Golfing News & Blog Articles

Good shots should be rewarded. Bad shots should be punished. On the island-green 17th at TPC Sawgrass, a lot comes down to mowing heights

The post Fair or unfair? In Sawgrass 17th-hole setup, difference can be inches appeared first on Golf.

With The Players Championship taking place at TPC Sawgrass this week, we thought we would take a look at how amateurs fare when we tackle the infamous island green.

Arguably one of golf’s most iconic holes, the par-3 17th typically plays 120 to 130 yards (give or take). Every year, we see the good, the bad and the ugly on a seemingly innocuous hole where often the tournament is won or lost.

What about amateur golfers? How do the rest of us do?

Can #17 really be that hard?

To answer that question, the team at Shot Scope has pulled stats from their database of more than 350 million shots to give us insight into how average joes fare in their quest to hit and stick on the island green.

Firstly, we look at the chances of hitting the green from 125 yards.

The new Toulon Golf Small Batch putters honor Texan golf legends.The sole of the putter has “puzzle” symbols representing the honored Texans.Available March 14 at ToulonGolf.com with a MSRP of $1,800.

Last month, Toulon Golf released their 2024 First Run putters. That line features enough chocolaty mallet and blade goodies to keep even the most gluttonous golfer putter-sated for a while.

Personally, I am finding my First Run Madison delicious. At some point, we will chat about its Diamana P105 putter shaft. Icing on the cake.

For some putter companies, the completion of such a significant putter line launch would justify taking a bit of a break. Not Team Toulon. If we know anything about Sean Toulon, we know he is bad at retiring and committed to producing interesting limited-edition putters.

Don’t for a second think that just because Toulon launched a whole line of putters in February does not mean they will not be rolling out a new Small Batch putter in March.

Previous Small Batch models were all named after cities. This time, Toulon expanded the scope of their naming to the whole state of Texas.

Here is a mind-bending stat that keeps me up at night:

In 2023, Scottie Scheffler gained 2.98 strokes per round tee-to-green. It was the second-best year of ballstriking in the Strokes Gained era, only behind Tiger Woods in 2006. 

Comparisons to Tiger are usually unfair, but this is a straight-up statistical fact: Scheffler’s ballstriking is so sublime that it rivals the greatest tee-to-green golf we’ve seen in the past 20-plus years.  

A few months into 2024, Scheffler is threatening to do it again. 

He is No. 1 on the PGA Tour in these categories: scoring average (69.5), birdie average (5.48), greens in regulation (78 percent) and Strokes Gained tee-to-green (2.57). He is second in approach (1.19) and seventh off-the-tee (0.82). 

Approaching the first tee at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am—technically No. 10 since we started on the back nine—a man in a suit walked up.

Holding a piece of paper, he introduced himself and asked how to pronounce my last name. Appreciating his due diligence, I explained that my last name, LoRé, rhymes with “hurray” and “Bublé.”

He informed me I would be second to tee off in our group, sandwiched between PGA Tour pro Adam Svensson and former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia.

“Are you sure CC shouldn’t go next?” I asked nervously. “He’s the celebrity.”

Sabathia, whose jovial nature and smile are as large as his 6-foot-6 frame, laughed and kindly instructed that we follow the predetermined order. After Svensson, the 2022 RSM Classic winner, effortlessly bombed his drive down the fairway from the furthest back tees, it was my turn to get my pro-am debut off to a flying start from the gold tees we amateurs were playing. 

A chip shot is a low, short approach shot in which the golf ball briefly goes into the air and then rolls towards the hole. A pitch shot goes higher and doesn’t have as much roll. In this article, I’ll give you some tips on the benefits of using a sand wedge versus a lob wedge for chipping and a few ways to make your short game more accurate. 

Sand Wedge Versus Lob Wedge: Which To Use for Chipping? 

When comparing the sand and lob wedges, the sand wedge is the better club for chipping. Sand wedges have a little less loft than the lob wedge so you can lower the ball’s flight and get more roll toward the pin.  It’s also easier to keep the shot a bit more controlled. 

Lower-lofted clubs such as a gap wedge, pitching wedge and 9-iron are also good for chipping. The lower loft allows for a more compact swing with fewer moving parts.

Sand Wedge Versus Lob Wedge: Which To Use for Pitching? 

The sand wedge and the lob wedge are great for higher-lofted pitch shots. The lob wedge should be used when going over a hazard to ensure enough height. In addition, lob wedges can help when trying to precisely land a shot. 

The lob wedge has more spin and a greater angle of descent. The ball will stop quicker because of it. 

If you don’t hear that whoosh of your club as it impacts your ball, you are loosing 25% of your club head’s release speed. Of course, that also means that you are losing power and distance. Most golfers, including myself, are afraid to whip their club through the impact zone as they may lose direction control. When you follow the simple steps in this blog you will be amazed at how simple it is to gain control and power for every club in your bag.

1/ Straight Leading Arm: Ideally you need to keep your leading arm straight during your backswing and your downswing to maintain the consistent distance from your nose to your ball throughout your swing. That’s why I developed GOLFSTR+, a training aid to remind you to keep your leading arm straight throughout your swing to impact.

