Author: George Promenschenkel

Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Six

A caddie dies, but play resumes. Kaymer survives weather and the field. And Sammy the Squirrel gets a new home.a

Hittin' the LinksWhen a participant in a Tour event dies during the tournament — that is, actually on the tournament course during competition – don’t you think that the tournament should at least be put on hold for the day to allow players and caddies to recover, not to mention out of respect for the deceased?

In better news, the Players Championship took place this weekend. On the front nine, it was shaping up to be the tournament of the year, with Kaymer, Spieth, Furyk, Garcia, Hearn, Molinari, Rose, Westwood, Walker, and McIlroy all looking like potential winners at one point or another. But Martin Kaymer ran away from the field on the back nine, at least until the rain delay. In case you missed it, we’ll tell you what happened.

Let’s hit the links.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Five

Holmes bounces back from brain surgery, Aguilar scores from downtown, and winter’s effects on golf are slow to melt away.

Hittin' the LinksIf you live in the Northeast or Midwest of the U.S., your courses are probably just starting to perk back up following one of the harshest winters in recent memory. Here in central Ohio, putts are finally starting to roll without hopping left and right off unhealed aeration holes. But the courses are hurting in more ways than just being behind in maintenance. Between rain and cool weather in April, rounds are down at both public and private courses. On a 60 degree weekend day, one popular private club reportedly had a “wide open” tee sheet. Normally in April or May, you would need to make a tee time a week in advance.

Every day, lost rounds mean thousands of dollars of revenue lost from greens fees and food and beverage sales at each course, revenue that is unlikely to be made up since the season will only last so long. That’s not good for golf or golfers. So do your part and go play some golf.

But first, let’s hit the links.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Four

Despite being sidelined with a back injury, Tiger Woods still manages to hit the links like no one else.

Hittin' the LinksThis weekend we again wondered why there isn’t a regular PGA TOUR stop in San Francisco? The LPGA stopped in this week for the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic and Lake Merced Golf Club reminded us that Frisco’s courses are just so darn cool and photogenic. You have awesome elevation changes, monster ball-eating cypress trees, and the marine layer dropping in from time to time to lend an air of mystery. Honestly, Lake Merced made the TPC Louisiana look just a little plain.

But we digress, let’s hit the links.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Three

We have some tasty leftovers from the Masters and a few fresh tidbits.

Hittin' the LinksHarbour Town Golf Links is a good choice for the week after the Masters. Instead of the miles-long and beautifully manicured Augusta National, we get a slightly shorter, but still lovely tract that seems to burrow through the trees rather than part them with a sea of impossible green.

While the pros play most shots above the trees, the course seems to beg for low shots that bend this way and that to avoid trees, water, and alligators. While Augusta National requires precision shots into the green so that one actually has a chance to make the putt, at Harbour Town players must make precision shots into the fairway, just to have a shot at the green. Of course, the greens at Augusta are much more difficult and faster, the field is far deeper and more talented, the audience is immense, and the stakes are career changing. So it’s not at all the same, but it is cool in its own right.

Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Three”

Volume Three Hundred Eighty-Two

Now even more Bubbalicious…

Hittin' the LinksWhat a week Augusta gave us! The weather cooperated to provide fast, firm greens and all the pageantry that Augusta National promises every year.

The field too gave us a great show. In one of the most wide open Masters in years, a 20-year-old rookie could easily have won, but so could have any of several players in their fifties. Early on Sunday, it looked like youth would prevail, but it was 35-year-old Bubba Watson who took the honor. Watson made some minor history himself by becoming the fastest to his second jacket, winning it in just his second attempt after his initial win. Dare we now call him “Double Bubba.”

Let’s hit the Masters-ful links!

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty-One

Major season has begun, and is there any better week than Masters’ week?

Hittin' the LinksThe azaleas must be blooming. Are you ready for plenty of Condoleezza sightings and to hear “A tradition unlike any other” about a ka-zillion times this week? It will all be worth it come Sunday and the most famous back nine in all of golf.

The weather this week in Augusta looks good after Monday. With a little luck we might get treated to a hard and fast Augusta National, which is almost always to most exciting setup. We’ll be watching coverage all week, and DVRing the Par Three Contest and opening rounds. Cannot wait!

But first, let’s hit the links.

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TaylorMade SLDR Fairway and Rescue Review

Do the SLDR Fairway and Rescue live up to the hype of the SLDR Driver? And what’ s with this low-forward center of gravity concept anyway?

The TaylorMade SLDR FairwayOne of the most hyped family of clubs currently out there is the SLDR from TaylorMade. First came the driver with its signature movable weight that (yes) slides toward the toe or heel to adjust ball flight. This was not a new idea, as Mizuno and others had used a slide-able weight in the past. No, the real breakthrough technology in the SLDR family is the low-and-forward center of gravity (CG). And unlike the slider weight, the low-and-forward CG is found throughout the line, including in the fairway and rescue woods.

TaylorMade claims that the low-and-forward CG will let many players increase loft to achieve a higher launch with lower spin to promote maximum distance. This is a tantalizing prospect. In most parts of the U.S., golf remains an aerial game. Bandon Dunes and other truly firm and fast courses aside, players are almost always better off getting maximum carry rather than trying to run the ball along the fairway. Higher shots will land softer, giving us a better chance to hold the green and less chance of it running into trouble.

The SLDR Rescue looks all business at address.

There is no denying that SLDRs are generating a lot of buzz. You can spot the chrome accent all over every PGA Tour broadcast, and probably at your club, as well. The rumor is that several manufacturers will be moving weight forward and low in upcoming models. Will this be the next big thing? Let’s take a look.

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Volume Three Hundred Eighty

Phil’s oblique, Na’s not the only slow poke, and Bill Murray has great pants.

Hittin' the LinksDATELINE: Two Weeks Before the Masters–How will the Masters draw without the two biggest current names in the sport? We may have to find out. It will still likely command more eyes than virtually any other tournament could hope to. The Masters, after all, is not just a major, for the majority of us in North America it marks the end of winter and the beginning of golf season.

The TOUR is in Texas for the final tune-ups before the season’s first major. Next week’s Houston Open has a pretty solid field as all those players who like to play their way into the majors will be getting ready for Augusta. Are you getting as excited for the Masters as we are?

Let’s hit the links.

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Volume Three Hundred Seventy-Nine

Bay Hill turns to into “Survivor” on Sunday, Tiger’s back keeps him out, and we get a new meaning for the phrase “my golf game’s on fire.”

Hittin' the LinksDid you take a break from NCAA basketball to play or watch golf this weekend? After Saturday’s round at Bay Hill, we were thinking that Adam Scott had weathered his “bad round” of the week and would surely play better and win on Sunday. We were wrong.

The conventional wisdom about anchored putters is that they are better at shorter putts than traditional putters. That did not seem to be the case for Adam Scott Sunday. One stroke back with his ball laying two on the 16th green, Scott three-putted from about 15 feet for a par. On the 17th he missed a shortish par putt. Sunday on the PGA TOUR again looked like the players were just trying not to throw up on themselves rather than win. While the suspense level remains high for viewers, we’d rather see players make birdies to win than bogeys to lose.

Here’s more about Sunday at Bay Hill and eight-plus other interesting items from the week. Let’s hit the links.

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