Making the Game Easier

Golf is a hard game, but there are ways to make it easier. Some are even legal.

Trap Five LogoThe other day, I had used 38 strokes to get into a greenside bunker on the ninth hole. I was feeling pretty good about my chances of picking up some points for the guy I was subbing for in the nine-hole league. Seven strokes later, I was thinking that there must be a better way to play golf… a kinder, gentler way… one that doesn’t make me want to snap my sand wedge over my bag.

My bladed sand wedge into the deep weeds had some fairly serious repercussions. My enjoyment of the game this year has been a bit strained. I can’t seem to keep the big numbers off the card. It seems like in every round, I’m parring about half the holes, making a birdie a two, scoring a reasonable amount of bogeys, and tossing in the odd, dreaded other.

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European Domination at Royal Birkdale

The leaderboard at next week’s British Open will have a lot of European flavor.

Thrash TalkThe 137th British Open Championship begins one week from today, and the golf course for this year’s event is Royal Birkdale. Tiger Woods is on the shelf after knee surgery and will be missing his first major championship as a professional. To say things are wide open is a huge understatement. This is one of the most intriguing majors in awhile.

It’s no secret the Europeans have struggled in majors over the past decade or so. In fact, they have only won three since 1997. Two of those came at the British Open, and both were played at Carnoustie (Paul Lawrie in 1999 and Padraig Harrington in 2007).

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Golf Talk [Episode 093]

Off for two weeks, we’re back! And better than ever? Maybe. You’ll have to listen to find out.

Golf Talk PodcastWe catch up this week. Winners include Inbee Park at the U.S. Women’s Open as well as Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, and Anthony Kim. We talk with Brett Porath, Director of Titleist FittingWorks about the SureFit system. Also in the news: Tiger’s knee, drug testing’s start, the Ryder Cup, 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 093 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 FittingWorks/SureFit Irons System

The Titleist SureFit interchangeable fitting cart has more options than a Swiss Army knife.

Bag DropBeing fit for a set of irons can be a wonderful experience. Not only can you gain more knowledge of your swing and why you hit the ball the way you do, but you can gain equipment knowledge regarding launch angles, shaft flex, lie angle, grip size, and more – and how it all affects the golf shots you can hit.

The flip side? Occasionally a bad fitting will leave you more confused and frustrated about golf then you were when you went in. And with an ill-fitting set of clubs to boot.

Titleist is helping remove those potential frustrating fittings situations by introducing the SureFit Interchangeable Iron Fitting System.

Let’s take a look at the Titleist approach to getting fit for a set of their irons.

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Volume One Hundred Fifty One

Tiger says he has never been completely healthy!

Hittin' the LinksGood day and welcome to another volume of Hittin’ the Links. Unlike Tiger at the AT&T National I am back on the job hosting you in your search of the best golf articles on the world wide web. Just kidding, poor Tiger, but Fred Couples did a great job standing in. I mean who else but Freddie wouldn’t be a disappointment in Tigers absence.

In this one hundred and fifty first volume of HTL we look at Tiger’s return, see what the Tigerless Ryder Cup team is looking like, investigate congressional’s “stupid holes,” and find out who got the first tap on the shoulder in the PGA Tour’s quest to rid the sport of illegal drugs. Also, we take a peek at Anthony Kim, this week’s PGA Tour Winner, examine what New Mexico has to offer the vacationing golfer, and delve into what happened to nearly 400 U.S. Open tickets that were given to San Diego city officials.

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2008 U.S. Women’s Open Failure

A promising week for the LPGA Tour didn’t pan out when all was said and done.

Thrash TalkThe 2008 U.S. Women’s Open is now in the books, and South Korea’s Inbee Park is a major champion. Park shot a final-round 71 and cruised to a four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson. The competition was close heading into the back nine, but the rest of field collapsed and cleared the path for the 19-year-old youngster. With the victory, Park became the youngest ever to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

Inbee Park deserves all the credit for her solid performance, but the week didn’t pan out like most fans wanted. It was more of a “what might have been” event than a memorable one. The LPGA Tour has a lot of good things going for it, but this past week was one to forget. Here are a few reasons why.

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More Odds and Ends

The Bag Drop asks you to be careful with your sparklers this weekend.

Bag DropSummer is in full swing so the equipment front is a bit quiet, but I’ve found a few interesting tidbits to hold you over this upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend.

This week’s Bag Drop takes a look at the departure of a putter maker, a free Scotty Cameron putter (sort of), the merging of two companies, and what the future of pro shops could look like.

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Volume One Hundred Fifty

That’s one good teenage golfer!

Hittin' the LinksGood Monday to you and welcome again the Hittin’ the Links. What a week in golf it was! There was a lot of golf on television this weekend for the golf enthusiast, too much in fact to watch all at once. So HTL is here to give you the wrap-up on what you may have missed and whatever else interesting there is out there in the golf universe.

In this edition, we tie the knot with Greg Norman, check in on the new super teen of the LPGA Tour, see if Annika really is finished at the U.S. Open, and find out why it’s always about Tiger. Also, we investigate the rest of the tours around the world, see what Michelle Wie’s future has in store, tee off at this weeks golf destination, and find out why PGA tour stars just can’t seem to say “No Comment.” Read On.

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Mizuno MP-57 Irons Review

Mizuno broadens their award winning MP irons lineup by offering golfers the cavity-backed MP-57’s.

Mizuno MP-57When I found out about Mizuno releasing a full cavity-back iron for their MP line, I must admit, I was pretty giddy.

I’ve long admired the MP line but knew I had no business playing any of them as I felt I just wasn’t good enough nor did I have the time to dedicate to practice enough to enjoy playing golf with them. No matter how nice a club looks, that beauty is not going to help you when your swing isn’t quite there.

Enter the MP-57 irons. Even though they are technically a full cavity-back iron, I was left to wonder when they arrived at my doorstep if they might still be a bit too much iron for my golf swing.

Read on to find out if a cavity-back iron could still produce that “buttery-smooth” Mizuno feeling while also providing a level of forgiveness for those of us who can’t dedicate hours at the range honing our golf swings.

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