Golfing News & Blog Articles

The Southern Pines Pilot’s editorial board is excited about the USGA-Pinehurst-North Carolina deal announced last week amid a global pandemic that moves a few jobs, a visitor’s center and equipment testing to the region. Then again, they also wrote this:

The USGA is the arbiter, trend setter and final authority of golf in the United States.

Moving right along…

Economic and golf officials believe the USGA’s operations in Pinehurst can serve as a magnet for other golf-industry employers. Just as the club grip manufacturer Golf Pride built a new headquarters and testing facility out at Pinehurst No. 8, it’s not a stretch to think that other equipment manufacturers might cluster similar operations here, just as they do now in central California.

Well, it’s southern California actually. And yes, it’s a stretch unless the USGA is shifting its focus from protecting the game to growing the golf business.

Carolina Coastal Online’s editorial was less kind, saying the deal “smacks of cronyism” and could not have come at a worse time as the hospitality industry craters without government assistance.

We knew trouble was looming early in the week and to no one’s suprise, the artificial wall replacing the seemingly artificial corporate chalet proved instrumental in Mirim Lee’s first major win. Or, to put it another way, likely cost Jessica Korda the ANA Inspiration.

Lead host/announcer Golf Channel’s Terry Gannon took the strongest stance against the wall—dubbed the Great Wall of Dinah by Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols. And Judy Rankin explained the purpose of the wall to maintain the 18th green tradition which helped for context but didn’t help us grasp how history would view the moment. She later added this on Twitter:

Just one more thought. Today’s players are so talented that they would find a way to deal with an island green. Do not need an assist! Only one persons opinion. Thanks so much to ANA for making golf possible this week! Great Championship! Congrats to Mirim Lee.

Alan Shipnuck at Golf.com was on site at the ANA Inspiration and explained the ultimate impact of the wall.

The Covid-induced move of Dinah Shore’s old tournament from April to September brought higher temperatures and a springier strain of Bermuda on the firm greens, meaning that any player who went for it on the watery, do-or-die par-5 18th had a good chance of going long.

But instead of the players’ balls trickling into the water behind the island green, the wall served as a discordant backstop, taking all the risk out of what could have been a thrilling risk-reward hole. (It’s true that in the past there has been a grandstand set about four paces further back than the wall, but with fans barred from the grounds this year there was no reason to have any clutter behind the green.) 

Lee was the first to arrive at 18, two shots behind Korda, who was in the process of making an outrageously clutch 10-footer to save par on the 17th hole. After a good tee shot Lee had 215 yards left, leaving her between clubs; 4-iron might not get there but 5-wood would come in too hot. Going with more club was a no-brainer. “Our play was to hit it into the middle of the green, let it run into the blue thing and get a free drop,” said caddie Matt Glczis. “Without that being there we probably have to lay up because none of your long clubs are going to hold the green — it’s too firm.”

I’m guessing this is the least favorite hole at Winged Foot West for many because of its difficulty and whiff of awkwardness. Over-draw your tee shot and trouble awaits a second in the form of a 110-foot(!) tree. But a right-to-left play is needed to a point because the outside of the dogleg offers a better second shot view.

Unlike so many West Course holes, the approach to the green isn’t particularly inviting for any kind of run-up and the bunker foreshadowing the approach could best be described as, really round. The overhanging tree is also a bit much and hopefully won’t play an outsized role in this year’s tournament.

That said, another beautiful green complex awaits featuring a center ridge coming off of the right hand bunker face.

No. 16 at Winged Foot is a 498-yard, sharp dogleg-left par 4 that requires a tee shot past the corner for a view of the narrow green. The right side of the fairway provides the best angle of approach.

In collaboration with @DeloitteUS. pic.twitter.com/k2dHjt7MqG

History, architecture and an epic clubhouse design awaits at Winged Foot for this week’s rescheduled 2020 U.S. Open.

At USOpen.com, Bradley Klein looks at Clifford Wendehack’s design, the many others he created and why he is the dean of golf clubhouse architects.

