If you watched “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” a recent Disney movie about the victory by the young and unknown Francis Ouimet in the US Open over the greatest professional golfers in the world, you may have noticed and enjoyed the character of Ted Ray. He was portrayed as a giant man and long hitter that joined in the playoff with Harry Vardon against Francis Ouimet.

How much poetic license did Disney take with this early “giant” of golf? What did he have in common with the “bomb and gauge” style-play currently seen on the pro golf tours? Read on to learn more about Ted Ray, the original “John Daly” of golf.

Timeline of Ted Ray, Professional Golfer

Random Fact – Ted was not known as a good swing teacher which was ironic given his longstanding position with the Oxney golf club. His usual advice for the golfer looking to improve their drives was to “‘it ‘em ‘ard, mate, like I do.” His follow-up advice if his previous suggestion did not work was, “Well, then, ‘it ‘em ‘arder.” End of lesson.

Random Fact – Good friends with Harry Vardon who joined him often in a tankard of beer

Random Fact – Loved playful arguments and would often start them without reason, driving home his arguments with an admonitory forefinger or by shaking his pipe at his “adversary”.

Random Fact – Ray stood well over six feet, was large in proportion, and very strong

Random Fact – Had a rather unorthodox swing that was long and slow while his body stayed relatively immoble. He had an odd finish to his swing, where his right foot would be planted on the ground, while his left foot hung in the air. Of course through the impact zone, his position was completely orthodox. Golf swings like his inspired current golf videos like AJ’s “The Truth About Golf.”

Random Fact – One of the Original “Bombers” of the golf ball, Ted had prodigious drives and was one of the longest drivers of his time.

Random Fact – Ted’s length of the tee was tempered by his frequentn drives into the deep rough. However, Ted had incredible powers of recovery with his niblick from seemingly impossible lies that had to be seen to be believed. Mr. Ray would often dissapear from view into the trees to retrieve his ball. After some muttering, a sudden crash and explosion of tree branches, his ball would be seen on the green. He would come of the trees sans hat, but he always kept his pipe firmly in mouth. His combination of brute strength, fallibility with accuracy, and subsequent eye-popping recoveries appealed to the spectators, both in America and the British Isles. That style of play still does endear PGA Tour players to fans.

Random Fact – Ted was also an excellent putter with a delicate touch. His deft touch also applied to billiards.

Random Fact – Often caricatured by the media with his plus-fours, niblick in hand, pipe in mouth, and hat firmly crammed on his head.

Random Fact – Ted was loved by many, and was known for being entirely straightforward in all his dealings

Dean Wilson, won The International, 2006 (PGA Tour) CASTLE ROCK, Colorado with a birdie on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at The INTERNATIONAL at Castle Pines, to beat Tom Lehman and take the $990,000 winner’s check. The unique Stableford scoring system, which rewards birdies and eagles far more than bogeys made the difference for Dean Wilson, who would have lost to Tom Lehman by 4 strokes (-13 to -9) if the standard stroke play scoring method were used.

This tournament win allows the 36 year-old first-time winner to escape the shadow of his previous distinction as being a golfer paired with Sorenstam when she became the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA TOUR at the 2003 Bank of America Colonial.

As we learned though, there is much more to the life of Dean Wilson than those two weeks of his career. Read on to explore the timeline of the life of PGA Tour star Dean Wilson and learn some interesting facts about him concerning college stunts, bull riding, and “turning Japanese.”

Random Fact – Advice to young golfers – Work hard, don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t achieve what you want to achieve, and have fun. Even though Dean is well established on the PGA Tour with his win and the subsequent 2 year exemption, he still practices golf every day

Random Fact: Believes David Ishii to be the best Hawaiian golfer ever.

Random Fact – Wilson was a bit of a prankster as an undergraduate: Once, on a dare, he ate an entire bunch of bananas while waiting in an all-you-can-eat buffet line.

Random Fact – Was obsessed with the feat of doing a back-flip in college. He began hanging out with the Brigham Young University gymnastics team between golf practices and earned the nickname “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” (His current nickname is “Dean the machine”). Mike Weir recalls, “One day we’re out practicing on the range and [Dean] comes out and does a complete back flip, wearing golf shoes, and lands on his feet.”

Random Fact – Best round ever playing golf was a 58, 14-under par

Random Fact – Dean likes all extreme sports, including surfing, cliff skiing, and sky diving.

Random Fact – What is in Dean’s Bag Today?

