Author: Michael C. Hepp

Thoughts on the American Collapse at the Ryder Cup

Up 10-6 it seemed inconceivable on Saturday night that the Americans could lose the Cup, but they did.

Thrash TalkAs I watched Steve Stricker’s chip shot on the 17th hole during the Ryder Cup roll past the hole about four feet, my heart sank into my stomach. I had a feeling at that moment that we had lost the Ryder Cup. Stricker would make a valiant par at the last and force Kaymer to make the putt to win, but it just seemed that after the bogey on 17 the outcome was all but certain.

The failings of the American team on that Sunday do not come down to any one player. Twelve American golfers went out to play and only three managed to win. You could argue that had Tiger cared he probably would have won as well, so call it four. I looked at the matchups on Sunday morning and I thought that we were in trouble right from the start.

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Should the PGA Tour Have Playoffs?

Why the 2012 PGA Tour playoff system is AWESOME!

Thrash TalkThe PGA Tour got the 2012 FedExCup Playoffs right. That statement from me is not easy to make, mostly because I have been quite critical of the playoff format. I like to see the best player win the money title, not someone who got hot at the Tour Championship as Bill Haas did last year. The best player last year was Luke Donald, and although he won the money title at the end of the Fall Series I felt if any player deserved the $10M bonus it was Luke and not Bill.

All that said, this year I see the magic that Tim Finchem was trying to create by getting the best players to play in the events at the end of the season. We have been treated to some fantastic golf, by all the big names. Consider this past weeks BMW Championship where the leaderboard displayed names like Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, and Vijay Singh. All the giants of the game, and each of them playing some of their best golf. The only word I can use to describe it is brilliant.

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The Rise of Rory McIlroy

Rory is number one with a bullet. How high can he go?

Thrash TalkI enjoyed watching Rory McIlroy win these past two weekends at the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships. Rory appears like a very likable young man and a very gracious winner. He is young and I think he has only just begun to get as good as he will eventually be. He does not have the same impact on the game of golf as Tiger did at the same age.

Tiger hit the scene and the game has been changed forever. Tiger was incredibly athletic and had a workout plan that would make a NFL football player proud, at a time that most golfers were not in the gym much at all, if ever. Rory is fit, in fact much more fit in recent months than in his younger days, but almost all the golfers on the PGA Tour are fit in today’s game. Not all of them, but the vast majority, certainly most of those in the top ten of the world rankings.

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Choosing the 2012 Ryder Cup Team

The Ryder Cup is on the horizon, so I give my thoughts on who Love III should select.

Thrash TalkAfter the Masters, Bubba Watson was holding the trophy the American team was the strong favorite to win the Ryder Cup. The last couple of majors had been won by Americans and the Europeans had not really been making many waves. Since the U.S. Open, however, the tide has changed a bit and with resurgences from Euros such as Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, I think the Europeans are now the favorite.

I think the home-field advantage of Medinah will certainly help the Americans, but the Europeans will have only one rookie that plays on the team, contrasting the Americans have three inside the top eight and may pick up another if U.S. Captain Davis Love III selects another with one of his four captain’s picks. I do think Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, and Webb Simpson will play well, but they are rookies nonetheless and could easily get caught up in trying to play too well.

It seems almost a certainty that two of the four available captains picks for Davis Love III has have already been decided. By most accounts he will select Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker to the team. The remaining two picks are much more of a true unknown and adds some intrigue to the process.

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PING i20 Hybrid Review

Continuing on the success of the i15 line PING introduces the i20 hybrid line.

PING i20 hybridBuilding on the extremely popular i15 line of hybrids PING introduces the innovative i20 hybrid line. I was very lucky to get the opportunity to test the i20 hybrid and there are definitely some key changes that PING has made that improve both the performance and look of these new hybrids. PING has a very loyal following amongst serious golfers because of the custom fitting options they offer, as well as the consistent performance their clubs produce. Through the years I have used numerous PING club offerings and after using this hybrid I am left feeling they continue to churn out very reliable and high performing clubs.

Along with the i20 PING also released G20 hybrids targeted to higher handicap players looking for more forgiveness and they also released an Anser line of hybrids. PING states that these multiple hybrid models are for golfers of all abilities with loft options that give you the opportunity to add the combination of hybrids that helps you to play your best.

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Thoughts on the 2012 Majors

This seasons majors produced some fantastic drama, each one with its unique story, I put down some random thoughts from each one.

Thrash TalkThe 2012 major season is now over. I am always a little sad when it is done because it means that summer only has a few more weeks before fall and then it seems that winter comes sooner than I feel it should. I live in California, so we don’t really have a winter per se, but golf in the summer months is way better than in the winter months. I digress; I do look forward to the Ryder Cup, so there is still some excitement left for me.

This year’s majors really delivered some first-rate drama. Bubba in a playoff, Webb Simpson from behind, Ernie returning to the winner’s circle in the majors, and concluded by a runaway victory for Rory. The season had some great story lines.

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Staff Predictions for 2012 PGA Championship at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Glory’s Last Shot heads to South Carolina, lets see what the staff expects for this years event.

Thrash TalkThe 2012 seasons last major the PGA Championship heads to Kiawah Island with lots of intriguing story lines. Last years winner Keegan Bradley wins last week at the Bridgestone, and of course who can forget Tiger who is always a favorite in any major. The weather at Kiawah Island will likely be a big factor, and it will be interesting to see how the players handle it. Let’s see what the staff expects for this years event.

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Tiger Struggling at the Weekend

Tiger has been out of character on the weekends of the majors. Let’s take a deeper look at why.

Thrash TalkThe last two majors we have watched Tiger go from playing very solid golf Thursday and Friday, then switching personalities and struggling through the weekend. This is so out of character to the person we watched play from 2000 to 2008 that it leaves golf talking heads blaming everything from his shoes to his swing coach. I actually think Brandel Chamblee looks forward to Tiger playing poorly so that he can tell the world what a lousy swing coach Sean Foley is, and how great anyone named Harmon is. I have almost started to root for Tiger just to have Brandel move on to different topics.

What catches my eye about Tiger’s struggles is his play on Saturdays. I think Sunday at both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship the weather was significantly different and Tiger was forced to press and play outside of his comfortable conservative strategy that he had planned for himself.

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TaylorMade R11 Irons Review

Continuing on with the very successful R11 brand name TaylorMade Golf introduces the R11 irons.

TaylorMade R11 IronsWhen TaylorMade introduced the R11 irons, they claimed they were the only irons worthy of the R11 name. Of course the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of R11 is the very successful white matte drivers that have blanketed golf courses lately. It is very hard these days to play in a foursome that does not have a golfer with the R11, R11s, or RocketBallz driver in their bag.

TaylorMade has been translating the technology originally targeted for woods into irons for some time now. In this seasons offering there are already both Rocketballz woods and irons, and the very popular Burner series has also had both woods and irons. R11 looks to be taking off where the R9 irons were previously placed.

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