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JAN/FEB 08
WSGA MEN’S
Garrett Jones, University Ridge GC
Wisconsin’s 2007 amateur player of the year has already moved on to professional golf. Rewey native Garrett Jones, 22, turned pro in summer, but he was back in Madison during the fall wrapping up his degree at the University of Wisconsin, where he played on the golf team the last four seasons. Now, it’s off to Florida so Jones can hone his game and start pursuing tournament exemptions.
2007 Highlights
• Jones won the WSGA Match Play Championship, presented by TaylorMade, at Troy Burne GC in Hudson. Jones earned a 3 and 2 victory over 2006 WSGA player of the year Matt Behm in the championship match.
• Jones and former University of Wisconsin teammate Jeff Kaiser won the WSGA Bestball Championship, presented by Laser Link Golf, in the Appleton area in early June. Jones and Kaiser defeated Behm and partner Eric Hjortness in the final match.
• Matching the tournament scoring record (266), Jones won the Ray Fischer Amateur Championship at Janesville Riverside GC at the end of June. Jones recorded rounds of 68-68-65-65 to come from behind and win on the tournament’s 36-hole final day.
• In his first tournament after turning professional in early August, Jones won the Capital Times Invitational at Hawk’s Landing GC in Verona. Jones shot 68-69 to tie Kaiser at 137, then won with a birdie on the second playoff hole.
• Jones shot 69-74-70-75–288 at Bristlecone Pines GC in Hartland to finish fourth at the WSGA State Amateur Championship, presented by Tiziani Golf Car Corp.
Jones’ Comments
“The flood gates opened this year. I won three times individually and once with with Jeff Kaiser at the Bestball. That was the most important thing, getting back in the winner’s circle.”
“I’m very, very excited (about professional golf). It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and it’s kind of hard to keep my mind focused on school. I’m looking at all of these tournaments I’m going to play in and getting all my sponsorship money together. I’m looking forward to it. I just can’t explain how much fun I’m going to have.”
“(UW golf coach Jim Schuman) helped me out quite a bit and I’ve learned a lot from him. I agree with a lot of what he says, so I don’t see me going to anyone else. I see myself working with him in the future. I owe a lot to him.”
“(The Ray Fischer) is pretty fun. It’s different than the other tournaments you play in, where a couple under or whatever, you have a chance of winning. This one, you just know you have go lights-out. It’s different. It’s fun.”
“I think my putting got better. I just started making a few more puts up at Troy Burne at the Match Play. I made quite a few putts at the Ray Fischer, and obviously you have make some putts there to shoot the numbers that people do. The more you plays this game, it kind of revolves back to putting.”
“I didn’t close very well playing for the university. I kind of struggled in the spring, but right after that is when I got hot. It’s a funny game, where everything can turn around in week or so.”
What’s in Jones’ Bag?
Driver: TaylorMade 510, 9.5-degree
Fairway wood: TaylorMade r7 TP 3-wood, 15-degree
Hybrid: Titleist 585H, 18-degree
Irons: TaylorMade rac MB, 4-iron through 9-iron “I’ve had those probably for four years now.”
Wedges: Cleveland 588 48- and 56-degree and Cleveland 900 52- and 60-degree “(The 48-degree) is like my pitching wedge. I hit it from about 125 and for chipping around the green.”
Putter: Tommy Armour Tour Prototype heel & toe weighted blade. “I sort of switched around this summer between that and an old Scotty Cameron Newport 2 that I have. I won the Match Play and the Capital Times Invite with the Scotty Cameron, and I won the Ray Fischer with the Tommy Armour.”
WWSGA Women's
Sydney Moore, Riverside GC
Sydney Moore, 46, is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Menominee, Mich. Moore endured a few difficulties during the 2007 season, including back and hip issues and, more troubling still, a bout with the snap-hooks. But the former two-time All-American at Michigan State still walked away with her third WWSGA Player of the Year Award in the last four years.
2007 Highlights
• Moore won her fourth WWSGA/WWPLGA State Women’s Stroke Play title in July at The Oaks GC in Cottage Grove. Moore shot consistent rounds of 71-71-72–214 to defeat Katie Elliott by four strokes.
• Moore shot 73 in a tough U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship qualifier at Cog Hill G&CC in the Chicago area, which advanced her to the Women’s Mid-Am at Desert Forest GC in Carefree, Ariz. There she drew amateur legend Virginia Derby Grimes in a first-round match, which was won by Grimes, 6 and 4.
• In 2007, Moore won the Upper Peninsula Ladies Golf Association Championship – a match-play competition – for the eighth time.
• Moore finished second in the championship flight at the Badger Mutual Insurance Brown Deer Women’s amateur at Brown Deer Park GC in Milwaukee. She shot scores of 78-75–153.
Moore’s Comments
“(The player of the year award) wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t straighten out the snap-hooks. It was so ugly in June.”
“The (Women’s) State Open was just a disaster because I had the snap-hooks there, too. There’s nothing like feeling good at impact, and then you look up and it’s going left and farther left.”
