2020 saw the opening of fifteen courses eligible for Golf Digest’s “Best New” award in what appears more like the new normal than an aberration, as Derek Duncan writes of the three courses singled out this year:

It’s humorous now to think that the 40 or so new courses that opened in 2010 didn’t form a critical mass large enough to merit the magazine’s full attention and thus an award. The course-construction recession was considered a temporary squall, but course openings have remained maddeningly scarce over the past 10 years, and this year’s class consists of just 15 graduates. But feeling that new course openings are now more newsworthy than ever, we’ve decided to proceed with the prize—though because of travel difficulties and the extenuating circumstances of the moment we gave each facility that opened in late 2019 or 2020 the option to postpone its candidacy until 2021. (A number of courses took us up on the offer; wait for them next year.)

The Sheep Ranch by Coore and Crenshaw won, with some comically-artificial Tom Fazio real estate play called Troubadour finishing second. Nothing says natural like a creek atop a mountain guarding six tees boxes:

Over at Golf Magazine they’ve posted their top 100 already and now add a state-by-state list. I have no profound or even mundane observations about the lists. But I will apologize to all of California’s high-end clubs (and their stocked comfort stations) for getting beat by little daily fee Rustic Canyon (16th in the Golden State).

Enjoy…

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What is Shot Vision?

We get countless requests to test Personal Launch Monitor apps to see if they live up to the hype. So we’re putting Shot Vision, a new app, to the test.

Shot Vision offers a free version with limited metrics to help you dial in your game. If you want to get the full experience, it will cost $6.99 a month or a one-time annual fee. Throughout that year, you can compete against other golfers within the app. It’s a great way to improve your game but, more importantly, gain as many banter points as possible against your mates. Whether it be a target competition, long drive or a skills challenge, you will have that competitive feeling.

The big question is: Does the app actually work?

And is it accurate?

What shoe is this? Is it a new golf shoe that adidas is coming out with or a running shoe turned into a golf shoe for Vice? Whatever it is, it looks sweeeeeeet.

Take a peek at this one of a kind shoe.

The post Together As One – adidas and Vice collab on a golf shoe appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

England's Andy Sullivan shot a bogey-free 11-under-par 61 to set a course record and lead by two shots after the first round at the Golf in Dubai Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Wednesday.

We all struggle for perfection with our game of golf. That’s exactly why we love this game. Yes it’s a love hate relationship but you know that if you can par one hole you should be able to par all 18 holes on any given day. At least you hope to do that. I’ve been reading The Inner Game of Golf by Timothy Gallwey. He really has an amazing solution.

Self Doubt Is our Primary Stumbling Block
CONFIDENCE and TRUST for a consistent swing with every club is all we need to lock into our brain to create SUCCESS. Unfortunately we live with 2 alter egos: Self 1 that controls how we TRY for success and Self 2 that OPENS OUR MIND for success. Just get rid of mental stress by replacing it with a simple thought that’s easy to accomplish.

Of course you need to know the basics of the proper club selection, grip and setup for your irons, hybrids, woods and driver. You also need the skill to read a green and choose a target line. All of that can be learned with lessons and practice. Where we all fall down is during our swing when nervous tension destroys our rhythm and execution of our swing with any club or putter.

If you focus on the top 20 (or 100) moves that we need to execute and then you try to join the dots in your mind, you build up panic and emotion that can destroy any swing. That’s exactly why Brook Koepka says that he has NO thought in his mind when he swings. He knows his target and the shape of his shot. That wonderful feeling is all he needs to execute his shot.

Charles Barkley was a wonderful basketball players but he can’t melt all of his thoughts into a simple golf swing. He needs to allow his inner self to release his swing.

Professional golfers spend years taking lessons and practicing every type of shot with every club in their bag. Competitive matches just add an extra level of stress that recreational players will never experience. But the moment of truth happens for every shot we take. How do you calm down our brain for every swing?

A Paintless Golf Ball?

Wilson has released the Model R, a ball with no paint. Why’d they go and do that? Watch to find out!

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The post [Video] Wilson’s Paintless Golf Ball appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

MyGolfSpy Ball Lab is where we quantify the quality and consistency of the golf balls on the market to help you find the best ball for your money. Today, we’re taking a look at the TaylorMade TP5X. An overview of the equipment we use can be found here. To learn more about our test process, how we define “bad” balls and our True Price metric, check out our About MyGolfSpy Ball Lab page.

For more than a few years, I’d have argued that TaylorMade’s golf ball franchise, dating back to TP Red and Black, was the most underappreciated of any serious player in the golf ball market. It’s reasonable to put the blame for that squarely on TaylorMade. With dominance in the metalwood category first on the agenda, making waves in the ball market was of secondary or even tertiary concern.

When driver sales weren’t what they were supposed to be, the play call invariably was to pull from the ball budget to bolster the big dog.

