Back Focus Chart

Hurst shifts into former gear

PITTSFORD -- Pat Hurst hobbled into the LPGA Championship with the past-performance chart of a low-priced claimer nearing the end of its career. She had missed the cut in four straight tournaments, shooting a round of 75 or worse in all of them. She hasn't scored an LPGA victory since 2009, hasn't won in the states since 2006. If you considered her a serious contender at Locust Hill this week then you're either her husband or one of their two children.

On a tour where it seems everyone is a face of the future, Hurst, 42, is most definitely a ghost from the past. She was LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1995, won a major in 1998 and celebrated with the birth of her son the following year. And that's when it all began to change. Jack Nicklaus always said golf would get tougher for Tiger Woods once he married and started a family. Imagine being the mother/golfer and trying to make it all work. Is it any wonder that the LPGA's last two dominant figures, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, retired in their primes rather than try and juggle tee times and feeding times?

Hurst has had more on her plate than Sonya Thomas. There's the kids, Jackson and Reilly Ann, and husband Jeff. There was her recent two-year stint on the LPGA board. The family recently completed a move. Maybe it's nothing more than the realization she has persevered that accounts for Hurst's lowest competitive round in more than a year, a Friday 5-under par 67 that has her alone in second, one stroke behind world No. 1 and leader Yani Tseng of Taiwan (70-136) heading to Moving Day of the season's second major.

"There has been a lot of things on my mind," Hurst said. "The demand on your time is a little bit different. With us moving, and we were building a house, you know, that took a lot out. I was on the LPGA board. That was a lot of work. It was well worth it, but a lot of little things took up a lot of my time, and I just didn't have much time to focus on golf. This year, and maybe a couple of more years, I want to focus on my golf and see where I go."

Hurst was tops among nine Americans within five shots of the lead. Morgan Pressel is tied for third, two back, after her second straight 69. Paula Creamer and Cindy LaCrosse sit in a tie for fifth. Angela Stanford is ninth. Reilley Rankin, Stacy Prammanasudh, Stacy Lewis and Tiffany Joh are in a group knotted for 10th. Pressel looms particularly dangerous with three top-10s at Locust Hill. She hit all 14 fairways Friday after finding just seven in the first round.

PENTAX DSLRs: Auto-Focus adjustment for Front and Back Focus problems.

Before you spend $$$ for one of the Lens Alignment tool on the matket, spend .99cents on this Auto-focus Adjustment chart for front and back focusing problems. The results will be just as accurate. In fact, the alignment charts that are on the market were based on my charts that were available about one year before. The charts work great for any DSLRs, including Pentax, Canon, Nikon and other DSLRs with auto-focus adjustment capability. That alone would not mean that the lens or camera has a focusing problem, it could be the photographer’s error. However, similar results time after time could be the first hint that you might have a focusing problem. Perhaps a logical next step would be to test the lens in question under a controlled environment. A controlled environment could be the inside of a building where there is no wind, with the camera set on a tripod, and with good lighting. Outside, with no wind and overcast sky is ideal. An auto-focus testing chart could be used. Of all of the DSLR cameras manufactured, only a few have the option of adjusting the front / back focusing from within the camera. All auto-focus adjustments on other models should be made by a trained technician. Several forums members have published articles, explaining procedures to modify DSLR Firmware. Doing so could void the warranty and damage the camera. It is better to leave specialized work to specialists. I do not believe that any manufacturer has an AF checking chart available to the public. That is the primary reason I took it upon myself to design one. My charts were out about one year before some companies imitated the design and sold them, made out of plastic, for up to $100.00. The results are the same. After reading every blog and information about the subject on the Internet, after reading comments from the readers of my blog site and threads on various forums, I deducted that one chart could not do it all. Three charts were designed because the minimum focusing distance varies from lens to lens. The smaller chart (Chart–1) works well for close-up lenses and lenses that have macro capabilities. The medium sized chart, (Chart-2) works well for normal lenses, say 30mm to 100mm, which have a minimum focus distance needing a target a little bigger than Chart-1. The third chart (Chart-3) is for lenses that cannot focus very close. One could keep enlarging the last chart, but I believe that the three charts shown herein will be functional for all lenses.

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