Volume One Hundred Twenty Seven

A Wie-less 2008 PGA Tour Season!

Hitting the LinksWe awaken from our holiday rest and Hittin’ the Links is back on the job bringing you the best stories of the past week and the young PGA Tour season. I hope this finds all of you ready to take on the new year.

In this edition we say hurray to the 2008 PGA Tour seaon without the distraction we like to call “Michelle,” we look at the third non-golfer to be awarded the USGA’s Highest award, and congratulate the AP Female Athlete of the year. Additionally, we contemplate a lack of talent on the LPGA Tour, peruse the next contestants on The Next Big Break, take a look back at the year 2007, and see who won the first PGA tour tournament of the year.

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Callaway Revamps 2008 Line-Up

Callaway rolls out the technology red carpet for their new offerings in 2008.

Bag DropThe folks at Callaway Golf have been busy lately introducing new products that they hope will make their way into your bag in 2008. According to George Fellows, Callaway Golf President and CEO “This is the deepest, most robust new product lineup we’ve ever offered.” Based on the sheer amount of new products, he’s not kidding.

Never one to shy away from using composite materials, playing with geometry and making getting fit for your clubs easier with the OptiFit system, Callaway Golf is making some major line-up changes for the upcoming year.

From new offerings in the Fusion line (including a square fairway wood), the X-Series, new Big Bertha Irons, women’s clubs and oh yeah, new line of golf balls, Callaway Golf has delivered an early gift under the tree for the holidays. You’ll need a little bit of patience to wait until the first quarter of 2008 to get your hands on some of these goodies but it looks like it may be well worth the wait.

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Volume One Hundred Twenty Six

But Your Honor, he stole my golfball!!!

Hitting the LinksHello, welcome all you wasters of company time. Hittin’ the Links is here to give you something interesting to read so you don’t have to do all the pesky work stuff. This week has been a particularly interesting one with lots of good stories and events to keep even the biggest company man perusing the Internet. Remember: never do today what can be put off until tomorrow. Procrastinators Unite!

In this volume we delve into drug testing (again!), dish a couple of Shark updates, discuss the Els meltdown, and check in on the Target World Challenge. In lighter news, we investigate the Montgomerie-Faldo feud and the alleged beatdown of a golf ball pilferer.

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Five Fearless Predictions for ’08

Knock, knock. Who’s there? 2008.

Trap Five Logo2008 is almost here. What will it hold for the world of golf?

I put that question to a few friends and came up with a couple ideas of my own. The farthest fetched prediction: one friend again predicted that this would be the year he scores a hole in one. He was there when I had mine two years ago, so I’m rooting for him. Of course, he’s been predicting the same thing for several years now.

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Pros and Cons of Amateurism, Part II

Digging around in the rulebook gives us another glimpse of how our beloved game’s governing body is just a wee bit behind the times.

Thrash TalkIn the last Thrash Talk I told you how I won a thousand bucks and a vacation in a mini-golf style putting contest and turned myself into the USGA. While I knew the rule of amateur status and expected they would choose to enforce it on me, somehow I held out hope that, given the absurdity of classifying someone like me as a professional golfer, the USGA would find some way to dismiss the matter. When I was officially exiled from the amateur ranks, I set out to learn a bit more about the issue. Read on to see what I learned, and what I think it means for you and me.

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TaylorMade Introduces 2008 Golf Ball Lineup

TaylorMade is ringing in the new year with some new LDP.

Bag DropTaylorMade Golf is kicking off 2008 with a bang by launching an entire lineup of revised and new golf balls that will give golfers a multitude of options to choose from based on what you are looking for in a golf ball.

Four of the balls will carry the TaylorMade name with the remaining two carrying the Noodle banner, and all will feature “a new proprietary aerodynamic technology called Low Drag Performance, which promotes improved distance on the most common types of off-center driver hits.”

With a pretty impressive tour staff that includes Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Natalie Gulbis, TaylorMade is continuing to make a name for themselves in the golf ball arena. I was impressed with how the original Tour Preferred Red and Black balls performed and I am eagerly anticipating giving version 2.0 a closer look.

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Volume One Hundred Twenty Five

Everyone Can Use a Little Masters

Hitting the LinksAs the holidays creep closer and closer, Hittin’ the Links would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and safe Holiday season. I also wish you all the new golf equipment you have on your list.

In this edition we investigate The Masters, Elin Nordegren’s lawsuit, golf course robberies, and Jim Furyk. Also we take a look at this week’s silly season event, a new professional golf tour, a golf marathon, and how The Grateful Dead helped win a golf tournament. Read on!

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Dear Santa, My 2007 Wish List

All I want for Christmas (and then some).

Trap Five LogoI’ve been a pretty good golfer this year. I generally played the ball down, I almost always took my strokes when I hit in hazards, and I hardly ever swore at all on the course. Well, two out of three isn’t bad.

It’s that time of year again, and I know I have nothing to complain about when it comes to golf equipment. But a guy’s got to dream. Right? There’s always room for one more golf doodad.

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Adams Golf Introduces Insight XTD Drivers

Adams is offering a new long driver. How long? Ask the Long Drivers of America.

Bag DropYou may think of Adams Golf as the company that is known for making some great hybrids that are usually at the top of every “hot” list as well as some of the most played on all the tours. You would be right. However, Adams is more than just a one-trick pony. They offer blended hybrid sets, forged irons for the better player, as well as drivers and fairway woods.

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