Ran Morrissett’s West Course review features plenty of details, critiques and some notes on characteristics might appeal to certain shot shapes.

For podcast listeners, Andy Johnson talks to Winged Foot historian Neil Regan who will teach you so much about the lore and design. A must listen!

They’ve had amazing finishes and thankfully the USGA has whittled down the drama into this 7-minute YouTube posting:

If you have more free time, this USGA film “Hale And Travail” has some incredible footage and moments from the 1974 broadcast.

Scottie Scheffler, a contender for PGA Tour rookie of the year, withdrew from the U.S. Open after a positive COVID-19 test.

Miguel Angel Jimenez completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday in the Sanford International, the PGA Tour Champions' first event with fans since returning from a break for the coronavirus pandemic.

Mirim Lee eagled the final hole at the ANA Inspiration to get herself into a three-way playoff that she won on the first extra hole.

South African George Coetzee shot a 5-under 66 to win the Portugal Masters by two strokes on Sunday.

I started to write this article about hitting straight drives with your driver. In my research I learned about the bulge and roll across the face of every driver that creates a “gear effect” which causes your ball to curve back to the center line of your swing direction. Then my research stumbled on the way to gain 20 to 50 yards with every drive. The pros do this, so why don’t you?

As an over 70 year old golfer, I can hit my drives 220+ yards but I wanted to know how to turn that into 250 to 270 yards. I have limited strength and a limited swing speed. I just wanted to find that magic formula to gain at least 30 yards on 75% of my drives. I found it with a higher launch angle.

I’m not going into all of the theory of the science behind distance but I do want you to know that topspin and too much underspin both reduce the distance that your ball travels. So we need to eliminate topspin and minimize underspin. Gear effect (caused by hitting off center) will draw or fade the ball back into our target swing path so that should not be a major factor unless you are killing your shot by impacting near the hosel or the toe of your club.

Swing speed is another important way to gain distance. Unfortunately if you have a swing speed which is crossing the face of the ball, you can either add a duck hook or a violent slice on your ball. So power and swing speed really have limitations for all recreational golfer.

The Magic Distance Solution [“Strike Plan” by Adam Young]
It’s a combination of swinging to launch a ball at a higher angle about 4 degrees up (plus the angle of your club face) without adding underspin to the ball. You can minimize the spin by impacting exactly on the perpendicular face of your driver launch angle.

On a day when eight players held or shared the lead, Brian Stuard, James Hahn and Cameron Percy emerged in front for a three-way tie atop the Safeway Open leaderboard.

If you were unaware of Saturday’s (mostly) social media goings on, a quick recap…

The PGA Tour reported no positive tests this week at the Safeway. That wonderful news tempered a bit by Mark Calcavecchia revealing on September 6th he tested positive and Tweeting Saturday that he is struggling with COVID-19.

Update from Covid-19 Ville. This shit is very real! And it sucks. I’ve never had so many symptoms hit me all at the same time. I keep moving around the house trying to escape it. Please be safe and wear ur mask. I thought I was but with this evil shit you never know 🤬🤬🤬🤬

The former Open Champion is the second known full-time Champions Tour player to have tested positive for COVID-19 and he deserves plenty of kudos for his disclosure despite still suffering from serious side effects.

Hang in there Calc and wife/caddie Brenda.

Steve Stricker shot a 6-under 64 and is tied with Miguel Angel Jimenez atop the Sanford International heading into Sunday's final round.

Brooke Henderson, who started Saturday's round trailing by 6 strokes, shot a 65 and is now tied with Nelly Korda atop the leaderboard at the ANA Inspiration -- a major.

South African golfer George Coetzee will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Portugal Masters after shooting 5-under 66 in the third round on Saturday.

PGA Tour player Kevin Kisner said he used "poor judgment" in posting a "reckless comment" on Twitter in response to a COVID-19 post by former NBA star Rex Chapman. The PGA Tour said Kisner's comment was "disappointing and out of character."

