Over the past year or so, I’ve covered a lot in The Numbers Game. Driving distance, the 40-30-20-10 rule, all were fun to research and write about. Next year, someone else will take the reins and still have plenty of numbers to look at.
This will be my last Numbers Game for a while. I’ve got a few things taking up my time and will be stepping back. I’ll be doing a review or two and hanging around, but The Numbers Game will be in the hands of another person come January.
That being said, I thought it would be good to hit some of the highlights over the past year and a half. This week it’s the best of The Numbers Game.
It’s never too early to talk about 2007, so that’s what I’m going to do for the next couple weeks.
The start of the 2007 PGA Tour season is only a month away, and the LPGA Tour season will start shortly thereafter. It’s good to have a break every once in awhile, but I’m already getting excited about 2007. The silly season has been okay, but it just isn’t the same as the real deal. The Mercedes Championship can’t come soon enough.
With the new season right around the corner, many questions instantly come to mind. Some are pretty self-explanatory, and some seem to be neverending. How many majors will Tiger win next season, and can he possibly improve on his spectacular 2006 season? Also, will Michelle Wie finally win something of importance, or will her résumé remain winless?
I’ll dive into these questions and more in this first of two installments of the top storylines for 2007. Let’s get this party started!
Other than perhaps rolling a cart over, the greatest danger on a golf course is lightning. If you’ve ever witnessed a strike, you know the risk is real and deadly.
Most golfers know Retief Goosen’s story and some the tragedy at Hazeltine during the 1991 U.S. Open when one spectator was killed and five more were injured. A few may even recall when Lee Trevino and Jerry Heard were struck while sitting under a tree at the 1975 Western Open. Lightning is no joke.
I know. I lost a great friend to a lightning strike just this year. While it didn’t happen on a golf course, it happened 20 miles from my house. It was a heartbreaking and frightening reminder of strikes I’ve witnessed while playing.
That’s why a product I recently stumbled across while surfing the web seems like a must have, even if it is expensive. Here’s the story…
It was a successful PGA Tour year for the Aussies with one Major and another seven regular season wins among them. Karrie Webb nearly equalled the number of PGA victories on her own.
It was another successful year for the Australians in golf. With a history of producing successful golfers Australia is teaching their students the right thing. Foremost among Australian golf is Greg Norman, and while he’s hung up his spikes for the most part, the legacy he created and left for his country seems to be paying dividends.
Aussies were responsible for eight PGA and five LPGA victories in 2006. Out of a relatively small group of professionals has come a lot of success. Look for Aussie golf to continue to garner plenty of attention in coming years as a few of these players are really young and already successful. Join me for nine…
More little tidbits of info show us that Tiger is still the best and that even guys who are the worst in one stat can still win tournaments.
Another edition of Nuggets for this week’s The Numbers Game. I’ve stuffed the column full of numbers and tidbits I collected while perusing stats and columns around the web. From majors to the “other” Singh, this week should provide even a golf nut with a couple facts they weren’t aware of.
The 2006 PGA Tour season left golf fans with a lot of memories, some good and some bad.
The 2007 PGA Tour season will begin in a little over a month, and The FedEx Cup will be in full swing. Before that, it’s time to officially put the 2006 season to rest. As usual, there were a lot of great memories mixed in with some bad ones. New golfers emerged onto the scene, while some of the big guns limped their way throughout the season.
Tiger added two more major championships to his trophy case, and Phil added one more as well. A young Aussie stepped up in a big way to win a major championship of his own, and the Europeans once again had their way with the United States in the Ryder Cup. All these memories and more made 2006 a great season. I’ve picked out some of the most memorable storylines from the past year, and I hope you enjoy!
A new line of milled stainless steel putters has been introduced that updates classic Ping designs with the precision and feel of a one-piece milled head.
I guess it’s true that what goes around, comes around. The early Ping cast putter models have been among the most adapted in the world, often in very expensive milled carbon and stainless steel versions. Now the circle is joined as Ping introduces its own line of milled stainless putters.
Karsten Solheim pioneered the manufacturer of investment cast club heads for putters and irons back in the 1960s. Over the years they’ve been cast in manganese bronze, stainless steel, and beryllium copper. While the designs and details, like inserts, have proliferated, they’ve always been cast… until now.
The LPGA Tour spiced things up at the ADT Championship, and Tiger lost in a playoff. That’s a pretty solid week of golf.
Football season is entering crunch time, and many golf fans have gone into hibernation until 2007. That’s usually the case for me as well, but it’s been a little different this year. I’ve realized there are a lot of quality tournaments around the globe to keep me excited deep into the calendar. This part of the golf season is usually referred to as the silly season, but that can’t be farther from the truth.
I’ve never watched the LPGA Tour in November prior to 2006, but I’ve watched the last two events this season. The ADT Championship this past weekend was one of the most exciting LPGA Tour event I’ve ever watched. It seemed like I was watching a major championship instead of a regular event, and that’s a bonus this time of year.
In the slow growing golf market, the relationship between manufacturers and retailers has become almost adversarial. Will Callaway’s recent move calm the waters or fan the flames?
Callaway Golf introduced a new wrinkle in club marketing a couple weeks ago that, if nothing else, is pretty innovative. They’ve become the first manufacturer to sell their clubs and accessories online directly to consumers.
But perhaps the bigger news is that they’re attempting to channel those sales through traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
Among those I know in the golf retail business, Callaway hasn’t engendered a lot of love. Their sales policies are often viewed as restrictive and unhelpful in achieving reasonable margins. The new concept sounds good, but will it work? Here’s the story…
