Jon Rahm's 9-under 62 on Friday gave him a share of the lead with Kurt Kitayama at the CJ Cup in South Carolina.
Golfing News & Blog Articles
Stay up-to-date on golfing news, products, and trends from around the world.
The PGA Tour has filed a federal lawsuit against Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund -- which finances LIV Golf -- the fund's governor.
An awful lot has happened since our last installment on LIV Golf and the Saudis. For starters, the PGA Tour has fired back with a new compensation package for its players, including a guaranteed half million dollars for all players. Cam Smith, the world’s number two-ranked player, jumped ship to the new league.
Official World Golf Ranking points is the new battleground. LIV Golf is trying to use the minor, and largely inoperative, MENA (Middle East North Africa) Tour as a proxy to score OWGR points for its players. We’ll see how that turns out. If it doesn’t, we have Golf Saudi’s Majed Al Sorour threatening to create his own “majors.”
Oh, and we can’t forget one boffo No Putts Given episode featuring the always candid Hank Haney.
In our first installment, we investigated behind-the-scenes connections between Saudi Golf, a high-powered Golf PR firm in the UK and some of the internet’s most successful influencers. In this installment, we talk with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg and examine just what Saudi Arabia is looking for from its LIV investment.
Leigh Steinberg – the Original Uber Agent
Leigh Steinberg’s very first client was his college classmate, Steve Bartkowski, who just so happened to be the number one pick in the 1975 NFL draft. Over the years, Steinberg has represented over 60 NFL first-round picks, including the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Steve Young and Troy Aikman. He’s represented athletes from all sports, negotiating contracts in excess of $4 billion for his clients.
Andrea Lee shot another bogey-free round of 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead at the BMW Ladies Championship on Friday.
Atthaya Thitikul shot a 9-under 63 to set a tournament record and lead after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship.
Rory McIlroy and Tom Kim were the star attractions Thursday at the CJ Cup, finishing the opening round a shot back of leaders Trey Mullinax and Gary Woodland.
The Saudi Golf Federation CEO walked back comments about starting his own majors if LIV Golf players aren't permitted to play in the existing ones
“We need to figure out North America.”
That was the stock business development objective from most every Japanese equipment manufacturer circa 2017. Walking the floor that year at the annual PGA Merchandise Show (aka home of the $19 chicken wrap), it was clear that a) the United States is still the No. 1 market for golf equipment and b) every brand without a footprint in the U.S. was looking to create one.
On paper, getting into the U.S. market makes sense. Actually, it’s a no-brainer. According to a report from Allied Market Research, the global golf equipment market was valued at $7 billion in 2020 and is projected to crest $10 billion by 2030. Diving deeper, golf clubs accounted for nearly half that total in 2020, a scenario experts expect to continue.
Beyond that, North America has the highest current ($3.5 billion) and projected ($4.75 billion) revenue contribution to the market. Even a very small slice of a multi-billion-dollar pie is enough to satiate a small brand looking to carve out a permanent, albeit modest, seat at the table. Sidenote – When companies mention North America, it’s often with an implicit understanding that while the U.S. is the focal point of the region, Canada ($1.3B in 2021) and Mexico are extremely important markets as well.
Boutique brands such as Miura, EPON, Yonex, Yamaha, Vega, Fourteen, ONOFF, PRGR, and Honma, among others, seemed poised to make a run. Five years later, the North American landscape is largely devoid of a serious JDM (Japanese domestic market) equipment brand.
Atthaya Thitikul shot a 9-under 63 to set a tournament record and lead after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship
This is the second in a series of blogs to help you simplify your knowledge of golf and hopefully improve your game. [Includes abbreviated tips from an article published by Luke Kerr-Dineen for a GOLF franchise called “Play Smart”.] I have only distilled nuggets of knowledge from his article to provide you with a quick reference to sharpen your games.
