08.27.07
Posted in Pro-Golf News at 8:25 pm by Ted
While sitting at home with his new child, Tiger remained in 4th place in the Fedex Cup only 4,950 points behind Steve Stricker (104,950 points) who won this weekend at The Barclays. I can’t help but think this is not what the organizers of the Fedex Cup thought would happen when they drew up the rules last year. Golf is a very interesting sport in that the athletes have more freedom to control their calendars then in any other sport. But then again this is a special situation with Tiger and his dominance is rearing its ugly head to damage the sport. Imagine what would happen if the Red Wings decided to throw the first game in the Stanley Cup Play-offs best of seven just so they could rest?
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08.03.07
Posted in Pro-Golf News at 12:59 pm by rich
For the first time ever, St. Andrews is hosting a professional women’s golf tournament, the 2007 British Open. Not only are the women playing the fabled St. Andrews course, they are also able to enter the Royal & Ancient Club clubhouse behind the first tee. This is a remarkable step for the stodgy membership of the Royal & Ancient who has historically not been open to having women in their clubhouse. Obviously this is a huge step forward for the R&A and one that was badly needed. Too bad they are only implementing this change for one week!
The women, so far, seem to be enjoying playing the Old Course. The golf at St. Andrews is so different from what they are used to playing in the US. “The greens are very strange and interesting,” said Wie, who tied for 69th at last week’s Evian Masters. “They’re like Mount Everest on the greens basically, and you have to putt from 50 yards away. It’s just so amazing. It is the greatest honor being able to play here. It’s intimidating because there’s so much history on it.”
I really enjoy watching the players on the links-style courses. The types of shots required to score well on these courses differ drastically from the perfectly manicured country club courses the LPGA (and PGA) usually host their tournaments on. Its fun to watch the creativity and shot-making skills needed to hit out of deep pot bunker or putt over a huge mound in the middle of the green. Wake up early this weekend and check out the tournament on TV…it will be worth your time!
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05.08.07
Posted in Pro-Golf News at 6:56 pm by rich
Most of us who play golf probably either have a TaylorMade club in their bag right now, or have tried one of their clubs. I know that my bag is pretty much filled with them. From my perspective they are solid, well-built clubs that perform very well. I had never really put much thought into the investment in time and technology that TaylorMade (or any golf club manufacturer) must go through in order to develop state-of-the-art clubs. They start out designing clubs for the professional players…and then their products trickle down to the general population, after many tweaks and changes to allow the average weekend duffer to use it. So even if you think you are playing with the same clubs as the pros, chances are that the version of the TaylorMade SuperQuad or Callaway Fusion you have is drastically different from the version Sergio Garcia or Phil Mickelson is using.
There is a very interesting interview with Sean Toulon, TaylorMade’s executive vice president of product and brand creation. In it he talks about the club development process and the input they get from the pros as they design their clubs. It is a long interview but I strongly recommend you watch it if you are at all interested in what the club manufacturers go through as they develop new products.
I’d be very interested to learn if any of the leading club manufacturers design clubs with the average player in mind…or are all of our clubs just descendants of clubs the pros currently use? Anyone have any comments?
The interview can be found here: http://www.podtech.net/home/rockymountainvoices/2915/taylormade-golfs-product-and-brand-man
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05.04.07
Posted in Pro-Golf News at 9:31 pm by Ted
The New Zealand stuff.co.nz reports that Michelle Wie’s swing coach David Leadbetter said “She’s going to commit herself to the LPGA and play a number of events and next year, she’ll probably take up membership”. The rumors are that Michelle’s parents who have been pressuring her are beginning to understand that they need to let Michelle progress through the ranks. Read the whole story here
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03.21.07
Posted in Pro-Golf News, Fun Stuff at 12:13 pm by Ted
Check out this story running at PGA.com. Apparently the Caddies get new Benz’s for the week and players get Maybachs. If only we could all be so lucky. This is great news however since the Wachovia benefits WGT’s good friends at www.teachforamerica.com .
“The Wachovia Championship is known for taking care of the players. That extends to the caddies, too… They already get valet parking at Quail Hollow. But imagine Johnny Buchna’s surprise when he got a letter from Tournament Director Kym Hougham a few years ago informing him the defending champion’s caddie gets a courtesy Mercedes-Benz for the week.The player does OK, too, getting a Mercedes Maybach for the week. But it’s hard to find another tournament that provides a luxury courtesy car for a caddie.”
Read
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