Volume One Hunded Forty Four

Sergio wins golf’s “fifth major.” Does that mean he’s shed the “best player never to have…” title? No. He still has that… right behind Adam Scott.

Hittin' the LinksGood day and welcome again to Hittin’ the Links. Let me start off this week by saying Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. Where would we all be without mom? Hopefully, all the mothers had a nice day.

Now, back to golf. HTL has again perused the Internet for all that’s interesting in the world wide golf web. This week we start off with a look at golf destination Baghdad, check the PGA Tour power rankings, and test our rules knowledge at the USGA website. In addition, we see what Johnny Miller had to say about Tiger, do a Michelle Wie update, take note of this week’s Tour winners, and finally we send our condolences to Jeff Maggert and his family for their loss. Read on.

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Titleist AP1 Irons Review

Do you aspire to be a become a better golfer? Then Titleist has some irons for you.

AP1 HeroTo say the buzz about the AP1 and AP2 irons from Titleist is loud is an understatement of quite some size. I cannot recall a product release in the last couple of years that generated the amount of interest, comments, feedback and questions from Sand Trap readers and forum members as these groundbreaking, technology-infused irons from the traditionally traditional Titleist.

Between our announcement of the 2008 lineup, Erik’s field test and his AP2 review, we’ve received well hundreds of comments and questions. Add this to the amount of discussion and buzz in our forum and it’s really quite remarkable the excitement these irons have generated.

We’re going to focus on the AP1 irons for this review, which Titleist says is for the “skilled and aspiring” golfer. What is an “aspiring golfer”? While I would say all golfers are aspiring to some degree, I think the AP1 are designed for those of us who are in the double-digit handicap range. We show flashes of our golfing potential, but still have an evolving golf swing that could use a little forgiveness while still providing feedback to help us improve. Thus, perhaps we “aspire” a wee bit more than the guy who plays once a month.

Read on to find out this aspiring golfer thinks about these “sure-don’t-look-like-Titleists” irons.

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2008 Players (Championship) Predictions

With Tiger away, who will come out and play at Sawgrass?

Thrash TalkThe four major championships are obviously the biggest tournaments each season, but “The Players” is next in line. The field is always one of the best, and the course is always a tough test for the world’s top golfers. The TPC at Sawgrass is also one of the most recognizable layouts in the world thanks in part to its great finishing stretch. The 16th hole is a risk/reward par five, the 17th is the famous island hole, and the 18th is one of the toughest finishing holes in golf.

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Golf Talk [Episode 087]

Join us this week as we talk with Steve Pelisek about Titleist’s sizzling new AP1 and AP2 irons.

Golf Talk PodcastPaula Creamer visits her second playoff in a row, Anthony Kim walks away with his first PGA Tour win, drug testing is delayed, we know which guy will be tackling Torrey Pines, we interview Steve Pelisek about the Titleist AP1 and AP2 irons, 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 087 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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Bedford Springs Old Course (Bedford, PA) Review

Recapturing a bit of the past and taking it into the future: that’s what we find at Bedford Springs.

Bedford SpringsI played my first full round of golf with my (great) Uncle Bud at the Bedford Springs course in Bedford, PA. Bedford Springs was originally designed by Spender Oldham, modified by A.W. Tillinghast, and later revamped and altered by Donald Ross. In the 1890s and 1900s, Pittsburghers wealthy from the thriving steel industry would venture two hours south to Bedford, PA where the natural spring water was said to have rejuvenating, youth-giving qualities. While the women spent their time in the spas, the men entertained themselves with a round on the resort’s golf course.

After falling into disrepair, both the hotel, spa, and the golf course have recently seen a massive influx of hundreds of millions of dollars. All three are open once again and receiving guests and golfers.

I played the course in September, 2007. Read on to see what I thought of this revived classic.

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Volume One Hundred Forty Three

The PGA Tour is going primetime!

Hittin' the LinksHas it been a week already? I guess it has, so it’s time again for Hittin’ the Links. Let’s get ready for an electonic tour of all that is golf on the World Wide Web.

In this edition, we take an early peek at what’s new for this year’s U.S. Open, take an even earlier look at the goings on at the British Open, and investigate what is going on between Butch Harmon and Big John. Also of interest, we see how our economy is affecting the PGA Tour, get sentimental about golf tournament winners, check out Western Ireland, and check in on the winner of the Wachovia Championship. Read on!

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Celebrity Deathmatch: Ochoa vs. Sorenstam

The two biggest names in women’s golf top the money list.

ProfilesWe appear to be witnessing a passing of the torch in women’s golf. Come to think of it, it’s more of a snatching of the torch than a genial passing of it.

If you’ve paid any attention to the LPGA over the last three or four years, you’ve probably noticed the steady ascent of Lorena Ochoa. Even as Annika Sorenstam was having a ten-win season in 2005, Ochoa was learning how to stay at the top of a leaderboard. She notched her third win that year (to go with ten top-tens), before really breaking out in 2006-07.

Last year, Ochoa finally won a major, after coming close several times. Now that she can win the big ones, it’s anyone’s guess what kind of record she will end up with at the end of her career… maybe even Annika-like numbers.

What’s really remarkable about these two women is how much they have in common. Their dominance respectively began roughly 10 years apart, with Annika’s currently appearing on the wane even as Lorena’s seems to be gaining steam.

Let’s get ready to rumble!

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Mizuno Bettinardi Black Carbon Putter Review

Your eyes are deceiving you. That is not an insert in the new Black Carbon series from Mizuno and Bob Bettinardi.

Black Carbon HeroFresh off receiving a Silver in the 2008 Golf Digest Hot list, the new Black Carbon putters from Mizuno and putter maestro Bob Bettinardi are showing off new ways to provide an insert-like feel and softness while still using a one-piece construction milled face. By the looks of it, they have pulled that off beautifully.

I repeat, no insert. Oh, they still have the Honeycomb face milling you’ve come to expect from a Bettinardi putter but some additional face milling make these putters look a bit different from what you may have seen not only from Mr. Bettinardi but from anyone else making putters as well.

Read on to find out what this insert-looking, non-insert putter is all about.

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The Pornification of Golf

Think the Masters is dead? No argument here that the tournament has changed recently. But is the change really for the worse? I don’t think so…or maybe I do.

Thrash TalkOne of the most talked about aspects of the last two Masters tournaments has been the effect of the recent, dramatic architectural changes on the nature of the competition. Golf fans, like those of any sport with perhaps the exception of boxing, aren’t generally thrilled to see their champion determined in a war of attrition, stumbling over the corpses of their competition and limping across the finish line.

So it is no surprise that with the last two Masters Sundays (and perhaps the last several years’ worth of “toonaments”) featuring very few birdies and heroic charges among the eventual winners, many have concluded that the Augusta National Golf Club course has been changed for the worse. I’m not sure if there’s any merit to that argument, but I do know I’m pretty sick of hearing the whining. So for this week’s Thrash Talk, I decided to take a few vital signs on the tournament and today’s golf fan.

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