Ready for the Next Level

Which 2008 Nationwide Tour graduates will be ready to contend on the PGA Tour?

Thrash TalkThere is still a month or so left in the 2008 Nationwide Tour season, but the standings are definitely starting to firm up. The top 25 golfers on the season-ending money list earn cards for the 2009 PGA Tour season. The golfers currently in the top 15 or so are pretty safe, although there will be a lot of shifting over the next four events.

The Nationwide Tour has been a stepping stone for some of the world’s best, and it has helped the overall quality of the PGA Tour in the process. Recent graduates who have gone on to make a big impact at the next level include Camilo Villegas, Boo Weekley, and Brandt Snedeker.

The 2008 Nationwide Tour class is very talented, and there are plenty of golfers capable of having great careers on the PGA Tour starting next season. I’ve picked out a few who should make an immediate impact next year.

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Sand Trap Rules Quiz Number Two

Back to the basics

USGA Rules BookHello again, and welcome to the second installment of The Sand Trap Rules Quiz. In the first quiz, I concentrated on some of the lesser known rules of golf, and we had some tricky rulings to say the least.

This time around I am going to look at some of the more basic rules that we see everyday in our struggle to get around the golf course. Hopefully everyone will come away with a better understanding of how to proceed in some of these day-to-day occurrences.

So dust off your rule books, get your pencils ready, and let’s test our rules knowledge.

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Random Odds and Ends

Smaller blades, smaller driver heads and TaylorMade gets into the pre-owned club game.

Bag DropTime is short for me this week but Bag Drop is still here to provide some nuggets from the golf equipment/business field. So take a few minutes to ignore the Wall Street implosion and check out some interesting notes from the field.

Join me this week as we check out a sponsorship implosion, persimmon clubs, and an equipment giant jumps into the pre-owned club market.

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Volume One Hundred Sixty Three

John and Phil want to go to Europe, the European Tour makes it tougher to be a member, coincidence? I think not.

Hittin' the LinksGreetings golf fans, and welcome to another edition of everyone’s favorite column, Hittin’ the Links. Fall is in the air and with it comes the PGA Tour’s Fall Finish. What could the golf enthusiast want to watch more than a bunch of guys we’ve never heard of (and a couple we have) battle it out for those last few paychecks and a chance to secure their PGA Tour privileges for next year. It’s like Q School Light – desperation makes for really good TV.

In this edition of HTL, we look at what John Daly has on his rather dim horizon, see why the European Tour is making their members play more, and find out what the recent economic climate means to the PGA Tour. Also, we check in with Tiger, analyze who Greg Norman chose as his Presidents Cup assistant, explore who is hot and who is not, and see who won this week’s tour events. Read on!

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Nine Holes with Camilo Villegas

Tomó unos pocos años para Camilo Villegas para ganar, pero ahora el hombre araña ha ganado dos veces.

ProFilesCamilo Villegas has been one of the most watched players on the PGA Tour for the last three years. He’s charismatic, unbelievably fit, and then there’s that Spiderman thing he does on the green. At 26, Villegas is one of the most promising of the “Young Guns.” He has tons of talent, but until two weeks ago he’d only been close and never sealed the deal. Some of us might have been thinking that he was having too much fun just being Camilo. I mean, beautiful women practically throw themselves in front of his errant drives just to meet him. I thought that he might have been more interested in the post-round activities than the round itself. And, no, I really couldn’t blame him if that was the case.

Villegas has been showing his drive to win this season. He’s made 19 cuts in 22 events, with seven top-ten finishes. He is in sixth place for scoring for the 2008 season. That’s sustaining good play.

So if you thought that Camilo came out of the blue to win the BMW and Tour Championships, here are nine things you may not have known about Spider Man.

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2008 Fall Series Fearless Predictions

The FedExCup Playoffs are over, but there is still PGA Tour golf to be played.

Thrash TalkThe 2008 FedExCup Playoffs wrapped up this past weekend. Camilo Villegas won his second consecutive event, and Vijay Singh walked away a millionaire 10 times over. Congratulations are in order for both, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s FedExCup. Unfortunately for golf fans, it’s another three months before the calendar shows 2009.

While the most exciting golf in the states is over, the PGA Tour will continue the next six weeks with the Fall Series. Some golfers will be playing to keep their PGA Tour cards for next season, while others will play to simply keep their golf games in shape over the next month and a half.

Last year, the Fall Series was a platform for many of the game’s best golfers to return to glory in a way. Notable winners included Mike Weir, Justin Leonard, and Chad Campbell. All three used the victories to propel them to good seasons in 2008. Which notables will put themselves in those shoes this time around, and which notables may struggle the next six weeks? You are going to have to keep reading to find out.

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Golf Talk [Episode 102]

The FedExCup is over, and we had only two winners in four events. What a fall, eh?

Golf Talk PodcastCamilo Villegas doesn’t waste time in getting his second PGA Tour victory, earning the Tour Championship title over Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, and Phil Mickelson. Also, Lorena Ochoa, Phil joining the European Tour, Lee Westwood losing, 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 102 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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Mizuno Introduces MP-52, MP-62, MX-100, and MX-200 Irons

Mizuno Golf offers up some new irons as an early holiday present for you.

Bag DropFall is here and that means one thing: equipment companies are coming out with their new offerings in time for some early holiday shopping.

This week’s offering comes to us courtesy of Mizuno, which comes out with four new iron sets across a pretty broad spectrum to fit all types of golfers. If you ever have hit a Mizuno iron flush, you know that great feeling you get from their irons and three of the offerings come in their Grain Flow forging.

Read on to find out about the latest the folks at Mizuno have to offer.

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Volume One Hundred Sixty Two

Camilo gets the win, but Vijay gets the big check

Hittin' the LinksHello again and welcome back to another edition of Hittin’ the Links. Well the FedExCup and all the unbelievable excitment that goes with it is over. I know that will leave a giant void in most golf fans lives but we will just have to trudge on, and HTL is here to help.

In this volume, we take a look at Vijay and his newly acquired cup, see how Camilo Villegas is doing after his second consecutive win, and find out what happened to Anthony Kim. Also, we investigate John Daly’s missing phone fiasco, see if the recent Ryder Cup captains made the grade, and do a complete check on the rest of the tour events from around the world. Read on.

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