Tiger Woods, in the biggest group on the course alongside Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, gets going at the PGA Championship. We follow his every move.
News flash last Friday: Phil Mickelson withdrew from the PGA Championship and will not defend his title.
Update: Phil Mickelson withdrew from decent society some time ago and cannot defend his legacy.
Anyone who follows professional golf knows the mercurial Mickelson was the architect of his own demise. He just couldn’t control himself when interviewed by Alan Shipnuck for his unauthorized biography.
Speaking about his commitment to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf International Series, he called the Saudis “scary motherf***ers” whom, he acknowledged, controlled a murderous authoritarian regime. After an explosive backlash from colleagues and the public, he walked those comments back, saying his intention was to leverage his LIV involvement into reshaping the PGA Tour for the betterment of the players. It didn’t work. He lost whatever aura he had cultivated with the public and his peers (many of whom already doubted his glad-handing, Arnie-wannabe act). His sponsors cut him loose.
That backlash drew much attention to the upstart Saudi tour, all of it negative. Nevertheless, some players—most has-beens and never-will-be’s—voiced interest in competing. The PGA Tour responded by saying it would not release any players to do so. The first LIV event takes place June 9-11 at England’s Centurion Club.
Do you walk or ride when playing golf?
In recent years, walking while playing golf has been the norm.
Many golfers didn’t want to carry their bag so the golf push cart was a MUST. Although with the cost of golf push carts have risen, push cart companies are finding themselves selling out every time they get a shipment in.
In the 2022 test, we tested golf push carts with 3-wheels, 4-wheels, can fold up no wider than your fist, and others that can be converted into an electric carts. We’ve even gone as far and studied and written a health piece on how beneficial it is to walk with a push cart.
Whether you’re ready to buy a golf push cart today, want some buying advice to help you find the right cart or just want a closer look at what’s on the market, this guide will help you find what you’re looking for.
Titleist has introduced new versions of Tour Speed and Tour Soft.Tour Speed is “reformulated”; Tour Soft is billed as “new.”Retail price in the U.S. is $40 (Tour Speed) and $35 (Tour Soft).Available May 20
The original Titleist Tour Speed golf ball launched in August of 2020. Given the cadence of the industry, a late May release might suggest Titleist is coming to market a little early with Version 2.0. The thing is … This Tour Speed isn’t really a Version 2.0. According to Titleist, it’s not technically new. It’s reformulated which I suppose could make it Version 1.5. But, early to market? Definitely not. For Titleist, the reality is closer to just in time.
Before we dig into all that, let’s briefly explore the nearly-as-brief history of Tour Speed.
Tour Speed is Titleist’s entry into the “not played on Tour” urethane market. While there is the occasional exception, we’re talking about balls used almost exclusively by recreational golfers, and moderate swing speed ones at that. It’s a competitive set that includes things like Chrome Soft, Tour Response and the Bridgestone RX series.
Greg Norman's involvement in the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV golf tour and comments he's made about the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi drew criticism from golfers in Australia.
Bryson DeChambeau, who has been out of action since having surgery to repair a bone in his left wrist after missing the cut at the Masters in early April, played a practice round at Southern Hills and appears ready to compete in the PGA Championship.
I developed GOLFSTR+ to help me remember to keep my leading arm straight in my backswing. If you bend your arm in the backswing it will always be difficult to consistently swing down to the ball with the exact same arm length. A bent leading arm causes topped balls or fat hits or hits off the toe of your club.
You will never see Tiger Woods swing with a bent leading arm because he still has the flexibility for a full rotation with a straight leading arm in his backswing. He, like every other professional golfer, knows that his leading arm is HIS YARD STICK to his golf ball. He has a straight leading arm in his setup and again at impact and that gives him a consistent impact with the ball.
Driving distance champions have longer backswing but hit a low percentage on the fairway. Accuracy with a limited backswing must be a critical solution for your game.
Aging Bodies Lose Flexibility
What are aging bodies supposed to do when they can’t create a backswing like Tiger and all of the other pros. Bending your elbow will often result in a swing over the top causing a sliced shot or hits off the toe of your club. If you eliminate the top of your bent arm backswing, you can also eliminate premature casting at the top.
3 Solutions to Keep Your Leading Arm Straight.
1/ Lift your leading heel slightly to allow for more rotation of your hips without shifting your body back. Jack Nicklaus and many other pros did this. Why can’t you?
2/ LIMIT YOUR BACKSWING to the point where your leading arm is NOT BENT and your FLAT LEADING WRIST is cocked for lag. Your power comes from the weight transfer to your leading hip but even more important the release of your wrist lag at the bottom of your swing.
