Sarasota Chip Shots, Wednesday, September 16

Derek Lamely of Fort Myers is ninth on the Nationwide Tour and assured of gaining his 2010 PGA Tour card. The top 25 finishers of the Nationwide Tour automatically receive cards for the PGA Tour for the following year.

Lamely is a past winner of the Charlotte County Open.

Sam Saunders, the 22-year-old grandson of Arnold Palmer, will make his debut in the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour in Boise, Idaho this weekend.

Upcoming Events

The Venice City Amateur Championship will be held Oct. 3-4 at the Lake Venice Golf Club.

Larry O’Brien will defend his title in one of the top area amateur tournaments. The entry fee for the two-day tournament is $95/ Contact general manager Rod Parry at 488-3948 for more information.

The 12th Annual City of Bradenton Men’s Amateur Championship will be played at the River Run Golf Links on Nov. 7-8. Entry fee is $85 and doesn’t include carts. The defending champ is Phil Walters. Click here for the tournament entry form.

This weekend’s Sarasota Open at the Golf Club at Capri Isles has been canceled because of lack of golfers.

A benefit tournament for Center of Positive Living will be held at Sara Bay Country Club Oct. 16. Partial proceeds go to The All Faiths Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Resurrection House, and Camp Florida Fish Tales. It will be a scramble (with special rules). Visit the tournament Web site at www.SarasotaCPL.org. Entry fee is $135 per person and $500 per team.  Call the CPL offices at 941-366-0275 or Rick Marks at 941-365-7627 for more information. The tournament is giving away some attractive travel packages.

Len is Back

Natural Golf instructor Len Martin is back in the area and is currently offering one, two and four-day Natural Golf Schools.

To register for a class and for more information, call Natural Golf at 888-628-4653 or contact Martin directly at 941- 685-5061.

Quickie Tip

When I am giving a lesson or doing a school the question of which is the best way to putt often comes up. I like to have a student make a few strokes to see if the putter arcs or goes straight back. Most students think they are doing one when in fact they are doing the other.

Neither is better, but there are certain motions that work better with one than the other. If one is an arc putter, the face moves on a path that makes the face appear to open. It is square to an arc and the toe will be inside the target line. This is a forearm stroke not a shoulder stroke. The club must arc to the left inside the target line on the through swing. If one tries to keep the face going to the target the ball will finish right.

With the straight back and straight through putt, the shoulders rock up and down and the face stays on the line with the putter going to the target. I ask my students to pick one.
Most students who do not putt well mix the two and that does not work.

I also do not mess with someone that doesn't have the best set-up and stroke, but can get the ball in the hole. The last time I checked that was the objective!
 
Len Martin, Natural Golf Certified Instructor, USGTF Master Instructor, 941-685-5061

Celebrity Quote

“To play as well as I have of late and not get the W's has been a little bit frustrating, no doubt, because I've been so close,” Tiger Woods said after winning last weekend’s BMW Championship.

Contact Mark Cardon at 941-921-4121 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it