“I ended up playing, first match (at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Am), Virginia Derby Grimes. She’s in my age bracket – somebody you don’t mind playing on Wednesday or Thursday, but not the first match out the door. And I played well. I was 1 over at the turn, and I was 3-down.”
“The highlight (of the season) would have to be winning the Stroke Play at The Oaks. I played really well. It was one of the few times I played consistently for any length of time. I played three good, solid rounds there.”
“I try to get off to a good start. The (player of the year) points system is set up so the Match Play and the Stroke Play are the biggies, and then you throw in the Women’s State Open. I always try to place in the top two to three in each of those events because they’re worth so many more points.”
What’s in Moore’s Bag? Driver: Titleist 983, 9-degree “I bought (a TaylorMade Burner, 10.5-degree driver) after the season, and that’s in my bag now.”
Fairway woods: TaylorMade Burner 3-wood & 7-wood
Hybrid: Cobra Baffler
Irons: Callaway Fusion, 4-iron through pitching wedge “Basically, I got different shafts that were more suited to my clubhead speed.”
Wedges: Cleveland, 56-degree & 60-degree.
Putter: Odyssey White Hot blade
Senior
Stu Grendahl, Cherokee CC
Stu Grendahl of McFarland strikes a balance between his golf game and his work, in which he sells commercial heating and air conditioning equipment in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Now 56, Grendahl said he played in his first competitive golf events during the mid-1980s, and he admits he has gotten better as he has gotten older.
2007 Highlights
• In September, Grendahl advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Flint Hills National GC in Andover, Kan., where he lost 4 and 3 to Stanford Lee of Heber Springs, Ark. Grendahl advanced to the championship through the USGA qualifier at Racine CC, where he shot 73 to tie for medalist honors.
• Grendahl won the WSGA Senior Match Play Championship in July at Kenosha CC with a 1-up final-match victory over Mark Bemowski.
• At the WSGA Senior Amateur Championship at Stevens Point CC in August, Grendahl shot 73-69–142 to tie for third, two strokes behind champion Gary Menzel.
• Grendahl teamed with fellow Cherokee CC member Tom Everson to shoot rounds of 68-66–134 at the WSGA Senior Bestball Championship at Lake Wisconsin CC in Prairie du Sac. Grendahl and Everson finished in a tie for second.
Grendahl’s Comments
“Winning the Match Play was a big deal; it was certainly unexpected. I never felt that I was particularly good in match play, so that was surprising. Although I won the medal the year before, so I certainly expected to be competitive.”
“Ultimately, qualifying for the U.S. Senior Am was really the thing that I wanted to do (in 2007). I’d never played in a USGA event, so that was the one thing I really wanted to do, and I was able to do it.”
“Dennis (Tiziani) was very helpful to me before I went down there (to the U.S. Senior Amateur). When I worked with Dennis my irons and wedges really got better. He helped me a lot. At times, I was pretty good down there.”
“Short game has never been a strength for me, and I would say I had a terrible year putting – even bad for me. Now, I putted good against Mark Bemowski in the (WSGA) Match Play, or I would have lost for sure. I putted very well there. That was at the beginning of the year, and I had trouble getting the ball in the hole at some of these events the rest of the year.”
“I don’t practice as much as I used to. I’m getting old enough now too that it kind of wears on me. I used to like hitting balls.”
“I go back and forth between (putting with) ‘The Claw’ grip and conventional. On fast greens, ‘The Claw’ works pretty well, at least for me. But medium to slow greens, it doesn’t work worth a darn for me. It’s not unusual for me to play a round and the only time I’ll use ‘The Claw’ is 10 feet or less. Now if the greens are fast, then I’ll use it for longer putts. So I’ll jump around. If I think it will work, I’ll try anything.”
What’s in Grendahl’s Bag?
Driver: TaylorMade r7, 8.5-degree
3-wood: TaylorMade r7
Hybrid: TaylorMade Rescue, 19-degree
Irons: Mizuno MP-60, 3-iron through pitching wedge
Wedges: TaylorMade 54-degree & Titleist Vokey 60-degree “I like the 54-degree TaylorMade and the 60-degree Titleist, so I have a mixture. I use (the 60-degree) as a sand wedge, and up to about 70-75 yards.”
Putter: Ping blade “It looks like a Scotty Cameron. I putted with that most of the summer, and at the end I went back to an old Scotty Cameron blade. They look a lot alike. The (Scotty Cameron putter) I’ve had for several years. It’s pretty beat-up.”
Junior Girls
Alyssa Elliott, Nakoma GC
Alyssa Elliott, a 16-year-old player from Fitchburg, comes from a golfing family. She first started knocking the ball around at Madison’s Blackhawk CC at age 3 – she doesn’t remember not being a golfer – before her family moved crosstown to Nakoma GC. Her game has flourished thanks to loads of practice and help from sister Katie, a senior on the UW-Madison golf team.
2007 Highlights
• In June at Lake Arrowhead GC in Nekoosa, Elliott won the WWSGA Junior Girls Championship with a 1-up final-match decision over Lindsay Danielson.
• Elliott shot 72-72-73–217 to win the girls competition by 11 strokes in early August at a Callaway Junior Series tournament at Yankee Hill CC in Lincoln, Neb.
