Month: November 2008

Volume One Hundred Sixty Eight

The season is over, Davis Love III gets his lifetime exemption, and some guys are headed back to Q-school

Hittin' the LinksGood day fellow golfers and welcome again to Hittin’ the Links. This is a special HTL this week as it marks my one year anniversary as the author. Hopefully, everyone has enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. But enough reminiscing, on with the column.

In this week’s volume, we see what changes have been made for next year’s Masters, investigate who still hasn’t received their Masters invitation, and find out why Anthony Kim got to go home early from Shanghai. Also, we take a look at our President Elect’s golf game, find out how Nationwide Tour Champion Matt Bettencourt spent Wednesday night, and congratulate Davis Love III for his 20th PGA Tour win. Read on!

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Adams Idea Pro Gold Irons and Hybrids

These are not your grandfather’s clubs (unless you happen to call Tom Watson “Gramps”).

Adams Idea Pro Forged Gold SetDon’t let the two hybrids fool you. The Adams Idea Pro Gold Irons are intended for better players of all ages. Adams has taken it upon themselves to do you a favor and remove the temptation of those 3- and 4-irons by replacing them with easy-to-hit hybrids. Chances are, after you play these clubs for a little while, you won’t even miss the long irons.

Adams Golf has been making some great equipment for years, though at times the general golfing public has seemed oblivious to their efforts. Adams is out to change that. While Champions Tour star and PGA Tour legend Tom Watson is probably the best known Adams staffer, the company is beginning to get some exposure with PGA Tour players.

Last year, Adams signed Aaron Baddeley and Rory Sabbatini to endorsement deals (not to mention Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey from Golf Channel’s Big Break). There are Adams staffers on the LPGA and Nationwide tours, as well as on the Long Drivers of America circuit. All of which should help convince more “Joe Golfers” to give Adams clubs a try, and they’d be well advised to at least take a look.

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A Brief Look at the PGA Tour Exemption System

There are a variety of ways to acquire an exemption on Tour, but the bottom line is that you have to play well to get it at some point in your life. That time is now for many.

Thrash TalkAccording to the PGA Tour’s website, there are 33 ways in which a player may qualify for an exempt status. Now that the FedExCup has been decided, and the Fall Series is drawing to a close, the chief drama on Tour revolves around who will secure a spot among the exempt next year, mainly by virtue of appearing in the top 125 of the season money list.

Last week, at the Ginn sur Mer Classic in the developing region of Palm Coast, Florida, Ryan Palmer, who was previously on the “bubble,” (he was ranked 143 entering the week), secured himself a spot in the aforementioned 125 with a victory (and a two-year exemption, of course, for winning). Exempt status often seems to be a vague, mysterious, and perhaps sinister thing, even though the qualifications for such a status are laid out on the Tour’s website and the information is readily available to any seeker.

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Callaway Golf Releases X-22 Irons and FT-iQ Drivers

What’s your iQ?

Bag DropYou would think it’s the holiday season as golf equipment manufacturers are busy getting their latest and greatest out a bit early in an attempt to entice you spend some of your hard-earned money (and provide a boost to their revenue) on the promise of straighter and of course, longer shots from the tee box, fairways and well, for me anyway, the rough.

The folks at Callaway Golf think they have a few products that might tickle your fancy, including some new game-improvement irons and an updated version of their squarish driver which looks like it could put a serious hurt on a golf ball (besides looking quite sinister as well).

The only question for you is will one or the other (or perhaps both) end up in your golf bag this fall? Join me as we take a look at the X-22 irons and the FT-iQ driver.

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Volume One Hundred Sixty Seven

Callaway’s bringin’ sexy back, Daly’s spending time in the slammer, and Anthony’s going to be spending more time overseas.

Hittin' the LinksHello again golf nuts, and welcome to another fact filled edition of Hittin’the Links. The end of the golf season draws closer by the day, but there’s still lots of excitement out there in the golf world. So sit back, turn your monitors so the boss cannot see what your doing, and follow along as we take a tour of the goings on around golf.

In this most recent edition of HTL, we first check in on the players who have recently signed on in Europe, investigate John Daly’s latest brush with stupidity, and see what some Tour caddies will doing this silly season. Also, we find out how Ely is bringin’ sexy back, see who won the Order of Merit, and do a full wrapup of this weeks tour winners. Read on!

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