Volume One Hundred Eighty Five

It’s a green jacket for Angel Cabrera and a good bye for Fuzzy and Gary

Hittin' the LinksHello again and welcome to another edition of Hittin’ the Links. We are back after a week off and a very entertaining Masters. It’s about time the people at Augusta National set up the golf course to allow for some scoring. I was so happy to hear those roars coming from off in the distance as players again made birdies and eagles in an attempt to chase down the leaders. It was like the Masters of old.

In this most recent volume of HTL, we first take a look at some stories coming out of Augusta, turn our attention to John Daly, and then look at who are the recent inductees into the Golf Hall of Fame. Also, we look into the Tiger, TV ratings connection, see who took their last swings at Augusta, and investigate the Rory McIlroy bunker shot uproar. Read on!

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2009 Masters Final Round Live Blog

We’ll be live blogging the final round. Join us while you watch and comment along.

MastersJoin us later today as we live blog the final round of the 2009 Masters.

The day begins with 18 people at -4 or better (and only five major winners among them in bold, three of which are one-time winners):

T1    -11    Angel Cabrera
             Kenny Perry
 3     -9    Chad Campbell
 4     -8    Jim Furyk
 5     -7    Steve Stricker
T6     -6    Rory Sabbatini
             Shingo Katayama
             Todd Hamilton
 9     -5    Tim Clark
T10    -4    Sean O'Hair
             Ian Poulter
             Lee Westwood
             Tiger Woods
             Phil Mickelson
             Nick Watney
             Stephen Ames
             Hunter Mahan
             Anthony Kim

Can Tiger Woods overcome 17 others to win his fifth green jacket, or will he – like last year – simply succeed at clawing away at Jack’s record for second-place finishes in majors? Can Phil Mickelson – paired with Tiger today – overcome the same number of people? Will Kenny Perry win his major after giving a few away in the past (cough, PGA, Valhalla, cough)? Or will the lamest (fan interest-wise) major winner of recent years – Angel Cabrera – grab another one?

The first person to post the winner and the correct winning score in the comments prior to the start of TV coverage (2:00pm EST) will win a free copy of Scorecard 2.0.

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2009 Masters Staff Predictions

Check back in a week to see who has egg on their face and who has the bragging rights.

Thrash TalkThe 2009 Masters is about to begin, and as we’ve done in the past, we’re here with our staff predictions.

This year we’re changing things up a little bit. We’ll still predict the winner and the winning score, but beyond that, we’re looking at Greg Norman, the younger contingent, and the course setup, as well as a few other things.

Check our predictions, post your own in the comments, and come back for bragging rights – or to eat a little humble pie – when the Masters concludes this year.

P.S. Check back Sunday for our live blog of the final round of the 2009 Masters!

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George Promenschenkel Analysis

I compare George’s golf swing is to the swing of Tiger Woods… but that’s not necessarily a good thing.

Swing CheckGeorge Promenschenkel is about a nine-handicap golfer, but his scorecard can include anywhere from birdies to snowmen. We need to change that – at least the snowmen part. His goal is to become a five handicap and based on his swing, I think he is a lot closer than he realizes.

After analyzing his swing I have identified two problems – one which we have seen before and one that we haven’t – which must be dealt with simultaneously.

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

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Nine Holes with Bobby Jones

There has only ever been one true Grand Slam of golf.

ProfilesBobby Jones is one of the truly legendary figures of golf. Among other things, he helped found Augusta National and the Masters, but he will always be best known for the Grand Slam of 1930.

Jones was successful on and off the course, but it was his play that has made him immortal. There are really just three names that come up in a discussion of the greatest golfer of all time: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Bobby Jones. While Jones may be trailing in comparisons these days, it’s difficult to dismiss all he did in a short (and amateur) career.

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An Open Letter To All Anti-Tigerites, Part One

I’ve been called a Tiger lover; I might as well be out with it.

Thrash TalkTo Whom It May Concern:

I am not an entirely shameless and uncritical worshipper of Tiger Woods. There are things about the man that I don’t like, both on and off the golf course. On the course, it annoys me when he refers to himself as “Woody,” when he insists on two possible hat and shoe combinations (white and white or black and black), when he and Steve Williams interact like they are angry school teachers, when he blows snot rockets or expels worse: an unbelievably generic post-round interview.

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Golf Talk [Episode 110]

If you didn’t know Tiger would make that putt on 18, well, you haven’t been watching much golf the past decade.

Golf Talk PodcastTiger Woods wins Bay Hill in dramatic fashion and no, this isn’t a repeat of last year’s event. Plus Michelle Wie, microphones on caddies, Davis Love III, 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 110 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.

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Scorecard Beta Testers Wanted

Do you think you’ve got a knack for finding bugs? Want a sneak peek at Scorecard 2?

I’ll keep this short. Scorecard 2 – software I’ve helped to develop for tracking your golf game with simple but meaningful statistics – will enter private beta testing shortly for Mac OS X and Windows.

If you’d like to beta test Scorecard 2 and you’re a member of the forum, please check here. If you’re not a forum member and you’re interested, please see the brief note on my personal blog.

P.S. Yes, it’s April Fool’s Day. No, this isn’t a joke at all. It wouldn’t be a very funny one, now would it?

FootJoy Releases SYNR-G Shoes

FootJoy has some new stable hitting platforms for you to try.

Bag DropFootJoy has long been the dominant player in the golf shoe industry and in 2009 is looking to continue that tradition with the release of their SYNR-G golf shoes.

Boasting a number of pretty nifty features and some serious technology, its safe to say that these are some pretty sweet rides for your feet and look to be seriously comfortable to make your round just a bit more enjoyable.

Let’s take a look under the leather at the latest from FootJoy.

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