
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<p>What a day for Lee Westwood and Luke Donald. While one of England's great hopes shot a 67 to lead the first round of the Masters, the other was dragged into a disqualification controversy which was nothing to do with any error on his part. Fortunately, the mistake was entirely the Augusta officials and Donald lives to fight another Georgian day.</p>
Fax of life saves Donald from disqualification
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<p>Never let the fax get in the way of a good story. Luckily for Donald, who was summoned to the headmaster's office, it turned out that the tournament committee's administration department had got their fax wrong and not the world No 1.</p>
Masters gets underway in Augusta
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<p>An eagle on a hole where he once took nine gave Padraig Harrington a superb start to The Masters at Augusta today.</p>
James Lawton: Which Tiger will come to tee?
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<p>Right up to the start line, the opening strike from the first tee, the belief is insistent. It is that these last few days here, we have been waiting for the dawn of potentially the greatest ever Masters. It is, though, a catch-all projection that will be put into the sharpest perspective at 10.35am (local time), precisely, this morning.</p>
Alliss saddened as BBC Masters coverage goes down the tube
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<p>Peter Alliss is determined to enjoy this Masters, because he doesn't know how many more on which he will be commentating. Blessedly, that isn't because the evergreen 82-year-old is counting any days; his fears are due to the latest news of the BBC's continued withdrawal from big-time golf.</p>
Masters that offers so much more than a two-horse race
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<p>Not even the continued bigotry of the Augusta National could possibly sour the 76th Masters. There are simply too many storylines to allow the archaic attitudes of these most privileged of memberships to spoil what is promising to be golf's greatest party. Fortunately, come Sunday evening, a man worthy of the respect will be dressed in green.</p>
10 reasons why the 2012 Masters could be a classic
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<p>Rory McIlroy returns to the scene of his final-round meltdown, Tiger Woods is back on the charge and British hopes have never been so strong.</p>
Those crazy golfers! Spoof video is 'blasphemous' say former players
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<p>For some, the idea of watching golf on TV ranks somewhere alongside drain-cleaning in the fun stakes.</p>
Donald urges BBC not to turn its back on 'tradition'
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<p>Lee Westwood and Luke Donald have expressed their "extreme disappointment" at the news that the BBC is pulling out of showing any live European Tour action and pleaded with the corporation to increase its coverage as British golf goes through a boom.</p>
Tiger purrs over Rory who is given reminder of horror show
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<p>Tiger Woods has finally joined in with the Rory-mania. The 14-times major champion had previously resisted adding to all the hype which has accompanied the young Ulsterman's rise into the world's elite, but yesterday he found the temptation to praise irresistible.</p>
James Lawton: Masters demons cast aside by merry McIlroy
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<p>If Rory McIlroy brought a single demon back here to where this time last year some feared his career might have been destroyed before it truly began, all the evidence is that the little blighter did not make it through US customs.</p>
Jose Maria Olazabal in attendance for planned Augusta tribute to Seve Ballesteros
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<p>The death of Seve Ballesteros will be remembered at the annual Masters champions dinner in Augusta tonight.</p>
Nicklaus advice drives Donald on in pursuit of first major triumph
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<p>The path to Jack Nicklaus's door is so well beaten, it must rival the Augusta fairways for definition. At this time of year so many professionals go to him for advice on how to tackle the Masters course that they should form an orderly queue. Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy are just two players who are seeking the same guidance which helped Charl Schwartzel to victory last year.</p>
BBC retreats while British talent advances
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<p>Tiger's back, Rory is is on the way to superstardom and, for the first time, the United Kingdom goes into a Masters boasting the top three players in the world. But yesterday's announcement that the BBC has lost four days more of its already sparse golf coverage signifies that no one has informed the corporation of the game's health.</p>
James Lawton: Hot air about 'greatest Masters' will soon be gone with the wind
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<p>If the course had been any more ravishing in the warm spring sunshine, if it had given us any more of the colour and the perfume of the American south, we might have been persuaded there was quite a good chance of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara strolling through the dogwoods.</p>
Woods feels 'old times' are here again after revival
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<p>Tiger Woods is two practice rounds into his bid to win a fifth Green Jacket and the word from his companion is highly promising. When Mark O'Meara stepped off the course here yesterday he looked like a man who had seen it all before. "Everything I've seen out there was extremely good," said O'Meara, who donned green himself in 1998. "He said it felt like old times out there again."</p>
Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood to battle it out at Masters for world number one spot
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<p>Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood fill the top three spots on the world rankings going into The Masters - and any one of them could be number one at the end of the week.
</p>
James Lawton: Rory and Tiger may be able to create golf's latest great rivalry
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<p>Of all the challenges facing Rory McIlroy here the greatest may well be the need to fight his way out of a time warp.</p>
McIlroy: an on-form Woods is the real No 1
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<p>Perhaps it says much about the ever-growing fame of Rory McIlroy
that last year he brought three friends from home as his Masters
guests ? and this year he has invited Ant and Dec. When the Geordie
presenters arrive at the Augusta National they will find their
friend talking up the chances of Tiger Woods.</p>
So who really is the UK's best hope at Augusta?
