Volume One Hundred Forty Seven

Someone at the USGA has their eyes on the television ratings

Hittin' the LinksGood Day and welcome to Hittin’ the Links. It is again major time on the PGA Tour. The U.S. Open begins Thursday, but the hype and coverage begin well before that. I have included several links to help you out in you pursuit of U.S Open information. It is a good week to watch golf.

Also in this edition, we look at the results of the Golf Digest “10-Handicapper-Couldn’t-Break-100” results from Torrey Pines, see what the PGA Tour could learn from the USGA, take attendance on the best players without a major list, look at this week’s golf destination, and check in on this week’s tournament winners from around the world.

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Sponsorship and Golf

Why doesn’t Pepto Bismol sponsor a PGA player?

Trap Five LogoCan you imagine Woody Austin, missing a putt, bashing himself over the head with his putter, and then taking a pull on bottle of Pepto that his caddy hands him. Then the announcer says, “Pepto Bismol, it soothes over the rough patches.”

Watching the players at this past weekend’s Memorial, it suddenly hit me how many players are sponsored by fairly surprising companies. When I think of golf sponsors, I tend to picture equipment manufacturers (TaylorMade, Titleist, and Ping, among others) and investment companies (because golfers all have money, right?). But there are plenty of others that don’t at first seem as well suited to golf.

We don’t see sponsors like Roy McAvoy’s in Tin Cup – “Look at me. I’m playing for… Rio Grande Short-Haul Trucking, Brink and Brown Sanitation, First State Bank of Salome, Wally’s Smokehouse… You think a guy like me bothers to think about the percentages?” – but I kind of wish we did. Still, there are some surprising sponsors out there.

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Scotty Cameron Studio Select Putters Review

Scotty Cameron cans the insert, adds some weight and perhaps the sweetest grip in his new Studio Select line.

Studio Select NewportsScotty Cameron has pretty much held the same weight/length characteristics with his various Newport lines over the years with few exceptions. For the most part, the 33″ length was matched with a 350-gram head, the 34″ with a 340-gram head, and the 35″ getting a 330-gram head. Other than swapping shafts with a heavier head (or vise versa), you were pretty much stuck with whatever weight head came with the correct shaft length for your physical makeup and putting stroke.

For those of us who prefer a little more heft in our putter head and don’t want to use lead tape, the new Studio Select line fits us perfectly. The Studio Selects feature removable weights that let you fine-tune the weight that works best for you.

I’ve spent the last two years using a Studio Style Newport 2 and really like the softer feel of the insert, so even though the Studio Select Newport 2 looks similar, I was a little hesitant to give up the feel to which I’d become accustomed. Read on to find out if I ditched the insert and went all milled.

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2008 U.S. Open Storylines

This week, I give my take on a few hot topics heading into the year’s second major.

Thrash TalkThe world’s best will head to Torrey Pines (South Course) next week for this year’s U.S. Open, and there are numerous storylines worth talking about. Tiger Woods finished second at The Masters a couple months ago and then had knee surgery two days later. He hasn’t played a competitive round since, and it will be interesting to see how things go when he tees it up in the season’s second major.

Any time a U.S. Open is played, the golf course gets a fair amount of attention as well. Often times the course setup is borderline unfair for the golfers, but how tough will Torrey Pines play? Also, can Phil Mickelson finally recover from his collapse at the 2006 U.S. Open? Can an International win this event for the fifth year in a row? All these topics and more will be covered in this week’s Thrash Talk.

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Golf Talk [Episode 090] Unedited!

Due to a death in my network of peers as well as a small computer mishap in the rush to get this podcast done (note to self: don’t save over a file you need to use later), this week’s edition is brought to you “uncut” and largely unedited.

Golf Talk PodcastKenny Perry wins in a tough Memorial, then decides to skip the U.S. Open, Tiger’s knee may still not be as healed as he’d like, HGH isn’t going to be tested, 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 090 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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2008 Memorial In Photos

56 Photos from The 2008 edition (the 33rd) Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

In addition to the Sergio Garcia images from Tuesday at the 2008 Memorial, I took a fair number of other pictures as well. Below, I’ve selected 56 random photos. Nearly all have a little commentary, and I invite you to check them out.

Memorial Scoreboard

Mike Weir’s team would go on to win the $2000 first-place prize at -10 in the Wednesday pro-am. I believe they split the prize, but I’m not sure if the pro gets his $500 or if the three amateurs each get $667. Either way, the amateurs will stay well below the $750 limit imposed by the USGA.

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Volume One Hundred Forty Six

David Feherty would like to say Thank You!

Hittin' the LinksHello, Hittin’ the Links took a week off but is now back in action and better than ever, bringing everyone out there the best in golf stories from around the world.

In this volume of HTL we say “You’re welcome” to David Feherty, take a look at the winner of Jack’s tournament, see why Kenny Perry is not playing at the U.S. Open, and investigate whats wrong with the Tour’s drug testing policy. Also, we check in on the LPGA, visit the golf destination of the week, see what course you should be taking your clients to, and take a peek at the results of the NCAA golf Championships. Read On!

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NCAA Division I Men’s Championship Preview

Which teams and individuals have what it takes to be National Champions?

College GolfThe Division I Men’s NCAA Golf Championship starts today, and it’s time for a few predictions. The event will be played at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. There were three separate regionals a couple weeks back, and the top 10 teams from each advanced to the NCAA Championship. In addition, six individual golfers (their teams didn’t advance) will be battling the rest of the field for individual supremacy.

Which teams and individuals have what it takes to win an NCAA Championship this season? Keep reading to find out.

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Photos: Sergio Garcia at the 2008 Memorial

Sergio Garcia, resplendent in lavender (?!) at the 2008 Memorial.

Sergio Being Interviewed

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