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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Golf Talk [Episode 086]

Playoff weekend, baby! Adam Scott takes down Ryan Moore, Paula Creamer gags in OT against Annika, and Darren Clarke nails a birdie on 18 to avoid his playoff and win for the first time since 2003.

Golf Talk PodcastAdam Scott wins in a playoff over Ryan Moore, Creamer gags a putt against Annika in a playoff, Darren Clarke gets back in the winner’s circle, and w whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 086 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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Knowing Your Distance – Part Two

Forget getting a GPS for your car. Get one for your golf game.

Bag DropLast week at the Bag Drop we showed you a few different options for finding out various distances on the golf course using a laser rangefinder.

This week we’re going to focus on a few of the GPS options available to golfers. I looked at a couple of GPS units during my rangefinder decision-making process, but decided to go with a laser in the end. I have no buyer’s remorse to this point, but did like a few of the options the GPS systems have to offer.

Let’s take a look.

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Volume One Hundred Forty Two

Has anyone else seen the rest of the LPGA Tour?

Hittin' the Links Well, have you? Rumor has it the rest of the LPGA tour passed a hat around last week in order to collect enough money to pay Lorena Ochoa to finally take a week off. Just kidding of course, but one thing seems to be true: there’s Lorena then there’s everybody else.

That aside, welcome again to Hittin’ the Links, the best little column on the web with which you can quickly get caught up on all that’s golf. So, all you squanderers of company time sit back relax, and read on.

In this volume we start off taking a look at Tadd’s big day, put an end to a silly rumor, check in on the Cookie Lady of Hilton Head, and see what happens when prairie dogs invade your golf course. Also, we take a peek at Tiger’s watch, congratulate Darren Clarke on returning to the winner’s circle, and check in on the rest of the tours around the world.

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Titleist Forged AP2 Irons Review

Titleist takes a bold step in a new direction with the AP2. Adam Scott has switched. Should you?

Titleist AP2 HeroThere have been few reviews as eagerly anticipated by Sand Trap forum members and readers as this one and our upcoming review of the Titleist AP1s. Our Bag Drop article announcing these clubs has well over 50 comments and my follow-up field test will likely reach 50 before this review is published. In the forum, people are being fitted for, buying, and asking questions about the AP2s and AP1s left and right. Titleist VP of Golf Clubs Chris McGinley feels that this is “the most technically advanced forging ever made” and adds that “demand for this iron is unprecedented in the forged category. Not since the Hogan edge has there been this much buzz and demand for a forged iron.”

Titleist, always at or near the top in the “player’s irons” category, has in 2008 simultaneously simplified its product lineup and broadened its target market. Though their ZB and ZM models are still available for those who like player’s cavity and musclebacks, the AP1 and AP2 are intended to cover pretty much everyone from the PGA Tour golfer to the “aspiring” golfer.

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Early 2008 Ryder Cup Talk: United States

This week’s article breaks down the current status of the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Thrash TalkThe 2008 Ryder Cup is still five months away, but it’s definitely sneaking up on golf fans. The United States hasn’t won The Ryder Cup since 1999, but the Americans will be looking to change that this year on home soil. They were embarassed four years ago on home soil, but there will probably be a lot of different golfers teeing it up this time around.

In a couple weeks, I’ll break down the current status of the European Ryder Cup team. This week, however, it’s the underdog United States side that gets the spotlight. I’ll start with the usual suspects that have almost guaranteed their spot on the team already, and then I’ll talk about some middle-of-the-pack guys, possible first-timers, and more. It’s still early, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start thinking about the greatest event in golf.

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