Author: George Promenschenkel

Nine Holes with Lucas Glover

How much do we know about Lucas Glover? Not that much, actually.

ProfilesEvery time I hear his name I think about about Sergeant Roger Murtaugh telling Riggs (played by Mel Gibson), “I’m getting too old for this…” But that’s Danny Glover.

No, the subject today is the 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover. If you have been in a coma the last few days, his new title might come as a bit of a surprise. Still, it’s true. Lucas Glover has won a major. What must Sergio think?

Glover is kind of a study in contrasts. This is his fifth year on the PGA Tour, but to most people it seems like he just dropped off the apple cart. Glover looks like a country boy who might be found fishing with Boo Weekley between rounds or hanging under the awning of the RV with John Daly. His boyish looks and aw-shucks mannerisms seem to reinforce that impression. It seems like every photo of Glover could be captioned “Opie Taylor grown up,” and people would believe it.

Continue reading “Nine Holes with Lucas Glover”

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.

Continue reading “Nike Victory Red Forged Split Cavity Irons Review”

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.

Continue reading “Five Things that Might Surpise You about the U.S. Open”

Nine Holes with Ian Baker-Finch

There are slumps, and then there are slumps.

ProfilesIan Baker-Finch won 16 international titles and a major. He’s just 48, but hasn’t made a PGA Tour cut since 1994. His career as a golfer bottomed out just at a time (his mid-30s) when many players come into their primes.

What happened? His could be a cautionary tale for other players.

After his win at the 1991 Open Championship, he began to be paired with more long hitters. Naturally, he started trying to add length. He made swing changes that made him wild off the tee and actually cost him distance. He fought injuries and lost his confidence.

As Baker-Finch puts it: “I couldn’t handle the pressure, and didn’t like the fact I was playing poorly. So I said, ‘Hey, why do I put myself through this? I’m going to go do something I enjoy.'”

Continue reading “Nine Holes with Ian Baker-Finch”

Five Questions

Enquiring golf minds want to know.

Trap Five LogoWell, my golf game is officially a mess this week. My number one trick this spring is to only play decent golf on one nine and blow up on the other… as in 10 strokes or more over the other side. What the heck?

That is just the start of the questions I have about golf this week. Here are five questions that most people would consider more important than the state of my personal golf game.

Continue reading “Five Questions”

Lessons Learned Last Week

Last week gave us plenty to ponder.

Trap Five LogoLast week was a pretty good one in golf. With the Players Championship for the PGA Tour and the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill taking place concurrently, there was a lot of good golf to watch. And even if you can’t follow it on TV, the college golf season is building to a climax.

In a way, it was the perfect lead-in to the summer. There are a lot of questions waiting to be answered. Last week may have raised more than it answered and that means some interesting months ahead.

Here are just a few of the topics that came to light last week.

Continue reading “Lessons Learned Last Week”

TaylorMade r7 Limited TP Driver Review

Is the last r7 the best of the lot?

TaylorMade r7 Limited TPMore than four years after the original TaylorMade r7 brought movable weights to golf, TaylorMade released what is most likely the last of the line this winter – the r7 Limited TP. It emerged a few months after the non-TP model, which hit stores in mid-September. TaylorMade also produced a limited edition of the Limited for Patriot Golf Day, which sported a Patriot Golf Day logo on the toe, the image of an F-16 jet etched onto the sole, and a specially-designed headcover in red, white and blue.

TaylorMade is known for releasing many models of clubs in rapid succession, which is why we have the r7 Limited TP review after the R9 driver’s release (which will be reviewed, itself, shortly). Every time a new model comes out it tends to lower the retail price and resale value of the previous models. This can be frustrating to TaylorMade owners who want to upgrade and find that their old model has lost resale or trade-in value. On the other hand, virtually any golfer can find a recent model of TaylorMade driver that fits their game for a relative bargain.

So what kind of golfer will most benefit from the r7 Limited? Read on to find out.

Continue reading “TaylorMade r7 Limited TP Driver Review”

Nine Holes with Doug Ford

Does Doug Ford deserve a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame?

ProfilesLanny Wadkins was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in April 2009 for induction next November. It was about time. Wadkins has been passed over on the list of candidates for most of the last 10 years.

Still, Wadkins election wasn’t without drama. He was the only player elected from the PGA Tour ballot, which requires 65 percent of the vote from Hall of Famers, media, and golf executives. Wadkins got 61 percent of the vote. He made it in because of a provision to the 65 percent rule: if no one receives the minimum vote, the player with the highest percentage (provided it is over 50 percent) is elected. (Vijay Singh got in the same way in 2005.)

Wadkins absolutely deserves to be in the World Golf Hall of Fame. He’s earned it as both a player and a commentator. He should have been in long before this. But I want to talk about Doug Ford.

Continue reading “Nine Holes with Doug Ford”

Random Musings

This week, a bag of mismatched irons.

Trap Five LogoThis week’s Trap Five is a little like the set of clubs I had as a kid. At first, I only had the odd-numbered irons, and some old persimmons that looked like they might come apart on any swing. Eventually, someone gave me some even-numbered irons made by a different company. To complete the set, my dad brought home a women’s 7-iron. (That club was my favorite for years, but that’s another story.) Suffice to say that I had one motley, mismatched, mutt-faced set of clubs.

Like that first set of mine, this Trap Five features mismatched items. Usually a Trap Five follows a theme, but this week we visit the Island of Misfit Trap Five Topics.

Continue reading “Random Musings”