FedExCup Points

The FedEx Cup is coming next year but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a peek this year as to how the points system will work. There are a few things that can be tweaked, but it should be fun and interesting to watch.

The Numbers GameNext 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.

So what we will have is a points system unveiled last year that will determine a playoff field. The points will be reset for a final points chase. Is all this good for the PGA Tour? Is there a better way? I’ll talk about that and more this week in The Numbers Game.

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FedEx St. Jude Classic Preview

Tim Herron and David Toms could easily be favorites at this weeks tournament but one’s hot and one’s not, read on to find out more.

FedEx St JudeMemorial 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. Stanford Private Wealth Management will now assume the role of title sponsor increasing the purse to $6 million making it one of the largest on the tour. Next year should also be a good celebration as it will mark the 50th anniversary of the tournament.

We’ll get to 2007 soon enough so let’s get to this years tournament.

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LPGA Ups and Downs

The LPGA season is in full swing, and it has definitely seen its ups and downs so far.

Thrash TalkThe 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 Kraft Nabisco Championship, may have produced the best finish of any golf tournament in the world this year. There were a lot of big-name contenders fighting for the victory, including past stalwart Karrie Webb and young guns Natalie Gulbis and Michelle Wie.

The Kraft Nabisco Championship was one of many bright spots for the LPGA this season. However, there have been some disappointments along the way as well. I’m going to break down the early season into the good, bad, and ugly.

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Nick Von Hofen, Ritz-Carlton Members Club

Nick Von Hofen comes from a golf-crazed family. It only makes sense that he would end up at one of southwestern Florida’s swankiest new resort courses.

Ritz Carlton SarasotaNicholas Von Hofen stood on the 12th tee of the new Ritz-Carlton Members Club – elevation 65 feet above sea level – and smiled.

“You wouldn’t think you’re in Florida,” Von Hofen said as he surveyed the immaculately landscaped Tom Fazio-designed golf course.

Indeed. With its pastoral setting and rolling terrain, the Ritz-Carlton Members Club looks like it could have been lifted in from Von Hofen’s native Ohio. But this is southwest Florida, where golf courses are often shaped and molded out of a tough land. Fazio molded this 7,033-yard, par 72 masterpiece from pasture land that was once used to grow fruits and vegetables.

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Cobra’s Optica SL Putters: Star Wars on the Putting Green

With the introduction of its Optica SL putter, Cobra Golf hopes its future’s so bright you’ll have to wear shades.

Bag DropIt had to happen sooner or later. Golf design has advanced so far it has entered into the realm of science fiction. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda have apparently conspired with Cobra Golf to design a putter that is half golf club, half light saber. Armed with the new Cobra Optica SL putter, you’ll have to tell your foursome to stand back and watch out. You are a Jedi knight about to light it up on the putting green.

I’ve played golf an awful long time. And during that time I’ve seen some awfully strange putters. But Cobra’s latest design just proves no matter how long you hang around, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Where do I begin?

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Volume Sixty

LeBron James? BJ Wie versus Earl Woods? BallFinder Scout? It could only be one thing: Hittin’ The Links.

When is Hittin’ the Links not random? Well this week’s edition is no exception and features everything from an Earl Woods / BJ Wie comparison to a Tiger / LeBron James comparison to the correlation between learning golf and chronic pain.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this week’s Hittin’ the Links.

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Steve Brummer Swing Analysis

Steve Brummer plays to his 12-handicap very frequently, but he’ll mix in every sort of bad shot imaginable in the process.

Swing CheckI play golf with Steve Brummer a few times per week, and I can safely say that the most consistent thing about his game is his inconsistency. Steve will play well for five holes, have a stretch where he doesn’t hit the ball well, and then finish out the round strong once again. While I joking refer to Steve as the “anti-Rotella” for his mental outlook (“even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then” he’ll say after a good shot), his mental game is probably responsible for three to four dropped shots per round.

But here in Swing Check, we can’t analyze a person’s mental game, so we’ll fall back on Steve’s swing. It’s a swing which Steve has built over the 40+ years he’s been playing golf, and it’s a swing that, with a few tweaks with an eye on consistency, could generate a very repeatable golf swing.

Let’s have a look…

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Golf Talk [Episode 023]

Wie, Mickelson, Woods, Norman, Couples, and Wasylowich? Which name doesn’t seem to fit?

PodcastHalf of the season on the PGA Tour is in the books, and we’ve got some first-half awards to hand out. Plus, Michelle Wie makes it through local qualifying for the U.S. Open, Greg Norman to divorce, a man shoots 57 (!!!), and Tiger is skipping The Memorial. This and a whole lot more in the 23rd episode of the Golf Talk Podcast.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 023 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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Bunker’s Dozen, May 2006

Was Lefty’s great month of April enough to overtake Tiger in the latest Bunker’s Dozen?

The month of April is in the books, and boy did it fly by! The first major championships have come and gone for the main professional tours, and they left us with some great memories. Phil Mickelson won his second green jacket in three years, and Karrie Webb defeated Lorena Ochoa in a playoff at the Kraft Nabisco. Other than that, it was just another solid month for golf fans worldwide.

The Bunker’s Dozen is back for another month, and business has definitely picked up in the golf world. The list has changed quite a bit, but there are still some familiar faces as well. Without further ado, here is the latest Bunker’s Dozen.

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