• Elliott tied for second overall among girls at the PGA Westfield Junior Championship at Yahara Hills GC in Madison. Elliott shot 71-73–144.
• The No. 1 player on the Edgewood High School team this fall, Elliott led the Crusaders to the Division 2 WIAA team title, the school’s seventh consecutive state title in girls golf. Elliott tied for second in the Division 2 individual competition.
• On July 20, Elliott shot 75-74–149 at Milwaukee’s Dretzka Park GC to win the girls title at an event on the WPGA Players Tour.
Elliott’s Comments
“In high school we had a great season. We had a really great team and really hard working. It definitely paid off. I couldn’t complain about one thing. We had so much fun and we worked so hard and were so dedicated.”
“If I’m having trouble with my swing, (my sister) Katie is the one who always tells me what I’m doing wrong. She’s mechanical with her swing and she’s a perfectionist, so she’s usually the one who tells me if I’m doing something wrong. So she’s kind of my coach in a way. And in high school I’ve got a good coach (in Peggy Gierhart).”
“I’ve always tried to work on it, but right now I’m really pushing toward my sand game. That’s what I’m really going to focus on. It’s not horrible, but it can definitely use some improvement.”
“In past years, I’ve played basketball in winter, because I’ve been playing that a really long time, too. But this year I decided not to play basketball and I’m going to do some (Future Collegians World Tour) tournaments and I’m going to take some time to visit colleges too.”
“I like (playing national tournaments) a lot. They’re a lot of fun. The scene and how they set it up – it seems like you’re at a pro tournament.”
“I worked a lot on my short game. I mean, a lot on my short game. Mostly I worked on chipping this summer, because that was never my strong point in the past. So that helped me a lot in shaving some strokes.”
What’s in Elliott’s Bag
Driver: Ping Rapture, 9-degree “That’s new. I played a few early tournaments in the summer with my old driver, and then I switched.”
Fairway woods: Callaway 4-wood, 7-wood & 9-wood “I play all of them off the fairway, but the 9-wood, I don’t use as much as the other two.”
Irons: Ping i3, 5-iron through 9-iron “They were actually (sister) Katie’s and when she got a new set of clubs, I got those.”
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 60-degree wedge; Ping i3 pitching & sand wedges
Putter: Ping Pal “I just got a new putter right before the summer season, a Ping Pal. Before that I had had my first putter from forever.”
Junior Boys
Matt Haase, WPGA Junior Foundation
Matt Haase, 18, had a big year in his final season as a junior golfer. A native of Medford, Haase spent the summer of 2007 living in Milwaukee and working at Westmoor CC in Brookfield in preparation for his freshman year at Marquette University. He plans to redshirt the 2007-08 season, leaving him four years of eligibility at MU beginning next September.
2007 Highlights
• Haase finished runner-up after a playoff loss to Max Hosking at the WSGA Junior Championship, presented by Culver’s, at the beginning of August. Haase, who shot 74-76-69–219, rallied in the final round at the Bull at Pinehurst Farms in Sheboygan Falls to earn a spot in the playoff.
• Haase won the Junior Masters at Johnson Park GC in Racine, a prestigious annual match play tournament.
• Haase had a strong season in WPGA Players Tour competition. In the four events he entered, Haase won twice, finished alone in second and tied for fourth.
• Haase shot 71-76–147 at the Lake Arrowhead Invitational to tie for third place among boys.
• Haase tied for ninth place at the WPGA Westfield Junior Championship at Yahara Hills GC in Madison, shooting rounds of 71-70–141.
Haase’s Comments “Over the summer, it was a big help living in Milwaukee because you get away from your friends and your hometown and you just focus on what you need to focus on. I think that was a big help. Not that I don’t like hanging out with my friends, but I didn’t know a lot of people here, so I was either at tournaments, practicing or working.”
“Compared to years past, my irons weren’t as good – my ball-striking wasn’t as good.”
“All the people at Westmoor are real good to me, and they let me use (the facilities). They have a nice range and short game area.”
“I think I’m very fortunate. If I look back (on the 2007 season), it seems that it would be hard to do it all again. I think I played pretty well.”
“The final round of the State Junior, that was pretty cool, to get me back in it and get in a playoff.”
“For sure my wedge game throughout the summer was pretty big. The courses you play in junior tournaments are fairly short, so you hit a lot of wedges in. I think that was pretty key.”
“After the State Amateur qualifier, I decided I wanted a different putter than the one I had, and I got a new TaylorMade putter. And I putted great with it. I would say that was the biggest part of it was putting this summer. I made some big ones when I needed to.”
What’s in Haase’s Bag? Driver: Titleist 905T “But I got a (TaylorMade) Super-Quad TP driver with a 65-gram shaft about midseason, and I used it through the first semester.”
3-wood: Callaway X Hot
Hybrid: Titleist, 19-degree
Irons: Titleist 735 CM, 3-iron through pitching wedge
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 54-degree & 60-degree
Putter: TaylorMade Rossa Daytona-1 blade “I got that putter in early summer, and then I putted really well.”
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