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<p>The United Kingdom has never before gone into a Masters boasting the top three players in the world and if that is not incentive enough to focus on Augusta this week then there is the little matter of who this trio are up against as they try to redress a 16-year drought.</p>
Everything in place for Tiger
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<p>Hank Haney was once employed as Tiger Woods's coach but after causing widespread sympathy for the shamed superstar perhaps he should now apply to be his PR man.</p>
The Last Word: Masters will not bend to a new mistress
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<p>Contrary to what Martha Burk believes, Tiger Woods doesn't have to take responsibility for all of golf's evils. Sexism is a scourge in the game, but it has nothing to do with the 14-time major-winner. If the last two and a half years have taught us anything at all it is that the former deity known as Tiger is a bloke who plays golf rather well. Nothing more.</p>
Remembering The Masters meltdown
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<p>Everyone loves a weepy, particularly when the climax is left open-ended, with the potential for the protagonist to find happiness. So it was for Rory McIlroy and his infamous Masters meltdown of 2011. This was the Sunday when the boy wonder crashed to earth and the world and its wife took him into their arms and hearts. Golf can be cruel; of that there is no doubt. But this time the game surely went too far. This was sporting death by torture.</p>
Three-year deal for Scottish Open
<p>The future of the Scottish Open has been secured for the next three years, after the announcement yesterday of a new sponsor.</p>
'Big Miss' set to dominate Tiger's Masters build-up
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<p>Colin Montgomerie has pointed the finger at Tiger Woods's management team, suggesting their failure to draw up a contract with a former coach has led to embarrassment for the golfer, courtesy of a tell-all memoir.</p>
James Lawton: Tiger stalks new breed with old menace
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<p>Every so often sport gives us something that has to be kept forever: Ali in Kinshasa, Maradona in Mexico, Federer at Wimbledon. Now there is the possibility of a gift which was first offered up to immortality 15 years ago amid the dogwoods and the magnolia of Augusta.</p>
Woods will win a major a year, says Rose
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<p>Is that the sound of Tiger Woods' rivals running to the hills? Not quite, although Justin Rose does believe that he and his fellow pros should resign themselves to another period of domination from the red-shirted one.</p>
Woods turns back time to win from the front
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<p>It's official: Tiger Woods is back. After 862 days and one very
public scandal, the phenomenon in red at last won another
"official" title last night. It was his seventh Bay Hill victory
but, as the smile on his face confirmed, none was anywhere near as
sweet as this.</p>
The Last Word: Woods' whistle blower has done the dirty work for us
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<p>Hank Haney stands accused of treachery. He has written a tell-all book on his time with Tiger Woods and the locker room is up in arms, or least in three-irons. "He's violated our code," screamed Rick Smith, a former mentor of Phil Mickelson who sounded awfully concerned about the future of his profession. "I would rather be penniless than break the player-coach confidentially."</p>
Woods has title in sight after dicing with disaster
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<p>With the Masters less than two weeks away, Tiger Woods stayed on course for the Arnold Palmer Invitational title here in Orlando, taking a one-shot lead over Graeme McDowell into today's final round.</p>
Woods eclipses McDowell to surge ahead
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<p>For the first time in two and a half years, Tiger Woods is on top of an American leaderboard going into the weekend. In 2009 it would have seemed so simple. Now it is simply so enthralling.</p>
Tiger Woods glad to be in the hunt
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<p>Tiger Woods enjoyed himself in the Florida sunshine yesterday. With a three-under-par 69, the former world No 1 was three off the clubhouse lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.</p>
Palmer peeved by Donald and McIlroy no-shows
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<p>Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy have upset the King. Arnold Palmer yesterday revealed his anger at the absence of the world's Nos 1 and 2 from the tournament bearing his name.</p>
Clarke's Spanish title left in limbo
<p>The Iberdrola Open, scheduled to take place in Mallorca in May, has been cancelled because it could not attract a sponsor. </p>
Golf tourism: A hole new world
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<p>I've been swimming in the azure sea, I've eaten freshly caught fish and I've read my book. I've even tried water skiing. But as I've been lying on a sunbed surrounded by white-powder sand in Mauritius, I've noticed a constant stream of people heading towards a golf course. It's a spectacular course, but what's the draw of a game when you could be enjoying everything else paradise has to offer?</p>
Woods looks in shape for Masters after making quick recovery
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<p>Tiger Woods eased concerns he would miss the first Masters of
his career by coming through 18 holes of an exhibition event
yesterday, just eight days after an Achilles injury forced his
withdrawal from the WGC Cadillac Championship.</p>
Quesne storms to first Tour title
<p>Julien Quesne claimed his maiden European Tour title yesterday when he matched the Aloha course record with an eight-under-par 64 to take the Andalucia Open near Marbella.</p>
Donald win ends Rory's reign at No 1 after just two weeks
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<p>Luke Donald grasped the world No 1 tag back off Rory McIlroy last night with victory in the Transitions Championship in Florida. The Englishman showed ice-cool nerves to win a four-man play-off and ensure he will tee off the season's first major at the top of the rankings.</p>
Tiger Woods upbeat about making Masters
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<p>Tiger Woods plans to start practising again tomorrow and is confident of being fit for The Masters starting in three weeks' time.
