Grip it strong...Hit it Long! Grip it weak and watch it Leak!

"I didn't come here to lay up"

Many golfers have made this statement and it is one of my all time favorite golf quotes. In the 1986 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Fuzzy was facing a howling wind and stepped to the tee on the 223 yd par-3 16th at Cypress Point. Most of his competitors were playing safe with an iron, but he pulled out his driver and went for it and eventually won the event by 5 shots. He told the gallery, "If I lay up I feel like I cheated myself."

I'm into my eighth decade of hitting that little white ball (I now play a yellow ball because it helps me track it better). With the recent Chinese Virus scare, the above quote even takes on a more important meaning for me. At my age, tomorrow is no longer a given. I love the short par-4's and you can bet I will never be laying up on one again, regardless of the risk. If there are sucker pins, they are in my dead aim. If I'm in jail and there is a glimmer of hope of getting out, I will make Phil look like a rookie. You will never see me leave a putt short. Golf for me is not about playing it safe and making pars, it is all about the excitement of going for it and occasionally pulling off that great shot. I can't ever remember a shot I layed up on, but I have a lot of great memories of the ones I went for and pulled off!!

As Molly told Roy in Tin Cup, when he was down to his last ball: Go for it, Roy! Just knock it on!



Happy Birthday Alex!!