Match play, the only tournament you can win without putting the eyes out. When I happened to win the US Professional Match Play in 1971 I knew I was going to win as soon as I knew I was in the tournament. Seems I had my ball in great position from tee to green always having the pressure on who I was playing. I went through George Archer, Doug Sanders, Julius Boros, Lou Graham and Bruce Crampton before dusting Phil Rogers by 7 shots in the finals. My predictions this week in the Accenture Match Play: Bobby Jones Flight: Dustin Johnson Ben Hogan Flight: Bubba Watson Gary Player Flight: Sergio Garcia Sam Snead Flight Tiger Woods. Dustin will be the champion beating Sergio Garcia 2-1. If I get all of these right I am headed to Vegas. Anybody want to go.

From: DeWitt Weaver Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 5:30 PM Subject: Welcome back Phil

Phil Mickelson has flat put some excitement back into the PGA Tour. Blitzing Tiger at Pebble, holing a putt from 30 feet at Riviera to tie a favorite of mine Keegan Bradley and Bill Haas, a wonderful person as well as a marvelous player, the TV ratings were up higher than ever. The most notable characteristics of all three players was first, the intensity and focus of the eyes staring down the target in the pre shot routine, second the position of the hands and wrists at the top of the backswing. Compare the backswings of Tiger and the exaggerated closed position of the 300 yard ape Dustin Johnson and you will see a big difference. To me the winners looked more natural and comfortable. Now if Dustin could pitch and putt like Tiger it would be over. I have been real pleased with the results I have predicted in my posts at www.dewittweaver.com for the last four years, but would really like for any of you to blog back to me on your opinions and criticisms on the comment section of my web site.

From: DeWitt Weaver Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2012 12:13 AM Subject: Uh Oh! Tiger might?? be back

Tiger is getting closer. His club is in so much better shape at the top, more square than laid off. Hit some really great shots at Pebble. He will try to put in on Charlie Wi tomorrow, but hopefully will not reflect on his last 4th day. He also has to get by Ken Duke, the fellow that shot 28 on the back nine at Pebble the first day. Also you have Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson well within striking distance. My prediction Tiger will finish second again behind Phil or Dustin. I had a chance to watch the phenomenal Corey Pavin on the Champions Tour today. Corey is leading in heavy winds at the Champions Tour Allianz tournament tied with Peter Senior this week after 36 holes. Watch out for Calcavecchia, one back. The Golf Channel was giving some driving stats of Corey and Fred Funk now and 1992. Corey and Fred were in the 255 range in 1992 compared to John Daly the leader at a 283 average. Ole DeWitt led the PGA driving distance stat in 1969 with a 279 yd average and was second on the Champions Tour in 1992 with a 271 average. That made me feel good and want to return to the Champions Tour. I will soon as I learn to pitch and putt like Tiger or perhaps Corey. Maybe next year!!?

Let me see! Tiger was as fine a ball striker I have ever seen with the ability and swing to hit the ball close to perfect distances. He was winning major tournaments by double digit numbers. So Tiger says, Butch Harmon is getting way too much publicity, I think I will get me someone else, someone that will help me to be another Hogan. Wait, that did not work, let me change again. Good luck! This past week Tiger hit About two fairways the last day and eight fairways. He is amazing as I would have shot at least 80 the last day playing like that. He is smashing the irons, hitting wedges over the green, distance control awful, pulling across the ball with the left arm trying to create a fade. Good luck Tiger, the tour needs you but you have had it if you continue to search for the perfect swing. It is amazing what players do trying for perfection as there is no way. Now I see Stewart Cink has changed teachers for the second time and came up with an 83 this week in Phoenix. Stewart was on top of the world working with Butch Harmon. He was ranked in the top five in putting with a belly putter. I used to watch him practice out at Sugerloaf right before he won the 2009 British Open and noticed great balance, great connection and wonderful distance control. Golfers should learn from others such as David Duval that what got you there needs only refining not wholesale change. By the way I speak from experience as I changed my short game from day to day working with the best in Phil Rogers, Paul Runyan, Jimmy Ballard, David Ledbetter, Dave Pelz and Fred Griffin. It is called paralysis from analysis, a dreaded disease that is very contagious. As my wife Sheri says, “If you make a change you had better make it your own”. Jack Nicklaus changed his swing to protect his back, worked to make it his own and won the 1986 Masters.

Starting my PGA Tour life I played 24 tournaments in ’64 and ’65 on $6000 courtesy of Shoal Creek’s Hall Thompson and won the grand total of $0 dollars. Bert Yancey told me of a job in Cairo, Georgia where I could play all the golf I wanted and meet some great people. Great move! Took the job, set goals to win all the majors in Georgia in 1966; Georgia Open, Atlanta Open, Georgia PGA, Dixie PGA and become a better than +3 handicap. Accomplished all but win the Georgia Open where I finished 2nd. I then felt I could compete on the PGA Tour and went back to the 1966 Tour Qualifying School where I won a tour card. Davis Love, the pro at Atlanta CC called me and asked if I wanted to go back on the tour and if so he had a gentleman that might want to sponsor me. For the next few years I played and struggled with my game, my discipline and my faith. I was at the end of my playing career and struggling with the loss of my mother in 1970. It seems as if things sometimes are at the worst when suddenly God reaches out His hand and lifts us up. My father and a friend gave me $3000 to go to the Hawaiian Open for our last hurrah on the PGA Tour. They told us to just have a great time, enjoy the islands, and not worry about tomorrow. Watching the Sony at Waialae this weekend brought back fantastic memories of a great trip. Sheri and I rented a dune buggy, explored Oahu and ended up on the putting green at Waialae CC, site of the ’71 Hawaiian Open. All of a sudden I became a great putter. It seemed as if the ball made a loud sound every time I putted. Now you have it, I am paired with Arnold Palmer the last day and have the lead in the tournament by one shot with three to go. Tom Shaw birdies #16 and #17 in front of me. Arnold hits first on #17 from 194 yards downwind with a four iron and puts his ball five feet from the hole. I took a five, turned it loose right at the pin. Whoops, Arnold had put one over on me as he took what looked like a big swing, but really just chipped a four iron as I learned personally from him a few years ago. My ball flew in the stands over the green. John Schlee hit a seven iron on the hole and Tom Shaw birdied the hole with a six. Lesson (do not look in an opponent’s bag in competitive situations). As it turned out the 1971 Hawaiian Open was a life changer on the tour as I finished in third place, won $14,000 which to me was worth way more than the $363,000 the third place tie this year received. Arnold Palmer is a great person that Sheri and I both admire, but has always had that competitive drive and will to win. All the pros that have had success on the tour thank him for making golf what it is today. 1971 tournament results are attached.

