What Caddies Might Say

A mic and a caddy: a recipe for disaster?

Trap Five LogoAt next week’s Shell Houston Open, the PGA Tour and NBC will experiment with putting microphones on caddies to capture the dialogues between caddies and players. The Tour and the network are interested in learning if the audio quality and, more importantly, the conversation quality are worth putting on the air.

You and I won’t hear any of it, most likely. It is just an experiment, after all. The Tour isn’t very comfortable with trying something in front of an audience. If it is a success, it will probably be a few weeks before we get to listen in. The Masters is not about to allow mics on the caddies. After McCord got banned from Augusta by saying that they used bikini wax on the greens, can you imagine what might happen if the caddies had mics?

Closing and Complaceny

Winning on Sunday is hard, tanking it for a huge paycheck is easy. What would you do?

Thrash TalkIs there a male professional golfer today, with the obvious exception of one Tiger Woods, who can routinely close out a tournament? Personally, having never slept on a third-round tournament lead (and not planning to any time soon), I can’t attest to whether or not doing so is one of the most uncomfortable positions in sports, as so many talking heads claim it is, but I can understand how it easily could be.

Golf Talk [Episode 109]

Did you miss us? We’re back with Y.E. Yang, Phil Mickelson, and Retief Goosen.

Golf Talk PodcastCatching up with three weeks, we have three winners: Y.E. Yang, Phil Mickelson, and Retief Goosen. Also, Tiger news, Michelle Wie news, Annika baby news, a golfer in his tightie whities, and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 109 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

SeeMore Putters Expands Lineup for 2009

SeeMore adds their RifleScope Technology to a few more putters for 2009.

Bag DropSeeMore Putters has had an interesting history. Payne Stewart used a SeeMore putter to win the 1999 U.S. Open. The company went quiet for some time until their re-launch in 2007 after being purchased by Jim Grundberg and Jason Pouliot in the fall of 2006.

With Zach Johnson’s win in the 2007 Masters, and utilizing their RifleScope Technology and status as a “premier independent boutique putter maker,” SeeMore is making some waves by introducing several new putters for 2009.

Let’s check them out.

Luis Gonzalez Swing Analysis

Luis is looking for a bit more power and consistency with his driver, and these two fixes should help give them to him.

Swing CheckLuis Gonzalez is a 12 handicap looking to drop his score into the low 80s by the beginning of this summer. To do this he is hoping that we can help him with two main problems: consistency and power.

After analyzing his swing I have identified two solutions – one relatively quick and easy and the other difficult and frustrating – that should provide him with an accurate jolt of power.

Read on to see Luis’ swing and the fixes I’ve outlined for him.

Volume One Hundred Eighty Three

Goosen makes a comeback, Annika’s with child, and Tiger’s getting some big bucks from the folks down under

Hittin' the LinksHello again everybody and welcome to Hittin’ the Links. I realize it can be hard to turn your attention from basketball this week but there is still some good golf going on around the world. And just remember the Masters is just around the corner. Amen!

In this week’s edition of HTL we look at the record-breaking effort on the Asian Tour, see why Rick Reilly has Tiger Doubt, and investigate the big money Tiger is getting down under. Also, we check out the Shark’s new equipment company, congratulate Annika on her pregnancy, and do a wrap-up of this week’s events. Read on!

2009 Titleist Pro V1/Pro V1x Balls Review

The Pro V1 and Pro V1x have had a makeover, creating a slightly longer and more durable ball.

Pro V1/Pro V1x HeroTitleist has had the number one ball on the market for as long as I can remember, and I have a few gray hairs. Every two years Titleist releases a new version of their high-end balls. I sometimes think that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Titleist seems to use the mantra of “every moment we rest gives our competitors a chance to catch up.”

With that, Titleist has released all new versions of the Pro V1 and Pro V1x in an attempt to keep their competitors at an arm’s length and keep a tight grip on their tremendous market share. So how do you improve the number one ball on the market? Well, there are a few ways but you’ll have to read on to find out what those are and if it made a difference to this long-time Titleist player.

Buying New Sticks

Five questions to ask before you buy clubs.

Trap Five LogoWe’re just coming into the peak golf club purchasing period in the northern half of the United States. A lot you may be trolling the aisles of new clubs in the next few months looking for a few extra yards or a few less strokes per round.

I know… the economy sucks. The TV keeps reminding me every evening. But I also know that I’ll probably still be trying out some new gear this summer. After all, someone has to kick start the economy (maybe a new driver purchase will get the Dow above 8K again). As long as I’m working, I’ll likely be playing golf. And if I’m playing golf, then all those new toys in the golf shop will be kind of tempting. And I bet I’m not alone.

Now I’ve purchased quite a few new clubs in recent years looking for a few more yards or a tighter shot dispersion (I know, I know… it’s not the arrow). Sometimes I’ve found a little more game. Sometimes I haven’t. Here are a few questions that might help you find the right equipment for you, and maybe save a little money along the way, too.

TaylorMade R9 TP Fairway Wood Review

TaylorMade puts out yet another solid club

R9 FairwayFor years now, TaylorMade has been one of the industry leaders in golf club design and manufacturing. They continually put out some of the best golf equipment available. Though they are probably best known for their drivers, with such past beauties like the r7, they also have made some absolutely fantastic fairway woods over the years as well.

I still think back to when my father first came home with his first Raylor or his Tour Spoon. They were great clubs and well ahead of their time.

I’ve never had a 3-wood I’ve completely trusted. Many of my playing partners have that “go to” fairway wood that they know will find the short grass when the chips are down. Such a club would be a great find as it would take some of the pressure off my driver. So as you can expect when I heard I had one of the new R9 TP 3-woods coming my way I was full of anticipation. I already had a Burner TP 3-wood in my bag and I was ready to put the new one to the test to see if I needed to switch.