The Booz is back! Another quality tournament returns for our enjoyment.
Well, this week we can finally see some birdies! It may be hard to top last week’s final-hole theatrics, but the Booz Allen Classic has been known to provide some drama in its own right. Last year, the Swashbucklin’ Spaniard found a putter that actually worked for him and walked away with this event.
You may not see eight-inch rough, but you can bet on seeing some birdies this week!
The U.S. Open was awesome this past weekend, and I’m here to break it down.
Geoff Ogilvy is the U.S. Open champion! How many people would have guessed that after the young Aussie trailed Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie by a shot with two holes left? Ogilvy then backed himself into a corner at the 71st hole before boldly chipping in to save par. Still, it looked like he was headed for a third-place finish at best.
That’s when the wheels of fate began to turn. A wild collapse from Monty and Lefty mixed with a gutsy up-and-down at the 72nd hole for Ogilvy combined to give the golf world a brand new major champion. The young Aussie is quickly turning into one of the world’s best, and this major won’t be the only one in his career when it’s all said and done.
Summer now brings real deals on golf equipment. Two of the biggest makers are offering a buy one, get one free deal on drivers and fairway metals.
Once upon a time the product life cycle of a persimmon wood model might be as long as four or five years. No more. Now a driver or fairway wood model’s life is measured in months.
The downside is that it’s expensive to keep playing the latest and greatest. The upside is that you can quickly realize some terrific bargains on top-of-the-line equipment even as early in the season as June.
Callaway and TaylorMade both recently announced similar promotions that may be a real bargain if you’re in the market for a driver and fairway metal or hybrid. Here’s the scoop.
Continue reading “Callaway and TaylorMade Giving Clubs Away”
Working on the premise that no two shafts are created equal, a relatively new tuning method seeks to deliver consistent feel, flex and performance throughout a set of clubs.
There are many variables in a golf shaft. Some are designed and engineered by the manufacturer – stiffness, flex point, and weight. Other factors, however, become the province of aftermarket clubmakers and fitters who can adjust length, trim tips, and match frequency to suit your swing speed, tempo, and ball flight.
Over the last six or seven years, another way to tune shafts has emerged that proponents say best matches feel across a set, tightens shot dispersion patterns, and optimizes performance. Detractors, on the other hand, say it’s unnecessary and expensive. Most manufacturers say their shafts don’t need it.
Complicating the picture, it’s a practice that goes by several names and actually can be performed in a number of ways. In this week’s Bag Drop we’ll try to shed some light on shaft spining, splining, and PUREing.
Continue reading “Shaft Spining, Splining, and PUREing: Black Art or the Ultimate Tweak?”
Oh what’s that? You want some links? Well come and get them.
Let’s be honest, you don’t want an introduction into Hittin’ the Links. You want your links, hard and fast. Well too bad, you’re getting an introduction. From ridiculous golf stunts, to kid Tiger, Tadd Fujikawa, and Jim Furyk’s shirts are just some of the links you’ll be hittin’ this week.
Enjoy!
We’re live blogging the final round of the 2006 U.S. Open. Will Phil Mickelson rack up the third leg of a Mickelslam, or will someone else walk away with the trophy?
7:27 – Johnny Miller: “I’ve never seen such a finish in championship golf.”
7:11 – Phil plays the last two holes at the U.S. Open +3 to lose to 29-year-old Geoff Ogilvy.
7:07 – Phil runs his ball into the thick greenside rough from the bunker. I think I’ve seen a lot of miracles in my day, but holing out here may just top them all. It would top Tiger’s 16th-hole chip-in at the 2005 Masters. Barring this miracle, Geoff Ogilvy is the 2006 U.S. Open Champion.
7:05 – Johnny Miller: “Man, he [Phil] got a couple bad breaks on the lies, didn’t he?” Uhhmmm, no??? Only the two bunker shots in the last two holes.
7:03 – Phil hits his third shot into the greenside bunker. Par is virtually out of the question now. He has to get up and down to get into a playoff or Geoff Ogilvy will win the 2006 U.S. open. Johnny Miller again: “just crazy shot selection.”
It’s U.S. Open week, and though our full wrap-up will come in next week’s episode, we touch on a few key topics this week.
Ronald McDonald was in the house, but Se Ri Pak walked away with her first major in quite awhile, and in a playoff over Karrie Webb no less. Plus, a bunch of U.S. Open chatter, including Tiger missing the cut, Chris Berman doing a horrible job announcing, Johnny Miller, Phil Mickelson, Merion, Herbert Warren Wind, Oakmont and furrowed bunkers, Tadd Fujikawa, and a whole lot more. Tune in to this episode of Golf Talk for more.
You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 027 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.
The 775.CB irons may have “Titleist” and “forged” stamped on each clubhead, but they also have “game improvement” written all over them.
Titleist is undeniably one of the leaders in irons for better players. Since going to an all-forged irons lineup a couple years ago, the company introduced several blade, muscle-back, and cavity-forged irons that have devoted followers.
But the better-player irons market is relatively small, and the big money is in the bigger game-improvement irons. Titleist’s latest attempt to muscle in on the Callaways and TaylorMades in the game-improvement iron category is with the Forged 775.CB iron, which hit golf shops this spring. I had the chance to try a set to see how these new irons stack up against other irons for higher handicappers.
Seeing Titleist irons in my golf bag gives me a warm feeling, even if it’s the glow of nostalgia. After playing tiny forged blades while learning the game, my first cavity back irons were a great set of Titleist DCI Golds that I played for several years. Those cast stainless steel irons were plenty forgiving, but still had a crisp design that said “I’m a serious golfer.” After the follow up to the DCI Black (less offset) and Gold irons, the DCI Oversize, Titleist ceded the high-handicapper iron market to sister brand Cobra.
Winged Foot Golf Club has played host to 6 major championships including this year’s U.S. Open. Lets take a peek at each winner’s performance.
2006 is the fifth time that Winged Foot has hosted a U.S. Open. It has proved to be a stern test of golf and a perfect stop for the U.S. Open. It’s doglegs, narrow fairways, deep bunkers, and challenging greens have tested professionals and amateurs alike for many years.
This week we’re looking at previous major winners at Winged Foot. In keeping with the nature of the U.S. Open a little blood has been spilled in the process of crowning a champion in past U.S. Opens at Winged Foot Golf Club.