Barring a strong headwind, the 15th calls for a lay-up short of the creek, with more risk beyond 240 yards in the form of slope and trouble left. (A carry of 325 or so will get you over the creek, Bryson and fellow protein shake drinkers).

I know I’m beating this point home, but hit pause when the flyover reaches the green. The contours are somewhat apparent—a scary notion in midday light when seen from a drone—but it’s the shape of the green that is so fascinating from a modern design point of view. With USGA greens construction, capturing these nuances or even the upslope in the back left, is no easy task. The overall effect restores the green to a huge size but that extra square footage is offset by the difficulty of new hole locations restored and the intimidation factor lost when a green becomes more crowned instead of protected by rough.

These are factors to note the next time you hear a critic insisting green enlargement will make a course easier.

Anyway, on we go in advance of the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, courtesy of the USGA and Deloitte:

Winged Foot’s 15th hole is a 426-yard par 4 with a downward sloping fairway toward the creek. The closer a tee shot lands to the water, the more blind the second shot becomes, putting a premium on strategic play.

In collaboration with @DeloitteUS. pic.twitter.com/w0L6ZWONys

Phil Mickelson is rooting for the bettor who placed a $45,000 wager on him to win the U.S. Open at 75-1 odds, for a potential payday of $3.3 million. "Hoping for both of us I have a 3 shot lead on 18 tee," Mickelson joked on Twitter.

Monday’s final round of the Tour Championship on NBC drew a 2.4 rating, essentially the same as the previous week’s BMW (2.23). However, that event finished later in the day and on a Sunday. It also featured arguably the most spectacular late dramatics since Tiger’s 2019 Masters win.

But the Tour Championship is also supposed to be the culmination of the PLAYOFFS(C) and now features an easier-to-follow, if flawed, format. Drawing a number consistent with other “Return to Golf” events might be disappointing to the event backers.

Also, TV folks say Labor Day Monday is generally tougher for ratings in normal times. Yet with fewer people traveling, not as many kids returning to school and absolutely no significant sports competition that day, this year’s edition seemed primed for a large audience.

The rating could be seen as a positive given that a fan-free East Lake was even more mojo-free than normal and the event lacked certain ratings draws.

Ratings positives courtesy of NBC and Golf Channel:

Heard someone place 45k on me to win the open at 75-1 (pays 3.3 mil)
Hoping for both of us I have a 3 shot lead on 18 tee.

You have to love Lefty’s sense of humor as the U.S. Open returns to Winged Foot where he had a strong chance to win in 2006, on of six (!) runner-up finishes in the national championship.

He replied to the news that someone has faith in his abilities next week, as reported by William Hill where the wager was placed.

Whoa! Someone dropped $45k Thursday on Phil to win @usopengolf at #WingedFoot for a potential return of $3.375 million with @WilliamHillUS in Vegas.

Guy may or may not have been wearing aviators and lost a lot of weight recently.

With the 14th, the mid-back nine closing stretch is where Winged Foot West gets a little less memorable in my view. While this 452-yarder features a beautiful uphill, obstructed view tee shot. I’ll be curious to see if the tight, bending fairway contour forces 3-woods off the tee. Even then it’ll still be a short iron in for today’s jocks.

That said, the 14th is a hole to keep an eye on. The green sets up for a right-to-left bending shot but lacks a greenside bunker that players from 2006 will not see. Instead, deceptive cross bunkers are its main defense in addition to the usual Tillinghast contours.

Dan Hicks, NBC’s lead voice on the broadcast and a Winged Foot member, shared this about the 14th when talking about the course this week:

But there are so many that are, they're all good and I think probably the hole that probably looks, it will look the most different from all of them is 14. It's got that little cloverleaf bunker over the teeing area as you go out to the fairway. They brought a bunker in that's going to, that could cause some problems on the approach. But the biggest difference is the tree removal. That 14th green looks totally different from the fairway because as you look up it has this infinity look to it, it's absolutely gorgeous. They took away that bunker short left of the green, so I think that hole will look the most different of all of them.

Here’s the flyover in advance of next week’s tournament courtesy of the USGA and Deloitte: