The Best Golf Photo You'll See All Week

Lee Westwood ... Louis Oosthuizen ... a mini bike ... a camera phone. What the hell us is there in life??!

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Somehow, Someway, Michelle Wie Helped Steve Marino

It's kind of a cute story, really. Steve Marino, a rookie on the PGA Tour, gets paired with Michelle Wie in his first ever event. You think you have nerves, trying being a teenage girl playing against men in an event where you're the main attraction.

But that's where Marino stepped in. Unlike a lot of the older guys that hated the fact that a girl was going to be playing with them, Steve joked, had fun with her, helped her out, and made her feel more comfortable.

Marino was a nobody then, but he's quickly becoming a somebody, and he attributes a lot of that success to Wie, strangely enough. The 30-year-old Marino told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that her ability to handle such a tough situation helped him feel more comfortable during a pressure-packed week.

Looking back, Marino was able to say, "In a way I think that actually helped me, my first event on the PGA Tour, getting paired with Michelle Wie. There were so many people around, I think it was good for me to experience something like that right off the bat, and it gave me some confidence to realize that I handled it well and I made the cut and I didn't get overwhelmed by the situation. So, yeah, I think it was definitely a good thing for me. That was a big confidence booster for me."

So, thank you Michelle Wie. You, again, are awesome, and even Steve Marino sees it. Now, back to class, silly.

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Steve Marino Goes All Babe Ruth in Hawaii

Sure, Steve Marino didn't win, but he did create the above golf shot, courtesy of Devil Ball, that was the shot of the week by anyone that didn't leave with a really big check (size, not quantity).

Marino is still searching for his first career PGA Tour win, but if he keeps doing stuff like this, I don't think he will be searching much longer.

Not Even the Mickelsons Are Into This Much Swing, Padraig Harrington Edition

I really wish this was a joke. I pray this is a joke. Maybe the Irish April Fools Day is actually in mid-January and we can all laugh and nudge one another while we talk about how Padraig Harrington zinged us once again. But I don't think it is. Nope, the report that Harrington has changed his golf swing again seem very true, and continue to force my palm to slap my forehead as I ponder these decisions.

According to Brian Keogh of the Irish Golf Desk, Harrington is working on a dozen or so changes. 12! Hey Paddy, just a thought ... instead of working on the number 12, for swing changes, maybe you should focus on the number three, for majors you won with your old golf swing. Or maybe we could focus on numbers like eight and nine, which are scores you made in competition after you decided on your first swing change when it wasn't necessary in the first place.

But, whatever, here are the swing changes for Paddy, via Keogh's report ...

“I changed the actual grips on my golf club. Most people would think ‘well, what’s that’. I have a reminder in my grip – I’ve taken it out. I’ve gone to round grips. That’s a big, big change.

“I’ve knocked all the clubs a degree flat – that’s a little change.

“I have weakened my grip, lowered my hands a bit and pushed them a bit further forward … small things.

“Probably the biggest one (and this is partly why I’ve changed these other things), I’ve changed my trigger to take the club away in my routine. I used take the club away from a moving position. I now take the club away from a static position.

“Part of that, I used to have a big squat to take the club away, so that’s gone. There’s a little one. I’d love to get it all gone but it’s hard to change your trigger, full stop.

“I’m taking the club away without my hips so there’s a much smaller hip turn – a much bigger coil but a smaller hip turn.
“Obviously, that changes my plane in the back swing.

“I’ve changed my chin position at the top of my backswing. I used to try and swing my shoulder under my chin, so I’d poke my head out to do it, which we think has contributed to my neck issues. So now I’m tucking my head in at the top of my backswing.
“The trigger probably is the biggest thing. Through impact I’m going back to squatting quite a bit at the start of my downswing, as I used to. So I’m going back to that.

“I’m going back to trying to get my chest more down through impact to get my hands lower through impact and reduce the lateral through impact.

“From seven feet out I probably was 150th in every putting stat so I’ve changed my putting routine as well.

“I’m not standing off the ball when I’m taking my practice putts. I’m practice putting over the ball … when you see a raw beginner, they often do that. When they take a practice putt, they lift it up and do it over the top of the ball. I’m doing that so when I put the putter back down, I’m not adjusting anything. I used to line up and get a feel for the putt, which you see a lot of guys do, then I’d take the putter inside an try a practice putt. But when I take the putter inside, I move my eye line, so the practice putts I’m getting a feel for are not the same as the putts I actually have. So I’m not changing my eye line.

Seriously, when did this guy start looking at the golf swing like it was splitting an atom? JUST SWING THE DAMN GOLF CLUB LIKE YOU USED TO SWING IT, AND STOP OVER-THINKING THIS WHOLE THING!!! YOU'RE NUTS!

Okay, sorry, rant over. There ya go.

Ben Crane Continues With the Funny

I'll say this, and you can yell at me all you want; Ben Crane might be the funniest hardcore Christian ever. EVER! Most super religious people are too serious to be funny, but not Crane. The guy KILLS it with these videos. His timing is impeccable, his acting is great and I seriously think the man could host SNL one day.

So, here is his latest viral video, via PGT.

Devil Ball Golfcast with Jim Nantz

If you didn't know this, you probably should - Jay Busbee and myself do a weekly podcast together over at Yahoo!, and it is so official you can download it on iTunes. Wow!

This week, we chatted with Jim Nantz, and he gave us some great stuff, including his thoughts on Tiger Woods, which included him saying he thinks Tiger could win four or five times this year. (it's interesting he used those numbers, because it is exactly what I said in my 2011 predictions piece. You copying me, Nantz?!?)

So, swing over to Devil Ball, listen to the podcast, and maybe download the thing on iTunes. You'll enjoy it if you enjoy golf, because it's two guys that just enjoy the game shooting the shit once a week.

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First Round of the Sony Open Rained Out

Yep, it's official, the Thursday round of the Sony Open has been rained out in Hawaii, and since there isn't really anything else to say on that except they'll pick up golf on Friday, I figured why not learn a little bit more about me.

I once got mauled by a dog when I was younger, but I still like dogs. One is currently laying on the floor next to me, and has not attacked my face today or any other day.

I like short socks.

I don't subscribe to any magazines anymore except one, and that one is Golfweek.

I once won a long drive competition at a pro-am even though my tee ball hit off a roof.

Wow, wasn't that fun!?!?