Golfing News & Blog Articles

Ten years ago, Japanese shaft manufacturer Nippon debuted the N.S. PRO MODUS line of golf shafts. Now, with the addition of MODUS Tour 115, the resumé is starting to feel more complete.

And while MODUS gets the preponderance of attention, it’s not the product that garnered it attention from other elite shaft manufacturers.

In 1999, Nippon pioneered the first sub-100 gram steel iron shaft —the N.S. PRO 950 GH which set a new standard for lightweight iron shafts. Is a 23-year-old product still relevant today? Absolutely. Just ask Danielle Kang who won her sixth LPGA Tour event (Hilton Grand Vacation Tournament of Champions) this past weekend with … yep, you guessed it … Nippon N.S. PRO 950 GH iron shafts. Likewise, Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai for the third time on the PGA Tour Champions. Jimenez, a PING staff member, plays Nippon MODUS 105 shafts in his irons.

The point of this brief tangent is to illustrate a small but vital point. Nippon isn’t a volume-hungry, market share at all costs sort of operation. It has a rich history of producing high-quality shafts and it has product in play every week on every major professional tour around the world.

Hitting Greens in Regulation (GIR) is by far the most important shot that you need on every hole, but it may not be the best strategy for YOUR GAME. Driving and Putting perfection are critical to be a good golfer but hitting more greens in regulation can cut 1 stroke on every hole. As a mid to high handicap player you may be far better off hitting to a safe location for an easy shot to the green near the hole.

To improve your GIR, golfers with a handicap over 10 should focus on improving the consistency of your approach shots and also use STRATEGIES TO ELIMINATE BLOW-UP HOLES. You can’t afford to play by the strategies used by the pros who can pretty well hit what they want to hit. STOP PLAYING IN THEIR WORLD.

Strategies to Score in the 70’s or 80’s
1/ Move Up to the Right Tee for Your Game: We all know that shorter irons are easier to control than your driving clubs and that’s exactly why you need more distance with your driver OR to drive from a tee that allows you to reach the green in regulation.
2/ Use Your Irons to Get back on the Fairway: If your drive land in the rough on a par 4 or 5, DON’T TRY FOR THE MIRACLE SHOT. Hitting out of the rough with a 3 wood, 5 wood or hybrid is not the easiest shot. Your irons are designed to be hit down and through the rough to dig out your ball. It is so much better to hit your 6 iron 100 to 150 yards out of the rough and up the fairway than topping your ball 10 yards further along the rough with the wrong club. TAKE YOUR MEDICINE.
3/ Hit Short of a Trap or Water Hazard Near the Green: When you know that you need the perfect shot to miss a hazard, just lay-up. Your short chipping and pitching irons are much easier to hit over a hazard and possibly stick one close for a 1 or 2 putt hole.
4/ Plan for Rollout and the Break on the Green: Whatever club you are using to target the green, consider the depth and slope on the green. If you know that you can’t hold the green, just lay-up on a safe side of the green and enjoy your chance to pitch your next shot for a 1 putt green.
5/ Record Your Greens Hit in Regulation: I mark my score card with a 1 in the upper left corner of each hole when I land my drive in the fairway (or on a green for par 3’s) and a 1 in the upper right corner for GIR’s. You will quickly learn that those 1’s will drive your your pars or birdies up. The pros typically hit 13 to 16 GIR’s per round. Challenge yourself to keep improving your GIR’s.

You will never improve your GIR’s if you don’t plan for draws, fades and straight shots. Reducing the bend in your leading arm and your wrists for every shot will help you hit straighter shots and get more GIR’s. Practice with GOLFSTR+ for 6 swing fixes. Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #93: Golf is like marriage: If you take yourself too seriously it won’t work, and both are expensive.

Top-ranked Jon Rahm closed with an eagle on the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines for a 6-under 66 on Wednesday, trailing leader Billy Horschel by three strokes after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

The post Winter 2022 appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

2022 Srixon Q-STAR Tour Golf Balls – Key Takeaways

The new 2022 Srixon Q-STAR Tour is the fourth generation of what started out as a very intriguing ball. When it came out in early 2017, the Q-STAR Tour was a bit of a unicorn. It was most definitely on the soft side but it was a urethane-covered ball that was originally priced to move at less than $30.

It didn’t have the speed of a firmer Tour-level ball. But for the target golfer, it was plenty fast enough. And while it didn’t have quite the spin of a Tour-level ball, for the target golfer, it was spinn-y enough.

