Volume Four Hundred Thirty-Three

This is why we can never have nice rivalries.

Hittin' the LinksThis just in… Rory McIlroy is good.

In fact, when Rory McIlroy is on (as he was during a course-record setting third round at Quail Hollow), he does a pretty good Tiger Woods circa 2000 imitation. He is playing a different game than the rest of the field. Luckily for the other players, unlike how Woods used to do McIlroy does not win with his B-game (at least not yet).

It would be great to have a real rivalry, like Palmer-Nicklaus-Player, but for that to happen the rivals need to be at relatively the same level. Jordan Speith’s Masters win and Rickie Fowler taking the Players were both impressive wins. And those guys are among the elite on TOUR. But if McIlroy played every week like he played this one, everybody else would be playing for second, a distant one.

Let’s hit the links.

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Callaway Updates Wedge Line-Up

Callaway updates its popular wedge line with a little help from Mickelson.

Bag DropYears back, Callaway Golf had a hit with their X Forged wedges featuring the original Mack Daddy Grooves. Those grooves were wide and deep and chewed through golf balls. Then the rules changed and the company had to go back to the drawing board. After a few different models, the company and Roger Cleveland created the Mack Daddy 2 wedges. These wedges have proved to be popular ones, which is evident as they are still the companies current wedge despite being released two years ago. That isn’t to say that things have remained completely stagnant though; as time has passed more options have been made available. At first it was just a couple more loft/bounce options with different grinds. Last year, the company released the Tour Grind version. This year, the change is a bit bigger. The company’s newest version of the Mack Daddy wedge is the PM grid, and it will be available starting May 15th.

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Is Rickie Fowler Overrated?

Rickie Fowler has been an up-and-coming star for a few years now, but it seems his fellow touring professionals think he isn’t that good. Let’s take a deeper look at Dirt Bike Rickie.

Thrash TalkThe term overrated is overused. It has become a common terms used by sports talking heads when they feel that someone has been given credit they don’t deserve. I am not saying that some teams or players have not been given more credit than they’ve earned, but we overuse the term.

Rickie Fowler was recently rated as one of the PGA Tour’s most overrated players. He answered his fellow anonymous touring professionals by winning The Player’s Championship. Even putting this most recent win aside, voting him the most overrated golfer was misguided at best. I honestly don’t know if they watch the same tour that I do. How could they rank a guy with the highest finish in all of the majors last year overrated. I simply don’t get it.

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Mizuno MP-15 Irons Review

Mizuno releases the MP-15 irons, blending the MP-59 and the MP-64 they are targeting low handicappers and giving them forgiveness without sacrifice.

MP-15When you talk with most golfers and you ask them who has the best irons, Mizuno will come up at some point in the conversation. Mizuno has consistently delivered great irons for decades. The MP line of irons from Mizuno is traditionally dedicated to “player” irons. My regular set of irons before doing this review is the MP-4 which was reviewed here. There are days when the MP-4s tend to be on the demanding side for a golfer of my caliber. So when the opportunity came to review the MP-15 I was extremely excited to give them a whirl.

The MP-15 are designed for the golfer like me. A golfer who is looking for just a little bit more forgiveness than the MP-4 but remaining loyal to the forged iron and the feel that they provide. The recommended handicap range for golfers using the MP-14 is zero to eight which I fit in nicely. In addition to the classic look that Mizuno typically provides the designers threw in some very cool bells and whistles to help your ballstriking. With that lets get into the review.

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Volume Four Hundred Thirty-Two

It’s a major minor,and don’t call Rickie “overrated”

Hittin' the LinksWhat a finish! Even without the three-hole aggregate score playoff and one hole of sudden death, the last few hours of the Players Championship was easily the most entertaining golf of the last several years.

It featured a charge from deep in the pack, some near-miss specialists trying for redemption, and rookies defying the odds. No less than seven players had very good chances of getting to 12-under to get into the playoff, or even of reaching 13-under, which could have been good enough for the win in regulation.

Let’s hit the links.

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Volume Four Hundred Thirty-One

Match play, pioneers lost, and a journalist suspended

Hittin' the LinksI love match play. The way that each hole is a new life in the competition. How it’s the basically the only scenario in golf when you are competing head to head with another person rather than solely against the course and the elements.

But TV and match play is a tough fit. Here’s the thing, during the early rounds it’s difficult to follow the match ups closely because the network is flipping between groups. We want to see the action but it detracts from the viewers ability to stay current with the status in each match and hence the drama. Once the bracket gets narrowed down, we get a final that is god-awful to watch when one player gets up by more than two holes. I’m not sure what the solution is, other than a multi-cast so that you could follow any group you wanted. But that is not going to happen, at least not on network television.

Golf could use a new way to showcase match play (and stroke play for that matter). But the PGA TOUR is trying to stick to (and protect) traditional media, so adamantly that they just suspended the media credentials of a journalist for using social media to “broadcast” a practice round. At a time when golf is contracting in this country, it seems somewhat short sighted to censor an innovative journalist so harshly over her coverage of (again) a practice round.

That’s it for the op-ed portion. Let’s hit the links.

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Volume Four Hundred Thirty

Ko vs. Henderson (and Pressel), McIlroy vs. Spieth, and Rose vs. Day and Tringale (and the rain)

Hittin' the LinksGet your bracket ready. The WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, the most unique of the WGC events, returns next week.

There’s a new format designed to keep the game’s best around for more of the tournament. Instead of single-elimination from the start, the event now features a round of pool play with the top points-earner from each of 16 groups advancing to the more familiar bracket.

There will be two notable absences from the star-studded field this year: Phil Mickelson will skip the event for personal reasons and Tiger Woods failed to qualify. Still, the field features the top 64 OWGR players (and alternates) and should be a fun watch with the TPC Harding Park as the backdrop and antagonist.

But before we get too far into next week, let’s hit the links.

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Sun Mountain Reflex Push Cart Review

Sun Mountain introduces the next generation push cart with an innovative folding mechanism and smallest folded size on the market.

sun_mountain_reflexSun Mountain has redesigned the Micro Cart with the next generation Reflex push cart. The Reflex has a new folding mechanism, a wider base when open, and folds up very small for easy storage in your car trunk. The dual strut design of the Micro Cart has been replaced with a single strut design for easier folding. Other additions are a second accessory compartment and adjustable handles.

This review will take the Sun Mountain Reflex Push Cart for a test drive and see how this next generation of push-cart from Sun Mountain compares to its predecessor and its competitors.

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Volume Four Hundred Twenty Nine

Jordan Spieth is everywhere. And is Tom Watson pondering retirement?

Hittin' the LinksSpieth-mania was in full force and hard to miss in the week following young Jordan’s victory at the Masters. Among his appearances: the Late Show with David Letterman, the TODAY Show, CNBC Squawk Box, Morning Drive, CBS This Morning, the Dan Patrick Show, ESPN Radio, Mike and Mike in the Morning and too many more to mention.

Somewhat surprisingly, Spieth honored his commitment to the RBC Heritage when he could have justifiably begged off. Very surprisingly he didn’t just go through the motions, he was competitive, finishing T-11. It’s going to be very interesting to see how Spieth develops over the next few years and to see if the budding Rory-Jordan rivalry can be what we always hoped Tiger-Phil would be.

Let’s hit the links.

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