Sad!

Now that I’ve gotten your attention…yes, actually, it takes no imagination at all to picture the above-mentioned in the headline. But that was the one “reveal” Keith Pelley gave Sportsmail in a Monday interview following last Friday’s news dump of a PGA Tour-European Tour alliance.

This should have happened ages ago in the form of WGC’s or when geographically logical:

Starting in 2022, look for co-sanctioned events in Britain for players on both tours built around the Open at St Andrews and in the autumn following the end of the FedEx Cup.

‘Those are areas offering great opportunities where we’ve agreed to look closely to see what we can do,’ said Pelley.

‘I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to sit in the room as partners rather than competitors. It totally changes the dynamic.’

With the USGA Executive Committee essentially a cast of living, breathing bobbleheads I doubt most care who they nominate these days. Nonetheless, the latest three to join the group of 15 have impressive careers still going and will surely add to a committee filling two outgoing seats—a subtle reminder to those with a sense of humor that the nominating process is never over until the big black tie dinner.

For Immediate Release:

2021 USGA Executive Committee Nominations Announced

Fifteen-member group serves as the Association’s volunteer board

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Dec. 1, 2020) – The United States Golf Association (USGA) today announced three new nominees to its 15-member Executive Committee: Chuck Brymer, chairman of DDB Worldwide; Cathy Engelbert, commissioner of the WNBA and former Deloitte CEO; and Anthony Petitti, president of sports and entertainment for Activision Blizzard.

I have no idea if the organizers find the .21 for last week’s The Match 3 a success or not given the bizarre sports ratings of 2020. As Mitch Salem’s roundup of last Friday’s cable numbers highlights, The Match was just edged out by WETV’s Love After Lockup with the coveted demo and landed 8th on the list of November 27, 2020’s most watched cable telecasts.

After the streaming debacle that was The Match 1, the absolute ratings stunner that was The Match 2—a higher rating than the final round of the rescheduled U.S. Open—the average of a million viewers is probably about right for a celebrity golf match.

For the historians who fled the spectacle—and there were many—Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley defeated Peyton Manning and Steph Curry 4&3.

It’s Giving Tuesday! With that said, we’re excited to announce our new partnership with Youth on Course and introduce you to a new way to give back to the game we all love. Youth on Course provides access to life-changing opportunities to youth through the game of golf by making golf accessible and affordable. Growing […]

The post Growing the Game with Youth on Course appeared first on Golf Blog, Golf Articles | GolfNow Blog.

December 1, 2020

Rule of the Month—Putting Green

The putting green is one of the five defined areas of the course. It is an area specifically prepared for putting, which means you have some special permissions here, including the ability to mark, lift and clean your ball any time. To mark and lift your ball, you must use a ball-marker, which is an artificial object like a coin or tee. You are also permitted to repair most damage (other than natural wear) on the putting green, including spike marks, and remove sand and loose soil – even when your ball is off the putting green.

Once you have marked, lifted, and replaced your ball on the putting green, your ball owns that spot. So if it moves for any reason, you will replace it without penalty. If you have not marked, lifted, and replaced your ball, whether you replace it or play it from its new location depends on the cause of the movement. If you or anyone else accidentally causes your ball to move, replace it. If wind or another natural force causes it to move, play it from its new location. There is no penalty in either case.

On the putting green, the flagstick indicates where the hole is located. You are allowed to putt with the flagstick in the hole, and there is no penalty if your ball strikes the flagstick. If the flagstick is attended or removed while you make your stroke, it can be moved out of the way while your ball is in motion. Otherwise, it must be left in position from the time you make your stroke until your ball comes to rest.

The Committee decides the hole location and, while there is guidance, there is no such thing as an illegal hole location.

Ahead of the Father/Son Challenge, Justin Thomas says Tiger Woods' son, Charlie, wants to beat him and talks trash like his dad does.

December 1, 2020

NBC Sports, Via GolfNow, Ink Landmark Partnership to Provide Affordable Access to Golf

 

Youth on Course members can rejoice. On this Giving Tuesday, NBC Sports has earmarked a longtime commitment to affordable access to golf for youth across the country by supporting Youth on Course through their GolfNow platform.

Youth on Course establishes more opportunities for the younger generation to access golf courses at an affordable price by providing 100,000 children with access to play more than 1,400 golf courses across the U.S. and Canada for $5 or less. Members also benefit from career opportunities through the caddie and internship programs and have the chance to receive college scholarships.

TaylorMade’s new MyTP custom putter program allows golfers to design custom blade putters.Choose from two blade models and thousands of customizable options.

