Month: May 2007

Money List Trends

The days of the rabbit – a pro golfer scraping by week to week barely making ends meet – are long gone.

The Numbers GameWith his win this week at the Wachovia Championship, Tiger Woods surpassed the $4 million mark for the eighth straight year. And it’s only May!

It’s unquestioned that Tiger Woods has had a dramatic effect on the game, and certainly on the money list. Though you can ask the old codgers about the days winning barely paid for the gas to the next tournament, the modern-day PGA professional must make over half a million dollars just to keep his Tour card!

The money list is one of the few stats that measure actual performance on the course. It’s also one of the few areas in which we can statistically and visibly see Tiger’s effect on the game of golf.

Let’s have a look.

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MacGregor Introduces Bobby Grace DCT Putters

Interchangeable faces and adjustable weights will give players a lot of options in achieving the feel they prefer for different green speeds and conditions.

Bag DropEver since I picked up a Fat Lady Swings putter more than a decade ago, I’ve been something of a Bobby Grace putter fan. His original designs always bear something of a rugged industrial look that just seems to mean business.

His latest line of putters for MacGregor comes with something called “Distance Corrective Technology” (DCT) that allows you to swap between a polymer and a milled titanium face to change the feel and response of the putter.

There are three putters in the line. Two are more traditional Anser-like heads while the third is a high MOI (moment of inertia) mid-mallet that looks a lot more conventional than Grace’s past V-Foil putters.

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Volume Ninety-Seven

Tiger three-putts, Mi Hyun Kim misses a five-foot putt to win in regulation, and why the heck is Nick Faldo so nice?

Hitting the LinksThe Wachovia served up some double and triple bogeys down the stretch to make Tiger’s latest victory quite entertaining. And not to gloat (ok, maybe a little) but I had Steve Stricker on my team in our fantasy golf league (along with Mr. Woods).

This week we have a recap of the Wachovia Championship, the SemGroup Championship, and the double standard that exists on the PGA Tour.

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Slow Play Week 2K7 Recap

One Week, One Hour. You too can speed up the game of golf and make it more enjoyable for everyone.

Site NewsIf you missed “Slow Play Week 2K7,” don’t fret. We’ve got a list of all the articles here.

The unofficial theme of the past seven days here at TST has been “One Week, One Hour.” We dedicated the week to chopping one hour from our times, whether that’s bringing the dreadful six-hour round down to an almost manageable five or the barely tolerable five-hour round down to a more ideal four. Frankly, we all believe can play faster than that, but we’re taking baby steps.

Slow play is something in which you can make a difference. Educate yourself (as everyone can speed up) and educate others, because that’s the only way the word will spread. Help the slow newbies – don’t just curse your luck in being paired with them.

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Pace of Play – The Courses Reply

Golf course operators have to put up with this slow play nonsense as well.

Throwing Darts We have spent the last week addressing what may be the number one issue in golf today – the insane amount of time required to play a round of golf. It is all too common to spend five or six hours on a course. That’s just way too long. Is it feasible however to have a four-hour round (or even less)? Do pace-of-play policies work and if so, how are they enforced? To answer these questions we thought we would ask the people who have to deal with this on a daily basis.

Today’s quick interview features two guests: Robert Clark, Director of Golf Operations for The Architects Golf Club located in Lopatcong, NJ and Tim Kuebelbeck, Director of Golf for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board who oversees seven courses located throughout the city of Minneapolis, MN.

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Slow Play Cures

What would it take for American brand golf to speed up just a little. Four hour rounds are more a fantasy than reality. Here are some suggestions.

Trap Five LogoWe were waiting on a group ahead of us last weekend and I apologized to the group behind us that we weren’t making more progress. They said it was OK, they didn’t have to be anywhere.

American golfers spend far too long waiting around to hit shots these days. While there are a few die-hards who don’t have to be anywhere soon, slow play is an inconvenience for just about everyone.

What are we going to do about it? I believe that if we as individuals start to do what we can we’ll find that others pick up what we’re doing. Don’t be afraid to gently (or not so gently if necessary) teach your foursome how to play an efficient round of golf. So, what will make a difference?

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Slow Play Causes

Ever thought how you could speed up the time it took to play a round? Avoid the following and see the length of your round go down while the enjoyment goes up.

Trap Five LogoSlow play is at an all-time high. It’s pretty tough for a guy who has a family, work, a lawn to mow, kids to raise, and a host of other responsibilities to get away for a round of golf. When you do play it’s no fun to wait on every tee and fairway to hit the next shot. Five- and six- hour rounds are a bummer and all too common.

Take a peek at some of the causes of slow play and see if you can’t turn your next slow round into a faster one by eliminating a few.

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Slow Play

If John Wayne were alive, and had a job as a course ranger, you can bet your behind that course wouldn’t have a slow play problem.

Thrash TalkI’ve played nine holes, walking, in as little time as 50 minutes. I’ve played 18 in under two hours playing two balls most of the time. With a full set of clubs, no less. I’ve played in foursomes and fivesomes in well under four hours. I’ve also played nine holes that took just north of three hours. And then there was the 30-minute wait at the turn while everyone grabbed a five-course lunch.

Slow play is disgusting, and we’ve chosen to discuss it this week because we’re fed up. We’re tired of trying to find six or seven hours to play a round of golf. Sporting events are supposed to take three hours – baseball, football, hockey, and basketball generally meet the criteria – but golf is too important for that.

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Golf Talk [Episode 056]

Phil Mickelson gets away with, well, not murder, but… then again, just who did kill the greens at Byron’s tournament?

PodcastScott Verplank bests Luke Donald at the Byron Nelson Classic, Phil Mickelson finds himself at the center of a disqualification flap, Michelle Wie plans her return, and Jeff, Jack, and Erik rant a bit about slow play. All this and more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 056 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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