The Travelers Championship Preview & Golf Tips
The Travelers Championship
TV Coverage
Defending Champion: Hunter Mahan It is always interesting to see where an event originated and how it came to be such a prominent event on the PGA Tour. This event we now know as the Travelers Championship actually started out as the Insurance City Open, and then became Greater Hartford Open. The latter version started taking on celebrity endorsers in 1973 by adding Sammy Davis Jr. to the event title. The mid-80’s was the boom of the corporate sponsors joining event titles. The Greater Hartford Open took on Canon, until 2004 when it became the Buick Championship. Now in 2008 we have the Travelers Championship. It has been a long standing event on tour despite the different names and has seen some great champions. The inaugural winner was Ted Kroll in 1952. After that the next four winners were Toski, Bolt, Snead, and Palmer. That is a great way to start a great reputation as a great tournament. In the more recent history of the event we have seen Phil Mickelson win back to back years in 2001 and 2002. Then in 2003, Peter Jacobsen turned back his clock to take home the crown. They were followed by the colorful Woody Austin (2004), the great putter Brad Faxon (2005), and then the last two years were taken by young guns JJ Henry (2006) and Hunter Mahan (2007). So in 2008 will it be another young gun try and make their mark, or will a seasoned veteran show the kids the way? 
Players to watch in this year’s field:
The TPC River Highlands This is a rare breed on the PGA Tour…a track under 7000 yards. It plays as a par 70 but at 6820 yards it is certainly not the beast they faced last week at the US Open. Therefore accuracy will be a premium without having to hit bombs off the tee. 
The front nine is solid and certainly will test the players, but the real fun for the fans starts at #15. How much fun is a drivable par 4 where the green is surrounded by trouble? It’s great action. It tests players on so many levels especially in the final pairing on Sunday. This hole plays 296. Go for it?!The 16th is a relatively short par 3 at 171 yards. However controlling your ball flight to fly that distance is not always an easy feat. The wind can get up and there is water short and sand long. Once you get on the green there are few tricks to the putting surface. The 17th is all about the tee shot. There is a lake on the right, fairway bunkers and mounds on the left. You have to thread the needle to give yourself a chance to make par.The 18th is 444 yards and also needs an accurate drive. With the tournament on the line and a possible 25 000 people watching from the green side amphitheatre the green look like a dime amongst green side bunkers right and a huge swale guarding the left side of the green. I hope you enjoy the 2008 Travelers Championship at the TPC River Highlands. Please remember to check back here for my Tour Tips of the leaders before the start of the third round. Return to the Home Page from the Travelers Championship Copyright 2006-2012 Free-Golf-Lessons.com
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PGA Tour Winner Quick Lesson
Congratulations to Steve Stricker on his victory at the 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
I believe the commentators said he has won 9 times in his 40s. That is amazing!I also agree with Sir Nick and Johnny Miller that his swing will be copied in the future. Technology has reduced the need for hand action in the golf swing to generate power. Watch the old videos of Bobby Jones to see how much action he created compared to that of Steve Stricker.
A great objective for any player is to eliminate any unnecessary movement. Stricker does a great job of that. His hands stay very quiet on the backswing. His wrists hardly hinge at the top of his backswing. You can see from the above video that his backswing is all shoulder turn.
His downswing starts from the hips and he simply turns everything through the golf ball at the same time. His hands and wrists release naturally without any effort. This is a great way to have a consistent rhythm through the golf ball on every shot. This swing delivers enough power to win on Tour.
European Tour Winner Quick Lesson
Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen and his victory at the 2012 Africa Open.
Louis burst onto the scene with his dominating performance at the Open Championship. Many have predicted multiple wins for this player. His victory this past weekend is likely one of many to come.
In the video above pay really close attention to when the video ends. Take a look at his left foot. Notice how all his weight his on his left heel. This is a great sign that he has cleared his hips properly.
One of the key reasons for starting the downswing with your lower body is to clear your hips out of the way to create more room for your arms to swing through impact. It is a great indicator as to how well you cleared your hips, when almost all your weight is on your heel.
If your weight is leaning on you toes or even the middle of your foot then you have not rotated and cleared your hips enough through your downswing and past impact. You really want to feel the pressure of your weight on your heel like Oosthuizen.
Make sure you start your downswing with your lower body. At the top of your backswing; either pull your left knee or your left hip (right handed player) towards the target. Also make sure your hips keep rotating through impact and into your finish position with your weight on the heel.