Five rockstars that play golf

Five rockstars that play golf:

South Africa was recently visited by American rock stars Linkin Park and a friend close to the Mole managed to send a pic of two of the band’s members teeing it up at Rondebosch Country Club. This got the Mole thinking: how many rock stars play golf? Here are five golf rock stars.

Alice Cooper
If there is one rock star who takes his golf seriously, it is Alice Cooper. The original shock rocker is completely devoted to the game of golf. Cooper has often credited golf for curing his addiction to alcohol. The Rock Hall of Fame inductee has written his own memoir Alice Cooper, Golf Monster in which he chronicles his redemption from alcohol through golf. Cooper has also hosted the Annual Alice Cooper Rock and Roll Golf Classic since 1997. The tournament raises donations for the Phoenix Rock Teen Center. Cooper has confessed to spending six days a week on the golf course.

Kings of Leon
Kings of Leon are well-known golf enthusiasts. The four-man band has played St Andrews, one of golf’s most prestigious courses. Of course, controversy was not absent during their visit to the home of golf as the four-man band took a leak on the 17th fairway, much to the horror of onlookers. It’s not as if there are any trees to hide behind. It is rumoured that the group postponed work on their Come Around Sunshine album to play golf. Kings of Leon managed to sneak in a round of golf at Mowbray Golf Club during their visit to Cape Town in 2011.

Kid Rock
Rock ‘n roll legend Kid Rock may not be a regular on the course but he certainly loves his golf. In 2008, Rock paired with John Daly in the 2008 Buick Open Pro-Am and the crazy rocker does have a softer side. Kid Rock donated a whole bunch of new gear to a high school girls’ golf team after their equipment was stolen.

Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis’ obsession with golf is impossible to curb. Lewis picked up golf in the ’80s during a tour with his band, Huey Lewis and The News. Fast forward two decades and Lewis has taken part in almost every celebrity golfing tournament. The New York-born musician visits golf courses frequently with golfing buddies like Bill Murray. To view a video of Huey Lewis showcasing his golfing skills click here.

Adam Levine
Maroon 5 lead vocalist is the newest rock star to hit the fairway. The Voice mentor only started golfing late last year. Levine has starred on reality series The Haney Project on The Golf Channel, which chronicles Hank Haney tutoring Adam and three other celebrities. The show gave celebrities an opportunity to donate $100 000 to the charity organisation of their choice and Levine walked away with the Most Improved Player award. If Levine takes the sport seriously enough, could we see Maroon 5 being renamed Maroon Par 5?

It’s always great to see celebrities endorsing the gentleman’s game. Can you think of any musicians who like to swop their guitars for golf clubs?

(Via Compleat Golfer)

Hank Haney: Chip It Close

No. 1 Driving Fault

No. 1 Driving Fault:

December 2012

Players who struggle with the driver usually start going off the rails early in the swing. It begins with the hands and wrists in the takeaway.

Watch a swing with great sequencing and rhythm -- like Ernie Els' (right) or Rory McIlroy's -- and the common theme is that all the important parts are working together. The hands and wrists, arms, shoulders and hips are doing their jobs in what I call a one-piece takeaway.

Players get into trouble when one part takes over, or the club starts going in the wrong direction. The most common mistake is rolling the wrists at the start so that the left hand ends up on top of the right, and the clubhead pulls to the inside. That makes the swing plane way too flat and forces the player to re-route the club dramatically to even hit the ball.

The wrists shouldn't roll sideways. They hinge by moving up and down. Try this: Hold the club out in front of you, and hinge it upward as if you were going to tap your nose. That's true hinging. Combine it with a full body turn, and you're on your way.

HOW I SEE IT

BAND-AIDS VS. MAJOR SURGERY

Illustration by Chris Gash

When a tour player is competing week to week during the season, he or she will inevitably run into problems in some part of the game, from the driver to the putter. When they're out on tour, it's all about putting out fires: What can I do in this particular area to hit better shots this week?

The time to make serious changes is during the offseason, and the only limitation is how hard the player is willing to work. With the luxury of uninterrupted practice time and no concern about immediate results, players can look at their games with a clear head and make significant changes over two or three months.