</p>
Woods hopeful of making Masters
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<p>Tiger Woods has been told he only has a "mild strain" of his left achilles tendon, boosting his hopes of playing in next month's Masters.</p>
Woods relief at 'mild strain' diagnosis
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<p>Tiger Woods has announced it was only a mild Achilles strain which forced his withdrawal during the WGC Cadillac Championship finale on Sunday. </p>
Garcia makes a splash with his worst-ever hole
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<p>Sergio Garcia was dressed like a Twenty20 cricket player here at the WGC Cadillac Championship yesterday ? and scored like one, too. The Spaniard racked up a 12 on the par-four third, the worst single hole of his career, hitting four balls into the water.</p>
Woods injury threatens Masters as Rose wins
<p>Only another dramatic twist in the Tiger Woods saga could overshadow Justin Rose winning the biggest title of his career here last night. Woods is a huge doubt for the Masters after withdrawing from the WGC Cadillac Championship on the 12th hole. </p>
Thriving Rose eyes major breakthrough
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<p>One thing Justin Rose has always been blessed with is time. Is there an older 31-year-old in all sport? That must be doubted considering what Rose has been through since he finished fourth at the 1998 Open as that a skinny amateur.</p>
Rose inspired by Watson to silence Monster?s roar
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<p>It says much about the rude health of British golf that a competitor of the quality of Justin Rose can climb his way towards the top of a big-time leaderboard being accompanied only by the merest strains of "Rule Britannia". If he was a tennis player, Rose would be an ever-present in the headlines.</p>
McIlroy feels a draught at the top of the world
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<p>Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, particularly when it's gusting 25mph, you're ?feeling flat? and a Blue Monster is rattling your cage. So it was for Rory McIlroy here at the WGC Cadillac yesterday as, on his first competitive day as world No 1, he shot over par for the first time in five months.</p>
Rory v Tiger ? let battle commence
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<p>In a complex game, in a crowded scenario, it is far too simplistic to declare that this WGC-Cadillac Championship will be a case of Tiger versus Rory. But it is also too irresistible. There is a palpable sense of excitement that a classic battle of the generations will begin in earnest here these next four days, with Woods and McIlroy at its core.</p>
Rory McIlroy turns attention to Miami
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<p>With a first major in the bag and the world number one box now ticked as well, Rory McIlroy will try to show this week that golf really has entered a new era.</p>
McIlroy nets another victory
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<p>Should we be jealous of Rory McIlroy, multi-millionaire golfer, reigning US Open champion and ? as of Sunday ? the planet's number one player? Probably not.</p>
Donald out to 'slip past' No 1 rivals
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<p>Great Britain and Ireland should rightfully feel on top of the golfing world when the first three players in the rankings tee off here together tomorrow. Who would ever have thought that a 22-year-old from Ulster would be the No 1 and that his nearest pursuers would be two thirtysomethings from England? Or that everyone would be feeling positive about Tiger Woods, down there at No 16?</p>
trouble. A good iron player can often salvage a par, or even gain a birdie, from out of the rough. A poor iron player has no such chance. It is well to remember that you measure drives in yards but accuracy with your irons in feet.
Another golfer maintains the premium should be on putting. I grant that ability with a putter is a great asset, but it can't compensate for poor iron play indefinitely. Great players like Bill Casper and Arnold Palmer do not rely entirely on driving or putting to bring them championships and regular paychecks.
Naturally, they excel in those phases of the game, but it is their skill with their iron clubs that puts them on the offensive as soon as they drive off the first tee. By the same token, a faulty iron player must play defensive golf, steer clear of trouble, and rely on his short game to help salvage a respectable score.
The Six Basic "Feel" Positions
I urge you to pay heed to the six basic "feel" positions of the swing. They are: (1) the grip, (2) the stance and address over the ball, (3) the position halfway on the backswing, (4) the top of the swing, (5) the most crucial of all the feel positions - the start of the downswing to a point where the hands are about hip-high, and (6) the position of the hands, arms, and body through the hitting area to a point where the arms parallel the ground on the follow-through.
Study these positions closely, then try to get into them yourself. This will help you piece your swing together as one would fit the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle into their natural places.
Slowly, but surely, the mold of your swing will take form, and it will create a repeating pattern that will make your golfing shots go straighter and truer than you ever before believed possible.
