I’ve long argued for making bunkers on the PGA Tour penal. Too many good golfers, particularly on par fives, aim for bunkers and prefer a lie on the beach than any in greenside rough.
That may all change soon if the PGA Tour’s experiment this week at Muirfield Village during The Memorial Tournament proves successful. The Tour is trying out a new rake that gently furrows bunkers this year, and the early feedback is that it’s working.
The PGA Tour has, to this point, only talked about acting on their threat to do something about the bunkers, but in place of fine-toothed rakes, contestants (and their caddies) will find widely spaced and long-toothed rakes made of wood. The result: less consistent lies and tougher shots.
Continue reading “PGA Tour, Nicklaus Experiment with Furrowed Bunkers at Memorial”
First I have to make a couple confessions: I am a headcover freak. And, yes, I know headcovers are probably unnecessary, if not a hassle to deal with. But to me they are a fascinating anachronism that has lived on far longer than their necessity would dictate. Why is that? And where do you stand on one of the burning issues in the game today?
This week is another hodgepodge of links for your enjoyment. Everything from hollow golf balls that spin less, travel farther, and stop faster, to animal headcovers (à là Tiger), to Stetson golf hats that are crushable, it’s as random as random gets. 
Tiger Woods is skipping The Memorial, Michelle Wie gears up to qualify for the U.S. Open at Canoe Brook, and Darren Clarke does the honorable thing. Also, is Lorena Ochoa the best female golfer in the world? This week we talk about that, the 2007 FedEx Cup, Ian Woosnam and Luke Donald, and a whole lot more.
Alpha is the little company that could, and we’re happy to have a few more clubs for review. Normally a big player on the 
Play golf and you will quickly learn that a golf ball can and will find a place to hide from you. Play enough golf and you will spend a lot of time hunting down golf balls for yourself, your friends, and groups on neighboring holes.
Next year we get to witness the “NASCAR-ization” of the PGA Tour. The guys in the big offices of the PGA headquarters wanted to make the end of the year more exciting than watching paint dry, watching people struggle to keep their PGA Tour cards, and the occasional Michelle Wie sighting.
Memorial weekend next year will be a little different on the PGA Tour, especially in Memphis, Tennessee. The tournament moving to June 4-10 which is the week before the U.S. Open which will hopefully attract even more of the top players in the game looking to fine tune their games. 
The ladies of the LPGA Tour are three months into their 2006 season, and there have been a lot of things to talk about so far. The season’s first major championship, the