Just look at what Jason Dufner and Luke Donald have been able to do with their short games during recent offseasons. Dufner improved 60 spots in the scrambling statistic from 2011 to 2012 and became a top-five money-winner. Donald got much better with the putter and hitting creative shots around the green (he was always a great bunker player), and for a time he was No. 1 in the World Ranking.

HANEY, a Golf Digest Teaching Professional, runs the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head.

(Via The latest from GolfDigest.com)

Tiger vs McIlroy hilights

Golf grip basics

Woods says getting back to No. 1 will take time

Woods says getting back to No. 1 will take time:

Alexander F. Yuan / AP

Tiger Woods, shown here competing in Monday's exhibition against Rory McIlroy in China, has finished in the top 10 in four straight tournaments.

SINGAPORE (AP) -- On the two-year anniversary of losing his No. 1 ranking, Tiger Woods said Thursday that winning was the best way for him to get back to the top.

And that could take some time.

Four players have been No. 1 over the last two years. The current top ranking belongs to Rory McIlroy, who has widened his lead by winning the U.S. PGA Championship and consecutive tournaments during the FedEx Cup playoffs. McIlroy was runner-up last week against a strong field in Shanghai.

"Rory is playing a lot of events, and so am I, toward the beginning of the year," Woods said in Singapore, where he staged a youth clinic on putting. "It's about winning golf tournaments. That's how I got to No. 1, that's how Rory got to No. 1. You've got to win golf tournaments, and when you don't, you've got to be consistent and finish high. I'm looking forward to that."

Woods won three times this year on the U.S. tour, though it took time for his trademark consistency to develop. He did not have back-to-back finishes in the top 10 until the British Open (tie for third) and the Bridgestone Invitational (tie for eighth). He hasn't finished out of the top 10 since The Barclays in August, a streak of four tournaments. Woods ends his 2012 season at his World Challenge in California in the last week of November.

(RELATED PHOTOS: Tiger Woods career in pictures)

"Things are progressing nicely," Woods said. "Last year I was 127th on the money list, this year I was second. So I think that's a pretty good improvement in a year. And given that I'm healthy, I'm really looking forward to next year."

He decided not to play the HSBC Champions this week in China, saying he was too tired to prepare properly. Woods will have played 24 tournaments this year, his most since 2005, which includes an unofficial event in Turkey and the Ryder Cup.

Woods confirmed he will not play in January at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, where he last competed in 2005. That will give him six full weeks off after his World Challenge.

"Doing these things are easy," Woods said of the clinic at Marina Bay Sands. "Competing and getting ready for another golf tournament ... I just didn't want to do that. I've got four more rounds, which is my tournament in LA, and I'm done until Abu Dhabi next year, so I'm looking forward to having this extended break. This is like my offseason now, and I'm really looking forward to just getting away from it.

"Competing and playing golf tournaments - the playoffs, the Ryder Cup and a lot of other tournaments - it's been a lot."

McIlroy also is skipping the World Golf Championship this week, though he will finish his season in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai as he tries to match Luke Donald's feat of winning money titles on the U.S. PGA Tour and European Tour in the same season.

Of all the legitimate rivals for Woods over the years, McIlroy is the first player who is younger - by more than 13 years. Woods said it would take time to determine whether the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland is the best he has ever faced.

McIlroy beat Woods in an 18-hole exhibition in China on Monday, though Woods beat him in Turkey during an 18-hole match based on stroke play.

(RELATED PHOTOS: Tiger and Rory's Head-to-Head Battles)

"Trust me, I've played against a lot of guys over the years that have been really good," he said, mentioning Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington. "All these guys have won two to four major championships during the time that I've been on tour. And Rory has, too, but he's still young. He's only 23 years old. Let him grow, let him develop over the next decade. He's still learning how to play the game. He's only going to get better with age."

(Via GOLF.com)

Clean your grips with Gripes

Clean your grips with Gripes:

By John Strege

It is a given that too little attention is paid to grips (have you re-gripped your clubs lately?), but the least we ought to do is keep them clean. There is a reason tour players or their caddies are frequently seen wiping a grip before the shot is played.

Grip manufacturer Lamkin has addressed the issue with its introduction of Gripes, grip cleaning wipes that come 15 to a package, each wipe capable of cleaning up to five grips. Gripes work on all rubber and synthetic rubber grips and cost $5.99.

