The 2013 Player of the Year is…

With five wins Tiger looked like the runaway winner, but Adam Scott surprised us all winning the first playoff event, I debate the winner.

Thrash TalkSince 2008, the selection of player of the year has been debated very heavily. It was so easy from 1999 to 2006 to pick Tiger because he was winning at a pace we have never seen before. He would tee it up fifteen times a season, win six times and at least one would be a major. We got so comfortable picking Tiger as the player of the year we now hold each player’s season to those glory years of Tiger.

The 2013 Player of the Year will be quite a debate. At the time of writing this article Tiger has won five PGA Tour events and he may even pick up another one to two during the FedExCup playoffs. Wins at two WGC events in Doral and Akron, and a win at the unofficial fifth major The Players Championship, means at biggest events not designated as majors Tiger was unbelievably dominant. No debate right?

With his win at the Barclay’s last week, Adam Scott says “not so fast my friend.”

Callaway X Hot Pro Iron Review

Callaway’s newest lineup of irons only feature four sets and the X Hot Pros look to fill the large gap between the standard X Hot irons meant for high handicappers and the X Forged aimed at better players. Read on to find out if these clubs really have something for everybody.

For a while, in my opinion, Callaway golf has been a company that has struggled from a bit of an identity crisis. It seemed that they were coming out with numerous offerings every season, trying to have something for everybody, and yet it wasn’t clear what clubs were aimed at what golfer. Between the RAZR, Edge, Diablo, Octane, X, etc. it became hard to track what was what or even what was the newest. This year, Callaway as trimmed it back a bit and has just three new sets of irons. For the better player looking for minimal forgiveness but maximum feedback and workability there are the new X Forged irons. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the company has the new X Hot irons which give higher handicappers a bit more distance and a lot more forgiveness. For the rest of us caught in the middle, there are the new X Hot Pro Irons.

In many ways, the new X Hot Pro irons look to fill a very large middle ground in between the standard X Hot irons and the X Forged. In addition to this, players on both ends of the ability spectrum should see some desirable qualities in the X Hot Pro as lower handicap players looking for a little more help will appreciate them as will a mid handicap player that is making strides to improve their game. They are a set that one could pick up as they start to make serious improvements in their game and continue to play long after they have become a better player.

TaylorMade Introduces the SLDR Driver

TaylorMade seems to have abandoned the “science of white” with their newest driver, the SLDR.

Bag DropFor a while now, TaylorMade has been one of the top drivers on tour, and this month, the company is back at it again with their fourth driver release of 2013. Earlier this year we saw the much anticipated R1, the follow up to the R11s, and at the same time the RocketBallz (RBZ) Stage 2. Both of the drivers proved to be fairly popular choices among golfers and found their way into many bags. Those two clubs followed the trend that the company had started a few years ago by featuring white crowns, albeit with more agressive graphics than previous models. A few months ago, however, TaylorMade seemed to stray from the “science of white” and released a black version of the R1, giving the club a more traditional look.

2013 Majors Recap

The crop of major championship winners in 2013 shows us that sometimes you need to lose a major before you can learn to win one.

Thrash TalkIn 1997, Tiger Woods first hit the scene he declared that he was planning to eclipse the eighteen majors won by Jack Nicklaus. This sent a message to everyone that the majors were now the most important tournaments and would get extra focus.

Of course, the concept of majors was decided long before Tiger hit the scene but it was Tiger to put the focus of every golfer on winning them and how important they would become. In 2013, we got three first-time winners of majors in Adam Scott, Justin Rose, and Jason Dufner. Each of them had to endure quite a road to reaching this tall mountain. The fourth winner, Phil Mickelson, won a major, certainly not his first, but one that most of us thought he would never win – the British Open.

Is Rory McIlroy More like Tiger or Phil?

Rory McIlroy is proven as golf’s next hot young gun, but of what variety?

Thrash TalkIn a recent article of Golf Magazine Padraig Harrington made a comment that he felt Rory was more like Phil Mickelson than Tiger Woods. I find this a very interesting comment because Rory is so often compared to Tiger. For a while now many in the golf industry have coroneted him “the next Tiger.”

When Tiger first started having success many in the media were quick to dub Tiger the next Jack Nicklaus. Tiger invited this comparison especially when telling everyone that Jack’s major record of eighteen majors was his personal golfing goal. Sadly for Tiger this now means unless he hits the number of nineteen his career while wildly successful did not meet his own expectations. Tiger is of course very talented but has a work ethic and a mental toughness that may never be matched again. I can say that within my generation is many different sports Tiger has one of the toughest mental dexterities of any athlete in any sport. He made putts, but not just any putts, the toughest putts to make, all the time. He was incredible.

2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Final Round Live Chat

Can Furyk last longer than five hours? Will Adam Scott or Dufner come back from a disappointing third round? Join us live to chat about the 2013 PGA Championship.

2013 PGA Championship Staff Predictions

The 2013 PGA Championship will be hosted at Oak Hill Golf Club in Rochester New York lets see what the staff expects for the event.

Thrash TalkThe 2013 PGA Championship returns to Rochester New York for “Glory’s Last Shot” the PGA Championship. This years event is now set up to be one of most exciting PGA Championships in recent history. Tiger coming off a seven stroke victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Championship will make him a huge favorite especially with The SandTrap staff. Phil coming off winning the Open Championship just a few weeks earlier means most of the big names will be on their game. There are a bunch of story lines, lets see what the staff expects for the event.

Volume Three Hundred Fifty Five

Tiger laps the field, Bubba likes burritos, and Michelle makes the team.

Hittin' the LinksHello golf fans and welcome to yet another Hittin’ the Links. Its time for the final Major Championship of the year. Will Tiger continue his great play from Firestone? Will Phil the thrill make another surprise run? Or will there be another storyline unfolding at Oak Hill? I love to watch Major Championship golf, it will be exciting no matter who is in the lead come Sunday.

In this edition of HtL we begin with a look at Rory’s emotions, then check out Tiger being a dad, and investigate what Tiger did to Mark O’Meara. Also, we peruse the captain’s picks for the Solheim Cup, find out who really loves burritos, and do a wrap-up of the week’s events. Read on.