Meticulousness: The Art of the Grind

Camilo Villegas: He’s not slow, he’s mastered the art of the grind.

Thrash TalkThe meticulous individual is one who displays “extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details.” In watching Camilo Villegas triumphantly not win the Buick Invitational over the weekend, this term was in the forefront of my dim-witted consciousness.

Villegas, himself, no doubt, is a meticulous player. This first became apparent to me a few years ago while I was watching a Nationwide Tour event on television.

Villegas had missed the green with his tee shot on a par three and found himself a few yards off the fringe. As I recall, the ball was in such a position that it looked like it would be relatively easy to fluff. Camilo took an inordinate amount of time assessing his options, picking out where he wanted to land the ball, settling on a trajectory and choosing the appropriate club to create that shot.

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Golf Talk [Episode 105]

For some reason I can’t get the theme song to Beverly Hills Cop out of my head…

Golf Talk PodcastTiger is practicing full bore AND had another kid, Nick Watney wins at Torrey Pines, the Tour considers cracking down on player appearance, and whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 105 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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Adams Launches Speedline Drivers, Hybrid-Fairway Woods

What does your current driver do to reduce airflow turbulence?

Bag DropAfter playing around with the squarish geometry craze of high-MOI drivers, the folks at Adams Golf have gone back to a more conventional looking club with the release of the Speedline Drivers and Hybrid-Fairway Woods.

The Speedline drivers, while conventional looking, offer up some pretty fancy technology as they were engineered from using wind tunnel technology to come up with a driver that has better aerodynamics to give you more swing speed which in turn, gives you more distance. And you thought wind tunnels were only for cars and planes.

Already tested on Tour, the Speedline drivers have racked up several wins on the Champions Tour and the LPGA Tour. Toss in a Gold Medal in the 2009 Golf Digest Hot list and this looks to be a “must try” for 2009.

So tag along as we look at the new drivers and fairway/hybrids from the gang in Plano, Texas.

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Volume One Hundred Seventy Seven

Tiger is going “full-bore”, Watney comes from behind, and watch out for those yardage markers!

Hittin' the LinksGood day fellow golf nuts, and welcome again to Hittin’ the Links. The golf world is starting to heat up. What a finish to the Buick Invitational! Even without Tiger, Torrey Pines puts on a great show.

In this edition of HTL, we look at the life of LPGA founding member Betty Jameson, review some Tiger news, and find out what the President of the USGA has to say. Also on tap, we explore the whereabouts of Philly Mick, see whats wrong with the AT&T Pro-Am, and investigate the effects of the economy on golf courses. Read on!

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In Praise of Elk

Never mind the fact that he finished in a tie for 53rd place last week at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, the significance of Elkington is more symbolic than statistical

Thrash TalkWikipedia (the keeper of all knowledge) cites him as one of the best interviewee’s of all time on the Jim Rome show (something to do with his use of the phrase “rubber dongers”). Johnny Miller has routinely described him as the best dressed man on Tour. He’s had meningitis multiple times and he was invited to kiss Bubba Watson’s back side. He plays timeless (outdated) irons.

In spite of such peculiarities, or perhaps partially because of them, Steve Elkington has been seen by many as an embodiment of the golfing lifestyle; a nattily dressed shotmaker who has been known to speak his mind to any/all press outlets.

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Golf Talk [Episode 104]

Come to think of it, there might not be anything worse to a young rising star than being compared to Tiger Woods.

Golf Talk PodcastRory McIlroy not only wins in Dubai, but he’s compared to – gasp – Tiger Woods! Kenny Perry trudges home to his 13th PGA Tour win in the FBR while Phil Mickelson misses the cut. Monty is named the Euro captain, 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 104 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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Titleist Rolls Out New ProV1 and ProV1x Golf Balls

How are you going to mark the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x?

Bag DropIt’s an odd-numbered year and you know what that means: a new Pro V1 lineup courtesy of the folks at Titleist. If you missed all the ads and Jim Nantz voice-overs, you know the flagship ball of Titleist has been number one on every tour and at every tournament since golf was invented (or at least it seems that way).

This year, Titleist has chosen to emphasize speed. Ball speed, that is. Everybody wants more distance and the new Pro V1 and Pro V1x are seemingly up to the task with reformulated cores and other engineering marvels. In addition, durability is given more attention. As we know, when playing with a urethane-covered ball, durability is very important as the modern wedges eat them for a breakfast.

With the ball market, as Titleist goes, so goes the rest. The Pro V1 line has been the best-selling ball since its inception. Is is good marketing? Sure, however it comes down to performance and at any level, golfers demand a ball that meets their needs and to date, the Pro V1 line has delivered. So let’s take a look at the latest incarnation of the Pro V1 line.

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Volume One Hundred Seventy Six

A teenager wins in Dubai, Lefty takes the weekend off, and what in the world is Ryan Moore wearing?

Hittin' the LinksWelcome golf fanatics to yet another volume of everybody’s favorite column, Hittin’ the Links. Although most people have turned their attention to the Super Bowl this past week, there still have been some goings on in the golf world.

In this volume of HTL we first do a preview of the AT&T, then see what happened to Lefty in Phoenix, and find out about a very good teenager winning in Dubai. Also, we investigate the beginning of corporations balking on their PGA sponsorship deals, check out Obama’s golf game, and take a peak at Ryan Moore’s rather unusual wardrobe. All that and an FBR wrap-up, read on!

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Titleist 909H Hybrid Review

Titleist’s second generation “true hybrid” improves greatly on the first and challenges for the title “best.”

Titleist 909H HybridMy history with hybrids is a bit different than most. I still carry a 3-iron and can’t see giving it up any time soon. I generate enough swing speed and hit with the right amount of downward and sweeping action that I can hit a 3-iron just fine. This same swing tends to produce some poor results when I put a hybrid intended to replace the 3-iron in play.

As such, for years, I’ve relegated the hybrid to a spot between my 3-iron and my 3-wood. Hybrids from various makers, from about 16 to 18 degrees in loft, have occupied this slot at various times. The Titleist 503.H, more like a 2-iron than a hybrid, held the role until I moved onto the much-adored TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP. After realizing that I had a hard time keeping the ball down, I switched back to Titleist’s PT 585.H.

The 585.H was a great hybrid: it looked great, it felt great, and most importantly to me, I could adjust the trajectory to suit my needs. If it had a down-side, it’s that it was prone to the occasional snapper, as I often discovered on my home course’s long par-three seventh hole.

So when Titleist introduced the 909H, I was intrigued. As I stated in our widely read Sneak Peek, the 909H improves on the 585.H by offering progressive head sizes, shapes, offset, and CG to further optimize launch conditions across the range. A little birdie told me, too, that the tendency of the club to go left fast was reduced. I was pumped.

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