The category itself—a soft-ish ball with a urethane cover for under 40 bucks—is popular with consumers. It may not have the same pizzazz as your Tour-level balls but golfers seem to like them.

And if you liked the 2020 Srixon Q-STAR Tour, you’ll be happy to know Srixon followed the ball maker’s Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm.

2022 Srixon Q-STAR Tour: What’s New?

In a word: not much. Well, that’s two words but you get the idea.

The official qualifying tour of the LPGA will now be named the Epson Tour, after a five-year agreement between the LPGA Tour and Epson America, Inc. was announced on Wednesday.

Patrick Reed says his win at Torrey Pines last January should be remembered as a victory -- and not for the controversy that came when he declared an embedded ball despite replays showing it bouncing into the rough.

After a fan's phone recorded Jon Rahm venting about the course last week at The American Express -- a clip that went viral -- the world's No. 1 player said Tuesday "I was just thinking out loud and letting some frustration out because that's what I felt."

Annika Sorenstam, who came out of retirement to earn a spot in the 2022 U.S. Women's Open after winning the U.S. Senior Women's Open last year, said there's a "big possibility" that she will compete but "not be so competitive."

The PGA Tour heads to Torrey Pines on Wednesday this week for the Farmers Insurance Open. Here are our best bets for the event.

Cleveland Black Satin RTX Full-Face Wedges – Key Takeaways

The story of the new Cleveland Black Satin RTX full-face wedges is right there in the headline. Read it carefully because there will be a quiz later.

Ready? Here we go.

It’s a new finish option for Cleveland’s RTX ZipCore full-face wedges. That finish is black satin. It’s on the wedge. The ZipCores. With the full-face grooves.

OK, OK. There’s a little more to tell but you’ve got the gist of it. If you want to skip to the bottom, it won’t hurt my feelings.

Cleveland Black Satin RTX Full-Face Wedges: Why Now?

All kidding aside, the RTX ZipCore family is likely in the final six to nine months of its life’s journey. Cleveland introduced ZipCore in July of 2020. And its two-year cadence says we should be seeing new models this summer.

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Bridgestone has announced new versions of its TOUR B Series golf balls.Each of the four models features a unique application of Bridgestone’s REACTIV IQ technology.Retail price is $49.99. Available Feb. 18.

With the 2022 TOUR B line, Bridgestone introduced us to the concepts of contact science and impact modifiers. The quick version of the story is that by adding different materials to its urethane cover formulation, the Bridgestone TOUR B golf balls would react differently when struck with a driver than they would during lower-speed wedge shots. According to Bridgestone, impact modifiers made the cover of TOUR B golf balls play firmer and faster off the driver for more distance and softer off wedges, creating more spin.

It was a classic “best of both worlds” situation.

The foray into contact science continued with the e12 Contact golf ball. More specifically, the Contact Force Dimple pattern which provides 38 percent more contact area at impact. Bridgestone says that gets you greater energy transfer off the driver and more friction (more spin) off wedges. It also looks kind of cool.

It was a similar story to the TOUR B impact modifiers, with a little bit different way of getting there.

COBRA’s AIR-X family includes metalwoods, hybrids and irons.Target market: golfers with low to moderate swing speedsContinuing innovation by focusing on weight savings and forgivenessAvailable as individual clubs or sets

INTRODUCING AIR-X

Last week, COBRA’s flagship LTDx lineup took center stage. Today, their other franchise makes an appearance: COBRA AIR-X.

For me, the beginning of the year is an extension of Christmas. Products are pouring into our facility for Most Wanted testing. Some are kept tight-lipped. Others, well, the whole world knows about. In January, it feels like not a single day goes by without a new product announcement.

Today is no different.

AIR-X follows F-Max, one of COBRA’s signature franchises. Needless to say, big shoes to fill. However, with constant focus on innovation, COBRA believes with AIR-X, the sky is the limit – at least for golfers within the AIR-X demographic.

INNOVATION and DESIGN

While not as flashy as others, the AIR-X line deserves its share of attention in the lightweight golf club category. Through a concentrated effort to maximize weight savings, COBRA’s new design saves eight grams of weight in their men’s and women’s drivers and fairway woods. Additionally, COBRA is able to save two grams of weight in their new AIR-X Irons. By saving weight, COBRA achieves their goal to provide a lightweight golf club that offers forgiveness and potentially more speed.

The PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open shifts to a Wednesday-Saturday schedule this week. Here's how to watch on ESPN+.