5/ Understand the loft and spin relationship: A properly hit golf ball will create an undercut or reversing spin on every golf ball. [Not to be confused with side spins caused by the path of impact or the open or closed face of the club which cause a draw, fade, hook or slice.] Too much spin with a driver will rob you of distance. That’s why your driver has a very low loft and you typically gain height with the launch angle off a tee. (A topped ball is never desired as it creates an over-spin which will force your ball to dive down and along the ground.)
The more loft on your club, the more it’s going to spin the ball. That’s why your pitching wedge stops on a green much faster than lower lofted clubs. A little extra spin can help you hit the ball straighter off the tee or land softer on the green, but too much of it can send the ball ballooning up into the air. Less spin can help you hit the ball lower for more roll-out. The key is getting control over spin, which starts with a good club-fitting
6/ Adjust Your Tee Height: Changing tee height has a direct impact on the launch and spin of the ball off your driver and can be used to help you get more distance with a simple adjustment. A higher tee also creates the opportunity to hit the ball above the middle of the club face. These 2 factors increase launch angle and reduce spin, which, in turn, help optimize launch conditions for up to 25 yards more distance. So, if you’re struggling to keep up with your buddies off the tee, experiment with teeing the ball higher. You could pick up serious yards.
Half of your ball should be above the top edge of your driver to ensure that the center of your impact with your ball is above the center-line of your driver face.
7/ Practice Swinging in Slow Motion: Will Zalatoris said “Whenever I’m working on something, I rarely ever do it at full speed. My practice? A lot of slow-motion work. It’s something my dad really drilled into me growing up. It helps me with my body awareness and matching stuff up.” [Will’s recent successes may indicate that he is on to something.]
Cameron Young has been named the winner of the Arnold Palmer Award as the PGA Tour's top rookie on Wednesday.
Rory McIlroy disagrees with Phil Mickelson's recent assessment that the LIV Golf circuit is trending up and the PGA Tour is trending down.
Los Angeles Country Club is getting another U.S. Open before it even holds its first one, and the women will get their crack at the course on the edge of Beverly Hills.
Virtual reality golf is getting a star-studded, real-world shot in the arm today. GOLF+, the leading VR game in the metaverse, is bringing on a slew of new investors.
GOLF+ is announcing today that Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Mike Trout and Ben Crenshaw are all investing in the company. Additionally, big-money investors such as the Breyer Group as well as other financiers and hi-tech CEO mover-and-shaker types are kicking in funding.
“What got them excited is our audacious goal and belief we can use this technology to double the size of golf as a whole,” GOLF+ Co-founder and CEO Ryan Engle tells MyGolfSpy. “We believe this technology can make golf 100 times more accessible to people, especially younger people.”
What, if anything, does all this mean to you as a golfer? Unless you’re a VR gamer, you might think it’s just another video game. But if you dig a little deeper and peer into the future just a tad, the possibilities are intriguing.
Virtual Reality Golf: Just a Game?
GOLF+ is the number one golf app in the virtual world. But calling it a video game is like calling Bethpage Black a muni.
Inesis is “best bang for your buck.”Waterproof$154.98
A golf rain suit or even a golf rain jacket is a must, especially if you live in an area with variable weather conditions.
In the 2022 Most Wanted Rain Gear Test, Inesis was crowned Best Value. It wasn’t even close. We saw a huge difference in price when comparing KJUS and Inesis. But was it worth playing in the rain for the price?
The question is: Why was Inesis good enough to win Best Value?
Inesis RAINWWEAR Construction
Every company that makes rain gear does it a little different. Whether it’s to do with the type of material or the way they cut the material, there’s something for everyone.
Inesis wanted their rainwear to be breathable, stretchy, comfortable and, of course, waterproof. So for all you geek heads out there like me, here are some of their technical features.
It must no be supposed, however, that the man whose only golfing asset is his ability to drive a long ball is to have things his own way. He is to be taken care of side hazards which will demand of him as fine control of his long shots as is demanded of the shorter driver, before he can obtain the full benefit of his extra distances. WILLIAM LANGFORD
The WM Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship will have purses of at least $20 million in 2023, sources told ESPN.
