Golfing News & Blog Articles

September 22, 2020

USGA CEO Mike Davis to Transition to Golf Design

The USGA today announced that CEO Mike Davis will leave the organization by the end of 2021 to pursue a life-long passion for golf course design and construction.

In the next step of his professional journey, Davis will team with accomplished golf course designer Tom Fazio II in a new business venture, where together they have formed Fazio & Davis Golf Design.

Davis, who joined the USGA in 1990, became the Association’s seventh executive director in 2011 and its first Chief Executive Officer in 2016. In the CEO role, Davis is responsible for managing all aspects of the association’s day-to-day operations, including its core functions, essential programs and human and financial resources. He serves as a member of several golf-related boards, including the International Golf Federation, World Golf Foundation, World Golf Hall of Fame and Official World Golf Rankings.

“Leading the USGA has been such an honor, and I’m grateful for the many wonderful years I have had with this great organization,” said Davis. “While I am excited for my next chapter, my work here is not done, and I look forward to furthering our mission to better the game over the next 15 months.”

GolfDigest.com’s Dave Shedloski reports on Mike Davis’s future plans after the USGA announced their current CEO’s plans to depart by the end of 2021 (full release below).

Shedloski says Davis will pursue his well known passion for architecture, which has been instrumental in the USGA returning to classic venues and a huge inspiration for many restorations. Shedloski writes:

The USGA on Tuesday announced that Davis is stepping down as its chief executive officer, effective at the end of 2021, to embark on a career in golf course design and construction. Davis plans to team up with Tom Fazio II to create a new golf course architecture company, Fazio & Davis Golf Design.

“I’ve absolutely loved the USGA, and I hate the idea of leaving,” said Davis, 55, who became the USGA’s seventh executive director in 2011, succeeding David Fay, a role that segued into that of CEO in 2016. “I’ve grown up around here. I mean, it will have been 32 years by the time I leave, and my work in championships and governance and so on is just ... in some ways, I never thought I’d leave.

“But at the heart of this, I have always loved golf course design. I loved learning, seeing, playing, studying golf courses. I’m closer to 60 than I am 50, and there was almost a sense that if I don’t do this, I’m going to regret it.

Here is the full release from the USGA where it says Davis will assist with the “onboarding” of the next CEO, also known as hiring:

USGA CEO Mike Davis Announces Departure in 2021

Showbuzzydaily.com

The rescheduled 2020 U.S. Open provides a rare, and (hopefully) one-off look into what happens when a major championship moves to the fall against the NFL.

The numbers, courtesy of ShowBuzzDaily.com’s Mitch Metcalf, saw Sunday’s final round earn a 1.99 overnight rating, on par with the better “Return to Golf” events but easily a record U.S. Open low.

The previous benchmark for a U.S. Open final round came in 2014 when Martin Kaymer’s runaway win earned a 3.0 on NBC. However, that event was not going up against top-flight NFL matchups on CBS and Fox, where this year’s tournament was crushed by two dynamite games: Cowboys vs. Falcons and Chiefs vs. Chargers.

Against less competition Saturday, the 8-hour third round telecast averaged a 1.92, or 542,000 viewers in the only age group that purportedly shops.

Tim Dahlberg of AP considers what Bryson DeChambeau’s win means for state of the game discussions:

The USGA and R&A are so concerned about the impact of long hitting on the game that they issued a report earlier this year that said, in part, that advances in distance off the tee were threatening to ``undermine the core principle that the challenge of golf is about needing to demonstrate a broad range of skills to be successful.’’

Now they may have to update that report. It was done before DeChambeau added 40 pounds during the pandemic break and began swinging at every tee shot like Barry Bonds used to swing at baseballs.

It was impressive to some, worrying to others. The fact is, golf has always evolved, from the days of hickory shafted clubs and gutta percha balls to today’s big headed drivers and balls that fly far and stop fast. But the beatdown DeChambeau gave Winged Foot this week might have been a tipping point in the debate over just how far the evolution of the game is allowed to go.

Michael Clayton writes for Golf Australia about what the key takeaways will be:

The first was that this was a dominant performance and his final round one to remember.

