Golfing News & Blog Articles

Key Takeaways:

Wide sole, hollow-body game-improvement irons with a forged-like feelLowest center of gravity in Srixon line for easy launch and high flightProgressive Grooves and signature Srixon V.T. Sole for turf interaction$1,299.99 per set in steel, $1,399.99 in graphite.Available at retail March 5

The new Srixon ZX4 irons surprised us a little. There are two layers to that statement.

We knew the ZX5 and ZX7 irons were in the pipeline as an on-schedule update to the two-year-old Z-85 irons. But the ZX4s? Totally under the radar until the samples showed up.

That’s the first-layer surprise. The second-layer surprise?

Srixon has something here you’re definitely going to want to try.

Srixon ZX4 Irons – Hollow to the Core

Hollow-body irons certainly aren’t new. Heck, even forged darling Mizuno has the HMB-20. But the Srixon ZX4 irons are, depending on how you look at it, either category busters or misfit toys. The sole width screams “super game improvement” but the topline and offset suggest “player’s distance.” The ZX4’s loft structure will surely get Torch and Pitchfork Nation riled and angry but it’s not out of line for game improvement irons. But, then again, the relatively short blade length and forged-like sound and feel make you think player’s distance again.

New versions of the TaylorMade TP5 and TP5x golf balls are coming to retail in March.Both models feature a new Tour Flight Dimple design.The TP5 is faster and longer while the TP5x produces more greenside spin (relative to previous models – now $39.99).$47.99 for white and yellow, $49.99 for pix

Here’s a fun fact.

On the USGA’s February 2021 list of conforming golf balls there are 37 balls listed with five-piece construction. Two are made by Kasco. Three are produced by Snyder. Two come from V Plus.

The other 30 are all some flavor of TaylorMade TP5.

We can take a couple of things from that. The first is that a good number of you just learned about three new golf ball brands. The second is that TaylorMade is the only major golf ball brand producing a five-piece golf ball.

Brooks Koepka chipped in from 32 yards for eagle on the 17th hole to break a tie for the lead and then parred the last for a 1-stroke victory Sunday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson won the Saudi International for the second time in three years on Sunday after shooting a 2-under 68 in the final round to finish 2 strokes clear of Justin Rose and Tony Finau.

A day after saying he needed to be patient about results, Jordan Spieth matched his career best with a 10-under 61 on Saturday for a share of the third-round lead with Xander Schauffele in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

He shot 61 on Saturday. He enters the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open tied for the lead, giving him his best chance for his first win in nearly four years.

American Dustin Johnson carded a four-under-par 66 in the third round to go 13-under overall and take a two-shot lead at the Saudi International on Saturday.

We’ll defer to World Wrestling Entertainment’s Paul Heyman for a proper Arccos introduction here.

Why Heyman Hustle? On golf’s consumer-facing side of big data and Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) there is only one “reigning, defending, undisputed heavyweight champion!”

 That’s Arccos. And it’s no contest.

Lot of truisms inside the squared circle: To be a fighting champion, you take on all comers. It’s part of the code. Only one problem: There have been more pretenders than contenders that have tried to challenge Arccos.

Not exactly a fair fight.

Steve Stricker, 53, is looking to become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history as he enters Saturday within a stroke of leader Xander Schauffele.

Spieth enters the weekend at the Waste Management Phoenix Open with a shot at his first win in four years. But he has been here before. Is now the time?

New Zealand's Ryan Fox carded a second consecutive five-under-par 65 to take a share of the lead in a rain-affected second round at the Saudi International on Friday.

NCGA Alum Justin Suh Gives Back

February 5, 2021

San Jose native and two-time Junior Tour of Northern California Player of the Year  Justin Suh literally paid it forward.Playing on a sponsor’s exemption, Suh finished tied for 37th at the Farmer’s Insurance Open, earning a check for $34,125. So what did Suh, who was playing in just his 17th career PGA Tour event do with his winnings?The 23-year-old donated half his winnings back to the tournament

Suh, who is waiting for the PGA Tour Latinoamerica season to start, said his decision came as a result of seeing the impact COVID-19 has had on his home state.

“It was a shock to see how many tents are out on the street and how many businesses have cardboard and wooden planks on the windows,” Suh said. “So it’s extremely sad going back home. I played [in the Farmers] last year and was lucky enough to get a spot again this year, and it just felt like the right thing to do. The tournament, the Century Club, they’re the ones who take care of us as players. And they’re the ones out there—from taking our COVID testing and making sure the security is right—just helping out and making the experience the best that they could for us as players.”

Joining Suh in giving back was his caddie, A.J. Montecinos, who also donated half his earnings from the week. The two had made the decision early on in the week before the tournament started.

It caught Marty Gorsich, the second-year tournament director and CEO of the Century Club completely by surprise, with Gorsich telling GolfChannel.com, which first reported Suh’s donation, that in his nine years with the organization he had never had or heard of a gesture like that from a player in the tournament.

The story of the new TaylorMade Distance+ golf ball is as simple as it gets for the category.

Distance+ is an inexpensive ball designed to hit a price point. It’s positioned for the no-frills’ golfer looking for affordability, distance and, in this case, an integrated alignment aid.

Distance+ Alignment.

And there you have it.

We’re on a mission to improve the MyGolfSpy experience for you. Now is your chance to tell us what you want.