• Callaway VFT 8° Driver
• Callaway 3+ & 5 Wood
• Callaway X-14 PRO Series (S400 DYN. Gold) Irons
• Odyssey #5 Putter
• Callaway Red Ball

Random Fact – He won six events, earned more than $2 million, and rose to 56th in the World Rankings by the end of 2002. Dean Wilson was the richest and most accomplished PGA Tour rookie you’ve never heard of… until Todd Hamilton.

Random Fact – Dean attributes his successes in golf to his shot-making ability inside of 100 yards.

Random Fact – Dean’s goal now is that when he retires, he wants to “Count money and stack trophies”

Random Fact – Now lives in Las Vegas, NV

Random Fact – Dean loves any sport involving bulls – Bull riding both real and mechanical bulls or just running with the bulls (in Pamplona)

• High handicapper who is either just picking up the game?
• Mid handicapper who is passionate about golf, but just doesn’t have the time for hours at the range?
• Low handicapper who just wants to shave off that extra stroke here or there?

The Truth About Golf Training Aids

Now, I’m not going to feed you a bunch of bull about a golf training aid that will get you playing in next year’s Booz Allen Classic, but what if there was a training aid available that would smooth out your swing regardless of what type of golfer you are?

We all know that training aids work – our pros at the course use them to reinforce particular aspects of your swing, and heck – I remember as a kid swimming, playing baseball, football, or whatever, and the coaches used training aids to isolate areas of performance.

What if there was a training aid that allowed you to analyze many different parts of your game – the “Swiss Army Knife” of Golf training aids? There is one that does just that. Chances are, you have probably even heard about it. I’m talking about the Medicus Golf Hinged swing trainers, and their competitor, Refiner golf training aids.

• Both the Medicus and Refiner identify potential problems at 7 major checkpoints in your golf swing, saving you time and money.
• Sold over 1,000,000 units – The Medicus and Refiner recieve universal praise on Internet review sites.
• Works with your lessons – Hinged golf trainers help keep your swing in tune between lessons, so you can spend your entire lesson learning new material.
• You can hit balls with them – take it to the range. Works just as well swinging without balls, too.
• Discreet – I swing mine between shots to stay loose. It looks just like another club.

Refiner Golf is up to 50% Less than the Medicus!

Now even more affordable – Refiner golf provides a high-quality product that provides the same results, according to Internet review websites. The Refiner costs up to 50% less than the Medicus because they do not run expensive infomercials or hire PGA endorsers. What will you do with the extra money? Play more golf? Buy your wife something nice? Maybe just crack a cold beverage and watch the Booz Allen Classic in peace, knowing you have a cool new golf tool coming in the mail for 1/2 price.

	Medicus Dual Combo Pack (Best Seller!) Driver + 5 iron + 2 DVDs
	Medicus Driver (w/ Free Putter Trainer)
	Medicus 2000, 5 Iron
	Medicus 7 Iron
	Refiner Birdie Maker Pack Driver + 5 iron + Putter
	Refiner Grand Slam Pack Driver + 5 iron + Chipper + Putter
	Refiner Par Saver Kit Driver + 5 iron

How a Hinged Golf Training Aid Helped My Game

I personally promote this product because it totally simplified my game. I had so many swing thoughts going on that I forgot why I was playing golf in the first place – to have fun, and hit the ball! After a few minutes with the Medicus each night for a week, I shaved a ton of strokes off my game the next time out. I wasn’t even hitting balls – I was just in my living room.

The Medicus identified several spots in my swing that I didn’t even know was causing me a problem. For example, I had a slice. I thought the problem was my grip, but the Medicus showed me almost immediately that my takeaway was too fast, throwing me off kilter, and forcing my body to pull out early to compensate.

That is just one example of how a hinged golf swing trainer will improve your game. I bought the Medicus first, because I didn’t know about the Refiner. I’ve referred over 100 people to the Refiner just this year, and not one person has returned it during the money-back-guarantee period. The Refiner also allows you to customize the length of your club, or add a training grip to help you solidify the core elements of a successful swing. Now you can benefit the experience of myself, and thousands of other golfers who are turning to the Refiner to take their golf game to the next level.

Have fun watching the rest of the Booz Allen Classic this weekend, and an even better time out on the course.

	Medicus Dual Combo Pack (Best Seller!) Driver + 5 iron + 2 DVDs
	Medicus Driver (w/ Free Putter Trainer)
	Medicus 2000, 5 Iron
	Medicus 7 Iron
	Refiner Birdie Maker Pack Driver + 5 iron + Putter
	Refiner Grand Slam Pack Driver + 5 iron + Chipper + Putter
	Refiner Par Saver Kit Driver + 5 iron

PGA Tour Booz Allen Golf Tournament