Golfing News & Blog Articles

Getting the Hole-In-One Grand Slam

February 3, 2021

Rocklin resident and NCGA member Ben Menold has the ultimate score on each of his home course’s par-3s.

Back in November, Menold, 73, aced the par-4th hole at Whitney Oaks GC using a No.4 hybrid.

The hole-in-one was significant, as it marked the completion of a ‘Grand Slam Hole-In-One’ cycle on each of Whitney Oaks’ four par-3s—Nos. 4, 8, 12 and 16. It all started with an ace on No.16 in April 2012. In July 2013, he got his second ace, that coming on the 164-yard par-3 12th. Another year later in 2014 he had his third ace, getting on the 160-yard 8th using a 6-iron.

Al that had been left was an ace on No.4. Menold estimates he played the hole over 400 times in the last six years. He wouldn’t get the final elusive ace until he again struck gold last November.

The PGA Tour heads to Scottsdale this week for the Waste Management Open. Our experts offer their best bets for the event.

Bryson DeChambeau said it's "really cool" to see conversation about potential changes to regulations to control distance off the tee.

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 Pinnacle Practice, which is arguably the most popular range ball on the market right now. 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.

It’s perhaps a little odd that what may very well be the most frequently struck ball in all of golf is one that almost nobody plays. Folks, we’re talking about a range ball, specifically the Pinnacle Practice ball. And, yeah, while we’ve all come across the occasional guy who not only pilfers them from the range but actually plays them, the three-stripe special is not intended for use on the golf course.

That said, it’s a safe bet that more than a few golfers have been fitted using Pinnacle Practice balls. While we’d strongly advise against that, we were a bit curious to see how the other “No. 1 Ball in Golf” stacks up from a quality perspective. Given the emphasis on durability and the sub-Kirkland pricing, our expectations were low.

About the Pinnacle Practice Range Ball

In 2017, New York-based equity firm KPS Capital Partners purchased TaylorMade from Adidas for $425 million.

Now, according to a report published by the New York Times, it appears that KPS is looking to sell the golf equipment brand. In the same article, it states that KPS hired Morgan Stanley to run the sale of TaylorMade, which could fetch somewhere close to $2 Billion. If it does, that would put TaylorMade in the ballpark of competitors Callaway ($2.71 billion market cap) and Titleist’s parent company, Acushnet ($3.15 billion).

This isn’t much of a surprise as the fundamental premise of equity firms is, like stockholders, to buy low and sell high. Considering that KPS bought TaylorMade for a relative bargain – basically $200 million in cash – any selling price at or near $2 Billion would represent a robust profit. Privately held companies typically don’t discuss the particulars of such situations. Therefore, there isn’t much water cooler talk around potential suitors, though I suspect it won’t be long before we start hearing some names.

The golf industry topped the $1 billion mark for club, bag, ball, and shoes sales in Q3 of 2020. Although it’s likely a pandemic-aided boom, it’s an important number because it’s only the second time that this has happened in any quarter and the first time in Q3. The equipment market appears to be relatively stable, a factor that likely weighed heavily on KPS’s apparent decision to pursue the sale of TaylorMade.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

Paul Casey, who initially declined to play in the Saudi International, saying he was uncomfortable due to his relationship with UNICEF, has elected to compete in the tournament.

Titlelist has invited Justin Thomas to take part in its diversity and inclusion training of employees.

 

The post Vallejo City Championship appeared first on Northern California Golf Association.

The Unites States Golf Association and the R&A jointly announced Tuesday that they are proposing equipment standards changes, including a potential local rule for club and ball specifications. It is also proposing changes to club length.

USGA and RandA Release Areas of Interest to Help Mitigate Continuing Distance Increases

February 2, 2021 

The USGA and The R&A are re-engaging with the golf industry on the Distance Insights project, which aims to help achieve a more sustainable long-term future for golf.

The governing bodies are issuing specific Areas of Interest to help mitigate continuing distance increases and three proposed changes to the Equipment Rules to ensure their effectiveness in relation to distance limits.

The delivery of research topics related to hitting distances and golf’s sustainability was delayed in 2020 to allow the golf industry to focus on the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The Areas of Interest notice, sent on Monday to golf equipment manufacturers, follows the conclusions of the Distance Insights Report delivered last February. It is the first step of the established Equipment Rulemaking Procedures, which give the opportunity for golf’s stakeholders to provide research and perspectives on topics that might lead to equipment Rules changes.

Key Takeaways

Shot Scope adds Strokes Gained data to its shot-tracking/performance package.Phase One introduced this past week includes Strokes Data comparison to Tour.Hole-by-hole analytics and other info will be rolled out in Phase Two this spring.Phase Three allows you to compare with players in your handicap range.

Shot Scope’s new Strokes Gained Data is a big deal for the Edinburgh, Scotland-based golf tech company. Shot Scope took a huge leap forward last summer when it released its V3 GPS watch. But with Arccos adding Strokes Gained to its data package last summer,  Shot Scope had been lagging just a wee bit behind, as the Scots might say.

That wee lag is no more.

Strokes Gained is the Holy Grail for golf analytic nerds. The self-aware golfer finds Strokes Gained to be a data-centric insight into their strengths and weaknesses. You’ll discover where you need work and it helps you track your progress. The self-delusional golfer, however, will find Strokes Gained a cold and harsh but ultimately very useful dose of reality.

Just What Is “Strokes Gained”?

Strokes Gained determines exactly where and how you’re gaining (or losing) strokes. By analyzing millions of shots over years, Strokes Gained determines how many strokes the baseline average golfer takes to hole out from every imaginable spot on a golf course. Strokes Gained uses that information to tell us whether an individual shot is better or worse than the baseline average and by how much.