"I've been talking about the benefits of proper grip cleaning and maintenance for years, but the subject became much more relevant with the widespread acceptance and use of white and color golf grips," Bob Lamkin, president and CEO of Lamkin, said in a news release. "Other than keeping your grips looking great, regular cleaning actually reactivates surface tack and enhances the overall durability of the grip."

The days when grips virtually were exclusively black are over. Lamkin's own 3GEN grip comes in 10 colors.

Follow @JohnStrege

(Via The latest from GolfDigest.com)

HSBC disappointed Woods, McIlroy not playing this week

HSBC disappointed Woods, McIlroy not playing this week:

McIlroy and Woods met in a match earlier this week in China, but will skip the HSBC Champions.

SHENZHEN, China (AP) -- The HSBC Champions lost some star power when Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods decided to skip the World Golf Championship event - much to the disappointment of the tournament backers.

For the other top golfers in the field, however, the absence of McIlroy, in particular, represents a chance to make up ground in the European Tour money list.

Giles Morgan, global head of sponsorship and events for HSBC, said he was "disappointed" that No. 1-ranked McIlroy and Woods, a 14-time major winner, are skipping the HSBC Champions after playing elsewhere in Asia.

"To have a World Golf Championship in Asia is really important for the sport, to balance the sport out, and to grow," Morgan said. "And because it's a World Golf Championship event, it requires the best players to be here."

McIlroy and Woods chose to play in a lucrative, head-to-head exhibition event in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Monday, a day after competing in tournaments in Shanghai and Malaysia.

RELATED PHOTOS: Tiger and Rory's Head-to-Head Battles

Instead of coming to Mission Hills this weekend, McIlroy is in Bulgaria to watch his girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki, play in the WTA's Tournament of Champions, while Woods is making a trip to Singapore for corporate commitments.

McIlroy is next scheduled to play in the Barclays Singapore Open from Nov. 8-11 and will then be aiming to defend his title at the Hong Kong Open the following weekend.

"I think the feeling is - and it seems to be among media and a lot of other people with the stakeholders, not just us as the sponsors - well, if they're in China and there's a World Golf Championship, this would be a good event to be at because it's a WGC, but a WGC in Asia, which helps elevate the game," said Morgan, adding that both golfers apologized to him privately for missing the event.

Ernie Els also said lamented that the game's two biggest names weren't there.

"You know, you can't play every week. You can't play everywhere," the reigning British Open champion said. "I don't know why they are skipping because it's a wonderful event. It's unfortunate they are not here."

But other players sensed a good opportunity.

McIlroy is trying to match Luke Donald's feat from last year by topping the money lists on the PGA Tour and European Tour in the same season.

The Northern Irishman, who captured his second career major at the PGA Championship in August, has already secured the PGA Tour money title with just over $8 million, but his lead on the European money list shrank to just over $1 million after Sweden's Peter Hanson captured the BMW Masters in Shanghai last weekend.

Hanson can pass McIlroy by taking home the $1.2 million first prize at the HSBC Champions. Third-place Justin Rose also has a chance to pass McIlroy.

Hanson said after his win in Shanghai that McIlroy's absence in Shenzhen gives him a chance "to close the gap even more."

"Hopefully, I can keep this form going and be up there again Sunday because I will need to keep playing like I did last week to have a chance of catching him, given how well he is playing this year," said the Swede, who has won twice on the European Tour this year and jumped to 17th in the rankings after beginning the year at No. 42.

Rose, who won the European money title in 2007, lost ground in Shanghai, finishing tied for sixth spot while McIlroy finished second.

He now trails McIlroy by $1.15 million and, after the WGC, is not planning to play again until the season-ending Dubai World Championship.

"To give myself a chance - that's the goal this week, really is to give myself a chance going into Dubai," Rose said. "But also I'm in Rory's hand to a certain extent and I have to win this week to give myself that chance. So, yeah, from the Road to Dubai perspective, to keep that interesting, it's a very important week this week."

The field at Mission Hills is strong despite the absence of the two players at the top, with seven of the world's top 10 golfers playing, including Donald, Lee Westwood and Australian Adam Scott.

Two-time champion Phil Mickelson also is in the field, along with U.S. Ryder Cup teammates Keegan Bradley and Bubba Watson.

(Via GOLF.com)