Bunker’s Dozen, March 2006

The debut edition of The Bunker’s Dozen has a familiar face at the top and some unfamiliar faces spread throughout.

Welcome to the Sand Trap’s version of the power rankings. At the beginning of every month, we will rank the golfers of the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and European Tour as well as a few other members of the worldwide golf landscape. Not only does strong play land you on this list, but headlines and news can get you here too, good or bad. This combination makes “The Bunker’s Dozen” more unique than any other ranking out there.

For our first Bunker’s Dozen we’ve limited ourselves to golfers, though I’m pretty sure someone named “Hootie” will appear next month.

Without further ado, here is the first edition of the The Bunker’s Dozen.

The Other World Golf Ranking

The debut of the newly-released women’s world rankings was controversial at best. I’m here to tell you the good, bad, and ugly.

Thrash TalkGolf fans have had the men’s world rankings to look at and discuss for awhile now, but there wasn’t a women’s power rankings system in place to have the same discussions and debates. That all changed about two weeks ago with the debut of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Annika Sorenstam’s name was atop the rankings, so everything was dead-on, right? Not exactly.

It didn’t take me long to find Michelle Wie’s name because it was the third on the list, right behind Sorenstam and Paula Creamer. I had to take a second and third look to make sure I saw things correctly. Sure enough, Wie was still ranked third no matter how many times I looked. To make things even worse, Wie finished third last weekend and moved up to number two in the world rankings.

Highly Anticipated Products from Titleist, Callaway Hitting Shops

Titleist and Callaway officially unveiled their new drivers the past week, so we’re happy to talk about them.

Bag DropTwo of the season’s most anticipated new drivers are finally on their way to golf shops. Callaway’s new X460 driver has shipped and is available across the country, while Titleist has finally officially removed the “prototype” designation from the Pro Titanium 905R driver.

Let’s take a look at these new drivers, and other goodies that are hitting the shops just as the northern part of the U.S. starts getting ready for the start of the golf (and shopping) season.

Volume Forty-Nine

This week, in my first stab at Hittin’ the Links, I share with you some links to some of the guys that have literally built our game: course architects.

Hittin' the LinksI have given my first Hittin’ the Links entry much thought and consideration and have decided to dedicate it to those who are responsible for the courses we see on television and read about it books of golfing lore. These men have set the standards, raised the bar, and exceeded people’s expectations with every course they’ve designed.

Tiger Trumps Toms and Villegas at the Blue Monster

The Blue Monster produces another exciting week of tournament play with the same result in the end.

Woods at DoralThis tournament was shaping up to be an excellent one from the get-go. Tiger Woods led the way after Thursday’s opening round in which he fired a 64 the 65s of Camilo Villegas, Phil Mickelson, David Toms, Rich Beem, Zach Johnson, Scott Verplank, and Mark Wilson. Friday, Woods and Mickelson drew into a tie at -13, and both played together Saturday, with Tiger Woods once again eclipsing Phil by three as he did last year.

For perhaps the first time this year Tiger Woods seemed to be playing with at least his B+ game. He led the field in greens in regulation at 80.6% and missed only two putts within ten feet the whole week. Obviously, this one-two combo made Tiger the man to beat. And that’s exactly what the rest of the field tried to do.

Episode 015

Geoff Ogilvy, ‘Steve’ Pate, Mark Hensby, Kirk Triplett? Don’t worry, we’ve got a fair share of Tiger Woods, Michelle Wie, Greg Norman, Davis Love III, and even Bill Clinton to tide you over this week.

PodcastGeoff Ogilvy wins in a yawner at the World Golf Championships/Accenture Match Play, yet we want more match play events each year? Sure! A new showdown at Doral, Michelle Wie moves into the #2 spot after a third-place finish at the Fields, and Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are upset with the changes at Augusta National. Also this week, guest Bruce Hardie from Australia joins us to talk about the state of golf down under. This and a whole lot more in this week’s Golf Talk Podcast.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 015 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.

MyTPI Personal Fitness Review

MyTPI: all the benefits of a personal physical trainer without someone screaming “ONE MORE TIME!” in your ear.

MyTPITiger Woods sparked a lot of trends when he joined the PGA Tour ten years ago, but one of the most resounding of those was golf fitness. The old jokes about how anyone could win at golf – and with folks named “Lumpy” winning tournaments, they were true – faded away in the face of Tiger’s workout regimen. Professional golfers became athletes – fine-tuned machines built for flexibility, strength, and speed capable of delivering a clubhead to a ball faster and with more strength than ever before.

Nine Holes With Scott Verplank

While not the flashiest, Verplank is one of the Tour’s steadiest players who’s gotten off to another great start to the 2006 season. Look for his work ethic and solid game to continue to deliver high finishes for years to come.

ProFilesScott Verplank is another player we amateurs would do well to emulate. Hitting more than his share of fairways, putting like a man possessed, and doing it a most nonchalant fashion is what makes Verplank a dark horse in any tournament. Recipient of the 2002 Ben Hogan Award, Verplank has proven that he’s a fighter. Given by the Golf Writer Association of America, the Ben Hogan Award recognizes athletes who have remained active golfers despite a physical handicap or illness.

Palmer, Nicklaus Speak Out Against Augusta Alterations

Arnie and The Golden Bear finally speak out against Hootie’s Augusta renovations.

Following retirement from the world of competitive golf after winning The Grand Slam, Bobby Jones entertained the idea of starting a private golf club. We all know that Bobby eventually decided to build the course that would become Augusta National Golf Club. Bobby worked intimately with legendary course architect Alister Mackenzie to create his “ideal” golf course.

Bob firmly believed that the game of golf revolved around the second shot – evidenced by the fact that when Augusta National debuted, it featured over eighty acres of fairway (more than twice as much as the average course of the day). Also notable was the fact that Jones demanded to design the course so that it would remain playable for both highly skilled golfers and those less gifted.