Pairings have been announced for the first round of the 61st U.S. Women’s Open and, in my opinion, some of these combinations are very interesting indeed. For example, Birdie Kim is being paired with Morgan Pressel. That normally wouldn’t be newsworthy except for the fact that Kim birdied the final hole of last year’s Open stealing victory from Pressel’s grasp. Will this affect Morgan in any way? She is very temperamental and the possibilities are endless as to her reaction. Morgan stated last year after her defeat while choking back tears, “I can’t believe this is happening to me". But time has a ...

Click here to listen. Barry and I discuss how Phil Mickelson’s recent lapse of judgment at the U.S. Open can help me combat my own course management shortcomings. With summer in our sites and most people playing more than one sport, we answer a letter from our email bag about the baseball swing versus the golf swing. Also, stop swaying and become more consistent! Continue sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on “sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

“Living from hotel to hotel. Eating, sleeping, and breathing the game of golf. I love it!” It’s only her first official year on the Duramed Futures Tour but since junior high school it’s all Megan Heckeroth has been dreaming about. A natural athlete, Megan had her choice of sports from gymnastics to track but, as many beginners soon learn, once you catch the golf “bug” you can never shake it. I have that very same affliction and so part two of my conversation with Megan continues with her practice regimen. I don’t have much time to practice so I need to make ...

Phil Mickelson’s plans to play in the Cialis Western Open are now in cold storage as Lefty is sleeping off his recent U.S. Open breakdown this past week at Winged Foot. It’s a sure sign of despondency but Phil confirms that he always spends a few days in bed after a championship tournament. I’m not sure that would be the case, however, if Lefty was victorious on Sunday. I think it would have been hard for Phil to settle down. If he was sleeping he surely wasn’t watching CBS’ “The Late Show With David Letterman” as Geoff Ogilvy read the night’s “top ...

Click here to listen. Watching Phil Mickelson and Kenneth Ferrie in the final pairing at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot G.C. this week inspires Barry and I to address simple golf tips for better ball control. As Tiger Woods sails into the sunset the remaining golfers struggle to keep the ball on the fairway. Keep sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your browser and click on “sports casts". Our station number is 1955.

With Colin Mongomerie close to winning his first major tournament after a rough Friday, Phil Mickelson is going for his own history. Although Mickelson has already conquered the Masters twice and the PGA Championship he has yet to claim his first U.S. Open trophy. Lefty came in with a close second in 2004 but Retief Goosen’s putter sealed the deal for the South African. After Tiger Woods’ missed cut, I bet some of the pros are feeling relieved but “mercy applause” from the fans for the number-one golfer in the world? The cheers for Tiger in spite of his less-than-stellar performance ...

I thought the USGA would act differently than the LPGA regarding press credentials this week at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot but they proved me wrong. After sending Golf for Beginners literally dozens of emails regarding U.S. Open information (going so far as to send us the necessary background check paperwork) Director of Media Relations Craig Smith told us to head over to “will-call” and pick up our press credentials. After signing for the package, we noticed that there were two media “guest” passes enclosed. Where were our credentials? We headed over to the media tent, spoke to a lady who verified ...

Click here to listen. Improve your game by taking the advice of the best golf professionals in the world! Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, Phil Mickelson and more give golf tips based upon your game. Sign up for free playing lessons at golfdigest.com/challenge. One of our listeners voices a greivance against Barry for the harsh words he called one of his playing partners on last week’s podcast. We also offer up golf tips on aim and posture. Keep sending your golf questions and comments to golfforbeginners@aol.com. Subscribe to our weekly podcast through this RSS feed: http://feeds.worldgolf.com/stacy_solomon or through iTunes. Nextel/Sprint cell customers type http://www.mymbn.com/podcast/ in your ...

Megan Heckeroth is a girl after my own heart. Her hot, red Mustang convertible carts around her bag of Cleveland golf clubs. I have a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible but can’t fit my huge Burton bag (filled with Titleist clubs) into the trunk because the subwoofer takes up most of my space. She says that although she’s a bit “chicken” (I doubt that Megs) she’s gotten the car up to about 120 mph once, but only for a second ;-)…okay Megan…me too, but only for a sec..wink, wink!. Both of us share similar taste in music on our ipods from Green ...

She never tires, she’s only sixteen. This week’s sectional qualifier for Michelle Wie was just a tune-up for her battle against Annika Sorenstam at this week’s McDonald’s LPGA Championship. Who will be under more scrutiny, Wie or Sorenstam? Will Annika have to whistle to get the media’s attention? “Hey, I’m over here!” Even though Wie did not succeed in the purest sense of the word (no ticket to Winged Foot) she still did a terrific job; hats off to her! In contrast, Sorenstam has hoisted this particular trophy three times in a row, last year defeating the sixteen-year-old Hawaiian by a mere ...

Click here to listen. This is the week that we’ve all been waiting for. Will Michelle Wie qualify for the U.S. Open at Winged Foot and play golf alongside the top PGA players in the world? We also consider Sorenstam versus Wie for a Celebrity “Ratings” Deathmatch. Why hasn’t Annika stepped up and attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open? ESPN will update Wie’s progress every half-hour and The Golf Channel will have a special on Michelle on Monday evening. I guess they understand who gets the big ratings! Attention all women! This is OUR week! Go to Play Golf America, find out which ...