It's not a coincidence that Boo Weekley successfully defended his title at Hilton Head, or that Tom Watson did the same at the Outback event on the Champions tour. Lorena Ochoa, playing in the Ginn in Reunion, Fla., also won an event on a golf course where she finished a shot back last year. Part of it is horses-for-courses. Hilton Head has small greens, and Boo hits it close. The TPC Tampa Bay, where Watson won, is pretty long with wavy greens -- that suits his game. Ochoa plays beautifully everywhere, but especially on Bermuda greens.

But there's more to it than that. Memories, positive and negative, are as potent in golf as they are in life. Nothing promotes good shots like good rhythm, and nothing promotes good rhythm like good memories.