Golfing News & Blog Articles

Munoz led by one shot over Brandon Hagy and is two shots up from a group of five players that include Scott Brown, Adam Long, Cameron Champ, Kevin Na and Ryan Moore.

Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz eagled the par-5 18th hole Saturday to take a two-point lead over Vinny Del Negro into the final round of the American Century Championship.

A month after losing a playoff to Yuka Saso in the U.S. Women's Open, Nasa Hataoka, bolstered by a run of birdies, has led wire-to-wire this weekend at the Marathon LPGA Classic in Ohio.

Bryson DeChambeau, who took "a break" from longtime caddie Tim Tucker prior to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, has chosen Dallas National instructor Brian Zeigler to carry his bag at The Open.

England's Matt Fitzpatrick and Belgian Thomas Detry shared the lead after the third round of the Scottish Open on Saturday, with world number one Jon Rahm breathing down their necks heading into the final day at the Renaissance Club.

Golfer Matthew Wolff, who is ranked No. 35 in the world, will not play in The Open next week. No reason was given, but he took a two-month break from the game earlier this year because of mental issues.

A severe overnight storm with damaging winds caused the third round of the U.S. Senior Open to be pushed back three hours Saturday.

Hall of Fame hockey player Mike Modano holed out from 205 yards on the par-5 18th Friday for the first albatross in American Century Championship history and a share of the first-round lead with John Smoltz.

Jim Furyk shot a 6-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead over Stephen Ames at the U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club on Friday.

Luke List is the 36-hole leader in the John Deere Classic after a barrage of birdies.

Hataoka made four birdies in a row on Nos. 14-17 to salvage a 69 on Friday. Her lead was cut from four strokes to two.

World number one Jon Rahm felt there was still plenty of room for improvement despite grabbing a share of lead with an impressive six-under-par 65 in the second round of the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club on Friday.

TheDollar Driver Club is the answer to a question you probably never thought to ask.

It could also be a solution to a problem you never knew you had.

Put another way … Wouldn’t it be cool if you could actually play a driver for a year before buying it?

And, after that year, if you didn’t like it, you could just give it back and try a different one?

The idea behind Dollar Driver Club is simple. For about $30 a month—or an annual fee of $365—you get to try up to three brand-new drivers over the course of 12 months.

A fan was ejected from the Scottish Open on Friday after taking a club from Rory McIlroy's bag and taking some practice swings.

Billy Andrade and Stephen Ames shot 5-under 65s on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the U.S. Senior Open.

Authorities announced the arrest of a man Thursday in connection with the killing of three men found shot to death on the golf course of a suburban Atlanta country club.

Hataoka missed a chance for the second 59 in LPGA Tour history, finishing with a 10-under 61 and a 4-stroke lead in the Marathon LPGA Classic.

Putting really is a crap shoot but the more you practice the luckier your will get. So how did John Rahm sink his 25 foot curving putts on the last 2 holes at the US Open? John gave credit to his new Odyssey Hot White putter but his putter also missed a number of other putts that week. When it comes down to putting success, every putter can sink every putt, if you choose the right line and swing with the right speed. So what should you do to sink more putts?

The professional tournaments are played on greens unlike anything that many of us will ever play. The surface of the greens for the 2021 US Open were setup with a 14 on the Stimpmeter (a ramp device used to measure the rolling speed of a golf ball on greens). Public courses are setup with about an 8 to a 10 on the Stimpmeter and Private courses are setup with anywhere from 9 to 13. I was fortunate enough to play on The Bears Club (a private Jack Nicklaus course) just prior to The Masters a few years ago, when that course was setup for the tour pros to play on greens with putting speeds like Augusta National Golf Club with a Stimpmeter of 14. Putting on those greens is like putting in another world. The pros have no choice but to adjust their swing rhythm to accommodate the speed of those greens.

What should you do to sink more putts on every course that you play?
1/ The Stimpmeter of greens is different on every course and it also changes during the day as the greens dry out with sun load during the time that it takes to play 18 holes. Even the pros suffer from the increased speeds of the greens as they approach the end of their round. They often second guess the speeds and end up hitting short of the hole as they try to reduce their putting speed. Don’t fall into this trap after you make a few surprising longer putts followed by putts that are short of the hole. Pay attention to the changing putting speed of the greens and adjust your swing accordingly.
2/ Practice Putting Greens: Never start a round of golf until your hit some long and short putts on the practice putting green. It should be setup to match the Stimpmeter speed of the greens on the course. Tune-up your putting speed before you start your round.
3/ Damage Near the Hole: Too many golfers destroy the roll of the green near the hole when they lean on their putter to bend down and remove their ball from the hole. A slight rise around the lip of the cup (caused by poor cup placement), is also a problem that will keep a weakly hit putt out of the hole. Firm putts (that can pass the hole by up to 2 feet) will have a much better chance of sinking.
4/ Slope at the Hole: Often the sadistic person who sets up the daily hole locations will place the hole on the edge of a slope. [It’s the only enjoyment they have as they think of the missed putts that they will cause.] If the hole is on a minor slope make sure that you choose a line closer to the hole and make a firm putt. If the hole is on a major slope, putt on a line above the hole with the perfect pace to die down into the hole.
5/ Long Putts are Lag Putts: Even the pros are happy to make 2 putts when they land a long way from the hole. Read the break and try to putt with a speed that will break down to the hole as it slows down.
6/ All Putts Break More Severely as they Slow Down: Putts slow down at the end of their journey as they near the hole so a firm putt will make less of a break as it passes the hole. Jack Nicklaus tried to let his putts die into the hole. He won a lot of tournaments doing that but you do have a better chance to sink a putt if you make firm putts which stay straighter as they pass the hole. Brooks Koepka sinks a lot of shorter pressure putts by BANGING them into the back of the hole.

It does not matter what putter you like to play with. They all sink putts. Get a putt that you like so that you can build confidence with it. Knowing that you can sink putts will allow you to sink more putts. Choose your target line and rock your shoulders to hit every putt on the center line of your putter face directly up your target line. Practice with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading wrist flat (to control your direction). Buy one today at www.GOLFSTR.com

Golf Truism #66: If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

Faces of the NCGA: Jim Valenti–Age Shooter

July 8, 2021

Do you dream of shooting your age someday? Data suggests that the odds are less than 9 in 1,000,000. For comparison, the odds of making a hole-in-one are 9 in 112,500.

Over at The Villages Golf and Country Club, a retirement community for those ages 55-plus, Men’s Club member Jim Valenti, age 84, does it regularly. The Villages officials discovered his accomplishments several years ago and have been tracking his scores since. At age 84, the frequency is increasing. (62% of the time in 2021).

Recently, on July 2 Jim posted an 80, marking this as the 200th time he has posted a score at or below his age.

- About to start his first event as a major champion, Jon Rahm was taking some practice swings on the first tee at the Scottish Open when his status as golf's hottest player was underlined.