Nine Holes With Brandt Snedeker

Exploring the backstory of the world’s hottest player.

ProfilesAfter about three years on the Nationwide Tour and six more of middling PGA Tour play, Brandt Snedeker broke through during last year’s FedExCup Playoffs, and won the $10 million top prize. Snedeker, who won earlier in the year at Torrey Pines, beat Justin Rose by three strokes down the stretch at the Tour Championships, vaulting him ahead of Jason Dufner, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy to win the Cup.

Snedeker has a few major championship close calls, and though he had yet to pull it, Sneds is a pretty solid bet to win one over the next few years. Let’s jump in.

Five Players with New Equipment

Golf’s version of the offseason hot stove heats up.

Trap Five LogoThough the golf season is in the midst of the Florida Swing, there hasn’t been much going on with golf early on. The biggest story, in fact, was one about equipment. Rory McIlroy, the top-ranked player in the world and former Titleist staffer, signed with Nike for a sum of money that has been reported to be anywhere from $150 to $250 million over the next ten years.

There are a number of other players who will be sporting new logos, including Nicolas Colsaerts, Stewart Cink, Kyle Stanley, and Nick Watney. We also take a look into Steve Stricker’s move of sorts into a semi-retirement as well as Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth, both of whom will be sporting new duds in 2013.

Let’s jump in.

Five Reasons to Be Excited for 2013

Why I’m excited about where the sport is headed.

Trap Five LogoNow that the 2013 has started, it’s time to look a little bit back, and a little bit forward.

And sure, there are some reasons to be a bit turned off by golf. It’s as expensive as ever, it can be painfully slow, and gone are the days when use your gut as a third hand while putting (if you’re into that sort of thing), but there are even more reasons to be optimistic. We’ve got two players who tower over the rest of the field (plus a select group of more-than-competant runners-up), the majors are all entertaining, and the Playoffs won’t take a plead from the President to work (unlike the BCS).

It’s fun to follow sports on a week-by-week basis, but it’s also valuable to take a step back once in a while. Let’s dive in.

Reacting to the Pro-Anchoring Crowd

Why I agree with the USGA and R&A ruling on anchoring putters.

Trap Five LogoIn 2016, anchoring putters will be outlawed, and the joint USGA/R&A ruling caused quite a stir when the proposed ban was announced. The ruling bodies contend that anchoring a golf club to the body is not a swinging motion, and thus not allowable under the Rules of Golf. Supporters of belly and long putters rely on arguments like “the game is evolving,” “long putters will grow the game,” and “they don’t provide an advantage.”

Because it’s a decision that involves $300 putters, three of the last five major winners, and putting guru Dave Pelz, it made noise in the sports world despite the basketball and football seasons being in full swing.

Reactions to the decision have been interesting, to say the least. Several forum threads (here and here) revealed that golfers were against a ban in 2007, but times have changed, and another poll has a majority of responders supporting the ban. Golf writers, on the other hand, seem staunchly against the ban, and many have been quick to criticize the ruling. Professional golfers seem similarly split, so let’s take a bit of time to respond to what people have had to say.

Nine Holes with the Golfing Presidents

We take a look at the most famous presidential golfers.

ProfilesIt’s political season, and if you thought you could get away from it even in the golf world, think again. There’s a long history, stemming back to the early days of golf in this country, of U.S. Presidents spending their down time on the links.

As the business community has shown us, the golf course is a great way to schmooze clients and get business done on the go, and at the very worst it’s five hours of walking and staring at your phone.

From President Clinton’s “footwedge” to the Eisenhower Tree, let’s take a look at the most notable White House golfers.

Five Observations From the 2012 Ryder Cup

Rationalizing the Miracle at Medinah.

Trap Five LogoUnless you’ve been living under a rock that doesn’t get WiFi for the last few days, you’ve likely heard the story of how the United States lost the Ryder Cup. Leading the European team 10-6 going into the Sunday singles matches, the U.S. got off to a slow start, and although they did manage to knock over a few dominoes in the middle of the day, a par putt on the 18th green gave the victory in the penultimate match to former world number one Martin Kaymer.

The normal Ryder Cup formula was reversed, in that the Euros got down in team play and made it up in the singles. The U.S. team, which looked poised to clinch the Cup well before the so-called anchors of Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods came down the stretch, was set up well, with it’s high-energy youngsters starting off play.

But in the end, the Stateside team was no match for, as I put it last week, Ian Poulter’s fist-pumps and patriotism.

Breaking Down the 2012 Ryder Cup

The Sand Trap previews the Ryder Cup.

Trap Five LogoGoing into the 2012 Ryder Cup, there isn’t a noticeable chasm between the two teams. The Euros have the hottest player in the world over the last two months in Rory McIlroy, but the American team has Tiger Woods and 2012 FedExCup champ Brandt Snedeker. The U.S. team has one more player in the OWGR top 10, as well as the highest average ranking, but the European team has three of the top four players. The American team has slightly more overall experience, but the Euros have a better overall record. And so on it goes.

The Americans are looking to bring the Cup back Stateside, while the Europeans hope to keep it. Let’s break it down.

TaylorMade Penta TP5 Golf Ball Review

TayorMade hits another home run with some minor tweaks to an already-great golf ball.

TaylorMade TP5 Balls One BallTaylorMade has never shied away from taking chances where technology is involved. The company that brought us three different ways to adjust a driver and a slot behind the face of a fairway wood to increase the CoR is back, and continues to up their golf ball game.

Already the first company to introduce a five-layer golf ball, TaylorMade has seen their golf ball line take off recently. The TP5 is the fourth premium golf ball TaylorMade has brought to market since their entrance in the mid-2000s, and they’re gaining traction on the PGA Tour as well as in pro shops worldwide. 25 million Pentas were put into play around the globe in 2011, and Darren Clarke used a PentaTP en route to his Open Championship victory.

TaylorMade’s golf ball market share doubled in 2011, continuing their inroads into a business dominated by the likes of Titleist, Bridgestone, Callaway, and others, and this year they’re aiming to bring their (healthy) obsession with innovation back to the golf ball. Read on to see how they did.

TaylorMade ATV Wedge Review

We review TaylorMade’s radical attempt to consolidate their wedge offerings and improve your short game.

It’s a testament to TaylorMade’s insane devotion to innovation that just about every TM-related equipment review starts like this: “Not long after the release of their last technology-packed golf club, TaylorMade is back with another highly-touted line.” This time it’s wedges.

After success for a few years marketing the groove design in their wedges (Y-cutter grooves, Z-grooves), TaylorMade came out with the world’s first wedge with a replaceable sole, the xFT. It was a solid wedge on a number of levels, but not exactly on the Cleveland or Vokey echelon. This year they’ve gone away from the replaceable route, instead opting for a radical sole design.

Bounce is the name of the game when it comes to wedges. It’s invaluable in sand shots, and the most consistent short game shots are those that utilize bounce. But instead of offering copious options (like Vokey), or an extensive fitting system (like Edel), TaylorMade has gone for a one-size-fits-all approach.

Does the uniform system benefit the most golfers, or is TaylorMade leaving something on the table when it comes to individuality? Read on to find out.