The second is teachers all over the world will be telling kids who watched on television and dream one day of winning a great championship that they had better learn to hit the ball 330 yards through the air, because there is nothing surer than that’s what the next generation will routinely be playing against.

Ultimately, though, watching DeChambeau with a driver in his hand is no more thrilling than watching Nicklaus, Daly, Woods or, indeed Bobby Jones, drive the ball.

Indeed, his biggest influence on the game is not likely to be his driver; but his understanding of data, statistics, probabilities and how they relate to strategy and the best shot to play.

The key for architects is to work out how best to disrupt the data without resorting to trickery – because this week the winner showed trickery in the form of narrow fairways and long grass can be defeated by power.

Alistair Tait wonders what all of these 375 yard drives mean for the Old Course in 2022 and Augusta, home of the next two majors.

Just amazing in all of this bleak news that the numbers keep showing interest in the sport thanks to safety and increased time for participation.

From GolfDatatech and not one mention of how distance is inspiring this spike in purchases across all equipment categories.

Kissimmee, FL., September 21, 2020 … On the heels of the U.S. Open, golf’s second major of 2020, Golf Datatech, LLC, the golf industry’s leading independent market research firm for retail sales, consumer and trade trends, has announced that U.S. retail golf equipment sales for August 2020 were up nearly 32% over the same period in 2019, exceeding the previous all-time high August (2006), by 15%.
 
In total, U.S. golf retail equipment sales for August 2020 were $331 million, compared to August 2019, which were $251 million, and the previous record year of August 2006, which were $287 million.  Additionally, five equipment categories, set all-time records for August: balls, irons, wedges, bags and gloves. Overall, golf bags were the best performing equipment category in August, up 55% vs. August 2019, while YTD bag sales are up 5%.

Not $600 drivers? Sorry, I interrupted. Continue.

 “Golf Datatech started tracking golf equipment sales in 1997 and we have never seen a surge like what has happened in the summer of 2020, coming out of the worldwide shutdown from COVID-19,” said John Krzynowek, Partner, Golf Datatech, LLC. “While the overall 2020 U.S. retail golf equipment market is still down 4.1 % YTD from 2019,  this spike is nothing short of remarkable considering the game and business of golf was shut down for a good part of the spring season.”
 
Krzynowek adds, “The August sales record, which followed an all-time record month in July, is great news for the industry moving forward.  It indicates how popular golf is today, especially as an ideal social distancing activity.  Newcomers are coming into the game, existing golfers are playing much more, and  those who once played but left for a while are returning, which is the perfect combination to drive rounds played and spike equipment sales at retail.”

Bryson DeChambeau thanked Netjets and Bentley for their support

Despite all sorts of restrictions on media access to players during last week’s U.S. Open, Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier managed to access all of Bryson DeChambeau’s post-win obligations and the ensuing Trump Westchester celebration.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, isn’t there a bubble restricting on-site media and indoor access to players out of respect for this whole pandemic thing? Picky, picky!

Some media just have all the access. Or a strategic business partnership with the USGA, announced here by another USGA partner, Morning Read, which is owned by their crisis management friends at the Buffalo Groupe. Did I digress?

Anyway, I’m sure safety came first at all times and masks, social distancing and…yeah right.

September 21, 2020

Jim Furyk Wins PURE Insurance Championship

Jim Furyk joined Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher as the only players to win their first two PGA TOUR Champions starts, beating Jerry Kelly with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff in the PURE Insurance Championship.

The 50-year-old Furyk won The Ally Championship last month in Michigan in his tour debut. Palmer won his first two events in 1980, and Fleisher accomplished the feat in 1999.

“I feel very fortunate, it means a lot,” said Furyk, who had longtime caddie Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan on the bag. “When I won at Ally, I hadn’t won in over five years. It’s why we play the game, it’s why you work so hard, it’s to have this feeling. I feel honored I guess to be mentioned with AP. I look at the hard work I put in a lot of this year through our delay, our break.”

Furyk and Kelly both laid up on the par-5 18th in the playoff, with Kelly hitting his approach to 10 feet and Furyk following with a 90-yard wedge to 3 feet. Furyk holed his birdie try after Kelly pulled his attempt.