We want to hear from you – your golf habits, information you find valuable, and how you select equipment that’s right for you.

Thank you for your support as we continue to improve on delivering data-driven reviews to empower golfers with unbiased truth, not hype.

This survey only takes 10 minutes, can you help us out?

TAKE SURVEY

Taneka Mackey is the first Bahamian woman and the only Black woman caddie on the LPGA Tour full time. The former competitive golfer discusses managing her multiple sclerosis while on tour and being the first but not the last.

Introducing Astro Tour V501 Irons from Masters! Astro Tour V501 irons are made with forged S20C mild carbon steel featuring an undercut cavity back shape. The undercut cavity design allows further lowering of the CG as well as improving MOI and helps create softer feel at impact. Although the Astro Tour V501 irons are a forgiving under cavity back design, it is also designed to provide great workability and excellent turf interaction preferred by better players.   Another feature of the V501 irons are the addition of two 5g tungsten weight screws on the back which helps with lowering CG that helps with easier launch.  The Tungsten weight screws also helps with creating a larger sweet spot and a head that creates stronger impact.  Easy to launch, larger sweet spot and stronger impact are 3 of the most important design characteristic for optimal distance performance in irons.   The face features precision laser milling which creates consistent friction that works to  create consistent back spin on every shot.  At a micro level, the surface of the ball pushes in further into the face milling creating a very soft compressed sensation at impact. 

Astro Tour V501 irons have lofts that are modern with a 43 deg PW which seems to have become the norm for some one piece forged irons …  perhaps should be referred to as “semi-game improvement forged irons?”  Now that the multi-material irons are available in a more player’s category you need stronger lifts to keep up performance wise,  yet the one piece forged will still promise better feel over the multi-material counterparts. Offset is quite small with a face progression spec of 4.0mm for the 5 iron and 4.5mm for 6-AW.   Astro Tour V501 irons are offered with Fujikura 7 Axis graphite shafts as well as the popular NS 950GH and Dynamic Gold steel shafts.  

Astro Tour V501 Iron Specification

Head material/manufacturing method	S20C (soft iron) forging
Finish	Half mirror finish CNC precision machining undercut
Count	# 5	# 6	# 7	# 8	# 9	PW	AW
Loft angle	24	27	30	34	38	43	48
Lie angle	60.5	61	61.5	62	62.5	63	63
F.P	4.0	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Head weight	254g ±	261g ±	268g ±	275g ±	282g ±	290g ±	292g ±
Shaft	Fujikura 7-axis carbon		NS950GH		Dynamic gold
Length	37.25 inches (# 7)		37 inches (# 7)		36.75 inches (# 7)
Flex	R / S		R / S		S200 / X100
Gross weight	380g ± (# 7 R)		413g ± (# 7 R)		436g ± (# 7 S200)

BUY ASTRO TOUR V501 IRON

The post Astro Tour V501 Irons appeared first on TourSpecGolf Golf Blog.

Matthew NeSmith, who shot a 63 to be tied atop the Phoenix Open on Thursday, said he got "about six claps" after nearly hitting a hole-in-one at TPC Scottsdale, where attendance was capped at about 5,000.

Englishman David Horsey hit form with seven birdies to take a one-shot lead over Scotland's Stephen Gallacher in round one of the Saudi International.

jQuery(document).ready(function($) { var slides = $('#mgs_gallery_172008 .mgs-gallery-images .mgs-gallery-image').length; if ( slides 6 ) { slides = 6; } $('#mgs_gallery_172008 .mgs-gallery-images').slick({ slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 1, fade: true, prevArrow: '', nextArrow: '', asNavFor: '#mgs_gallery_172008 .mgs-gallery-thumbs', swipe: false, }); $('#mgs_gallery_172008 .mgs-gallery-thumbs').slick({ slidesToShow: (slides-1), //less than number of slides, so it always shows infinite scroll (bugfix) slidesToScroll: 1, arrows: false, asNavFor: '#mgs_gallery_172008 .mgs-gallery-images', centerMode: true, focusOnSelect: true, infinite: true, responsive: [ { breakpoint: 1023, settings: { slidesToShow: 3, } }, { breakpoint: 600, settings: { slidesToShow: 1, } }, ] }); $('#mgs_gallery_172008').magnificPopup({ delegate: '.mgs-gallery-trigger', type: 'image', gallery: { enabled:true, arrowMarkup: '', } }); });

The Best Cart Bags of 2021

It’s hard to reinvent the wheel. Right?

Yes, you can tweak something here and there but you don’t mess with the basic concept. A car still needs wheels and a chassis, a house still needs walls and a roof and a golf club still needs a shaft, a head and a grip.

Just like the basic golf bag. While the concept remains the same—you have to put your clubs somewhere, right?—it is being continually refined and improved.

As a result, more and more bags are contending for this year’s No. 1 spot in our Best Cart Bags 2021 competition. Yes, there are some that are crap but there’s less mediocrity. There’s little in-between. It’s either good or it’s not. We’ve looked at the “good” and now we are telling you what we consider the “best.”

Whether you’re looking to buy the best cart bag today, seeking some buying advice or just want a closer look at what’s on the market right now, we’re here to help.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open is known for its raucous, boozy atmosphere. Not this year. Instead of people everywhere and noise all the time, the volume will be turned down.