Golf

Preparation

Ernie Els
Nick Price admires Els greatly, but he was wondering out loud just what the big man was doing going from Dubai to Qatar to Bay Hill to The Players Championship, a grueling four-week stretch right before Augusta, where he ended up struggling while battling the flu. I'm with Price on this one and if there's one thing to question about Els, it's the way he prepares for majors. He seems to go into them not with a lift in his step but a tired limp. In so many recent majors, he's had either a slow start or a ragged finish and you have to wonder if he's been mentally prepared for a 72-hole test at some of them.

Retief Goosen
What is it about the South Africans and their love of flying? The scenario involving Goosen, back in February, when he zipped into Los Angeles from London, crossing a half-dozen or so time zones, then was so tired he slept through his pro-am and was disqualified for the Nissan Open. You have to question such a tight schedule, but there's really no other reason to suspect that Goosen doesn't prepare for a tournament in an admirable way. Then again, knowing the Goose, he probably preps for the big tournaments by taking a few extra naps.

Phil Mickelson
We certainly hear about the left-hander's preparation, that's for sure. No one pumps up Dave Pelz and Rick Smith more than he does. They probably do work on a lot of things, but it's only in recent years that Mickelson has polished the one area in which he truly needed help — the short game. For so long, he was content to slam driver after driver after drive, gleefully watching his pellets melt into the horizon. Finally, he seems to understand how to gear up for one tournament, one course.

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Vijay Singh
The Masters is no different than the Honda Classic and the Honda Classic is no different than the PGA Championship. He plays tournaments and to get ready, he hits balls. When that duty is done, he goes to the next tournament and tunes up by hitting balls. His preparation on the range is a thing to behold; he's got more teaching aids than Butch Harmon could ever peddle in a lifetime. Funny thing is, Singh appears to understand what all the teaching aids do, too.

Tiger Woods
He gets a lot of notoriety for it, but really, he isn't doing anything that Jack Nicklaus didn't do, nor Ben Hogan before that. Hogan used to live at Seminole for weeks, just to prepare himself for the firm turf and slick greens of Augusta. Nicklaus took that single-mindedness to another level. Now, Woods bunkers down at Isleworth and works on whatever shot or shots he'll need at the tournament in question. Question his execution in some of the most recent majors, but his mental approach has been very much the same as ever.

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Part 7: Pressure