TaylorMade’s new MyTP putter program should give blade players something to cheer about. With the new MyTP putter program, TaylorMade expands its existing custom putter design program to include blade putters. Maybe you enjoyed playing around with the mySpider X and mySpider tour interfaces, but didn’t order one because you don’t play mallets. Well, now you can customize your own TP Soto or TP Juno blade, simultaneously satisfying your creative and golfing needs.

Like TaylorMade’s other custom programs, the MyTP putter program gives you loads of options. TaylorMade claims there are thousands of possible combinations but I am thinking there should be a few more zeros on that number. Granted, some of those color combinations touch on garish but go ahead and pick whatever butters your muffin. Live your lurid life!

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Is There a Market for a MyTP Putter Program?

More and more golfers want equipment that not only performs at a premium level on course but speaks to who they are off it. The MyTP program gives them the chance to do just that. We’re bringing an extensive level of personalization to a traditional line of blade putters, delivering an ideal blend of the classic and the modern.

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What Is the Golf Pride Concept Helix Grip?

Golf Pride touts the new Concept Helix grip as the world’s first twist-on grip. It’s the first product to come from Golf Pride’s new Global Innovation Center located in Pinehurst, N.C., and the company says it’s a more convenient and easier way for golfers to install grips.

“[The Concept Helix] innovates the installation process, requiring no tape, no solvent and no drying time,” says Golf Pride Global Project Engineer Greg Cavill. “Getting fresh grips on your clubs will be more seamless than ever.”

The Concept Helix grip looks simple: slide it on the shaft and then snug it up using the supplied tool, called a “horn.” Sounds simple, right?

But is it as simple as advertised?

Back in April Keith Pelley was lamenting the difficult financial times. Job losses were predicted, etc.

In abruptly announcing a new PGA Tour alliance, Pelley scoffed at a Twitter assertion that the European Tour was in poor financial shape.

It’s a particularly strange stance given how there would be complete understanding amidst a pandemic that things were not perfect.

The result of Pelley’s obvious truth distortion now leaves him open to some pretty and deserved criticism. Not for joining forces with the PGA Tour. No as Alistait Tait writes in a superb post, the lying seems crude given the spector of the Tour letting go of off a huge portion of the staff. It’s 68, Tait writes.

Since the tour is in “robust financial health” any chance of those 68 getting their jobs back? Or maybe the Tour IS in “robust financial health” because it shed those jobs.

While one more fall event is to be played this week in Mexico the West Coast Swing is not far away. And outside of a smattering fans in Maui and (gulp) a downscaled but still-amtitious Waste Management Open, fans will not be in attendance in early 2021. (The viability of the events remains in question as California has traveler quarantine rules in some counties and other lockdowns coming).

The Sony Open will not have fans.

And the first of three California tournaments announced Monday their plan to play the Farmers Insurance Open without fans. From Tod Leonard’s GolfDigest.com story:

The blow of no fans will be lessened, Gorsich said, because the County of San Diego did give its approval last week for pro-ams to take place on Monday and Wednesday of Farmers week. “To not have pro-ams would have been another big hit,” he said. “Getting pro-ams was a big win for us.”

The Tournament of Champions, Sony Open and American Express also will have pro-ams, and it figures that Riviera and Pebble will, too, if their local governments approve.

Graphite Design Tour AD HD Key Takeaways

The Graphite Design Tour AD HD is the evolution of the Tour AD MT.It has a mid-launch/low-spin profile.Street price is $379 and it’s available now.

The Graphite Design Tour AD HD represents the 2020 extension of its premium Tour AD lineup. In case you were wondering, the HD stands for Hyper Drive, which presumably speaks to the speed story we’ll get to in just a bit.

The Graphite Design Tour AD HD can reasonably be described as a modernization of the Tour AD MT profile. It shouldn’t be considered a replacement.

As I’ve said with every Graphite Design release I’ve covered, the company prefers to extend the line rather than replace models. Graphite Design likes to keep the catalog intact for fitters who have grown comfortable with certain designs knowing it can take a couple of years for a new shaft to catch on.

It’s also true that while the profile of the Tour AD HD is similar to the AD MT, there’s likely enough differentiation between the two that the older model may perform better for some golfers.

As a member of the European Tour’s Board of Directors, I didn’t expect Paul McGinley to tip his hand much in this Sky Sports piece endorsing the PGA Tour alliance announced Friday.

As I reported Friday, the board McGinley sits on had been briefed on the offer and opened the European Tour books to Raine Group. And on a careful reading and even a shred of imagination there is plenty to read into McGinley’s endorsement.

After calling the deal the “right partnership” for the European Tour and the sport, he gets to some of the primary motives of the “alliance”:

The idea is that we become a little bit more international in terms of the schedule of the world's top players, so they're able to visit other places and play in other events on the European Tour.

Three of the four major championships are played in America every year and a lot of the World Golf Championships have migrated back to the USA. I think the players can eventually expect, hopefully from a European point of view, a more international flavour to the world's best events.