Simple, right?

PointsBet, an online sportsbook that has a partnership with the PGA Tour, has offered refunds to all of those who did not bet on Patrick Reed at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Rule of the Month—Unplayable Lie

February 1, 2021

If you are in a situation where you don’t want to or don’t think you can play your ball, you always have the option of taking relief under the unplayable ball Rule. The player is the only person who can decide that their ball is unplayable, and this can be done anywhere on the golf course except when your ball lies in a penalty area. If your ball is in a penalty area, your only relief option is to take relief under the penalty area Rule.

When you decide that your ball is unplayable, you have three relief options, all for one penalty stroke. Your first option is to go back to the spot of your previous stroke and play again (stroke and distance relief). Your second option is to go back as far as you’d like and drop on the line from the hole through the spot where the ball lies (back-on-the-line relief). Your third option is to drop anywhere within two club-lengths of where your ball lies, no closer to the hole (lateral relief).

If your ball lies in a bunker, you must remain inside the bunker under options two and three. You also have a fourth option for an extra penalty stroke (two penalty strokes total) which allows you to go back on the line and drop your ball outside the bunker.

In-person club fittings were already troublesome, and that was before a global pandemic. Are virtual fittings the wave of the future?

0:30 – Putter testing check-in1:23 – Are in-person club fittings a thing of the past?24:13 – What to look for in a virtual fitting30:32 – A better way to handicap with TheGrint43:14 – What would you change about golf?

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The post Are Fittings Going Virtual? | NPG 70 appeared first on MyGolfSpy.

Key Takeaways

Relatively minor updates for Srixon’s Tour-level ballsZ-STAR gets a slightly thicker cover for better approach and greenside spin.Z-STAR XV gets reformulated inner and middle cores for enhanced ball speed.Slight price increase for 2021 to $42.99 a dozen

The new Srixon Z-STAR and Z-STAR XV golf balls represent a golf industry truism: When your two-year life cycle is up, you better have a good story to tell. Srixon freely admits the 2021 edition of its flagship Z-STAR golf balls is strictly an evolutionary upgrade. That, however, doesn’t mean there’s no story.

“These aren’t a major departure from where we’ve been or what these golf balls are designed to do,” says Srixon R&D VP Jeff Brunski. “We want to make incremental improvements but we won’t do it at the expense of the overall performance that we already had.”

Translation: Don’t f*** it up!

The updates to the Srixon Z-STAR and Z-STAR XV balls are minor compared to their last two iterations. The line is definitely not broken so it’s really a matter of a pinch here and a skosh there. Given the renewal of ball war hostilities between Callaway and Titleist, Srixon appears to be flying under the radar this year.

Maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Following the great tradition of Astro Tour series clubs, we have here the Astro Tour F Titanium Fairway Wood. By utilizing a design to bevel off the toe side of the crown, Astro Tour was able to add 2 sole weights to create the lowest CG ever in their fairway wood lineup. The low CG allows easy launch and maximum forgiveness for players of all abilities. The head design also features a cup face construction made of 15-3-3-3 forged titanium for expanding the high ball speed area across the face for optimal distance performance. The body I made of precision forged 6-4 Titanium. The Astro Tour F head 207cc head with shallow profile and a larger foot print that inspires confidence for players.  Though the foot print is larger, the shape is traditional and beautiful to look at address.  The Astro Tour F Fairway wood are available in 3W+  which is 13.5 deg loft,  3W in 15 deg and 5W in 18 deg.   The larger sole weight in the front is a fixed weight of 20g and the rear weight is an adjustable weight with 5g being the default with 1.5g, 2.5g, 3.5g and 8g sold separately.   The Astro Tour F is a high quality fairway wood with high level of forgiveness and distance performance in a very attractive package. 

Astro Tour F Titanium Fairway Wood Specification

Head Material	(Face) 15-3-3-3 Titanium (Body) 6AL-4V Titanium
Head Manufacturing Method	(Face) Forged Cup Face (Body) Precision Casting
Count	# 3 +	# 3	#Five
Loft angle	13.5 °	15 °	18 °
Rye angle	58 °	58 °	58.5 °
Head volume	207cc	207cc	177cc
Head weight	213g ±	213g ±	217g ±
length	43	43	42.5
Hardness	S / SR / R
gross weight	324g ± (# 3R)

BUY ASTRO TOUR F TITANIUM FAIRWAY WOOD

 

For those looking to complete their wood set up with an Astro Tour Driver and Astro Tour F Fairway wood,  you absolutely need to consider the Astro Tour U!    The Astro Tour U adopts similar design method as the Astro Tour F where they have bevelled off the toe area of the crown to create discretionary weight to place an adjustable weight the sole for lowering the CG but also provides the option for players to optimize the swing weight of the club. The results are an easier to launch head that is highly forgiving and versatile from any type of lie on the golf course. The Astro Tour U heads are available in 18 deg , 21 deg, 24 deg and  27deg variations to provide a nice range of options to blend in with the rest of your clubs.

Showing no effects from a rules controversy a day earlier, Patrick Reed pulled away for a 5-shot victory on Sunday in the Farmers Insurance Open.

Patrick Reed had another rules controversy. Still, even if he did everything right, which he seemed to do at the Farmers Insurance Open, his history won't allow him the benefit of the doubt.

The rules issue that Patrick Reed faced at the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday is one that Rory McIlroy also confronted -- without a rules official and with virtually no fanfare. The PGA Tour said Sunday that both cases were handled correctly.

Paul Casey left behind one of the unhappiest years of his golfing career by capturing his first title since 2019 with a four-stroke win at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.