Year: 2009

Softspikes Debuts Black Widow Tour Golf Cleats

Softspikes introduced the original Black Widow spike about a decade ago, and one would think that there isn’t much room for improvement after 10 years. What could possibly be done? Apparently a lot!

Bag DropWe hardly think about them when playing golf unless one pops out or needs to be replaced, but the cleats on our golf shoes play an important part in our inventory of golf gear. Gone are the days of the familiar click clack of metal spikes. There is no doubt that the metal spikes of the past provided better traction than the plastic spikes we use now, but the damage they caused on putting greens and clubhouse floors, combined with some clever marketing from the early manufacturers, lead to the virtual extinction of metal spikes.

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2009 U.S. Open Final Round Live Blog

Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes kick the day off at -7, but can either hold off a host of others, including Phil and Tiger?

Bethpage Black 2009 U.S. OpenAnd so it is that we find ourselves with yet another thrilling Monday finish in the U.S. Open. Last year the force of nature known as Tiger Woods pushed play to Monday with a 12 foot putt nobody will forget. This year, the force of nature responsible for Monday’s play is Mother Nature and the torrential rains that have soaked Bethpage Black, resulting in low scores and more than the occasional delay.

The leaderboard at the start of today’s play looks like this:

Pos   Player        Total     Thru
---   ------        -----     ----
T1    Glover         -7         1
T1    Barnes         -7         1
T3    Mickelson      -2         2
T3    Mahan          -2         2
T3    Duval          -2         2
T3    Fisher         -2         1
 7    Weir           -1         3
T8    Woods           E         7

Can Tiger Woods post a score of -4 or so? He’d need to go -4 on his last 11 holes. He’d be there now were it not for his double-bogey-par-bogey finish to his first round. Will Phil Mickelson’s aggressive play nab him his first U.S. Open? Thus far his many birdies have been offset by bogeys and doubles. What about David Duval? Unless he shoots a final-round 85, you’ve got to consider this his coming back party regardless of where he finishes.

And finally, will either the untested Lucas Glover or Ricky Barnes manage to hold on? Stay with us as we live blog the final round of the 2009 U.S. Open from Bethpage Black.

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Nike Victory Red Forged Split Cavity Irons Review

Designed by Tiger. Can you handle it?

Nike VR Forged Split Cavity IronsNike’s latest line of irons, Victory Red, comes in muscleback, split cavity, and full cavity versions. The Split Cavity set appealed most to me with its promise of workability coupled with a little more forgiveness than the muscleback.

I like to move the ball a fair amount when I play. In fact, that’s one of the things that I find most enjoyable about golf: picturing a shot and then executing it. While I don’t always pull off the shot that I’ve envisioned, when I do it’s a feeling as good or better than shooting a low score. So when I’m in the market for irons, I’m looking for a set that I can work when I want to. Still, I’m a realist… I need some forgiveness, too.

The Nike Victory Red Forged Split Cavity irons (aside from having way too long of a name) are designed to help players work the ball, positioned squarely in the middle of the Victory Red workability-forgiveness continuum. Common sense would tell you that the muscleback blades offer far more workability and less forgiveness than the full cavity irons. All of that perimeter weighing in the cavity backs helps reasonably well struck shots go straight, forcing the player to make more of a concerted effort to purposefully move the ball left or right. It’s reasonable then to expect that the Split Cavity irons would offer a nice blend of workability and forgiveness.

Nike makes a point of emphasizing Tiger Woods’ role in developing the VR irons. The obvious assumption is that if the world’s number one golfer had a hand in creating the clubs, then they must be very good clubs, indeed. Let’s find out if that’s the case.

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Roenick Golf Crossbow Putter Review

Adding a Crossbow putter to your bag could end up helping you drop a few more putts. And take more money from your playing partners.

Roenick Crossbow PutterIt’s fun to see some new up-and-coming equipment companies come out with some pretty innovative products designed to help lower your golf score.

One of those companies is Roenick Golf, who have come out with a pretty ingenious idea for a putter that not only incorporates some nice customization features but also an alignment-aid system that should help you drop a few more putts per round and give you some added confidence every time you stand over a putt.

I’m not the biggest mallet guy in the world, to put it mildly so even with the above features, I was pretty skeptical that the Crossbow had any chance of securing a spot in my very small putter rotation, yet alone make to my bag.

Read on to find out if I had to eat a little crow about my thoughts in using a mallet putter.

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U.S. Open Predictions, 2009 Edition

It’s time for The Sand Trap staff’s annual dose of U.S. Open speculation and prognostication.

Thrash TalkIn which we, your devoted Sand Trap staff tackle the following, and more:

Who wins? Who’ll be slamming the trunk on Friday? And, most importantly, which on-air catch phrases and fixations will have you angrier than the runner up in the media trailer on Sunday?

Come inside for a look!

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David Baker Analysis

Sometimes the biggest problems with your swing occur before you even take the club back.

Swing CheckDavid Baker has been playing golf for nearly nine years but golf was never his primary sport. David’s first love was baseball, at which he excelled enough to play in college. Now, for the first time, he is devoting himself to golf setting goals of playing competitively in tournaments and eventually winning his club championships. It will take a lot of hard work but I think we can send him in the right direction.

For an eight handicap, David has built himself a swing that I would describe as overcomplicated. Lots of players can survive with a swing like this but if you are truly looking to lower your handicap quickly, you need to give yourself a solid set up first.

Read on to see David’s swing and the fixes I’ve outlined for him.

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TaylorMade Rolls Out Rossa Monza Spider Balero and R9 460

Stop the presses, TaylorMade releases another driver.

Bag DropTaylorMade Golf continues to roll out the equipment for 2009 and this month they’ve given you a new driver and new putter to hopefully fill out your bag. We poke a bit of fun at TaylorMade about their product release cycle, but there is little doubt that for the myriad of products they release in a year, for the most part they churn out some very innovative equipment.

This time around we get a the Rossa Monza Spider Balero – the latest edition to join the popular mallet series – as well as the R9 460 driver, which features Flight Control Technology but no movable weights.

Tag along as we look into the latest from the folks at TaylorMade.

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Volume One Hundred Ninety Four

Phil’s back, it’s U.S. Open week, and Camilo’s taking applications

Hittin' the LinksGood Day Sand Trappers and welcome back to another installment of Hittin’ the Links. The stage is set, the players are ready, here comes Bethpage Black! We know Tiger has done his homework, with his impressive win at the Memorial along with his new found love of hitting fairways he is most definitely the guy to beat this week.

In this pre-U.S. Open volume of HTL we look at Phil Mickelson’s comeback to the Tour, delve into the USGA’s decision to stay with an 18 hole U.S. Open playoff, and find out who is taking caddy applications. Also we see who is not at the U.S. Open, look at the long road to get there, and do a wrap-up of the week’s winners. Read on!

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Five Things that Might Surpise You about the U.S. Open

Who’s Ray Ainsley? And other nagging questions.

Trap Five LogoHere it is two weeks until the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Two weeks ago, the media was reporting on the recent demise of Tiger Woods and speculating that this year’s Open might be the most wide open in years. This week, following Tiger’s 14 of 14 fairways hit performance (and 87.5% for the week) at the Memorial, they are declaring him the winner even before the first tee shot is struck.

If they switched opinions any faster, they’d all be in traction with whiplash. Still, I wouldn’t go betting the farm against Tiger, either… and maybe not even dinner.

I love the U.S. Open. Well, to be honest, I love the Masters and the British Open, too. To be fair, I do like the PGA Championship, but she needs to love herself and stop imitating others before she and I can have a real relationship. Maybe bring back match play… I don’t know.

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