Pairings/Results 

 

The post Northern California Open appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

Pairings/Results 

 

The post NorCal Senior Open appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

It’s an age old debate: Is it better to invest in new equipment or golf lessons? We tackle this topic and more on today’s NPG.

1:33 – With Callaway’s release of the Mack Daddy CB Wedge we ask, is it better to play cavity back wedges over blades?10:59 –  Our Most Wanted Rain Gear of 2020 has people wondering: Can rain gear really be worth $1000?20:35 –  Is it better to invest in new clubs or golf lessons?35:58 – Harry’s English Phrase of the Week37:05 – We announce the winner of last week’s headcover giveaway

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The post New Clubs or Lessons? | NPG 58 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

Cleveland RTX ZipCore – New Finishes Key Takeaways:

Cleveland adds two new finishes – Black Satin & Tour Rack (Raw) – to RTX ZipCore wedge lineCleveland is also adding 4 custom sole and 2 leading-edge grind options to the Tour Rack offeringPre-sale starts today, with retail availability October 2nd.

We have two stories to unpack with today’s update to the two-month-old Cleveland RTX ZipCore wedges. One was totally expected. The other is more of an interesting and pleasant surprise.

The party of the first part we knew was coming. When the Cleveland RTX ZipCore was released in July, the company promised two additional finishes later this year. The party of the second part, however, should be Christmas in September for the resolute Wedge Geek. For the first time since its MyCustomWedge days,  Cleveland is giving you the opportunity to custom order your preferred sole grind and your preferred leading edge.

We’ve already given you the deep dive into what makes ZipCore ZipCore, so we won’t belabor that point. Instead, let’s jump into what’s new, shall we?

Cleveland RTX ZipCore – Tour Rack?

Until now, the Cleveland RTX ZipCore has been available only in Tour Satin. Today we get two additional finishes: Black Satin and Tour Rack.

What, pray tell, is Tour Rack? We’ll get to that in a bit.

Honma TR21X Key Takeaways

The Honma TR21X is a new offering in the player’s distance categoryIt replaces the Honma T/World TW-X, MyGolfSpy’s Most Wanted Player’s Distance Iron of 2019.The TR21X is the most forgiving iron in the TR line.

Honma could use a fresh start and it is hoping the TR21X can deliver just that.

Like many of us, Honma has endured a bumpy 2020. The brand mutually parted ways with Justin Rose, leading to the predictable, though perhaps uninformed, speculation about the quality of the product. It launched its TR20 line only to see momentum and awareness lost to COVID and, somewhat quietly, CEO John Kawaja left the company.

Suffice it to say things didn’t go as planned but with the equipment season turning toward 2021, the launch of the TR21 lineup creates an opportunity for Honma to reinvigorate its brand and regain its footing as the JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) brand most likely to succeed in North America.

Honma TR21 Fairways and Hybrids – Key Takeaways

Honma has introduced new fairway woods and hybridsThe TR21 FTI Big LB is an oversized 3-wood designed for distanceThe TR21 F is a compact option designed for distance and controlTR21 Hybrids offer stronger lofts and more refined shapes

Within its TR21 lineup, Honma is pairing a big, distance oriented 3-Wood with compact offerings across all available lofts. It’s not an entirely unique approach to the fairway market, but with the majority of major manufacturers playing to the middle, Honma believes it has an opportunity to succeed on either side.

Honma TR21 FTi BIG-LB Fairway Wood

The TR21 FTi BIG-LB Fairway wood is a nod to Honma’s heritage and the age of persimmon drivers. Honma (and the BIG-LB) may be relatively new to you, but the company has been making golf clubs since 1959. It’s not a brand without history.

The original BIG-LB (the LB stands for Low Balance) was an oversized driver. The LB featured a partially hollowed out head. The cavity was injected with a resin composite, and a heavy steel soleplate was anchored to the sole. Even if designers didn’t fully understand the physics at the time, Honma knew that when you concentrated mass in the sole, good things happen.

