Episode 016

Tiger Woods, Camilo Villegas, and Natalie Gulbis in a swimsuit. What more could you want?

PodcastTiger goes seemingly unchallenged in winning at Doral again, the Ohio Golf Association challenges players with a “tournament ball,” and we challenge listeners to share their spring golf rituals with us. Also, Vijay Singh takes a week off (gasp!), Camilo Villegas may be better than Sergio Garcia, and he’s part of the Cobra brand resurgence, Rory Sabbatini is player of the month while Natalie Gulbis puts in a bit for Playmate of the Month (not really), and Pebble Beach wins a lawsuit over a “replica” course. 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 016 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.

Why Camilo Villegas Is The Man

My simple explanation on why Camilo Villegas will enjoy enormous success in the PGA Tour.

Camilo VillegasRecently there’s been a ton of buzz surrounding PGA Tour Rookie Camilo Villegas and I believe all of it is deserved. With two T2’s in his first six tour events, Camilo has shown that he’s got the game to compete with the big boys. I started watching Camilo play golf about two years ago, when he put himself in contention week in and week out, never to seal the deal. In the following few paragraphs I’m going to outline why I so firmly believe that Villegas will make a big mark on tour.

Stellar College Career
Camilo attended The University of Florida and was the only freshman to be named as an All-American in the 2001 season, he would go on to win the honor the rest of his college career. That same freshman year he set a course record with a 64 at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Richmond, Virginia. The University of Florida consistently produces excellent PGA tour golfers, such as Dudley Hart and, more notably, Chris DiMarco.

Stuart Appleby

The King of Kapalua has overcome grand obstacles on the golf course, but he’s walked an even tougher road in life and emerged a champion.

ProFilesThe early season standout the last few years, Stuart Appleby has become a fixture on the PGA Tour finishing fairly high on the money list with regularity. It doesn’t hurt that he’s won the Mercedes Championship the last three years.

Both Appleby’s game and his life have been forged in a fire that no one would choose for themselves. He’s emerged from his loss as a family man again and as a regular PGA Tour champion.

Pound for Pound and Other Light Facts

You expect big guys to hit it a long way, but sometimes there are some little guys that show a bit of pop. This week we find out who is the longest hitter pound-for-pound on the PGA Tour this year.

The Numbers GameThere are long drivers and there are short drivers of the ball. We had a recent forum discussion about this topic. Fellow staff member Jeff Gladchun was helpful in doing a bit of research and we both thought it might be interesting to share the results.

So who is the longest player pound for pound? What other interesting information did I see when doing this research? Read on to find out…

Introducing “Swing Check” Video Analysis

A new column debuts, and you can be the star. Or, well, the subject at least…

Swing CheckWelcome to the most helpful column here at The Sand Trap: Swing Check. This column will look at video of someone’s swing, critique it (largely by comparing it to the swings of professionals), and share the results for all the world to see. It’s free analysis that you can use to improve your game, and the best part is this: you get to submit the videos!

To submit your video, please read on and fill out the required information.

Honda Classic Preview

A another first time winner would be grest at the final Honda Classic at Mirasol but it would be even better to get some Love.

Honda Classic PreviewThis week there will be plenty of players to give Tiger Woods a run for the money, especially since Tiger won’t be there. I know, I know, that’s mean to say but it seems the case lately that if Tiger isn’t there to win an event then someone is there to lose and win it for him. However, this week isn’t about him, it’s about the several first time winners at Mirasol the past few years including the defending champion Padraig Harrington. Last year, Padraig blazed the field and tied the course record and his career best with a 63 and should get the credit for the win but still needed Vijay to miss a three-footer to secure the win on the second playoff hole.

Padraig isn’t the only news this week, let’s take a look at what else is in store for us this week.

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.