NOTE: Even the pros normally complete a backswing with their leading straight arm just above horizontal when hitting irons. YOU DON’T NEED A JOHN DALY BACKSWING for you irons or your driver.
3/ Train your mind to limit your backswing using GOLFSTR+. Wear it while you play 18 holes to train your mind to limit your swing. [Unfortunately, it’s not legal to wear during a competition.]
Scottie Scheffler is the consensus betting favorite to win this week's PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but the largest reported wager on the tournament is on 60-1 long shot Tiger Woods.
Jordan Spieth gets another chance to become the sixth man to complete the career grand slam.
Who remembers the Titleist 975D? It is arguably one of the best drivers Titleist has ever made. However, many are now saying the Titleist TSi3 driver might be even better. Today, we review the Titleist TSi3 driver to find out if that is true.
Positioned for the better player, the Titleist TSi3 driver trades a little forgiveness for a more compact shape and adjustable weighting. The Titleist TSi3 Driver is 460cc but this is a classic example of size versus shape. The Titleist TSi3 is significantly more compact and looks smaller than it is. With the TSi3, you get flatter trajectory and adjustable center-of-gravity weighting. TSi drivers are 15-percent more efficient through the air (during the swing). If you’re looking to put a number on that, we’re talking about gains measured in tenths of miles per hour. Not nothin’, but not a lot either.
Apart from the TSi3 weight track, the most appreciable enhancement is the new face design. Titleist isn’t claiming any sort of spin benefit from its new textured face but Titleist has some preliminary data to suggest the design might assist in producing more centered impact. The research is ongoing but Titleist patented it just in case.
With Titleist TSi, there is some front-to-back MOI improvement (five percent over TS) but the most significant gains come top to bottom where MOI is up 13 percent in the TSi2 and 10 percent in the Titleist TSi3. That’s going to give you more consistent spin which, apart from generally providing more consistent ball flight, gives fitters an opportunity to fit to a lower spin number when it makes sense to do so.
Sure, everyone would love to have a Babe Ruth game-worn jersey. But that's not in the cards for most collectors, but some odd items -- with ties to sports -- can be found at auctions.
ShotScope introduces new post-round stat-packageIndividualized performance metrics on your home courseHole-by-hole performance breakdowns
The only thing I have in common with Tiger Woods is that we both want to shoot a lower score than whatever we posted. That is, unless he’s a fan of Dr. Pepper and fresh cut limes. In fact, the pursuit of better play is the element that binds golfers, regardless of age or ability. It’s with that understanding that companies like ShotScope offer a comprehensive stat-tracking platform with a bevy of advanced analytics.
Earlier this year, ShotScope launched several new devices aimed at the golfer who wants all the data but would rather not wear a watch or lug around an iPhone (or Android device). It takes longer to bring new hardware to market than to create updated software. If you own a Tesla or Smart TV, this isn’t new information. Beyond that, it underlies a fundamental value of personal technology. The device is important. But really, it’s a conduit to an entire user experience. In this case, that experience is all about finding ways to shoot lower scores.
Shot Scope is still in the business of GPS devices and automatic shot tracking technology. That said, it’s really in the business of personalized performance assessment and information gathering.
Getting the data is relatively easy. Ensuring that it’s intelligible and relevant to the golfer? That’s a bit more arduous.
This latest update from Shot Scope focuses on course-specific performance – and by extension, hole-specific performance. Gavin Dear, CCO of Shot Scope states, “It was our vision that golfers would be able to use these features to help them play their home course to the best of their ability and use the data provided to help with strategising out on the course.”
Who can win? Who has the best betting value? What props are the most interesting? Our experts look at the PGA Championship from all angles.
Can Scheffler do it again? Will Tiger contend? Who else should we be paying attention to? We answer all the big questions for the PGA Championship.
Fans can eat all they want with their ticket price at the PGA Championship, but the prices, especially for beer, got the golfers talking.
Tiger Woods gave his most detailed set of comments to date on the PGA Tour v. LIV Golf and Phil Mickelson.
I have little to add other than the question and context.
On Mickelson not being at Southern Hills to defend his PGA Championship victory:
It's always disappointing when the defending champion not here. Phil has said some things that I think a lot of us who are committed to the Tour and committed to the legacy of the TOUR have pushed back against, and he's taken some personal time, and we all understand that. But I think that some of his views on how the Tour could be run, should be run, been a lot of disagreement there. But as we all know, as a professional, we miss him being out here. I mean, he's a big draw for the game of golf. He's just taking his time and we all wish him the best when he comes back. Obviously we're going to have difference of opinions, how he sees the Tour, and we'll go from there.
On Phil’s position:
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