From the USGA’s notes after Bryson DeChambeau’s 2020 U.S. Open win:

Champion Bryson DeChambeau tied for fifth in greens in regulation (46), despite tying for 26th in fairways hit (23). 

DeChambeau’s total strokes gained of 7.90 is the fourth-highest by a champion since 1960. Johnny Miller (10.77 in 1963), Arnold Palmer (9.29 in 1960) and Jack Nicklaus(8.19 in 1967) were higher.

This was just the third time since 2000 that the champion was the only player in red figures (Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2002).

If the fairways hit number stood out, it was historic but also not that far off from a couple of recent wins.

Xander Schauffele off a fourth-straight excellent U.S. Open performance, sounds conflicted about where things are headed as he saw Bryson DeChambeau overpower Winged Foot.

Q. What are your thoughts on Bryson just in general and what he's done in transforming his body?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Yeah, he's a man of his word. I said it last night, if there's anyone that I was worried about, it was him. Everyone talked about hitting fairways out here. It's not about hitting fairways. It's about hitting on the correct side of the hole and hitting it far so you can kind of hit a wedge instead of a 6 iron out of the rough. Yeah, he's sort of trending in the new direction of golf, and he said he wanted to do everything he's doing, and yeah, happy for him. He's playing unbelievable.

This answer was especially fascinating:

Q. Going back to what you said before about Bryson,do you feel like he's revolutionizing the game?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No. If you look at just people that have dominated, it's always been distance. Obviously, Tiger had the mix of touch and feel and everything. If you look back at he was sort of the first guy to really hit it far with those clubs. Jack hit is really far as well. All the greats hit it pretty far for the most part. It's no longer sort of a touchy-feely game. The only way to make a golf course really hard is to firm up the greens and grow the rough. It's going to make it hard for everyone, and you'd rather be the guy in the rough with a lob wedge than with an 8 iron or 7 iron. Revolutionize? Maybe he's just exposing our game in terms of, if he keeps hitting it further and further, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to win many more U.S. Opens.

If they’re hitting drives like this with a helping breeze, Winged Foot’s 9th might be drivable in 2028, 2031 or whenever Winged Foot hosts the U.S. Open again.

From the 2020 U.S. Open final round where all three players made “eagles” after video game length drives.

Bryson DeChambeau, the “short” one of the group at 374.4:

Matt Wolfe, outdrove himself from Saturday’s 377 yarder and gave himself a wedge approach Sunday after this 388.5 yard tee shot.

And without the aid of a cart path, lucky bounce or any other known assistance beyond strength, launch optimization and some roll, a 418.8-yard drive from Dustin Johnson.

This 2020 U.S. Open post-final round comment from Rory McIlroy has been getting mostly negative reviews and I believe, incorrectly so. McIlroy posted a final round 75 to finish T8 at Winged Foot.

Q. Your golf followed from Tiger's and Tiger's followed from Faldo, Watson, and back to Nicklaus, very kind of straight line. Then you see this guy doing it completely in his own way, and I'm wondering what that says to you about the guy and about the game.

RORY McILROY: So I think -- about the guy, I think it's brilliant, but I think he's taken advantage of where the game is at the minute. Look, again, whether that's good or bad, but it's just the way it is. With the way he approaches it, with the arm-lock putting, with everything, it's just where the game's at right now.I'm not saying that's right or wrong. He's just taking advantage of what we have right now.

DeChambeau’s approach should raise questions about whether this is where the game should head. But you have to admire how he’s taken advantage of technology and put his body on the line in ways no one ever has. McIlroy seems to be saying that with his where the game “is at the minute.”

Which is also code for: where the game is because the governing bodies did not adequately anticipate many things that are happening.

Matthew Wolff struggled in Sunday's final round and lost to a red-hot Bryson DeChambeau. Still, he finished second in his first appearance at the U.S. Open. At 21, he's just getting started.

Georgia Hall earned her first LPGA Tour victory in the United States on Sunday when she beat Ashleigh Buhai on the second hole of a playoff at the Cambia Portland Classic.

No one can question Bryson DeChambeau's methods now. He overpowered Winged Foot and the field to win his first major championship.