U.S. Open Sleepers

All the big guns are favorites to win at Winged Foot, but which golfers have a chance to sneak up on the field and win their first major championship?

Thrash TalkI want to start off this week’s Thrash Talk by congratulating my Oklahoma State Cowboys on winning another national championship in golf. The men’s team outlasted the Florida Gators en route to winning their 10th national championship in the sport. On top of that, redshirt freshman Jonathan Moore won the individual title for the Cowboys. Needless to say, it has been a great weekend for this proud Okie.

Now that my personal pride is out of the way, it’s time to start the U.S. Open talk. The season’s second major championship is a little over a week away, and I’m definitely ready for it. The last time a PGA Tour major was played at Winged Foot, Davis Love III won in memorable fashion. Love’s putt on the 72nd hole is still one of my fondest golf memories of all time.

Father’s Day Gifts for the Golfer Who has Everything

Father’s Day gift giving doesn’t have to be a chore if your dad’s a golfer. A little web surfing can produce some unique ideas.

Bag DropIn my family, the three U.S. majors all marked significant annual observances. The Masters fell around my dad’s birthday and the PGA Championship around mine. And, of course, every year the U.S. Open wound up on Father’s Day.

It was always fun trying to pick out a golf gift for my dad, even if it was a challenge to come up with something truly useful for a golfer who had everything. If that’s your predicament, here are some ideas to consider from a golfer who has everything and who’s probably old enough to be your father…

Volume Sixty-Two

Another hodgepodge of links for your enjoyment!

As always, this week’s Hittin’ The Links is a cornucopia of random links. From outing formats, to Michelle Wie’s Sectional results, to a golf glossary, to my hideous golfers tan, this week’s Hittin’ The Links covers it all.

Enjoy the read, and next time you golf, see how many times you can take zero putts on a hole, Don!

Golf Talk [Episode 025]

Furrowed brows and furrowed bunkers. What do the pros want: non-penal hazards? Or maybe they just want to say ‘penal’ more frequently.

PodcastTom Pernice gets away with cheating (maybe) and Michelle Wie may need to cheat to qualify for the U.S. Open (maybe). But the big news this week is the furrowed bunkers at The Memorial, so we talk about them. Just what has Jack Nicklaus been smoking, and where can we get some? Also, Royal Precision closes down, Clinton fails to add properly, Daly’s book sells well, and Meena Lee fails to send an email, costing her a spot at the U.S. Women’s Open. This and a whole lot more in this week’s episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 025 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.

On Furrows, Whining, and Winning

I don’t care if they fill the bunkers with aluminum pop tabs – the conditions are the same for every golfer. Just go play!

There’s no whining in golf. Unless, of course, you’re a PGA Tour pro at this week’s Memorial Tournament. This week, some (most?) pros are busy whining about the furrowed bunkers. They’re “unfair.” Players “weren’t warned.” They introduce “luck” to the game. And on and on…

Muirfield Village Range Rake
The golfers at this week’s Memorial Tournament will play under the same conditions, so what’s the beef?

Jay Haas

Jay Haas remained a significant factor on the PGA Tour late into his forties. His nine victories are overshadowed by the way he carries himself on and off the golf course.

ProFilesSince 1976, Jay Haas has been a regular on the PGA Tour. Introduced to golf by his uncle Bob Goalby, the 1968 Masters champion, Haas has played steadily for many years. Perhaps his greatest legacy will not be his trophy case but what he gave to the game and to his competitors in his journey as a professional.

While Haas hasn’t amassed an overwhelming number of wins, he has collected the wholesale admiration of his peers on the PGA and Champions Tour. He has received some of golf’s most prestigious awards: the 2004 Payne Stewart Award for upholding the traditions of golf, the 2005 Jim Murray Award from the Golf Writers Association of America, and the 2006 Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor for distinguished sportsmanship. Golf is, according to tradition, a gentleman’s game and Haas has carried himself as one for many years.

Scotty Cameron by Titleist Circa 62 Putter Review

Scotty Cameron pays tribute to the putters of his youth with the Circa 62 line. How do these old school putters stack up in the present day?

Scotty Cameron Circa 62 Number ThreeScotty Cameron’s line of Titleist putters occupies a unique niche in the flatstick universe. After joining forces with Titleist in the mid-1990s, Cameron’s milled product line essentially created the $250-plus premium putter market. Titleist regularly leads the PGA Tour in putters in play, and Cameron’s putters have such a strong reputation – and resale value – that entire businesses are built around buying and selling them.

If you’re one of Cameron’s crazies, you probably know all about his new Circa 62 line. If you aren’t, read on and find out what this new line of milled putters is all about, and what a $299 putter can do for your game.

Do Seniors Follow the Rule?

This year’s Senior PGA Championship made me think about how the last major tour would stand up to the 40-30-20-10 rule. It turns out that it fits just as good – or even better – than the PGA and LPGA Tours.

The Numbers GameIf you were like me and many other golf fans, you spent Sunday afternoon watching an exciting finish to the Senior PGA Championship. Both Brad Bryant and Jay Haas made nerve wracking birdie putts on the final hole of regulation to send the championship into extra holes.

During those three holes, Haas spent most of the time scrambling around and sinking longer putts to keep himself alive. Bryant, on the other hand, could not rekindle the magic he had on #18 in regulation and lost the tournament by missing a four footer on the last playoff hole, which happened to be #18 again.

This week in The Numbers Game, I thought it would be an appropriate time to take the 40-30-20-10 rule and see if it applies to the Senior PGA players as well as it does to the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour. We saw just how important the 30 (putting) was in those final few holes. Will the others fall into their normal place? Read on to find out.