Month: July 2009

Golf Talk [Episode 118]

Carolyn Bivens is updating her résumé as we speak.

Golf Talk PodcastKenny Perry and Tiger Woods win, the LPGA mutinies against Carolyn Bivens, Michelle Wie shoots 64, the PGA Tour will have new grooves next year, no performance enhancing drugs found, and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 118 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Here V Go Again: The Truth About the Groove Rule Change

Case in point: This isn’t a return to “V” grooves as is widely being reported.

Bag DropLast August the USGA, golf’s governing body in the United States since 1894, announced that they were enacting new regulations for grooves in golf clubs effective January 1, 2010. This change came after a fairly exhaustive study that was spurred on by the lack of correlation between driving accuracy and success on the professional tours of the world. In other words, the USGA didn’t think “bomb and gouge” was the way golf should be played.

The rule applies only to certain clubs in the hands of certain players at and at certain times, so there is a lot of misinformation out there about what is really going on with this rule. This week, we take a look at it and set the record straight.

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Volume One Hundred Ninety Six

Tiger likes kids, helps out a buddy, and then wins own event…another busy week!

Hittin' the LinksHello and good morning golf fans, welcome to Hittin’ the Links. Hey what more could you want in a final round of a PGA Tour event. Anthony Kim now knows what its like to go to school at The Woods Institute of Winning. Tiger just doesn’t relinquish 54-hole leads.

In this edition of HTL we find out what the President wished for, see whats happening on the LPGA Tour, and investigate the subtle differences in certain player’s travel arrangements. Also we look into Tiger’s feats of the week, see who else got into the British Open, and do a full recap of the week’s tour winners. Read on!

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TaylorMade Rescue ’09 Review

TaylorMade has continued their line of excellent woods and hybrids with the new Rescue 09.

Bobby JonesA TaylorMade Rescue has been in my bag for the past three years and I haven’t found one to replace it during that time. I’ve tried nearly half a dozen that all had decent results but none could beat the overall performance of the TaylorMade.

When the chance came to review the latest offering from TaylorMade, I jumped on it. My older-generation Rescue has been in the bag since 2005 and has seen better days. While I’ve admired Mizuno and Titleist in the iron area, I’ve had a TaylorMade driver and Rescue or fairway metal in my bag for many years. Their dominance in this area has been the result of superior products, not just marketing.

The TaylorMade Rescue ’09 offers some improvements that are hard to pass up, especially if you’re like me and have skipped a few generations. The question is, though, will this new version be good enough and retain the qualities that I’ve come to love and appreciate about my old Rescue? Read on to find out.

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Is Jim Brown Right about Tiger?

Brown has a reputation for incendiary remarks. Does he have a point this time?

Thrash Talk If you missed Jim Brown’s appearance on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumble, then you missed the Hall of Fame running back declaring the following about Tiger Woods, “He is a killer, he will run over you, he will kick your ass. But as an individual for social change? Terrible. Terrible. Because he can get away with teaching kids to play golf, and that’s his contribution.”

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Hybrids in the News

The 2009 U.S. Open saw a focus on hybrids. 70 players carried at least one hybrid with 147 hybrids in play.

Bag DropLove them or hate them, hybrids seem to have changed the game for good. There are many long irons sitting in closets and garages right now that may never see the light of day again. Hybrid clubs are a product of the remarkable equipment evolution we’ve seen in the last decade or so. Advances in equipment and course design seem to feed off of each other, with one change spurring others.

For example, with the death of the wound golf ball and the introduction of oversize drivers, course designers have responded to the fact that golfers are hitting it further by making courses longer. I read recently about the Pete Dye course at French Lick Resort – it measures a staggering 8102 yards from the back tees. This ridiculous golf course boasts par threes of 251 and 301 yards, no less than five par fours stretching over 500 yards, and the shortest of the par fives is 575 yards, with the longest being 657 yards of pure fun.

Obviously, I’m not a big fan of making golf courses so long that even the best players in the world wouldn’t enjoy it, but that’s a discussion for another day.

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