Wow! What a combination, Stricker’s swing and Maui, both beautiful things to behold. I miss those great trips to Hawaii to enjoy the majestic beauty of the mountains, the roar of the mighty ocean and the friendliness of the Hawaiian people. My golf game in Hawaii seemed to reflect the peacefulness of the island that was so evident in Steve Stricker’s flawless game. Stricker’s comment to the press was ” I just do what I do the best”. The quietness of Steve’s swing especially in his wedge play blew the opponents away as the average distance from the hole from 125 yards in for all players was 23 feet; Stricker’s 7 feet. Go to my post about Steve Stricker’s swing at www.dewittweaver.com, June 6, 2011 for my take on his swing. Dave Pelz preaches all wedges from 100 yards in should always be inside 10 feet. Great wedge play creates champions. This week the PGA Tour play their first full field event at Waialae CC in Oahu where I supposely was to play my last round on the PGA Tour in 1971. My next post will reflect on the outcome of Sheri’s and my adventure into an unknown future we were not aware of or ever dreamed we could be part of.

Wow, 2012 is here. 50 years ago I was watching the classic swings of Hogan and Snead followed by the athletic masculine swing of Arnold Palmer and the dominate play of the fat kid Jack Nicklaus. Little did I know that I would be competing and playing with all four. Talk about four different swings; you won’t find that on today’s tours. Each one of these individuals personally helped me with my golf game. 2012 I plan on digging into my archives and share with you the instruction I have received from the greatest players, teachers and sports psychologists. Hopefully these so called secrets of the legends of golf will help you to have your best golf games ever in the new year and years after. I would be happy to share my knowledge personally with you to help you reach your goals in 2012. Your friend in faith, life and golf. DeWitt Ps 37:4

From: DeWitt Weaver Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 4:56 PM Subject: Tis the Season

Approaching the end of 2011 we have the arrival of Santa preempted by my most precious Savior whom so many do not believe in. It really seems so simple to give one’s life to one who died for all the sins we have laid before Him. It is like buying a free insurance policy to guarantee that your kids will have it made when you have passed and you might have life forever as He promised. My Christmas wish for all of you that you will enjoy every child you know and especially those you raise. Love your wife as the song goes, “Forever is as far as I’ll Go”. So many of you have become such great friends and have helped me stay accountable for what I stand for. As what I write about is usually about golf I hope that Christmas brings you a golf game to enjoy at the level you desire. May the peace of Christ be with you always, at work, home, on the course, in traffic, at games, bars, pool halls and especially when things are thrown at you on the internet. I certainly appreciate your friendship and hope to spend more time with all of you in 2012 as conservative ways return. Possibly this email might be quite heavy but I really feel truth in what I write and want to share with my best friends. Merry Christmas, DeWitt Ps 37:4

Tiger wins the Chevron World Open 18 player exhibition match. Sorry, but that does not do it for me. The tournament purse is not even official money or an official win, but I hear it counts in the world rankings. Let me play at home with 17 of my friends with all the gallery pulling for me and I would be dangerous even with a gimpy knee. From all I hear on TV Tiger is going to beat the world next year. I never heard anything negative about him or his swing which I guess has to be said in order to create interest in the PGA Tour next year. Tiger has improved his swing as he keeps the club in front of him and as it seems his attitude. I just hope he has found out what is really important in this world, why and what follows this life on Earth. I did not watch a lot of the tournament but I did catch one huge ## expletive from him. Tiger has the focus and mind set of a Jack Nicklaus but still has his mind cluttered with confusing unnatural swing thoughts that causes shots to lose their zip code. The PGA Tour does need him but I am not positively sure he could survive the six grueling rounds in the desert at the PGA Tour Qualifying School where 25 golfers will gain access to a young man’s greatest dream, the PGA Tour.

The PGA Tour is going to have to change the way to have access to the Champions Tour. Five spots are not enough when you have over a thousand qualifiers. Sonny Skinner just shot 67 the last round to finish in a tie for 6th which gives him limited access to the tour. Years ago I was on the Advisory Board of the Champions Tour and recommended there be an additional tour such as the Nationwide Tour for more seniors to pursue their dreams. Yes, the Champions Tour is a closed shop, mainly a retirement tour for PGA Tour Veterans that access and staying power for them is all time money. The tour is missing out on so many diverse personalities that could enhance the tour and add additional excitement to a sometimes boring adventure. The greatest thing about golf is that you earn your way along, but be given a reasonable right and chance to do so. Comments would be appreciated on my web at www.dewittweaver.com .