Category: Hittin’ the Links

There’s just one month left of 2014, and means that while those in the southern climes are entering the prime of their golf season, those of us in the North are facing a harsh reality. In the northern latitudes, there’s no denying that golf season is just about at its end (despite the fact that many of us in Central Ohio played in shorts on the last day of November). As the Starks would say on Game of Thrones, “Winter is coming.”

But we’re not quite done with competitive golf, yet. Tiger returns next week at the Hero World Challenge at Isleworth. It will be interesting to see if he can play pain free, and if he can play more like the Tiger of old than we’ve seen thus far in 2014.

So while we still can this year, let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Thirteen”

The last of the tour championships took place this week as the LPGA and European PGA Tours wrapped things up for 2014. That means all of the major tours are back on the same year again. Despite what the calendar reads, it’s 2015 in golf.

2014 in the golf world is definitely winding down. The snow birds are flying south to warmer climes and greener fairways. On the PGA TOUR, there are no more FedEx Cup points up for grab until January, though we still have Tiger’s event and the Franklin Templeton Shootout to look forward to. The Champions Tour has the father-son event in December, while the LPGA is off until late January. But never fear, the Euro Tour just keeps plugging along with its South Africa swing in December.

Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Twelve”

Another tour is about to wrap up its season, and everyone else seems to be in Mexico suddenly. That’s probably not a bad idea with the cold wave that hit the U.S. this week. There’s more strange news involving the PGA TOUR’s self-imposed exile Dustin Johnson. Ian Poulter’s putter failed him big time. And there’s a golf cart that will let you break 100 mph, if you need to do that.

But the big news this week is that the man who was instrumental in desegregating professional golf in the U.S. got some well deserved recognition for his courage and contributions to the game. Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Eleven”

It was quite a week in golf. Ted Bishop used his new-found free time to go on an apology tour and got in a few snipes at Phil Mickelson in the process. Ian Poulter, for his part, just got on with the business of selling his autobiography. Meanwhile, Tom Watson offered up a few golf tips via his Twitter account.

One of golf’s most famous trees was lost. All of the major tours were active, most of them in Asia. The Fall equipment launches carried on with a surplus of hype. And His Airness pronounced judgment on the President’s game and put a youngster in his place.

Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Ten”

Is it just me, or is Ian Poulter becoming the Colin Montgomerie of the twenty-teens? Unlike Monty, Poults plays the PGA TOUR more at this part of his career than he does the European Tour, but his two PGA TOUR wins pale compared with his 13 in Europe. Like Monty, he seems to be a lightning rod for American (at least) ire. While not entirely his fault, he does manage to fan the flames from time to time: “…I know I haven’t played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger.” Suffice it to say, controversy seems to swirl around his heavily-producted hair. His latest is a spat with the president of the PGA. Be nice to Ian? Nah. What fun would that be?

Poulter’s annoying nature aside. Ted Bishop should know better than to try to demean another man by calling him a “little girl.” Call him childish, sure, no harm. But as soon as Bishop used the opposite sex as a put down, he dishonored women everywhere. The PGA of America quickly lopped the last two months off his term as president. Now we Americans can just blame Bishop for the Ryder Cup and feel better about ourselves.

And they are actually playing golf this week, too. Three weeks into the PGA TOUR season, Robert Streb leads the FedEx Cup standings just ahead of Ben Martin and Sang-Moon Bae. How did that happen, you ask. Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Nine”

Ah, Fall golf. When watching the tour wrap up show will leave you wondering, “Who the heck is Ben Martin?”

Fall is a season for fast starts. With the new wrap around season on the PGA TOUR, new players to the tour and those who have yet to break through have a great opportunity to make some money and jump start their 2015. Just ask Jimmy Walker how that works.

Breaking News as we go to press: Tiger Woods is taking full swings again, and the U.S. is still not quite sure what to do about Ryder Cup performances.

There’s plenty to talk about. Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Eight”

At long last, the PGA TOUR Season is underway. I don’t know about you, but that three-week layoff seemed like an eternity to me, even with the Ryder Cup wedged in there.

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, it remains a hot topic in golf. Paul Azinger was first rumored to be part of the Ryder Cup task force with Phil, Tiger, and Rickie, but now says he will not be on it. He is still the smart money bet to captain the next U.S. Team. Of course, there are just under 720 days to go until the first matches tee off. It’s about time for the hype to begin.

For now, let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Seven”

The Ryder Cup blame game continued all week, as well as attempts to quench the fire. Look for changes to the process next time around, whether or not the blame ultimately falls with the captain or the players.

Speaking of which, the qualifying process begins this week for the 2016 Ryder Cup as the 2014/15 PGA TOUR gets underway with the Frys.com Open in Napa, California. It’s also the start of the 2015 FedExCup chase. Lots of Web.com Tour graduates will use their newly minted Tour cards to join the field with others looking for a fast start on next year.

Silly Season is no more. Let’s hit the links.

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Six”

It’s all over in Scotland. Now the hand-wringing and Monday-morning captaining begin for the U.S.

The U.S. team managed a Saturday morning rally, but the Euros answered in Foursomes that afternoon and took a 10-6 lead into the Sunday singles matches. The Americans will have two years to sort out why the Euros have won eight of the last 10 contests. The series will reconvene in 2016 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota

Continue reading “Volume Four Hundred Five”