2/ Light Grip: Your upper hand needs to do 90% of the work during your swing. That’s why you need to keep your upper hand grip pressure at about 5 out of 10. Your lower hand can destroy your direction control and your power with a tight grip. It should be gripping with a pressure of about 2 out of 10 just to help you guide your club and your shoulders through your swing.

3/ Point Your Leading Elbow: It is critical to rotate your leading elbow during your setup to point up your target line. That rotation also helps you lock your straight leading arm.

4/ High Backswing to Shallow Downswing: Your takeaway should be directly back for the first 12 inches as you rotated your shoulders & hips as you lift your arms to a high backswing. Flatten or slightly bow your leading wrist during your transition in order to shallow your club during your downswing (to avoid an over-the-top swing causing a slice).

It's time for the 2024 Players Championship! Can Scottie Scheffler defend his 2023 title? Check out how to watch the action on ESPN now.

The 50th Players Championship begins Thursday with plenty of big storylines to follow, including Scotty Scheffler's repeat bid and other big names to keep an eye on.

The No. 1 player in the world has struggled on the greens. But if his putter can get hot, the rest of the PGA Tour could be in big trouble.

Pointing to a ratings dip this season, Rory McIlroy said Wednesday the deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund needs to "speed up."

The Golfbreaks by PGA Tour story starts with four lads from England, all of them “mates.” They had a vision. They started small and underground, as if in a cavern. It took a few years but they grew that vision into a near-mania-level craze that rocked the UK to its apple core.

Then they brought that craze to America. You could almost say it was a British Invasion.

Sound familiar?

Yes, friends, this is the story of the Fab Four: Andrew, Guy, Daniel and Steve.

Whom did you think we were talking about?

While often recognized for their more outgoing color palette, COBRA is known for developing quality irons for golfers of all abilities. In our COBRA Irons Model By Model series, we explain each iron in the current COBRA lineup. We will also highlight key technologies and suggest for whom each iron is intended. Before we start, we need to cover a few key COBRA-related items.

COBRA Release Cycle

COBRA follows the same trend that many other larger companies do. This trend involves releasing a new family of irons that shares the same names as their driver and secondary, or more specialized, sets every 18 to 24 months.

ONE Length Versus Standard Length

Introduced several years ago, COBRA remains the only main manufacturer to mass produce ONE Length irons. Each ONE Length irons is built to the length of a standard 7-iron. The aim is to make a more repeatable swing without having to adjust to the different lengths that standard irons have. Most standard-length irons change by a half-inch between each club, meaning an 8-iron will be a half-inch shorter than a 7-iron and two inches shorter than a 4-iron.

Other Technologies and Offerings

The original golf club partner with Arccos, COBRA continues to offer free sensors and a 45-day free trial to the Arccos shot-tracking platform with the purchase of any COBRA club.

Stock options from COBRA are ample, with a good selection of no-upcharge options available for custom builds. Standard off-the-rack options from COBRA will come with a shaft from the KBS golf shaft company and a Lamkin grip.

Like many of you, my putting is hit or miss. It’s all or nothing. I want “all” so I tested the MS-3D Putting Arc to see if it had any impact on my putting stroke. This works best for golfers with an arc-style putting stroke (like mine). I’ll give you the full scoop on what the MS-3D Putting Arc offers and whether it’s worth your money.

What We Tried: MS-3D Putting Arc

A golf training aid designed to help golfers of all levels improve their putting stroke and guide the putter head in a perfect arc. The MS-3D features an adjustable mirror for feedback.

Why Use A Putting Aid?

Putting training aids can help improve stroke consistency, build confidence and decrease the overall dispersion of your putts. Making more putts will quickly lower your golf scores. Too many amateur golfers accept two or three putts when one putt is there for the taking.

Who Tried It?

Britt Olizarowicz, MyGolfSpy writer and scratch golfer. The weakness in my golf game has always been putting. I’m up for trying any training aid that can help me turn the putter into my favorite club.

What Is The MS-3D Putting Arc?

The MS-3D Putting Arc is a durable plastic putting tool that looks like a standard putting arc. It seems very simple but the curve is based on math formulas created more than 2,200 years ago—well before golf made its debut!

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said Tuesday that fans who are disenchanted with the current state of golf should look at the guys who left the PGA Tour for the "splintering" that has occurred.

Bernhard Langer won't be at the Masters this year because of pickleball.

The absence of several of the game’s biggest stars at the Players Championship is another stark reminder of the strained state of pro golf.

The post On eve of its biggest event, PGA Tour still battling stiff headwinds appeared first on Golf.

With driving accuracy at a premium, Titleist rolled out something new for the Players Championship that could come in handy.

The post Why Titleist made a surprise club release at the Players Championship appeared first on Golf.

Tiger Woods' absence, golf's frustration, Jay Monahan's misconception and 7 other takes on the pro game — sent from the Players Championship.

The post 10 Tuesday Takes: Tiger Woods’ posturing and Faxon’s mini rant appeared first on Golf.